DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The state Senate has approved legislation to make the work of the Iowa Board of Regents more visible to the public. The Senate passed the measure yesterday in a 49 to 1 vote. It now moves to the House. The bill requires the board that oversees Iowa’s state universities to operate like local government by providing opportunity for public comment.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A central Iowa woman has died from injuries sustained in a February car crash involving a semi-trailer. The Urbandale Police Department says 30-year-old Tara Leitzinger died Sunday at a Nebraska hospital. She had been moved to Lincoln for long-term rehabilitation and had been on life support since the Feb. 16 accident.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A law firm hired to defend Gov. Terry Branstad against a discrimination lawsuit has been paid $370,559 in state dollars to date, with no end in sight for the case. The state hired Des Moines attorney George A. LaMarca last year, after Iowa Workers Compensation Commissioner Christopher Godfrey filed a lawsuit accusing Branstad and top staffers of discriminating against him because he’s gay. Godfrey charges that the governor cut his salary by nearly $40,000 after he declined to resign.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Senate panel has approved a bill that would give a new income tax break to small businesses if they cover part of their employees’ health insurance. The measure passed a Senate Ways and Means subcommittee yesterday with bipartisan support and now moves to the full committee. It’s an incentive for small businesses to provide health insurance coverage for their employees.