Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Officials in Davenport, Iowa, say they’re not expecting flooding that swept into a section of downtown Tuesday to spread much beyond the couple of blocks already under water. Davenport Public Works Director Nicole Gleason says one flood barrier failed along the river, swamping vehicles and buildings along part of the Mississippi River’s edge. Gleason says as long as the other barriers hold and rain overnight is not heavier than expected, much of the flooding should be contained to a few blocks.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Police say there’s no indication a woman who was fatally shot while driving over a highway bridge in northeast Iowa was targeted. Investigators are seeking the public’s help in determining whether the gunfire came from nearby woods. Micalla Alexis Rettinger was shot about 2:30 a.m. Sunday as she drove on a bridge along the Cedar River in Waterloo. Rettinger pulled over and died after being hit in the neck.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has some big decisions to make about several controversial measures approved by the Legislature. Topics include limiting duties of the attorney general, changing how judges are picked, sports betting, prohibiting the use of Medicaid funding to pay for sex-reassignment surgery and prohibiting the government spending on sex education courses offered by Planned Parenthood. Reynolds has signed nearly 50 measures passed by the Legislature so far.

The Council Bluffs Police Department needs your help in identifying a female that may have valuable information regarding the murder of Adam Angeroth, in January 2019. Authorities are looking for a person of interest described as a white female, who uses the nickname “Zee‐Zee” (or ZeZe or ZZ). She’s between 18‐23 years old, about 5’5” tall, 120 pounds, with shoulder length dark hair. The woman is a known associate of Liam Stec, who is currently being held and charged with Murder 1st degree.

A reward, of up to $5,000, has been authorized for information regarding the identity and whereabouts of “Zee‐Zee”. Anyone with information is encouraged to call 712‐328‐STOP (7867); all incoming calls and any subsequent reward payment will remain 100% anonymous.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 32-year old Trisha Breanne Moffitt, of Creston, was arrested late Tuesday morning at the Union County Law Enforcement Center. Moffitt was taken into custody on a Union County warrant for failure to appear and serve jail time.

Moffitt was being held without bond in the Adams County Jail, for Union County.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Crews evacuated people from some buildings and cars Tuesday afternoon after a flood barrier failed along the Mississippi River, sending floodwaters rushing into downtown Davenport, Iowa. The National Weather Service sent an alert around 4 p.m. of a flash flood emergency in Davenport, urging people downtown to immediately seek higher ground. Public works officials reported that a temporary flood barrier had failed and that many people sought shelter on the rooftops of downtown buildings.

“It was just the one barrier, so we’re not expecting the flooding to spread beyond what we’re seeing now,” Davenport Public Works Director Nicole Gleason said. “That could change with heavy rain.” Gleason said crews and volunteers scrambled Tuesday afternoon to fill sandbags for other downtown businesses looking to keep the floodwaters out of their buildings.

The breach hit as communities in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri prepare for record or near-record crests along the river. The National Weather Service already issued flood warnings for areas directly on either side of the river in 10 states, “all the way to the Gulf of Mexico,” said meteorologist Mike McClure in Davenport.

The floodwaters had overtaken vehicles and the first floors of some buildings on the river’s edge, and rescue crews could be seen launching boats into the floodwaters to retrieve people stranded by the sudden surge. Mayor Frank Klipsch said there were no reports of injuries. He asked that people stay away from downtown while officials work to evacuate the area.

In Iowa, some cities on the river’s banks — including Davenport and Muscatine — had already closed some low-lying streets and erected flood walls and sandbag barriers. Flood watches have been issued for larger tracts around in the river in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, as well as sections of Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, as heavy rain that began in some places Monday was set to continue into Wednesday.

The rain comes as the Mississippi River is set to reach record or near-record crests in Iowa, Illinois and northern Missouri. At 5 p.m., the Mississippi River at Davenport was recorded at 21.88 feet — the fifth highest for the spot ever recorded, according the National Weather Service. That’s approaching the record crest of 22.6 feet set in July 1993.

The river’s expected to crest Wednesday evening a few inches short of the record.
The gauge in nearby Muscatine showed the river just under 3 feet below the July 1993 record of 25.6 feet. It’s expected to crest a little more than a foot under the record at Muscatine, where officials have placed new berms and are diverting downtown traffic.