Iowa News Digest

Hello! Here's a look at how AP's general news coverage is shaping up in Iowa. Questions about coverage plans are welcome and should be directed to the Des Moines Bureau at 515-243-3281 or [email protected]. Iowa News Editor Scott McFetridge can also be reached at 515-243-3281 or [email protected].

A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change. Expected stories may not develop, or late-breaking and more newsworthy events may take precedence. Advisories and digests will keep you up to date. All times are Central.

Some TV and radio stations will receive broadcast versions of the stories below, along with all updates.

For up-to-the-minute information on AP's coverage, visit Coverage Plan at newsroom.ap.org.

TOP STORIES:

VETERANS GHOST TOWN

KNOXVILLE — Local leaders in Knoxville will announce plans for a sprawling veterans affairs campus that has sat empty for a decade on the edge of town. The abandoned 39-building site was once Knoxville’s biggest employer, but after the federal government pulled out, the small community has struggled to find a use for the campus and has watched as the once-elegant brick buildings deteriorated. By Scott McFetridge. UPCOMING: 400 words by 4:30 p.m.

STATE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

IOWA LEGISLATURE-JUDICIARY

DES MOINES — Iowa Supreme Court acting Chief Justice David Wiggins told the Iowa Legislature Wednesday that “the independence of the courts from the political branches is not a divide but our very strength as a state and as a nation.” Wiggins, delivering the yearly Condition of the Judiciary Speech to lawmakers, acknowledged the legislature’s roll of being the voice of the people and for the courts to speak in a more limited way in resolving legal disputes. By David Pitt. SENT: 460 words, photos.

MEDIA-CNN-DEBATE

NEW YORK — CNN is drawing fire from Bernie Sanders supporters for a debate moderator's question that appeared to dismiss his denial of a story that he had told rival Elizabeth Warren that a woman couldn't win the presidential election. The issue, first raised in a story reported by CNN earlier this week, became a part of CNN's coverage Tuesday of an Iowa debate between Democratic presidential candidates co-sponsored with The Des Moines Register. By David Bauder. SENT: 360 words, photos.

AROUND THE STATE:

WEATHER LOSSES-NEBRASKA-IOWA — Nebraska suffered more than $3.4 billion in losses from disastrous weather last year while the toll was $1.9 billion in neighboring Iowa, according to a federal report. SENT: 180 words.

REGIONAL AUTHORITY PROPOSED — Some business and government leaders in the Quad Cities area of eastern Iowa and western Illinois want to form a regional authority that would gain funding and manage big projects. SENT: 180 words.

IN BRIEF:

TEACHER-SEX CHARGE — A former teacher in northeast Iowa accused of having sex with a student has made a deal with prosecutors.

CHILD PORN-CHARGES — A northeast Iowa man has been sent to federal prison for receiving child pornography.

AIRPORT CASINO — A development group that wants to build a $225 million casino and hotel at the Des Moines airport says the project would help pay for a planned new terminal.

SPORTS:

BKC—T25-IOWA ST-BAYLOR

WACO, Texas — No. 2 Baylor takes a 12-game winning streak into its home game against Iowa State. The Bears won at Top 25 teams Texas Tech and Kansas last week. By Stephen Hawkins. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos. Game starts 7 p.m.

BKC—VALPARAISO-NORTHERN IOWA

CEDAR FALLS — Valparaiso plays Northern Iowa at McLeod Center. UPCOMING: 150 words, more on merit.

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