Officials with RAGBRAI report a TREK (brand) bike was stolen Sunday in Atlantic from an event participant. A picture of the bike is shown below. Atlantic Police Chief Dave Erickson told KJAN news they do have a white bike with a Ragbrai sticker on the back, but he was not sure what the brand name was. The A-PD will try and contact the owner once they are officially identified.

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(Radio Iowa) — The cost to make temporary repairs to levees impacted by spring flooding along the Missouri River continues to rise. John Leighow is chief of readiness and contingency operations with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Northwestern District. Leighow says recent dry weather has allowed their teams access to more levees for assessment.

“Additional damages are being identified as the water continues to drop and our field engineers are attempting to accurately assess the scope of damages to approximately 150 miles of damaged levees,” Leighow says. He adds, the amount of money that’s been spent to temporarily fix damaged levees is growing.

“Currently, the cost of these efforts is around $123 million and it’s climbing,” Leighow says. “That’s $3 million more than what we had last week. As of now, we are not anticipating any budget constraints regarding recovery efforts.” Even though funding is currently available, Leighow says there may soon be more competing claims for the money.

“We are now approaching the peak of hurricane season right around the end of August into Labor Day — early September timeline,” Leighow says. “The peak of hurricane season will compete for the same resources that we need for our recovery efforts.” Releases from Gavins Point Dam in Yankton, South Dakota remain at 70,000 cubic feet per second — nearly double the average release for this time of year.

Missouri River Basin Water Management Division Chief John Remus says adjustments in releases are now tied to precipitation with mountain snowpack mostly gone. “The snowpack is all melted,” Remus says. “We haven’t necessarily seen all of it in the reservoir yet, but the main driver (of conditions) from here on out would be precipitation.”

To date, nine of the 51 damaged levees in the Omaha District have been temporarily repaired. Corps officials say it could be next spring before every breach in the system is plugged.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democratic leaders in the Iowa Legislature are calling for hearings on Gov. Kim Reynolds’ refusal to discuss why she demanded the resignation of former Iowa Department of Human Services Director Jerry Foxhoven. Senate and House Government Oversight Committee Democrats called Monday for hearings on Foxhoven’s sudden departure last month and want him to appear to explain what happened.

Sen. Tony Bisignano says a 2017 state law requires the reason for demanding a state employee’s resignation to be made public. Reynolds has declined to explain why she asked Foxhoven to resign beyond saying there were several factors. Foxhoven has declined to explain the factors behind his firing. He declined to comment Monday. Separately, Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, says he plans to investigate the reasons behind Foxhoven’s departure.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Thousands of lottery players who bought tickets for drawings that were rigged by an insider could be eligible for refunds under a tentative $4.3 million legal settlement. A judge still must approve the deal from lawyers for plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit and the Multi-State Lottery Association.

The settlement announced Monday would resolve claims stemming from former association security director Eddie Tipton’s long-running jackpot-fixing scheme. Tipton installed code that allowed him to predict winning numbers for drawings on certain days. He and his associates bought winning tickets worth millions.

Players who purchased tickets for drawings between 2005 and 2013 that were tainted by the scheme would be eligible. The lottery association would establish $4.3 million fund for eligible class members, attorneys’ fees and other costs. The named plaintiff, Iowa resident Dale Culler, would receive a $20,000 incentive payment.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Some Nebraska and Iowa businesses are still struggling to recover from flooding that damaged their properties or otherwise kept customers away from their doors.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimated that in Nebraska alone, more than 1,000 businesses were affected by March’s severe weather. Flooding continued into May and June in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, especially along the Missouri River. Central Nebraska got hit by flash floods earlier this month this month, hurting Kearney’s hotel and tourism industry.
The Omaha World-Herald reported that businesses and boosters have been taking extra steps to send a message: Our towns and businesses haven’t been wiped out, and we need customers now more than ever.

A Harley-Davidson dealership in (Iowa’s) Pacific Junction threw a party at the end of June to celebrate the dealership’s return to its regular location after cleaning up and repairing soggy drywall. Loess Hills Harley-Davidson moved employees and motorcycles to a temporary building in nearby Glenwood for months after taking on 18 inches of water. “We can either sit back and say we’re victims and we’re going to play the pity party or say, hey, were going to take the opportunity to make something good out of something bad,” general manager Dan Roland said.

Agricultural company Cargill has helped employees pay for hotels in Nebraska City to ensure operations at its plant there weren’t interrupted too much by road closures and detours. Interstate 29 across the river in Iowa was closed by flooding, and the Iowa Highway 2 link to the bridge over the Missouri to Nebraska City was underwater for weeks as well. In northeast Nebraska’s Knox County, officials have been handing out maps so visitors can navigate flood-damaged roads and bridge reconstruction. The community of Verdigre held an event called “Good As New” at the end of May.

Developers are speeding plans to build more housing on the Nebraska City side of the Missouri, in case Iowa residents hurt by flooding decide not to rebuild, said Dan Mauk, executive director of the Nebraska City Area Economic Development Corp.

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State University is dropping claims of wrongdoing against a former employee and paying her $225,000 to resolve a legal dispute over its popular outdoor sculptures made from Legos. As part of the settlement, Iowa State has also taken several steps to restore the reputation of Teresa McLaughlin. Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen has written her a glowing letter of recommendation calling her an honest, innovative employee.

The school also will dedicate a bench for McLaughlin in Reiman Gardens, the campus landmark that McLaughlin spent most of her career building as its director. Those steps will resolve a contentious three-year legal dispute that derailed Nature Connects, the traveling Lego art program conceived by McLaughlin. McLaughlin had accused the university of failing to pay her commissions. The university accused her of working with the artist to market competing exhibits.