SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A free outdoor concert has been planned to thank the thousands of people who have volunteered to help fight Missouri River flooding in the Sioux City area. The concert is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Sioux City Center parking lot. Bush Hawg and Toby McBrooks will perform.

The Army Corps of Engineers is releasing massive amounts of water into the river from dams upstream. Those releases will keep the river above flood stage along Nebraska and Iowa at least into August.

A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered by Crime Stoppers, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for several burglaries last weekend, in Harlan. According to Harlan Police, several burglaries were reported in the community during the weekend of June 18th & 19th.

Officials say in two of the instances, garages were entered and items stolen, while in another instance, the home of an elderly female was entered while she was away due to an illness.  Authorities remind residents in the community to secure locks on their homes while they are away.

Harlan Police report also, 18-year old Mitchell Max, of Harlan, was cited June 17th for 5th Degree Theft, after he allegedly took items with out paying for them, from the Hy-Vee Food Store in Harlan. Max was found to be in possession of a 20-ounce can of Red Bull energy drink, when he was caught. After being cited for the alleged offense, the man was released from custody.

And, authorities in Harlan say 26-year old Tiffanie Newcomb, of Harlan, was arrested this past Monday, an an active Shelby County warrant for probation revocation related to a possession of controlled substance charge filed against her on May 26th. The woman was being held in the Shelby County Jail. Her arraignment on the PCS charge is scheduled for June 27th.

An Elliott man was arrested Thursday morning in Montgomery County, on a drug charge. Sheriff’s officials say 44-year old Shawn Darran Dunkeson faces a charge of delivery of marijuana. Dunkeson was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $50,000 cash bond.

No injuries were reported following a collision Thursday afternoon between two SUV’s in Fremont County. The Sheriff’s Office says the accident happened at around 12:10-P.M., just south of Shenandoah.

Officials report a 1999 Chevy SUV pulling a boat, and being driven by Glenn K. Rolf, of Tarkio, MO, was traveling south on Highway 59, when he hit a 2007 Chevy SUV driven by Bobbi Jeanette Johnson, of Jefferson City, MO, as Johnson was turning onto westbound Highway 2, from northbound Highway 59.

Authorities say Johnson was cited for failure to yield the right-of-way.

No injuries were reported following two separate accidents this week, in Harlan. Both crashes were the result of a driver failing to obey a stop sign. The Harlan Police Department says one of the collisions happened Sunday, at the intersection of Highways 44 and 59. Officials say Sharon Petersen, of Harlan, was cited for Failure to Obey a Stop sign, after her 2003 Cadillac hit a 2004 Ford Mustang, driven by Lori Tarney, of Portsmouth. The damages amounted to $3,400.

The second accident happened Wednesday, at the intersection of Southwest and Industrial Avenues, in Harlan. The H-PD says Cindy Morrison, of Portsmouth, was cited for failure to obey a stop sign, after her 2005 Hyundai was hit by a 2005 Chrysler, driven by Tricia Pearson, of Harlan. The damage amounted to $7,000.

A top federal official has been touring damage to farms from the flooding along the Missouri River in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. Karis (CAR-is) Gutter is the USDA Farm and Foreign Service Acting Deputy Under Secretary. Prior to a meeting with residents of Hamburg on Wednesday, Gutter took an aerial tour of the farmland buried under water. “We saw a fairly new grain bin that was being overrun by water and it turned over right in front of our eyes,” Gutter said. “So, what we saw was some farmer’s livelihood – not floating away on the river, but floating on their farm.” The USDA has compiled preliminary estimates about the extent of damage to crops from the flooding.

“We’ve run quick numbers on the inundation areas and the crop land acres. In Iowa, we’ve got somewhere upwards of 300,000 acres in the impact area,” Gutter said. Another 130,000 acres in Missouri and 120,000 acres in Nebraska are impacted by the floodwaters. Gutter helps oversee two key USDA agencies that can assist with the recovery.

He says federal crop insurance policies will protect farmers who have losses due to the floods.

(Pat Curtis/Radio Iowa)

With more rain and a bigger release of water from upstream dams, the flooding continues to worsen in parts of western Iowa. Even homes miles from major rivers are seeing basements start to fill with water. Nick Rohe is spokesman for a basement repair company in Omaha/Council Bluffs and says crews are working long hours installing sump pump systems.

“We’ll jackhammer out the concrete along the exterior foundation walls and sometimes in the middle of the basement where you may have water seeping up through floor cracks,” Rohe says. “We’ll also jackhammer out the basement floor where we’re going to put the sump system in and then we put a drainage system around the perimeter and down the middle if it is needed.” If the water problem is from rain, homeowners have some options, but because of conditions this year, he says the problems are often likely from the high ground water level.

“If it’s from rain water, you can keep a positive grade around the house and keep your downspouts clear and stuff like that,” Rohe says, “but if it’s a water table issue, there isn’t a whole lot you can do to prevent that besides have a waterproofing system or a water control system.” Rohe says the high water table level can cause more severe problems than just water seepage — it can do permanent damage to your foundation.

“Over-saturation of footings, which your house rests on, can cause foundation issues,” he says. “Also, just the pressure from the water itself and highly-expansive clay soil, when that gets over-saturated, that can put a lot of pressure on your foundation walls.” Rohe says there are several things to look for to see if the foundation is damaged, including: horizontal or vertical cracks, stair-step cracking on block walls, drywall cracks, doors and windows that don’t function properly and uneven floors. If the foundation is damaged, he says the structure will likely require extensive repair.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)