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Iowa early News Headlines: Wed/ 2/10/16

News

February 10th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — A Newton jury has convicted a man of helping his mother stab his wife to death in 2013. Jurors handed over the verdict finding 40-year-old Dustin Jefferson guilty of aiding and abetting first-degree murder in the death of his wife. His mother, Ginger Jefferson, is serving life in prison for first-degree murder in the September 2013 attack of 32-year-old Kerry O’Clair Jefferson.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Linn County will soon have to find a new home for thousands of court documents that are being stored in a rented space. The city of Cedar Rapids is working to buy the Hubbard Ice building, where the county stores up to 700,000 court documents, and will likely demolish it to make room for a flood wall. The county spends nearly $50,000 annually to rent the space, but it doesn’t have a choice. State code says the county must keep civil case files for 10 years after settlement and criminal case files for 10 years after a completed sentence.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Some Republican House lawmakers are supporting legislation that would create a system for manufacturing, distributing and possessing some forms of medical marijuana in Iowa, though it’s unclear what type of support the bill will get from party leaders. The bill would expand the state’s current law on medical marijuana, which allows some epilepsy patients to use cannabis oil. The new legislation would expand it to include more products and patients, though it would prohibit the smoking of medical marijuana.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have identified the man who was found inside a fire-damaged Des Moines home after he resisted officers’ rescue attempts. Police announced that 48-year-old Neil Johnston, of Des Moines, died during the incident. Firefighters sent to the home put out the blaze and found Johnston’s body. Investigators say the fire was intentionally started.