Two people were shot early Friday morning in Pottawattamie County. Sheriff Jeff Danker 48-year old Patricia Harker, of rural Minden, suffered serious or critical injuries, after she was allegedly shot by her recent, former boyfriend. Danker says Harker and 27-year old Benjamin Shimmin, of Omaha, arrived at Harker’s home at around 2-a.m. Friday, after leaving a bar. 

50-year old Craig Finney, of Macedonia, who recently had a romantic relationship with Harker, arrived at her home and knocked on the door, at around 2:20-a.m. Danker says Harker told Shimmin to lock himself in the bathroom and call 911. Finney broke into the home and “a lot of yelling” ensued, including Finney demanding that Shimmin leave the bathroom. He allegedly fired a shotgun into the bathroom, but missed Shimmin.

Shimmin told authorities he then heard two other gunshots. One struck Harker in the shoulder. A third and final shot by Finney, apparently to his shoulder, was self-inflicted. Finney’s 25-year old son, Cody, told Pottawattamie County sheriff’s investigators that he saw his father after the incident and witnessed “a lot of blood.” Sheriff Danker says Finney fled from the scene after the shooting occurred.

The 2005 silver, Mercury Mountaineer he left in is owned by Evans & Evans, a soybean farming business in Oakland. Danker was unsure if Finney had a connection to the business.

Harker was critically injured and taken to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs, before being transferred to the Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, where she remained late Friday night. A report on her condition is not available.

Iowa court records indicate that a restraining order had been issued in July 2004 against Finney at the request of  Harker.  The order was rescinded four months later, and Finney received a deferred judgment on domestic abuse-aggravated assault charges in December 2004.

Finney may be armed. His whereabouts are currently unknown. If you see the SUV he was driving, with Iowa license plate 784-CJL, or come across a man with a severe shoulder wound, do not approach him. Instead, you should call 9-1-1. Finney is described as being a 5-foot 9-inch tall, 250-pound white male.

Republicans in the U.S. House have approved a proposal from Congressman Steve King that would ban using any of about 15-million dollars worth of federal “telemedicine” grants for prescribing the so-called “abortion pill” known as R-U-486. “I am very concerned about the robo-distribution of abortion pills in Iowa or anywhere else,” King says. According to King, Planned Parenthood is using “telemedicine” to dispense the drug.

“A doctor sits remotely on the other side of the Skype screen, so to speak, and interviews the potential mother who, once she answers the questions that the doctor asks and they record it on their film that they’ve protected themselves, perhaps, from liability, he clicks the mouse on the one end and it opens the drawer under the screen on the other end,” King says, “and out rolls the abortion pill RU486.”

King, a Republican from Kiron, offered an amendment this past week to the agriculture appropriations bill which would prohibit U-S-D-A money from being used for telemedicine services that wind up dispensing R-U-four-86.

“This is a dangerous drug and to distribute it through robo-Skype abortions — I’m opposed to it philosophically for a lot reasons,” King says. “But practical minds who might disagree on the abortion issue should understand that this government should not be paying for it.”

A House colleague told King there was no provision in the original ag appropriations bill which called for spending U-S-D-A money on the abortion pill. King’s amendment passed, however. King wound up voting against the entire bill, though, for other reasons.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The first of two trials for a Minnesota teenager charged in the slayings of two Iowa convenience store clerks is scheduled to begin Monday in Carroll County. Michael Swanson, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the Nov. 15, 2010, shooting deaths of clerks in Algona and Humboldt. If convicted in either of the slayings, the 18-year-old from St. Louis Park, Minn., would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

The first trial is on charges in the death of Sheila Myers, who was working at a Humboldt Kum & Go store when she was killed. The trial was moved from Humboldt County to Carroll County because of pre-trial publicity.

Swanson’s trial in the Algona slaying is scheduled for July 27 in Lyon County.

One person was injured during a single-vehicle accident this (Friday) evening, near Massena. Dispatch reports from the Cass County Communications Center indicated a 23-year old female suffered head injuries during the crash, which occurred at around 7:42-p.m., about two-miles west of 72737 Quincy Road.

Massena Rescue was called to the scene. No other details were available late Friday night.

A second accident, involving a motorcycle, was reported in Pottawattamie County, at around 8:35-p.m. That crash happened at the intersection of County Road L-34 and Mahogany Road. Underwood Rescue responded to the scene.

No other details were available late Friday evening.

AMES, Iowa – June 17, 2011 – 7:15 p.m. – The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) is providing the following update on road conditions in western Iowa. The department is continuing to monitor at-risk areas as flood water levels change. 

 
Current road closures/restrictions…
· I-29 Hamilton Boulevard interchange in Woodbury County: The southbound I-29 interchange ramps at Hamilton Boulevard in Sioux City are closed. The northbound on- and off-ramps remain open. An alternative ramp has been constructed from southbound I-29 to Wesley Parkway/U.S. 77.
· UPDATE: I-29 in Pottawattamie County: The south- and northbound lanes of I-29 between milepost 55 (North 25th Street in Council Bluffs) and the I-29/680 interchange at milepost 71 (near Loveland) are closed. This is expected to be a longer-term closure.
· I-29 in Fremont County, Iowa, and Atchison County, Mo: I-29 is closed in both directions from Iowa 2 (exit 10 in Iowa) to the U.S. 136 interchange in Missouri (near Rock Port).
· NEW: I-29 exit ramp in Fremont County: The I-29 southbound exit ramp (exit 20) to Fremont County Road J-24 near Thurman is closed.
· I-680 in Omaha area: I-680 is closed from the I-29/680 interchange (exit 61 near Crescent) in Iowa to North 30th Street in Omaha, Nebr. (exit 13). This closure includes the Mormon Bridge across the Missouri River. This is expected to be a longer-term closure.
· UPDATE: Iowa 2 in Fremont County: This Missouri River crossing extends between I-29 in Iowa and Nebraska City, Neb. Travel is restricted in both west- and eastbound directions. Surface water is covering the travel lanes at some locations. Traffic cones are in place to designate the safe travel path. The speed limit is reduced and pilot vehicles are assisting motorists through the area. For the safety of all travelers, please do not use this road for sightseeing.
· Iowa 333 in Hamburg: Iowa 333 is closed from I-29 into Hamburg. Access to Hamburg is currently available via U.S. 275 in Iowa.
 
Highway segments at higher risk of being closed due to flooding…
· I-29 near Blencoe: Two segments of I-29 remain at risk of being impacted by flood waters in this area: (1) near milepost 103.5 south of Blencoe; and (2) near milepost 107 north of Blencoe.
· UPDATE: I-29 and U.S. 30 near Missouri Valley: Locally sponsored agricultural levees provide some measure of protection for this area. Flooding is contingent on the integrity of the levee system, rising ground water and the impact of tributary water flow from a local creek. Three highway segments are at most risk in this area: (1) U.S. 30 west of I-29 between mileposts 7 and 8; (2) U.S. 30 east of I-29 between mileposts 9 and 10; and (3) I-29 between mileposts 77 and 78.
· NEW: U.S. 34: U.S. 34 between I-29 in Iowa and Plattsmouth, Neb.
· Iowa 175 near Onawa: The highway segments most at risk of flooding are west of I-29. This route serves as the river crossing between Onawa, Iowa, and Decatur, Neb.
 
Being monitored …
· I-29 northbound off-ramp to Dace Avenue in Sioux City (exit 147B or commonly known as the Downtown/Tyson Events Center): Flood mitigation efforts will be deployed to try to keep this ramp open.
· I-29 northbound and southbound lanes in Sioux City at the U.S. 77/Wesley Parkway underpass (between exits 148 and 149): Flood mitigation efforts will be deployed to try to prevent this low area from being flooded.
· I-29, from south of Bellevue (milepost 39) to Hamburg (milepost 1): This area is at a lesser risk, but would be inundated if the levee is breached or overtopped.
· Iowa 127 near Mondamin: The Iowa DOT is monitoring areas east and west of Mondamin, near mileposts 0.8 and 1.5, but the risk of flooding has been reduced.
· Iowa 376 (U.S. 75 Business): The roadway from Gordon Drive to Third Street in Sioux City may be closed if current pumping efforts are not sustainable.
 
Missouri River crossings…
The Iowa DOT is expecting the Missouri River crossings at the following locations to remain open during the flooding:
· Sioux City: U.S. 77/U.S.20 to South Sioux City, Neb.; U.S. 75/U.S. 20/I-129 to Nebraska; and I-29 over the Big Sioux River into South Dakota
· Council Bluffs/Omaha: I-80 to Omaha; I-480 to downtown Omaha; and U.S. 275 to south Omaha
· NEW: Bellevue: Iowa 370 (weight restriction in place)

Three people were injured during a two-vehicle collision Friday morning in Page County. Sheriff’s officials say the accident happened just after 11:15-a.m. on Highway 2, at O Avenue.

Authorities say a late model gold colored Dodge Durango with an unknown Maryland license plate was traveling west on Highway 2, when it made a sudden u-turn, in the middle of the road and headed east. A second vehicle, owned by Barker’s Implement and driven by 24-year old Justin Fuller, of New Market, was forced to stop suddenly, and in the process, was rear-ended by a 2003 Toyota Camry owned by Jon Bix, of Coin, driven by 15-year old Noah Bix, of Coin.

Both drivers, and a passenger in the Camry, 13-year old Elijah Bix, suffered possible, unknown injuries, and transported to the Clarinda Regional Health Care Center by Clarinda E-M-S. Sheriff’s officials say the Noah Bix was driving on a school permit and was coming from an open gym basketball event in Clarinda, when the accident occurred.

The Durango, which was last seen headed north on O Avenue, was never found, despite efforts by Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies to locate the vehicle. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of a gold-colored Dodge Durango with Maryland license plates, should call the Page County Sheriff’s office at 712-542-5193, or your local law enforcement agency.

State emergency management officials say there have been relatively few concerns pop up today (Friday) as the floodwaters rose in western Iowa. Spokesperson Lucinda Robertson says there was a problem with the levee near Hamburg. Robertson says Fremont County requested bentonite to repair a small area in the northeast corner of the secondary levee, and they were able to obtain this material from Mills County and make the repair. Robertson says there have been no other concerns with any of the levees today. She did say there is some concern about people not being safe around the floodwaters.

Robertson says people who have been touring various areas have seen people walking or people playing in the floodwaters, which she says is “very dangerous.” She says the public should stay out of the floodwaters because of a variety of things that could happen to them. Robertson says mental health teams have been visiting the flood areas, and in some cases residents have seemed to be oblivious to the disaster around them.

She says the crisis counselors visiting Council Bluffs estimated that people in half the homes they visited were unaware that there was the potential for flooding in their neighborhood. Robertson made her comments during a daily update from the state Homeland Security Emergency Management Division.

(Dar Danielson/Radio Iowa)

AMES, Iowa – June 17, 2011: 6 p.m. – The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) is
reporting the following sections of Interstate 29 and 680 have been reopened to
traffic as a result of flood mitigation efforts.

Highway segments reopened
· I-680 from milepost 21 (near Beebeetown) to I-29
· I-29 from milepost 71 (near Loveland) to mile post 75 (Missouri Valley)

A major, multiday effort between the Iowa DOT and Department of Corrections to place
sandbags and barrier wall along the highways, and use pumps to divert some of the
flood/ground waters, has allowed the interchange to reopen.

Both directions of traffic are being allowed through the area. This reestablishes a
critical link between north- and southbound I-29 traffic. 
The continued success and duration of this mitigation effort is entirely dependent
on the extent of rising flood and ground water levels. 

Closures in the Council Bluffs/Omaha area expected to remain in effect for a
considerable duration
· I-29 is closed from milepost 55 (25th Street in Council Bluffs) north to milepost
71 (near Loveland)
· I-680 is closed from the I-29/680 interchange (exit 61 near Crescent) in Iowa to
North 30th Street in Omaha (exit 13). This closure includes the Mormon 
Bridge across the Missouri River.

Updated I-29 detour route for Council Bluffs/Omaha area
· Detour starts at the I-29/680 interchange near Loveland, continues east on I-680,
then southwest on I-80 into Council Bluffs
· I-80 east- and westbound remains open through Council Bluffs/Omaha

No injuries were reported following an accident Thursday afternoon in a Cass County Memorial Hospital parking lot. Atlantic Police say a vehicle driven by Arlen Rainey, of Atlantic, was turning west onto East 10^th Street from Hospital Drive, as a vehicle driven by Michael Tomkins, of Clearmont, MO, was backing into the lot to unload cargo.

Tomkins didn’t see Rainey’s vehicle. The resulting collision caused $2,500 damage to Rainey’s vehicle, but there was no discernable damage to the truck driven by Tomkins. No citations were issued following the mishap, which happened at around 1:10-p.m. Thursday.