SAC CITY, Iowa (AP) – Trial has been set for Sept. 28 for a Nebraska woman charged in the 2001 shooting death of a man in her former home in northwest Iowa. Tracey Richter-Roberts of Omaha, Neb., is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 20-year-old Dustin Wehde at her home in Early, Iowa. Richter-Roberts told police Wehde and another man broke into the home and attacked her and that the shooting was in self-defense. No charges were filed at the time, but the investigation was reopened in 2009 and Richter-Roberts was arrested last month.

She is being held in the Sac County jail under $1 million bond. The trial date was set by a judge, on Tuesday.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa company has pleaded guilty to being involved in a price-fixing conspiracy to sell ready-mix concrete at noncompetitive prices. The U.S. Justice Department says Spencer-based Great Lakes Concrete Inc. entered its plea Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City. An indictment filed earlier this month accused Great Lakes Concrete of participating in a conspiracy to fix prices for ready-mix concrete between January 2008 and August 2009.

Court documents show company president Kent Stewart pleaded guilty in 2010 and was sentenced in February to one year and a day in prison and fined more than $83,000. The company’s plea is the result of an ongoing investigation of the ready-mix industry in Iowa and surrounding states.

Sheriff’s Officials in Montgomery County say no injuries were reported following an accident Wednesday afternoon in the parking lot of a Red Oak implement dealer. An investigation determined a pickup driven by Donovan Hultman, and owned by Circle “H” Ranch, was backing up in the parking lot of A&M Green Power, when it struck a properly parked car owned by Rhonda Alexander.

Damage from the mishap, which happened at around 3-p.m, amounted to $1,600. The Sheriff’s report did not indicate if any citations were issued to Hultman.

Emergency Management officials in Mills County say a 30-foot levee breach has been reported. The section gave way Tuesday afternoon due to saturation from ongoing flooding and recent heavy rains. Authorities said today (Wednesday), that 182nd Street and Gaston Avenue in northwest Mills County have been closed due to fast moving water over the roads.

Residents in the area have been contacted and told to make preparations to evacuate. Larry Hurst, emergency coordinator for the county, said that the breach is not a part of the main Missouri River levee system. Hurst said levee district workers and the National Guard continue to patrol the main levee to assure its integrity and there are no active repair projects under way at this time.

The breach was in the south berm of Saint Mary’s Drainage District, which is south of Allis Road and west of 182nd Street.

OMAHA, Neb. – Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the VA wants to Welcome Home you home, buy you dinner and offer an evening of fun! The Department of Veterans Affairs is hosting the 2011 Welcome Home Celebration for Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families Aug. 26 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Amazing Pizza Machine, 13955 ‘S Plaza, Omaha.

The event provides an opportunity for the VA and the community to thank Veterans for serving in Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and New Dawn. The VA will provide the complimentary dinner and game cards for the Veterans, spouses and their children.
Veterans who served in one of the campaigns listed above, or spouses of a currently serving Iraq or Afghanistan service member are encouraged to attend. Any additional guests beyond the veteran’s spouse or children will be charged $12 per person. It also serves as a one-stop event for the veterans and their families to learn about the VA benefits that they are eligible for.

Representatives will be available with informational tables from the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, Veterans Benefit Administration’s Regional Office in Lincoln, Neb., Vet Centers, and other community resources.

For information about VA programs and services for returning veterans in Nebraska and western Iowa, visit www.nebraska.va.gov. The VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System proudly serves more than 167,660 veterans in Nebraska, western Iowa and portions of Kansas and Missouri. Omaha’s medical center is an inpatient facility and also a large outpatient clinic for primary and specialty care. The Community Living Center is in Grand Island.

There are community-based outpatient clinics in Lincoln, Grand Island, North Platte, Holdrege, Norfolk, Bellevue and Shenandoah, Iowa; and an outreach clinic in O’Neill, Neb. For more information, visit http://www.nebraska.va.gov.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Council Bluffs has hired an engineering consulting firm to help assess damage from a summer of flooding along the Missouri River and recommend repairs. The City Council hired the company on Monday. The cost will depend on the amount of damage discovered, but the city won’t spend more than $500,000 unless the council agrees to go higher.

The city will provide an inventory of storm and sanitary sewers, streets and roads and zoning maps.

Public Works Director Greg Reeder says information developed by the company firm will be sent to the U.S. Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in hopes of obtaining their assistance. Reeder says the corps is interested in the assessment of the city’s levees, while FEMA is interested in everything else.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A company spokesman is blaming Missouri River flooding for a pipeline break that happened earlier this month between Onawa, Iowa, and Decatur,  Nebraska. The break happened Aug. 13 and caused an unknown amount of natural gasoline to pour into the river. Natural gasoline is an unrefined, clear liquid that gets blended with refined gasoline. The underground pipe is operated by Houston-based Enterprise Products, which initially wasn’t sure what caused the break.

Company spokesman Rick Rainey said Wednesday it’s clear that flooding caused erosion, leading to the break. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the break  didn’t cause environmental problems because the fuel was dispersed in the enormous water flow. It’s not clear how much fuel spilled, but the broken section of pipe can hold up to 140,000 gallons.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Farm operators in southwest Iowa who have sustained major forage and/or crop production, and/or physical losses due to flooding, may be eligible for an emergency loan. Iowa USDA Executive Director John Whitaker says applications for assistance should be completed at the Cass/Pottawattamie County Farm Service Agency (FSA) office, in Atlantic.

Whitaker says the FSA may make Emergency Loans to eligible family farmers, which will enable them to return to their normal operations, if they sustained qualifying losses resulting from natural disaster. Applicants must be unable to obtain credit from other, usual sources, in order to qualify for FSA Farm Loan Program assistance. Most of the disaster loans can be for up to seven-years, however, if the loan is secured only on crops, it must be repaid when the next year’s crop income is received.

The deadline for final applications is April 23^rd, 2012. For more information, call the Cass/Pott County FSA office, at 712-243-1377.

Barbara Determan, President, 4-H Foundation Board of Trustees; Patti Blum; Chuck Morris, Director, 4-H Youth Development

The Shelby County Extension Service reports a Harlan woman was recently inducted into the 2011 Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame. Patti Blum received the honor during a ceremony at the 4-H Exhibits Building at the Iowa State Fair on Sunday, August 21st.

Eighty-eight Iowa counties participated this year and selected 121 inductees for their outstanding service and dedication to 4-H. Inductees or their surviving family members were presented a certificate by the Iowa 4-H Foundation as they were introduced on stage.

Patti has been involved in 4-H for over 30 years.　 She served Shelby County as the 4-H Program Assistant for 13 years, working with countless leaders, volunteers and 4-H members during this time to keep the 4-H program strong. She supports 4-H at the state level as well, and was superintendent of the Issues class at the Iowa State Fair for many years. Blum has also served on the Iowa 4-H Foundation Board of Trustees and headed up the fundraising committee on the Board. Officials say her love of working with youth really comes through in judging, and she continues to be a 4-H judge for communications and static exhibits at many county and state fairs to help youth realize their potential with her positive guidance.