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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Jury selection has begun in what is expected to be a monthlong civil trial over allegations that former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad pressured an official to quit because he was gay. Branstad’s attorney predicts it will escalate into an “unhinged attack on the Republican Party.” An attorney for Chris Godfrey, the former official, says his 2011 pay cut must be viewed in light of the political upheaval in Iowa at the time involving gay rights.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Thanks to wet weather, it has been decades since Iowa farmers were so far behind in planting their expected corn and soybean crops. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Monday that 80% of the expected corn crop had been planted in Iowa in the week ending Sunday. That’s three-weeks behind the five-year average and the smallest percentage planted since 1982, when 76% of the crop had been planted. The 41% of the soybean crop that has been planted was the smallest percentage since 1993.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is asking Roman Catholic officials in Iowa to provide records on clergy sexual abuse so his office can launch a third-party review. Miller says he’s sent letters to bishops overseeing church organizations in Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque and Sioux City seeking lists of priests and other church employees deemed “credibly accused” of sexual abuse and lists of accusations deemed not credible.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a man who drowned Friday in an Iowa City lake. Police identified the man as 22-year-old Eric Mutarika. He drowned Friday afternoon in a lake at Terry Trueblood Recreation Area. Searchers with law enforcement and the Johnson County Metro Dive Team found the body about an hour after the incident was reported.

Des Moines – The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a fraud alert warning the public about a preventive genetic (DNA) testing scam.  Iowans have reported being contacted about this testing scam.

“Scammers are promoting a so-called free genetic (or DNA) test to Iowans on Medicare.  People are falsely told that Medicare will pay for a preventive genetic test to check for cancer,” said Kris Gross, director of the Iowa Senior Medicare Patrol.  “Iowans are being targeted in a wide variety of ways including at health fairs, door to door and through telemarketing calls.”

Scammers ask for a cheek swab to send to a lab for analysis. The individual is then asked for their Medicare number to cover the costs of the test.   Don’t become a victim to this scam.  Medicare does not cover genetic testing, except in very rare circumstances and such a test must be medically necessary and ordered by your own doctor.

“Walk away from this scam and hang up on any calls that attempt to secure your Medicare number,” encouraged Gross.

Iowans can report suspected Medicare fraud, including the genetic (DNA) test scam to the Iowa Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) by calling 800-351-4664 (TTY800-735-2942) or reporting at https://iid.iowa.gov/iowa-smp-fraud-reporting-form.

More information regarding current scams can be found at http://smp.iowa.gov.  The Senior Medicare Patrol is a service of the state of Iowa Insurance Division.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Universities in Nebraska and Iowa are seeing an uptick in humanities courses in some medical schools. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the University of Nebraska at Omaha got the green light last month to offer a major in medical humanities. The subject areas include art, philosophy, ethics, religious studies, and the history of medicine among others.

Faculty members at Creighton School of Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center say studying humanities can promote empathy and help students learn to listen.

Creighton has just created a department of medical humanities in its medicine school. The University of Iowa College of Medicine’s bioethics and humanities program also offers med students elective courses in creative writing.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is asking Roman Catholic officials in Iowa to provide records on clergy sexual abuse so his office can launch a third-party review.

Miller says Monday he’s sent letters to bishops in Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque and Sioux City seeking lists of priests and other church employees deemed “credibly accused” of sexual abuse and lists of accusations deemed not credible. He also wants notes from board meetings where accusations were considered, documentation of reports of abuse received by church officials and actions taken, and copies of settlement agreements with abuse survivors.

Miller says he wants a response by Aug. 1. He says survivors have urged his office to investigate and “bring attention to the injustice they and others have suffered.”

Iowa Catholic Conference spokesman Tom Chapman says each diocese plans to comply with Miller’s request. He says if there have been failures in the past, it is not for lack of trying, adding “there is no perfection this side of heaven.”

Miller’s office has a report form and a hotline for survivors on his office website .

Deputies with the Page County Sheriff’s Office, Sunday, arrested 21-year old George William Douglas, of Osceola, on a warrant for Violation of Probation. Douglas was arrested at the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, and transported to the Page County Jail where he was being held on $2,000 bond, pending further court proceedings.

George W. Douglas

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds has appointed a Des Moines woman to head the Iowa Department of Corrections. Reynolds on Monday announced she had named Beth Skinner as director of the department, which oversees nine correctional institutions. Skinner will replace interim director Dan Craig, who will retired in June.

Skinner has been working as the department’s director of risk reduction, in which she led recidivism reduction efforts. She also lad the department’s research division and training department.
She has bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Iowa.