DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — New data show Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds raised more money last year than all her gubernatorial challengers.

Details about the totals, required by Friday, show the Republican governor collected more than $3.7 million in 2017. She starts the new year with about $4.1 million available.

Fred Hubbell, a businessman seeking the Democratic nomination alongside six others, raised over $3 million in the same period and has $1.2 million cash-on-hand. Cathy Glasson, a union organizer in the Democratic race, raised more than $1.3 million and has more than $729,000 available.

Nate Boulton, a Democratic state senator seeking the party nomination, collected over $1 million and has a little over $481,000 cash-on-hand.

Ron Corbett, a former Cedar Rapids mayor challenging Reynolds in the Republican primary, raised more than $844,000 and has $578,000 available.

A family homeless shelter in southwest Iowa is starting a Girl Scout troop next month for young ladies who stay in the facility. Jaymes Sime, executive director of the Micah House in Council Bluffs, says he read about a Girl Scout troop in New York City that was expanding into several homeless shelters and thought it was a great idea.

Sime says, “I took to Facebook and tagged Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa and basically said, ‘Our doors are open and we love cookies, so if you want to start a troop, give us a call,’ and they did.” Fifty-five percent of the shelter’s occupants are children. Micah House plans to host Girl Scout meetings once a week. The average stay for a family at the shelter is one month and Sime hopes girls who leave the shelter can stay involved or join another troop.

“We will open that up for girls as they transition out into the community but we will also hope to provide them information about troops in the community,” Sime says. “If it’s something they choose to continue with long-term in the community, we’ll say, ‘Great, fantastic,’ and if they want to come back to Micah House, we’ll say the same thing, ‘Great, fantastic, come back.'” The Micah House is one of the few homeless shelters in the country to host a troop. Sime is very optimistic it will be a positive influence for the girls.

“If we all trace back through our childhoods and even our adulthoods, yeah, we have positive friends and family but sometimes, it’s those individuals that are outside those circles that maybe have the greatest impact on our lives,” Sime says. “If we can provide those avenues — it’s tremendous for our volunteers as well.” Starting February 5th, girls staying at the shelter will be able to join the troop. They’ll learn a host of skills, have a chance to earn badges and sell those famous Girl Scout cookies to raise funds.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Karla James in Omaha)

Officials with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, late Friday night, identified a man who was involved in an eastern Iowa incident Wednesday night, that escalated into shots being fired by the subject and law enforcement. 29-year old Jihad Merrick, of Minneapolis, MN., died as a result.

On January 17th, 2018, at around 8:31 p.m., the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 report of a subject — later identified as Merrick – with a gun pointed at his head in a vehicle at Love’s Truck Stop in Floyd, Iowa. Prior to officers’ arrival, Merrick fled the area southbound on Highway 218.

At 8:49 p.m., a Nashua police officer observed a vehicle traveling southbound on Highway 218 at 104 mph. The officer stopped the vehicle and observed the driver (Merrick) get out pointing a handgun at his head. Officers from the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office, the Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office, Nashua PD, and the Iowa State Patrol responded and negotiated with the Merrick for approximately 40 minutes before the driver fired a shot from inside the vehicle.

Officers approached the vehicle to find Merrick unharmed. Merrick resisted officer’s attempts to take him into custody and drove the vehicle forward striking an officer. Two officers fired and struck Merrick, who was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is continuing to investigate the incident.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of 35-year-old Samuel Jacob Whitaker of Red Oak in the 400 block of East Market Street in Red Oak on Friday night. At 9:07pm officers arrested Whitaker for being a Fugitive from Justice on a valid arrest warrant out of the State of Missouri for Parole Violation. He was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on no bond awaiting extradition by Missouri Authorities. Officers with the Red Oak Police Department assisted in the arrest.