OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Flooding along the Missouri River has stretched on for seven months in some places and could endure through the winter. That could leave some Upper Midwest farmland and possibly some homes encased in ice. The icy flooding is possible due to a still-high river, saturated ground, broken levees and a forecast for a wetter-than normal winter. It’s possible some flooding could continue into spring.

In places along the lower Missouri River where levees broke in the spring, large areas of mostly farmland remains underwater. Fixing the broken levees will take several years. Tom Bullock says there’s no end in sight to flooding in northwestern Missouri, where he is Holt County’s emergency management director. Roughly 30,000 acres remain underwater in Holt County, and some of that floodwater is likely to freeze in place.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports deputies responded at around 2:05-a.m. Sunday, to a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of Highway 71 and Jasper Road. Authorities say a 2012 Buick Enclave owned and driven by 30-year old Ross Milton Campbell, of Omaha, was northbound on Highway 71, when his vehicle struck a southbound 2008 Mercury Milan, owned and driven by 56-year old Lynn Marie Maurer, of Griswold.

Campbell was transported by Medivac Ambulance to Cass County Memorial Hospital, for minor injuries. Upon further investigation, deputies arrested Campbell for OWI 2nd Offense. He was also cited for Failure to Maintain Control and Driving on Wrong Side of Two Way Highway. Campbell was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on $2,000 bond. Damage from the collision amounted to $16,000.

And on Saturday, October 26th, Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 29-year old Jessica Lynn Pierce, of Omaha, for OWI 1st Offense, and Carrying a Weapon While Intoxicated. Pierce was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds says due to legal challenges of executive action in other states, she’s ruled out issuing an executive order that would restrict electronic cigarette sales. Reynolds met Friday with key staff to discuss ways to address underage “vaping” and the illness that’s been associated with the use of e-cigarettes. “Right now I’m not going to do an executive order. I’m not going to look at a ban,” Reynolds syas. “We’re going to continue to raise awareness both in our schools and our universities and just in the public in general.”

Public health officials have identified more than 40 vaping-related illnesses in Iowa and Reynolds says the majority of those involved the use of a vaping cartridge that was laced with T-H-C, the chemical in marijuana that causes the “high.” “We’ve seen it stabilize just a little, but we know like anything else it could escalate tomorrow, so I’m not saying that it’s even close to being addressed,” Reynolds says.

The president of the state Senate this past spring proposed raising the age for buying products that contain nicotine from 18 to 21, but the proposal was not adopted by the 2019 Iowa legislature. The governor says she’s willing to consider raising the age. “I think that would be maybe something that might help, moving forward,” Reynolds says. “…We need to look at everything, so I would say for the most part we’re not going to take things off the table until we evaluate what’s making a difference.”

The governor says she’s asked the Departments of Education, Human Services and Public Health to coordinate a social media campaign talking about the dangers of vaping, especially among minors.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa school district has secured federal grant funding to monitor students’ social media accounts for possible warning signs that students might harm themselves or their peers. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that the Iowa City Community School District received the grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. A portion of the $187,000 grant is earmarked to contract with a company that will scan social media posts. It’s part of a district-wide push to improve safety across the school district.

School officials have not yet determined what all the monitoring will entail. School officials note that the district already has the right to look at the emails and Google Drive accounts of students who are using district technology.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found inside an eastern Iowa home. The Hawk Eye in Burlington reports that authorities found the body after they were called to a home in Burlington shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday. Police say they’ve preliminarily identified the man who died but are not yet releasing his name because of the pending investigation and so they have time to notify relatives.

Burlington police say an autopsy has been scheduled and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations is working on the case as well. Authorities did not release any other details. They’re urging anyone with more information to call the Burlington Police Department.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s human resources agency has been investigating a personnel issue that has put two top crime fighters off work for two weeks. Assistant Division of Criminal Investigation director Terry Cowman and Special Agent in Charge C.J. Noelck were put on leave earlier this month. The two help run the Division of Intelligence, which includes the state fusion center and the Iowa Law Enforcement Intelligence Network. Cowman and Noelck have been with the department for more than 20 years.

Reached at home, Noelck said that he has been directed by the Department of Administrative Services to stay quiet about the investigation. He says, “I was told it’s a personnel matter and I can’t comment.” It’s unclear what the investigation entails, but that department has recently taken a lead role looking into sexual harassment complaints. Such investigations are confidential.
The two recently helped host an annual training conference for law enforcement.