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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand is sharply criticizing Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds for not calling the Legislature into an emergency session to approve spending to help people suffering from the coronavirus pandemic. Sand, a Democrat, in his annual budget review says Iowa will lose bars, restaurants and possibly hospitals due to economic hardship. He says Reynolds, a Republican, could have called the GOP-run legislature to spend some of the $1 billion the state has accumulated to help. A Reynolds spokesman says Iowa is ranked as the most fiscally responsible and resilient state in the country.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — It’s unclear why Iowa will receive fewer doses of coronavirus vaccine than initially promised by the federal government. But the state is moving ahead with plans to relax restrictions beginning Thursday even while reporting nearly 100 additional deaths. The Iowa Department of Public Health says the state is now expecting 138,300 doses of vaccine by Dec. 27 while earlier estimates were for 172,000 doses. Distributions were also being lowered to other states. The agency says it has known the expected doses were “planning numbers that will continue to change. Iowa reported an additional 97 deaths on Thursday as the state’s death toll increased to 3,451.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has ruled that the federal government must pay landowners on the lower Missouri River for flooding damage caused by the Army Corps of Engineers’ efforts to protect endangered species. Judge Nancy Firestone, with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, ruled this week that the Corps caused increased flooding by changing habitat on the river to comply with the Endangered Species Act. She says that violated constitutional protections against taking property without compensation. The ruling affects property owners from Sioux City, Iowa, to St. Louis, although not all landowners will qualify for payments. The ruling doesn’t cover all flood-related damages.

DENISON, Iowa (AP) — The former manager of a northwest Iowa credit union has pleaded not guilty in a nearly $1.5 million embezzlement scheme. Janine Keim is charged with embezzlement and making false statements. She entered her plea Wednesday in federal court in Sioux City. Prosecutors say Keim and at least one other employee at Consumers Credit Union in Denison embezzled $1.48 million between May 2012 and March 2018. She also allegedly filed false reports to conceal the missing money. The business is now called Cobalt Credit Union. The credit union’s former head teller, Brenda Jensen, of Denison, is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in October to embezzlement.