Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:37 a.m. CDT

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a suburban Des Moines educator has died from complications of COVID-19, but it’s unclear if she contracted the virus at school or elsewhere. Shane Christensen, the principal of Indian Hills Junior High School, says special education assistant Jennifer Crawford, died Monday. She was 53. The school is in West Des Moines. Iowa has the fourth-highest coronavirus positivity rate in the nation. Only 10 of Iowa’s 99 counties are below the 5% threshold at which public health experts recommend measures to slow the spread of the virus, including mandatory masks and limits on gatherings.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has swiftly granted a request from Republican groups to stay a judge’s ruling that blocked enforcement of an order that’s been used to invalidate tens of thousands of absentee ballot requests. The Republican National Committee, President Trump’s campaign and other GOP groups argued in an emergency petition filed Tuesday that Iowa’s election administration could be thrown into “chaos” if the ruling was allowed to stand. Within hours, Chief Justice Susan Christensen released an order saying the full court had granted their request to put the ruling on hold pending further proceedings. She said the court will consider the merits of the case in the coming days.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Cedar Rapids hospital says it will demolish part of an historic building because of significant damage caused by this summer’s derecho. UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s says the Resource Center on its main campus sustained $400,000 in damage during the August storm. Hospital officials said the building will be demolished by the end of the year because of significant structural problems. The original wing of the Resource Center dates back to 1917, when it was built as the St. Luke’s Nursing Education Building. Demolition is expected to begin Oct. 26.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Cedar Rapids hospital plans tear down part of a building that sustained significant damage in a derecho that tore through the community in August. The Des Moines Register reports that Resource Center at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital sustained $400,000 worth of damage in the storm. Demolition is expected to begin Oct. 26. Two of the three wings of the Resource Center will be demolished entirely. The top four floors of the third wing will be demolished as well, but the wing’s lower level classrooms, auditorium and tunnel system to the main hospital will remain intact.