Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

AKRON, Iowa (AP) — New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is back in Iowa spending time with political activists who could prove helpful if the Republican runs for president in 2016. Christie headlined Governor Terry Branstad’s birthday bash last night.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Four people — including a toddler — have been rescued from the roof of a submerged car that rolled into a Des Moines pond. The Des Moines Register reports that the crash happened around 2:30 p.m. Friday while the people were out sightseeing. Police are unsure whether the driver forgot to put the vehicle in park or had taken her foot off the brake pedal. Rescue workers found a middle-aged woman, two teenagers and a 2-year-old child standing on top of the sunken vehicle.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Dubuque police and fire department officials say they are investigating two vehicle fires as arson. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports that the fires were reported before dawn Friday in a parking lot. Dubuque Fire Marshal Mark Burkle says investigators have sent samples from the vehicles to a crime lab in Ames.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — University of Iowa football player Reggie Spearman has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, leading coach Kirk Ferentz to announce a minimum one-game suspension for the linebacker. Iowa City police sayt the 19-year-old was arrested just after midnight Friday on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Spearman was booked into jail around 1:30 a.m. yesterday and later released.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a woman who said police used excessive force in her 2011 arrest. The Sioux City Journal reports that U.S. District Court Judge Mark Bennett dismissed the case Thursday, saying DaCosta Daniels did not prove that a Sioux City officer used unreasonable force during her arrest.

Patrol car video shows the officer struggling with Daniels as she was handcuffed Aug. 8, 2011, after a traffic stop after she refused to put her cellphone away. On the tape, she is shown being punched in the side and put in a headlock.

In 2012, Daniels was found guilty of assaulting a peace officer, interference with official acts and failure to obey a peace officer in the case.

Officials with the Iowa DNR report a man from Remsen was seriously injured on the first day of the pheasant hunting season, Saturday. 18-year old Ross A. Arens was crossing a creek and handing his shotgun to another member of his hunting party, when the gun discharged, striking him in the abdomen at around 8:45-a.m., in rural Plymouth County.

Arens was airlifted to Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City. A report on his condition was not immediately available.  The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is still investigating the incident. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department assisted at the scene of the incident.

A Red Oak woman was arrested Saturday for Theft in the 5th degree. Red Oak Police say 57-year old Sheryl Lynne Franzen was taken into custody at around 1:10-p.m. at the Fareway Store in Red Oak. Franzen was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 bond.

A deer on the road caused a driver in Montgomery County to lose control of his vehicle early Saturday morning about a mile east of Red Oak. Authorities say 39-year old Donald Lee Gay, of Villisca, was traveling east on 200th Street at around 1:45-a.m., when he swerved to miss a deer. The 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix he was driving went out of control and slid through a yard at 2013 200th Street, causing about $3,000 damage to the landscaping. Gay was cited for Failure to Maintain Control. No injuries were reported.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – The Council Bluffs City Council is set to vote next week on a development proposal near the city’s riverfront that would include multilevel office buildings, condo towers and apartment buildings. The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports that the master plan for Playland Park near the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge would be similar to Ak-Sar-Ben Village in Omaha, Nebraska, just across the Missouri River.

The city council is set to vote Monday on the plan. If approved, Mayor Matt Walsh says the next step would be to create a development agreement between the developers and the city.

A man and woman from Adel were injured in a crash Saturday between their car and a van, in Dallas County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 75-year old Beverly Havlik and a passenger in her car, 83-year old Walter Havlik, who were both wearing their seat belts, were transported to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. Walter Havlik was flown by helicopter to the facility, while his wife was transported by ambulance.

Officials say a 2001 Chevy Cavalier driven by Beverly Havlik and a 2003 Chrysler Town and Country van driven by 38-year old Jennifer R. Long, of Van Meter, were both traveling southbound on R Avenue north of 300th Street (east of Adel) at around 8:35-a.m., Saturday, when Havlik attempted to make a left turn onto 300th Street, and was hit by the van as it was in the northbound lane while attempting to pass.

Officials say Long was not injured in the crash.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Woodbury County officials say a county supervisor sentenced to 30 days in jail for domestic assault has said he will resign his position. Sioux City television station KTIV reports f ) that 44-year-old David Tripp told the chairman of the Woodbury County Board he will resign. Tripp’s promise came Friday, on the same day Tripp was scheduled to turn himself in to the Monona County Jail to serve his sentence.

Tripp, a former jailer, was charged after firing a gun into the air outside his home in December near his wife, who was not hurt. His attorney has said Tripp is being treated for alcohol abuse and is seeing a psychiatrist after being diagnosed with depression.

Tripp was elected in 2010. His term was set to end in January.

Local & State News, with KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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