AMES, Iowa – June 15, 2011; 1:30 p.m. – The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) is reporting the closure of southbound Interstate 29 at exit 10 (Iowa 2) due to flooding. The southbound I-29 closure extends to the U.S. 136 interchange near Rock Port, Mo.

Traffic from southbound I-29 is being directed to Iowa 2 east to U.S. 275 north back on Iowa 2 east to U.S. 71 south through Iowa into Missouri and U.S. 136 west to I-29 in Missouri.

Northbound I-29 is open between Rock Port, Mo., and Iowa exit 10 (Iowa 2). However, the Iowa and Missouri departments of transportation are working closely to monitor this very volatile situation. Northbound I-29 will be kept open as long as possible for local and emergency traffic. Other traffic is urged to find an alternate route around the flooding in southwest Iowa and northwest Missouri.

Alternative routes for northbound I-29 are as follows:

To reach destinations south of Council Bluffs, continue from U.S. 136 in Missouri to U.S. 71 north to Iowa 2 west to I-29 north. (I-29 north is closed north from exit 55 in Council Bluffs to exit 71 (U.S. 30 at Missouri Valley)).

Persons traveling to Sioux City can continue on U.S. 71 north to U.S. 20 west to Sioux City.

Persons traveling to Council Bluffs/Omaha should stay on U.S. 71 north to Iowa 2 west into Council Bluffs.

To avoid the impacted area of the I-29 corridor, the Iowa DOT is requesting interstate travelers use I-35 north in Kansas City through Iowa to I-90 west in Minnesota to I-29 south back into Iowa.

AMES, Iowa – June 15, 2011; 2 p.m. – Amtrak services on two of three disrupted routes in the Western U.S. will be restored, starting this Wednesday, June 15. Passengers with questions about travel plans on these routes should call Amtrak at 800-USA-RAIL for additional information.
Empire Builder (Trains 7/27 & 8/28)

Amtrak service for the complete route will resume following BNSF Railway Co. track restorations between Devils Lake and Rugby, N.D., and between Sandpoint, Idaho, and Libby, Mont. This resumption is effective on Wednesday, June 15, with the originations of Train 8 from Seattle, Train 28 from Portland and Train 7/27 from Chicago.

California Zephyr (Trains 5 & 6)

Amtrak service for the complete route (except Omaha) will resume effective with the originations of Train 6 from the San Francisco Bay (Emeryville, Calif.) on Wednesday, June 15, and Train 5 from Chicago on Thursday, June 16.

Because of temporary levees built over BNSF Railway Co. track to help protect the cities of Omaha and Bellevue, Neb., these trains will not directly serve Omaha, but alternate transportation will be provided between Lincoln and Omaha (eastbound, Train 6) and between Creston, Iowa, and Omaha (westbound, Train 5).
Southwest Chief (Trains 3 & 4)

Amtrak service remains temporarily suspended between Newton, Kan., and Albuquerque due to wildfires near BNSF Railway Co. tracks in New Mexico. Daily Southwest Chief service between Chicago and Los Angeles is maintained using a detour route through Texas and Oklahoma. Missed stops in western Kansas, southeastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico will be served by chartered motorcoaches or local commuter trains, as available (except Trinidad, Colo., and Raton & Las Vegas, N.M.).

Also temporarily suspended are Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Routes 8603 & 8604 between Raton and Denver, along with the Lamy (N.M.) Shuttle.
Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant. Passengers are encouraged to call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com for schedule information and train status updates.

AMES, Iowa – June 15, 2011 – The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) will hold a public meeting Tuesday, June 28, to discuss proposed culvert repair and replacement along U.S. 59 north of Denison to Schleswig in Crawford county. The meeting will be held at the Schleswig Fire Station, 206 Date St., from 5 to 7 p.m.
This public information meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. No formal presentation will be made. Iowa DOT staff members will be present to discuss the project informally.
For general information regarding the proposed improvement or public meeting, contact Shane Tymkowicz, assistant district engineer, Iowa DOT, District 3 Office, 2800 Gordon Drive, P.O. Box 987, Sioux City, Iowa 51102-0987, telephone 712-276-1451 or 800-284-4368, or e-mail shane.tymkowicz@dot.iowa.gov.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Two riverboat casinos permanently moored along the Missouri River in Council Bluffs are dealing with floodwater. Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan says parking lots on the wet side of the levees at Harrah’s and Ameristar are flooded. He says they were expected to flood because of their locations. Other parking lots are free of water.

Hanafan says both casinos have engineers on staff to monitor the integrity of the floating casinos as the river rises. He says that if a problem is detected, the casino will be emptied. The river is rising as water is released from upstream reservoirs to deal with heavy rains and snowpack. The river is expected to crest above flood stage in Iowa and Nebraska this week, but the water will remain high into fall.

The Atlantic Police Department reports a Massena man was arrested Tuesday on Possession of Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia charges. 30-year old Aaron Latus was brought to the Cass County Jail and held pending a court appearance.

And, 42-year old David Jordan, of Atlantic, was arrested Tuesday on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear. He was booked into the Cass County Jail.

HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) – The Missouri River levee breaches near Hamburg will likely create a brief dip in downstream water levels, but no significant change in the flood forecast is expected because massive amounts of water continue to flow down the river.

National Weather Service hydrologist Dave Pearson says Monday’s breaches in northwest Missouri will provide only a temporary decline in river levels. Once the pressure equalizes again after a breach the river rises again. That’s already showing up at the river gauge near Brownville, Neb, which is just downstream of the breaches.

Hamburg continues to await the arrival of the floodwaters spewing through a broken levee about 5 miles south of the Iowa town. Cities all along the river in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri are watching for any weaknesses in their flood protections.

The Iowa State Patrol says no injuries were reported after a semi tractor trailer parked on an off-ramp rolled over into a ditch Tuesday, here in Cass County. The driver of the rig, 43-year old Dewaine Lee Jones, of Colorado Springs, CO, had taken the westbound off-ramp at the Marne exit, and illegally parked on the right shoulder.

When the 2001 conventional truck stopped, the shoulder suddenly gave way, and the truck rolled onto its passenger side, causing an estimated $30,000 damage to the truck and trailer, registered to Saunders Trucking, out of Colorado Springs. The accident happened at around 11:45-a.m.

Jones was cited for stopping, standing or parking where prohibited.

The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education, Tuesday evening, passed a resolution that will put on the November ballot, a measure calling for the renewal of the district’s Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL). Business Manager/Board Secretary Mary Beth Fast explained passage of the PPEL would renew the 85-cent per thousand dollar valuation for another 10-years, beginning January 1^st, 2013. She says that is unchanged from the previous time the PPEL was voted-in.

Board President Phil Hascall said the board had previously discussed keeping the levy at 85-cents per thousand. The maximum allowable levy is $1.34 per thousand.

The Board, Tuesday, also approved student fees for the 2011-2012 school year. Superintendent Mike Amstein said that includes combining some fees, and eliminating the participation fee, which is not allowed by Iowa Code. He says the Technology Fee was increased from 5-to 7-dollars, and the activities fee was increased for the activity ticket.

The activities fee went up $5, from 30- to 35-dollars, and the school lunch fees increased across the board by five-cents. In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved contracts and letters of Assignment, including Derek Bair, as Industrial Technology Instructor, and Melanie Rassmussen, as kindergarten teacher. The district is still looking to fill four teaching positions, included among them are a Middle School Math teacher, Keyboarding and English instructor positions. The district will continue to advertise for those positions until they are filled.

NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (AP) – The bloated Missouri River is complicating travel along Interstate 29 in Iowa. State officials have already closed a section of I-29 north of Council Bluffs, and they are preparing to close another stretch of the interstate near Hamburg in southwest Iowa because of floodwaters encroaching on the highway.

Gary and Veronica Andrews of Ocala, Fla., were on a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming when they spotted what appeared to be a giant lake pressing up against I-29. The couple pulled off the interstate about 9 miles north of Hamburg at Nebraska City for a restroom break. But every gas station, restaurant and motel along the interstate was closed and surrounded by sandbags and dirt levees.

Gary Andrews says the stop was quite an experience.

HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) – Iowa officials have delayed the closure of a stretch of Interstate 29 in southwest Iowa. The Iowa Department of Transportation said in a news release today (Wednesday), that the portion south of Exit 10 could close at any moment. The department says the planned closure was delayed because the Missouri River floodwater rise has slowed. The department says it won’t issue a warning when the roadway does close. Motorists are being urged to avoid the area.

Exit 10 is where Iowa Highway 2 runs west across the river to Nebraska. The planned closure runs south to U.S. Highway 136 in Rock Port, Mo., a distance of about 30 miles.

The department says the southbound I-29 off-ramp at Exit 1 is closed as well as Iowa Highway 333 from I-29 to Hamburg.