The Mills County Sheriff’s Office is reporting three arrests early this week. On Monday, 19-year old Jonathan Jo Arrick, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 7:35-p.m. in Glenwood, for Violation of a Protection Order and Driving Under Suspension. His bond was set at $300. And. 55-year old Scottie Alan Cetner, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 9-p.m. on Highway 34 in Mills County, for Harassment of a Public Official or Employee, two counts of Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drugs, Driving Under Suspension, and Interference with Official Acts. His bond was set at $3,000.

And, at around 3:35-a.m. Tuesday (4/2), 21-year old Marcus Allen Baumstarck, of Lincoln, NE., was arrested for OWI/1st offense and having no valid driver’s license. His bond was set at $1,000.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office K9 “Corty” is set to receive a bullet- and stab- protective vest, thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Corty’s vest is sponsored by a fundraiser hosted by Denalyn Allen of San Antonio, TX and will be embroidered with the sentiment “In memory of K9 Chucky”. Delivery is expected within eight to ten weeks.

Deputy Braden Quist with K9 Corty

Sheriff Neil Gross says “K9 Corty was purchased through fundraising activities and donations in fall 2018 and is a Belgian Malinois. K9 Corty is currently assigned with Shelby County Deputy Braden Quist. They have completed all the state required training earlier this year and are currently hitting the streets throughout Shelby County. K9 Corty and Handler Braden Quist will benefit from the added protection provided by Vested Interest in K9’s Inc as K9 Corty is a dual-purpose dog.”

The program is open to dogs actively employed in the U.S. with law enforcement or related agencies who are certified and at least 20 months of age. New K9 graduates, as well as K9s with expired vests, are eligible to participate.

The donation to provide one protective vest for a law enforcement K9 is $950.00. Each vest has a value between $1,744 – $2,283 and a five-year warranty, and an average weight of 4-5 lbs. There is an estimated 30,000 law enforcement K9s throughout the United States. For more information or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please call 508-824-6978. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provides information, lists events, and accepts tax-deductible donations of any denomination at www.vik9s.org or mailed to P.O. Box 9 East Taunton, MA 02718.

Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. is a 501c (3) charity located in East Taunton, MA whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States. The non-profit was established in 2009 to assist law enforcement agencies with this potentially lifesaving body armor for their four-legged K9 officers. Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provided over 3,300 protective vests, in 50 states, through private and corporate donations, at a value of $5.7 million dollars.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum said Tuesday (today), 22-year old Clay Thomas Paulson was sentenced in United States District Court in Council Bluffs, to 60 months (5-years) in prison for Possession of a Firearm while Trafficking Drugs. His sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.

On October 24, 2016, law enforcement responded to a report of a burglary at a home in Boone, Iowa, where 17 firearms had been stolen. Law enforcement were able to recover latent fingerprints from the burglary matching Paulson.

On November 7, 2016, during an investigation into a drug trafficking conspiracy, law enforcement discovered some of the stolen firearms from the burglarized home in Boone. Further investigation led to the information that the firearms had been traded by Paulson for methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Boone Police Department, Boone County Sheriff’s Office and Crawford County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The Iowa Department of Transportation has officially reopened I-29 between N. 25th Street in Council Bluffs and the I-680 interchange near Crescent. The road was declared open at 6 p.m. today (Tuesday).

In addition, I-680 from the Nebraska border to I-29 near Crescent is also open. Each roadway will have one lane open in each direction. Speeds on I-680 will be reduced to 55 mph. Old Mormon Bridge Road will also be opening with a 12 foot vehicle height restriction to provide access into Crescent, Iowa.

Those roadways, along with multiple other roads in the area, were closed the middle of March due to flooding along the Missouri River. Many roadways remain closed in the area due to the flood recovery process. Damage caused by floodwaters varies greatly across the area. The recovery process may take anywhere from a few days to several months. The Iowa DOT, as well as local jurisdictions, are working as diligently as possible to move through the recovery process to safely reopen roadways to the traveling public.

DES MOINES, IA – Following the release of Internal Revenue Service news release IA-2019-02 on March 25, 2019, providing federal tax relief for Iowans in five counties damaged by flooding, the Iowa Department of Revenue is providing similar relief at the state level.

Taxpayers whose primary residence or business is in Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, and Woodbury counties will have until July 31, 2019 to file and pay state individual income taxes and business income taxes due between March 12, 2019 and July 31, 2019. The extension requires no action by residents and businesses in these five counties. The extension includes filing of quarterly withholding tax returns but does not apply to withholding tax payment deposits.

This extension is in addition to an earlier report from the Department that provides taxpayers in counties declared disaster areas by the Governor an extension until April 30, 2019, for state taxes due between March 18, 2019, but no later than March 31, 2019.

More information about state tax relief due to flooding will be available on the Department’s website at tax.iowa.gov/2019-flooding on April 15, 2019.

AMES, Iowa – April 2, 2019 – Progress is being made, but several roads remain closed due to flooding in western Iowa. The Iowa Department of Transportation has completed testing, assessed damages, and is now in the process of repairing roadways in the flood-stricken area.

As of today (April 2nd):

• 6.5 miles of roadway were severely damaged
• 6.1 miles of roadway remain underwater
• 17.2 miles of roadway have severe shoulder damage
• 6.6 miles of roadway sustained minor shoulder damage
• 12.0 miles of shoulder remain underwater
  * Note: Severe damage includes removing and replacing pavement or shoulder. Minor damage repairs include filling embankments and patching pavement and/or shoulders. These numbers reflect state-owned highways and interstates only. County and city roads are not included in this summary. In addition, some areas along Iowa 2 and U.S. 275 are still under water and have not yet been assessed for damage.

Current stage of flood recovery on other roads:

• I-29 in both directions MILE MARKER 0-10 Between the Missouri State Line (near Hamburg) and the Iowa 2 Interchange (south of Percival) and I-29 in both directions MILE MARKER 10-35 Between the Iowa 2 interchange (south of Percival) and the U.S. 34 interchange (near Glenwood): Roads remain closed and under inspection.
• I-29 in both directions MILE MARKER 55-61 Between N. 25th Street in Council Bluffs and the I-680 interchange (near Crescent); -29 in both directions MILE MARKER 61-71
  Between the I-680 interchange (near Crescent) and the I-6808 interchange (near Loveland); and I-680 in both directions MILE MARKER 0-3 Between the I-29 interchange (Old Mormon Bridge Road near Crescent) and I-680 in Nebraska (Mormon Bridge): Repairs are currently underway to fix flood damage.
• U.S. 34 in both directions MILE MARKER 0-4 Between the Nebraska state line and the I-29 interchange (near Pacific Junction), and U.S. 275 in both directions MILE MARKER 0-2
  Between the Missouri state line and Iowa 333 (near Hamburg): Roads remain closed and under inspection.
• Iowa 2 in both directions MILE MARKER 0-10 Between the Missouri River Bridge and the Nebraska state line and U.S. 275/Fremont County Road J-46 (near Sidney): Water remains on the roadway. Waiting for water to recede before the road is inspected.
• Iowa 333 in both directions Between I-29 and Fremont County Road J-64 and U.S. 275 (near Hamburg): Road closed for Inspection.

Barriers blocking access to roads will remain in place until the road has been deemed safe for traffic. If you see a barricade, don’t drive around it. Just because a road looks safe, doesn’t mean it is safe. While some structural damage to the road surface is very visible, damage to the ground underneath the road may be more difficult to see. Barricades are in place to protect you from hurting yourself, damaging your vehicle, and potentially causing further damage to the road. If you are a resident or property owner and need to get to your property, your county emergency management office can help coordinate safe access

DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, and Missouri Governor Mike Parson will meet with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Wednesday, to get an updated assessment of flood damage, a look ahead on the Missouri River outflow, and identify regional solutions for flooding and levee repairs.

The meeting will be followed by a press conference at the Council Bluffs Police Department. Look for details about the meeting later in evening, Wednesday.

A Harlan man has been charged with third-degree burglary in connection with the theft of property from a residence in Harlan. 24-year old Matthew Strong is accused of trying to sell the property in Avoca.  A May 7th trial date has been set.  Strong faces five years in jail and fines of $5,000.

48 year old Terri Lynn McCord, of Harlan, has been charged with possession of contraband in a controlled facility, possession of a controlled substance – methamphetamine – 3rd offense, prohibited acts, possession of a controlled substance marijuana 3rd offense, possession of a controlled substance THC, third offense and operating while intoxicated.  Her trial date is May 7th.  She faces 17 years in jail with fines of $19,000 if found guilty.

And 39-year old Jason Emery, of  Shelby, has been charged with second-degree theft, third-degree burglary and driving while barred.  He’s accused of taking a parked vehicle from Exchange Street in Harlan.  He also allegedly took items from the vehicle that belonged to it’s owner.  A May 7th trial date is set for Emery.  If he’s convicted of the charges, he faces 9 years in jail and a fine of $10,000.

MARQUETTE, Iowa (AP) — A 66-year-old eastern Iowa man says only Alaska’s Denali thwarted his efforts to scale the highest peaks in all 50 U.S. states. Don Smalley set himself the challenge to reach the highest point in every state in 2016. The Marquette resident high-pointed in 43 states between 2016 and 2017, including the peak of California’s Mount Whitney 14,495 feet above sea level.

Last summer, he failed in his attempt to summit Denali , the highest peak in North America. The Telegraph Herald reports that Smalley concluded his effort this February by driving to the top of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, achieving his 49th completed summit. Smalley says he is looking for a new challenge and that he and his wife “have no shortage of things” that they want to do.