(Radio Iowa) — Thousands of bicycle riders will be pedaling into Burlington on Friday and community leaders say they’ll be ready, despite intense flooding there just a few weeks ago. The Mississippi River town is an overnight host for RAGBRAI, the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. Dustin Roth, with the Greater Burlington Partnership, says the downtown has recovered from the flooding and is prepared. “There have been a few logistical things that it has affected,” Roth says. “However, the day of, nothing will have changed, so most riders will have no idea that about a month ago it was, oh, five, six feet underwater.”

Last month, the flooded Mississippi overpowered a temporary flood barrier in Burlington and swept through some downtown buildings and roads. It’s taken weeks of clean-up work, but Roth says they’re good to go for a series of concerts Friday on the riverfront. “The water is down. We’re taking down our permanent flood wall, or they will be taking that down so riders can have a view of the river,” he says. “The party will be happening right there on the parking lot so everything there is going fantastic.”

According to a National Weather Service forecast, river levels in Burlington will likely be elevated this week but not at flood stage.

(with thanks to Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)

A traffic stop on a speeding vehicle Sunday in Montgomery County, resulted in the arrest on two warrants, of a Pottawattamie County man. 38-year old Sean Michael Cooney, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody on Pott. County warrants for Assault and Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree.

Cooney was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A 26-year-old Des Moines man has died after he tried to jump aboard a train. The Des Moines Register reports that Des Moines Police say Ian Pfeifer tried to jump aboard the train early Saturday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — At least four Iowa children have died in the past 18 months at day care centers that had been warned about caring for too many children. The Des Moines Register reports that criminal charges have been filed in two of the deaths, and prosecutors are considering charges in a third case.

EARLVILLE, Iowa (AP) — The trial of a man accused of using a corn rake to kill his wife has been moved from Delaware County to Dubuque County. The Telegraph Herald reports that the judge’s order to move the first-degree murder trial of 43-year-old Todd Mullis was released Friday. Mullis, who remains in custody on a $5 million bond, had said he couldn’t get a fair trial in Delaware County. Authorities say he fatally attacked 39-year-old Amy Mullis in November at her farm northwest of Earlville.

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa man has been charged after police say he threatened to shoot people in his home, including children, as well as police officers. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that 54-year-old Alan Dale Rieken was arrested Thursday evening at his home. Police say he told others in his home, “I’m gonna shoot some cops and then you.” Officers who arrived at the home say Rieken refused to comply with officers’ orders and was eventually arrested. The officers took a handgun from his waistband.

The first leg of RAGBRAI saw riders and their support vehicles leave Council Bluffs Sunday enroute to Atlantic for the first overnight stay on the 427 mile cross-State trip. Along the way, the throngs passed through Underwood, Neola, Minden, Avoca and Walnut, with an optional loop through McClelland early on. Three members of Team “Bad Monkey,” Zack Humphries from Kansas City, Al Hiller from Liberty, Missouri, and Craig Sommeren from Chicago, Illinois, spoke about their first day.

Sommeren said their group didn’t actually start from Council Bluffs.

They arrived in Atlantic early Sunday afternoon. All three riders are RAGBRAI veterans. Hiller has participated for 15-years, for Humphries it’s his second year, and Sommeren said he’s been on the ride for a total of 20-years. He said he learns something new every day. Humphries said the Iowan’s have been very friendly, and were excited to see the riders.

Hiller said the rain didn’t put a damper on the ride.

(He said “We have people from Seattle…it was Seattle weather.” Otherwise, it was a beautiful day.”)

The overcast skies, the men said, made the scenery all the more interesting, especially with the blades of the wind turbines partially hidden in the clouds. Along the way, they stopped for baked goods and pie in Walnut. Sommeren said the host communities never have enough of one type of pie, though. He said there is never enough rhubarb pie. “If you think you’ve made enough, make more.”

He said it’s the first pie that sells out. He also just make plain rhubarb…”Not any of this strawberry-rhubarb bingo stuff.” For those who have always wanted to participate in RAGBRAI, the men have some advice. They said prepare for a lesson in problem solving, and expect the unexpected.” That includes mechanical failure with support buses. They gave a shout-out to “Team Hard,” who had to push their bus across an intersection after it broke down.

When asked if things are different on RAGBRAI this year, than in past years, Sommeren said “Yes.” He said “There’s a lot more rules. When I started there was almost no rules.” That, he says, concerns him because younger people aren’t participating in the ride as they had when it started out.

(He said the average age of ridership is aging out. How do we get younger riders in this to keep it going. The average age keeps going up.”)

Riders leave Atlantic Monday morning on their way to their next overnight stay in Winterset. Along the way they’ll pass through Wiota, Anita, Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart, Dexter and Earlham. Listen for KJAN News Director Ric Hanson’s full interview with the three men Monday morning at 7:30, on “Heartbeat Today,” with Jim Field. The podcast of that program will be posted soon after it airs.

From Left to right: Craig Sommeren, Ric Hanson, Zach Humphries and Al Hiller. (Photo courtesy Steve Andersen)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A 26-year-old Des Moines man has died after he tried to jump aboard a train. The Des Moines Register reports that Des Moines Police say Ian Pfeifer tried to jump aboard the train early Saturday. Police Sgt. Paul Parizek says Pfeifer was dragged about 60 feet by the train after he tried to jump aboard. Parizek says Pfeifer had told friends he planned to jump on a train before the incident.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — At least four Iowa children have died in the past 18 months at day care centers that had been warned about caring for too many children.The Des Moines Register reports that criminal charges have been filed in two of the deaths, and prosecutors are considering charges in a third case.

Often, state or local officials know about providers that are caring for too many children, but don’t tell prosecutors or take other action to stop them. The state has 4,300 regulated day care centers, but home day cares are not regulated.

Police in Council Bluffs were dispatched late Saturday night to 178 Crestmont Drive, where a man had allegedly threatened to kill his boss and displayed a weapon.  Officers set up a perimeter around the address and eventually made contact with the subject, who was identified as David Vanderpool.  Police were able to take the man into custody without any injuries to the offender, public or officers.

Vanderpool was charged with Reckless use of a Firearm, Harassment in the 1st degree, Aggravated Assault and Interference with Official Acts.

The Griswold School District’s Board of Education will hold a Special Session beginning 5:00-p.m. Monday (July 22nd), in the Middle School/High School Library. On the agenda, is the reading of a Mission Statement, followed by consideration and the possible approval of a new hire. Other business includes a reconsideration of Dairy Bids, and possible approval of an Open Enrollment Out, request.

(Radio Iowa) — Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is defending his “Medicare for All” plan as some competitors for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination warn embracing the proposal could doom the party’s prospects next year.  “Those candidate who run on that program, who have the guts to take on the drug companies and the insurance companies will win and win big,” Sanders said.

Sanders was the first of three candidates to speak Saturday at a forum in Council Bluffs sponsored by A-A-R-P and The Des Moines Register. Sanders repeated his accusation against former Vice President Joe Biden, that Biden has been “distorting” the tenants of the “Medicare for All” plan Sanders has authored. “Joe talked about a hiatus, in other words if you have a serious illness as we transition to ‘Medicare for All’ there may be a hiatus. That is absolutely wrong,” Sanders said. “Of course there will be a continuity of care.”

Sanders envisions enrolling Americans by age group, first having everyone over the age of 55 be covered by Medicare — until all Americans are covered by a government-paid plan from birth to death. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg supports letting Americans buy into the Medicare system — a so-called “public option.” Buttigieg calls it “Medicare for all who want it” and argues will be cheaper than private insurance.

“It’s also one last dare, though, to the corporate world to come up with something better than they have. If they do, great. I’m not counting on it,” Buttigieg said, “and so I think what will happen over time is that this will become a very natural glide path toward a ‘Medicare for All’ environment — not by flipping a switch and banishing the private sector, but just by putting something better on the table and letting people figure it out for themselves.”

Montana Governor Steve Bullock — the other candidate who addressed A-A-R-P members on Saturday afternoon — says forcing millions of Americans to give up their private insurance isn’t the answer. “So many of them like it,” Bullock said. “Sometimes you don’t like either the cost or the deductibles. We can work on that without disrupting the entire system.”

Bullock supports adding a “public option” to Medicare, letting Americans UNDER the age of 65 buy into the system. Seventeen presidential candidates appeared at five forums this past week, adding issues of interest to seniors and offering ideas for reducing prescription drugs costs. Many expressed support for legalizing marijuana for medical use. On Saturday, Buttigieg said he supports legalizing marijuana for medical AND recreational use.

“I don’t recommend smoking anything, but not only are there important medical uses, but we’ve just hit at the point as a country where there are a lot of offenses, including I think non-violent drug offenses, where the way we responded to it — the incarceration — is actually doing more harm to society,” Buttigieg said.

Bullock, as the governor of Montana, recently approved tweaks to his state’s medical marijuana program.  “It goes to individuals in need and it makes a meaningful difference, but you always have the barriers at the federal level, both the scheduling of it as a drug and the difficulty of banking any of the dollars, being medical or recreational,” Bullock said, “so I think the federal government should get out of the way and this is a state-by-state decision.”

Sanders, the first candidate to speak Saturday in Council Bluffs, has long supported legalization of marijuana, as part of his criminal justice reform agenda.

Thousands of bicyclists and their support vehicles and/or entourages are set to enter Atlantic today (Sunday), as they dip their rear wheels in the Missouri River and take on the first leg of pedaling from Council Bluffs to their first overnight stay here in town. When they arrive, they can expect to find a lot of food and entertainment downtown.

Vendors will be ready to serve them in the City Park, and many church groups or organizations will be available as well to serve a variety of tasty treats to help replenish some of those burned-off calories from the first ride, which is 60-miles, or about 80-miles if riders chose to take memorial loop in McClelland.

A reminder, several streets have been blocked-off to vehicle traffic through 2-a.m. Sunday. Information about street closures and parking restrictions have been mentioned numerous times on KJAN, and the information is still available in stories on our News page, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

There’s a beer garden that will be set-up in the City Park, and the Atlantic Chamber has teamed-up with First Whitney Bank to have the downtown Christmas light turned on tonight, to add an extra special glow to the festivities. Stage entertainment in the downtown City Park includes opening act “Freakabout,” a four-piece rock band from Lincoln, NE. The headliner band is “Hairball,” who will perform a two-hour homage to some of the biggest arena acts in the world, including Van Halen, KISS, Motley Crue, Queen, Journey, and Aerosmith. Both concerts are free.

The riders and their support teams will begin to depart Atlantic on Monday, some well before the sun rises, so motorists are urged to be extremely cautious. They’ll be pedaling 68-miles from Atlantic, through Wiota, Anita, Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart, Dexter and Earlham, with their second overnight stop in Winterset. The 427 mile cross-State ride ends next Saturday, in Keokuk, with the dipping of wheels into the Mississippi River.