Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Businessman Mark Jacobs focused today on proposals for jobs, energy and education instead of jabs at front-runner state Senator Joni Ernst in the final debate of the 2014 GOP U.S. Senate primary. Jacobs didn’t repeat the criticisms he’s stuffed into mailboxes and aired in ads. Instead, he touted “concrete plans to create jobs”.

JEFFERSON, Iowa (AP) — A plan to build a $40 million casino in the Green County city of Jefferson drew hundreds of people to a public hearing before the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. The Carroll Daily Times Herald reports about 500 people attended the five-hour hearing today, and most of the 70 speakers favored the proposal. They pointed to the estimated 325 jobs the casino would bring to the western Iowa community.

WEVER, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in southeast Iowa have arrested 12 workers at the construction site of a fertilizer plant on suspicion of identity fraud. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tells the Fort Madison Daily Democrat officers arrested the employees this afternoon as they were bused to a safety meeting for the Iowa Fertilizer Company.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a woman was receiving a driving lesson before she accidentally drove her vehicle into a Des Moines pond. Crews from the local Fire Department responded today to a pond at Water Works Park and found a white minivan partially submerged in the water. The driver and a passenger were able to escape without injury.