The Creston Police Department reports 24-year old Mariah Noelle Johannes, of Creston, was arrested Thursday on an outside agency warrant. Johannes was being held without bond, pending an appearance before the Magistrate. And, 33-year old Michael Edward Baker, of Creston, was arrested a little after 3-a.m. today (Friday), for OWI/1st offense, and Possession of a Concealed Weapon. Baker was later released on a $2,000 bond.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have charged a burglary suspect shot by a police officer in a Des Moines suburb. County records say 27-year-old Myles Regenold is charged with burglary, possession of burglary tools, criminal mischief and probation violation. Regenold was shot around 4 a.m. Tuesday after Ankeny officers were dispatched to a car wash to check a burglary call. Police say officers found a door to the business that had been forced opened and a masked man inside.

Police say the man later identified as Regenold did not comply with police commands and was shot in an elbow by Officer Tony Higgins when he advanced on Higgins and other officers. Regenold wasn’t armed. Ankeny Police Chief Darius Potts says that when officers don’t know whether a suspect is armed, suspicious hand and body movements can prompt officers to act, which includes firing their weapons.

A man and woman in Fremont County were arrested Thursday night in rural Sidney, following a reported fight in progress. Deputies were advised the fight could be heard over one-half mile away from the residence. They responded to the residence at around 7:42-p.m., and determined that a physical disturbance occurred between 37-year old Joseph Dale Linkenhoker and 37-year old Lynette Kae Linkenhoker, both of Sidney.

Lynette Linkenhoker

Joseph Linkenhoker

During the fight both parties suffered minor injuries, and property was damaged. Deputies allege that during the fight two minor children were located inside the residence within a close proximity to the disturbance.

The couple were each arrested on two counts of Child Endangerment, an aggravated misdemeanor, and taken to the Fremont County Jail. They were released on bond after an initial appearance before a Magistrate. The Iowa Department of Human Services assisted the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office.

(Radio Iowa) — National forecasts show the potential for continued flooding across the country as we move further into spring. D-N-R Hydrologist Tim Hall says it is hard to believe we had some extreme areas of drought in the state back in September. The wet fall washed any dry conditions in a trend that’s been seen across the country. “This is the first time in almost a decade that there is no drought in California. In fact — there’s almost no drought in the entire eastern half of the United States. As in zero,” Hall says.

The abundance of groundwater is usually welcomed in Iowa.  “We went into the winter with a pretty healthy level of soil moisture — which normally is a good thing — because that means when you get out to do the next year’s planting, you’ve got moisture to build of off,” according to Hall. “But once that moisture gets locked in for the winter, that combined with a lot of snowfall, and some untimely rain, has led to some significant flooding conditions.” The water balance is now on the wrong side. “We’re in a tenuous spot. If we get a heavy dose of rain, we could see some at least localize, if not some large scale flood issues,” Hall says.

He says the entire state could use some dry days to drain. “Even just a few weeks of dry weather would really, really help. The water can drain out of the stream system fairly quickly — and that’ll give the chance for the tile drains to drain the soil profile where the land has tile under it,” Hall says. “Unfortunately we are coming into the beginning of the time period where we historically have a lot of moisture that comes. April May and June.”

Hall says we can only hope there are enough dry days to make some room in the waterways to handle any of the spring rains.

Red Oak Police report this arrest at around 1-a.m. today (Friday), of 39-year old Jason Michael Eppenbaugh. The Red Oak man was taken into custody for Domestic Abuse Assault by impeding air flow. Eppenbaugh was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail. And, at around 7:30-p.m. Thursday, Red Oak Police arrested 38-year old Luke Daniel Rinehart, of Red Oak. Rinehart was arrested for Disorderly Conduct. His bond was set at $300.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 61-year old David Joseph Cash, of Emerson, was arrested at around 7-p.m. Thursday. Cash was taken into custody on an active Montgomery County warrant for assault. His bond was set at $300.

(Radio Iowa) — Republican leaders in the Iowa legislature say they will meet with Governor Kim Reynolds to chart the state’s response to the catastrophic flooding that’s hit western Iowa, but House Speaker Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake says she’s worried more flooding is on the way. “Certainly applications will go to FEMA, but there’s also a state role in that,” Upmeyer says. “We’ll take a look and see how we can insert best to fill the gaps where they exist.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency requires states and local governments to come up with “matching funds” when federal aide is distributed in disaster areas. “We’ll address it. I don’t know if it affects the current budget, the future or a special kind of budget,” Upmeyer says. “We’ll see.” After the massive flooding that struck Iowa in 2008, state officials dipped into the state’s economic emergency fund to pay for some of the response.

Upmeyer says legislators will first look for ways to find extra money within existing budget plans to respond to this year’s flooding, but that emergency fund is an option. “This genuinely, in my opinion, does classify as an emergency,” Upmeyer says, “so if we need to access those resources, we could.” Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver of Ankeny says the governor has seen the flood damage firsthand and she’ll take the lead in determining the extent of the state’s response.

“It is a tough situation and a dire situation in southwest Iowa and we’re getting constant feedback from our senators that represent that area,” Whitver says. In 2009, Democrats who held majority control established new committees in both the House and Senate to address flood-related issues. Senator Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids was chairman of the Senate’s Rebuild Iowa Committee.

“I am all ears, waiting to hear what Governor Reynolds and Republican legislative leaders are going to do in response to this flood,” Hogg says. “This is absolutely devastating for thousands of people across the state.” Hogg says as chairman of the Rebuild Iowa Committee in 2010, he asked Kim Reynolds — who was a freshman state senator at the time — to manage a bill about disaster case management.

“We did a lot things to not just handle immediate recovery, but to create policy and set up things in place to try to prevent future flood damage,” Hogg says. “Well, we just still have never done enough on that.” Upmeyer — who was a member of the Iowa House after the floods of 2008 — cited creation of the Iowa Flood Center as one of the accomplishments of that time period.

“That still exists, so we have resources already in place that we can go to,” Upmeyer says. The center has developed flood-risk maps and has a website with a variety of flood-related data, including some flood depth analysis.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:00 a.m. CDT

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Pottawattamie County jury has found a man not guilty of the 2015 killing his 68-year-old mother in her rural south-central Iowa home. Des Moines station KCCI reports that 46-year-old Jason Carter was found not guilty on Thursday. He had been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Shirley Carter, whose body was found in the kitchen of her Marion County home.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Weather Service says the flooding in Nebraska and Iowa is just a preview of widespread major flooding to hit much of the country this spring. More than 200 million Americans will be at risk for some kind of flooding _ with 13 million of them at risk of major flooding. The Mississippi, Missouri, Great Lakes, lower Ohio lower Cumberland and Tennessee rivers and their basins are at biggest risk.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. (AP) — The flooding in Nebraska provides a dramatic example of how climate change poses a national security threat, even as the Trump administration plays down the issue. High water didn’t damage the headquarters of the U.S. military’s Strategic Command, which plays a central role in detecting and striking at global threats, but muddy water was still lapping at almost 80 flooded buildings at Nebraska’s Offutt Air Force Base, some were inundated by up to 7 feet of water.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa House has passed two bills designed to address a lack of mental health services for Iowa children. The first bill established a state board to oversee the system. “A robust children’s mental health piece of legislation that lays the groundwork for what will come in the state of Iowa.” That’s Representative Joel Fry, a Republican from Osceola who guided the bill through the legislative process.

The second bill, which passed unanimously, gave counties more flexibility to build up cash reserves in order to finance expansion of mental health services. Representative Mary Mascher — a Democrat from Iowa City — says legislators need a better plan, particularly for kids who need long-term mental health care.

“Our suicide rates are increasing in Iowa, especially among our young people,” Mascher said. “We are failing them.” Mascher was among just 14 House members who opposed the bill establishing the framework for a children’s mental health system. Representative Mark Smith, a Democrat from Marshalltown, was another no.

“I think that there are way too many unanswered questions on this,” Smith said. While a few others expressed similar reservations, Democrats like Representative Lisa Heddens of Ames said it was worth supporting. “Families want something. We have absolutely nothing out there for them,” Heddens said. “They want some sort of structure in place. They want somewhere to go to find out: ‘How do I navigate this mental health system?’ They don’t know where to go.”

The bill sets a goal of developing and maintaining a children’s mental health system in Iowa to provide services regardless of where the child lives or whether the child’s parents can afford to pay for the care. Both bills now go to the Iowa Senate for consideration.

(Radio Iowa) — As so many Iowans are dealing with excess water lately due to flooding, we’re reminded the resource is precious and not to waste it. Residents in towns where water treatment plants have shut down already know the value of fresh, clean water. Don Tormey, spokesman for the Iowa Utilities Board, says we should all check our homes for sources of drips to save water — and money.

“Nearly one-trillion gallons of water is wasted each year in the U.S. through minor residential drips and leaks,” Tormey says. “That’s equal to the total water used by more than 11-million homes.” A federal report finds 10-percent of homes have leaks that drain more than 90 gallons a day, typically through worn toilet flappers, faulty valves and dripping faucets.

“According to the EPA, a faucet that drips once per second leaks 3,000 gallons a year and an average household leak can lead to 10,000 gallons of lost water annually,” Tormey says. “That’s a lot of water.” He suggests you check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water was used. A change in the meter reading indicates you could have a leak and there are a few ways you can check.

“You can place a drop of food coloring in a toilet tank to check for leaks. Without flushing, wait 10 minutes to see if any color appears in the bowl. If it does, you have a leak,” Tormey says. “You can check your faucet handles, gaskets and fittings for signs of water outside the pipe that could indicate a leak. Also, if you have an irrigation systems, you should check that each spring.”

Learn more about leaks and water conservation at the website: www.epa.gov/watersense.

(Radio Iowa) — A farm organization based in North Dakota is offering help to the many farmers and ranchers who were hit by the recent flooding. Farm Rescue plans to activate “Operation Hay Lift” for the second time — the first time was during a drought. Farm Rescue is a non-profit organization that provides planting, haying, harvesting and livestock feeding assistance free of charge to farm and ranch families who have experienced a major illness, injury, or natural disaster. Communications Director Dan Erdmann says farmers and ranchers have their cattle herds stranded because of the flooding.

“We’re still feeling things out, and seeing what the reaction is going to be and what the need is going to be. We’re going to be hauling hay down to those ranchers, so, the big thing right now is we’re looking for hay donations to be able to haul that down to the ranchers affected by the…by the flood waters,” Erdmann says. He says they could use some drivers too.

“We’re also looking for C-D-L volunteers to be able to haul that. We’re hoping to have a couple of trucks on the road in the coming weeks here to basically to haul continuously. That need is there, and it is a very immediate need. And also we’re looking for monetary donations to help support that cause.” Erdmann says Farm Rescue hopes to establish several drop off locations. He says applications are now being accepted from farmers and ranchers in need of the donated hay. Erdmann says for farmers and ranchers, or livestock yards wanting to make donations of hay need to contact Farm Rescue.

“If you’re looking to join on as a volunteer, provide donations, or actually apply for assistance, you can go to our website, its just Farm Rescue-dot-org. Everything you need is right there. But, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to give us a call. Again, 701- 252-2017,” he says. Farm Rescue’s first hay lift came in 2017 for those farmers and ranchers in South Dakota and North Dakota suffering from a drought. He says the organization had a successful event, hauling 275 semi trailer loads of hay to more than 154 farmers and ranchers. Erdmann says Farm Rescue hopes to have similar success with this hay lift.