Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds said today (Monday), they will hold a meeting on Friday, September 9^th, with public and private sector officials and concerned citizens, to discuss Missouri River flooding and overall river management. The meeting takes place in Council Bluffs, from 1:00 to 3:45 p.m., at Iowa Western Community College’ Looft Hall (2700 College Road).

The administration’s announcement comes on the heels of last Friday’s meeting of government officials from several states affected by the Missouri River flooding. The meeting will consist of an hour long public roundtable discussion with community leaders followed by an hour of open discussion with the general public.

The entire event is free and open to the public.

Trains on display at the Watson Museum

Watson Museum Train ride

An historic train museum in Missouri Valley closed for several months due to flooding, re-opened over the weekend. The Watson Steam Train and Museum had closed as a precaution late this Spring, after being threatened by the Missouri River floodwaters. Mark Warner, Chairman of the Watson Station Committee, said they spent the past few weeks bringing things back, in preparation for Saturday’s re-opening. He says they’ve been getting things returned to the museum and cleaned-up. Warner says they hope to stay open as late as possible this Fall.

During the past four months, the museum’s trains were moved to a storage facility, to protect them from rising flood waters, which threatened, but never actually affected the museum. Warner says they were allowed to store the trains for the summer in a shed on high ground during the Summer.  He says they have plenty of artifacts and antiques on hand for you to view at the museum, including very rare steam and coal trains. Warner says they have a 1948 miniature coal fired Ottaway Steam Train and the 1959 Ottaway Streamliner gas train, which are completely original and extremely hard to find in the U-S.

The gas train runs on 1800 feet of track. The cost for adults and children to ride the train is just two-dollars. The trains will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays. The museum is located in the Missouri Valley City Park.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Terry Branstad says state environmental officials clearly overstepped their bounds when they sought to ban lead shot in dove hunting. Speaking Monday at his weekly news conference, Branstad argued that efforts by the Natural Resources Commission to ban lead shot was the latest example of state bureaucrats abusing their power. A legislative panel delayed the action last week, and the matter will go to the Legislature next year. Branstad says he’s restructuring the commission and wants to send a message to other state entities that they shouldn’t take action better left to lawmakers. Environmentalists say lead shot can be deadly to other animals who can consume the pellets.

An Adams County teen was arrested this (Monday) morning, for attempted murder and assault on a police officer. Sheriff’s officials say 16-year old Eligah Newkirk was taken into custody at around 12:30-a.m., after he allegedly held his mother and three siblings hostage inside their home at 500 4^th Street in Nodaway, and threatened to kill them.

Authorities says Adams County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Lillie and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy Rick Mitchell entered the home and disarmed the teen, who remains in custody. Newkirk was charged with four-counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault on a police officer, using a deadly weapon.

Sheriff’s officials in Shelby County say one-person suffered minor injuries during a rollover accident Friday afternoon, north of Tennant. 33-year old Joel Kulman, of Harlan, was transported to Myrtue Memorial Hospital following the crash, which happened at around 3:30-p.m., on Shelby County Road M-16.

Authorities say Kulman was traveling northbound when he lost control of his pickup on a curve. The 2008 Ford F-150 entered the east ditch and rolled over, coming to rest on its wheels.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Creston construction office report road construction work will cause traffic on U.S. 169 to be restricted to one lane, between Iowa 92 near Winterset and Madison County Road F-90 near De Soto beginning Tuesday, Aug. 23rd, weather permitting.

A 16-foot width lane restriction will be in place in the open lane. Flaggers and a pilot car will be used to control traffic during the closure. The roadway will return to normal traffic patterns when workers are not present. The expected completion date for the project is August 26th.

Several residents of the Council Bluffs area had to be rescued this morning (Monday) due to torrential rain. The governor says one woman was rescued with little time to spare, as her home collapsed shortly afterwards.  “It is a serious situation, but I also want you to know it’s not a levee breach,” Branstad says. “That has held, but they got four inches of rain and there’s been flash-flooding in the community.”

Governor Branstad says emergency officials tell him at least three structures in Council Bluffs have collapsed this morning. “The National Guard is down there with high-water vehicles and has evacuated a number of people,” Branstad says. “They also rescued, I think, 24 children and a bus driver from a bus that also got stranded in the flooding area, so it’s a very critical situation.”

The school bus had stalled in about four-feet of water, near downtown Council Bluffs. City officials report heavy flooding on the west side of Council Bluffs, with many homeowners reporting flooded basements.

(Radio Iowa)

w/ Ric Hanson

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City officials in Council Bluffs said this (Monday) morning, that high water has reduced a portion of Interstate 80 to one-lane, numerous power lines were down, and there have been several incidents of street flooding due to heavy rain overnight. The City remains at “Alert Level 1,” which is unchanged from Sunday, and was announced following flooding along the Missouri River earlier this Summer.

The City says western and southern portion of Council Bluffs received significant rainfall early this morning. And, while numerous area in the community experienced street flooding, Public Works crews were working to maintain pumping stations and were using temporary pumps to draw-down the water levels. Still, numerous streets remained barricaded, due to flooding. One-lane of Interstate 80 westbound, west of South 24^th Street, was closed this morning, due to flooding.

City officials said also, Police and Fire Department personnel had responded to numerous calls regarding street flooding, and evacuation assistance. By eight-a.m., five persons had been assisted with evacuation from their homes, two of the evacuees were transported to a shelter. On that note, the American Red Cross has re-opened the shelter at the Community of Christ Church at 140 West Kanseville Blvd. Anyone impacted by the storm is urged to go to a Red Cross shelter for a hot meal, minor first aid, and shelter, along with counseling.

The City has also received numerous reports of trees down over power line or in right-of-ways. If you see a downed electric line, you’re asked to report it to MidAmerican Energy at 1-800-799-4443. You should always assume electric lines are energized, and never touch them.

And, due to last week’s storms, the Council Bluffs Recycling Center continues to accept tree debris from Council Bluffs residents, free of charge. The debris will be accepted during normal business hours beginning today, and will continue until further notice. The center is open from 8am-6pm, M-F, and from 8am-Noon, on Saturday. The service is available to Council Bluffs residents only, not commercial businesses, or persons living outside of the community.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa National Guard transport truck has been deployed to rescue around 30 children from their stranded school bus in Council Bluffs. Heavy rain overnight and Monday morning flooded some streets and basements in far western Iowa and eastern Nebraska. The bus had stalled in about 4 feet of water south of downtown Council Bluffs, near 30th and Atlantic Avenue.

The heavy truck made it slowly through the water to reach the bus. The children soon were loaded into the truck and taken to safety. No injuries were reported.

Across the Missouri River, in Omaha, Neb., some streets just north of downtown were closed. Power outages were reported in Fremont, which is northwest of Omaha.