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Iowa/Regional News Headlines: Tuesday, 12/6/16

News

December 6th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:50 a.m. CST

CANNON BALL, N.D. (AP) — A tribal leader says it’s time for Dakota Access oil pipeline opponents to leave a camp along the pipeline route in southern North Dakota where they’ve been protesting for months. The Army has denied a permit for the pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in the area. Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault said Monday that he doesn’t expect any developments for months.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Republican-controlled Iowa Senate has eliminated a committee that focused on economic growth, and the decision has sparked criticism from the new minority party. Caleb Hunter, a spokesman for Senate Republicans, released an email Monday that says the Senate Economic Growth Committee will no longer exist when the Iowa Legislature returns in January. Hunter says such a committee is redundant and unnecessary.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Education is disputing $1.6 million in charges from a Minnesota company over a software system that repeatedly failed during mandatory statewide elementary school testing. Invoices from Sept. 29 show ongoing financial disputes between the department and TIES services. The state has paid about $551,000 of the nearly $2.2 million billed by TIES. TIES executive director Mark Wolak says the company is focused on ensuring it fixes the issues.

HIAWATHA, Iowa (AP) — A naked man who led police to find a dead body in Hiawatha is accused of breaking into and trying to burn down a church. Cedar Rapids station KCRG-TV says 32-year-old Joseph Hubbard was found wandering naked Friday morning. Police say that led them to conduct a welfare check at a nearby home, where they found the body of 56-year-old Deborah Roman.