The Audubon County Board of Supervisors this week, approved $200,000 in future TIF (Tax Increment Financing) funds to be used for T-Bone Trail maintenance and resurfacing. Their action on Tuesday, allows the Audubon County Conservation Board to obtain matching funds.

Officials say while the trail in Audubon County is currently in good shape, the funds will help keep it from falling into disrepair. The 21-mile long T-Bone Trail mostly parallels Highway 71, and extends from the City of Audubon south into Cass County.

(Radio Iowa) — The risk of spring flooding along the Missouri River in western Iowa remains above normal, according to the National Weather Service’s second spring flood outlook, released Thursday. The next few weeks look generally dry. Mike Gillisipie, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, says snow has been melting at a steady, ideal rate, and that could continue. Gillispie says, “The longer we can keep this up, the less chance there is of that real significant flooding, barring any real big, heavy future precipitation.”

Very wet soil and the large volume of water flowing down the Missouri are the two things contributing to the above-normal flood risk along the river. If the snow continues to melt steadily rather than rapidly, Gillispie says it would be better for the Missouri River and its tributaries, kind of like turning a sink on and off.  “If you turn it up, if you have a real rapid snowmelt, all that water comes off at once,” he says. “If you have temperatures getting up into the 40s during the day, dropping back below freezing at night, it’s like turning the faucet on just a little bit and then shutting it off.”

The Missouri River from below Sioux City to Omaha has an increased chance of getting to flood stage this spring. Northwest Iowa tributaries, including the Big and Little Sioux Rivers, are expected to rise to major flood levels. The National Weather Service will release a third spring flood outlook on March 12th.

(Reporting by Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

DIKE, Iowa (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier) — Family members have sent a message to whoever burglarized a rural home in eastern Iowa: Give us back the box holding the cremated remains of our father. The box was stolen Feb. 14 or 15 from the rural Dike home of Daniel Evanson. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that he was 65 when he died Feb. 6. His sister asked in a public Facebook post that the box be returned to his farm. The box was decorated with a farm scene that showed a tractor and a barn.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) – The year 2019 stands out for record precipitation and record flooding across Iowa and much of the region, according to Doug Kluck, the Central Region climate services director at the National Weather Service in Kansas City. Kluck says, “Across the Midwest and, to some degree, the Missouri River basin, the Midwest (states) have never seen a wetter year, in fact, they’ve never seen a wetter year — by far.”

Parts of Iowa saw more rainfall last year than ever before, as well as flooding that surpassed all previous recorded high water marks. The wet soil meant many Iowa farmers faced extreme difficulty with spring planting as well as the fall harvest. While there are predictions of a repeat in 2020, Kluck says he does NOT expect to see that mix of weather conditions again. “Just off the cuff, I would say the likelihood of that happening again is very, very low, to get close to that record or exceed it, for sure,” Kluck says. “But even if it is above normal, which is a whole bunch of other years, by the way, we’re going to have severe problems.”

He says the patterns that are developing show we’re clearly moving toward more precipitation and storm events. “The trend overall has been to be, on an annual basis, wetter than what we’ve had in the past, that’s the trend,” Kluck says. “It doesn’t mean we can’t go into drought, but the trend line is definitely on a pretty upward slope. It’s pretty obvious from the data that we collect.”

The first flood outlooks for the region released earlier this month predict major flooding is likely in most of the region’s river basins, including the Mississippi and Missouri.

The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund reports Sean O’Brien will be back again this Spring, to put on a baseball pitching clinic in Atlantic, for 4th through 7th grade students.  The pitching clinic will be held each Sunday through March 29th. Trevor’s mom, and fund spokesperson Melanie Petty, says “Baseball and Trevor go hand in hand.  I absolutely can’t think of one without connecting it to the other.” Petty said also, “Working with Sean is a great opportunity for these boys and we are happy that he is willing to come back to his hometown and work with these kids that have an interest in pitching.”

Sean O’Brien (Left)

She says they are thankful to be able to do these things for the community in Trevor’s name, and “It’s all because of the support we receive from our community, family and friends.” Petty reminds you that the 12th Annual TFred Memorial Golf Tournament will be held August 8th, at the Nishna Hills Golf Course, in Atlantic.  All monies raised are given back to things that were important to Trevor.  So far, the Fund has given back over $200,000.

Follow the Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund on KJAN as news is released, and on Facebook, to keep up on the latest activities.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A trial has been delayed for a man accused of killing his wife in Iowa City. Johnson County court records say 67-year-old Roy Browning Jr. has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder in the April 5 stabbing death of JoEllen Browning. His trial had been scheduled to begin March 10, but on Thursday a judge granted Browning’s request for a delay. The new starting date: Oct. 13.

Prosecutors have said Roy Browning killed his wife just hours before she was set to learn about financial problems he had tried to hide from her. She was director of operating budgets at University of Iowa Health Care.

Creston Police today (Friday) said a Creston man has reported that the lock on his storage unit had been cut off. The man told authorities its appears no items were missing or damaged at the time of his report.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — The American Red Cross is urging you to join their lifesaving mission by giving blood or platelets this March, in celebration of Red Cross Month. Donors of all blood types, especially type O, are urgently needed to help ensure blood is available for patients this spring. Make an appointment now by downloading the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.

Upcoming area blood donation opportunities March 1st through the 15th:

Cass County:  Atlantic, 3/12/2020: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Atlantic YMCA, 1100 Maple Street; Griswold: 3/6/2020: 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Griswold High School, 20 Madison

Mills County: Glenwood, 3/10/2020: 6:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Glenwood High School, 504 East Sharp Street

Page County: Clarinda, 3/10/2020: 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Regional Health Center, 220 Essie Davison Drive

Pottawattamie County:

Council Bluffs –

• 3/2/2020: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Iowa Western Community College, 2700 College Road
• 3/2/2020: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Green Hills Area Education Agency, 24997 IA-92
• 3/5/2020: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., Abraham Lincoln High School, 1205 Bonham
• 3/12/2020: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Amelia Place Assisted Living, 57 W Ferndale Dr.

Oakland – 3/3/2020: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., Oakland Riverside High School, 18997 Hwy 59

Union County: Creston, 3/11/2020: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., Creston High School, 601 W. Townline

How to donate blood:

A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements. Blood and platelet donors can save time at their next donation by using RapidPass® to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, before arriving at the blood drive. To get started, follow the instructions at RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass or use the Blood Donor App.