COUNCIL BLUFFS –The Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency was notified that FEMA Acting Director Pete Gaynor approved the State of Iowa request to include PottawattamieCounty in the major disaster declaration for the State of Iowa, specifically the FEMA Individual Assistance Program. Local, state, and federal officials assessed damages throughout the county on April 2nd.

Based on the conducted assessments, FEMA has now included Pottawattamie County in the declaration for Individual Assistance. This means that residents are now eligible to apply for the federal Individual Assistance Program, which provides aid to eligible homeowners, renters, and businesses.

Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Director Doug Reed stated, “We will be working with partners from Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management and FEMA today to develop plans on setting up a Disaster Recovery Center in the county.” A Disaster Recovery Center is a location where residents can go to register for FEMA assistance and speak with FEMA personnel regarding their needs.

“We also hope to provide access to other sources of assistance and services for our residents who need recovery assistance at the DRC,” said Reed. Local officials will be providing further information to residents on where they can go to register for assistance and alternative means of registering with FEMA after plans are finalized over the next couple of days. Residents are urged to monitor media outlets and emergency management’s Facebook, Twitter, and website (www.pottcounty-ia.gov) for further information.

(Radio Iowa) — An Omaha woman is hospitalized after wrecking her vehicle while driving on a closed portion of a flood-damaged road in southwest Iowa. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says 26-year-old Tabitha Lassek was driving a 2011 Chevy westbound on Highway 34 just before 1 AM Sunday. Authorities say Lassek failed to obey three “ROAD CLOSED” barricades and drove through them.

The vehicle continued west before hitting several large chunks of concrete, which launched the vehicle 20 feet into the air. The vehicle came to rest on the shoulder. Lassek was taken to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs by Glenwood Rescue with undisclosed injuries.

(Des Moines, IA) – Iowa law enforcement officials have announced they will conduct a Drug Impaired Driving specialized enforcement campaign throughout the state April 19th and 20th. “Drive High, Get an OWI” is an intensified effort to fight drug-impaired driving in correlation with the 4/20 ‘holiday.’ Similar efforts are occurring across the region in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Up and down the highways of these states, officers will be arresting anyone caught driving impaired.

During the Drive High, Get an OWI effort in Iowa, officers will intensify enforcement of the state’s drug-impaired-driving laws. Like drunk driving, drug-impaired driving is illegal in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington DC. Law enforcement will stop and arrest anyone caught driving drug-impaired.

Authorities say it is never safe to drive impaired. This not only means refraining from drunk driving, but also from drug-impaired driving. Many people wrongly believe that driving while high won’t affect them. It has been proven that THC – the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects – slows reaction times, impairs cognitive performance and makes it more difficult for drivers to keep a steady position in their lane.

The bottom line is this: It doesn’t matter what term is used, if a person is high, stoned, wasted or drunk, he or she is impaired. Driving while impaired by any substance is illegal and can be deadly to the driver and other road users. Never drive while impaired by any substance, including a new prescription drug or a higher dose of a current prescription drug. Do not drive until you know what effect it has on your judgment, coordination, and reaction time. Any effect could impair your driving ability. Certain medications may not impair you on their own, but if taken with a second medication or with alcohol, they may cause impairment.

Any form of impaired driving is illegal. There are many resources available to get home safely. Plan ahead and designate a sober driver. Use public transportation or a rideshare service. Download NHTSA’s SaferRide mobile app, which connects those in need of a sober ride with a taxi or friend to pick them up. For more information, visit www.nhtsa.gov.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Burlington City Council has decided to make a deteriorating bridge off-limits to bicyclists and pedestrians, years after officials shut down the bridge to other vehicle traffic. The Hawk Eye reports that the council voted Monday to close Cascade Bridge to pedestrian and bicycle traffic after receiving the recommendation from Calhoon-Burns, a West Des Moines-based engineering firm. Calhoon-Burns determined in its report that the 123-year-old bridge is in poor condition and could be a threat to safety.

Cascade was closed in 2008 when its load rating was found to be less than 4 tons. In 2010, the council chose to reopen the bridge to pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The decision has left some residents frustrated that little has been done to repair or replace the bridge.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A jury has convicted a man who Des Moines police say was found with his dying girlfriend’s blood on his hands. The Des Moines Register reports that 33-year-old Nickolas Pettinger was found guilty Monday of first-degree murder. He’ll be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Prosecutors say Pettinger choked and used a 20-pound weight to batter 19-year-old Katelynn “Kat” Gould on Dec. 12, 2016, in a Des Moines garage. Prosecutors say Gould’s blood was on Pettinger’s hands and clothes when he was taken into custody after hiding in a nearby garage for more than 90 minutes. Prosecutor Thomas Miller told jurors Pettinger was “caught red-handed in every sense of the word.”

Pettinger’s attorney said his client could have touched his dying girlfriend after someone else attacked her while Pettinger was elsewhere.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports six arrests took place over nearly the past 10-days. On April 11th, 36-year old Daniel Floyd Edwards, of Tingley, was arrested near Massena following a pursuit that began in Bridgewater. In addition to the previously announced charges, Edwards was taken into custody by the Sheriff on warrants for Failure to Appear in court on earlier charges of Driving Under Suspension,Violation of Parole, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, OWI/3rd offense, Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd or subsequent offense, Driving while barred, and Driving while license denied or revoked. The all but one of the warrants was out of Adams County. The other was from Ringgold County. Edwards was transferred to the custody of Adams County Deputies.

There were three arrests April 8th in in Stuart, in association with a fight involving a large group of people. 26-year old Derrick Devon Henry, of Stuart, was arrested by Stuart Police for Assault with intent to inflict serious injury, after he used a 4-foot long metal fence post in an aggressive manner. Henry was released from custody April 10th on a $2,000 cash or surety bond. 32-year old Jeffrey Forrest Stonehocker, of Redfield, was arrested in connection with the same incident, where he used a metal garbage can as a weapon. Stonehocker was released the same day on a $2,000 cash or surety bond. And, 26-year old Chiquita Cheketa Kelly, of Stuart, was arrested during the incident for Assault causing bodily injury, after she was identified on video engaging in a fight with 32-year old Amanda Marie Comly, of Stuart. Comly suffered injuries to her face and arms during the incident, including a bite mark on the upper arm, abrasions and bruises on her face, and scratches to her arms. Kelly was released the same day on a $1,000 cash or surety bond. Comly was cited by Stuart Police for Disorderly conduct, fighting or violent behavior. She was released on the citation.

On April 7th, 18-year old Johnathan Paul Godron, of  Menlo, was arrested by Stuart Police for Criminal Mischief in the 2nd degree, for allegedly shooting a residence with a BB gun, and after a man was seen waving a BB gun around in the parking lot of the Stuart McDonald’s restaurant. During questioning, Godrun admitted to shooting at signs and windows. The damage to the residence was estimated at $1,500. Godrun was released from the Adair County Jail April 8th on a $5,000 cash or surety bond. And, as previously mentioned, 32-year old James Robert Lyman, of Greenfield, was arrested April 7th following the pursuit of a pickup truck where speeds reached 105 mph, and a brief foot pursuit. Lyman was taken into custody on an Adair County warrant for Driving While Barred, Driving While Barred, Eluding while in participation of a felony, and a controlled substance violation (about 2 grams of a substance believed to be Meth), and Violation of Parole. His cash bond was set at $19,000.