A Clarinda teen had a bad driving day, Tuesday. Officials says 17-year old Tianna Martin, of Clarinda, suffered minor, possible injuries, after the car she was driving rear-ended a mini-van north of College Springs, and later hit a bridge guard rail head-on.

The first accident happened at around 3:25-p.m., near the intersection of 280^th Street and Nutmeg Avenue. Authorities say Martin told investigators her brakes acted “funny” as she approached a van stopped at the intersection. Despite swerving to try and avoid the collision, the 1999 Pontiac Bonneville Martin was driving, collided with the rear of a 2003 Chrysler Town & Country van, driven by 44-year old Janette Macvenn, of College Springs, causing a total of $2,000 damage. Macvenn was not injured during the accident. Martin suffered possible, minor injuries during the mishap. She was also cited for following too close.

About 35-minutes later, Tianna Martin was involved in another accident. Officials say she was traveling north on 280^th Street in the same car involved in the earlier crash, when the vehicle ran off the road. The car was totaled when it hit a bridge car rail head-on. Martin was transported by Clarinda EMS to the Clarinda Regional Hospital for possible injuries. The teen received another citation for failure to maintain control.

Red Cross workers from chapters across Iowa are stationed along the East Coast, helping residents recover from the weekend hit by Hurricane Irene. Danelle Schlegelmilch, with the Heartland Chapter in Omaha/Council Bluffs, is deployed in Washington D-C where thousands of residents have been overnighting in Red Cross shelters. She says the damage ranges from North Carolina to Maine. “It is kind of mind-boggling to think about the number of people who were impacted,” Schlegelmilch says. “I heard a statistic there are close to 50 or 60-million people, and that would be about 15 to 18-percent of our population in the United States, all lived in that affected area.” Schlegelmilch says most people have no choice but to head to a shelter for the basics of life.

She says, “Here on the East Coast, there is literally nowhere else for people to go when things like this happen so they really depend on the Red Cross and our partner agencies to be there to be able to provide the essentials of comfort, care, food.” Schlegelmilch was sent to Washington D-C last week to prepare for Hurricane Irene but she got a bonus, of sorts.  “Actually, I was deployed for the hurricane but ended up in an earthquake by accident,” she says. “It’s been one of those summers I couldn’t have ever predicted. I’ve worked three tornados, a flood, a hurricane and was in an earthquake, so it’s one for the books for sure.” Many people remain stranded at airports with hundreds of fights cancelled. It could be weeks before electricity is restored in some areas as four-million homes lost power in the storm. At least 40 people died in Irene in 14 states and territories. Flooding is now a big problem in Vermont, New York and elsewhere. Schlegelmilch expects the Red Cross shelters will be open for some time as the region recovers. Damage may reach seven-billion dollars.

(Radio Iowa)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — For the first time in more than two months, Council Bluffs is no longer under a flood alert from the Missouri River. Public Information Officer Don Gross says the city on Tuesday canceled the Alert Level 1 status, which had been in place since June 22. The alert warned people to have an evacuation plan in case of a breach or other emergency. The city’s flood call center is also closing on Tuesday, and it’s the last day the Iowa National Guard will patrol the levees.

With river levels dropping, the city plans to reopen its side of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge that spans the river to Omaha, Neb., on Saturday. Other bike trails may reopen this weekend, but no specifics have been released.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa officials say they don’t expect the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s decision to  freeze disaster aid in the wake of Hurricane Irene to affect the state’s recovery from flooding along the Missouri River. FEMA has announced it will freeze disaster aid to parts of the country recovering from tornadoes, drought, flooding and wildfires.

FEMA has enacted similar restrictions when disaster relief funds dipped below $1 billion. The fund currently stands at $800 million. John Benson of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management says he doesn’t expect the decision to affect the state’s recovery from disasters, including flooding along the Missouri River.

FEMA says the restrictions will not affect individual aid to disaster survivors but will apply to longer-term repairs, rebuilding and mitigation projects.