A South Dakota State Trooper who is a native of Elk Horn, Iowa, is in stable, but critical condition following a pursuit and crash Wednesday morning in Sioux Falls. Television station KELO reports Trooper Andrew Steen, a graduate of the Elk Horn-Kimballton High School, was injured when he was struck by the suspect’s car near a strip mall in the western part of Sioux Falls. The incident happened a little after 2:30-a.m., Wednesday.

Patrol Captain Kevin Joffer said Steen had been involved in the high-speed pursuit of an unnamed 25-year-old female suspect. The chase wound its way through Sioux Falls, but got intense at a strip mall behind a restaurant.  According to Joffer, that’s where the suspect hit Steen’s patrol car. When the Trooper got out of the vehicle, the suspect ran him over. His fellow law enforcement officers then fired at the vehicle several times, hitting the female driver. She left the scene and but was later arrested and taken to a hospital.

No charges have been filed against the suspect. The incident remains under investigation by the Department of Criminal Investigation and Sioux Falls police. Steen’s parents are Dan and Trish Steen, who live in Gladbrook, IA. His grandmothers are Naomi Steen and Jessie Esbeck.

A page has been set up on Facebook for those who wish to offer their spiritual support for Steen and his family: www.facebook.com/pages/Praying-for-Andrew-Steen/217674518363787

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Harrah’s is planning to decommission its Missouri River riverboat casino and move the games inside its nearby hotel in Council Bluffs.  Harrah’s general manager Bo Guidry told The Daily Nonpareil that the aging boat costs too much to keep running.

Guidry says the hotel’s main floor convention center would be turned into a casino with a new restaurant and bar. Around 20 table games and 600 slot machines would be moved from the boat to the new casino.

The plans are pending approval by directors of Caesars’ Entertainment, which owns Harrah’s, and the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.  Guidry says that, with their approval, reconstruction could begin in January and be finished by summer.