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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Coronavirus spread continues at a high level in Iowa with more than 2,400 new cases identified and more than 600 people hospitalized, a new high. Iowa Department of Public Health data shows 25 counties had a 14-day positivity rate of more than 15%, an indication that virus activity is at an extremely high level of spread across a quarter of the state’s counties. Daily reported new cases and deaths reached new highs this week. Johns Hopkins University reports that over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases in Iowa has increased by 33%. Eleven more deaths were reported Thursday, increasing the death toll to 1,691.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge has kept in place guidance from Iowa’s secretary of state that county elections commissioners can only set up absentee ballot drop boxes at or outside their offices. Judge William Kelly rejected a request from a Latino civil rights organization and a group aligned with Democrats to block Secretary of State Paul Pate’s guidance and allow for drop boxes in locations such as grocery stores. The ruling isn’t expected to have an impact because it comes so close to Election Day. Most absentee ballots have already been returned and auditors had dropped plans to add drop box locations even if Pate’s guidance was suspended.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — When Joe Biden was last in Iowa, his campaign was on the verge of collapse and he was soundly trounced in the caucuses. He returns Friday as the Democratic nominee, believing he’s just days away from becoming president-elect. Iowa is among the clutch of GOP-leaning states that Biden is trying to bring back into the Democratic column. He’ll also swing through Wisconsin on Friday while his running mate, Kamala Harris, courts voters in Texas. Trump, meanwhile, is playing defense in Michigan and Wisconsin. The president and Biden will both be in Minnesota, a longtime Democratic state that Trump is trying to flip.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Wisconsin-based Alliant Energy has announced it will close its coal-fired power plant in the northeast Iowa city of Lansing over the next two years. The Des Moines Register reports that the plan is part of the company’s broader goal to eliminate all coal from it’s portfolio by 2040 in a shift to solar, wind and other renewable energy. Alliant says it has operated the 275-megawatt coal-fired plant in Lansing for 72 years and employs 26 people there. The utility says retiring the plant allows the company to avoid significant investments that would otherwise be required to comply with changing environmental regulations.

Van Meter, Iowa – David Young, Candidate for Congress for Iowa’s Third District, will participate in a parade and rally with Cass County Republicans, Friday afternoon. The event begins with a parade line-up at the Cass County Fairgrounds (west of the commercial building), starting at 4-p.m.

The parade leaves for the Atlantic City Park at 4:30, followed by a rally at the Park at 5-p.m.  A similar event will be held Saturday, in Norwalk.

RSVPs are requested to Andy Swanson at andy@youngforiowa.com or 515-571-9419.

(Radio Iowa) – Vice President Mike Pence says Thursday’s (today’s) report on economic growth in the third quarter shows the country is roaring back after the pandemic’s hit.

Vice President Mike Pence (AP File Photo/Steve Cannon)

Pence spoke at a rally at the Des Moines Airport this (Thursday) afternoon, highlighting the report showing the Gross Domestic Product grew 33 percent in July, August and September.

Pence spent the midsection of his speech on economic issues. He blasted the 2009 bail outs for the financial and auto industries during the Obama-Biden Administration and Biden’s approach to the pandemic.

Pence, who heads the White House Coronavirus Task Force, promised a vaccine will be defeat the virus and ensure America’s economic recovery. Pence, a frequent visitor to Iowa over the past four years, acknowledged the state’s outsized role in deciding the 2020 election.

Pence mentioned he and his wife, as well as the president and first lady, have already voted and took time during his remarks to refer to Iowa’s early voting rules and reciting the address for the Polk County Election Office where ballots can be cast Friday, Saturday AND Monday.

Democrats criticized Pence for holding a large public gathering in the midst of a pandemic. Biden’s communications director says Iowans have been pushed to the brink because the Trump-Pence Administration has completely given up on trying to control the virus. Biden will campaign in Iowa tomorrow (Friday), speaking at a drive-in rally where the crowd will sit in their vehicles and honk their car horns to applaud Biden’s remarks.

(Radio Iowa) – A Kossuth County man has been convicted on a lesser count in a murder case from 2018. Chad Dietrick had been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the stabbing death of 38-year-old Krista Hesebeck in the early morning hours of March 3rd, 2018. Dietrick claimed self-defense and said he was attacked by Hesebeck inside the home they shared in the northern Kossuth County town of Lakota.

Toxicology reports presented at the trial showed the victim had high amounts of methamphetamine in her system on the night in question, something the defense used to bolster their self-defense claim. A representative from the State Medical Examiner’s office testified that the victim suffered 64 different sharp-force injuries from the incident, while Dietrick had a single cut on his left forearm.

The second-degree murder conviction means Dietrick will avoid the mandatory sentence of life with no parole and instead now faces a maximum of 50 years behind bars. Sentencing has been scheduled for December.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday (today), said a Creston woman reported on Oct. 20th, that sometime in the last few weeks, someone entered her storage unit and took several items, including: an antique coffee table; antique lamp; plant stand; silverplate flatware service for 8; a storage cart, tools and clothing. The items have a combined estimated value of $1,220.

Authorities said also, 25-year old Adam Lee Stichter, of Lorimor, was arrested Tuesday evening at Highway 169 and 140th Street. Stichter was taken into custody for possession of a controlled substance. He was later released from the Union County Jail on $2,000 bond.

Council Bluffs Police have issued a notice to residents of the community, that Cox Communications has scheduled a network upgrade overnight tonight from midnight to 5 a.m. The CBPD’s internal/external phone lines to the police department will be down for approximately 1-hour during the 5-hour maintenance window.

During this time, if you have an emergency and need police assistance, you will still be able to call 911 and officers will be dispatched through the Pottawattamie County Communications Center.

If an attempt to call the department for a non-emergency reason is unsuccessful, please call the Communications Center’s non-emergency number at (712) 328-5737 and they will relay your message to Bluffs Police.

If the phone lines are down for any period of time longer than the 5-hour maintenance window, officials will notify the media and post updates on their social media pages with further information. Thank you for your patience.