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Iowa early News Headlines: Friday, April 7th 2017

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April 7th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers gave final approval to a gun-rights bill Thursday, approving a stand-your-ground provision and concealed carry on Capitol grounds. The Iowa House voted 57-36 for the legislation. It now heads to Gov. Terry Branstad, who in the past has supported gun-rights legislation. The final bill represents weeks of back-and-forth between the House and Senate to finesse sweeping changes to the state’s gun laws. GOP lawmakers have tried for years to expand Second Amendment rights in Iowa.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Navy is denouncing an incident in which members of its officer training program at Iowa State University posted explicit photographs on a Facebook page. The March 4 incident involved seven members of the school’s NROTC program. A spokesman says Navy leaders learned about the photographs the next day and responded quickly, saying such behavior “does not comport with our core values.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Aetna says it will stop selling individual health insurance policies in Iowa. The announcement Thursday comes just days after a similar one from Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield. The Des Moines Register reports that tens of thousands of Iowa residents who aren’t insured through an employer or the government are currently covered by the individual policies Aetna will stop selling. Only one other insurer, Medica, sells individual policies in most Iowa counties.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A 54-year-old Davenport man has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and sexual assaulting a woman in January. The Quad-City Times reports that Alan Ray Cassias filed a written plea Thursday through his attorney. Police say Cassias offered a ride to a woman he saw walking on Jan. 18. She asked to be taken to her job, but police say Cassias instead drove to his apartment, where he choked and tied up the woman before sexually assaulting her.