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

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge has denied an Iowa drug kingpin’s requests to delay his execution, which is scheduled for Friday. U.S. District Judge Leonard Strand wrote Tuesday that he would not intervene to delay Dustin Honken’s execution date due to the coronavirus pandemic. He said the Bureau of Prisons was in the best position to weigh the health risks against the benefits of carrying out the execution. Strand also denied Honken’s motion to declare his execution void due to an alleged procedural error by the government. He affirmed the executive branch’s power to set the date for executions.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police found two bodies in a home after responding to a 911 call from a child who believed his mother had been injured. The child called 911 just after 1 p.m. Wednesday to report his mother had been hurt, prompting officers and medics to go to the home on the city’s south side. Sgt. Paul Parizek says the first-responders found the bodies of a woman and a man, and both had traumatic injuries. Parizek says a homicide investigation was underway but there didn’t appear to be a threat to the community. The names of those killed weren’t released so relatives could be notified.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — Sheriff’s officials in central Nebraska have identified two men killed in a head-on crash involving a car and semitrailer as Iowa residents. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that the crash happened Tuesday evening on U.S. Highway 83 about seven miles north of North Platte. Investigators say a northbound car crossed into the southbound lanes directly into the path of the truck, which tried but could not avoid a head-on crash. Deputies say both vehicles caught fire, and two men in the car died at the scene. Authorities later identified the driver killed as 32-year-old Robert Islas and his passenger as 59-year-old Gilbert Vasquez, both of Sioux City, Iowa. The truck driver suffered minor injuries.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal appeals court has temporarily halted a judge’s order that the Dakota Access Pipeline be shut down in three weeks. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday issued an “administrative stay” of the judge’s order. But The Bismarck Tribune reports that the appeals court said its order “should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits” of the case. The stay will remain in place until the appeals court rules on whether developer Energy Transfer can keep oil flowing while the court decides its appeal of the shutdown order.