Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:25 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds says she will partially reopen businesses and churches in 77 of Iowa’s 99 counties, even as the state is suffering from fast-growing numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths. Beginning in those counties May 1, Reynolds said that restaurants, fitness centers, retail stores and malls will be allowed to reopen at 50 percent of their operating capacity. She said that she would also allow church services to resume without limits on their size statewide. Reynolds said the 77 counties have experienced a downward trend in virus activity over the last two weeks. She said that she would extend previously-ordered business closures in 22 other counties through May 15.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Meat isn’t going to disappear from supermarkets because of outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers at U.S. slaughterhouses. But as the meat plants struggle to remain open, consumers could face less selection and slightly higher prices. Industry leaders acknowledge that the U.S. food chain has rarely been so stressed and that no one is sure about the future, even as they try to dispel concerns about shortages. On Sunday, the meat processing giant Tyson Foods ran a full-page advertisement in the New York Times and other newspapers outlining the difficulty of producing meat while keeping more than 100,000 workers safe and shutting some plants.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa legislative leaders say they will not resume this year’s legislative session until after May 15. The Iowa Legislative Council will meet by telephone this week to vote on the continued suspension of the session. The date and time for the meeting wasn’t immediately set. The council makes rules when the legislative body isn’t in session. It voted on April 9 to continue the initial suspension passed in March due to increasing coronavirus cases.

EARLING, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in western Iowa have responded to an explosion at a gas station in the tiny town of Earling. A woman who answered the phone for the Shelby County Emergency Management office confirmed that an explosion had occurred at the gas station Monday morning, but said she could give no other details, including whether anyone had been injured. Omaha, Nebraska, television station KETV reports from local officials that two people were sent to hospitals with injuries. Video footage captured by the station showed the windows of nearby homes shattered by the blast. Earling is a village of about 400 people located about 110 miles west of Des Moines.