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Iowa early News Headlines: Thursday, 8/11/2016

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August 11th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An aide says Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad is acting as an adviser to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on agricultural issues. The Des Moines Register reports Branstad spokesman Ben Hammes released a statement Wednesday saying Branstad, “will be offering his advice on important issues to Iowa, none more important than renewable fuels.” Branstad has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Republican nominee. His son heads Trump’s Iowa campaign.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa agency has approved changes to administrative rules regarding water pollution that two groups say will weaken environmental protections. The Environmental Law & Policy Center and the Iowa Environmental Council say the Iowa Department of Natural Resources scaled back protections to Iowa’s waterways by changing its anti-degradation standards on Wednesday. Those standards help regulate how pollution is added to the water. DNR says the changes will clarify the process.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hillary Clinton says Trump’s words could have “tremendous consequences,” calls on Republicans to support her campaign.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An internal investigation into a national jackpot-fixing scandal has concluded that a single former lottery employee was responsible for any drawings that were manipulated. The report for the Multi-State Lottery Association found that the group’s former security director, Eddie Tipton, worked independently to commit any fraud without help from current or former employees. But investigators also said they failed to determine how he pulled it off and found no smoking gun of criminal activity.