DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The record Powerball jackpot just got bigger, climbing to $800 million as sales soared in the days leading up to the drawing. Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery, says officials with the Multi-State Lottery Association on Friday raised the estimated jackpot for Saturday night’s drawing from $700 million because of strong sales.

Grief says Powerball sales on Thursday were double the previous record for that day and that it’s possible the estimated jackpot could rise again before the drawing. A winner would have the option of being paid $800 million through annual payments over 29 years or opting for $496 million in cash.

Powerball is played in 44 states as well as the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Three juveniles from Creston High School are now charged in connection with threats of a school shooting earlier this week. The threats, made during an online group chat Monday night, mentioned a gun being brought to the school. On Wednesday, the Creston Police Department was notified of the threats by the high school. When officers arrived at the school, the school had already identified the individuals involved and isolated them from the other students.

Officers met with the students and their parents. After completing the investigation, 17-year-old Dustin Williams, 16-year-old Chance Brown and 17-year-old Nicolas Chase were each charged with first-degree harassment. These individuals were released to their parents and the case has been referred to juvenile authorities.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be filed.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa’s largest school district is holding a job fair for teachers tomorrow (Saturday) that will easily be one of the state’s biggest educator employment events. Anne Sullivan, human resources director for the Des Moines Public Schools, says the district plans to hire at least 200 teachers for next school year. “It’s probably the largest job fair that’s facilitated by any individual school district, that’s for sure,” Sullivan says. “Each of the colleges and universities do one as well. We expect to have 700 to 800 teachers to come and visit. We have 500 that are pre-registered and we usually have about a hundred, maybe more, that will come and just do a walk-in.”

About three-quarters of the applicants are typically right out of college, while Sullivan says the rest are more experienced and are interested in a career move.  “Des Moines Public Schools is pretty large employer, we have about 3,000 teachers,” Sullivan says. “Even with a small turnover, we’re looking at hiring on average about 200 teachers every year, sometimes more, sometimes less. We have people that will retire. We have openings for typical attrition, people who are moving, that kind of thing.”

The district offers a full-family insurance plan to every employee, something Sullivan says is rare, with a base salary for starting teachers around 45-thousand dollars. She says prospective teachers won’t have to be lugging along a briefcase to the event tomorrow. “The great thing is, they don’t have to bring anything because we’re completely paperless,” Sullivan says. “They apply online so we have all of their materials ahead of time, resume, transcripts, and those kinds of things. If they don’t have those, they can still come and do a walk-in interview and upload those things a little bit later.”

Sullivan says they’re always on the lookout for teachers with special education experience as well as those versed in English Language Learning. Des Moines has more than six-thousand E-L-L students speaking nearly 100 languages and dialects. Des Moines has 60 schools and more than 32-thousand students, adding between 100 and 400 students every year. The district’s graduation rate has grown nine-percent in the past five years. The Educator Career Fair is planned for Saturday at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. Interviews begin at 8 A-M for pre-registered applicants.

(Radio Iowa)

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Small rural communities looking for assistance to help renovate or deconstruct abandoned commercial and public structures can apply for funding through the Iowa Derelict Building Grant Program. Applications for the next round of funding are due at 4 p.m. central time on Feb. 26th.

Instituted by state legislation to help rural communities with populations of 5,000 or less to deconstruct or renovate abandoned commercial and public structures, the Derelict Building Grant Program emphasizes reuse and recycling of building items, helps improve street appearance and commercial development, and alleviates the environmental concern these buildings can pose.

Financial assistance includes asbestos removal, building deconstruction and renovation, and other inspections and environmental site assessments. Funding is awarded annually on a competitive basis. A committee from the Iowa DNR, Iowa Society of Solid Waste Operations, Iowa Recycling Association, Iowa Economic Development Authority and Keep Iowa Beautiful selects the projects for funding.

More information about the grant program, application forms, and resources are available at www.iowadnr.gov/Environmental-Protection/Land-Quality/Waste-Management/Derelict-Building-Program.

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you can’t have fun at camp. Local children in grades K-2 are invited to have some fun on a no-school day this January at Mammals R’ Us Day Camp. Offered by Cass County Extension and the Cass County Conservation Board, Mammals R’ Us is a fun, half-day camp, where kids will learn what makes a mammal a mammal, play games and participate in hands-on activities and crafts to learn about mammal habits.

A snack will also be provided and campers will go on an outdoor adventure hike to find mammal tracks. Youth in grades K-2 can sign up for one of three sessions: Monday, January 18 at 9:00 AM – 12:00 Noon or January 25, with sessions at 9:00 AM – 12:00 Noon or 1:00 PM – 4 PM.

All winter daycamps will take place at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic. There is no cost to attend the camps, but pre-registration and a medical form are required for all campers. Remember to dress your children to go outdoors for a fun winter hike.

Registration deadline for Mammals R’ Us Camp is January 15th. Call the Cass County Extension office at 243-1132 or email xcass@iastate.edu to register your children. No registrations will be accepted after the registration deadline. All camps are sponsored by the Cass County ISU Extension and Cass County Conservation Board.

Police in Council Bluffs arrested three men early this (Friday) morning, following an investigation into a burglary. The suspects, 19-year old Joseph Patent, 18-year old Gage Fisher, and 19-year old Tristan Eggett, all of Council Bluffs, face six counts each of Burglary in the 3rd degree, and conspiracy.

Their arrests stem from a call authorities received with regard to a Camper burglary that had just taken place in the 2900 Block of Ave L.  The caller who witnessed the burglary was able to provide a description of the suspect vehicle including a plate number and a description of the suspects. While en route, responding Officers located the unoccupied suspect vehicle in the area of the 2500 Block of Ave G.

Police were able to determine that the suspects went into a residence located at 2542 Ave G. Officers made contact with the occupants of the residence and were able to identify the suspects involved in the burglary. Through their investigation Officers were able to determine that the suspects were also involved in several vehicle burglaries that had occurred throughout the night.

Several items linking the suspects to the burglaries were recovered at the residence.
The Council Bluffs Police Departments Criminal Investigation Division is continuing to follow up with their investigation. Anyone with information or questions concerning this investigation can contact Detective Stehly at (712)328-4727.

Authorities say the quick apprehension of the suspects was directly related to an alert neighbor who was able to provide Officers with excellent suspect and suspect vehicle description. The Council Bluffs P-D encourages citizens to be good witnesses by safely collecting all available information including but not limited to Suspect descriptions, suspect vehicle information including anything that stands out on the vehicle, direction of travel and anything else they feel is important to the investigation.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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An icy road was to blame for an accident in Anita Thursday morning. According to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, a Chrysler PT Cruiser driven by 58-year old Terri Reinke, of Anita, was traveling north on Chestnut Street in Anita at around 8:30-a.m., when the car went out of control on the slippery road.

The vehicle struck a tree in the City right-of-way, in the 700 block of Chestnut Street. The force of the impact caused the driver’s side air bag to deploy. Anita Rescue and Wiota 1st Responders arrived on the scene. Reinke was not seriously hurt. Two children in her vehicle were checked for injuries by rescuers.

Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $4,000.

WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a Madison County Jail inmate found unresponsive in his cell has died at a hospital. On Wednesday the inmate was taken to Madison County Memorial Hospital in Winterset. Sheriff Jason Barnes says the inmate died there later that day. The inmate has been identified as 33-year-old Joshua Barker, of Winterset. He’d been arrested Sunday on drug and other charges.

Barnes says the cause of Barker’s death is unclear, but no foul play is suspected. State authorities are investigating Barker’s death.