Inspection of troubled Iowa hotel turns up numerous health, fire safety violations

A central Iowa hotel with a long history of health and fire safety issues has been cited for more than a dozen violations related to unsanitary conditions, rodents, cockroaches, human waste and fire safety.

State records indicate that on March 7, inspectors from the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals & Licensing, as well as the Colfax police chief and a representative of DIAL’s Fire Safety Bureau, visited the two-story, 63-unit Colfax Inn near Interstate 80.

DIAL officials inspected 47 of the 63 guest rooms and, according to their report, the hotel’s manager “indicated that he had no way to unlock” several of the rooms. The manager also indicated that nine of the guest rooms “were closed and not available to rent based off…