BONDURANT, Iowa (AP) – The online retailer Amazon says it will be moving into a new warehouse in the Des Moines suburb of Bondurant. The Seattle-based company said Thursday it plans to hire 1,000 people for its fulfillment center. A smaller operation is being opened in Grimes, about 15 miles southwest of Bondurant. Local, state and company officials had tried to keep Amazon’s involvement in what was called Project Bluejay a secret. In November the Bondurant City Council approved six years of tax incentives for the project. Bondurant also agreed to improve the area infrastructure.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a Page County Jail inmate, 38-year old Jonathan Lynn Gray, of Shenandoah, was transported to the Pott. County Jail, Wednesday. He was transferred to Pott. County to address a warrant for Escape from Custody. Gray’s bond was set at $1,000. And, early Wednesday afternoon, 35-year old Bethany Lynn McCoy, of Lincoln, NE., was arrested following a report of a reckless driver. McCoy’s vehicle was located parked near McClelland, in the middle of the road, in the 29,100 block of 298th Street. Deputies determined she was impaired, and placed her under arrested for OWI/1st offense.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA — Democrat Iowa Third District Representative Cindy Axne has announced a grant amounting to over $1.2-million ($1,239,123) for Head Start projects was awarded to Family, Inc., an education non-profit and Early Head Start provider based in Council Bluffs. The grant funds come from the Department of Health and Human Services. Axne says “Providing a quality education to Iowa children starts with programs like Head Start, and countless studies show the endless benefits that early childhood education can have on a child’s future.”

Records show Axne has voted multiple times in her first term in Congress to increase investments in Head Start programs. In December, Rep. Axne joined her Democratic and Republican colleagues in supporting a Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations package that included $10.6 billion for Head Start, an increase of more than $500 million over Fiscal Year 2019. Her office says  Rep. Axne has also been focused on making government grants more accessible and transparent.

Last year, President Trump signed the Axne-sponsored Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency (GREAT) Act of 2019 into law, streamlining the outdated and burdensome federal grant process, making it easier and cheaper for Iowans to apply for grants, and allowing taxpayers to better track government spending.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A judge won’t let evidence of internet searches be used in the trial of a Manchester man accused of killing a high school girl in Cedar Rapids more than 40 years ago. Jerry Burns is charged with killing 18-year-old Michelle Martinko. Court documents say investigators found under Burns’ username a browsing history that included stories involving assault, rape, strangulation, murder and other violent acts. The Telegraph Herald reports that the judge ruled that the timing of the internet activity — conducted at least 38 years after the slaying — was prejudicial and would harm Burns’ right to a fair trial.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests, Tuesday. 57-year old David Lloyd Richey, of Glenwood, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on a warrant for Violation of Probation. His bond was set at $5,000. And, 26-year old Ozzy Ray Hunter, of Red Oak, was arrested Tuesday in Malvern, for Driving While Barred. His bond was set at $2,000.

Two men from Creston were arrested Wednesday evening at 706 N. Walnut Street, in Creston, on firearms charges. 47-year old Terry McKinney was taken into custody on six counts of Dominion or Control of a Firearm by a Felon. His bond at the Union County Jail was set at $30,000.  45-year old Cory McKinney was arrested for a single count of Dominion or Control of a Firearm by a Felon. His bond was set at $5,000.