COUNCIL BLUFFS — Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) is raising significant concerns over unnecessary delays of critical levee repairs along the Missouri River, repairs that would help protect Iowans in the southwest corner of the state that she represents in Congress. Her office says in a letter sent today (Wednesday) to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and key officials at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Axne raised concerns about delays in repairs to the Coulthard Levee, which runs through the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge in Harrison County.

Repairs to the Coulthard Levee have faced obstacles from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, causing delays that – if not completed by next spring – could devastate homes, businesses, and acres of farmland south of the Levee in Harrison and Pottawattamie Counties. Axne’s letter said “We cannot allow bureaucratic red tape to stand in the way of Iowans protecting their communities from future flooding Two and a half years since the flooding along the Missouri River, Iowans are still rebuilding and working to protect their communities from future devastation and I’m greatly concerned about the delays with the Coulthard Levee in Southwest Iowa.”

Rep. Axne requested the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service work promptly with the Coulthard Levee District to allow the levee to be repaired. Axne also highlighted that the levee district has received a grant from the State of Iowa to help fund the repairs which expires at the end of this year. Last year, Axne introduced bipartisan legislation to provide the Army Corps with new authority to cut through red tape and provide federal funds for levees in repeated flooding communities such as Hamburg. That legislation was adapted within the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 to successfully give new authority to the Army Corps of Engineers in order for them to address the needs of communities facing repeated flooding events.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday (Today), discussed possible, proposed changes to mental health services. Supervisor John Twombly said he’s learned through an e-mail from the State distributed through ISAC (the Iowa State Association of Counties), there’s a 99% likelihood the State will act to combine the various mental health regions, so Adair County has voluntarily started to hold meetings with the far Southwest Region (Southwest Iowa MHDS, which covers 9 counties and is based in Council Bluffs), because it appears the realignment will be based on total population, and the County doesn’t want to be told where residents will have to go for those services…officials want a choice.

With regard to who pays for mental health services, effective July 1, 2022, there will be no more levy for services. A meeting is set for next week in Des Moines, to discuss the State’s role.

Lori Nosekabel, CEO for Southern Hills Regional Mental Health that serves the counties of Adair, Adams, Taylor and Union, is expected to attend. Supervisor Board Chair Steve Shelley said there likely isn’t anything the County could do if it was forced to merge into specific mental health service regions.

In other business, the Adair County Board of Supervisors were informed by Auditor Mandy Berg, her office would be closed for Election Training, all-day Sept. 22^nd.

Since the training is being held on a regular Supervisor’s meeting date, the Board approved holding their regular meeting on Thursday, Sept. 23^rd, instead of the 22^nd.

Des Moines – The Iowa Department of Corrections reports John Miles Wright, who was convicted of Robbery 2nd Degree in Polk County, failed to report to work from the Fort Des Moines Facility as required, Tuesday. Wright is a 33-year-old white male, height  5′ 10″, and weighs 245 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on 7/6/2021.  Persons with information on Wright’s whereabouts should contact local police.

John Miles Wright

(Radio Iowa) – Refugee resettlement agencies in Iowa are preparing for more refugees who were evacuated from Afghanistan last month. The Des Moines office of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants has already resettled one family and it expects the capacity to stretch to about 350 more Afghan refugees. Kerri True-Funk is the office’s director. True-Funk says, “We’re going to get overwhelmed pretty quickly, just with the number of ongoing arrivals that we have, in addition to Afghan folks.”

She says agency has received an outpouring of support from many Iowans for the effort, including the governor’s office. After consulting with the Iowa Bureau of Refugee Services, True-Funk says the hundreds of expected Afghans are in addition to the agency’s scheduled arrivals from other countries. “We haven’t started getting the bulk of people that were airlifted out at this point,” she says. “They are still in processing, so we’re kind of seeing how it goes along and playing it by ear.”

True-Funk says USCRI is being overwhelmed with calls from Iowans who want to help. The best way to do that, she says, is through cash donations.

(By Kassidy Arena, Iowa Public Radio)

(Des Moines) – Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Iowa, next month. His leadership Political Action Committee, Save America, announced Tuesday Trump will make an appearance at the State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, on Oct. 9^th.

Doors open with live entertainment at 2-p.m., with Trump’s speech set for 7-p.m. Tickets are limited to two per mobile number, are available on a first-come, first-served basis through Save America.

Trump’s last visit to Iowa was just before the election in November, 2020, during a rally in Dubuque. 

The broadcast News at 8:06-a.m., from Ric Hanson.

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Police in Creston report three people were arrested on separate charges, Tuesday. At around 8-a.m., 52-year-old Patricia Schroeder, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, for Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order. She was cited for the offense, and then released on a Summons to Appear. At around Noon, Tuesday, Creston Police arrested 35-year-old Michael Simpson, Jr., of Creston, on an Adams County Warrant for Failure to Appear. He was transferred to the custody of Adams County.

And, around 5:35-p.m., 35-year-old Daniel Snyder, of Diagonal, was arrested in Creston for Public Intoxication. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $300 bond. Authorities said also, a man residing in the 600 block of Poplar Street, in Creston, reported Tuesday afternoon, that sometime in the previous 24 hours, someone had entered his vehicle that was parked at his residence, and stole his wallet that contained cash, credit cards and checks. The loss was estimated at $1,000.

The broadcast News at 7:08-a.m. from Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) – The Board of Regents, Tuesday, approved plans for the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics to build a facility in North Liberty that includes a hospital that local health officials spoke out against. C-E-O Suresh Gunasekaran told the Regents the hospital is part of a double building. The right hand side of it is a hospital and on the left hand side of it is an academic and clinic building. Together the proposed budget is 395 million,” Gunasekaran says.

The State Health Facilities Council approved the plan on a 4-1 vote after voting 3-2 against the plan in February. The administrators at other hospitals in the area argued the new hospital will expand beyond specialty care and take away their patients. Gunasekaran’s presentation to the Board of Regents mirrored his remarks in the State Health Facilities hearing. “The justification for this building is the continued need for expanded clinical care at U-I Healthcare. As well as the need, every time we expand our clinical capacity, to also expand our academic capacity,” he says.

A member of the board asked Gunasekaran how they were going to avoid the cost overruns of millions of dollars when they built the U-I Children’s Hospital. He says they have put several safeguards in place to try and prevent that from happening. “One such feature is the construction manager at risk. Where one outside party is responsible for the total scope of the project and managing all of the component parts,” according to Gunasekaran. “We also took it one further step to allow that manager to participate in the design process and the development of the budget.”

He says they’re also getting input from those on campus. Gunasekaran says they’ve collaborated with the University of Iowa Design and Construction Services throughout the entire process — which he says is different than the last time.  A University of Iowa spokesman says this building is out in the open — which makes construction easier. Construction is expected to begin later this month, with completion in 2025.