Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A House committee has approved a bill that would keep two state mental health facilities open longer. The Appropriations Committee unanimously supported the bill yesterday. It would require the Department of Human Services to submit a transition plan to a new commission, which would have to give its approval before the facilities in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant could close.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former U.S. Representative Bruce Braley has left Iowa to join a law firm in Denver. Leventhal and Puga announced yesterday that Braley has moved to Colorado to work for the firm. Braley, who served four terms as a Democrat in Congress, lost a bid for Senate to Republican Joni Ernst in November. Levanthal and Puga plan to soon open an office in Iowa.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Police say a shooting in Waterloo has left a young child wounded. The Waterloo Police Department responded to reports of the shooting a little before 2 p.m. yesterday. The 4-year-old boy was shot in the abdomen. He was transported to Allen Hospital in Waterloo, where he underwent surgery. The identity of the boy wasn’t immediately available.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A Davenport man has been sentenced to up to 50 years in prison for sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl in 2012 at a trailer park. The Quad-City Times reports 25-year-old Thomas E. Jenkins, a registered sex offender, was sentenced Thursday and ordered to serve at least 35 years before becoming eligible for parole.