(Radio Iowa) – Dry weather is prompting advisories about water use in some Iowa communities. Sheldon Public Works Director Todd Uhl has been monitoring water levels in his city’s wells and just issued a “water watch” in Sheldon on Thursday. “Our usage has been creeping up lately and then this week it has absolutely skyrocketed to a point where we feel it’s time to start the ‘water watch’ and hopefully we can get some compliance and people will do some conservation,” he says, “and that will prevent us, hopefully, from having to go to mandatory restrictions.” At this point in May, residents in Sheldon used about 900-thousand gallons of water per day.

On Wednesday of this week, Uhl says more than one-and-a-half MILLION gallons of water were used. “The previous peak day that I had ever seen in Sheldon was just over 1.3 million so our usage has really jumped drastically in a very short amount of time,” Uhl says. Water use typically declines in the evening, but Uhl says this week it’s increased. “You ride around town and there’s a lot of lawn watering going on,” Uhl says. “I understand people would like to keep a green lawn and I know there was a lot of lawn loss last year with the drought and some winter kill, so people and keep them looking good.” Uhl says lawn and garden watering is still allowed in Sheldon, but with the recommendation that it happen after 8:30 p.m. Uhl says he’s hoping Sheldon residents take steps to limit or curtail all non-essential water usage, so restrictions won’t be necessary. Restaurants in Shelton are being encouraged to serve customers water only when requested and water should not be used to fill swimming pools or wash parking lots or driveways.

On Friday (June 11), the City of Harlan – which was on a Water Watch since April 26th – switched to a “Tier 1 – Water Warning,” where restrictions on how the water is used, is now mandatory until further notice.

(Radio Iowa) – A southeast Iowa woman is accused of threatening to place an explosive device in an attorney’s office. According to court records, 30-year-old Siearre Smith of Ottumwa entered the Wapello County Attorney’s Office on the afternoon of May 25th and yelled at employees in the lobby. While shouting, Smith said, quote “This place needs blown up and that’s exactly what I am going to do.”

A warrant was issued for Smith’s arrest on May 28th and she was taken into custody this past Wednesday. Smith has been charged with threat – explosive or incendiary device, a Class D felony and is currently free after posting bond. A preliminary court appearance has not been scheduled.

(Radio Iowa) – An eastern Iowa woman will always remember her getaway to the family’s cabin along the Mississippi River last weekend. The woman was one-million dollars richer when she returned to her Urbana home.  During her trip to the far corner of northeast Iowa, Karen Kramer stopped at a Harpers Ferry convenience store and bought a Mega Millions ticket for Tuesday night’s drawing. She spent ten dollars for five plays, one of which matched five of the six numbers drawn. Her winning numbers were: 9-22-39-41 and 54. She missed the Mega Ball, which was 19 with a Megaplier of 3.

The 60-year-old Kramer, who works as a para-educator for the Center Point-Urbana School District, claimed her winnings Thursday at the Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. Kramer’s ticket, along with another sold in West Virginia, were the only two in the country that won a one-million prize Tuesday night. According to lottery officials, one ticket for the BIG prize – an estimated 56-million-dollar jackpot – was sold in Illinois.

Kramer told Iowa Lottery officials that her and husband, Dave, plan invest the bulk of the winnings for retirement and pay some bills. She also wants to get a dog.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne is cosponsoring a bill she says will help people facing challenges in caring for older people. Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says the Americans Giving Care to Elders or AGE Act would provide tax credits of up to 12-hundred dollars to taxpayers earning under 200-thousand dollars a year to offset elder care expenses.  “This will help our caregivers to be able to buy medications, help with medical tasks, daily living assistance — all of that stuff,” said Axne. “So, this will help provide some of the support our families need, take out some of the cost, give those caregivers some reprieve. They can hire a babysitter and use that money to give them a couple of hours to go to the grocery store and have maybe an hour’s peace to take a walk.”

Axne met with caregivers in a roundtable discussion at Des Moines Area Community College earlier this week on issues facing caregivers. In many cases, she says the caregivers are adults who must take care of their parents. “We have people who are in their 50s and 60s who are in the prime of their earning years and they’re also taking care of their own children,” she said. “They’re then needing to step up and take care of their parents. It’s very expensive, and in many cases, it requires somebody to leave the workplace, which puts a huge impact on those families. It also puts a lot of stress on them.”

Axne introduced the bill along with Republican Congressman David McKinley of West Virginia and Democratic Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. In addition to bipartisan support, she says the measure is also backed by a number of organizations. “We’ve got support from the American Heart Association, the Longterm Care Community Coalition, the American Seniors Association — on and on — about how important this is,” said Axne. “So, I know that across the board, people bipartisanly agree that we’ve got to support our caregivers, because sometimes, it’s just too much for people to handle.”

The bill is under consideration in the House Ways and Means Committee.