Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources have clarified a statement issued earlier this week, with regard to Lake Manawa State Park near Council Bluffs. The DNR says the park remains open for day use, and only the campground has been closed.

Kevin Szcodronski, chief of State Parks for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says “The park will remain open for day use until there is direct evidence that the levee standing between the Missouri River and the park will not hold.” He says “There has been some confusion from our park visitors and (the DNR) have received a lot of calls at the park asking if the park was open.”

The DNR closed the Lake Manawa State Park campground on Monday due to safety concerns that the levee holding the Missouri River back will not withstand the pressure over the expected six to eight weeks of flooding. The campground closure is expected to last through August.

In case you had any thoughts about boating on the Missouri River and its associated backwaters, you’d better think again. The Iowa DNR says recreational boating privileges on the “Mighty Mo” and all waters connected to it, have been suspended indefinitely, while flooding is underway.

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

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.

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

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

Officials with AMTRAK report full service in the Western U.S. has been restored on two routes, while one service is detouring using an alternative routing.

Because of temporary levees built over BNSF Railway Co. tracks to help protect the cities of Omaha and Bellevue, Neb., the Amtrak California Zephyr (trains 5 & 6) will detour between Lincoln, Neb., and Creston, Iowa. and will not directly serve Omaha. Alternate transportation will be provided between Lincoln and Omaha (eastbound from the San Francisco Bay, Train 6) and between Creston and Omaha (westbound from Chicago, Train 5).

Daily Amtrak Southwest Chief service between Chicago and Los Angeles (trains 3 & 4) has returned to the full route following the restoration of BNSF Railway Co. tracks in New Mexico. Also resuming service are Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Routes 8603 & 8604 between Raton and Denver and the Lamy (N.M.) Shuttle. Daily Amtrak Empire Builder service (trains 7/27 & 8/28) between Chicago and Seattle/Portland resumed over the full route earlier this week.

Information is subject to change as conditions warrant. Passengers are encouraged to call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com for schedule information and train status updates. Amtrak officials say they regret any inconvenience to their passengers.

Cass County Sheriff Darby McLaren says four people were arrested on drug charges Wednesday evening following a routine traffic stop. McLaren says the incident began when a deputy stopped a vehicle for having improper equipment, on Highland road, at around 6:16-p.m.  The car was driven by Kylie Wojciechowski.

He says after the deputy asked for consent to search the vehicle and was refused, a K-9 Unit was called-in to conduct a perimeter search of the vehicle. McLaren says the dog indicated on the trunk area of the car, and in the trunk authorities found one-half pound of marijuana.

Taken into custody on Class-D felony charges of Possession of Marijuana with the Intent to Deliver and Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp, was 25-year-old Kylie and 31-year old Shannon Wojciechowski, 21-year-old Haley Williams, and 21-year-old John Chamberlain the Third, all of Atlantic.

Each of the individuals were brought to the Cass County Jail and held pending an appearance before the magistrate.  Atlantic Police assisted the Sheriff’s Department in conducting the investigation.

Saying our main missions in Afghanistan have been accomplished, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin is calling on President Obama to bring the troops home sooner than planned. Harkin, a Democrat, is among more than two-dozen senators who’ve signed a letter to the president, urging him to shift policy and order a full-scale withdrawal as soon as next month. 

Harkin says, “We wanted to say that to begin a sizeable, we didn’t actually put numbers on it, but a sizeable and sustained drawdown of troops towards removing all combat troops from Afghanistan.” Harkin’s name is listed first on the letter to Obama, along with 23 other Democrats, two Republicans and one Independent. Harkin says the current plan for dismantling the U-S military machine in Afghanistan is too slow and is costing millions of dollars a day.

“They’re going to take a few troops out this summer, then we’ll go along at a level for a while and then maybe we’ll take out some more later on and then we’ll level off,” Harkin says. “What we’re trying to say in the letter is a sizeable withdrawal this summer and a continued withdrawal every month there after until we have no combat troops left in Afghanistan.”

The current plan has the U-S pulling out the last troops by 2014. There are now some 100-thousand American soldiers in Afghanistan, including 28-hundred members of the Iowa National Guard. Harkin says the troops all need to come home, as quickly as is reasonably possible. 

Harkin says, “The withdrawal should be consistent with determination by our military leaders that we can do so without exposing our troops to any military action or harm.” The letter says U-S objectives in Afghanistan “have been largely met, including the removal of the Taliban government that sheltered al Qaeda, the killing of Osama bin Laden and the disruption of terrorist networks allied with al Qaeda and those who planned the September 11th attacks on the United States.” Harkin says, “The costs of prolonging the war far outweigh the benefits.”

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)

HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) – Missouri River floodwaters have reached the new levee that serves as the last line of defense for the town of Hamburg. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Carlos Lazo said Thursday the water flowing out of a gaping hole in the main levee 5 miles south of Hamburg reached the new levee late Wednesday.

Lazo says the new levee built over the past two weeks is holding, and there were no signs of problems Thursday morning. The corps increased the height of the levee by 3 feet after Monday’s breaches in northwest Missouri. The new levee protecting Hamburg is about 8-feet-tall.

The corps plans to release record amounts of water into the Missouri River through most of the summer to deal with heavy spring rain upstream and above-average snowmelt.

DETROIT (AP) – Chrysler is recalling more than 11,000 cars, minivans and other models because their steering could fail. The company tells federal safety regulators that it doesn’t know of any crashes or injuries caused by the problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says on its website that a missing or incorrectly installed rivet could  cause a loss of steering, increasing the risk of a crash.

The recall includes the 2011 Chrysler 200 and Town and Country; the Dodge Avenger, Caliber, Caravan, Journey and Nitro; and the Jeep Compass, Liberty, Patriot and Wrangler. The 11 models were built from mid-April to early May.

Dealers will check to make sure the rivet was installed correctly and make repairs free of charge. The company plans to begin notifying dealers and owners in July.