Iowa governor backs repeal effort

DES MOINES (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says she supports the latest GOP effort in Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

The Republican governor confirmed Tuesday she backs a bill that would replace much of the ACA with a system of block grants to states. The measure is sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

The legislation would reshape Medicaid, the health care program for the poor and disabled. It includes provisions that would let states set their own health coverage requirements and let insurers boost premiums for people with serious medical conditions.

Reynolds says the bill gives Iowa flexibility and “empowers consumers.”

Man killed when mower overturns

SHELDON, Iowa (AP) — A man has died after a riding lawnmower he was operating at a northwest Iowa country club rolled onto him.

The O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office says 66-year-old Dean Seivert of Sheldon died Monday after being pinned under the mower, which rolled into the Floyd River.

Officials say the accident happened Monday morning. Investigators say a country club worker came upon the accident scene around 9:30 a.m. and tried to hold Seivert’s head above the water. Rescue crews later pulled Seivert from under the mower and out of the river, but were unable to resuscitate him.

Seivert was pronounced dead at a Sheldon hospital.

Nebraska man to stand trial

DAKOTA CITY, Neb. (AP) — A man accused of shooting and killing his wife outside a northeast Nebraska police station is now slated to stand trial in the first-degree murder case.

Sioux City, Iowa, television station KTIV reports that 41-year-old Bei Sheng Chen, of South Sioux City, appeared in a Dakota County Court on Tuesday, where he waived his right to a preliminary hearing. The case has been bound over to district court for trial.

A judge refused his request on Tuesday to lower his $1.25 million bail.

His next court appearance is set for Nov. 3.

Police say he shot 33-year-old Mei Huang on Sept. 6 in the parking lot of the South Sioux City police station. She died hours later at a Sioux City, Iowa, hospital.

GOP: Legislature needs funds

ST. PAUL (AP) — A report filed by attorneys for the Republican-led Legislature says lawmakers will have to start furloughing employees in December and shut down completely by February unless there’s a resolution to a legal battle with Gov. Mark Dayton over its operating budget.

Top Republicans and the DFL governor have been locked in a legal battle for months over Dayton’s decision to veto the Legislature’s operating budget after the session concluded in late May. A lower court ruled that move unconstitutional, but the Minnesota Supreme ordered the two sides into mediation.

The Star Tribune says the report notes that if Dayton’s veto is not overturned and legislative funding restored, the Senate will run out of money on Dec. 1 and the House on Feb. 1. Dayton and his attorneys dispute some of the Legislature’s calculations.

Michigan doctor wins release

DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit-area doctor charged with performing genital mutilation on girls in a Muslim sect will be released from jail as she awaits trial.

A judge on Tuesday was persuaded to grant bond to Dr. Jumana Nagarwala after supporters pledged to pay more than $4 million if she flees the country. Federal Judge Bernard Friedman called it a “very comprehensive package.”

Nagarwala has been in custody since her arrest in April, and it will be a few days more before she’s released. She must wear an electronic tether.

Nagarwala denies any crime and says she performed a religious custom on girls from her Muslim sect, the Dawoodi Bohra. Eight people have been charged, including two Minnesota mothers and the owner of a Detroit-area clinic where the alleged procedures occurred after hours.