DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man has been given 10 years in prison for using a stick or broom handle to kill a Des Moines resident. Polk County District Court records say 41-year-old Michael Bell Jr. was sentenced Tuesday. He’d been convicted in May of voluntary manslaughter. He’d originally been charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 25, 2017, slaying of 42-year-old Jerry Martin.

Police say Bell told investigators he had several weapons with him when he confronted Martin over a $50 debt. Two witnesses told police they saw Bell use a weapon to hit and stab Martin several times, cutting Martin’s neck and puncturing his chest.

(Radio Iowa) — Democratic Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer of Dubuque is sponsoring legislation aimed at increasing pay for rural doctors. “Iowa doctors have been shortchanged by a government formula that underestimates the cost of labor and practice expenses,” Finkenauer says. Doctors in rural areas are paid far less for the care they provide elderly Medicare patients. The formula is meant to account for cost-of-living differences, but Iowa doctors say it’s not covering all their expenses.

“For two decades, our health care providers have asked for an accurate formula,” Finkenauer says, “one that allows them to stay open and keep serving their patients.” Dr. Brian Privett — the president-elect of the Iowa Medical Society — joined Finkenauer at a Cedar Rapids hospital to discuss the issue.

“Without immediate action, Iowa will fall further in the competition to recruit the next generation of physicians,” he said, “and our seniors will face greater difficulty in accessing necessary medical care.” According to Finkenauer, Iowa doctors have the seventh-lowest Medicare reimbursement rate in the country.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Kate Payne)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tougher standards for school bus drivers and a fire suppression system may have prevented the deaths in a 2017 school bus fire in western Iowa, federal safety investigators said. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt said Tuesday the Riverside Community School District didn’t ensure the driver was medically fit before the crash.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A spokesman for Gov. Kim Reynolds says she asked Iowa Department of Human Services Director Jerry Foxhoven to resign Monday because “she wanted to go in a new direction” at the agency. It’s the only explanation Reynolds has offered for the sudden departure of Foxhoven, who was appointed by her two years ago.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Federal prosecutors for Iowa say five men have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a 2017 drug deal that ended in the death of another man. Prosecutors say 21-year-old Chase Zerba, 22-year-old Cameron Klouda and 24-year-old Tyler Clemens had each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and a weapons count in the death of 20-year-old Dylan Plotz. Twenty-two-year-old Dillon Beener and 20-year-old Kordell Jones had each pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and a gun count.

ESTHERVILLE, Iowa (AP) — An Emmet County man has been accused of stealing nearly $30,000 from a north-central Iowa high school booster club he helped manage. The Sioux City Journal reports that Timothy Loock, of Estherville, has been charged with first-degree theft. He had been treasurer of the Estherville Lincoln Central School District booster club from 2015 until November, when he was removed from the position.

AMES, Iowa – June 18, 2019 – Interstate 29 between the Missouri border and U.S.34 (near Glenwood) has reopened to traffic after being closed for the second time this spring due to flooding. I-29 exit ramps remain closed from the Missouri border to south of U.S. 34. Nearest available services (such as fuel) can be found east on U.S. 34 in the city of Glenwood.

Along this section of I-29, a 12-foot width restriction will be in place as well as intermittent lane closures due to flood repairs. Flood-related closures continue on U.S. 34 (west of I-29), Iowa 2, Iowa 275 and Iowa 333.

Travelers should check 511ia.org, the Iowa 511 mobile apps or call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide) for up-to-date closure information on state-owned roadways across Iowa. Closures due to flooding can be viewed by turning on the incident layer on the online map and mobile app.

For the latest in flooding information and recovery resources, as well as an image gallery showing the flood damage and recovery efforts go to https://floods2019.iowa.gov/.

(Radio Iowa) — The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board today (Tuesday) disussed the fatal 2017 Riverside School District bus fire. N-T-S-B chair Robert Sumwalt says driver impairment was an issue as 74-year-old bus driver Donald Hendricks used a walker and had back surgery scheduled the week of the fire. Hendricks and 16-year-old Megan Klindt died when the bus got stuck and caught fire in Klindt’s driveway near Oakland.

“Robust oversight on the part of the school district should ensure the safety of student transportation. But in Oakland, Iowa, that did not happen,” Sumwalt says. He says school buses are safer than passenger cars for getting kids to school if the drivers are medically fit. “The driver in Oakland had been allowed to continue driving despite the fact that the transportation supervisor, the school principal, and the driver’s coworkers knew of the driver’s physical impairment,” according to Sumwalt. “The Iowa administrative code specifies that drivers must be physically able to help ill or injured passengers.”

Sumwalt says the school district had the information needed to prevent the tragedy. “The Riverside Community School District or the R-C-S-D had the knowledge it needed to act. And it did not. And in fact, in recent years, it had done away with the physical performance tests for drivers,”Sumwalt says. Investigators said the fire likely started in the turbocharger of the bus, which overheated after the rear tires became stuck. Sumwalt says this case shows that installing a fire suppression system may have prevented the deaths.

“Fire suppression systems, fire-resistant interior materials, and improved fire safety performance standards could have provided more time for the driver and the student in this tragedy,” Sumwalt says. He says federal standards for school bus fire safety haven’t significantly improved in the last 48 years despite major changes in fire safety in aviation and railroad transportation.

Sumwalt says the N-T-S-B knows there is a shortage of school bus drivers, but the solution cannot be to augment the ranks of safe drivers with drivers who are unsafe due to a medical condition, even a temporary one. He says keeping an unfit driver on the road isn’t kindness. “Once there is a crash, it is cruelty—to him and an untold number of passengers and other road users.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A spokesman for Gov. Kim Reynolds says she asked Iowa Department of Human Services Director Jerry Foxhoven to resign because “she wanted to go in a new direction” at the agency. The Reynolds administration gave the explanation Tuesday, a day after she sought the immediate resignation of Foxhoven . Reynolds hired Foxhoven two years ago.

Reynolds’ spokesman Pat Garrett says in a statement the governor “has spent the first part of this year assembling a new team, from top to bottom, to carry out her vision.” He says more changes will be announced in the coming days and weeks.

On Monday, Reynolds announced she’d selected Department of Public Health Director Gerd Clabaugh to take on interim duties running the DHS until a permanent replacement is hired. Reynolds only briefly noted Foxhoven had resigned and didn’t initially give a reason.