Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:10 a.m. CDT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Normally this time of year, huge barges can be seen chugging up the Mississippi River, carrying grain to market and bringing agriculture-related products to farmers in the Midwest for the new growing season. But historic spring flooding has left parts of the Mississippi closed for business. The interruption is hitting an agriculture industry that’s already suffering, including from trade disputes that have helped drive down commodity prices.

KELLEY, Iowa (AP) — Law enforcement in central Iowa says one of three suspects has been arrested for a home invasion robbery last year in which an 82-year-old woman was sexually assaulted. The Story County Sheriff’s Office says a 17-year-old from San Antonio was recently arrested by police in Eagle Pass, Texas. Police continue to search for two other men. Investigators say the three broke into the woman’s home late at night in August, sprayed her in the face with a chemical, beat her and sexually assaulted her.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say they’re planning to increase patrols of a downtown pedestrian bridge after a shooting there. Police say the increased focus on the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge comes after shooting around 1:45 a.m. Thursday on the bridge injured a 20-year-old man. Police say they’ve arrested a juvenile in the shooting. The bridge spans the Missouri River, connecting Omaha to Council Bluffs, Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Public Safety says motorists in Iowa can expect to see stepped up enforcement on roads next week for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday. The increased focus on seat belt enforcement is part of the national “Click It or Ticket” campaign taking place from May 20 through June 2. Memorial Day is regarded by many as the traditional beginning of summer.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Historic flooding has left parts of the Mississippi River closed for business. The river is a main conduit of shipping everything from agriculture products and construction material to petroleum and coal. Flooding also has affected shipping on the Missouri River and other waterways that feed into the Mississippi.

The shipping woes come at a time when farmers would normally be sending soybeans, corn and other grain from more than a dozen states in the Mississippi River basin down the river. And fertilizer shipments that normally travels up the river to communities from St. Louis to St. Paul, Minnesota, still haven’t made it through.

The interruption is hitting an agriculture industry that’s already suffering, including from trade disputes that have helped drive down commodity prices.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police in eastern Iowa say two people have been killed and two more injured in an overnight shooting. Television station KCCI reports that Cedar Rapids police were called around 1:20 a.m. Saturday to the Iowa Smoke Shop on the southwest side of the city.

Arriving officers found three people with life-threatening injuries in the shop’s parking lot. Two of them were later pronounced dead. A fourth victim arrived at a local hospital in a separate vehicle with life-threatening injuries.

Police have not released the names of the victims. Investigators believe the victims were in a vehicle in the parking lot at the store when someone approached them firing a gun.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say they’re planning to increase patrols of a downtown pedestrian bridge after a shooting there. Police say the increased focus on the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge comes after shooting around 1:45 a.m. Thursday on the bridge injured a 20-year-old man. Police say they’ve arrested a juvenile in the shooting.
The bridge spans the Missouri River, connecting Omaha to Council Bluffs.

The bridge, which is open around the clock, is in the process of having brighter LED lights installed along its path. Police say its riverfront patrol unit continuously patrols on and around the bridge, but that members of the gang unit will join in on the patrols.

KELLEY, Iowa (AP) — Law enforcement in central Iowa says one of three suspects has been arrested for a home invasion robbery last year in which an 82-year-old woman was sexually assaulted. The Story County Sheriff’s Office says a 17-year-old from San Antonio was recently arrested by police in Eagle Pass, Texas, on a warrant charging him with first-degree sexual abuse, willful injury, burglary, robbery and other counts. The Associated Press general does not name juveniles charged with a crime.

Two other men from Ames, 20-year-old Manuel Balderas and 18-year-old Jacob Jimenez, have been charged with the same counts. Police continue to search for them.

Investigators say the three broke into the 82-year-old woman’s home late at night in August, sprayed her in the face with a chemical, beat her and sexually assaulted her and took about $1,000 worth of items from her home. Police say the three also robbed a second home and stole that home occupant’s car.

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

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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg will attend various events around western Iowa, this coming week. On Friday, May 24th, the Gov. and Lt. Gov. will attend a Flood Advisory Board meeting at the ISU Center, in Malvern, beginning at 10-a.m.   And, both will be in Sac City at 4:30-p.m. to attend the Sac County Home Base Iowa event.

(Radio Iowa) — While parts of Iowa had record high temperatures in the low 90s on Thursday, forecasters say cooler, wetter weather will likely dominate much of the rest of the month and well into June. During a National Weather Service briefing, climatologist Martha Shulski (SHUL-skee) says heavy rain will spread across Iowa and much of the Northern Plains next week, raising the critical risk of renewed flooding. “The prediction is in the three-to-five inch range, so a pretty active pattern,” Shulski says. “These forecasts have been pretty consistent which gives you some higher confidence in the forecast actually verifying. Certainly, it’s something to look out for in terms of impacts over the next week.”

In spite of a few scattered hot and humid days, Iowa’s weather has been much cooler than normal this spring and forecasters anticipate that pattern will remain. “Continued higher probability for below-normal temperatures for a swath in the central U.S.,” Shulski says. “This is combined with the increased probability of wetter-than-normal conditions for June.”

Thanks to the El Nino, it’s possible the cool, wet weather will last well into summer, as will the risk of more flooding, as the ground remains saturated in many parts of the state.

(FORT DODGE) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections report 25-year old Roy Dylan Sanchez, who was convicted of Theft in the 1st Degree and other crimes in Webster County, failed to report back to the Fort Dodge Residential Center as required, Friday, and his GPS tracker had been removed without authorization.

Sanchez is an Hispanic male, height 6’2″, and weighs 182 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on April 9, 2019.  Persons with information on Sanchez’s whereabouts should contact local police.

Sanchez