Iowa courts

State officials were blocked from enforcing Iowa’s law against school-issued mask mandates after a federal judge ruled in favor of families challenging the law.

The ACLU and disability rights groups are working with 11 Iowa parents in a lawsuit aimed at overturning a statewide ban on school mask mandates.

The man convicted of murdering University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts has been given a sentence of life in prison without parole.

An audit of the Buchanan County Jail has found officers there were improperly holding some inmates longer than they were sentenced and releasing others before they had finished their time. The audit found more than 100 instances where inmates were released a day or two early without proper authorization and 40 instances where inmates were held too long.

Prosecutors sought to poke holes in new testimony presented in court Tuesday in the case of Cristhian Bahena Rivera. His attorneys want another trial after new evidence surfaced related to the 2018 death of Mollie Tibbetts.

The DOC fired Dodson, a registered nurse at a maximum-security penitentiary in Fort Madison, after an investigation found dozens of inmates received shots containing up to six times the recommended dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

A judge has denied the defense’s request for more information on other potential suspects in the death of Mollie Tibbetts. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who was convicted of killing her, is seeking a new trial after new witnesses came forward in the case.

A sentencing hearing for the man convicted of killing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts has been delayed, after his attorneys requested a new trial and more time to review new evidence. Instead of sentencing Cristhian Bahena Rivera on Thursday, a judge will hold a hearing on defense requests to compel prosecutors to hand over information about other suspects.

The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the portion of a Waterloo "ban the box" ordinance that prevents businesses from asking about a prospective employee’s criminal record on a job application. But the court found the city cannot ban employers from making hiring decisions solely on an applicant’s criminal history.

The trials of the two men accused of killing two prison employees at the Anamosa State Penitentiary have been rescheduled. Inmates Michael Dutcher and Thomas Woodard are now slated to go on trial in August and September.