DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Republican Adrian Dickey won the special election Tuesday to replace Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa Senate District 41. Senate District 41 covers part of southeast Iowa, including Ottumwa, Fairfield, Bloomfield and Keosauqua. Dickey’s victory does not change the balance of power in the Senate. The seat opened when Republican Miller-Meeks stepped down after she was confirmed the winner in Iowa’s Second Congressional District.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – State Auditor Rob Sand confirmed Tuesday that his office will review allegations that Gov. Kim Reynolds provided state COVID-19 resources to a company owned by one of her campaign donors instead of area businesses that needed the resources.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An inmate in the Iowa prison system died, likely due to the novel coronavirus and other preexisting conditions on Tuesday. Harold Arthur Duncan, 89, died at around 11:12 a.m., according to the Iowa Department of Corrections. Duncan was in prison since January 2004 for a life sentence from a first-degree murder conviction in Clay County.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Patrol said seven Iowa Department of Transportation plows and one patrol cruiser were damaged by drivers during the winter storm Monday and Tuesday. The trooper in the patrol car was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s unemployment rate fell to 3.1% in December, the second-lowest rate in the country.