AMES, Iowa – Nov. 16, 2011 – Over the Veterans Day holiday weekend, the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) restored traffic on Iowa 333 into Hamburg.

Hwy 333 flooding in Sep. 2011

This marked a significant milestone in Iowa’s fast-track flood recovery effort, as this was the last section of state highway to remain closed as a result of the Missouri River flooding.

Iowa 333 was closed in June when a temporary levee was constructed around Hamburg and across the highway to protect the town. Flooding eventually inundated the highway with several feet of water, damaging the roadway and bridge approach.

Fremont County and the city of Hamburg were hard hit as a result of the Missouri River flooding. Flooding took an economic toll on businesses that lost access to the interstate, as well as to the many regional business and recreational travelers the highway brought to the area. Flooding closures significantly impacted local residents by adding miles to their daily commutes.

The Iowa DOT joins the residents of Fremont County in welcoming visitors back to Iowa, and encourages travelers to make a stop in Hamburg (I-29, exit 1) or any one of the other communities easily accessed from Interstate 29.

(DOT Press Release)

w/ Ric Hanson

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SIDNEY, Iowa (AP) – Officials say the levee near Percival that failed in last summer’s Missouri River flooding will undergo temporary repairs but will remain vulnerable to severe flooding next year. According to reports, damage to the levee is about $120 million but only $10 million has been received to fix it. Pat Sheldon of the local levee district says it’s going to take time to clear legal hurdles and ensure the work is done right. Kim Thomas of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the Percival levee is a top priority but money is limited. The agency says the levee will be repaired to handle a 25-year flood by March 1, but it will take a year or more to restore it to the way it was before the flooding.

The Union County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a reported armed robbery. The incident was said to have occurred at around 1:30-p.m., Sunday, at 120th and Beechwood Ave., or about 5-miles southwest of Orient.  Authorities say Ronnie Gilbert, of Corning, said  he was robbed an gunpoint by an unknown male suspect in a tan Chevrolet or GMC pick-up. An undisclosed amount of money was taken. Anyone with information relating to the incident is aksed to contact the Union County Law Enforcement Center, at 641-782-8402.

The Iowa Department of Revenue won’t be mailing out income tax forms and instruction books to taxpayers this year. Department spokesperson, Kay Arvidson, says it’s a move that many states and the I-R-S have already made. Arvidson says you can still call or e-mail the department if you want the paper forms. She says they wanted to be sure that people can still have access to the information, they are just not mailing them to homes any more. Iowa is one of the leading states for electronic tax filing and Arvidson says fewer people actually need to have the paper forms.

Arvidson says they have cut back on the number of paper books over the last several years and she says they are like the rest of state goverment and watching every dollar that is spent. She says they can save over 50-thousand dollars by only sending the documents to the people that want them rather and mailing them to everyone’s home. Libraries have been one of the main places people could pick up the tax forms but that is changing too.

Arvidson says they’ve provided information to the libraries on how to direct people to their website for the forms, but she says the paper forms will no longer be given to the libraries to be handed out to the public. Arvidson says it is part of the evolving use of on-line tax filing. Arvidson says it’s a big change, but an important change for efficiency as people move into the electronic realm. She says they don’t want to leave anyone out, so the paper forms will still be available.

If you still want paper tax forms you can get them online at: www.iowa.gov/tax. You can call the state forms order line at 1-800-532-1531 or request a form by e-mail at: IowaTaxForms@Iowa.gov. You can also request forms via mail from the department of stop by their office on the 4th floor of the Hoover State Office Building at 1305 East Walnut street in Des Moines.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Red Oak report a Glenwood man was arrested Tuesday evening on a burglary charge. Officials say 19-year-old Christopher Lynn Young was taken into custody on a warrant for 3rd degree burglary.  Young was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $5,000 bond.  Red Oak Police were assisted in conducting an investigation into the crime by deputies with the Mills County and Montgomery County Sheriff”s Offices.

Emmetsburg, IOWA — The Emmetsburg Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are seeking assistance from the public in locating James Michael Pietrarosso. Pietrarosso is a 32-year old male from the Emmetsburg, Iowa area.  He is wanted for Attempted Murder and several other outstanding warrants.Pietrarosso was last known to be in the Spencer, Iowa area.

James Michael Pietrarosso

His whereabouts are unknown at this time.  The Emmetsburg Police Department is asking for your assistance in locating this subject.  If you or anyone you know has information that would assist law enforcement in locating and arresting Pietrarosso, please contact your local Law Enforcement at 9-1-1, or The Emmetsburg Police Department at 712-852-2424.

While the U-S Army Corps of Engineers is promising to focus more on flood prevention, many western Iowans are still questioning how that will be accomplished after the summer-long flooding of the Missouri River. Jody Farhat, head of the Corps’ water control office in Omaha, says she’s heard from plenty of worried folks up and down the river. “People are very concerned about potential flooding again next year,” Farhat says. “We’re committing to take a more flexible approach to our releases during the fall and into the winter and the spring.” Levees and dams along the waterway were weakened by the months of flooding and repairs on them are still underway. Farhat says the plan is to draw down upriver reservoir levels before the warm weather of 2012 arrives.

“We’ll get as much water out of the system as the weather permits and that we can pass safely without impacting the repairs that are going on,” Farhat says. “The dams and the levees are our number-one line of defense and we don’t want to interfere with any of that important work that’s going on.” Reservoirs upstream were inundated by heavy rains and record runoff from snowmelt, forcing the Corps to release water at such velocity that Missouri River levels were raised for the entire summer. Farhat says they’re working to plan ahead by dropping reservoir water levels now. “It’s not a specific amount,” she says. “We’ll base it on the current information and also on what we’re able to get out. When we get to this time of year, it really depends on the weather and where the runoff comes in. We’ll monitor that closely and hopefully we’ll be able to move some additional water out.” Farhat says the Corps will continue with “aggressive” flows from the dams for the next few months.

“We don’t want to cause icejam flooding this winter just to provide some relief in case it’s a wet year next year,” she says. “It’s a balancing the very real impacts of pushing extra water through the winter with that reduced risk of flooding next year.” Releases from Gavins Point Dam at Yankton on the South Dakota/Nebraska border continue at 40-thousand cubic feet per second, well above the long term normal for this time of year. Releases this summer topped 160-thousand CFS, or more than a million gallons per second.

(Radio Iowa)

Authorities in Lenox report a Taylor County man was arrested today (Tuesday) on a charge of 1st degree arson. According to the Lenox Police Department, 25-year old Christopher Cameron, of Clearfield, was arrested at his parents home. The arrest comes as a result of a joint investigation by the Lenox Police Department and the State Fire Marshalls Office related to the fire that occurred on November 6th, 2011, at the Lenox Motel.

An initial investigation the night of the fire conducted by the Lenox Police Department found inconsistencies relating to the cause of the fire. As a result the State Fire Marshall’s Office was contacted to review those findings.

Cameron was subsequently arrested after making an admission about the cause of the Motel fire and 3 other fires. Additional charges are expected to be filed by the Fire Marshall’s office. Cameron is currently being held in the Taylor County Jail on a $100,000 bond.