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

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A white man who deliberately sped his car through a crowd of racial injustice protesters in Iowa City, striking many, will avoid prison and have the incident erased from his record if he stays out of trouble for three years. A judge has granted a deferred judgment for 45-year-old Michael Ray Stepanek, who told police he drove his Toyota Camry through the crowd in August because protesters needed “an attitude adjustment.” The sentence means Stepanek will have a felony charge of willful injury resulting in bodily injury dismissed and expunged if he doesn’t commit a crime during a three-year term of probation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge says Iowa must pay more than $4.9 million in fees to attorneys who sued over treatment of juvenile boys at the Eldora Boys State Training School. Former students at the school and advocacy groups sued the state in 2017, contending the center used used inhumane methods to control the boys.” Judge Stephanie Rose ruled last year that the methods were “torture” and ordered the center to change. The plaintiffs did not seek any monetary damages. The state then argued that the plaintiffs’ attorneys fees were inflated. Rose ruled this week that attorneys were due all but $10,000 they had sought.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds ended limits on sports and recreational gatherings as of Friday on a day when the state recorded 59 additional deaths caused by the coronavirus. Reynolds announced Thursday night that she would end restrictions on the number of fans who can attend high school sporting events. Spectators still must wear masks and adhere to social distancing rules at indoor events. Before the change, schools could only allow two spectators for each athlete. On Friday, the state reported 59 deaths, bringing the total to 4,124. In the past 24 hours, the state reported 2,058 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa trash collection official has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $1.6 million. Federal prosecutors in Des Moines say Jeffrey Dworek, of Urbandale, was sentenced Friday to 57 months in prison after pleading guilty last August to one count of federal mail fraud. Dworek had been the director of operations for Metro Waste Authority from 1996 until he resigned in 2017. He was arrested and indicted in 2019. Prosecutors say he set up a shell company purported to provide services to Metro Waste Authority, then paid out company funds for his own use between 2012 and 2017. He also took kickbacks from various vendors.

CLARINDA — Third District Democrat Representative Cindy Axne’s office reports that on Tuesday, Jan. 5th, President Trump signed legislation authored by Axne, to rename the U.S. Post Office in Clarinda in honor of Jessie Field Shambaugh, the former school superintendent from Page County and longtime Iowa educator known to many as the ‘Mother of 4-H.’

(FILE PHOTO) Rep. Axne announced her bill to rename the Clarinda Post Office with Jessie Field Shambaugh’s grandson, Seth Watkins, at American Legion Post 98 in Clarinda

With the President’s signature, Clarinda’s post office will now be officially designated the Jessie Field Shambaugh Post Office Building. Shambaugh began teaching in Page County in 1901, and formed the Boys Corn Club and the Girls Home Club to teach students essential skills for the farm and home through extracurricular programs. To boost participation in the Clubs, she created a clover pin – with each leaf labeled with an H. Her design became the symbol of 4-H in 1914 when the Smith-Lever Act established the Cooperative Extension System at the USDA, formalizing 4-H clubs across the country.

Today, over 6 million schoolchildren participate in 4-H activities – learning life skills, leadership, and cooperation through the same values of ‘Head, Hands, Heart, and Health’ that Shambaugh helped pioneer over a century ago.

Shambaugh was also an author, radio contributor on KFNF in Shenandoah, and the mother of two children. She was born in 1881 near Shenandoah, studied at Shenandoah’s Western Normal College, graduated Tabor College in Fremont County, and was elected superintendent of schools in Page County in 1906. She died in 1971 in Clarinda. In 1977, Shambaugh was named to the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame.

Representative Axne says “I am incredibly proud to see my proposal to create the Jessie Field Shambaugh Post Office Building become a reality for Clarinda. I fondly remember my time as a 4-H kid, and this renaming not only cements her pioneering accomplishments, but also recognizes the values of leadership, engagement, and community that have been instilled in millions through 4-H,” said Rep. Axne. “I am deeply thankful for my colleagues in the House and the Senate for their support and assistance in getting this bill signed into law.”

The bill introduced by Rep. Axne to rename the post office at 101 S. 16^th Street was cosponsored by the other three members of the Iowa House delegation in the 116^th Congress: Reps. Abby Finkenauer (IA-01), Dave Loebsack (IA-02), and Steve King (IA-04).

Officials with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office are warning Social Security scams are making the rounds, once again. If someone calls (often a foreign sounding voice) claiming your Social Security has been stolen or used illegally, request more information, then hang-up and call Social Security if you are in doubt.

The U-S Inspector General’s Office says “Using robocalls or live callers, fraudsters pretend to be government employees and claim there is identity theft or another problem with one’s Social Security number, account, or benefits. They may threaten arrest or other legal action, or may offer to increase benefits, protect assets, or resolve identity theft. They often demand payment via retail gift card, cash, wire transfer, internet currency such as Bitcoin, or pre-paid debit card.”

Social Security will never:

• threaten you with arrest or other legal action unless you immediately pay a fine or fee;
• promise a benefit increase or other assistance in exchange for payment;
• require payment by retail gift card, cash, wire transfer, internet currency, or prepaid debit card; or
• send official letters or reports containing personally identifiable information via email.

If there is ever a problem with your Social Security number or record, in most cases Social Security will mail you a letter. If you do need to submit payments to Social Security, the agency will send a letter with instructions and payment options. You should never pay a government fee or fine using retail gift cards, cash, internet currency, wire transfers, or pre-paid debit cards. The scammers ask for payment this way because it is very difficult to trace and recover.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge says Iowa must pay more than $4.9 million in fees to attorneys who sued over treatment of juvenile boys at the Eldora Boys State Training School. Former students at the school and advocacy groups sued the state in 2017, contending the center used used inhumane methods to control the boys.” Judge Stephanie Rose ruled last year that the methods were “torture” and ordered the center to change.

The plaintiffs did not seek any monetary damages. The state then argued that the plaintiffs’ attorneys fees were inflated. Rose ruled this week that attorneys were due all but $10,000 they had sought.