The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) said today (Tuesday), it will be undertaking a project to rebuild Interstate 680 in Pottawattamie County, which was decimated by the Missouri River flooding. The roadway has been closed since early June. The Iowa DOT will be using nontraditional design, contracting and construction approaches to get the roadway rebuilt quickly and traffic flowing again.  Getting the roadway reopened will also restore access to the Omaha airport from the north. 

A single contract will be awarded for the project that involves a complete rebuild. An emergency letting is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 21st. A meeting will be held later this week with contractors to discuss constructability of the project. The Iowa DOT will provide bidders a typical cross section, as-built plans, and standards for design, construction and materials. A single, lump-sum bid item to perform all necessary work is anticipated. The contract award will be based on low bid. 

All information necessary to bid on the project will be made available to contractors on the Iowa DOT’s website at http://www.iowadot.gov/contracts/lettings.html. A special section on the site is devoted specifically to the I-680 project. Other information will be added to the site, as needed and it becomes available; so be sure to check back for the latest details. In addition to the website referenced above, information will be posted on the Bid Express website, www.bidx.com, used by contractors to electronically bid on projects.  Bidders with questions should direct them to the Iowa DOT’s Office of Contracts at: phone 515-239-1414; fax 515-239-1325 or e-mail dot.contracts@dot.iowa.gov.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Police have announced the arrest of two Iowa people in the shooting death of an Omaha man. According to Omaha Police, 34-year-old Anthony Good Jr. and 40-year-old Corey Brooks, both of Council Bluffs,were arrested in Omaha. They face charges of first-degree murder, use of a weapon to commit a felony and being felons in possession of a firearm. The pair are suspected in the Sept. 2 death of 50-year-old James Asmus, who was found dead of a gunshot wound in a south Omaha garage.

Officials with the Atlantic Police Department report the arrest Monday of 33-year old Amanda Brenneis, of Lewis. Brenneis was taken into custody on five warrants out of Shelby County, for 5th Degree Theft. The woman was being held in the Cass County Jail.

A public hearing will be held Wednesday morning at the Atlantic Airport terminal building, with regard to the Maintenance Hangar Improvement Project. City Administrator Doug Harris says the total cost of the project is $29,750. Of that, 85-percent, or roughly $25,288 will be eligible for funding from the State, the remaining 15-percent, or about $4,463 will come from local sources, such as leftover bond funds.

During the Airport Commission’s meeting at 9-a.m., they’ll consider a resolution approving the plans, specifications and form of contract for the project, a review of the bids, and consideration of a resolution making an award of the contract.

Other, general airport discussion will be conducted after the new business portion of the meeting.

w/ Ric Hanson

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A Red Oak man has been charged in connection with a go-cart accident that resulted in serious injuries to his son. According to Red Oak Police, 35-year old Shawn Michael Soar was taken into custody early this (Tuesday) morning, on Felony charges of Child Endangerment and Serious Injury by Vehicle. Soar was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $10,000 bond.

Authorities say Soar and his two-year old son Ryan were riding a go-cart at around 9:15-p.m. September 5^th, when the machine hit a parked car in the 700-block of East Grimes Street in Red Oak. Following the crash, the child was flown by helicopter to a trauma center in Omaha. A report on his condition is not available.

Shawn Soar suffered minor injuries and was treated at the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Farmers along the Missouri River are getting advice on reclaiming their land from receding floodwaters. Crop specialists from Iowa State University and the University of Nebraska spoke Monday with farmers gathered at 20 computer linked sites in Iowa, South Dakota, Missouri and Nebraska. ISU Ag engineer Shawn Shouse,  says, in some cases, sand may be washed too deep over farmland to be moved. “In severe cases, if the sand is extremely thick, the cost of moving the sand may get to the point where you want to consider selective abandonment of small areas that have extremely deep deposits of sand – as opposed to moving that sand off,” Shouse said.

Aside from sand, farmers along the Missouri River are clearing flood debris from their land. Paul Jasa, with the University of Nebraska, advised farmers to get a cover crop on the barren land as quickly as possible this fall to restore the soil’s microbial activity. He noted, however, seeds for those cover crops are in short supply. Jasa said a lot of cover crop seeds that are normally available in the Midwest have been sent to drought-ridden Texas. For some farmers, Jasa said recovering the farmland to productivity may take another season.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The condition of the state’s corn and soybeans crops have improved and dry weather has allowed the fall harvest to begin in Iowa. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey released his weekly update on the condition of the state’s crops Monday, saying one-third of the corn crop is mature. That’s behind 56 percent at this time last year but ahead of normal, which is 30 percent. Fifty-seven percent of the corn crop is in good or excellent shape; 28 percent fair and 15 percent poor or very poor. About half of the state’s soybeans are turning color, behind 70 percent last year and behind the five-year average of 63 percent. Sixty-four percent of the soybeans are in good or excellent condition with 12 percent being poor or very poor.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Federal flood insurance has already paid out $43 million to help policyholders deal with the damage caused by flooding along the Missouri River even though the floodwaters haven’t fully receded. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says those payments went to people who live and work along the river downstream from the Garrison dam in North Dakota. That total includes payments made by Sept. 1, it will grow as more claims are submitted. FEMA is urging people to submit claims as soon as possible. This year’s Missouri River flooding officially began June 1. Massive amounts of water from above-average spring rains and snowpack have been flowing down the river all summer. The Corps of Engineers predicts the river won’t be back inside its banks until sometime in October.