WASHINGTON, D.C. A Senate panel has approved Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad as U.S. ambassador to China. Today’s decision all but assures full Senate confirmation of President Donald Trump’s pick for the key diplomatic post. The 70-year-old Branstad has headed Iowa government for more than 22 years and is the country’s longest serving governor. BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – A Burlington couple is accused of trying to walk out of a Coralville Wal-Mart with more than $1000 worth of merchandise. KCJJ-Radio reports 33-year-old Tosha Clouse and 27-year-old Christopher Oberlander loaded up a shopping cart and left without paying. Among other items, they stole a computer and a Night Owl Surveillance system. URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – An Urbandale mother is in jail, and her 6-year-old daughter is recovering from second-degree burns in a child endangerment case that police say almost went unnoticed. KCCI-TV reports 34-year-old Helena Cole is charged with child endangerment causing physical injury. Police learned about the case thanks to an intuitive teacher who noticed that the child had been kept home from school. School officials showed up to Cole’s apartment and found the girl badly burned inside. BLACK HAWK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Authorities in Black Hawk County are investigating a road rage incident that sent one person to the hospital. WHO-TV reports a semi-truck driver and another driver got out of their vehicles at a stop sign. During an altercation, the truck driver was stabbed in the back. The suspect then fled. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Multiple crews responded to an apartment fire in Cedar Rapids last night. KGAN-TV reports 12 units on the top floor of the building were affected. Two ladder trucks from the Cedar Rapids Fire Department were needed to put out the fire. There are no official reports of injuries, but witnesses say one person was hospitalized. HIAWATHA, IA (IRN) – High school students in the Architecture, Construction and Engineering Academy at Kirkwood’s Linn County Regional Center took on the challenge of converting a shipping container into a tiny home. KCRG-TV reports it took 12 weeks and $24,000 to build. At just 266-square feet, the tiny house is truly tiny. But there is room inside for a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and living area. It’s for sale.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Board of Regents is considering tuition hikes at the state’s three public universities next school year to help offset millions in budget cuts. The Press-Citizen reports the proposal would increase in-state base tuition for undergraduates by $216 for the 2017-18 academic year at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Officers responded to reports of a stabbing at the Iowa City Pedestrian Mall yesterday. KGAN-TV reports upon arrival, police found the victim and suspect near the fountain in the Mall where the victim was stabbed multiple times. The victim was transported to the University of Iowa Hospitals. Their wounds appeared to be non-life threatening. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Dubuque authorities are looking into the case of man who died after police pepper sprayed him. WHO-TV reports the man had been assaulting customers at a bar Saturday night. When officers arrived, bar patrons were holding the man down and police used pepper spray to subdue him. The man then went into cardiac arrest. Officers performed CPR, but he later died at the hospital. BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – A woman was killed in a fire at a Burlington duplex, according to WQAD-TV. When firefighters arrived, they found flames coming from one of the downstairs windows. After entering the home, firefighters found the body of an adult woman. Crews tried to resuscitate her, but she was pronounced dead. ANAMOSA, IA (IRN) – The Jones County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a man accused of taking a child this weekend. KCRG-TV reports 29-year-old Frank Young, of Anamosa, took the child from a home outside Oxford Junction. When a deputy tried to stop him, he left the child unhurt in his vehicle and ran off into a wooded area. Young is wanted on multiple charges, including domestic abuse, violation of protective order and violation of a custodial order. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An Iowa man died peacefully this month after family members falsely told him the process to impeach President Donald Trump had begun “so that he could rest in peace.” Corliss Gilchrist, who would have celebrated his 92nd birthday Sunday, died Wednesday at his Altoona home. His obituary published in the Des Moines Register said he was a proud union member and took great pride in his work with Armstrong Tire, retiring after more than 40 years of service.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa City employer of a bail bondsman shot to death at the office where he worked is offering a $10,000 reward for information about the shooting. The Press-Citizen reports that Lederman Bail Bonds is making the offer as police continue their investigation into the death of 34-year-old Jonathan Wieseler. Wieseler was found dead April 23 in Lederman’s Iowa City office. No arrests have been made. MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – An overnight fire left residents in Marshalltown homeless Saturday. WHO-TV reports the fire broke out around 11:30 last night, and firefighters fought the blaze for hours before getting it under control. Between 12 to 15 people were inside the building when the fire broke out. No one was injured. ELDRIDGE, IA (IRN) – Eldridge leaders have hired an archaeologist to see whether or not human remains are buried under a city park. WQAD-TV reports Franklin Park was once the site of a Presbyterian Church, until a tornado destroyed the building in 1918. It’s rumored that a cemetery was also located on the site, but its existence has never been confirmed. City leaders are looking to make some improvements, but decided they better put the rumors to rest before doing any digging. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Downtown Des Moines Farmers’ Market kicked off its 42nd season Saturday to sunny weather and summer-like temperatures. KCCI-TV reports the market began in 1976 with just 15 vendors and it has grown to 300 vendors this year. Officials estimate around 40,000 people attended the market’s 42nd opening day.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Fireworks are to blame for a garage fire Thursday night in Cedar Rapids. KGAN-TV reports neighbors reported a loud explosion before the fire broke out. Witnesses say they saw several men get out of a car, extinguish the fire, and leave. JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One person was killed in a motorcycle versus pickup truck crash in Johnson County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a Ford F-150 was travelling eastbound when it turned left in front of a motorcycle travelling westbound. The two vehicles collided. ANKENY, IA (IRN) – A tip from the public helped Ankeny Police uncover a theft ring in which robbers stole nearly $60,000 worth of construction tools and equipment. KCCI-TV reports Jon Philgreen, a project manager for JCorp, a Huxley Company that builds commercial and residential projects, said thieves are a nonstop headache. He said the worst is seeing appliances stolen out of finished units. No arrests have been made, but police have identified suspects. WINNESHIEK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A bridge collapsed yesterday after a loaded grain truck tried to cross it. KWWL-TV reports the historic bridge over the Upper Iowa River near Cresco was built more than a 100 years ago. A semi hauling a load of grain tried to use the bridge, but crushed it with 30 tons of weight; 10 times the maximum load the bridge was meant for. The trucker was following instructions from his GPS. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The Flyover Fashion Festival is going on this weekend in Iowa City, according to KCRG-TV. The event will have a mix of runway shows, discussions, exhibitions and musical performances. College students have designed a pavilion with 480 mirrors to make a point about body image and self acceptance. One of the designers says the point of the exhibit is finding yourself and accepting your body.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Police will be on site all day at Davenport Assumption High School because of “a threat against the school,” according to WQAD-TV. The threat was written on one of the boys’ bathroom walls. Police are investigating. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A powerful Iowa regulator has improperly mixed her state job with a personal law practice she runs, inadvertently using her government email for some private business and claiming sick leave on a day when she attended a court hearing. KGAN-TV reports Iowa Utilities Board chairwoman Geri Huser used her state email to send messages to colleagues at her law firm. She also claimed sick leave Feb. 6 even though she participated in a hearing at a courthouse 40 minutes from Des Moines. OMAHA, NE (IRN) – An inmate accused of shooting and killing an Iowa deputy and injuring another appeared in a Nebraska court Thursday. KETV reports 24-year-old Wesley Correa-Carmenaty waived extradition and is being returned to Iowa. Bond was set at $10 million. MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – A June trial has been scheduled for a former assistant jail administrator charged with stealing from Muscatine County. The Muscatine Journal reports that 67-year-old Doug Boulton pled not guilty. $82,000 was found missing from the sheriff’s office jail accounts. Boulton is accused of not depositing and recording room-and-board fees of inmates. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A jury on Thursday awarded more than $1.4 million to a former University of Iowa athletic administrator, ruling that the university had discriminated against her. KCCI-TV reports Jane Meyer alleged she suffered workplace discrimination as a gay woman in a relationship with the school’s longtime and highly successful field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum, that the school retaliated against her for complaining about Griesbaum’s firing, and that she was paid less than a male counterpart for similar work. The jury agreed. CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – A car fire at a gas station in Coralville could have been much worse, according to KCRG-TV. Truck driver Brad Aldrich noticed the smoke, called 911 and helped control the fire with fire extinguishers until firefighters arrived. Aldrich says he simply did what anyone else would have done, and the important thing is no one got hurt.