From the Associated Press:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The lawyer representing Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in a federal lawsuit over mandatory mask use in schools has asked the judge to allow a temporary order that has allowed schools to implement mask mandates to expire next week. In its documents made public Monday, the state cited testimonials from mothers of school-age children who make unproven assertions that masks can harm children. The state provided testimonials from three women who said their children have medical issues that makes mask wearing difficult for them. That included an Ankeny mother who said her son has asthma and when he wears a mask he “does not receive an adequate amount of clean oxygen and is constantly breathing in germs,” a claim not supported by science.
IOWA (AP) — A ransomware attack has forced a cooperative of Iowa corn and soy farmers to take their computer systems offline. But a person close to the New Cooperative says it has created workarounds to receive grain and distribute feed. The cooperative said in a statement that the attack was “successfully contained” and that it notified law enforcement. The attack hit just as Iowa’s corn and soy harvesting is getting under way. New Cooperative did not say whether it had paid a ransom. A security researcher said the criminals had demanded $5.9 million.
BELLEVUE, Iowa (AP) — Officials have identified the person who died in a fall at an Iowa state park as an eastern Iowa woman. The state Department of Natural Resources on Monday said 36-year-old Iris Merfeld, of Zwingle, died in the early morning hours of Saturday after falling from an overlook known as Pulpit Rock in Bellevue State Park. The woman fell about 150 feet to rocks below the bluffs. She was pronounced dead at the scene. No foul play is suspected. The park sits on bluffs along the Mississippi River. It remains open to visitors.
URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) — A bicyclist is dead after being struck by a vehicle in Urbandale. The Des Moines Register reports that 55-year-old Eric Christopher Lindberg of Des Moines was riding on Meredith Drive around 7:15 a.m. Sunday when he was hit. Police say the accident remains under investigation. No charges have been filed.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An investigation continues into the death of a Linn County Jail inmate. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that 39-year-old Marshall Mosby of Dubuque died Friday night after complaining of chest pains. An autopsy is planned. Mosby was being held in a federal drug case. Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner says inmates in a dormitory-style cell notified authorities around 9 p.m. Friday that Mosby needed medical attention. Staff initiated CPR and other measures to try and save him until EMTs arrived. Gardner says jail staff had last checked on Mosby about 15 minutes before authorities were alerted.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The nation’s longest-serving attorney general is seeking another term in Iowa. Seventy-seven-year-old Tom Miller said Saturday that is will seek in 11th term in office in 2022 because he has “unfinished business” he wants to take care of. Miller has already held the job for nearly 40 years. Miller said he wants to play a role in deciding how Iowa spends the hundreds of millions of dollars it is due to receive from settlements with the makers and distributors of opioid painkillers. And he wants to continue his work with antitrust cases involving technology giants Facebook and Google.
