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Iowa early News Headlines: Thursday, March 24th 2016

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March 24th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lawmakers in the Iowa Legislature have approved legislation that would increase K-12 education spending for the upcoming fiscal year. The Democratic-controlled Senate and the Republican-majority House both voted Wednesday in support of the legislation, which would increase basic aid for K-12 schools by 2.25 percent for the next academic year.

NORWALK, Iowa (AP) — Norwalk police say they have captured an escaped kangaroo. Police received a call Tuesday night reporting that a kangaroo was wandering around Norwalk. Police quickly captured the animal and transferred it to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Police say the 3-foot-tall animal is owned by a man in Norwalk who had intended to keep the animal as a pet while living in a rural area.

POMEROY, Iowa (AP) — A court says Iowa authorities had no duty to protect residents of a nursing home from a sexual predator who assaulted a 95-year-old woman after being placed there by court order. The Iowa Court of Appeals says the state had no duty to supervise William Cubbage once he was discharged from its treatment program for dangerous sex offenders in 2010.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An appeals court says Iowa State University can get out of paying some legal fees to a whistleblower who was viciously mistreated by his superiors. The Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on Wednesday that a judge erred in awarding $368,000 in legal fees to Dennis Smith, sending the case back for a lower award. Smith was awarded $500,000 for emotional distress and $150,000 for reputational harm he suffered after reporting financial misconduct by his boss. The majority says Smith can recover attorneys’ fees only for the whistleblower claim, and the judge should have cut the fee award since that claim was only partially successful.