OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Omaha says it has awarded a $12 million contract to repair a Missouri River levee near Hamburg, Iowa, that broke during catastrophic flooding last month. The Corps says the breach repair should provide temporary flood protection of critical infrastructure. The contract was awarded to Newt Marine Services of Dubuque, Iowa. The repair is expected to be completed within 80 calendar days after work starts.

Project manager Jeremy Szynskie says initial repairs will stop the flow of water through the levees so repairs can be made to Interstate 29 and the city of Hamburg. The Corps also has begun planning permanent levee repairs to bring the damaged levees back to the same level of flood risk reduction the systems had prior to the flood.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:50 a.m. CDT

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a woman is in stable condition after being rescued from an apartment fire in eastern Iowa. The Muscatine Fire Department said Friday in a news release that the fire was reported just before midnight Thursday. Arriving firefighters could see flames through the second story window and forced the door to the smoke-filled apartment. Firefighters found the woman and pulled her out. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A series of infrastructure failures in a crumbling state dormitory caused a toxic gas leak at an Iowa police academy that sickened dozens of recruits and could have killed some of them. Workplace safety records obtained by The Associated press show that at least three recruits were poisoned by potentially lethal levels of carbon monoxide after an air handling unit and a vent malfunctioned Nov. 15 at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. The academy paid a $5,500 penalty to settle violations.

(Radio Iowa) — A bill likely to win final approval in the Iowa legislature next week would let most students carry stun guns on the university campuses in Ames, Cedar Falls and Iowa City as well as on community college property. Senator Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, says the reality is there’s an elevated risk of assault on college campuses. “Sexual assault, physical assault…we need to give young women and young men the opportunity to defend themselves from people who would wish them harm,” Sinclair says.

Representative Matt Windschitl, a Republican from Missouri Valley, says current Iowa law lets anyone above the age of 18 carry a stun gun, but some public colleges and universities have campus-wide bans on the devices. “Folks, what this boils down to is the simple fact that we’ve got people that are going out, living their life and they deserve the opportunity to be able to defend themselves,” Windschitl says.

Windschitl says stun guns are not lethal. “We are talking about devices that are meant to incapacitate somebody for a temporary amount of time, so that person that is being attacked can get away and go find the help that they need.” Nine senators and 37 members of the Iowa House opposed the bill.

Representative Mary Mascher, a Democrat from Iowa City, says a college campus — especially a football stadium — is not a place you’d want stun guns. “When you combine alcohol and sporting events, you could have a very dangerous situation,” Mascher says. “Right now the NCAA’s ‘best practices’ for the NCAA championship competitions instructs a prohibition of weapons of any kind at these events.”

Representative Chris Hall, a Democrat from Sioux City, opposed the bill, suggesting it is condescending to women. “We’re telling women they should feel empowered to carry a weapon,” Hall said. “Wouldn’t it be empowering, instead, to tell them they can trust the people around them on campus and have higher level of trust because those men have actually gone through some sort of training or education that gender violence is wrong?”

The proposal won approval in the Iowa Senate in mid-March. The House voted to add language that would prohibit anyone with a felony conviction from carrying a stun gun on a public college or university campus in Iowa. The Senate is expected to approve that caveat this coming week and send the bill to the governor for her review.

(Radio Iowa) — An Ames man is being held in the Story County Jail on a charge of animal torture. Twenty-year-old Rashdi D. Simba is accused of stabbing a German Shepherd puppy on April 14th and putting the puppy in a dumpster.

Police notified Ames Animal Control to assist in the investigation. The puppy was taken to a vet clinic for treatment and is now in the Ames Animal Shelter. Ames

Police said Simba admitted to stabbing the puppy and placing him in the dumpster. The bond for Simba was set at $6,500.

COUNCIL BLUFFS – Today (Friday), personnel from FEMA’s Disaster Survivors Assistance Teams (DSAT) began work in flood affected areas of Pottawattamie County. The teams are assigned to go into flood impacted areas and make contact with those affected by the disaster. Team members will be able to validate whether residents are registered for FEMA assistance programs, check the status of their case, or assist them in registering for assistance with the agency.

Starting next Tuesday (April 23rd), residents will also be able to register for assistance at a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC), which will be located at the Council Bluffs Public Library. Dates and times of DRC operations can be found on the Emergency Management flood page at www.pottcounty-ia.gov.

Emergency Management Director Doug Reed says all FEMA DSAT personnel working in the county will have FEMA labeled clothing and government issued FEMA photo identification. As a reminder, impacted residents can register for federal assistance in the following ways:

• Go online to www.disasterassistance.gov
• Download the FEMA app on your smartphone (www.fema.gov/mobile-app)
• Call 1-800-621-3362 for voice, 711 for video relay services, or 1-800-462-7585 for TTY service. Multilingual operators are available.
• Visit the Disaster Recovery Center (DRC). To find the nearest DRC, go online to www.fema.gov/DRC.

For more information, including DRC location and hours of operation next week in Council Bluffs, visit https://pottcounty-ia.gov/departments/emergency-management/flood-2019-march-12th-continuing/.