It’s been a wet spring in Iowa but water utilities in the Des Moines metro area are asking people to save water because of high nitrate levels in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers. For now, Des Moines Water Works C-E-O Ted Corrigan says tap water is held below the legal limit by running a nitrate removal facility and mixing in low-nitrate water from wells and reservoirs. As people start watering lawns and demand increases, Corrigan says those low-nitrate sources won’t keep up.

The two rivers are a major source of drinking water for around 600-thousand people in central Iowa. The current filtration process simply won’t be able to meet demand, he says, as water use typically rises during the summer months.

Corrigan says Des Moines and other members of the Central Iowa Water Works are asking people to not over-water their lawns. If drinking water comes close to violating the nitrate standard, he says people can expect to see mandatory restrictions.

(Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio via Radio Iowa)

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says there is a good possibility the U-S Supreme Court will review an appeal from Iowa or two other states that have passed immigration enforcement laws.

Earlier this week a federal judge in Des Moines issued an order temporarily blocking enforcement of Iowa’s illegal reentry law. It would let Iowa officials arrest and deport immigrants who’ve previously been deported or were denied entry to the U-S. Bird is appealing that ruling to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis.

The U-S Justice Department and civil rights groups filed lawsuits arguing the federal government has sole authority to enforce immigration laws and the state law that was to go into effect July 1st is unconstitutional. The lawsuits cite a 2012 U-S Supreme Court ruling that overturned an Arizona law that would have given Arizona police authority to arrest undocumented immigrants suspected of committing any crime that made them eligible for deportation.

The Arizona law that was overturned also sought to make it a state crime for unauthorized immigrants to fail to have some sort of government-issued I-D. Emma Winger, an attorney with the American Immigration Council, says Iowa’s law could lead to deporting people who’ve obtained legal residency or asylum in the U.S. after being deported.

(Radio Iowa) – FEMA has opened up three more Disaster Recovery Centers in Clarke, Polk and Pottawattamie counties. FEMA Spokesman John Mills says these centers add more options for people dealing with storm damage.

Mills says anyone who was hit by a storm in the federal disaster areas should talk to FEMA.

Assistance is available in Adair, Montgomery, Polk and Story County for the May 20th to 31st storms. FEMA funding is also available for homeowners and renters in Clarke, Harrison, Mills, Polk, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Shelby and Union counties for the April 26-27th tornadoes and storms.

Mill says you should take photos of any damage you may have from the storms.

The phone number to call is 800-621-FEMA (3362). You can also go online at DisasterAssistance.gov, or use the FEMA app. Mills says some people hit in the first round of storms may now have information that can lead to assistance.

Recovery specialists from the U-S Small Business Administration will also be at the disaster recovery centers to provide information on available services. The new disaster recovery centers are at the Clarke County Annex Building 109 South Main Street Osceola; the Riley Resource Group in Polk County at 4400 E. University Ave. Pleasant Hil; and in Pottawattamie County at the Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus North Parking Lot 815 North 16th Street Council Bluffs.

• NO VALID DRIVERS LICENSE
• FAILURE TO PROVIDE PROOF OF FINANCIAL LIABILITY-ACCIDENT
• FAILURE TO MAINTAIN OR USE SAFETY BELTS-ADULT
• and FAILURE TO USE CHILD RESTRAINT DEVICE.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood report two arrests: On Monday, 31-year-old Dakota Haner, of Pisgah, was arrested on a Harrison County Warrant. His bond was set at $500. And, today (Tuesday), 44-year-old Barbara Riley, of Glenwood, was arrested for driving while barred. Her bond was set at $2,000.

More than seven inches of rain have fallen from Sunday night through Monday in the Iowa Great Lakes area, causing lake levels to get near records. Dickinson County Emergency Management will implement a five mile-an-hour rule for all watercraft starting today (Tuesday) at 4 p-m. Captain Greg Harson of the D-N-R Law Enforcement Bureau says they hope to reduce the wake impact against the shoreline.

Harson says the change from drought to excess rain has already impacted boaters as docks are underwater.

The record flooding levels happened back in 2018. Dickinson County Emergency Management reports Big Spirit Lake and East and West Okoboji are about a half foot away from that level as of this morning (Tuesday).

(By Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio via Radio Iowa)

(Sac City, Iowa) – In update to our previous report, the Sac County Sheriff’s Office says a man from Crawford County died Friday, following the pursuit of a stolen vehicle. The Sheriff’s report follows:

(Radio Iowa) – The former superintendent of the Charles City Schools is filing suit against all current members of the district’s school board. In April, then-Superintendent Anne Lundquist was placed on paid administrative leave amid allegations that “raises questions about Dr. Lundquist’s fitness for duty and ability to serve as an employee of the Charles City Community School District,” according to School Board President David Schrodt.

In a statement, Lundquist says, “I was shocked by the school board’s actions towards me. I have done nothing wrong. This situation has been devastating, for me and for my family.” Lundquist was to retire at the end of this school year on June 30th, but never returned to the post she had held since coming out of retirement in April 2022.

Lundquist filed a lawsuit against all five current school board members: Schrodt, Bruce Koebrick, Dara Jaeger, Kathryn Fox and Josh Mack. She is pursuing “damages in a fair and reasonable sum and for punitive damages” and has requested a jury trial. Schrodt says the board will meet with its attorney in closed session Friday.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is urging Iowans to call in tips to a new cold case unit in her office.

Iowa briefly had a cold case unit to examine unsolved murders, but it was financed with a federal grant and closed down more than a dozen years ago. The legislature has provided Bird’s office with over half a million dollars and she’ll be hiring three investigators to review the more than 400 unsolved murders or missing person cases in Iowa.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird held a news conference to discuss formation of a cold case unit in her office. (RI photo)

Steve Ponsetto, a retired state trooper and Division of Criminal Investigation agent, will lead the office. He says they will review homicides and cases involving unidentified human remains as well as people who’ve gone missing under suspicious circumstances if local investigators have exhausted all leads.

The attorney general held a news conference today (Tuesday) at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to preview the project, which will be launched July 1st when the next state budgeting year starts. Polk County Sheriff Kevin Schneider has had a group of retired officers volunteer to go through records and evidence for the over 100 unsolved cold cases in Polk County — and he thanked legislators for providing the money to launch a state-funded cold case unit.

Jody Ewing founded the Iowa Cold Cases website in 2005 as a service to the families of victims and she joined the attorney general at today’s (Tuesday’s) news conference.

Bird says her office has prosecuted two cold cases in the past 18 months.

There are more than a quarter of a million unsolved murders in the U-S and most states have a cold case unit.

(Radio Iowa) – The principal of Perry High School, who was killed while trying to protect students during a shooting rampage at the school in January, is being honored with a posthumous award for his actions. Dan Marburger is being named Iowa’s Character Champion for 2024 by the state program that recognizes individuals and organizations for their role in the six pillars of character. Iowa Character program coordinator Hilary Ortman says Marburger was a hero.

The six pillars of character include: Caring, Citizenship, Fairness, Respect, Responsibility, and Trustworthiness. The program, based at Drake University, is honoring others, including this year’s Citizens of Character, Alan Steckman of Mason City and Carter Hammer of Sioux City; and Katie Hoover of West Des Moines as the Educator of Character.

Dan Marburger (Perry Community School District photo)

Ortman says The Iowa League of Heroes is also being singled out as the Business of Character — the group that brings costumed superheroes to the hospital beds of children.

Ortman is calling on all Iowans to consider the importance of character in those around them.

Each of the recipients will be recognized at a dinner on August 2nd at the Prairie Meadows Conference Center in Altoona with a televised special of the recipients to be aired later. See the full list of this year’s award recipients at IowaCharacterAwards.org.