DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday upheld a $120,000 jury verdict for a transgender former employee who sued the Iowa Department of Corrections for sex and gender discrimination. Jesse Vroegh, a nurse for Iowa’s prison system from 2009 to 2016, transitioned from female to male in 2014 and asked for permission to use the men’s restrooms and locker rooms. Instead he was told to use a single-stall unisex room in a different building. In 2017, after Vroegh was fired for unrelated reasons, he sued the state over the bathroom issue, and in 2019, he won his case.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A man was hit and killed by a train in Dubuque on Thursday. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No foul play is suspected.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two Republican women have asked a judge to remove Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abby Finkenauer from the June primary ballot. They claimed Thursday that a state panel wrongly rejected their challenge to her nomination papers earlier this week.

IOWA – High schools around the state have stopped tracking class rank in favor of recognizing students’ academic success in other ways. Iowa educators say there are multiple reasons to no longer track class rank. One is that colleges are less interested in class rank than before. Another is that it can add stress for students.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A moose that has been seen around northwest Iowa lately has died.
The moose was found dead Tuesday morning in a farm field north of Sioux City. DNR officials say the cow-moose died of natural causes linked to aspiration pneumonia. It’s the farthest south a moose has ever been seen, according to DNR records.