Here is the latest Iowa news at 3:40 a.m. CST

(Statewide) – Hundreds of schools across Iowa have cancelled classes for today in advance of an anticipated snowstorm. Western Iowa will see the storm begin early morning. By the afternoon central Iowa will have snow, rain and freezing rain. Saturday morning is expected to bring blowing snow with 40 to 50 mph winds. For the latest local cancellations, go kjan.com and click on the Cancellations tab under Community Hub.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Republican legislative leaders have introduced a resolution that would declare there is no right to an abortion under the Iowa Constitution. The proposed constitutional amendment introduced Thursday is a response to a 2018 Iowa Supreme Court ruling striking down a law requiring a 72-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion. The court said in that ruling the state constitution guarantees women freedom to make their own health decisions, including whether to have an abortion. A constitutional amendment must pass this year, next year and then win approval of voters in a statewide election.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa inmate Gentric Hicks has spent 43 years in prison for a murder that his laywers say his deceased half brother actually committed. Now 73, Hicks is seeking DNA testing on a hunting cap the killer left at the scene of the fatal shooting at a southeastern Iowa motel that could either prove his innocence or affirm his guilt. Hicks is serving a life sentence for the May 23, 1976, murder of 28-year-old Jerry Foster at the Hill Crest Motel on Highway 61 outside Fort Madison. His petition claims his prosecution was based on flawed eyewitness and fingerprint analysis testimony.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Webster City doctor has been sentenced to two months in prison for making false statements in Medicare claims. Federal prosecutors say 76-year-old Joseph Latella also agreed Thursday to pay more than $316,000 in restitution. Latella pleaded guilty in July to one count of making false statements relating to health care matters. Prosecutors say Latella operated a private practice in Webster City and served as the medical director for several nursing homes at the time of the offense. Prosecutors say Latella falsely declared he had spent more time with patients than he actually had at two nursing homes to qualify for more expensive billing to Medicare and Medicaid.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in Iowa had to round up more than 1,700 piglets after a semi-trailer overturned on a freeway just north of Des Moines. The crash happened Thursday afternoon when the truck and trailer overturned on an ramp to Interstate 35. Iowa State Patrol troopers had to close the ramp at times as crews worked to capture and unload hundreds of pigs. The Iowa Department of Public Safety said in a tweet, “authorities working to corral and transport 1,738 piglets!” It was unclear how long the delays would last.