KEOKUK – Republicans maintained their supermajority in the Iowa House following a special election held Tuesday. The Des Moines Register reports Republican Blaine Watkins defeated Democrat Nannette Griffin in House District 100 by a 52-48 percent margin. Watkins will serve the remainder of Martin Graber’s term, who died of a heart attack earlier this year. Republican leadership is celebrating the victory, saying it reinforces their agenda; Democratic leadership countered that the narrow victory in a district President Trump won by over 20 percent shows a shift back in that party’s direction.

COUNCIL BLUFFS – A Council Bluffs man was arrested on Monday and charged with first-degree murder in connection to the disappearance of an Iowa woman 36 years ago. KCCI-TV reports 61-year-old Robert Allen Davis is accused by the state’s cold case unit of being responsible for the disappearance of Barbara Lenz in 1989 in Harrison County. A criminal complaint uncovered in the investigation alleges that Davis had assaulted Lenz several times in their relationship. He was also arrested in 1996 for kidnapping and third-degree sexual abuse.

IOWA CITY – An Iowa City man faces a first-degree murder charge after being accused of killing the mother of his child. Joshua Perry called 911 in January to report that a woman was passed out inside of his home, according to KCRG-TV. Emergency personnel found Victoria Skarda dead upon arrival. Police claim she was assaulted by Perry earlier in the day.