DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The state’s emergency management commander has been criticized as missing in action during part of the fight against flooding in western Iowa. Woodbury County Emergency Management Director Gary Brown told The Des Moines Register says that the absences of Derek Hill have delayed aid requests and slowed flood-fighting efforts.

Woodbury and five other western Iowa counties have been declared federal disaster areas. Brown said of Hill, “He’s been gone a lot.”

Hill is administrator of the Iowa Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. He rejected the criticism and says he’s been in close contact with his staff whenever he’s been away. On Monday he began an eight-day Arizona vacation, and he’s spent nearly eight days on duty with the Iowa National Guard since June 1st.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – An Iowa truck driver has settled with the estate of a Canadian man over a crash in Interstate 80 in Nebraska. A federal judge on Thursday dismissed the lawsuit brought by Everett Ruckman Jr., of Westphalia, Iowa, citing the settlement. Terms of the deal have not been released.

Ruckman and his wife sued the estate of Donald Reeve over a February 2010 crash near North Platte. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Nebraska says the crash was the result of Reeve’s negligence.

The state patrol has said Ruckman was passing Reeve’s van when Reeve turned into the semi an apparent attempt to make a U-turn. Reeve and his wife, Marlene, both of Saskatchewan, Canada, were killed.

Ruckman’s lawsuit sought compensation for medical expenses and other damages.

Authorities in Montgomery County report two women were injured during a near t-bone collision Thursday evening about two-miles east of Red Oak, on Highway 34. The accident happened at around 5:30, when a 1998 Ford Contour, driven by 56-year old Katherine Carpenter, of Omaha, stopped at the intersection of Highway 34 and 200^th Street, before proceeding into the intersection and collided with  a 2011 Chevy Malibu as it was headed west on Highway 34.

Carpenter, and a passenger in the vehicle, 53-year old Denise Fish, of Red Oak, were injured in the crash, and transported to the Montgomery County Hospital, by Red Oak Rescue. No other injuries were reported.

Following the initial collision, the Malibu, driven by 62-year old David Daquila, of Lake Ozark, MO, crashed into a 2000 Ford Ranger pickup driven by 58-year old David McFarland, of Red Oak, as he was stopped at the intersection.

Carpenter was cited for Failure to Yield at a Stop Sign. Damage from the crash amounted to $10,500.

A blown left rear tire caused an SUV to go out of control and roll over Thursday, in Fremont County, sending four people to the hospital. Sheriff’s officials say a 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada driven by 33-year old Shawna Caniglia, of Omaha, was traveling south in the 3000 block of Highway 59, when the incident occurred.

The SUV left the road when the tire blew out, and rolled nearly twice, ejecting three of four persons in the vehicle. The injured parties were transported by Shenandoah Rescue to hospitals in Shenandoah and Hamburg.

The names of the other persons were not released, and additional details are currently not available.

A loose tie-down strap on a semi-trailer caused $2,500 damage to a passing car Thursday evening, about one-half mile west of Red Oak, in Montgomery County. Authorities say a 2006 International semi driven by 56-year old Larry Hughes, of Homerville, GA, was traveling east on Highway 34, when a cargo strap holding down a flatbed trailer load of steel pipes came loose.

The strap swung out and hit a 2006 Dodge van driven by 43-year old Julie Misner, of South Elgin, IL, as Misner was traveling west on Highway 34. The strap hit the van’s side-view mirror, causing it to break off. It also created a large gouge in the driver’s side door and side sliding door.

Hughes was unaware of the accident until a sheriff’s deputy observed the tie-down strap dragging on the highway, and pulled the semi over. Moments later, Misner pulled up and showed the deputy the damage caused to her van by the passing semi.

No citations were issued.

DEXTER, Iowa (AP) — Fire has destroyed the home of an Iowa Army National Guard soldier returning from Afghanistan.

KCCI-TV in Des Moines says Pfc. A-Jay Irelan is to arrive in Iowa on Sunday. His house in Dexter, about 30 miles west of Des Moines, was damaged early Wednesday.

His girlfriend, Erin Richey, says she got the call at work. The home they shared with her son, Layne, was engulfed in flames.

Richey says the hardest thing was telling Irelan about the fire. He’s on his the way home after a yearlong deployment. Richey says he was just relieved that no one was hurt.

Richey says they don’t have insurance, and have found a home in Stuart to rent for now.

A Wells Fargo fund to help the family has been set up. You can donate at any Wells Fargo location, under the Irelan-Richey fund.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Residents of a Council Bluffs apartment are moving because of concerns about a sewer line.

City leaders have told residents of the Riverbend Apartments to leave because of a growing sand boil compromising the line.

A malfunctioning private pumping station and sewage line due groundwater bubbling is causing the concern. Fixing the problem isn’t an option, because the work could threaten a nearby levee along the flooding Missouri River.

About 70 families are affected. Some are moving to a nearby apartment complex or