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Noon Newscast 5.3.19

A friend of a 19-year-old Sioux City resident accused of stabbing to death his ex-girlfriend and another man testified that the defendant said he wanted to talk to the girl about their breakup and that he needed closure.

The defendant, Tran Walker, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder. 

He's accused of killing 17-year-old Paiten Sullivan and 18-year-old Felipe Negron Jr. Police say Walker was in a car with the other two in January of last year when he stabbed Sullivan and then Negron when he tried to help.

Sullivan's stepmother, Stevie Sullivan, testified that Walker and Sullivan broke up because he didn't want her to finish school. 

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders plans to make a campaign stop in Sioux City on Sunday night.

The Senator from Vermont is one of more than 20 candidates running for the Democratic nomination. Sanders is an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats in the U.S. Senate.

The event on Sunday night kicks off at 6:30 at the Orpheum Theatre.

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says tariffs on steel and aluminum need to “go away”.

Earlier this week, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley warned the “United States Mexico Canada Agreement” won’t get ratified in congress if President Trump doesn’t lift the tariffs. 

Ernst says “one in five jobs in Iowa is tied directly to trade.” 

Meanwhile, U.S. farm income fell nearly $12 billion in the first three months of the year.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has signed into law a bill that makes it a crime to claim a pet is a service animal if the animal owner doesn't have a disability and hasn't demonstrated a need for a service animal.

The new law also requires landlords to allow individuals with a disability to have service animals but it also requires the person to provide proof they are disabled and need the animal.

Disability Rights Iowa opposed it fearing store or restaurant employees may call the police on individuals with service animals but no visible disabilities such as those with post-traumatic stress disorder or diabetes.

Iowa State University researchers expect that the largest population of monarch butterflies in over a decade will migrate to Iowa later this spring.

More than 200 million adult monarchs - were seen in Mexico last winter and are migrating north.

An expert with Iowa State University says there needs to be more breeding habitat in Iowa to maintain a steady population. Also, pesticide use has caused the population to drop over the years.

Scientists estimate Iowa can accommodate more butterflies by adding at least half a million acres of habitat over the next 10 to 20 years.