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Iowa early News Headlines: Tue., March 28th 2017

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March 28th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge says Gov. Terry Branstad doesn’t have to testify under oath in a lawsuit filed by a fired Division of Criminal Investigation agent who blames Branstad for destroying his career. Judge William Kelly, a Branstad appointee, rejected Larry Hedlund’s request to depose Branstad in Hedlund’s wrongful termination lawsuit. Kelly ruled in favor of the Iowa attorney general’s office, which is representing Branstad and argued the governor was too busy to face a two-hour deposition.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A House panel has approved a bill that would toughen Iowa’s regulations for texting and driving. A subcommittee of the House Transportation Committee unanimously agreed Monday to support the legislation. It’s now eligible for a full committee vote. The bill would allow a law enforcement officer to pull over a driver specifically for texting. It’s a secondary offense under current law, meaning an officer must have another reason to initiate a traffic stop.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Legislature has passed a bill that would ban local governments from increasing the minimum hourly wage, effectively cutting pay for some workers. The GOP-controlled Senate voted 29-21 Monday for the measure, which already passed in the Republican-majority House. The bill now heads to GOP Gov. Terry Branstad, who supports it.

HARLAN, Iowa (AP) — Remains of an Iowa soldier who died in the Korean War are being returned for burial in Arlington National Cemetery. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Monday that the remains of Army Sgt. Donald Noehren, of Harlan, Iowa, will be buried April 3. The agency says the 23-year-old Noehren was reported to have died at a prisoner camp on Jan. 22, 1951. DNA analysis of remains recovered in 2005 later helped confirm his identity.