IOWA CITY — The Iowa Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit filed by a state regulator who alleged he was fired for investigating a gas station chain’s pricing practices. The court ruled Wednesday that Michael Manahl “deserves a chance” to have jurors decide whether he was fired for investigating Dubuque-based Molo Petroleum. The court said “fair inferences exist” that Manahl’s boss at the Iowa Department of Agriculture wasn’t happy with his consumer fraud inquiry into Molo.