Red Oak Police report two separate arrests took place, Saturday. At around 8:35-p.m., 41-year old Michael Lee Butcher, of Red Oak, was arrested at 2nd and Joy Streets, for Public Intoxication. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 cash bond. And, at around 4:30-p.m., Saturday, 24-year old Lexia Louis Dion, of Sioux City, was arrested in Red Oak in the 2400 block of N. Broadway Street, for Driving Under Suspension. Her cash bond at the Montgomery County Jail was set at slightly more than $566.

Crews with the Atlantic Fire Department along with the Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies, responded to a report at around 3:25-a.m., of semi tractor-trailer fire. The semi was located at the westbound Interstate 80 Exit ramp.

For a time, it wasn’t clear what the semi was hauling, only that it was  Hazardous Materials. There were concerns that it might be hauling sulfuric acid, but it turns out (according to an official at the fire department), that the trailer contained commercial goods that were considered to be hazardous.

The fire started on a rear tire of the trailer, but the driver of the rig was able to extinguish the flames prior to the arrival of Atlantic Fire crews. No injuries were reported.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:00 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s governor has announced that she’s fired the director of the Iowa Finance Authority over a sexual harassment complaint. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Saturday in a news release that Dave Jamison has been fired, effective immediately. The written release says Reynolds’ office was made aware Friday night of “credible allegations of sexual harassment against Director Jamison.” Reynolds has named IFA Chief Programs Officer Carolann Jensen as interim director.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities say autopsies indicate an Iowa couple and their two children died from inhaling toxic gas at a rented condo on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, but there was no sign of foul play or suicide. The prosecutors’ office in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said Saturday that the type of gas and its source had not yet been identified. Photos released by the office showed investigators in anti-contamination suits examining gas connections to a stove in the condo in Tulum.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The family of a Des Moines police officer killed in a 2016 wrong-way crash is blaming the design of an interstate interchange in a new lawsuit. The Des Moines Register reports that the family of Officer Susan Farrell is suing the cities of Waukee and West Des Moines, as well as several contractors. The lawsuit says the cities and contractors were negligent in opening the Interstate 80 interchange west of Des Moines before basic safety features were finished.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Downtown Des Moines is anticipating an unprecedented wave of hotel construction, including a 330-room Hilton that opened this week. The Des Moines Register reports that the city expects a surge of 951 hotel rooms in the next few years, which is a nearly 50 percent increase from the rooms currently available. Des Moines didn’t add any new downtown hotel rooms between the opening of Des Lux Hotel in 2000 and the Hyatt Place in 2010. A city official says this is Des Moines’ “catch-up phase.”

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Autopsies indicate a southwest Iowa couple and their two children died from inhaling toxic gas at a rented condo on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, but there was no sign of foul play or suicide, Mexican authorities said Saturday.

The prosecutors’ office in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said that “the cause of death was asphyxiation from inhaling toxic gases.” It said the type of gas hadn’t yet been determined, but added that “any violent act or suicide has been discounted.”

Photos released by the office showed investigators in anti-contamination suits and firefighters with air tanks examining gas connections to a stove in the condo in Tulum. The office said investigators “carried out a physical investigation of the gas connections in the room,” and the civil defense office of Tulum would issue a technical report on the findings.

Iowa officials identified the family as 41-year old Kevin Sharp, his 38-year old wife, Amy, and their children 12-year old Sterling, and 7-year old Adrianna. All were from Creston, Iowa.

The family was reported missing by relatives in their hometown about a week after the family left for vacation. Creston police contacted the U.S. State Department, and the bodies were found during a welfare check at the condo in Tulum, on the Yucatan Peninsula.

The Quintana Roo prosecutors’ office said the family had been dead for between 36 and 48 hours by the time they were found Friday at the Tao condominium complex.
Contacted Friday, the developer of the condo complex where the deaths occurred declined to comment.

The Creston News Advertiser newspaper in Iowa reported that the family flew to Cancun on March 14. According to her sister, Amy Sharp texted their mother the next day to say they had reached Tulum, but relatives didn’t hear any more from the family. The sister, Renee Hoyt, said the Sharps were scheduled to return to the U.S. this week. They were scheduled to depart from the Cancun airport on Wednesday and fly to St. Louis on a non-stop flight. The family had planned to then drive about 200 miles to Danville, Illinois, to watch a basketball game Thursday, Hoyt said.

When the family didn’t arrive in St. Louis, family members contacted authorities, she said. In 2010, the explosion of an improperly installed gas line at a hotel in the nearby town of Playa del Carmen killed five Canadian tourists and two Mexicans.

Organizers of a Candlelight Vigil say the event will be held Sunday, in memory of a family of four from Creston who were found deceased in their condominium, Friday morning in Mexico. The Creston Community will remember Kevin, Amy, Sterling and Adrianna Sharp, Sunday (March 25th), with a prayer and fellowship at 7-p.m. at the VFW Ball Field (if the field is muddy, the Vigil will be held in the outfield).

Authorities in Mexico said late Saturday, that the Iowa couple and their two children died from inhaling toxic gas at a rented condo on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, but there was no sign of foul play or suicide. The Quintana Roo state prosecutor’s office wrote in a tweet Friday that four bodies had been found in a tourist compound in Tulum.

 (DES MOINES) – Gov. Kim Reynolds has terminated Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Director Dave Jamison, effective immediately.  On Friday evening, the governor’s office was made aware of credible allegations of sexual harassment against Director Jamison. Upon learning this, Gov. Reynolds terminated Director Jamison’s employment. Gov. Reynolds has named IFA Chief Programs Officer Carolann Jensen as interim director.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The family of a Des Moines police officer killed in a 2016 wrong-way crash is blaming the design of an interstate interchange in a new lawsuit. The Des Moines Register reports that the family of Officer Susan Farrell is suing the cities of Waukee and West Des Moines, as well as several contractors. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Polk County District Court, says the cities and contractors were negligent in opening the Interstate 80 interchange west of Des Moines before basic safety features were finished and “despite construction not yet being complete.”

The March 2016 crash killed Farrell and Officer Carlos Puente-Morales, as well as a prisoner, Tosha Hyatt. The wrong-way driver, 25-year-old Benjamin Beary, also died. Investigators say Beary was drunk and had been traveling more than 100 mph when he hit the officers’ car.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines is gearing up for its annual Earth Day Trash Bash — Iowa’s largest Earth Day volunteer event. The April 20 event sees teams of volunteers clear away winter debris, remove invasive species to improve wildlife habitat, clean up litter and beautify parks, trails, cemeteries and other public spaces.

The registration deadline for teams that want to volunteer is March 30. Captains can register a team of volunteers online at https://earthday.dmgov.org/ . More information can be found by calling 515-248-6380 or emailing trashbash@dmgov.org . Team captains receive a t-shirt as a thank you for organizing and leading a team.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa National Guard will hold a groundbreaking ceremony next week for a new center in Davenport. The ceremony for the new Davenport Readiness Center will take place Wednesday morning. Iowa National Guard senior leaders and representatives from federal, state, and local governments will participate. The ceremony is open to the public.

The one-story, 86,000-square foot building will be located on a 37-acre site and will feature an assembly hall, offices, classrooms, physical fitness space, a kitchen and vehicle maintenance training bays. The space is also designed for community use and can be used to provide shelter during natural disasters.

Construction of the $23 million project will begin immediately following the groundbreaking. Completion anticipated in the spring of 2019.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Downtown Des Moines is anticipating an unprecedented wave of hotel construction, including a 330-room Hilton that opened this week.
The city expects a surge of 951 hotel rooms in the next few years, which is a nearly 50 percent increase from the rooms currently available, the Des Moines Register reported.

Des Moines didn’t add any new downtown hotel rooms between the opening of Des Lux Hotel in 2000 and the Hyatt Place in 2010. A recent wave of construction has added five hotels in the last four years. The Hilton Des Moines Downtown that opened Wednesday is a long-awaited project due to its proximity to the Iowa Events Center. Officials said it’s key to the city’s bid to attract national and regional conventions, as well as thousands of visitors annually.

Assistant City Manager Matt Anderson said the city has an aggressive policy for attracting hotels downtown by providing tax increment financing to developers. For building or remodeling hotels, owners pay property taxes on the assessed value of the building or land prior to renovations, with the length of the agreement depending on each project.

The city has awarded $18.7 million in tax increment financing to six hotel projects since 2014. Officials said there’s a clear return on investment, but many have questioned whether downtown can support the booming hotel construction.