DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is having trouble hiring enough registered nurses at state prisons, so it’s turning to workers with fewer credentials to fill the gap. The Iowa Department of Corrections says a shortage of registered nurses at some clinics within its nine prisons has led the agency to seek more licensed practical nurses. Known as LPNs, they need less health care education and can be paid less. They can do similar tasks as registered nurses, but they carry restrictions in their interactions with patients and require more oversight.

Kathy Weiss, administrator of nursing for corrections, says it’s difficult to compete with nearby hospital jobs that offer better benefits. Some unions representing Iowa nurses argue the staffing shortage will only worsen as the effects of recent changes to the state’s collective bargaining law begin to set in, though state officials say it’s too early to know its impact on hiring.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:20 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs is paying an Iowa veteran $550,000 to settle his allegation that he suffered life-shortening heart damage because of a three-year delay in treatment. John Porter, of Greenfield, sued last year in federal court after he says VA staff overlooked a 2011 test result showing his heart was failing. The 68-year-old Porter told the Des Moines Register on Friday he was glad he lived long enough to see the case settled.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Law enforcement officials are warning motorists to use caution on rural roads in northeastern Iowa following a series of sex assaults on women. The Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that several women have reported being assaulted on rural roads in Black Hawk, Linn and Tama Counties. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office says the latest case is a woman who reported being attacked early Friday morning by a man who flagged her down on a rural road near Bertram.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A U.S. Marine Corps official has confirmed the motorcycle crash death of a 22-year-old Marine from Iowa in California. Marine First Sgt. Sodergren tells the Des Moines Register that Cpl. Andrew West died last Sunday when the motorcycle he was driving veered across the center line of a highway and hit a car in Riverside, California. West, of Van Horne, was in training at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton at the time of his death.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former Council Bluffs, Iowa, assistant city attorney has been indicted on drug charges in Nebraska. The Omaha World-Herald reports that 44-year-old Don Bauermeister, of Omaha, was charged by a federal grand jury with possessing with intent to distribute about 13 pounds of marijuana. Bauermeister had been city employee since February 2003, but resigned in mid-June. At the time, Council Bluffs City Attorney Dick Wade said Bauermeister gave no reason for his resignation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs has paid an Iowa veteran $550,000 to settle his allegation that he suffered life-shortening heart damage because of a three-year delay in treatment. John Porter, of Greenfield, sued last year in federal court after he says VA staff overlooked a 2011 test result showing his heart was failing. The 68-year-old Porter told the Des Moines Register on Friday he was glad he lived long enough to see the case settled.

Porter’s lawsuit says no VA doctors told Porter of the findings of the 2011 test that showed his heart was failing. Only three years later did doctors at an Arizona VA hospital, where he had gone for shortness of breath, find the 2011 test results and inform Porter.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A U.S. Marine Corps official has confirmed the motorcycle crash death of a 22-year-old Marine from Iowa in California. Marine First Sgt. Michael Sodergren tells the Des Moines Register that Cpl. Andrew West died last Sunday when the motorcycle he was driving veered across the center line of a highway and hit a car in Riverside, California.

West, of Van Horne, was in training at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton at the time of his death. He was off base on personal time when the crash happened. West graduated from Marion High School in Iowa in 2014. He joined the Marines on Nov. 26, 2013. His body was to be flown back to Iowa this weekend.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A former Council Bluffs, Iowa, assistant city attorney has been indicted on drug charges in Nebraska. The Omaha World-Herald reports that 44-year-old Don Bauermeister, of Omaha, was charged by a federal grand jury with possessing with intent to distribute about 13 pounds of marijuana.

Bauermeister had been city employee since February 2003, but resigned in mid-June. At the time, Council Bluffs City Attorney Dick Wade said Bauermeister gave no reason for his resignation. The indictment was handed down Thursday. The allegation covers a period from November 2016 to Jan. 9, 2017.

If convicted, Bauermeister faces up to five years in prison.