Firefighters from Walnut, Atlantic, Marne and Elk Horn have been dispatched to a hotel fire north of Walnut, at the Super 8 hotel. The calls for Atlantic, Marne and Elk Horn went out at around 7:18-a.m. No other details are currently available.

Firefighters from Walnut, Atlantic, Marne and Elk Horn have been dispatched to a hotel fire north of Walnut, at the Super 8 hotel. The calls for Atlantic, Marne and Elk Horn went out at around 7:18-a.m.  No other details are currently available.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors say a federal prison has been sentenced to more jail time for being found with synthetic marijuana while behind bars. Official say 32-year-old Ivan Antonio Cervantes was sentenced Wednesday to 18 additional months in prison and two years of supervised release. The sentenced is to be served after his current 70-month sentence for another felony drug offense.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines are investigating a fatal shooting on the city’s east side. Des Moines police say in a news release that the shooting happened just before 10:30 p.m. Friday. Officers responding to the area where the shooting was reported found a man already dead at the scene. Police have not released the victim’s name. No arrests had been reported by late Saturday morning.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A $40 million renovation is expected to begin soon on a landmark historic hotel in downtown Des Moines. The Des Moines Register reports that the 101-year-old Hotel Fort Des Moines will be turned into a Hilton Hotel boutique inn. Hawkeye Hotels purchased the Hotel Fort Des Moines in 2015 for $4 million. A Hawkeye official says interior demolition is expected to begin in the next 30 to 60 days.

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — Work is nearly complete on a $50 million sports complex in eastern Iowa that includes soccer and baseball fields, hardwood courts and an entertainment center. The Quad-City Times reports that the new TBK Bank Sports Complex in Bettendorf sprawls across 76 acres. It’s being developed by BettPlex LLC and its founder Doug Kratz. The complex’s marketing director says it will open May 4 with a baseball tournament.

Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports the Fremont County K9 Unit tried to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation, Saturday evening, but the vehicle fled from deputies on 120th Street, from Bluff Road. Deputies pursued the vehicle reaching speeds of 100mph on Western Avenue going northbound into Bartlett (IA).

In Bartlett, the suspect vehicle went out of control, skidded through an intersection and slowed down before coming to a stop on 205th Avenue. Deputies were able to apprehend 46-year old Brian Robert Vanderpool, of Thurman, IA.

Additional charges from the pursuit include Possession of Methamphetamine, Marijuana, and Drug Paraphernalia. Vanderpool was also cited for Driving Suspended, Reckless driving and traffic violations during the pursuit. He was transported to the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center being held on $2,600 bond.

Brian Vanderpool (Fremont Co. S/O photo)

A traffic stop on a speeding vehicle in Fremont County, Saturday, resulted in the arrest of a passenger in the car, 21-year old Joseph Holland, of Bellevue, NE. Holland was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Marijuana/1st offense, and Possession of Schedule 4 Controlled Substances/1st offense. Holland was transported to the Fremont County Jail. The driver of the vehicle was cited and released.

Holland’s arrest occurred at around 2:45-p.m. following the traffic stop on a vehicle by the Fremont County K9 Unit on southbound I-29 near Percival. The vehicle was traveling 104-mph in a 70 zone. Deputies detected the strong odor of controlled substances coming from the vehicle and a subsequent search resulted in the discovery of marijuana and a Schedule IV controlled substance.

Joseph Holland

WORTHINGTON, Minn. (AP) — A pipeline project decades in the making that will provide water to more than 300,000 customers in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota is nearing completion. Work on the Lewis and Clark pipeline is nearing its end point in Worthington, Minnesota Public Radio reported . The pipe should be connected to the city next fall, officials said.

The city currently draws most of its water from a well field. The well’s water level can drop steeply during dry period, causing the city to implement water restrictions during times of drought. The city of 13,000 will be able to use about 2 million gallons of water a day from the pipeline, which will meet about two-thirds of the city’s daily need.

The project takes water from near the Missouri River in South Dakota. The stalled pipeline has caused problems for communities and rural water supply systems for years as the region struggled with on-and-off drought and had to stretch existing water supplies.

Work on the line halted in 2013 because of a lack of funding. The federal government agreed to pay 80 percent of the project’s cost almost 20 years ago. The money has been doled out slowly, which has slowed the pace of construction. Several towns in Iowa and South Dakota are also waiting to be connected to the pipeline.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A $40 million renovation is expected to begin soon on a landmark historic hotel in downtown Des Moines. The 101-year-old Hotel Fort Des Moines will be turned into a Hilton Hotel boutique inn, the Des Moines Register reported . Hawkeye Hotels purchased the Hotel Fort Des Moines in 2015 for $4 million. Interior demolition is expected to begin in the next 30 to 60 days, said Raj Patel, chief development officer for Hawkeye Hotels.

The renovation will restore and maintain many of the hotel’s historic elements, while updating its 290 rooms with modern designs, officials said. Vintage features such as the marble floors and ornate plaster ceilings will be kept. One of the largest parts of the project will be the removal of a second floor to expose the lobby’s original two-story ceiling.

The project will also create a second prominent entrance into the hotel, a courtyard and an updated entry canopy and windows. The hotel’s meeting and ballroom spaces will also be renovated. Invision Architecture of Des Moines and the New York-based Krause Sawyer interior design firm are also working on the project.

Room prices will likely be at the “top end of the upper scale,” Patel said. Renovations are expected to be completed by the end of next year.

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — Work is nearly complete on a $50 million sports complex in eastern Iowa that includes soccer and baseball fields, hardwood courts and an entertainment center.

The new TBK Bank Sports Complex in Bettendorf sprawls across 76 acres, the Quad-City Times reported . It’s being developed by BettPlex LLC and its founder Doug Kratz.
The complex will open May 4 with a baseball tournament featuring more than 100 teams, said Kira Brabeck, marketing director for the complex. The bowling and entertainment center will open May 29, while the indoor sports complex and fitness center will open June 15.

BettPlex officials and the Build to Suit construction team visited nearly a dozen other sports facilities to get ideas about what the complex should include, Brabeck said.
The complex will offer league activities for children and adults in baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer, basketball, bowling and flag football.

The area also features arcade games, laser tag, concessions and a bar and grill. Other development plans are also in progress that aims to bring new retail options, a gas station and a hotel to the area, said Mike Sampson, chief financial officer for the complex.

Complex officials expect the complex to draw more than 750,000 visitors annually.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines are investigating a fatal shooting on the city’s east side. Des Moines police say in a news release that the shooting happened just before 10:30 p.m. Friday.

Officers responding to the area where the shooting was reported found a man already dead at the scene. Police have not released the victim’s name. No arrests had been reported by late Saturday morning.

Officials say it is Des Moines’ third homicide this year.

Griswold FFA student and Part-Time KJAN announcer Riley Smith receives his state award

ANKENY, Iowa–FFA members from around the state were honored this past week for work in various categories. 100% of FFA members have proficiencies as part of the agricultural program and the FFA. The proficiencies range in the areas of Agricultural Communications to Home and/or Community Development and from Diversified Agricultural Production to Swine Production. Proficiency Award winners have excelled in their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) Programs. These awards encourage members to develop specialized skills that will apply toward a future career.

Griswold FFA student Riley Smith used his experience as a part-time announcer at KJAN as his Supervised Agricultural Experience and earned top honors in the Agricultural Communications category. As a State winner, Riley will now advance to the National FFA competition where he will compete against winners from the other State FFA Associations.

The four national finalists that are selected from each area will be recognized at the National FFA Convention and Expo in October. The Iowa FFA Proficiency Awards program is possible with support from the many partners of the Iowa FFA Foundation.