OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska nuclear power plant on the west bank of the Missouri River has declared an emergency because of the rising river.

The Omaha Public Power District, which operates the Fort Calhoun plant, says Monday that the river has reached a lever where the company is declaring a “notification of unusual event,” which is the lowest of four emergency levels that are standard in the U.S. nuclear industry.

The utility says it has notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and emergency management agencies in Nebraska and Iowa.

The Fort Calhoun plant, which is about 20 miles north of Omaha, has been shut down since early April for refueling. The OPPD says in a statement no release of radioactive material requiring offsite response or monitoring has occurred or is expected.

DES MOINES - The suspension of recreational boating by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers on the Missouri River between Sioux City and mile marker 550 where Iowa,
Missouri and Nebraska meet includes backwaters of the river.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has also closed boat ramps at Blue Lake,
Browns Lake and Snyder's Bend because of the flooding occurring on the Missouri
River.

"This is an extremely dangerous situation, not only for recreational boaters, but
for rescuers if a problem should occur on the water," said Robert Garrison, chief of
the law enforcement bureau for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The DNR closed all state run boat ramps on the Missouri River on June 2nd.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, violation of the order establishing
the suspension of recreational boating in the designated area can result in a
maximum civil penalty of $40,000 for each violation.

A "willful and knowing" violation of the no-boating order can also result in a
felony charge punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or a prison sentence from
five to 10 years.

No injuries were reported following a two-vehicle collision Friday afternoon, in Atlantic. Officials with the Atlantic Police Department say a vehicle driven by Scott Nixon, of Afton, hit a car driven by Joan Yarger, of Atlantic, after Nixon’s foot slipped-off of brake peddle.

The accident happened at the intersection of 7th Street, at the entrance to Wal-Mart. Nixon’s vehicle was begind Yarger, who was waiting for the stop light to turn green, when the mishap occurred at around 2-p.m., Friday.

Damage from the collision amounted to $2,750. No citations were issued.

DENVER (AP) – Smoke from the Arizona wildfire has spread as far away as 1,000 miles from the blaze.

Kyle Fredin, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Denver, said Monday that a ridge of high pressure was carrying the smoke as far away as central Iowa. He said the smoke was also hitting eastern Colorado – where it obscured the view of the mountains from downtown Denver – as well as New Mexico, Nebraska and Kansas.

Fredin said the smoke won’t be as noticeable in the Midwest, where humidity already makes conditions hazy, but it would likely cause striking orange-pink sunrises and sunsets, as it has in Denver.

The high pressure system is also bringing hot, dry weather along with the smoke. Cooler temperatures are expected by Wednesday, bringing cleaner air with it.

HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE

1121 AM CDT MON JUN 6 2011 

…SIGNIFICANT AND PROLONGED FLOODING LIKELY ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER…

 IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS…THE UPPER MISSOURI BASIN HAS RECEIVED NEARLY A YEAR’S WORTH OF RAINFALL. IN ADDITION…SNOW PACK RUNOFF YET TO FULLY ENTER THE UPPER PORTION OF THE RIVER SYSTEM IS 140 PERCENT OF NORMAL. THESE CONDITIONS ARE RESULTING IN MISSOURI BASIN RESERVOIRS ACROSS EASTERN MONTANA AND THE DAKOTAS NEARING THEIR MAXIMUM LEVELS.

RECORD RELEASES HAVE BEGUN AT GAVINS POINT DAM LOCATED TO THE WEST OF YANKTON SOUTH DAKOTA. CURRENT RELEASES ARE AROUND 100,000 CFS (CUBIC FEET PER SECOND)…AND WILL BE INCREMENTALLY INCREASED TO 150,000 CFS BY MID-JUNE. THE PREVIOUS HIGH RELEASE AT GAVINS POINT WAS 70,000 CFS IN 1997.

 THESE EXTREMELY HIGH FLOWS…COMBINED WITH NORMAL RAINFALL…MAY RESULT IN NEAR-RECORD FLOODING ALONG PORTIONS OF THE MISSOURI RIVER. IN ADDITION…MANY LOCATIONS ON THE MISSOURI RIVER WILL REMAIN FLOODED THROUGH JULY.

 THE FOLLOWING TABLE IS THE LONG-RANGE MISSOURI RIVER FORECAST…

ASSUMING NORMAL SUMMER PRECIPITATION ALONG WITH THE EXPECTED PEAK RELEASES OF 150,000 CFS FROM GAVINS POINT DAM. RECORD AND 2010 FLOOD CRESTS HAVE BEEN INCLUDED FOR REFERENCE. THIS PRODUCT WILL BE UPDATED FREQUENTLY AS THE LONG-RANGE FORECAST WILL LIKELY BE MODIFIED AS A RESULT OF RAINFALL EVENTS AND POTENTIAL ADJUSTMENTS TO RELEASES AT GAVINS POINT.

 LOCATION FS LONG-RNG FORECAST(FT) RECORD(FT) 2010 CREST(FT)

——– — ——————— ———- ————–

SIOUX CITY 30 35 TO 37 44.28-1952 25.49

DECATUR 35 40 TO 42 32.31-1996 31.42

BLAIR 26.5 30 TO 32 33.50-1952 26.93

OMAHA 29 34 TO 36 40.20-1952 28.74

NEB. CITY 18 27 TO ABOVE 28* 27.66-1952 25.21

BROWNVILLE 33 43 TO ABOVE 44* 44.30-1993 42.89

RULO 17 25.5 TO ABOVE 27* 26.63-2010 26.63

——– — ——————— ———- ————–

An Atlantic man was arrested Friday on a Cass County Sheriff’s warrant. Atlantic Police report 26-year old Nathan Dorscher was taken into custody on a warrant for Failure to Appear in court. Dorscher was booked into the Cass County Jail and held pending an appearance in front of a magistrate.

Officials with the Audubon Chamber of Commerce say 660 people were served at their annual “Flight Breakfast,” Sunday morning.  35 planes arrived at the airport for the event, which featured a free breakfast of ham and cheese omelets, pancakes, coffee, milk and juice. Pilots and their passengers ate for free.

Aircraft from 19 communties arrived at the Audubon Airport. They were flown by pilots from Manson, Danbury, Panora, Jolley, Carroll, Clarinda, Atlantic, Red Oak, Kimballton, Ames, Exira, Harlan, Monticello, Oakland, Walnut, Ankeny, Grimes, Omaha and Eagle, NE.

Officials say the pilots had perfect weather for the Flight Breakfast, which was served from 6:30- to 10:30-a.m.

A burn pile fanned by gusty winds caused a corn crib to be destroyed Sunday morning, on the outskirts of Walnut. Walnut Fire Chief Justen Tooley told KJAN News the call from 5327 Whippoorwill Road, just northeast of town, came in at around 8:15-a.m.

Tooley says a tennant on the land had dug a hole last week to burn brush and other debris or trash, and thought it would be contained, but the embers from the fire flew into a corn crib which, Tooley says, was destined to be torn down. When firefighters arrived on the scene, the storage bin had already burned to the ground.

No injuries were reported. Crews remained on the scene for about one-half hour.

One person was critically  injured during a motorcycle accident Friday night, in Harlan. According to the Harlan P-D, 46-year old Richard “Rick” Jones, of Harlan, was unresponsive but breathing when authorities arrived following the crash, which occurred at around 9:10-p.m., when the cycle hit a curb on the side of the road, as it was traveling on Hawkeye Avenue.

Jones was taken by Medivac Ambulance to Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan, before he was flown to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha by LifeNet helicopter. An official with the Harlan P-D said Tuesday (June 7th), that Jones remained in the hospital late Monday afternoon, but a report on his condition was not available.

The accident, which caused about $6,000 damage to the cycle, remains under investigation.

The Atlantic United Church of Christ recently received a donation from an Atlantic jeweler, to help with tsunami relief efforts in Japan. Rich and Nedra Perry, owners of Geis-Perry Jewelry, presented a check for $1,125, to U-C-C Pastor Nancy Jensen, and church treasurer Marlene Hummel.

The check represents proceeds from the installation of watch batteries at the store, from March 11th…the time of the Tsunami…through Easter, April 25th. The funds will go directly to the Japanese relief efforts through “One great hour of Sharing,” with no administrative costs deducted.