Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa coronavirus trends continue to worsen as increasing numbers of Iowans were hospitalized with the virus, further stressing hospitals and health care workers as they try to keep up with the surge. Iowa Department of Public Health data showed 4,764 additional cases in the past 24 hours Wednesday and 26 more deaths, bringing the state total to 1,898. It was the fifth consecutive day Iowa has reported more than 4,000 new cases a day. State data indicated 1,190 people were in Iowa hospitals with COVID-19 and 230 admitted in the past 24 hours/ That is the highest single-day number since the beginning of the pandemic and a 39% increase from the day before.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State Sen. Janet Petersen says she will not seek reelection as Senate minority leader. Peterson was the first woman to be elected to lead Senate Democrats when she won the post in 2017. She says Wednesday she was asked by several members of her caucus to continue on as leader but decided against it. Senate Democrats retained 18 seats in last week’s election, and Petersen won a third four-year term. Republicans hold large majorities in the state Senate and House. Senate Democrats will meet Sunday to select caucus leaders for the coming legislative session scheduled to begin Jan. 11.

ONAWA, Iowa (AP) — A judge in western Iowa says he will announce a verdict Friday in the case of a man accused of killing his grandmother in 2018. Eliot Stowe is charged with first-degree murder for the beating death of 66-year-old Cheryl Stowe at her rural home in Castana in June 2018. The Sioux City Journal reports that Stowe waived his right to a jury trial, so a judge heard evidence during a four-day trial in August. Cheryl Stowe’s body was found wrapped in a rug and duct tape at the edge of a cornfield near her home. Prosecutors say Eliot Stowe had beaten her with a baseball bat. Eliot Stowe’s defense team has argued he’s not guilty by reason of insanity.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A 24-year-old woman charged with fatally shooting a woman inside a busy Chuck E. Cheese in Davenport lost a bid to have her bond altered so she could be released from jail to await trial. Treshonda Pollion, of Davenport, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old Eloise Chairs in late October. During a telephone conference on Tuesday, Pollion and her attorney asked to have her $1 million cash-only bond altered, noting she has no prior criminal history or failure to appear in court on her record. The judge rejected the request, citing the serious nature of the shooting.