OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa superintendent says he’s worried about how long it would take law enforcement to respond to a shooter at his rural district’s schools. Joel Pedersen is superintendent of the Cardinal Community School District in Eldon. Pedersen spoke to the Wapello County Board of Supervisors this week about his district’s vulnerability in responding to a shooting threat, a concern following the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, last month. The Ottumwa Courier reports that Eldon doesn’t have a police force. The nearest law enforcement is in Ottumwa, about 15 miles from the school.

Pedersen worries that in the time it takes for an armed officer to arrive, the worst of a shooting could’ve already happened. He says they’re looking into better techniques to mitigate the situation while they wait for law enforcement.

A traffic stop at around 2:20-a.m. today (Thursday), resulted in the arrest on drug charges, of a man from Nebraska. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the Sheriff’s K9 Unit assisted a Mills County Deputy during the stop on Interstate 29, near mile marker 32. Upon further investigation, approximately two-ounces of cocaine was found in the vehicle. The driver, 37-year old Justin Allen Marsh, of Plattsmouth, NE., was arrested for OWI/1st offense, Possession with the intent to deliver/cocaine, and failure to affix a drug tax stamp. Along with the cocaine, just over $1,000 in U-S currency was seized, along with a 2013 Chevy Cruze. Marsh was being held in the Mills County Jail on a $56,000 bond.

Leaders of some Missouri River towns are angered and confused by this week’s federal court ruling saying the U-S Army Corps of Engineers was responsible for damage from repeated flooding. The case singled out five years over the past decade for which the Corps was liable, but did not include the 2011 flood. Donna Forker, Sioux City’s finance director, says 2011 is when the city was hit with the greatest flood expenses.
“We spent about $3.3-million with prevention, recovery and cleanup,” Forker says. “FEMA and the Iowa Department of Emergency Management have provided funds to offset some of that.”

The case covered claims from more than 370 farmers, landowners and business owners in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. The judge’s ruling says the government must compensate the plaintiffs for damages which could exceed $300-million. South Sioux City Administrator Lance Hedquist doubts his city will see any of that money.”Nothing that I know has come into the city from anything we’ve had indicated,” Hedquist says. “It was an extremely strange ruling in terms of how they came up with some of those numbers in the past and then excluded the 2011 flood which was the biggest flood.”

The judge’s ruling noted changes the Corps made to river flows had the “direct, natural, and probable effect of causing flooding or more severe flooding” for five flood events since 2007, but excluded 2011. Hedquist says his city incurred no damage in the other years, but did in the 2011 flood. “Only in 2011 did we have any cost that was incurred by the city. It was about $6-million as I recall that we spent for public repairs to the city,” Hedquist says. “The previous years, I don’t recall any actions that we took or any damages that occurred to the city of South Sioux City.”

South Sioux City lost numerous trees to the 2011 flood, which left behind tons of sand and silt once the water went back down. “It was obviously very expensive to the city. We had to keep track of the sand and where it went. You couldn’t just push the sand back into the river. We had to haul it off,” Hedquist says. “The trees were detrimental. We lost lots of very big trees. We’ve planted thousands of trees since then.”

The suit was filed in 2014 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, alleging the Corps altered its practices regarding the river’s water storage, release and flow management. Donna Forker says she believes the case will remain in litigation for years to come.

(Radio Iowa)

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

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The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency is asking fire departments and businesses in the county to “Please keep your local fire danger signs in the Moderate category through the weekend. Some precipitation will occur Friday, but any sunshine and wind will quickly dry the dead vegetation. Fire trucks and larger vehicles are not able to get into many fields this time of year due to the soft conditions as the frost leaves the ground. Please use caution and plan your burn before striking the match.!”

In light of recent school shooting incidents and threats, the Atlantic Middle and Elementary Schools will be conducting more ALICE training, just as they do with Fire and Tornado Warning exercises. Schuler Principal James Northwick and Middle School Principal Josh Rasmussen told the Atlantic School Board during their meeting, Wednesday, that they are working with the Police Department to conduct annual ALICE training. ALICE stands for Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter and Evacuate.

Northwick and Rasmussen have been working with Atlantic Police Lt. Devin Hogue and Sgt. Spencer Walton, about running a drill, similar to what was done last year, at the High School. Northwick said at Schuler, it’ll will look like more of a “Glorified fire drill,” with a video and Q&A session afterward. Rassmussen said the District’s staff have all been trained using the ALICE system. The students have fire drills and tornado drills twice each semester. He says it’s up to himself and Northwick to prepare their respective buildings the best they can, to make sure they have a safe environment.

Superintendent Steve Barber said the Iowa House is working on a School Security Bill. Barber said also, that at a recent SIAC (School Improvement Advisory Committee) meeting, they talked about how important communication is when a threat is perceived or real. He said the gist of the meeting, was that “If something looks out of the ordinary we have got to communicate that to the right people and that can be investigated to see if there is a danger or if someone needs help and we can provide that at that time. I think those are some important components to a security plan. Our number one goal is to keep everybody safe.”

School Board member Josh McLaren, who is also a Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy, said law enforcement officers held intruder/active shooter-type exercises Monday and Tuesday, at the Middle School. He said “It’s obviously something that is on our mind as well as educators and administrators and everybody else. From a cop standpoint, we’re trying to stay as prepared as we can.” Yesterday (Wednesday) was designated for a nationwide peaceful walkout to show respect for those who have lost their lives in the Parkland, Florida school shooting. Atlantic Administrators said there were about 30 students who participated in the event, at the High School.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Des Moines school board member has left the Democratic field of candidates for governor. The Des Moines Register reports that Jon Neiderbach acknowledged Wednesday that his campaign didn’t really get off the ground, saying in a Facebook post, “I have not garnered the support to justify continuing my campaign.” The announcement came two days before the deadline for submitting petitions to qualify for the June primary ballot.

Six candidates remain: Nate Boulton, Cathy Glasson, Fred Hubbell, Andy McGuire, John Norris and Ross Wilburn. The Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, intends to run.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say firefighters have helped three people from a burning house in Waterloo. The fire was reported a little after 4 a.m. Thursday. Two people who saw the smoke followed it to the home and tried to use a garden house on the flames after they called 911. At least one of the three occupants was taken to a hospital. Their names haven’t been released. The fire cause is being investigated.

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Police in Creston report 38-year old KImberly Morgan, of Creston, was arrested Wednesday afternoon, on two Union County warrants charging her with seven counts of Compulsory Education Violation, and Failure to Appear in court on the original seven counts of Compulsory Education Violation. Morgan was being held in the Adams County Jail on a $600 bond.

And, 20-year old Jordan McElroy, of Creston, was arrested Wednesday night for Domestic Abuse Assault by impeding blood or air flow. McElroy was being held in the Union County Jail, while awaiting a bond hearing.