ELDRIDGE, Iowa (AP) — A gun-making group moving to eastern Iowa is bringing with it a $25 million contract to make rifles for a European nation’s military. Lewis Machine & Tool is relocating from Milan, Illinois, to its new and much larger plant in Eldridge, Iowa, where it will supply the Estonian Defence Forces with 16,000 rifles, according to the Quad-City Times . Estonia borders Russia and the Baltic Sea in northern Europe.

Matt Pruitt, the company’s sales and marketing director, said all of the rifles will be made in Eldridge. He said the thousands of firearms represent the company’s largest order, but not its largest invoice. The company landed a $30 million deal with the United Kingdom in 2009. Manufacturing the arms will take considerable time, but Lewis Machine & Tool will have no problem keeping up with the country’s deliver schedule, Pruitt said. Big orders are always delivered in stages, such as the 10,000 rifles Lewis produced for New Zealand.

James Martin, assistant city administrator, said Lewis Machine & Tool is committed under its development agreement with Eldridge to add to its workforce. The current 128 full-time employees are to be bolstered by 50 new positions in January 2020, and that number is to remain stable under its tax increment financing agreement expires at the end of 2031.

The company received about $1 million in state and local tax incentives when it decided to relocate to the industrial park. The new location is about twice the size of its Milan facility. Construction began in November 2017 and is expected to be finished in April.

One of two people kayaking below the Lake Red Rock dam on the Des Moines River in eastern Iowa died, after their kayaks capsized late Saturday morning. KCCI reports both were taken to the Pella Regional Hospital, where one of the kayakers was pronounced dead. The accident happened at around 11-a.m. According to Marion County Sheriff Jason Sandholdt, Ames construction workers, area fishermen, firefighters from Knoxville Rural and Knoxville city fire departments, Pella Ambulance crews and deputies threw rescue lines to the individual who was still fighting to hold onto the capsized kayaks.

They were able to get one of the kayakers out of the deadly current, where members of the Pella Fire Department could get ahold of him. Officials have not yet released the names of the kayakers, pending notification of family members.

An eastern Iowa firefighter died and another was injured Saturday, while battling a blaze at Archer Daniels Midland’s Clinton facility.  Officials with the Clinton Fire Department report 33-year old Eric Hosette died Saturday morning while trying to extinguish the fire in Clinton. Hosette was with the fire department for 12 years and was promoted to Lieutenant in 2017. Another firefighter, Adam Cain, was injured in the incident. He is in critical but stable condition in Iowa City. The cause of the fire and subsequent explosion remains under investigation.

Clinton, IA Firefighter Eric Hosette

According to reports, ADM employees discovered smoldering material just before 6 a.m. in one of the silo storage bins at the loading facility before an explosion occurred. ADM officials have expressed their condolences to the families of the firefighters, saying the first responders “put their lives in danger every day, and it’s hard to express how much we appreciate their selfless help in a time of need.”

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:55 a.m. CST

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of an Iowa City cab driver. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that 42-year-old Curtis Cortez Jones was sentenced Friday after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in November for the 2017 death of Ricky Lillie.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa man has been turned over to immigration authorities and his sister sentenced to probation after they set up a sham marriage to keep the man in the United States. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that 27-year-old Selmir Salkanovic, of Waterloo, was accused of marrying a U.S. citizen purely to obtain an upgraded immigration status after he overstayed a tourism visa. His sister, Sanela Dedic, was accused of paying off the bride in the fake marriage.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A northern Iowa nature center is getting $386,000 in renovations this year. The Globe Gazette reports that the Lime Creek Nature Center announced plans to replace the center’s original main-level exhibits with “museum-quality,” “interactive” and “durable” ones that will highlight the area’s natural resources and the unique features and history of the Lime Creek Conservation Area. It’s also designed to provide an engaging educational experience for visitors.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A panel has named a new 137-acre park near Dubuque ahead of work to add a mountain bike trail system and disc golf course. The Telegraph Herald reports the Dubuque County Conservation Board announced this week it had named the park Proving Grounds Recreation Area. Deere & Co. donated the land for the park, and the name reflects how Deere had long used the property to test its equipment.

Starting this Sunday morning a couple of changes are going into effect for our schedule of church programming. The Music and the Spoken Word program has been moved up to an 8:30am broadcast time from 10:00am. This move will accommodate the change for our weekly hour-long Lutheran service to be bumped up an hour from 11:00am to 10:00am. This means our church programming will now be ending at 11:00am, which will alleviate some other occasional programming conflicts. We thank you for your continued support of these programs and hope this is not an inconvenience for you.