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

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DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Firefighters in eastern Iowa say no one was hurt in an overnight fire that destroyed a Dubuque commercial building. Firefighters called to the Link Hydraulic building found the structure fully engulfed in flames when they arrived just after 4 a.m. Thursday. Firefighters called for backup from nearby fire departments to help control the blaze, as crews also battled sub-freezing temperatures and snow.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Firefighters warned motorists to use caution traveling on Highway 20 eastbound running past the business while crews were still on the scene.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Much of Iowa and Nebraska are bracing for another wintry blast overnight into the weekend, with parts of eastern Iowa already under a winter storm warning. The National Weather Service says a winter storm is expected to drop as much as 8 inches of snow in east-central Iowa, including the cities of Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Muscatine and Davenport. The weather service says snow will start falling by late Thursday afternoon, continuing throughout the day Friday. Most of Iowa is under a winter weather advisory, where 2 to 5 inches of snow is expected.

The weather service has placed most of Nebraska under a hazardous weather outlook for Thursday night into Friday, with 1 to 3 inches of snow expected, as the storm system moves southeast across the state.

A woman who apparently blacked out at the wheel, crashed her 2014 Honda Accord into the loading dock of the Creston Fareway Store, Wednesday morning. Creston Police say 74-year old Mary Jo Dorgan, of Creston, complained of pain following the crash that happened at around 11-a.m. She was transported by her husband to the Greater Regional Medical Center, in Creston, to be checked out. Dorgan was westbound on Montgomery Street and began to turn left onto Walnut, when her car ran off the road and into the loading dock. She told police she didn’t remember what happened.

Damage to her vehicle amounted to $3,000. The report did not indicate the extent of damage, if any, to the loading dock. No citations were issued.

Sheriff’s officials in Adams County arrested a couple from Corning at around 10:40-p.m., Wednesday, in connection with a case of Child Endangerment. Bradley William Herring, of Corning, was arrested on felony charges of Child Endangerment resulting in Serious Injury, and Willful Injury. Amanda Jo Herring, also of Corning, was arrested for Interference with Official Acts, and Compounding a Felony. Both charges are aggravated misdemeanors. The pair were being held in the Adams County Jail without bond, until seen by a Magistrate.

Early Wednesday morning, Adams County Deputies were dispatched to a reported vehicle in the ditch near 272nd and Highway 25. Upon further investigation, Clinton White, of Afton, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. White was also cited for Open Container, Failure to Maintain Control, and having No Insurance.

And, at around 10:20-a.m. Wednesday, a traffic stop in Adams County on Highway 25 near 272nd Street, resulted in the arrest of Christene Deason, of Mt. Ayr.  Deason was arrested for Driving Under Suspension.

Police in Red Oak, late Wednesday night, arrested a man wanted on a Felony warrant for Willful Injury causing Bodily Injury. Authorities say 24-year old Devon Ray Briggs, of Red Oak Oak, was arrested at around 10:40-p.m. in the 100 block of W. Coolbaugh Street. Briggs was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond.

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republicans in the Iowa Senate have approved $46 million in new funding for K-12 education for the upcoming budget year. The GOP-controlled chamber voted 29-21 Wednesday night for the measure. It must now bounce back to the Republican-controlled House, which voted 57-40 Wednesday morning for $32 million in new funding. Lawmakers will need to agree on a total before it can reach Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk. The Senate approved an extra $14 million for various expenses.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have arrested a Sioux City man in the stabbing death of a man last summer. The Sioux City Journal reports a Woodbury County grand jury in November indicted 44-year-old Jeremy Lillich on one count of involuntary manslaughter. He was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Woodbury County Jail. He’s charged in the June 3 stabbing death of 21-year-old James R.D. Purcell, of Sioux City.

BLOOMFIELD, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified human remains found in a burned-out car in southeast Iowa. The Iowa Department of Public Safety said Wednesday the remains found Saturday were of 63-year-old Sharon Kay Moritz, of Northwood. A farmer found the burned-out car in Davis County, southeast of the small community of Pulaski. Deputies responded and found the human remains inside. The car was a 2006 white Chevrolet Impala registered to Moritz. Investigators say Moritz has family in the Davis County area.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A jury has convicted a man of voluntary manslaughter in a shooting on the Iowa City pedestrian mall that left one person dead and two others injured. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports the jury on Wednesday found Lamar C. Wilson guilty of voluntary manslaughter, two counts of assault with the intent to inflict serious injury and intimidation with a dangerous weapon. Wilson didn’t dispute he fired five bullets on the crowded pedestrian mall but said it was in self-defense.

A bill that would hike the penalty for protesters who block highway traffic has cleared a Senate committee. All the Republicans on the panel voted for the measure, including Senator Jason Schultz of Schleswig. “Standing on an interstate is not a good place to have a temper tantrum,” Schultz says. “Somebody could get hurt and it could be the person angry or it could be a driver. You could have ambulances…(and) essential services held up and it is not appropriate.”

After the 2016 election, an anti-Trump protest in Iowa City wound up blocking traffic on Interstate 80. Schultz says the passions of protesters weren’t the only concern. “If you went on social media, you had plenty of people who were happy with the outcome of the election and they would say: ‘Well, I wish they would be on the highway when I was driving through,'” Schultz says. “None of that is healthy. None of it is good and I think it is beneficial for the Iowa Code to say: ‘That activity has got to stop.'”

If the bill were to become law, a protester caught blocking traffic on a road with a speed limit of at least 55 miles per hour would be charged with a serious misdemeanor. That could land someone in jail for up to a year. A similar legislation was considered in at least 18 states last year. Critics say the measures infringe on free speech rights.

(Radio Iowa)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have arrested a Sioux City man in the stabbing death of a man last summer. The Sioux City Journal reports a Woodbury County grand jury in November indicted 44-year-old Jeremy Lillich on one count of involuntary manslaughter. He was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Woodbury County Jail.

He’s charged in the June 3 stabbing death of 21-year-old James R.D. Purcell, of Sioux City. Officers were called to a disturbance at a home and found Purcell had been stabbed. He later died.

Lillich had been serving a prison sentence on a drug conviction, but Corrections Department records show he would have been either on work release or parole when the stabbing occurred.

Republicans in the Iowa Senate have approved $46 million in new funding for K-12 education for the upcoming budget year. The GOP-controlled chamber voted 29-21 Wednesday night for the measure. It must now bounce back to the Republican-controlled House, which voted 57-40 Wednesday morning for $32 million in new funding. Lawmakers will need to agree on a total before it can reach Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk.

The Senate approved an extra $14 million for various transportation expenses and to close some inequity in cost-per-pupil spending across school districts. The $32 million that both chambers appear to agree on is a 1 percent increase to Iowa’s $3.2 billion K-12 education budget.

Officials in the Des Moines school district, the state’s largest, say it will lead to more than $11 million in cuts. In more rural school districts, superintendents warned financial obligations like putting new money toward employee retirement plans will eat up a lot of the new appropriations.

Republicans say public education is a priority at the Capitol amid budget constraints.