Police in Creston say a woman was arrested Wednesday afternoon on an Adams County warrant. 52-year old Cathy Maynes, of Creston, was arrested on a warrant charging her with Harassment in the 3rd Degree. Maynes was later released from custody on a $300 bond.

And a Creston resident reported to Police Wednesday, that sometime around Feb. 24th, someone entered her home in the 600 block of Wyoming Street, and took a Playstation 3 and two controllers. The loss was estimated at $200.

(7-a.m. News)

The experts predict run-off into the Missouri River system will be above-normal this spring, but the region is -not- expected to be hit with any flooding. Nicole Shorney, a hydraulic engineer with the U-S Army Corps of Engineers, says snow pack is very low in the upper basin due to several warm snaps and the relatively mild winter.

“The heaviest snow liquid contents range from two-to-four inches in some localized areas of central North Dakota, although the heaviest amounts are outside the Missouri River basin,” Shorney says. “Some areas of central Montana and north-central Wyoming also have remaining Plains snow that has less than an inch of liquid content. The rest of the upper basin has no Plains snow remaining.”

Shorney says run-off so far this year has been above-normal. “February run-off was more than double its average due to Plains snow melt from much warmer-than-normal February temperatures,” Shorney says. “Focusing on the March-to-July run-off season, the time when we see our highest run-off, we’re expecting March run-off to be slightly above-average for the upper basin as the remainder of the Plains snow pack enters the system.”

Shorney says they expect slightly above-normal run-off into late spring. “For the Oahe to Sioux City regions, we’re forecasting normal run-off for the April-to-July period,” she says. “Our annual run-off forecast is 29.1-million acre feet or 115-percent of normal.”

Corps officials say all of the water in the flood storage of the reservoirs has been sent downstream. Releases from Gavins Point Dam will increase later this month to support downstream navigation.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

MONTICELLO, Iowa –  An eight-year old died after the tricycle they were riding collided with a van Wednesday afternoon, in Jones County. The Iowa State Patrol says the 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan was traveling north on South Cedar Street in Monticello at around 3:50-p.m., when the tricycle, which was traveling west on W. Washington Street, collided with the front of the van. The child died at the scene. The driver and a passenger in the van were not injured. The accident remained under investigation.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The testing scandal at Iowa’s fire academy is getting a lot bigger. The Iowa Department of Public Safety says that 739 more firefighters have been notified they were improperly issued nationally-recognized certifications despite failing their written exams. In January, the department said that 1,706 firefighters and emergency personnel were issued 2,300 improper certifications over a four-year period.

LAKE VIEW, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a 47-year-old Lake View man who initially escaped a house fire with his wife later died after running back into the home. The Sac County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that first responders were called to the house Tuesday afternoon for a fire. Investigators say Jerry Wayne Brauckman and his wife were upstairs when they smelled smoke and fled, but that Brauckman re-entered the home.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As Iowa lawmakers debate a voter identification bill, county auditors are questioning whether the plan would have adequate funding. The House was moving to vote on Secretary of State Paul Pate’s bill Wednesday amid criticism by Democrats that the proposal would suppress voting. Pate and Republican backers say they want to prevent fraudulent voting and enhance elections technology. For county auditors, another concern is whether there’s adequate funding for the plan.

EARLY, Iowa (AP) — An appeals court has upheld the murder conviction of an Iowa mother who shot and killed her 20-year-old neighbor in 2001. The Iowa Court of Appeals denied post-conviction relief to Tracey Richter, who’s serving life in prison in the slaying of 20-year-old Dustin Wehde. Richter claims she acted in self-defense, but the three-judge panel says there’s “overwhelming evidence” of her guilt.

LAKE VIEW, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a 47-year-old Lake View man who initially escaped a house fire with his wife later died after running back into the home. The Sac County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that first responders were called to the house Tuesday afternoon for a fire. Firefighters found the body of Jerry Wayne Brauckman just outside the home.

Investigators say Brauckman and his wife were upstairs when they smelled smoke and fled, but that Brauckman re-entered the home to find the source of the fire. He apparently became disoriented in the smoke and eventually broke out a window on an enclosed porch to escape, but died once outside.

An autopsy has been ordered. Investigators say the fire started around a space heater.

A Red Oak man was arrested Wednesday on a warrant for Theft 5th Degree. At 2:15pm Red Oak Police arrested 23-year-old Zachary Nathan Gobert of Red Oak on the theft charge from January for stealing $30 in fuel. Gobert was being held on $1,000 cash bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Agriculture says last month was the second warmest February on record in the state with an average temperature of 34 degrees, 10 degrees above normal. That average was exceeded only by February 1954 when the average temperature was 35 degrees.

Last month is the only Iowa February on record to post eight days of 70-degree weather. The warmth is forcing unusually early plant emergence. Ottumwa recorded the highest temperature with 79 degrees on the 22nd, a February reading exceeded only in 1972 when Sidney reported 82 degrees and in 1930 when Clarinda and Mount Ayr posted 80.

State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says a brief tornado on Feb. 28 in Clinton County also was a February rarity. The only previous February tornadoes were in 1922 and 1977.

A student at Red Oak High School was arrested Wednesday morning after making threats against a fellow student. The Red Oak Police report they were called to the Red Oak High School at 9:06am after reports of the threat were discovered. Officers determined a male juvenile student threatened to bring a knife to school and use it to commit a forcible felony against another student.

The student was taken into custody by Red Oak Police and charged with Harassment in the 1st Degree.

This past February was the second warmest in Iowa on record. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the warm start to the year is prompting vegetation to come out of dormancy sooner than usual and could intensify the dry conditions across south central and southeast Iowa due to early evapotranspiration. The report is prepared by the technical staff from the Iowa DNR, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering and the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with The Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department.

Officials say Hydrologic conditions and drought have remained the same throughout the winter months in Iowa. The pattern of wetness in northern Iowa and the dryness in the southern half has changed very little throughout the winter.

Precipitation for Iowa varied across the state. The wettest area of the state is far northern Iowa, receiving double the normal amounts for January and February, while the southeast one-third of the state remains dry. Stream flow conditions are above normal across the majority of the state, except in parts of southern Iowa, which have decreased to normal levels.

For a thorough review of Iowa’s water resource trends, go to www.iowadnr.gov/watersummaryupdate.

EARLY, Iowa (AP) – An appeals court has upheld the murder conviction of an Iowa mother who shot and killed her 20-year-old neighbor in 2001. The Iowa Court of Appeals denied post-conviction relief Wednesday to Tracey Richter, who’s serving life in prison in the slaying of 20-year-old Dustin Wehde.

Prosecutors contend Richter lured Wehde into her home in the northwest Iowa town of Early, and shot him several times in her bedroom. They say she killed Wehde as part of a plot to frame her ex-husband during a custody battle.

Richter contends she acted in self-defense during a home invasion. She argued her 2011 conviction was tainted by errors by her defense lawyer, the prosecutor and the judge. The three-judge panel says there’s no merit to her allegations and “overwhelming evidence of Richter’s guilt.”

The Glenwood Police Department reports two arrests took place, Tuesday. 52-year old Terry Jennings, of Glenwood, was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $300. And, 36-year old Randy Burton, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office also reports two arrests. 19-year old Jeremiah Michael Abdo, of Omaha, was arrested just before 1-a.m. today (Wednesday), for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possessing Contraband. His bond was set at $6,000. And, at around 10-p.m. Tuesday, 50-year old Jame Kent Otte, of Red Oak, was arrested for OWI/2nd offense, and Driving While Revoked. Bond was set at $3,000.