MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have recovered a body in eastern Iowa believed to be that of a missing boater. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office says the body was found Tuesday in the Cedar River about 2 miles south of the boat ramp at Palisades-Kepler State Park. An autopsy was ordered and the search was called off.

The sheriff’s office says the body likely is that of 59-year-old Ricky Veenstra, who lived in Cedar Rapids. Veenstra either jumped or fell from a boat on the river Sunday morning.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Webster City doctor has pleaded guilty in federal court to making false statements in Medicare claims. Federal prosecutors for Iowa say 76-year-old Joseph Latella pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of making false statements relating to health care matters. Prosecutors say Latella operated a private practice in Webster City and served as the medical director for several nursing homes, at the time of the offense.

Prosecutors say Latella falsely declared he had spent more time with patients than he actually had at two nursing homes to qualify for more expensive billing to Medicare and Medicaid. In total, Latella admitted that over a four-year period starting in 2014, he submitted 1,140 false claims to be paid nearly $108,000 by Medicare and more than $9,200 by Medicaid. Latella has agreed to repay those amounts as part of his plea deal.

He faces up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced at a later date.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lawmakers disappointed with the governor’s veto of a medical cannabis bill are calling for legislative leaders to convene an interim committee to study options for revising the state’s program.

Sen. Joe Bolkcom and Rep. John Forbes, both Democrats, on Tuesday released a letter asking Republican leaders who control committee assignments to appoint a study committee to allow input from advocates, medical experts and others. Bolkcom says the committee could develop language that could be presented to the Legislature in January.

Efforts to get leaders to convene a special session to override Gov. Kim Reynolds’ veto failed. The bill, which passed 96 to 3 in the House and 40 to 7 in the Senate, would have increased the amount of THC — the psychoactive compound in marijuana that causes a high — allowed in medical cannabis.

Reynolds objected to the level of the increase but indicated willingness to consider changes. The Legislative Council, a group of leaders that appoints interim committees and drafts legislative rules, meets Thursday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police say an off-duty county jailer caused fear when he displayed a handgun Saturday during a brawl at a popular car show at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Three witnesses called 911 to report that a man had a gun at the 28th Speedway Motors Heartland Nationals Giant Car Show in Des Moines. It featured 4,000 cars and had an estimated crowd of 10,000 at the time.

The man was identified by police Tuesday as Boone County Sheriff’s Department jailer 45-year old John McCormick. He has not been charged but his gun was confiscated. Firearms are banned inside the fairgrounds. McCormick, who’s from Madrid, allegedly brandished the gun while fighting with 69-year-old James Welshons of Des Moines. McCormick had accused Welshons of causing safety problems by doing burnouts with his car around children.

State Fair Police Commander Doug Phillips said he has conflicting reports about who threw the first punch but that McCormick reported fearing for his life. He says McCormick and Welshons were removed and the incident remains under investigation.

ATALISSA, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say an eastern Iowa man has died after being hit in the head by a firework. The Cedar County Sheriff’s Office says the incident happened the day before July 4 in the town of Atalissa. Emergency responders were called to the scene just after 3 p.m. July 3, where they found 53-year-old James Don McMichael dead.

The sheriff’s office says the impact of the firework is the probable cause of death of the husband and father of two sons who farmed near Atalissa. The incident has been ruled an accidental death.

The Cass County Auditor’s Office reports rules for the election of school board members changed July 1st, 2019.  School Board elections have changed from September to November.  On November 5, 2019 a county-wide election will be held at which both school board members and city officers will be elected.

Nomination papers for both school board member positions and city positions may be circulated at any time, but school board nomination papers cannot be filed until August 26, 2019 and must be filed no later than September 19, 2019. School board nomination papers are filed with the school board secretary.

School board position Holdover/Transition: The new law provides that terms of people elected in September 2015 expire in November 2019; people elected in September 2017 expire in November 2021. Board officers elected at the board annual meetings in September 2018 serve until their successors are elected at organizational meetings in 2019.

City Elections & Joint Office: School board members will now be elected on the same ballot as city officers.  Previous provision that a person shall not be a candidate for more than one office to be filled at the same election, was amended to allow the exception that a person may be a candidate for a city office and school board office at the same election.

A community homecoming and deployment recognition ceremony for an Iowa Army National Guard unit based at Camp Dodge will be held at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, July 14, at the Freedom Center (Bldg. S70), Camp Dodge, Johnston, Iowa. Local officials and Iowa National Guard leadership will participate and the public and media are welcome and encouraged to attend this ceremony.

Approximately 40 Soldiers with the 1034th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB) were mobilized in June 2018 as part of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. Headquartered in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the battalion provided mission command for sustainment personnel spread throughout southern and western Afghanistan. The battalion supported numerous expeditionary missions during its deployment and provided distribution oversight of tens of millions of dollars in water, food, fuel, ammunition and other commodities.

Those Iowa National Guard soldiers have served under the flag of the 1034th since the 1034th Quartermaster Company was designated in 1963 in Denison, Iowa. The 1034th underwent numerous reorganizations over the decades since the Vietnam War, but continued to support the 34th Infantry Division with critical transportation, maintenance and supply assets.

Since being designated as the CSSB in 2006, the unit has mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from June 2006 to July 2007 and Operation Enduring Freedom from August 2012 to September 2013.