(Radio Iowa) — The latest spell of cold, wet weather doesn’t bode well for the spring season ahead, as it makes renewed flooding all the more likely early in 2020. Hydrologist Jessica Brooks, at the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities, says she’s concerned because a majority of rivers in the Mississippi River basin are already above normal levels and the soil is still saturated. “Moisture in the soil won’t have the opportunity to dry out before we get into the spring season,” Brooks says. “A lot of it will likely be frozen into the soil once we, well, we are cold right now and are probably starting to see a little bit of the ground starting to freeze, on the top layers anyway.”

Brooks also says the winter outlook is for normal to above-normal amounts of rain and snow.  “If there are some things you wanted to make sure you get done before it floods again, maybe it’s time to think about how you should do it now rather than wait until later,” Brooks says. “It’s not a situation yet that we would say start getting your resources ready because it’s going to happen. We’re not confident in that yet.”

Some Iowans are still recovering from this year’s record-breaking flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Key factors to watch in the coming months include: winter and spring precipitation, how wet the snow is, how fast it may melt, and frost depth. The weather service in Davenport will issue its first Spring Flood Outlook on February 13th.

A woman from Nebraska was arrested at around 3-a.m. today (Monday), in Montgomery County, following a traffic stop. Officials say 41-year old Rebecca Elizabeth Sabo, of Omaha, was taken into custody for being a Fugitive from Justice, as the result of an active warrant out of Missouri, for Identity Theft. Sabo was transported to the Montgomery County  Jail, and held without bond.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Iowa and New Hampshire get to weigh in first on the Democratic presidential contest next year, but the states are not ethnically diverse enough to offer any insight into how a candidate will fare across the country, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Sunday. “I don’t think it matters what happens in Iowa or New Hampshire because those states are not representative of the country anymore,” the longtime Nevada senator said.

Former Obama housing secretary Julian Castro, who recently made comments similar to Reid’s and suggested Iowa and New Hampshire shouldn’t go first, said he’d like to see other states rotate into to the early role. He noted that when he’s in Iowa, he gets asked more questions about ethanol than transit, even though millions of people in the country rely on mass transit. Castro said he thinks Iowa and New Hampshire can still play an important role “but I also believe it’s time to give other states a chance to go first.”

Nevada is the third state to weigh in but the first that looks like the rest of the country, with a sizeable Latino population and significant groups of Asian American and black voters, Reid said. Reid, who helped his home state land its influential role in the presidential nominating process, spoke to reporters in Las Vegas on Sunday before 14 White House hopefuls spoke at a fundraiser for the Nevada Democratic party.

In the clearest demonstration of Reid’s influence, the candidates at one point joined him on stage and lined up to shake his hand one-by-one as he received a tribute from the party. As the candidates took the stage at a glitzy Las Vegas Strip casino, they pitched their health care plans and pledged to beat Donald Trump in 2020 as their supporters cheered and waved signs.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who jumped into the race on Thursday, was added as a last-minute speaker at the event at the Bellagio casino-resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Reid said Patrick is “a very fine man who had a great record in Massachusetts” and someone who “has a lot to sell.” Reid, who says he won’t endorse until after Nevada’s Feb. 22 caucuses, said it’s too early to start counting candidates out of the race and he’s impressed with the packed field.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have arrested a man after a nearly four-hour standoff at an apartment complex in eastern Des Moines. Des Moines Police say officers responding to reports of gunfire shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday found the suspect on a second-floor balcony. The man fired at police and two officers returned fire before he retreated inside an apartment. The man was arrested without incident nearly four hours after police arrived. He was alone in the apartment. No injuries were immediately reported

NEW PROVIDENCE, Iowa (AP) — A 26-year-old man is facing several animal neglect charges after authorities found several malnourished and dead goats on his property in north-central Iowa. The Hardin County Sheriff’s department found two dead goats and a malnourished goat in an outdoor shed without bedding or food when they visited the man’s property on Oct. 30. A veterinarian determined that the malnourished goat needed to be euthanized because of its condition. Authorities also found three dead goats on the property.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Pete Buttigieg is leaning hard on his seven-month deployment as an intelligence officer in Afghanistan as a powerful credential, but the Democratic presidential candidate is walking a narrow path between giving his wartime service its due and overstating it. As his support grows, Buttigieg can expect greater scrutiny of his military record in a political climate where military service is far from sacred. He’s careful to not call himself a combat veteran even as he notes the danger he faced.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The number of Democrats running for president is growing as Election Day approaches. And on the ground in the states that matter most this primary season, voters have a clear message: Stop. Late entries into the race have exposed a fresh divide in a party already plagued by divisions. On one side are establishment leaders who are concerned about the direction of the race and welcome new candidates. On the other are voters in key states who say they’re satisfied with their options.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have arrested a man after a nearly four-hour standoff at an apartment complex in eastern Des Moines. Des Moines Police say officers responding to reports of gunfire at an apartment in the 35-hundred block of E. Douglas Avenue, shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday, found the suspect, 25-year old Troy Donald Ramero Ruggles, on a second-floor balcony. The man fired at police and two officers returned fire before he retreated inside an apartment.

Ruggles was arrested without incident at around 9-a.m., or nearly four hours after police arrived. He was alone in the apartment. No injuries were immediately reported in the incident. Ruggles was charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer, and two counts of intimidation with a dangerous weapon.

NEW PROVIDENCE, Iowa (AP) — A 26-year-old man is facing animal neglect charges after authorities found several malnourished and dead goats on his property in north-central Iowa. The Hardin County Sheriff’s department found two dead goats and a malnourished goat in an outdoor shed without bedding or food when they visited the man’s property on Oct. 30. A veterinarian determined that the malnourished goat needed to be euthanized because of its condition.

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that authorities also found three dead goats on the property that had been dead for more than a week. The man has been charged with three counts of animal neglect and three counts of failing to dispose of dead animals.

A couple of area school district Boards of Education will hold separate meetings Monday evening. The Griswold School Board meeting will gather at 5:30-p.m. in their Board Room. Old business on their agenda includes a regular update from KPE Architects and Estes Construction, with regard to district facilities project.

New business/action items include: Considering the approval of resignations with consideration given to Contract Enforcement; A Stormwater Practices Proposal; Approval of a Budget Guarantee Resolution; and information with regard to the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress, results.

In Elk Horn, the Exira-EHK School Board meets at 6-p.m. Monday, in the Conference Room at the Elk Horn Building. Under Old Business, the Board will discuss and/or take action on approving Personnel Hires, Transfers, Resignations and related matters. The Old Board will then adjourn, to be followed by an organizational meeting of newly elected and returning School Board members.

During the Organizational Meeting, new members will be sworn-in, and Officers will be elected and given the Oath Office. Regular administrative matters will follow.

Members of the City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department Board of Directors will meet 5:15-p.m. Monday, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. During their session, the Board will discuss changes to the City’s Code of Ordinances with regard to the Board’s Powers and Duties, the first reading of which will take place during the Atlantic City Council meeting Wednesday evening.

They’ll also receive updates from Parks & Rec Director Bryant Rasmussen, with regard to: The Schildberg Recreation Area; Portable toilets; the closing of roads at Sunnyside Park; the Ice Skating Rink; a FEMA update, and a report on the T-Bone Trail Head Gazebo.

New Gazebo installed on the southwest corner of the Atlantic Sports Complex, as part of a T-Bone Trail attraction. (Ric Hanson/photo)

Rasmussen is also expected to inform the Board that: Fall decorations are set-up at the entry signs to the City; Prairie Seeds were harvested from the AMU Well Fields; and speak with regard to other department matters.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:15 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa health officials say two people in the state have died from complications of the flu in recent weeks. The Iowa Department of Public Health says the deaths occurred in a woman between the ages of 61 and 80 in central Iowa and in a woman older than 81 in northwest Iowa. Officials say both women had underlying conditions or other contributing factors in their deaths.

NEVADA, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a worker killed in an industrial accident at a biofuels plant in central Iowa. Police tell television station WOI that Carlos Mauricio Partillo Montufar was pinned under equipment Thursday at Verbio North America’s Biorefinery in Nevada, which is about 40 miles north of Des Moines. Rescue workers arrived to free him, but he died at the scene. An autopsy has been ordered.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Mark Cady, the soft-spoken chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court who wrote key decisions on gay marriage and abortion access that rankled social conservatives, has died at the age of 66. Cady’s family says in a statement posted on the court’s website that he died unexpectedly of a heart attack on Friday night. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said in statement Saturday that she was heartbroken to learn of Cady’s death and she ordered flags be flown at half-staff until a memorial service is held.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A new study says sport fish have declined significantly in portions of the Upper Mississippi River infested with Asian carp. It found that sport fish such as yellow perch and bluegill fell between 1994 and 2013 in three locations infested with silver carp. Meanwhile, sport fish numbers rose in other places farther upstream that the carp hadn’t reached. The lead author says the findings show the urgency of stopping the carp’s advance.

(In an update to our earlier reports) – The Iowa State Patrol says one person died and another was injured during a head-on collision Friday evening in northern Iowa’s Cerro Gordo County. Authorities say a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by 80-year old Richard Westcott, of Clear Lake, and a 1991 Ford F-150 pickup driven by 51-year old Travis Stohr, of Woden, collided in a fiery crash that happened at around 6:36-p.m. Friday on U-S Highway 122, near the Mason City Airport.

Authorities say the van was traveling eastbound in the westbound lane of Highway 122, at the same time the pickup was traveling in the same lane. The vehicles collided in the left lane of westbound 122. Westcott died at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt. Stohr was also not wearing a seat belt. He was transported by medical helicopter to a hospital in Rochester, MN.

The accident remains under investigation.