INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) — A man already accused of setting a fire that injured two people at his eastern Iowa home has been charged with attempted murder. Buchanan County court records say charges of arson and third offense domestic assault also have been filed against 44-year-old Shane Heins. Heins’ preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 25.

Investigators say Heins set the fire March 2 in Independence in an effort to kill his wife, Christina Heins, and her uncle, Nick Necker. Both were taken for treatment to University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City. A witness reported seeing Shane Heins throwing items and furniture around the home and pouring gasoline around the wooden steps between the house and garage.

(Radio Iowa) — A tour of some of Iowa’s top technical schools and academies is scheduled this week for a group of key state lawmakers and officials with the Association for Career and Technical Education, or A-C-T-E. Jarrod Nagurka, the public affairs manager for A-C-T-E, says eight stops are planned. “There’s a huge need for these career and technical education programs,” Nagurka says. “We see all sorts of business and industry sectors that span across the economy recognizing there is a skills gap between the jobs and careers they have available and the skilled labor they need in order to fill those jobs.”

Nearly 100-thousand Iowa high school students are enrolled in some form of career and technical education program, along with another 11-thousand students at the post-secondary level. Nagurka says the demand for skilled labor is growing — and so is the interest among students. “Career and technical education, both at the high school level and at the post-secondary level from community colleges and other training programs, are really helping fuel that talent pipeline to make sure that business and industry have the workers they need to meet their demands,” he says.

Nagurka says students who pursue career and technical education training programs will reap a host of benefits. “Students who take CTE programs are more engaged, they have higher graduation rates, lower risks of dropping out,” Nagurka says, “and for students who take two to three technical education credits, 91% of them enroll in some sort of college experience.”

Higher earnings are another plus, he says, as students who earn a credential that’s even less than a two-year associate’s degree will often out-earn the average bachelor’s degree recipient. The delegation will tour the Sioux City Career Academy and Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City on Monday, MMCRU High School in Marcus and the North Central Career Academy in Eagle Grove on Tuesday, the Western Outreach Center in Holland and the Waterloo Career Center on Wednesday, and Linn-Mar High School in Marion and Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Learn more at www.acteonline.org

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Just two months after a federal court judge struck down Iowa’s existing law meant to discourage investigations of animal abuse on farms, lawmakers are pushing another so-called ag-gag measure that opponents say would likely land them in court again. Civil rights and animal rights groups are surprised Iowa Republican lawmakers would try to pass another law inviting further lawsuits when they haven’t yet completed appeals in the last lawsuit, for which legal bills already likely exceed $200,000.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — About 20 pigs and sheep died after a barn caught fire in Iowa but no one was hurt. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports the fire was reported shortly after 6 a.m.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper tells a house party in Dubuque, Iowa, that immigration hard-liners have to accept that they won’t be able to drive out everyone who is in the U.S. illegally. Hickenlooper says it would be “crazy” to think that a country founded and defined by immigrants would ever expel 10 million to 11 million people. Hickenlooper launched his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination this week. He is on his first Iowa swing as an official candidate.

DENMARK, S.C. (AP) — Rural America is a stronghold for President Donald Trump and Republicans. But there are Democrats and persuadable voters there who are important to picking the Democratic presidential nominee. Some Democratic presidential candidates are reaching out to rural areas and small towns as they campaign for the 2020 election. Cutting into Republican advantages in the general election could help flip several swing states that gave Trump his 2016 victory.

Red Oak Police, Sunday, arrested a man and a woman on assault charges. Authorities say 27-year old Devlin Jonathan Michael Dewitt, and 26-year old Tabitha Lynn Madsen, both of Red Oak, were taken into custody at around 6:28-a.m. in the 1600 block of E. Summit Street, in Red Oak. Both were charged with Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense. They were brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — About 20 pigs and sheep died after a barn caught fire in Iowa but no one was hurt. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports the fire was reported shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday on a farm near Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Firefighters had to haul in water to fight the blaze. Fire Chief John Bostwick says the barn was a total loss and the animals inside died.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. No one was injured in the fire.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Just two months after a federal court judge struck down Iowa’s existing law meant to discourage investigations of animal abuse on farms, lawmakers are pushing another so-called ag-gag measure that opponents say would likely land them in court again.

The new bill creates a trespass charge for anyone using deception to gain access to a farm to cause physical or economic harm. It carries a penalty of up to a year in jail.
Sen. Ken Rozenboom, the Republican who will manage Senate floor debate, says it is more narrowly focused than the 2012 law struck down by the court in January and was crafted after other state laws that have survived court challenges.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund, which sued over the 2012 law, says the bill under consideration also is unconstitutional and the group is prepared to challenge it in court.

Court documents show plaintiff legal fees in the previous lawsuit exceed $200,000, but the state has appealed to the federal appeals court so costs continue to mount.

Two men were arrested on separate charges early this (Sunday) morning, in Corning. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports 47-year old Gabriel Shatava, of Corning, was arrested at around 1:30-a.m., for serious assault and interference with official acts. He was taken into custody following a reported fight in progress in the 700 block of Quincy Street, in Corning.

And, at around 4-a.m., 24-year old Dalton Ray Nicholson, of Corning, was arrested at an apartment complex in the 2200 block of Loomis Avenue. Nicholson was charged with Domestic Assault, following an investigation into a domestic disturbance in an apartment.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:20 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Iowa’s largest city are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in a parking lot. Des Moines police say the death is being investigated as a homicide. The man’s name and details of his death have not been released. Police said in a news release that officers were called to the lot around 1:15 a.m. Saturday for a report of a person down. Arriving officers found the body of 25-year-old Darryn Boles Brooks, of Des Moines.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Administrative Services says it was investigating seven complaints _ six of them sexual harassment complaints _ within state government as of mid-January. That information was given to the Des Moines Register late Friday afternoon in a fully disclosed Jan. 25 letter from the head of the agency. The letter had previously been released, but was heavily redacted. Additional information about the sexual harassment complaints was not provided in the letter.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — It’s time to spring forward again, as the country makes the switch to daylight-saving time. Like those in almost all other states, residents in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri will trade an hour of sleep starting Sunday morning for an extra hour of sunlight in the evening.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has told a packed house in Des Moines that as president his power to reform industries and institutions would be limited, but he’d still fulfill his campaign promises with their support. Sanders said “no president, not the best-intentioned in the world, can take on those extraordinarily powerful forces.” He went on to say: “But we have something they don’t have — we have the people!”

The crowd packed into the Animal Learning Center on the Iowa State Fairgrounds roared their approval of Sanders, who is making another run for the Democratic nomination. Many were decked out in his 2016 campaign gear or waved “IA loves Bernie” signs.

About 50 volunteers showed up to support the Vermont senator at the final stop of his three-day swing through the state, part of an Iowa volunteer force that Sanders said already totals 7,000. “We need you to add to that number!” he said, to roars from the crowd.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — It’s time to spring forward again, as the country makes the switch to daylight-saving time. Like those in almost all other states, residents in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri will trade an hour of sleep starting Sunday morning for an extra hour of sunlight in the evening.

The government expanded daylight-saving time in 2007 in an effort to save energy. It now begins on the second Sunday in March and continues until the first Sunday in November.

The official change occurs at 2 a.m. Sunday, local time, although people often change their clocks before going to bed Saturday night. Daylight-saving time ends Nov. 3.