Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports six arrests took place over nearly the past 10-days. On April 11th, 36-year old Daniel Floyd Edwards, of Tingley, was arrested near Massena following a pursuit that began in Bridgewater. In addition to the previously announced charges, Edwards was taken into custody by the Sheriff on warrants for Failure to Appear in court on earlier charges of Driving Under Suspension,Violation of Parole, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, OWI/3rd offense, Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd or subsequent offense, Driving while barred, and Driving while license denied or revoked. The all but one of the warrants was out of Adams County. The other was from Ringgold County. Edwards was transferred to the custody of Adams County Deputies.

There were three arrests April 8th in in Stuart, in association with a fight involving a large group of people. 26-year old Derrick Devon Henry, of Stuart, was arrested by Stuart Police for Assault with intent to inflict serious injury, after he used a 4-foot long metal fence post in an aggressive manner. Henry was released from custody April 10th on a $2,000 cash or surety bond. 32-year old Jeffrey Forrest Stonehocker, of Redfield, was arrested in connection with the same incident, where he used a metal garbage can as a weapon. Stonehocker was released the same day on a $2,000 cash or surety bond. And, 26-year old Chiquita Cheketa Kelly, of Stuart, was arrested during the incident for Assault causing bodily injury, after she was identified on video engaging in a fight with 32-year old Amanda Marie Comly, of Stuart. Comly suffered injuries to her face and arms during the incident, including a bite mark on the upper arm, abrasions and bruises on her face, and scratches to her arms. Kelly was released the same day on a $1,000 cash or surety bond. Comly was cited by Stuart Police for Disorderly conduct, fighting or violent behavior. She was released on the citation.

On April 7th, 18-year old Johnathan Paul Godron, of  Menlo, was arrested by Stuart Police for Criminal Mischief in the 2nd degree, for allegedly shooting a residence with a BB gun, and after a man was seen waving a BB gun around in the parking lot of the Stuart McDonald’s restaurant. During questioning, Godrun admitted to shooting at signs and windows. The damage to the residence was estimated at $1,500. Godrun was released from the Adair County Jail April 8th on a $5,000 cash or surety bond. And, as previously mentioned, 32-year old James Robert Lyman, of Greenfield, was arrested April 7th following the pursuit of a pickup truck where speeds reached 105 mph, and a brief foot pursuit. Lyman was taken into custody on an Adair County warrant for Driving While Barred, Driving While Barred, Eluding while in participation of a felony, and a controlled substance violation (about 2 grams of a substance believed to be Meth), and Violation of Parole. His cash bond was set at $19,000.

WASHINGTON – Tomorrow (Wednesday), U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) will chair a Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee field hearing in Southwest Iowa focusing on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ river management following the devastating flooding in the region. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) will also participate. Witnesses will include officials from the Army Corps and local leaders and stakeholders from Fremont County, among others. The meeting takes place 8:30-a.m. at Kaufman Hall (24116 Marian Ave., in Glenwood), and includes the following witnesses:

• Major General Scott Spellmon: Deputy Commanding General, Civil and Emergency Operations – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Civil Works)
• John  Remus: Chief, Missouri River Basin Water Management Division U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Civil Works), Northwestern Division
• Cathy Crain: Mayor City of Hamburg, Iowa
• Leo Ettleman: Farmer & Community Advocate, Fremont County, Iowa
• Joel Euler: Attorney Doniphan County, Kansas, and,
• Blake Hurst: Executive Director: Coalition to Protect the Missouri River, from Hermann, MO

Ernst says “As Iowans continue to recover from the devastating floods, we need answers to the critical question of how best to manage our rivers and water infrastructure. This hearing will bring together officials from the Army Corps and local leaders and stakeholders to examine what happened over the last few weeks and discuss how we can prevent this kind of destruction from happening again.”

Grassley says “Flood control should be the number one priority of the Army Corps of Engineers. The current river management policy needs fixing, and recent flooding makes that more urgent than ever. This hearing will help put a spotlight on the real-world impact that policies crafted in Washington have on Iowans and Americans across the Midwest. I thank Senator Joni Ernst for her hard work and leadership on the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee. Having her in this key role will continue to pay dividends for Iowans.”

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the names of two people who were killed when a train struck their sport utility vehicle in Cedar Rapids. The crash was reported around 4:20 p.m. Sunday near Tait Cummins Memorial Park. Police identified the driver as 32-year-old Ethan Mortensen and his passenger as 66-year-old David Mortensen. Both men lived in Ely. Other details haven’t been released.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — An environmental organization says the Upper Mississippi River is among the most endangered rivers in the U.S. American Rivers on Tuesday released its annual report that lists the Gila River in New Mexico as most endangered, followed by the Hudson River in New York and the Upper Mississippi. The report cites threats to public safety and river health posed by “climate change and illegal levee raises” on the Mississippi River in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.

The organization urges federal and state agencies to resolve levee violations, blaming illegally raised levees for destroying fish and wildlife habitat and making flooding worse downstream.
American Rivers says climate change is causing more frequent and severe flooding. The Mississippi is currently well above flood stage at several towns in the three states.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday), reports two arrests occurred Sunday. 43-year old Sean Eugene Hicks, of Emerson, was arrested at around 9-p.m. for Driving while denied or revoked, operating a vehicle without the ignition interlock, of speeding. His bond was set at $1,300. And,30-year old Anthony Robert Espinoza, of Doon, IA, was arrested at around 5:50-a.m. Sunday in Mills County. He was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, Driving While Barred, and Providing False Identification. His bond was set at $3,300.

A single-vehicle accident in Mills County at around 1:10-a.m. today (Tuesday), resulted in the driver being transported to a hospital. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports 25-year old Lindsey Rhodes, of Red Oak, was driving a 2010 Dodge eastbound on Highway 34 near 350th Street, when the vehicle hit the gravel shoulder, causing Rhodes to over-correct. The vehicle went off the road and landed on its passenger side in the north ditch. Rhodes was transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital by Malvern Rescue.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a man being held in the Pott. County Jail, was presented with a warrant Monday out of Douglas County, Nebraska. 32-year old Jeramy Lee Swain, of Kelley, Iowa, was wanted on the warrant for being a Fugitive From Justice. Swain remains held without bond in the Pott. County Jail on the Nebraska warrant, and a similar warrant out of Pott. County.  22-year old Omar Ventura, of Omaha, was transported from the Fremont County Jail to the Pott. County Jail, Monday. Ventura was wanted on an Iowa warrant for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. And, 20-year old John Wesley Lovejoy, of Council Bluffs, was picked up from the Union County South Dakota Jail and transported to Pott. County, where he was wanted on three Probation Violation warrants. Lovejoy was booked into the Pott. County Jail and held without bond.