DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A judge rejected a request by former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s lawyers to set aside a jury verdict that concluded Branstad had discriminated against a former state official because the official is gay. The judge affirmed a jury verdict of $1.5 million awarded to former Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Chris Godfrey. Jurors concluded that Godfrey was the victim of discrimination and retaliation when Branstad tried to force him to quit in 2011 and then cut his pay.

ZEARING, IA (IRN) – The Story County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a death in Zearing on Wednesday. KCCI-TV reports officials received a call that a 70-year-old man approached a neighbor’s residence and said he killed his wife. When authorities arrived at the residence they found a deceased, 62-year-old female. The man told police he killed his wife because she was “cheating on him,” and she was trying to move out.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – More than 20 rail cars filled with coal derailed in southwest Iowa on Wednesday, according to WHO-TV. The cars left the tracks under a bridge outside Red Oak, spilling massive amounts of coal. No one was injured.

IOWA (IRN) – The dairy industry is undergoing major changes. KCRG-TV reports the Associated Milk Producers Incorporated will end production at its eastern Iowa plant in Hudson. Since 2008, Iowa has lost 50 percent of its dairy farms. And on Tuesday, America’s largest milk producer, Dean Foods, filed for bankruptcy.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The retailer Von Maur is planning on opening in the vacant anchor space left behind by Younkers at Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines. Younkers left behind 140,000 square feet after the department store closed. Von Maur is planning on opening on both floors.