(Radio Iowa) – Separate search efforts are underway this (Thursday) morning on waterways in central and eastern Iowa for girls who went missing on Wednesday. Des Moines police say the search is back underway on the Raccoon River for an 11-year-old girl. She’s presumed drowned after rafting with friends on the river last night (Wed. night). Police say the girl got off the raft, went underwater and didn’t surface.

Another girl is believed to have met the same fate at Palisades-Kepler State Park in Linn County. Witnesses say the girl was struggling in the water mid-afternoon and vanished in the Cedar River. A helicopter and drones were being used in that search.

WASHINGTON – As historic numbers at the U.S.-Mexico border continue to rise, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) will join a delegation of her Senate Republican colleagues led by John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on a trip today (Thursday) and Friday to the Rio Grande Valley to survey the current state of the Southern border. The senators will be briefed by the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS), Texas National Guard, local law enforcement, landowners, and others.

In a statement issued Thursday morning, Ernst said “Month after month we continue to see complete chaos at the Southern border under this administration. With our Border Patrol agents more overwhelmed than ever, we need serious action to restore law and order at the border. I’m looking forward to meeting with the men and women on the frontlines of this crisis and bringing back potential solutions to my colleagues in the Senate.”

During the trip, the delegation will:

Participate in a night border tour with law enforcement.
Partake in a CBP aerial border tour.
Meet with local landowners to discuss the impact of the open border on Texas communities.
Receive briefings from the NBPC and CBP about the challenges these agencies face.
Receive a briefing from the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety about state efforts to secure the border, known as Operation Lone Star.
Hold a press conference to discuss the state of the U.S.-Mexico border.

(Pottawattamie County, Iowa) – Officials with the Council Bluffs Police Department today (Thursday), said “Since our last Speed Enforcement Project on 4-29-2022 we have received several more complaints of speeding and red light traffic violations, in the area of I-29 and 9th Ave. The efforts to make motorists conform to the posted speed limit began Nov. 8, 2021, when the Iowa D.O.T. closed Northbound Interstate 29 between 9th Avenue and Avenue G and then opened the Northbound Frontage Road to accommodate that Interstate traffic. This section of road includes four separate traffic lights and a posted speed limit of 35mph. In addition to speeding there have been several accidents and complaints of semis using engine brakes.” On Wednesday, July 13th, Traffic Officers conducted another Speed Enforcement Project in the same area. The project involved six officers in fully marked cruisers; two of the six officers were on motorcycles.

Authorities say Officers began the project at 8:00 AM and concluded at 11:00 AM. They focused on excessive speed, which on Wednesday ranged from 61-to 81-mph in a 35-mph speed zone, “It means these people are traveling at least 30mph over the posted speed limit,” Police said. Included in the excessive speeds were two separate semis clocked traveling at more than 70mph. Police say 70 citations were issued including for no insurance and no registration. Authorities warned, “After [Wednesday’s] project results we will be stepping up our daily enforcement.”

On Wednesday, Traffic Officers focused their Special Traffic Enforcement on vehicles traveling 20-mph or more over the posted speed limit of 35mph. The top speed was checked at 80mph.  Council Bluffs Police say they “will continue to step up speed enforcement in this area. Always be aware of your speed.”

The Red Oak Police Department today (Thursday) said Thomas Oscar Anderson, age 62, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 4-p.m. Wednesday. Anderson was wanted on a Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear on an original charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance/2nd offense. He was being held for Mills County on a $25,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa State University analysis shows rural households are being disproportionately impacted by rising inflation. The study finds disposable income for rural residents is down 38 percent — compared to 17 percent in cities. I-S-U researcher Dave Peters says that means rural communities have less of a safety net for unexpected costs. “A healthcare issue that costs extra money, you get a reduction in your hours. Big home repair that you didn’t plan for. So, any kind of these unexpected expenses, that’s only six-thousand dollars to cover that,” Peters says. He says rural households are using more gasoline to travel and fuel to heat their homes – – which are both surging in price.

And Peters says wages in small towns are growing more slowly than in other places. Peters says he’s most concerned with how long these communities can withstand inflationary costs. “If they’re for the long term, then this becomes a big crisis for rural households, you know, that disposable income cushion makes them really vulnerable to debt and bankruptcy,” he says. Peters says low-income and older residents are at even greater risk of being impacted.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass Health reports AMC Rapid Care will be closed this (Thursday) morning (July 14), but they will re-open at noon, after staff move into their temporary home in Atlantic Medical Center. AMC Rapid Care personnel they will work out of the AMC until their space is fully renovated, the process for which is expected to be completed in early 2023.