ALTOONA, Iowa (AP) — A popular phone gadget that’s been banned from amusement parks throughout the country has now been banned in Adventureland Park in Altoona. Des Moines television station KCCI says selfie sticks weren’t just becoming a safety concern for people trying to use them on rides. Adventureland spokeswoman Molly Vincent says guests often complained about people using them during shows and walking with them in crowded areas.

Adventureland’s ban started earlier this month after Disney parks announced their ban. Earlier this week, Six Flags theme parks also banned the long metal poles used to take smartphone pictures at more than arm’s length.

But Iowa State Fair spokeswoman Mindy Williamson says fair officials view selfie sticks as a “fun family-type thing” and are still allowed on the fairgrounds.

Firefighters from Menlo, Stuart, Casey, Dexter, Adair, Greenfield, Guthrie Center and Panora Fire battled a fire late Friday night at an ethanol plant, in Menlo. According to a report in the Perry News, the blaze at the Koch Brothers-owned plant was reported at around 11-p.m., Friday.

The paper says a security guard at the Flint Hills Resources ethanol refinery said plant workers told him the fire started in the factory’s energy center and was caused by a faulty ignition switch in a thermal oxidizer. The guard, who did not wish to give his name, said this was the first time a fire occurred in the facility during his three-year tenure.

A Stuart firefighter, who also did not wish to be identified, said the fire was located in the conduits of the facility. He said large quantities of water were called in to standby in case the ethanol and other volatile chemicals produced at the plant caused an explosion.

The 110 million gallon ethanol production facility began operating in September 2008 as Hawkeye Energy Holdings. Flint Hills Resources LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc., acquired the plant in 2010 from Hawkeye Energy Holdings.

Authorities in Montgomery County are asking for your help in solving a case of vandalism. Officials say deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office were called to the 200 block of E. 4th Street in Villisca, upon receiving a report of vandalism to a vehicle. When they arrived, deputies observed the front hood of a 1994 Izuzu Amigo had been pushed in. The damage was estimated at $300.

The incident is believed to have occurred between the hours of 1-a.m. and 6-a.m. Saturday (today). Anyone with information about the incident should call the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at 712-623-5107.

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

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A rural Atlantic man who has been heavily involved in the local saddle club and numerous events throughout the County, was honored Friday afternoon for his dedication and service. Larry Randell presented an award to Bob Bebensee during a ceremony held in the horse show barn on the Cass County Fairgrounds.

Larry Randell (Left) presents Bob Bebensee with the award (Photo courtesy Carol Bebensee South)

Bebensee said his association with the Cass County Fair began about the same time he and his wife Dee moved to Atlantic in 1958. He says it’s been his honor to have worked with fair officials and volunteers, and to have carried the colors of the U-S Flag during the various county parades and at other events.

The 7:06-a.m. report w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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The free, Cass County Fair rolls on today, in Atlantic. Here’s what’s on the schedule:

• 8-a.m.: Sheep Show (Outdoor Show Ring)
• 10-a.m.: Pet Show (Cass County Community Center)
• Noon: Working Exhibits, Educational Presentations and Extemporaneous Speaking (Cass County Community Center).
• Noon Special at the Foodstand: Lamb or Ham Balls
• 2-p.m.: Dog Show (Outdoor Show Ring).
• 6-p.m.: Tractor Pull (in front of the Grandstand).

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County say a man wanted on a Page County warrant for Violation of Probation, was apprehended Friday night, in Villisca. 39-year old Scott Jason William McCollum, of Villisca, was arrested at around 11-p.m. and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on $2,000 bond.

A man from Nebraska was arrested on a drug charge following a traffic stop Friday night, in Adams County. Sheriff’s officials say 21-year old Aaron Raoul Mills, of Omaha, was pulled over for speeding at around 9-p.m. During the traffic stop, deputies noticed the smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle. A small amount of marijuana was subsequently seized. Mills was being held in the Adams County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Two men from Illinois were injured when their motorcycles collided as they were riding westbound on Interstate 80 Friday, in Pottawattamie County. The Omaha World-Herald reports the men were among a group of six motorcyclists riding together, when one of the cycles hit the rear of another cycle, as that machine had begun to slow down. The accident happened at around 6:45 p.m.

The Iowa State Patrol says 63-year old David Schoth, of Chapin, Illinois, was thrown to the roadway when his 2012 Harley Davidson motorcycle was hit. He was taken by helicopter to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha. The patrol did not describe his injuries or release his condition. The condition of the other injured man, 61-year old William Ott,  of Middelton, Illinois, was also not clear. He crashed his 2013 Harley Davidson trike into a ditch after the collision.