COUNCIL BLUFFS – The rising Missouri River is anticipated to crest near 29.2-feet’ by 1:00 p.m. today (Thursday), prompting local officials to implement preparedness actions. Since Monday, officials with the City of Council Bluffs and Pottawattamie County have implemented actions to monitor, assess, and respond to any conditions or emergencies prompted by any flooding along the Missouri River. The National Weather Service has placed the county under a flood warning along the Missouri River. Minor flooding is anticipated with the forecast crest creeping just above flood stage.

Doug Reed, Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Director, said Wednesday “The latest trends have shown a decrease in the expected crest and we’re hopeful that trend will continue, but we are prepared if things should change.” Several agencies from the City of Council Bluffs and Pottawattamie County are actively engaged and coordinating preparedness efforts as we monitor the event, said Reed. Gifford Road and the Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park are closed in the city with the Narrows River Park closed and Goosehaven Loop in rural Pottawattamie County covered in water after surveys were conducted early Wednesday.

City and County crews are continually surveying areas along the river, preparing for additional road closures should they become necessary, and are prepared to take emergency actions should conditions worsen. There has been a significant amount of time dedicated to flood and levee emergency planning and exercising since the 2011 flood event.  Residents should monitor conditions and prepare now should a change in the forecast occur. If you live on or near the river, especially in areas not protected by the federal levee system, remain vigilant and be prepared to evacuate if necessary. If you know your property or access to your property will be impacted, emergency management would always encourage you to error on the side of caution and stay with friends or family for a day or two until the river levels begin to drop.

All residents should sign up for emergency alerts from Pottawattamie Alert, part of the Alert Iowa Network. This will be the primary means of distributing emergency evacuation orders, critical public information, and other important messaged before, during, and after an emergency or disaster. To register and to stay up to date with flooding information, visit the county website at www.pottcounty-ia.gov.

Congressman Steve King was among those urging his Republican colleagues to vote against a bill in the U.S. House that King says is “instant amnesty” for more than five million people living in the country illegally. The bill failed to clear the Republican-led House early Wednesday afternoon. “Since Ronald Reagan signed the amnesty act in 1986…it set up the sign again that said: ‘If you can get enough people into America that have broken our immigration laws, sooner or later there’ll be another amnesty,’ there have been six other lesser amnesties since 1986, but this one would be the biggest one in the United States of America.”

King discussed the bill during a recent appearance on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal. “We’ve got to secure the border,” King said.”We’ve got to restore the respect for the rule of law or we’ll never be a sovereign nation again and we’ve gone through a lot of damage.” King says President Trump’s recent executive order stopping the separation of children from parents who crossed the border illegally was “the best temporary solution” given the public reaction, but King says a permanent fix is needed. “This doesn’t turn down the magnet for people to come to America,” King says. “We’ve got to shut that magnet off.”

King also has addressed questions about his re-tweet of a Nazi sympathizer’s views on immigration issues. King says he retweeted a Breitbart headline without researching the article’s author because the headline indicates Europe is waking up to the danger of unlimited immigration.  “If we destroy the nation-state with globalism, then you merge all these cultures and we’re back to being scrambled again,” King says. “And I think we’ve got to respect all people in the world, but let’s respect ourselves enough to know that we’ve built something in America that has never been matched in the history of the world. Let’s not destroy it over some myopic idea that all cultures are equal. They’re not.”

During his appearance on C-SPAN, King said people who’ve criticized him for his tweet either “don’t understand the English language” or are “willfully” trying to mislead the public.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Council Bluffs called to check out a disturbance near the 1400 block of Avenue A, Wednesday afternoon, found a 26-year old man with a serious injury to his right hand, along with minor injuries to his shoulder and head. An investigation determined the man was inside a car that fled from the scene as officers arrived, with smoke emitting from inside the vehicle.

As he was inside the vehicle, an unknown type of firework/explosive went off in his hand. The suspect vehicle, a red Pontiac Grand Am, had not been located as of the last report.

The injured male — whose name was not released — was transported to Nebraska Medicine by Council Bluffs Fire and Rescue personnel. With regard to the original disturbance call, authorities say a 21 year old male and 3 juvenile males were all cited for disorderly conduct and issued Ban notices from the skate park.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man who received child pornography has pleaded guilty to the charge in federal court in Sioux City. Federal prosecutors say 27-year-old Joe Elliott Sinnott, of Milford, was convicted Tuesday of one count of receiving child pornography. In a plea agreement, Sinnott admitted that from January through April, he knowingly used a messenger app to receive child pornography.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A 23-year-old Des Moines man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for stealing two dozen guns from Iowa gun dealers and selling one of them. Federal prosecutors say David Marken Aikoriegie was sentenced Wednesday in Des Moines’ federal courthouse for three counts of stealing a firearm from a federal firearm licensee and unlawful sale of a stolen firearm. Investigators say Aikoriegie stole the guns in late 2017 from gun shops in Urbandale and Clive.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa politicians are scrambling to comply with a new and unusual state law that bans them from using taxpayer dollars if there’s a whiff of self-promotion. The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board plans to release at least one advisory opinion next month on the law, which goes into effect Sunday. The provision prohibits statewide officials and lawmakers from tapping taxpayer dollars to promote their written name, likeness or voice through various platforms like television and radio.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds has issued a disaster proclamation for three counties in the northwest quarter of Iowa in response to flooding and severe weather that began in mid-June. The proclamation allows state resources to be used in Buena Vista, Cherokee and Webster counties and activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant and the Disaster Case Management programs.

About 26 downtown Atlantic business owners and a handful of City officials attending a Downtown Facade Revitalization meeting Wednesday evening, at the Historic Rock Island Depot.

Alexsis Fleener w/SWIPCO

Alexsis Fleener, Community Development Team Leader with SWIPCO (Southwest Iowa Planning Council), explained the purpose of the meeting was to determine how many business owners would be interested in participating in an application for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) specifically for downtown facade restoration or revitalization.

Fleener said if enough businesses commit to filing the application through SWIPCO, the organization would apply for a $500,000 grant to the City, that requires a 50-percent local match. Twenty-five percent would come from the City of Atlantic, if they agree to participate, and 25-percent from the building owners who decide to participate.

There must be at least 10 building applications in order for the full fund amount to be received. The chances of getting the full grant increases if there are at least 12 building facades in the program. The maximum number of facades for the current grant period, she said, would be 14. The total project budget is One-million dollars. Fleener said with a CDBG, there are no concerns about building owner income limits.

She said from the State’s perspective, if a building is contributing to the historic nature of the district, there will be a contribution from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Fleener said every building owner who applies, will contribute the same percentage amount. The building owner receives the added benefits of free architectural services and construction management.

Facade improvements would include the first two-feet of a building front, restoration, rehabilitation and replacement (as necessary). It may cover (depending on need), the Cornice, Transom, Upper Story Windows, Awning, doors and bulkhead. The building owner may also realize increased energy efficiency when the work is complete.
The CDBG application from Swipco is due April 2019. In the interim:

• SWIPCO will conduct a “Slum and Blight” survey, narrow down building owner interest and participation, to define the target area. If there is enough interest, the City of Atlantic and SWIPCO would hire an architect to discuss the scope of work and budget.
• The architect would provide participating buildings with renderings and a cost estimate.
• Participating Building owners will review the renderings and costs.
• The building owner will deliver a refundable deposit to secure participation in the program.
• SWIPCO will complete the full application and submit it to the Iowa Economic Development Authority
• Award announcements are expected in July 2019.

Fleener said from the time the grant is approved to the time the projects are finished, will be between two to three years.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A 23-year-old Des Moines man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for stealing two dozen guns from Iowa gun dealers and selling one of them.

Federal prosecutors say David Marken Aikoriegie was sentenced Wednesday in Des Moines’ federal courthouse for three counts of stealing a firearm from a federal firearm licensee and unlawful sale of a stolen firearm.

Investigators say Aikoriegie stole three guns from JLM Gun Shoppe in Urbandale on Nov. 16, 10 guns from Rangemasters in Clive on Dec. 2 and another 11 guns from Rangemasters on Dec. 14.

Prosecutors say Aikoriegie also admitted to selling one of the stolen guns to another person on Dec. 16.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man who received child pornography has pleaded guilty to the charge in federal court in Sioux City. Federal prosecutors say 27-year-old Joe Elliott Sinnott, of Milford, was convicted Tuesday of one count of receiving child pornography.

In a plea agreement, Sinnott admitted that from January through April, he knowingly used a messenger app to receive child pornography. Sinnott also admitted to receiving fully nude photographs of a 15-year-old girl that he had met in person in Minnesota last year.

Sinnott will remain in custody until his sentencing at a later date, when he faces up to 20 years in prison.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds has issued a disaster proclamation for three counties in the northwest quarter of Iowa in response to flooding and severe weather that began in mid-June.
The proclamation allows state resources to be used in Buena Vista, Cherokee and Webster counties and activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant and the Disaster Case Management programs.
The Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program provides grants of up to $5,000 for households with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The money can be used for such things as home and car repairs, temporary housing expenses or replacement of clothing or food.
Disaster Case Management offers case managers to work with clients to create a disaster recovery plan and provide guidance, advice and referral to obtain a service or resource.

DEXTER, Iowa (AP) — That’s one way to burn calories. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that a semitrailer carrying chocolate from Hershey, Pennsylvania, caught fire Wednesday on Interstate 80 near Dexter in west-central Iowa.

The Iowa State Patrol says the truck was headed westbound and had brake problems, eventually catching fire. The driver pulled off on the interstate onto a grassy area and was able to unhook the cab from the trailer before the trailer went up in flames.
There were no injuries, but the trailer and all of its chocolate were destroyed.

WEST UNION, Iowa (AP) — A nursing assistant accused of sexually abusing patients at a northeast Iowa mental health facility has pleaded guilty. Fayette County District Court records say 44-year-old Carolyn Wiedrich, of Sumner, entered the plea Monday to sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist. She was given two to five years of probation and was ordered to register as a sex offender.

Wiedrich was one of five nursing assistants arrested earlier this year after an investigation of sexual assaults at Prairie View Residential Care Facility in Fayette. The facility provides services for adults with chronic mental illness.