Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:55 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa regulator says the state’s top elections official will not be required to identify his private businesses in a conflict-of-interest disclosure form because other state officials have kept them secret without consequence. The statement from Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board director Megan Tooker comes a day after The Associated Press reported that Secretary of State Paul Pate owns a strip mall and two rental storage businesses that he didn’t list on an ethics filing last week.

OAKLAND, Iowa (AP) — The parents of a 16-year-old girl who died in a school bus fire in western Iowa last year are suing the school district. The Des Moines Register reports that Glen and Natalie Klindt accuse Riverside Community School District in the wrongful death lawsuit of negligent hiring, training and supervision of 74-year-old bus driver Donald Hendricks, who also died in the fire. The Klindts say the Dec. 12 death of their daughter, Megan Klindt, caused them severe emotional distress.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa appeals court has granted a new trial for a man convicted of murder who argued that the jury was biased against him. The Des Moines Register reports that the Iowa Court of Appeals on Wednesday sided with Lee Christensen, who argued on appeal that several jurors had seen Facebook posts threatening the jury and warning of riots if Christensen weren’t convicted. Christensen was sentenced in 2016 to 50 years in prison for the June 2015 shooting death of 19-year-old Thomas Bortvit.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Court records say a Dubuque man scheduled for a murder trial in August has made a plea deal with prosecutors. The Telegraph Herald reports that a hearing is scheduled Friday for 36-year-old Michael Piantieri, who’s pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the Dec. 2 slaying of 42-year-old Beverly Puccio at her home. The agreement says Piantieri will plead guilty to second-degree murder and face a mandatory sentence of 50 years in prison.