EMMETSBURG, IA (IRN) – A South Dakota company said Tuesday it will stop production in northwest Iowa of ethanol that’s made from corn cobs, stalks and other crop residue. The Des Moines Register reports Poet, the nation’s largest ethanol producer, will continue research and development at the Emmetsburg plant it opened in 2014, but 30 jobs will be lost. Poet received about $120 million in state and federal incentives to build the plant. Poet says it will stop the production of ethanol because of insufficient support from the federal government for the industry.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – Two apartments in a Fort Dodge apartment complex were destroyed Tuesday after a child playing with a lighter started a fire. KCCI-TV reports the fire started in a second-floor apartment and spread to the third floor. No one was injured.

URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – Urbandale firefighters will soon be prepared for the worst. The Urbandale City Council gave the department approval Tuesday to purchase 18 sets of body armor.

DENISON, IA (IRN) – Students at Denison High School staged a walkout Tuesday morning after they said a teacher used homophobic and racial slurs in class. WHO-TV reports some students said they want to see the teacher fired. Others just want her to admit she was wrong. An investigation is underway.

BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – Burlington is set to become a stop for a major river cruise line in the next few years. KGAN-TV reports city officials signed a two-year agreement Monday with Viking Cruises, which is based in Switzerland. The agreement says the city will lease docking facilities to Viking for two years, and Viking will pay $1 per passenger that comes onto the docks. Viking has ordered the ships that will cruise the Mississippi River, but they won’t be ready until 2022.