OMAHA, Neb (AP) – The amount of water being released into the Missouri River from Gavins Point Dam has been increased to free up more space in the reservoirs upstream before spring. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday that the amount of water flowing out of Gavins Point on the Nebraska-South Dakota border had been increased to 35,000 cubic feet (991.09 cubic meters) per second.

The current releases from Gavins Point dam are more than double what is typical for this time of year. The Corps is working to clear out as much space as possible in the reservoirs ahead of what is expected to be another wet year.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Senate has passed a bill that provides $20 million for flood relief requested by Gov. Kim Reynolds to help shore up levees in southwest Iowa in anticipation of more flooding this spring. All 48 senators present on Thursday voted to pass the bill but some Democrats argued for more money.

They say Republican leaders weren’t allocating enough for suffering Missouri and Mississippi river communities. Reynolds says many projects are paid for with federal grants and the money in the bill is the state match for those funds. The bill goes to the House for consideration.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a construction worker died Thursday after falling from scaffolding while working on an interstate bridge just north of Des Moines. First responders found 56-year-old Benjamin Rivera-Avila unresponsive with a head injury. He’d fallen about 30 feet while working on an Interstate 35/80 bridge over the Des Moines River.

Authorities say he died later at a hospital. Authorities say he lived in Altoona and worked for Cramer and Associates in Grimes.

(Radio Iowa) — As China deals with the corona virus outbreak, former Governor Terry Branstad — the current U.S. ambassador to China — plans to stay in Beijing. Governor Kim Reynolds says she hasn’t talked directly with Branstad, but one of her aides has. “The Ambassador is staying. We’re not sure what Chris is going to do, but the kids are planning on coming back,” Reynolds says.

Chris and Terry Brasntad have been married 47 years. Their daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters had been living in a guest house that’s part of the U.S. Ambassador’s complex in Beijing. Alison Branstad Costa is a teacher and she had landed a job at an international school in Beijing for the children of Americans living in China.

Reynolds says there is no evidence the corona virus is circulating in the U.S., but state public health officials have a plan if it does.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Police say a 71-year-old woman who was gravely injured in a hit-and-run as she crossed a Des Moines street has died. The Des Moines Register reported Thursday that Stephanie Markert died a week after being hit near the Drake University campus. First responders found Markert in the street with critical injuries on Jan. 30.

Police say she was the house mother for Delta Gamma sorority at Drake. Police are still searching for a man they want to question in the crash and have issued a material witness warrant for 41-year-old Isaias Flores-Morales of Des Moines.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrat Andrew Yang is restructuring his presidential campaign by laying off dozens of staffers following a distant sixth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses. Campaign manager Zach Graumann said Thursday that the campaign is “restructuring to compete as the New Hampshire primary approaches.”

Graumann went on to call the plans “a natural evolution of the campaign post-Iowa, same as other campaigns have undertaken.” The statement followed a report by Politico that Yang’s campaign had fired dozens of staffers across the operation. Yang’s campaign told The Associated Press that most of those let go had been Iowa staff.

Stuart Sellers

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest Thursday at 10:30 a.m of 45-year-old Stuart Sellers of Red Oak on a Montgomery County Warrant for Interference with Official Acts (inflicts bodily injury) and Johnson County Warrants for Theft 1st Degree and Burglary 3rd Degree.

Sellers was observed by a concerned citizen exiting a stolen white 2006 Chevrolet 2500 pickup in the Walmart parking lot in Atlantic. The citizen followed at a distance while notifying Atlantic Police and the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. He was located a short distance away and arrested without incident. He was taken into custody and transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked in and later transferred to the Montgomery County Jail.

As we previously reported law enforcement in Montgomery County were investigating a theft from the University of Iowa Hospitals when Sellers fled from authorities. He was later suspected to have stolen the Chevy truck in Red Oak before leaving the area.

Authorities were able to recover a majority, if not all, of the stolen property from the hospital. The investigation is ongoing, and charges are currently pending against Sellers.

Red Oak Police would like to thank all of the citizens, media, and area law enforcement agencies for their due diligence in being alert and responsive to the incident. This goes to show that if you see something, say something and you can keep our communities safe.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A judge won’t allow evidence of internet searches to be used in the trial of an Iowa man accused of fatally stabbing a high school girl in Cedar Rapids more than 40 years ago. Jerry Burns is charged with killing 18-year-old Michelle Martinko on Dec. 19, 1979. Court documents say investigators found Burns’ browsing history included stories involving assault, rape, strangulation, murder and other violence. The Telegraph Herald reports that the judge ruled that the timing of the internet activity — at least 38 years after the slaying — was prejudicial and would harm Burns’ right to a fair trial.