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.

w/ Chris Parks

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Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:50 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have announced in a late Friday email that they’ve reached an agreement to overhaul the state’s tax system and cut taxes. Gov. Kim Reynolds says in a press release sent after 5 p.m. that she and other top Republican lawmakers made a “historic” deal that would include cutting individual income taxes and some corporate taxes. Reynolds’ office says a bill is not available for the public to review because it is still being finalized.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says she’s ordering an independent review of a state agency where a former director and political ally was accused of multiple instances of sexual harassment over years. Reynolds announced Friday afternoon she and the Attorney General’s Office selected a Des Moines attorney to head an investigation into conduct at the Iowa Finance Authority that is linked to alleged abuse by former director Dave Jamison.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A woman accused of killing her stepfather in Des Moines has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. The Des Moines Register reports that 30-year-old Sera Alexander was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty in March to involuntary manslaughter and reckless use of a firearm in the May 2017 death of 49-year-old Anthony Hartmann.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Officials in eastern Iowa have released the names of a suspect and bailiff involved in a courthouse shooting. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said Friday in a written statement that Story County Courthouse bailiff Timothy Hutcheson fired a shot from his service weapon as he, another bailiff and a Davenport police officer tried to subdue 29-year-old Adam Demarcus Lafrentz. No one was hit by the shot.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have announced in a late Friday email that they’ve reached an agreement to overhaul the state’s tax system and cut taxes. Gov. Kim Reynolds says in a press release sent after 5 p.m. that she and other top Republican lawmakers made a “historic” deal that would include cutting individual income taxes and some corporate taxes.

Reynolds’ office says a bill is not available for the public to review because it is still being finalized. Republicans with control of the statehouse have been working behind closed doors to finalize a tax plan along with the next state budget. The press release sent Friday does not provide enough information on the plan’s full cost.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Motorists encounter all sorts of obstacles on the road, but a giant, bouncing inflatable rubber duck might be a first. Drivers and pedestrians in a two-block stretch near Des Moines’ East Village got a glimpse of just that Thursday evening when a 20-foot inflatable duck bounded along a street.

The duck, dubbed Quacky, is owned by the Youth Emergency Shelter and Services and is part of a promotional for the 92-bed youth shelter’s annual Duck Derby fundraiser, set for May 5.

Shelter director Stephen Quirk says Quacky “went a-fowl” after one of its tethers broke in high winds. Quirk says the 11-year-old giant inflatable duck “is back in his nest” getting some repairs so it can be ready to again display for the derby.