The Atlantic Police Department reports two people were arrested today (Friday). 28-year old Ty Jordan, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Simple Assault. And, 50-year old Jon Misner, of Atlantic, was arrested on a felony warrant out of Nebraska, for Violation of his Child Support Order. Both men were booked into the Cass County Jail.

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BOUTON, Iowa (AP) – The financially troubled Xenia Rural Water District is resisting takeover efforts by the firm that insures the district’s bonds.  The Des Moines Register reports  that Assured Guaranty has gone to court, seeking to fire the district’s directors and to install new management.
The district has debts of about $135 million. It owes about $2.5 million to Assured Guaranty, which made bond payments after the district defaulted.

Xenia board Chairman Dan Lovett says the district is doing everything it can to avert a takeover.  Plans to pay off the debt include a rate increase that the board will consider on Nov. 29th. Xenia’s financial troubles were mostly caused by expansion plans that never materialized. Xenia serves about 9,400 customers in parts of 12 counties north and west of Des Moines.

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A 21-year-old man accused of impersonating an airline employee at the Omaha airport has pleaded guilty. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Timothy Foster, of Omaha, admitted entering a secured area at Eppley Airfield under false pretenses. Foster made his plea Wednesday in federal court in Omaha.

According to the criminal complaint, Foster pretended to be a United Airlines employee for six weeks starting in April. The complaint says he accessed restricted areas and a computer system of United Airlines and displayed a security badge he’d made.

Foster faces up to six months behind bars and a $5,000 fine. His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 26.

The U-S Army Corps of Engineers is ready to move the Missouri River into what it’s calling “drought reserve mode” and it’ll mean much less water flowing downriver. Corps spokeswoman Monique Farmer says water levels will drop by the end of the month. Winter releases from Gavins Point Dam, near Yankton, South Dakota, will be dropped to minimum levels, averaging around 12-thousand cubic feet per second (CFS) starting on December 1st and running through the end of February. Current release levels from the dam have been running more than three times that level, at 38-thousand C-F-S.

Farmer says the Corps’ forecast for next spring has the reservoirs down drastically. They’re expecting to be about 8-million acre feet below the base of the annual flood control and multiple use zone, so the three major reservoirs in the system may be drawn down 8 to 12 feet lower than what would normally be seen at this time of year. It was just last summer that reservoirs and releases hit record high levels during the spring and summer flooding. Releases from Gavins Point hit just over 160-thousand C-F-S. Farmer says they will step down releases gradually to allow downstream water users to adjust.

They’ll cut the releases initially to around 18-thousand C-F-S and hold for a few days. That will give cities and individuals who have their water intakes in the river the chance to see how they may be impacted. After a few days, water levels will be cut further to the projected 12-thousand C-F-S, where it should remain until March. The plan is raising concerns. Leaders in the state of Missouri fear such a drop in water levels on the Missouri River will impact the Mississippi River so much, barge traffic may have to be halted.

(Radio Iowa)

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) – Gambling will shift from the Missouri River to a Council Bluffs hotel under a plan approved by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. The Des Moines Register reports the commission backed the plan Thursday at a meeting in Johnston.  The new casino will move from a riverboat to the first floor of Harrah’s Hotel, replacing a convention center. It will have 600 slot machines and 20 casino tables. The boat will be put up for sale.

The commission also approved an $8.5 million expansion at Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in the Des Moines suburb of Altoona.

SHENANDOAH, Iowa (AP) — A U.S. Army soldier from Shenandoah who was killed in Afghanistan was remembered Thursday, for his infectious smile and his dream of being a soldier. Nineteen-year-old Private First Class Brandon Buttry died November 5th while serving in the Kandahar province.

Pfc. Brandon Buttry, U-S Army (Photo courtesy Col. Greg Hapgood)

Hundreds of flags lined the streets of Shenandoah for his funeral on Thursday while the community honored Buttry and supported his family. Buttry was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State. He was deployed to Afghanistan in August. He was one of Don and Pam Buttry’s 14 children.

Among the mourners were Darian Slater and Ashley Hummel, students in nearby Sidney. One of their teacher’s is Buttry’s older brother. The girls say it’s important to show the family they care and “honor the sacrifice” that Brandon made.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

Iowa’s Sex Offender Registry is getting an upgrade, thanks to a nearly $110,000 federal grant. Terry Cowman, with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, says the money will be used by local sheriff’s offices to purchase needed equipment. “The equipment involves things like laptop computers, digital cameras for taking offenders’ pictures and electronic signature pads so we can continue our digital move to a paperless project,” Cowman said. Iowa sheriffs’ offices register and monitor more than 5,700 sex offenders statewide. Dozens of sheriffs have said they need equipment upgrades to set up remote registration stations and avoid delays in getting information posted.

“We hope to continue to get the resources spread out across the state,” Cowman said. “I believe we’ll have three-quarters of the counties affected by this particular grant.” Last year, the Iowa Sex Offender Registry (SOR) emailed more than 283,000 notifications on the movement of offenders and changes in relevant information. The SOR website —www.IowaSexOffender.com — averages over one million page views per month.

(Radio Iowa)