(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Army Corps of Engineers is preparing the Missouri River reservoirs for spring runoff and potential flooding — which is expected to be minor-to-moderate this spring. Kevin Low, a hydrologist with the Missouri Basin River Forecast Center, says the mountain snowpack normally peaks in the next few weeks, just before the start of spring.

“We’ve usually accumulated about 80% of the seasonal peak snow-water equivalent in the mountains and so the mountain contributions to the 2021 runoff season is coming into focus,” Low says. “Our March water supply forecast suggests a below-normal runoff season covering April through September.” Low says the risk of flooding for the coming spring is very low.

“Flood risk for the Missouri basin is lower than normal,” Low says, “given the dry soil conditions, lack of Plains snow, and average to lower-than-average mountain snowpack.” Low says the flood forecast is nothing out of the ordinary, which is a good thing.

“The outlook indicates the likelihood of minor to moderate flooding along the Little Sioux River in northwest Iowa as well as minor to moderate flooding in the lower portion of the basin,” Low says. “The Missouri River itself is likely to see minor flooding from Rulo, Nebraska, downstream. All of this is very typical.” The Corps of Engineers is predicting Missouri River runoff at about 80-percent of normal this year.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A 33-year-old Georgia man has been sentenced for using information from dozens of University of Iowa employees to obtain federal tax refunds. Federal prosecutors say Edoghogho Collins Oloton, of Sandy Springs, Georgia, was sentenced Friday to two years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors say Oloton worked with other people to launder dozens of money orders bought with the fraudulent tax refunds.

The scheme netted more than $60,000 from tax refunds from University of Iowa employees. More than $1.4 million in illegal funds passed through bank accounts associated with the scheme between February and April 2015.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Three people were sentenced last week in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, on drug and other charges. Authorities say 42-year-old Bruce Lee Gamble and 43-year-old Alberto Monroe Rocha, both of Council Bluffs, were sentenced to 60 and 18 months in prison, respectively.

Gamble was sentenced to prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and ordered to serve five years of supervised release to follow his prison term and pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund. Gamble pleaded guilty to the offense on September 21, 2020.

Rocha was sentenced to to prison for prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ordered to serve three years of supervised release to follow his prison term and pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund. Rocha pleaded guilty to the offense on August 21, 2020.

Co-conspirator, 49-year old Daniel Walker Gabehart, also of Council Bluffs, was sentenced on December 16, 2020 to 60 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and another 60 months, to run consecutively, for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Gabehart was ordered to serve five years of supervised release to follow his prison term and pay a $200 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund. Gabehart pleaded guilty to the offense on August 4, 2020.

Detectives with the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force conducted several controlled methamphetamine purchases with Gabehart, which led to a search warrant of his residence. Gabehart, Gamble, and Rocha were located at the Council Bluffs apartment along with methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and several firearms.

This investigation was conducted by the Council Bluffs Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports 56-year old Jeffrey Scott Leisure, of Omaha, was sentenced March 3rd in Council Bluffs District Court, to 10 1/2 years in prison, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Leisure was also ordered to serve ten years of supervised release to follow his prison term and pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund. Leisure pleaded guilty to the offense on October 9, 2020.

The Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task force began investigating numerous leads regarding Leisure distributing several pounds of methamphetamine in the Council Bluffs and Omaha metro area. At the same time, detectives with the Bellevue Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted several controlled methamphetamine purchases with Leisure, leading to his arrest.

This investigation was conducted by the Council Bluffs Police Department, Bellevue Police Department, Omaha Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa journalist covering a protest for racial justice was blinded when a police officer shot pepper spray in her face and jailed for hours despite telling him repeatedly she was just doing her job. Body camera video played at her trial shows Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri in custody on May 31, 2020, her eyes burning from pepper spray. She says she is the newspaper and asks Officer Luke Wilson why he arrested her, adding that she was in pain and couldn’t see.

Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri listens to opening statements in her trial in which she is charged with failure to disperse and interference with official acts while reporting on a protest last summer, Monday, March 8, 2021, at the Drake University Legal Clinic, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Kelsey Kremer/The Des Moines Register via AP)

Sahouri’s defense played the video for jurors on the second day of a trial in which Sahouri and her former boyfriend, Spenser Robnett, are charged with failure to disperse and interference with official acts.

Firefighters from Anita and Wiota were dispatched to the scene of a residential fire in Anita, late this (Tuesday) morning. The page about a fire on the back patio at 306 Elm Street, was sent at 11:49-a.m.  Residents of the home had safely evacuated. Additional details are currently not available.

(Radio Iowa) – A lawsuit has been filed to challenge a new state law that reduces the early voting period in Iowa.  Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law Monday. The lawsuit seeking to block the changes is filed on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens. Marc Elias, the lead attorney, says the voting restrictions in the new law create an undue border on the right to vote in violation of the Iowa Constitution.

The lawsuit cites the record turnout for the 2020 election and accuses Republican lawmakers of making it a priority to pass a bill that restricts nearly every form of voting that Iowans relied on last year. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says the law strengthens uniformity, provides transparency and gives Iowans even greater confidence to cast their ballot.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police say a wrong-way driver accused of causing a fatal crash in eastern Iowa over the weekend is a defendant in an Illinois murder case who was out on bail at the time of the crash. The Gazette reports that the crash happened around 2 a.m. Sunday on Interstate 380 in Cedar Rapids. Investigators say 34-year-old Tyler Lee, of Rockton, Illinois, was driving a pickup truck southbound in the northbound lanes when he crashed head-on into a sport utility vehicle carrying four people.

Police say the crash killed a passenger in the SUV, 23-year-old David Phuong Nguyen of Cedar Rapids. At the time, Lee was out on $1 million bail for a May 2017 shooting death in Loves Park, Illinois.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday, March 9^th.

• The results of the CAM Special Election were confirmed. The total number of votes were unchanged, at 170 Yes and 2 No.  Auditor Dale Sunderman says district patrons therefor voted to keep extra tax revenue in the district until 2050.

Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken said there are big plans in the works for the Cass County Secondary roads including;

• New culvert pipes for a summer project set to arrive March 26^th. Steel rivets for bridge repairs on 700^th street were also ordered.
• The week of March 22nd Wolken will begin the process of interviewing candidates for three maintenance positions and one engineering tech position.
• And, “Cass County will be closing a bridge southwest of Atlantic on M56 (570^th Street) just south of the intersection with Lansing Road for bridge deck repair on Monday, March 15.  A signed detour using Lansing Road and Highway 6 will be provided.  It is anticipated the bridge will be closed for approximately one month.”

The Supervisors reported on their committee assignments, and mentioned…

• A new road and several signs were put in at the Zion building last week. Plans to build a larger parking lot are in place, and will be carried out after a culvert gets rerouted.
• A hill grade study is being conducted at the landfill. The results may speed up the timeline of the closure. They are also looking at different options for capping off the cells, including a plastic cap or a four foot natural cap.
• The Outdoor Classroom south of Massena will be looking to make some changes this year. This includes the removal of many ash trees planted 30 years ago that are infected by the Emerald Ash Borer. There was a high winter kill rate in the pond. It will need to be dredged and restocked.
• Lake Anita State park is also taking out many Ash trees that have been infected by the Emerald Ash Borer Beetle.
• On March 8th, 12,000 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines were distributed. In Cass County the “1C” tier is nearly completed.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, held a lengthy discussion with two rural county residents, with regard to their concerns over solar farms. Curt Beane informed the Board said has had issues dealing with MidAmerican Energy and their wind turbines. Now he and other rural residents have been approached about the acquisition of their properties for the installation of a solar energy project. Beane said he became aware of the project in late January, after he received a letter from a company called National Land Realty.

Beane said while out driving around on March 4th, he came upon survey stakes in the ditches and a survey crew with a pickup equipped with GPS.

Beane, a life-long Adair County resident whose family has farmed and worked the land for many generations, says he’s seen the proliferation of wind turbines over-saturate the area over the past four-years. He said when projects begin to affect to his and his neighbors enjoyment, comfort and safety, while on their own properties. Beane said that’s because the County did not have regulations in-place at the time, to help ensure the turbines would not affect property owners’ health and well being. He said they have the opportunity now, to make sure solar farms don’t cause other issues with the land and property owners.

Adair County resident Joanie Finck expressed similar concerns and issues she has with the potential construction of Solar Farms. Beane requested the Supervisors explore the impact of Solar Farms in the long-term, and how they will be addressed when/if they become obsolete. Supervisors John Twombly said the Iowa Utilities Board has issued guidance with regard to renewable energy, especially for counties that have zoning.

He suggested the county get ahold of a copy of those regulations/guidance package and review them, before making any decisions on a potential ordinance. Twombly warned refusing to allow such projects in a county, could result in property owners having no choice but to accept the inevitable.

The Supervisors decided it was appropriate to check with Madison and Wright Counties, for details on their ordinances with regard to Solar Farms. The Board also certified the results of the March 2nd Special Election for the Nodaway Valley School District, and affirmed patrons passed the Revenue Purpose Statement, 107 to 9.