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Iowa early News Headlines: Thursday, 4/5/18

News

April 5th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is expected to become the latest Republican-led state to target so-called sanctuary cities by withholding money from local governments that don’t comply with federal immigration laws. A bill outlining an expansive immigration enforcement plan is expected to receive final legislative approval this week. It comes as President Donald Trump ramps up calls for more stringent immigration enforcement.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A dog impounded by the city of Des Moines two years ago under the city’s vicious animal ordinance won a court battle Wednesday in which the Iowa Court of Appeals declared a portion of the city’s ordinance unconstitutional. Pinky, a 9-year-old mixed breed dog, was taken into city custody in March 2016 after an altercation with a neighbor cat. City officials blamed Pinky and she was taken away from her owner after the city’s chief humane officer concluded she exhibited “vicious propensities.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Republican-led panel in the Iowa House has approved a bill that would cut money from local governments. A three-person committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would reduce a so-called “backfill” of money that goes annually to cities, counties and school districts. The payments were part of a 2013 bill that cut property taxes in Iowa. Opponents say many local governments would raise property taxes and reduce services.