OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The rising Missouri River broke through two levees northeast of Omaha, but the flooding affected rural areas that have been flooded twice before this year.

Interstate 29 remained open near Omaha Wednesday afternoon, but transportation officials warned that parts of the highway will likely have to close overnight. Several on-ramps were closed Wednesday. The lower Missouri River is flooding in Nebraska and Iowa this week because exceptionally heavy rains fell last week in Montana, North and South Dakota and Nebraska.

Officials don’t expect the floodwaters to cause significant damage to communities. But many levees remain damaged from severe flooding in the spring, allowing the floodwaters to flow into many farm fields and rural areas.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Officials have distributed emergency notifications to portions of northwest Pottawattamie County amid reports of two breaches in protection structures along the Missouri River as a result of this latest round of flooding. A breach in a protective berm along the bank of the Missouri just southwest of the Boyer and Missouri confluence as well as a breach in the Honey Creek Drainage Ditch have been reported to officials.

The emergency management agency has distributed emergency notifications to residential properties in the potential impacted area. Crews are attempting to get access to the area to observe conditions for more information and remind motorists to observe all road closures and detour instructions. “As more floodwater is now being released into the area due to theses breaches, we need the public to steer clear of the area,” said Doug Reed, emergency management director for Pottawattamie County.

Officials urge residents living in the areas south of the Boyer and Missouri River confluence southward to I-680 and from the Missouri River to just east of I-29 along 152nd street and south to Old Mormon Bridge Road should monitor conditions closely and be prepared to leave the area over the next 2 to 6 hours if conditions worsen or threaten your property.

As a reminder, emergency notifications and alerts are distributed through county emergency notification system “Pottawattamie Alert”, part of the Alert Iowa Network. Residents should sign up for notifications at www.pottcounty-ia.gov.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s governor is defending a law she signed earlier this year that prohibits Medicaid payment for gender reassignment surgery after California’s attorney general prohibited state-funded travel to Iowa.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Friday added Iowa to a list of 10 other states for which state-funded travel isn’t allowed because they violate a 2017 California law that guards against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill in May that reversed an Iowa Supreme Court ruling guaranteeing protection under the Iowa Civil Rights Act for Medicaid-funded gender reassignment surgery. Becerra says California takes an unambiguous stand against discrimination. He says the California prohibition on state-funded or sponsored travel to Iowa begins in October.

Reynolds on Wednesday defended the law as a narrow provision clarifying longstanding state policy in response to the court ruling. A lawsuit challenging the new law is now before the Iowa Supreme Court. After justifying the law, Reynolds described California, home to more than 10% of the U.S. population, as a state with high taxes, excessive business costs and expensive housing.

WESTMINSTER, Colo., Sept. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Coalfire, a trusted provider of cybersecurity advisory and assessment services, issued the following comments on recent penetration tests in which the Iowa Judicial Branch contracted with Coalfire for comprehensive security testing:

Malicious cyber criminals use all techniques at their disposal—fair or foul—to access valuable data from private and public organizations. Global cybersecurity firms such as Coalfire involved in technical testing are professionally contracted to simulate attacks using the same techniques any attacker may use to test the company’s defenses so that they can remedy their vulnerabilities before a real-world incident occurs.

Recently, two penetration testers employed by Coalfire were arrested in the Dallas County Courthouse during a security testing exercise to help the Iowa Judicial Branch ensure the court’s highly sensitive data was secured against attack. Coalfire was working to provide quality client service and a stronger security posture.

Coalfire and State Court Administration believed they were in agreement regarding the physical security assessments for the locations included in the scope of work. Yet, recent events have shown that Coalfire and State Court Administration had different interpretations of the scope of the agreement. Together, Coalfire and State Court Administration continue to navigate through this process. To that end, the Iowa Judicial Branch and Coalfire will each conduct independent reviews and release the contractual documents executed between both parties.

State Court Administration has worked with Coalfire in the past to conduct security testing of its data and welcomed the opportunity to work with them again. Both organizations value the importance of protecting the safety and security of employees as well as the integrity of data.

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Company officials said in a Press Release: “Coalfire’s client confidentiality is one of the most important aspects of our business. We are providing this statement only to clarify an unfortunate set of events; since this is an evolving legal matter and involves confidential client work, we cannot comment on further details of the incident at this time. The Iowa Judicial Branch is also making a statement related to our work together; their statement will link to the contractual documents.”

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says a man from Missouri was arrested at around 1:22-a.m. today (Wednesday), for Possession of a Controlled Substance. 30-year old Kyle Matthew Ledbetter, of Columbia, MO., was arrested following a traffic stop on I-29. And, 53-year old John Anthony Welch, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Tuesday in Hastings (IA), on numerous charges. Welch was being held on $37,000 bond for: Two counts Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS)/with intent to deliver; Drug Tax Crime penalties; OWI/2nd offense; Possession of drug paraphernalia; Driving under suspension, and on two warrants out of Pottawattamie County.

The Sheriff’s Office said also, only minor injuries were reported following an accident on Highway 34 in Mills County, Tuesday afternoon. A 2013 Volvo driven by 63-year old Charles Larson, of Eagle Bend, MN., was traveling eastbound on Highway 34 and approaching Exit 8. A 2005 Dodge driven by 44-year old Brian Brandon, of Pacific Junction, was also eastbound and traveling at about 20 mph, because he was pulling a hay rake. The implement was equipped with a Slow Moving Sign, and had its 4-way hazards activated. Larson was unable to slow down in time, and struck the Dodge. Neither driver was transported to the hospital. Larsen was cited for Following too close.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Charles Grassley is expressing concern about President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Labor, questioning Eugene Scalia’s record on whistleblower protections. Grassley said Wednesday on a call with reporters that he’s concerned about briefs Scalia wrote while serving as the top lawyer at the Labor Department during the George W. Bush administration.

Grassley says Scalia argued that some whistleblower disclosures made to Congress aren’t protected under federal whistleblower laws and that the separation of powers doctrine prevents whistleblowers from disclosing certain information to Congress. Grassley, author of some current whistleblower protection laws, says it’s extremely important that Scalia would enforce whistleblower laws critical to ensuring public safety and preventing waste, fraud and abuse.

Scalia, son of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, will appear before a Senate confirmation committee hearing on Thursday.