Des Moines Register: The Holiday Inn Express at Drake University, 1140 24th St., has closed. The hotel had a long-term lease from Drake University, owner of the building. Its operator “requested to terminate the lease a few months before its conclusion, which Drake granted,” said university spokesperson Jarad Bernstein. The hotel, next door to the Drake Diner, had been in operation since the 1980s, first as Drake Inn. In 1996, when Drake purchased the building, it became the Holiday Inn Express. “Drake is currently evaluating options for the building’s use,”  Bernstein said.