BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — The parent company of Caribou Coffee and Bruegger’s Bagels says hackers gained access to customer information at 265 of its stores, including in Iowa, but mostly in Minnesota. The Minnesota-based company says the data breach occurred between Aug. 28 and Dec. 3. Caribou says it’s possible that customer name and credit card information may have been taken. The company didn’t say how many people may have been affected. But it says about 200 of the affected stores are in Minnesota, while the rest are in Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, North Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Georgia and Kansas.

The company says payments made through Caribou Coffee Perks accounts or other loyalty accounts weren’t affected, nor were orders placed online with associated bagel shops. Caribou says it believes the breach has been contained but advises customers to monitor their credit card statements and credit reports.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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ADEL, Iowa (AP) — A man charged with murder and other crimes in the starvation death of his 16-year-old adopted daughter has reached a plea deal with Iowa prosecutors. Dallas County District Court records say a plea hearing is scheduled Friday afternoon for 43-year-old Marc Ray. He and his wife, 40-year-old Misty Bousman-Ray, already have pleaded not guilty in the May 2017 death of Sabrina Ray in their Perry home. Authorities say the girl weighed just 56 pounds when she died.

The records don’t outline what his plea deal includes. The records don’t show that Misty Bousman-Ray has reached any deal. Her trial is still scheduled to start Feb. 4 in Sioux City. The trial was moved to Woodbury County because of pretrial publicity in Dallas County.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly survey of rural bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states suggests the regional economy is growing. The overall index of the Creighton University Rural Mainstreet survey for December climbed back above growth neutral to hit 54.2, compared with 49.9 in November. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy in the months ahead, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the surveys over the past several months indicate the regional economy is expanding outside of agriculture. The survey’s confidence index slumped to 44.3 from November’s 47.0, and Goss says tariffs, trade tensions and weak agriculture commodity prices harmed the economic outlook of bank CEOs.

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — A man has been imprisoned for setting fire to a vehicle in the parking garage of Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge. The Messenger reports that 22-year-old Terrell Adams had pleaded guilty to arson and criminal mischief. He was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison. Adams admitted at the sentencing hearing that he set fire to the vehicle of an acquaintance that was parked in the garage on Sept. 4. That fire led spread, damaging at least 10 vehicles and causing structural damage to the garage.

(Iowa News Service )DES MOINES, Iowa – When it comes to taking care of their health, research shows Iowans have cut down on smoking and improved their diets, but many still don’t get enough exercise to live the longest, healthiest lives. To encourage overall health improvement among the state’s residents, the American Heart Association of Iowa is changing its mission, from focusing primarily on cardiovascular issues to a more holistic approach. Executive Director Kayla Kovarna says the organization’s new mission is to be a “relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.”  “This is the first time ever in our history that we have not called out cardiovascular diseases, which includes stroke, in our actual mission statement. And really, what we’re looking at is shifting gears and focusing on health improvement,” says Kovarna.

Kovarna believes Iowa communities could benefit significantly if more people had better access to a wider variety of exercise options, and more nutritious food choices – especially in areas of Des Moines, where there are several so-called “food deserts.” Des Moines recently implemented “Move DSM” – the first citywide, multi-modal vision for transportation. State AHA Government Relations Director Stacy Frelund hopes it will be a model for other communities to make biking and walking easier and more accessible. “A big part of this is safety, and really, some of that’s even lighting in certain areas, so that if kids are out and walking to friends’ houses or parks, that they can easily get there with the walkways and feel a lot more safe,” says Frelund.

Kovarna says getting kids and adults exercising more is critical, based on a new report that showed Iowa is now one of the top three states in the nation for a significant increase in obesity – 35 percent over the past 12 years.  “So here in Iowa, blood pressure is one that is definitely a health-risk factor that pops up; childhood obesity is another one. Those are big ones, that we really need to take a look at to move the needle,” says Kovarna. Iowa was the only state in the top seven with obesity gains not located in the southern half of the U.S..

DENISON, Iowa (AP) — The mayor of Denison has placed three of the city’s highest-ranking employees on paid administrative leave. Mayor Jared Beymer and other city officials haven’t explained why the action was taken Tuesday against City Manager Terry Crawford, Fire Chief Cory Snowgren and City Clerk Lisa Koch. Beymer says he can’t comment about the matter because it’s a “personnel investigation.”
Koch said Thursday that she, Snowgren and Crawford were surprised by the mayor’s action and so far haven’t been given reasons for being placed on leave.

Police in Red, Thursday, arrested a local man on an assault charge. 34-year old Billy Lyn Leeper, of Red Oak, was taken into custody in the 300 block of 1st Avenue, at around 9:40-p.m. Leeper was charged with Simple Assault and Public Intoxication, 3rd or subsequent offense. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:450 a.m. CST

(COUNCIL BLUFFS) – Police in Council Bluffs, Thursday night, arrested a man wanted in connection with an alleged attempted abduction late Sunday morning. At around 7:20-p.m. Thursday, officers were dispatched to the Pottawattamie County Jail on a report of a male wanting to turn himself in on a warrant. Officers arrived and located 37-year old Terrance L. Prine, Jr., who was arrested without incident and booked into the jail on the Kidnapping 3rd charge.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Before they arrested a farmhand in the death of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts, investigators scrutinized four other potential suspects during their five-week search. Newly unsealed search warrant documents show that those who drew police interest included a neighbor seen washing his SUV hours after Tibbetts vanished, a Nebraska man who ditched his vehicle in Iowa days later and an acquaintance who had recently erased his cellphone data. All have been ruled out as suspects.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Nate Boulton survived an ethics complaint Thursday that alleged he inappropriately touched a woman at a bar a year before he was elected. The Iowa Senate Committee on Ethics concluded its jurisdiction is limited to legislators’ actions while in office. Boulton plans to remain in the Senate although Democratic leader Janet Petersen has called on him to resign.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa judge is considering whether to order election officials to count 29 mailed absentee ballots that could change the outcome of an Iowa House race or dismiss a lawsuit challenging their validity. Judge Scott Beattie heard arguments Thursday in a case that could flip the winner of the race, in which incumbent Republican Michael Bergan leads Democrat Kayla Koether by nine votes in the northeast Iowa district..

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A $5 million bond has been set for a man charged with murder in the 1979 killing of a Cedar Rapids high school student. A judge set the bond for 64-year-old Jerry Lynn Burns on Thursday during his initial appearance in Linn County District Court in Cedar Rapids. Police arrested Burns, of Manchester, on Wednesday, charging him with first-degree murder 39 years after the killing of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko. Her body was found the next day inside her family’s car parked at a shopping mall.