Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Iowa Governor Chet Culver has scheduled town meetings next week to talk to Iowans affected by the state’s plan to hire three private companies to run the Medicaid program. The public meetings will highlight the impact of the proposal on Iowa’s 560,000 people who rely on Medicaid.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court says an Emmetsburg man who pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for sex, but later had the conviction overturned, can sue his defense attorneys for legal malpractice. In the ruling Friday, the court for the first time in Iowa declined to adopt proof of actual innocence as a prerequisite to sue one’s criminal defense attorney.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a high school teacher was arrested and charged with public exposure after an incident at a West Des Moines mall. West Des Moines police say 60-year-old Michael Madson exposed himself Saturday afternoon to an employee at Valley West Mall. Madson didn’t immediately return a call Friday from The Associated Press.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Dubuque officials have asked for increased funding to bring a dog to sniff out bedbugs at a public library. The Telegraph Herald reports that a specially trained Labrador named Cooper has been sniffing the library monthly since bedbugs were discovered in the folds of a couch at Carnegie-Stout Public Library in October. Library officials have requested $5,400 in the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1st.

Officials with the Iowa DNR said Friday, test results from two sets of water samples taken in Elliott show the water is safe to drink. The city has lifted the bottled water advisory issued Tuesday after an electrical failure in the Montgomery County town drained the water tower.

During the advisory, the city furnished bottled water to residents and advised them to drink only bottled water because pressure losses can allow bacteria to enter the water supply pipes.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors has unanimously supported a proposed monument honoring those who serve in public safety. The Daily Nonpareil reports that the site would take a small portion of county land in Council Bluffs.

Supervisor Justin Schultz says the board’s vote stipulates that it will work with Council Bluffs officials when necessary, such as transferring the deed of the impacted land and adjusting lot lines if requested. Council Bluffs resident Lloyd Marsh’s idea for the project drew financial support from two other local residents, Ron and Suzanne Mahoney.

The plaza would include four life-sized bronze sculptures of a firefighter, highway patrolman, police officer and a female deputy sheriff. Mayor Matt Walsh said he hopes the project will be completed by the end of the year.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court says an Emmetsburg man who pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for sex but later had the conviction overturned can sue his defense attorneys for legal malpractice without being required to prove his innocence. In the ruling Friday the court for the first time in Iowa declined to adopt proof of actual innocence as a prerequisite to sue one’s criminal defense attorney.

The case involves Robert Barker who was convicted in 2006 after entering a plea agreement. His conviction was later overturned when a judge found Barker’s actions didn’t correspond to the charge for which he was convicted. Barker sued his attorneys for advising him to plead guilty.

The court’s ruling says Iowa won’t require defendants to prove innocence before suing defense attorneys in such cases.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A bill that sought to punish Stanford University for its band’s Rose Bowl halftime show mocking Iowa has been all but buried in the Iowa Senate. Majority Leader Michael Gronstal told reporters Thursday that he wouldn’t schedule the measure for floor debate.

Stanford’s band is known for irreverent shows. It poked fun at Iowa in Pasadena on New Year’s Day, employing among other things a dancing cow and a frowning farmer formation. The Cardinal beat the Hawkeyes 45-16 in the game.

The bill by Ottumwa Sen. Mark Chelgren would ban collaboration between Iowa’s state universities and Stanford until Stanford officials apologize for the band’s behavior. The Des Moines Register reports that Gronstal told reporters “it would probably be good if senators from southern Iowa had a sense of humor.”

Criminal charges were filed Thursday, and a warrant served today (Friday), against a Shelby County man involved in a pursuit and crash last Saturday night. Online court records show 18-year old Justin Andrew Dickinson, of Harlan, was charged with: Eluding resulting in injury by OWI, drugs or participating in a felony; Carrying weapons; Keeping a vehicle or premises for controlled substance, violation; Unlawful Possession of a Prescription Drug, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He’s currently being held in the Shelby County Jail on $10,300 bond.

Dickinson was injured in the crash and transported by ambulance to Myrtue Memorial Hospital and later flown to the Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha. A passenger in the pickup, 17-year old Nicholas Haner, of Council Bluffs, was transported to Myrtue Hospital and held for observation before being released. Haner was not charged.

Dickinson was arrested upon his release from the hospital.

Police in Atlantic report two, recent arrests. On Thursday, 36-year old William Kleckner, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI. And, on Wednesday, 44-year old Heidi Powell, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear in court on Theft charges. Powell and Kleckner were booked into the Cass County Jail.

Governor Terry Branstad is predicting legislators will have a tough time making a school funding decision this year. “I don’t think that’s going to happen quickly because there’s some big issues to be resolved,” Branstad says. Legislative leaders from both parties have been saying they hope to strike a quick compromise on school funding for the academic year that starts this fall. Branstad says budget realities may prevent that.

“There’s some big issues to be resolved,” Branstad says. “…This is a tough year, financially.” House Republicans propose a two percent boost in general state aid for K-through-12 public schools in Iowa. Branstad last month recommended nearly half a percent more than that.

Democrats who control the Iowa Senate are seeking a four percent increase. Last year, the legislature made its decision about school funding in June — about four weeks before the budgeting year began.

(Radio Iowa)

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a Pottawattamie County woman was arrested early this (Friday) morning. 32-year old Jessica Gonzalez Herrera, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 2:10-a.m. on a warrant for Failure to Appear on a Possession of Controlled Substance, charge. Bond was set at $25,000.

And, Thursday night, 29-year old Jacob Michael Morrison, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Warrant for Criminal Mischief. His bond was set at $1,000.

CLARINDA, Iowa (AP) – The 128-year-old former mental health institute in the small southwest Iowa city of Clarinda isn’t your typical real estate opportunity, and so far no one is rushing to move in. More than seven months after the state closed the Clarinda Mental Health Institute, much of the sprawling building remains empty, including entire floors that haven’t been used in decades. With its gothic architecture set amid lawns and tree-lined paths, the former institute is impressive, but it’s also a site that Iowa’s governor labeled as outdated and inefficient.

Community members have been working to find occupants for the former hospital but the process hasn’t proved to be an easy one as unclaimed inventory piles up and a historic part of the town remains largely empty.

(9-a.m. News)