OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The lower Missouri River will remain high into December because of the large amount of water being released from dams into the river. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the amount of water being released from the Gavins Point dam on the Nebraska-South Dakota border will remain at a level more than twice what is typical for this time of year — 80,000 cubic feet per second — into mid-December.

Officials do not expect significant new flooding along the river because of the high releases. But many levees remain damaged from severe flooding in the spring, allowing the floodwaters to flow into many farm fields and rural areas. The amount of rain and melting snow flowing into the river has remained exceptionally high this fall, and wet weather is expected to continue through the end of the year.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police say a shooting on Des Moines’ north side has left a man dead. Officers were called to the area around 1:30 p.m. Thursday for reports of at least three gunshots and found a 23-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his torso. The man — whose name has not yet been released — was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek says in a news release that detectives are following investigative leads, interviewing witnesses and examining evidence. No arrests had been reported by late Thursday afternoon.

Police say the shooting death is the city’s 13th homicide this year.

(Radio Iowa) — A new report on childhood obesity finds Iowa’s numbers aren’t budging, with more than 50-thousand kids statewide falling into the category. Victoria Brown, senior program officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says the report looked at children between the ages of 10 and 17 over the past two years.

“The obesity rate in Iowa for this age group, about 16.4 percent of your population, has held steady in recent years,” Brown says. “You rank as the 14th highest in the nation for childhood obesity.” That’s about one in seven children. Nationwide, the report found four-point-eight million children in that age range are obese, a number that’s also remained essentially unchanged since the last report.

“Even though the rate overall has held steady in recent years, there’s still big health disparities across populations with this rate,” Brown says. “Black and Hispanic youth are much more likely to have obesity than their white or Asian peers. Same for youth from families with lower incomes, they’re at greater risk for higher obesity.” While it’s discouraging the state and national numbers haven’t fallen from year to year, Brown says it’s also important to note they’re not rising either.

“The message here is to stay the course,” Brown says. “A commitment to healthier school meals to make sure that kids get strong nutrition at school breakfast and school lunch, considering that kids consume over half their calories each day in their school buildings, is really critical.” She says it’s also important to maintain access to SNAP or food stamp programs, that we continue to build “walkable” communities, and address things like “food deserts” or urban areas where it’s hard to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food. The report found Mississippi has the highest childhood obesity rate at 25-point-4 percent, while Utah has the lowest rate at 8-point-7 percent.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has issued orders changing how the state court system conducts security assessments after two cybersecurity workers hired by state court administrators were arrested for breaking into the Dallas County Courthouse last month.

Chief Justice Mark Cady signed an order Thursday that prohibits physical break-ins of courthouses and entry outside of regular business hours as part of cybersecurity testing. Court administrators also must confer with local officials on systems testing.

In addition, Cady says security contracts must be reviewed by a lawyer and the court administrator must personally approve contracts with input from building security, sheriffs and others.

The courts hired an outside law firm to investigate after cybersecurity company Coalfire broke into the Dallas County Courthouse in Adel and Polk County Courthouse in Des Moines. Two workers were arrested at the Dallas County Courthouse.

The law firm concluded there were misunderstandings over contracts terms. It also found contract language was ambiguous and there was a lack of management, oversight and proper supervision of the testing program.

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday backed the new leader of Iowa’s human resources agency, saying he made an honest error when he misstated what his department does on his résumé. Reynolds told reporters that “people make mistakes” on their résumés, and that Department of Administrative Services Director Jim Kurtenbach is human.
“It’s not intentional, and I think we need to remember that sometimes,” she said after an appearance at an education technology event in Coralville. “It happens. I’m fine with that. I don’t think there’s anything there.”

Reynolds appointed Kurtenbach in June to lead the department, which manages human resources, buildings and several other functions for the executive branch. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Kurtenbach is working on the side as a paid expert witness for an Ames family that is seeking millions of dollars from neighbors whose opposition they blame for delaying their plan to build a campground and events venue.

Kurtenbach submitted his résumé to the court last week, claiming the department he leads is the “primary entity charged in the Code of Iowa with representing the State in legal matters,” among other duties. That’s not true. The attorney general’s office, not his department, represents the state in legal matters. Kurtenbach, a former state representative and Iowa GOP chairman, hasn’t responded to questions about how the error occurred. His department warns applicants for state jobs that intentionally misrepresenting their experience can result in disqualification.
Reynolds said she was aware of Kurtenbach’s work on the lawsuit before he was appointed and that she was comfortable with his decision to continue. She said Kurtenbach, a former Iowa State University administrator and accounting professor, was one of many people from outside of state government whom her administration has hired because of their expertise.

“It’s legal, so it’s perfectly fine, and we have to give him time to wind down some of the things he was participating in,” Reynolds said. “I’m fine with that and we’re going to continue to move forward.” Iowa law generally allows state officials to work outside jobs that do not conflict with their state duties or rely on government resources. Kurtenbach revealed in last week’s filing that he is being paid $350 per hour for his work on the lawsuit, which is set for trial in February.

(Radio Iowa) — A special investigation by the state auditor’s office indicates the office manager for a southern Iowa landfill failed to deposit tens of thousands of dollars in facility fees. Jennifer Nickell was the office manager for the Solid Waste Management Commission for Wayne, Ringgold and Decatur Counties. According to a letter from the state auditor’s office, Nickell admitted to the commission she had taken “cash collections for personal use.” She resigned rather than be fired in the middle of last year.

Auditors reviewed four years of records related to the fees charged for dropping off trash at the landfill that’s near Grand River — and identified nearly 62-thousand dollars in cash hadn’t been deposited in the commission’s bank accounts. The report indicates cash was withheld from over 90 percent of the deposits made during Nickell’s tenure.

The special investigation by the state auditor’s office has been turned over to state and local authorities.

The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department reports all public park restrooms are being shut-down until next Spring, and will be winterized. The change takes effect today (Oct. 10th), so you should plan accordingly.

An Aviation Program being offered in the Atlantic Community School District was discussed during a meeting Wednesday evening of the Atlantic School Board. Aviation Program Coordinator Lisa Sonntag said the District is just getting started with their program here. The District is one of 165 schools nationwide that offer the curriculum this year. She said Clarinda and Atlantic are the only schools in Iowa to offer the program.

From left to right: Aviation Program students Chase Vogl and Corbin Logemann; Aviation Instructor Lisa Sonntag. (Ric Hanson/photo)

The need for such a program, she said, is evident in light of the number of pilots who will be retiring from Commercial airlines in the coming years. She said Boeing reports they will be about 240,000 pilots short in about 20-years. The FAA gave out only 5,500 licenses last year. UPS is also going to be looking for pilots and mechanics just to keep their fleet running. Another element of the program deals with drones. In fact, the students had a chance within the past couple of weeks to look at and operate some drones, under the guidance of Technology Director Roger Warne and Eric Miller, Industrial Tech & Ag Instructor.

Sonntag said program is set up for four-years, but only the year-one curriculum is rolled-out. This year is the test year for year-two. Each year, another year is added to the curriculum. After year two, the students should be able to take the written FAA ground test for an eventual pilot’s license. Twenty students are participating in the curriculum this year. Students each semester’s build will cover different topics, including the construction of a small scale wind tunnels. The course includes the use of two cockpit flight simulators similar to a video game, but much more technical in nature. Sonntag said she’d eventually like to have four-to six more simulators as the years progress.

The program course features two Career and Technical Education pathways: Pilot, and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drones). All curriculum materials are provided to schools at no cost, thanks to generous donations made to AOPA (The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) Foundation.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say two people were badly injured by a house fire in Dubuque. Firefighters were sent to the home about 9 p.m. Tuesday, and the Dubuque department says the blaze was largely contained within 15 minutes. The man and woman injured were hospitalized. Their names haven’t been released. Fire Chief Rick Steines says the fire burned mostly in the basement, but there was smoke damage on all the floors. The cause is being investigated.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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