DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A House Judiciary Committee chairman has blocked legislation that would put tougher safety restrictions on windows in new buildings to prevent children from falling out. The Senate had approved the bill, which was passed by a House subcommittee Monday, but Republican Representative Chip Baltimore of Boone announced yesterday he wouldn’t let the full Judiciary Committee take up the proposal.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A financially struggling central Iowa rural water supplier has reached a debt repayment agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and bondholders to keep it operating while it restructures debt. The Xenia Rural Water District, based in Bouton distributes water to 9,400 customers in 11 counties west of Des Moines. It has $45 million of debt owed to the USDA and private bondholders.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A museum in Iowa says someone has stolen an 18-pound African leopard tortoise. Staff at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque discovered the tortoise named Cashew was missing Tuesday. The staff believes Cashew was taken between Sunday afternoon and Monday night.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Nebraska stripper accused of fatally stabbing her client at his Des Moines home has reached a plea deal in the case. Court documents filed yesterday show Andrea Morris pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 1999 death of 43-year-old Patrick McRae. She also pleaded guilty to willful injury and first-degree theft.