Officials with the Iowa National Guard have announced 19-year old Private 1st Class Matthew A. Cox, of Leon, died while swimming at a Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB) beach Tuesday, October 16th. Cox, a member of the 186th Military Police Company, Iowa Army National Guard based at Camp Dodge, Johnston, Iowa, was deployed to Cuba in support of Joint Task Force-Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) at the time of his death.

PFC. Matthew A. Cox

Cox and four other service members were swimming at Cable Beach when he was overpowered by the strong current. NSGB dispatched first responders to the scene to begin search and rescue operations using divers, boats and aircraft. The operation continued until the afternoon of October 17, when searchers recovered his body. The four service members with Cox at the time of his death were not injured.

The search and recovery operation was a joint effort involving members of all military services including the U.S. Coast Guard, fire, law enforcement, and medical first responders from NSGB, Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay, and JTF-GTMO. An investigation is underway into the incident.

Cox was born in Des Moines. He was active in the Civil Air Patrol, Des Moines Police Explores and enjoyed farming with his grandparents, Fred and Linda Cox, near Leon. Cox enlisted in the Iowa Army National Guard on October 11, 2017 as a Military Police Soldier with the 186th MP Co. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.

Cox is survived by his parents, Jason and Beth Cox, and brother, Mark Cox, all of Hartford, Iowa.
Funeral arrangements are pending.

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

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Deidre DeJear is Iowa’s newest political star _ even if she hasn’t yet won an election. Cory Booker recently made his inaugural trip to Iowa by headlining a fundraiser for DeJear. Bernie Sanders will stump with DeJear on Sunday. And Kamala Harris will make her Iowa debut Monday alongside DeJear. Even by Iowa standards, this is a lot of attention being paid to a 32-year-old African American who was not yet won her campaign for secretary of state.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials at Des Moines’ Blank Park Zoo say the attraction’s youngest giraffe, Lizzy, has died, just weeks before what would’ve been her second birthday. The Des Moines Register reports that the zoo made the announcement Thursday; Lizzy died Tuesday. Officials say initial results from a necropsy showed the giraffe had ‘internal abnormalities” and had also recently suffered from a minor gastrointestinal illness that may have contributed to her death.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new survey says farmland prices are expected to continue their decline in parts of 10 Plains and Western states. The latest Rural Mainstreet survey shows that on average, bank CEOs in the region estimated farmland prices declined by 4 percent over the past 12 months. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Judicial Branch has started tracking a legal deadline for judge appointments amid uncertainty over whether Gov. Kim Reynolds made two picks on time. The governor has 30 days to appoint a judge once the names of finalists have been submitted by a nominating commission. The liberal blog Bleeding Heartland reported last month that Reynolds informed Judge Jason Besler of his appointment after the deadline. Now questions are being raised about the timing of a second appointment.

(Radio Iowa) — Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to be in Des Moines tomorrow (Friday) afternoon to campaign for Republican David Young, the incumbent in Iowa’s third congressional district. Cindy Axne, of West Des Moines, Young’s Democratic opponent, says Young should use the occasion to lobby Pence.

“I think it’s an opportunity for David Young, candidate David Young, to step up and be a congressman and ask this administration to put a stop to these junk health care bills that they’re putting together,” Axne says. In July, Young wrote a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to register his opposition to so-called “skinny” health plans that will not cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

Young said people with serious illnesses need access to affordable policies. Axne says Young needs to go further and pledge to vote for legislation that would overturn the Trump Administration’s extension of what she calls “junk plans” that deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

“I hope he stands up and does what’s right,” Axne says. “He’s said on the trail as a candidate that he supports coverage of pre-existing conditions and that would be a step to do it.” Axne and Young are in a tight race in Iowa’s third congressional district. Pence will be making his second campaign stop for Young tomorrow (Friday). President Trump publicly endorsed Young at a rally in Council Bluffs last week.

(Radio Iowa) — Scores in Iowa are slipping on an exam used to measure the readiness of students for college. About 68-percent of Iowa students in the graduating class of 2018 took the ACT last year and they averaged a composite score of 21.8 out of 36. That’s slightly better than the national average score of 20.8, but the data released by the Iowa City-based ACT organization shows scores in Iowa have now dropped three years in a row.

The percentage of Iowa students meeting math benchmarks has dropped from 48 to 44-percent since 2014. Just 45-percent of Iowa students who took the test last year are considered ready for college-level science, according to the ACT report. Thirty-percent of 2018 graduates in Iowa met all four ACT college readiness benchmarks.

A total of 24,208 Iowa students took the ACT last year. Twenty-six (26) of those students posted perfect scores.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new survey says farmland prices are expected to continue their decline in parts of 10 Plains and Western states. The latest Rural Mainstreet survey shows that on average, bank CEOs in the region estimated farmland prices declined by 4 percent over the past 12 months. They expect farmland prices to fall by another 3.2 percent over the next 12 months.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the survey also shows the farm sector is being weakened by negative impacts of tariffs and low agriculture commodity prices.

The overall economic index for the region increased slightly to 54.3 from 51.5 in September. That score still suggests growth because it is above 50, while any score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.