IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The testing scandal at Iowa’s fire academy is getting a lot bigger.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety announced Wednesday that 739 more firefighters were improperly issued nationally-recognized certifications despite failing their written exams.

In January, the department said that 1,706 firefighters and emergency personnel were issued 2,300 improper certifications over a four-year period. An internal review found that they did not have the scores they needed to pass.

The department says the new firefighters were identified after it found additional information in a State Fire Marshal database.

John McPhee, former certification and accreditation coordinator for the Fire Services Training Bureau, is accused of failing to grade tests and simply giving them random scores. He’s pleaded not guilty to misconduct in public office and tampering with records.

The department is offering free retesting.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita car dealer will pay restitution after the engine in a car he sold failed 25 miles from the dealership.

The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office said in a news release Wednesday that Jones & Co. Auto Group entered a consent judgment with his office.

Spokesman Dan Dillon says the auto dealer will pay about $6,300 in restitution to the customer, civil penalties, expenses and court costs.

The office says the vehicle fell below legal standards and selling it was “unconscionable acts and practices” involving car sales.

In Kansas, automobile suppliers are prohibited from selling cars “as is,” and must disclose specific defects to consumers.

Under the consent judgment filed March 1, Jones & Co. Auto Group agreed to refrain from the deceptive or unconscionable practices.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A proposal to run a second Keystone oil pipeline through Nebraska has won support from a super-majority of the state’s lawmakers.

A mostly Republican coalition of senators signed a letter calling on the Nebraska Public Service Commission to approve a route through the state. The letter released Wednesday was signed by 33 of the Legislature’s 49 senators. All but three are registered Republicans.

The letter says the project will create jobs and generate local property tax revenue, and argues that the pipeline has already undergone a thorough review.

Project opponents in Nebraska are mobilizing once again to try to derail the project, as they have before. The proposal has stalled several times after concerns were raised about its impact on groundwater and property rights.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is a step closer to eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders under a compromise bill advanced by the state Legislature.

Senators voted 25-22 on Wednesday to advance an amended bill after it became clear a proposal to eliminate mandatory minimum penalties for a variety of low-level felonies did not have enough support. It still needs two more votes.

It would apply to people who possess and intend to distribute cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine. Current mandatory minimum prison sentences are three or five years, depending on the amount of drugs found.

Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha, who proposed the amendment, says drug offenders should not be sentenced like people who committed violent crimes.

Opponents contend distributors of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine still committed serious crimes.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Douglas County authorities are investigating after a person’s body was found inside a burning car at a campground.

The sheriff’s office say deputies went to the Rockhaven Campground at Clinton Lake Wednesday after someone reported a car was on fire.

 

Deputies discovered the body inside the car after the fire was extinguished. No other details were immediately available.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Kansas City Chiefs tight end Demetrius Harris has been arrested on suspicion of felony possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Harris was a passenger in a car stopped Tuesday on Interstate 49 Tuesday afternoon.

He was taken to the Bates County Jail, where he was booked and released. He has not been charged.

Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe says the car was stopped for a traffic violation. He says a trooper smelled marijuana and found the drug on Harris.

The 25-year-old Harris was the Chiefs’ backup tight end behind Travis Kelce the last two seasons and has played in 32 games while making 20 starts.

Chiefs spokesman Ted Crews declined comment.

Jefferson City, MO. (AP) – Missouri senators have given an initial approval on a bill that would crack down on some immigrants living in the United States illegally.

The senators voted 26-3 in favor of the bill Tuesday, however another vote of approval is needed for the bill to continue its course and move to the House.

If the bill passes through Legislature and becomes law, the immigrants who have been deported, come back, and commit assaults and dangerous felony offenses could face three to 10 years prison time.

Republican Sen. Mike Cunningham says his goal is to crack down on criminals. He says workers who overstay and people who come to visit family are not the intended targets.

Democratic Sen. Jill Schupp raised concern that what she described as “anti-immigrant” policies could potentially spur fear and deter immigrants from coming to Missouri and contributing to the economy.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Winds are expected to diminish as emergency crews in four states continue to battle wildfires that have killed six people and destroyed hundreds of square miles of land.

The Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center says powerful wind gusts that fanned the flames in Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas should ease to about 10 to 20 mph on Wednesday.

Wildfires in Kansas have burned about 625 square miles of land and killed one person. At least four people died in Texas, where three fires burned about 500 square miles.

Authorities in Oklahoma say a woman had a fatal heart attack while trying to save her farm from one blaze. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in 22 counties.

All of eastern Colorado is classified as either moderately or abnormally dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Some of Missouri’s biggest cities and counties have banded together to do what the state won’t: track the prescription and sale of opioids.

St. Louis County, the city of St. Louis and several other counties have their own prescription drug monitoring program set to go online next month.

Missouri is the only state without such a system, thanks largely to the efforts of a Republican state senator who has concerns about patient privacy and the potential for health records to be hacked.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says such systems have been effective in other states at reducing opioid overdose deaths, overprescribing and pill shopping, in which people seek multiple prescriptions from several doctors.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa House has approved a sweeping gun bill that includes a stand-your-ground provision and allows citizens to sue local governments that impose weapons restrictions.

The Republican-controlled chamber voted 58-39 Tuesday along mostly party lines. The bill now heads to the GOP-majority Senate, where it has support.

The legislation would allow people to use deadly force anywhere if they believe such force was necessary to avoid injury or risk to one’s life or safety. Similar legislation in other states has gained national attention over its effect on gun-related violence.

The bill would make several other changes to Iowa’s gun laws. It would allow children under age 14 to use handguns with parental supervision and allow weapons on the Capitol grounds.