WASHINGTON – Tomorrow (Wednesday), U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) will chair a Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee field hearing in Southwest Iowa focusing on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ river management following the devastating flooding in the region. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) will also participate. Witnesses will include officials from the Army Corps and local leaders and stakeholders from Fremont County, among others. The meeting takes place 8:30-a.m. at Kaufman Hall (24116 Marian Ave., in Glenwood), and includes the following witnesses:

• Major General Scott Spellmon: Deputy Commanding General, Civil and Emergency Operations – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Civil Works)
• John  Remus: Chief, Missouri River Basin Water Management Division U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Civil Works), Northwestern Division
• Cathy Crain: Mayor City of Hamburg, Iowa
• Leo Ettleman: Farmer & Community Advocate, Fremont County, Iowa
• Joel Euler: Attorney Doniphan County, Kansas, and,
• Blake Hurst: Executive Director: Coalition to Protect the Missouri River, from Hermann, MO

Ernst says “As Iowans continue to recover from the devastating floods, we need answers to the critical question of how best to manage our rivers and water infrastructure. This hearing will bring together officials from the Army Corps and local leaders and stakeholders to examine what happened over the last few weeks and discuss how we can prevent this kind of destruction from happening again.”

Grassley says “Flood control should be the number one priority of the Army Corps of Engineers. The current river management policy needs fixing, and recent flooding makes that more urgent than ever. This hearing will help put a spotlight on the real-world impact that policies crafted in Washington have on Iowans and Americans across the Midwest. I thank Senator Joni Ernst for her hard work and leadership on the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee. Having her in this key role will continue to pay dividends for Iowans.”

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the names of two people who were killed when a train struck their sport utility vehicle in Cedar Rapids. The crash was reported around 4:20 p.m. Sunday near Tait Cummins Memorial Park. Police identified the driver as 32-year-old Ethan Mortensen and his passenger as 66-year-old David Mortensen. Both men lived in Ely. Other details haven’t been released.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — An environmental organization says the Upper Mississippi River is among the most endangered rivers in the U.S. American Rivers on Tuesday released its annual report that lists the Gila River in New Mexico as most endangered, followed by the Hudson River in New York and the Upper Mississippi. The report cites threats to public safety and river health posed by “climate change and illegal levee raises” on the Mississippi River in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.

The organization urges federal and state agencies to resolve levee violations, blaming illegally raised levees for destroying fish and wildlife habitat and making flooding worse downstream.
American Rivers says climate change is causing more frequent and severe flooding. The Mississippi is currently well above flood stage at several towns in the three states.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday), reports two arrests occurred Sunday. 43-year old Sean Eugene Hicks, of Emerson, was arrested at around 9-p.m. for Driving while denied or revoked, operating a vehicle without the ignition interlock, of speeding. His bond was set at $1,300. And,30-year old Anthony Robert Espinoza, of Doon, IA, was arrested at around 5:50-a.m. Sunday in Mills County. He was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, Driving While Barred, and Providing False Identification. His bond was set at $3,300.

A single-vehicle accident in Mills County at around 1:10-a.m. today (Tuesday), resulted in the driver being transported to a hospital. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports 25-year old Lindsey Rhodes, of Red Oak, was driving a 2010 Dodge eastbound on Highway 34 near 350th Street, when the vehicle hit the gravel shoulder, causing Rhodes to over-correct. The vehicle went off the road and landed on its passenger side in the north ditch. Rhodes was transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital by Malvern Rescue.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a man being held in the Pott. County Jail, was presented with a warrant Monday out of Douglas County, Nebraska. 32-year old Jeramy Lee Swain, of Kelley, Iowa, was wanted on the warrant for being a Fugitive From Justice. Swain remains held without bond in the Pott. County Jail on the Nebraska warrant, and a similar warrant out of Pott. County.  22-year old Omar Ventura, of Omaha, was transported from the Fremont County Jail to the Pott. County Jail, Monday. Ventura was wanted on an Iowa warrant for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. And, 20-year old John Wesley Lovejoy, of Council Bluffs, was picked up from the Union County South Dakota Jail and transported to Pott. County, where he was wanted on three Probation Violation warrants. Lovejoy was booked into the Pott. County Jail and held without bond.

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

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OSKALOOSA, Iowa (AP) — Charges against a former police officer accused of attacking her girlfriend in southern Iowa have been dismissed. Mahaska County court records say 26-year-old Janay Pritchett had pleaded not guilty harassment, domestic abuse assault while displaying or using a weapon and domestic abuse assault, second offense. The records say the alleged victim had told prosecutors she’d left Iowa, wouldn’t return to testify and wanted the charges dropped.

Court records say Pritchett’s girlfriend told officers that she and Pritchett were arguing May 3 last year when Pritchett kicked her in the chest, pulled a pocketknife and cut her on the left side of her neck. The girlfriend said Pritchett then threatened to shoot her with a shotgun. Pritchett says in the records that she didn’t pull a knife or cut the woman.

(Radio Iowa) — Authorities say a body found in a farm field near Marshalltown could be that of a Mason City woman. Thirty-two-year-old Michelle Grommet was reported missing on March 22nd to the Marshalltown Police Department. Police say a body was found at about 9 o’clock Monday morning in a farm field just east of the Walmart store. Authorities say the identity of the body could not be immediately confirmed but preliminary indications are it could be the missing woman. Marshalltown police say there’s no evidence of foul play but the investigation into the death continues.

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

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