KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has named the four members of an independent panel that will review this year’s flooding on the Missouri River. The corps said Wednesday that the panel members include three hydrologists – Bill Lawrence of the National Weather Service, Darwin Ockerman of the U.S. Geological Survey and Cara McCarthy of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The fourth member is Neil Grigg, a professor at Colorado State University. The corps manages the Missouri’s flow through a series of dams and storage reservoirs and has faced intense criticism over the flooding. The agency says the panel will help determine if anything could have been done to prevent this year’s flood and provide recommendations for improving future operations. Among the issues that will be examined is whether climate change played a role in this year’s record runoff.

Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman reports three men’s names will be included on the November 8th Special Election for the Cass County Supervisor District 2 seat. The latest addition, is Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Don Lappe, who has been nominated by petition. Lappe joins Gaylord Schelling, who was nominated by Republican convention, and Jeff. J. Richter, who was nominated by petition, on the ballot. All three men are from Atlantic.

Nomination papers to fill the seat on the Board of Supervisors, which was left vacant by the death of Chuck Kinen, must be filed by no later than 5-p.m. Friday, September 23rd.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – An Omaha woman once believed to be the victim of a home invasion and now charged with first-degree murder in the 2001 shooting in her western Iowa home faces a new federal charge of passport fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Omaha says 45-year-old Tracey Ann Richter – also known to authorities as Tracey Richter-Roberts – made false statements in early 2009 in an application for a passport, which she intended “for her own use or the use of another.” In an affidavit, a U.S. State Department special agent said Richter applied for the passport in Omaha claiming her name was Sophie Corrina Terese Edwards. The federal indictment was unsealed Wednesday. In July, Iowa authorities charged Richter with first-degree murder in the 2001 shooting death of 20-year-old Dustin Wehde.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Crews are assessing damage to Iowa highways and beginning repairs now that the Missouri River has dropped to lower levels after a summer of flooding. Sections of the Interstates 29 and 680 are largely rubble, leaving workers with a daunting number of repairs and little time as winter approaches. Officials say they’ll fix as many roads as possible this fall and hope to have at least single lanes open on damaged stretches of interstate by December, but some work will have to wait until next year. Iowa Department of Transportation spokeswoman Dena Gray-Fisher says in some spots, “there isn’t any road left. You’ve got to start from scratch.” Gray-Fisher says a contract for bids will go out Friday to rebuild a badly damaged three-mile stretch of I-680.

Authorities in Council Bluffs say two people were arrested Tuesday morning following a pursuit that led officers into Omaha and back into Council Bluffs. Council Bluffs Police Sgt. Mark Galvan said when an officer tried to stop a suspicious, black SUV shortly after 9- a.m., the driver of a white Dodge truck tried to strike the officer’s vehicle.

Galvan said after the officer took evasive action to avoid the truck, he began to pursue both vehicles into Omaha. The Dodge truck, which was later determined to have been stolen, was able to elude authorities, but later found to have been abandoned.

When Police later learned the black SUV returned to Council Bluffs, they were able to locate it in an area known as Malmore Acres. Following a brief foot pursuit, a man and a woman were taken into custody. Their names were not immediately released. The woman, who was driving the SUV, was charged with eluding, reckless driving, and driving while disqualified. She was also arrested on warrants for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, driving while barred and possession of prescription drugs.

The man in the SUV was arrested on a warrant for possession of a controlled substance. He also faces a charge of eluding.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A Nebraska couple has marked the end of the U.S. military’s ban on gay service by tying the knot. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that 48-year-old Gregory Smith, a full-time member of the Nebraska Army National Guard, married 39-year-old John Burns on Tuesday in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The wedding occurred just hours after the military ended its so-called “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The couple had originally planned to marry next spring, but Smith told family members he wanted to marry on the first day he could serve openly as a gay man in the military. Burns told the newspaper that if the ban had not been lifted, he and Smith probably would not have married until Smith finished his military service.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors met this (Wednesday) morning in Atlantic. The Board, following the second and final reading, approved and adopted an ordinance striking old language from the redistricting plan and added new language to reflect a change in Supervisor Districts resulting from a shift in population as determined by the 2010 census. The ordinance goes into effect January 15^th, 2012.

The board also heard from the City of Atlantic’s Park and Recreation Director, with regard to a request for the County to reconsider its decision to remove a flower bed leading up to the Civil War Memorial, in the Atlantic City Park. The County owns a portion of the sidewalks that are being replaced due to age and damage from heavy equipment. Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring made the request on behalf of the Parks Board.

Herring acknowledged the flower beds have become an eyesore over the years, because no one has stepped forward to take care of them. That matter has been resolved, with an announcement today (Wednesday) that the Trevor Fredericksen Foundation will provide for the planting and care of the flower beds. Herring says the foundation will fund and commit to the maintenance of the flower beds if the County decided to retain them.

Board Chair Duane McFadden also read a letter from Atlantic resident Charles Griffin, who, in the past has been instrumental in taking care of flowers and shrubs at the various City Parks in Atlantic. Griffin, who, despite his ailing health, has also vowed to do what he can to help maintain the flower beds in the City Park.

After considering the request, the Board voted unanimously to revert back to their original plan for the sidewalk removal, which leaves the flower beds intact, as long as the Fredericksen Foundation will manage, monitor and maintain the area. Construction on the City of Atlantic’s portion of the sidewalk project is underway, and should not be affected by the County’s decision to make a change order in its portion of the project.

w/ Ric Hanson

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EMERSON, Neb. (AP) – A 55-year-old northeast Nebraska man has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide. Authorities say Robert Mahler, of Hubbard, was driving drunk the night of Sept. 9, on the wrong side of Nebraska Highway 35 near Emerson, when his car struck a motorcycle. Two people on the motorcycle were killed: 20-year-old Christopher Oberg, of Mapleton, Iowa; and his passenger, 19-year-old Alexis Calfee, of Bennet, Neb. They were students at Wayne State College. Authorities say Mahler’s blood alcohol level that night was more than twice the legal limit.