Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The trial over allegations that former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad pressured an official to quit because he was gay has begun in state court and will center on whether the jury believes the Republican governor was influenced by anti-gay attitudes. Branstad’s attorney Frank Harty says he simply wanted Chris Godfrey out as Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner so he could hire his own team. Godfrey claims Branstad violated his rights and he deserves to be compensated for the unlawful treatment.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Montana man dubbed the AK-47 bandit has been sentenced in a Nebraska federal court to 35 years in prison. Richard Gathercole, of Roundup, Montana, received the maximum sentence Wednesday after pleading guilty in March to bank robbery. The 41-year-old Gathercole admitted during that plea hearing to using an AK-47 while robbing a Nebraska City bank in 2014. He was accused of carrying the weapon during multiple bank robberies in California, Idaho, Iowa and Washington state from 2012 to 2017.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s state auditor says the pending sale of the University of Iowa’s AIB Campus for less than half its $20 million assessed value is fair. State Auditor Rob Sand issued a report Wednesday. It says Iowa’s acceptance in May of a $7.5 million bid on the property was fair, because the $20 million assessed value was too high.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Officials say a Sioux City food pantry that serves more than 5,000 people a month is being evicted because the building has been sold. The Midtown Family Community Center houses the food pantry and a 4-H program and it provides a free Saturday meal for neighborhood residents. Boys and Girls Home Inc. owns the building and had allowed the community center to use the building rent-free. But the building was sold last month. Officials hope to move the center to another neighborhood space.