(Radio Iowa) – The eastern Iowa City of Eldon is still recovering from a flash flood that struck Thursday night, and that swept out a concrete pier along with collapsing a 40-foot section of sewer pipe. Eldon Mayor Jerry Lee Potts says between seven-and-a-half to 11 inches of rain fell in a two-hour period, and there were very few people that weren’t affected. Potts says “…It was a lot deeper than people realize and it was rushing. If you see some of the damages down there, you’ll see how intense…Tubes washed out from under the roads.” The mayor says this flood is worse than the flooding that hit Eldon 28 years ago.

“City Hall had three foot more water than we had in the flood of ’93. It wiped out the whole basement underneath there,” Potts says. “There’s been numerous homes throughout the community, a lot larger amount of damages than in ’93 because it was a flash flood and it came too fast, too quick and they just couldn’t get away.” Given the amount of water that quickly swept through, they’re fortunate there were no fatalities. He says there is a report that a semi was submerged and several homes are total losses. The mayor says it’s tough to get around town right now. “The waters have receded and where there’s more shops and stuff, we’ve got those barricaded off for safety reasons,” Potts says. “We’ll be working throughout the week getting those repairs done, so we can get some of those opened back up.”

The Department of Natural Resources is cautioning residents to keep children and pets away from the area until at least 24 to 48 hours after repairs are completed. If you’d like to volunteer to help with the cleanup in Eldon, call Wapello County Emergency Management at 641-814-8333.

(Radio Iowa) – After nearly eight decades, the remains of a World War Two sailor from Bedford will be laid to rest in Iowa. Graveside services for William David Tucker — who was 19 years old when he was killed while aboard the U-S-S Oklahoma during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor — are scheduled for Wednesday morning at 10 at the Bedford Cemetery. Larry Johnson of Parowan, Utah, is a nephew of Tucker, and was only a year-and-a-half old when his uncle was killed. “He was raised there in Bedford,” Johnson says. “His mother and father were Agnes and William Tucker. They lived on 201 Grant Street when I was a youngster. We spent the summers up there–most of us kids, you know. He graduated from Bedford High”.

After receiving three months of training at the Great Lakes Navy Training Station, Tucker was assigned to the U-S-S Oklahoma as a fireman, working up to a first-class rating a little over one year after he had been in the service. He was transferred to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in October, 1940. Johnson says a twist of fate placed Tucker on the ship on that day of infamy one year later. “He was supposed to be on leave that day, from what I understand, and he traded shore leave with a friend of his, and he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, you know,” Johnson says.

William David Tucker

Tucker’s remains were among the unidentified Pearl Harbor dead later buried at the National Memorial of the Pacific at Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu. The U.S. Navy launched a program in 2015 to identify and recover the remains of those killed in the attack, and return them home. Through that program, Johnson says he and a brother provided D-N-A to the Navy–which ultimately led to a long-awaited breakthrough. “So, the Navy contacted us last October,” according to Johnson, “and they needed D-N-A samples to try to get a match. Come to find out I’m the oldest living relative. The identification of the remains was made in December of 2020.”

The Navy elected Johnson and his wife to decide on the final resting place for Tucker’s remains. Johnson says the family decided Tucker’s body should be brought home to Bedford–and provide the sense of closure his family had sought for decades. “It’s kind of amazing, really, after 80 years,” he says. “You know, it’s been that long. My mother and my other three aunts were his sisters. They never gave up on being able to get any closure, and bring him home.”

The body was recently flown to a Nebraska air base, then transported to Cummings Funeral Home in Bedford. Tucker will be buried with full military honors. Tucker could be the last Pearl Harbor victim laid to rest under the Navy’s program, which will close on December 7th–the 80th anniversary of the attack.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A crop report finds the rain last week was helpful –but more moisture is needed. The report shows the amounts of rain varied widely with northwest Iowa still reporting more than two-thirds of its topsoil moisture short to very short. While the districts in the southern one-third of Iowa rated 60 percent or more of subsoil moisture at adequate to surplus levels.

The condition of the corn crop improved slightly — up to 60 percent in good to excellent condition compared to 56 percent last week. Soybean emergence is now complete — with 58 percent of the soybeans rated in good to excellent condition — a one-percent increase from last week.

Sheriff’s deputies in Fremont County responded late Sunday night to a reported domestic disturbance incident, in Hamburg. The call came in at around 11:58-p.m.  Upon arrival, deputies made contact with 40-year-old Quincy Thompson, of Hamburg, who allegedly made life threatening comments to the victim, and then fled into the residence, where children were present.

Thompson

Thompson was arrested for Domestic Assault, causing bodily injury, and 6 counts of Child Endangerment. He was being in the Fremont County Jail on $10,000 bond.

A call in Fremont County Monday evening about a possibly intoxicated driver and a vehicle operating on the wrong side of the road, resulted in the arrest of a man from Shenandoah. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports at 5:30-p.m., deputies were called to the area of 120th Street near Randolph with regard to the incident. They made contact with a 2006 Dodge Caravan in the 3100 block of 120th Street, near Randolph.

Bryan Myre

The driver, 53-year-old Bryan Myre, of Shenandoah, was found to be intoxicated with a blood alcohol content of over twice the legal limit with three small children in the vehicle. MYRE was placed under arrest for:

• OWI 3rd or Subsequent Offense, a Class D Felony
• 3 counts of Child Endangerment
• Driving While Suspended for an OWI
• Failure to Maintain Control
• 2 counts of Failure to use Child Safety Belts

Myre was being held without bond pending initial appearance with a Fremont County Magistrate. Iowa Department of Human Services assisted with the call.

(Corrects day of arrest) A woman from Cass County was arrested Sunday night in Fremont County, following a call about a suspicious vehicle. Authorities say at around 9:38-p.m., Fremont County deputies were called to the 1300 block of Highway 59 for a report of a suspicious vehicle at an abandoned farm. Deputies made contact with a brown Dodge Caravan at the location, and observed freshly cut catalytic converters and burglary tools inside the vehicle as well as items that appeared to be stolen from a rural area.

Lyndsey Cottrell

The Fremont County K9 Roby was deployed and a subsequent search uncovered over ¾ of an ounce of Methametamine in the vehicle and on the person of the driver, 34-year-old Lyndsey Marie Cottrell, of Cumberland. She was placed under arrest for Possession of over 5 grams of Methamphetamine with Intent to Deliver, Possession of Contraband inside a Correctional Facility, and Possession of Burglary tools.

Her bond was set at $100,000, with additional charges are pending.Deputies are seeking information concerning missing motor vehicle parts, motorboat parts, farm equipment, or a ladder stolen in the days prior to June 27th. The Page County Sheriff’s Office and the Shenandoah Police Department assisted the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office and K9 Unit with the call.

A fire that occurred at around 9:10-p.m. May 2nd in Page County, remains under investigation. The blaze destroyed a home owned by 61-year-old Robert Beach, Jr. The Page County Sheriff’s Office said Monday both the fire and death are being investigated as suspicious incidents.

Investigators are aware that Robert Beach purchased an AR-15 style weapon a few weeks prior to the fire. Investigators believe that was a legal transaction but would like the private citizen who sold the weapon to Robert Beach to come forward so that law enforcement can obtain the weapons identification information.

Investigators are also looking for information from the public concerning this fire to include anyone who may have been in the area between 10:00 pm on Saturday May 1, 2021 and 6:00 am Sunday May 2, 2021. If anyone has information, please contact the Page County Sheriff’s Office @ 712-542-5193.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports that at around 7:50-a.m. on June 27th they received a call of a vehicle in a ditch. Deputies located a 2015 Dodge 1500 pickup in the ditch in the 2500 block of 230th street. An investigation was conducted. The investigation shows that Brett Michael Cabbage was driving on 230th street. When Cabbage fell asleep at the wheel, his vehicle entered the ditch and came to rest on a metal culvert.

That same day (June 27), Page County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Dana Kolette Johnson. She had turned herself-in to the Page County Sheriff’s Office, where she wanted on a valid Iowa warrant for driving while barred. Johnson’s bond was set at $2,000 (cash or surety). And, Nathaniel Gene Teeters was arrested on the 27th, for Driving While Barred. He was driving a McCormick tractor in rural Clarinda, at the time of his arrest.

On June 28th, Page County Deputies arrested Joseph Larry Martin, in Clarinda. He was taken into custody on a valid Page County warrant for failure to appear on a probation violation. His cash/surety bond was set at $1,000.

The Glenwood Police Department reports three arrests. On June 23rd, 37-year-old Rodney Schoening, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/3rd offense. His cash/surety bond was set at $5,000. On the 22nd, 32-year-old Scott Wilson, of Oakland, was arrested for Vehicle Theft, with c/s bond set at $5,000.

And, on the 22nd, 36-year-old Jenna West, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Mills County warrant for Theft in the 5th. Her c/s bond was set at $300.

(Radio Iowa) – Demand for the COVID-19 vaccine in Iowa is falling, although just 45-percent of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated. The numbers range from just over a quarter of all residents in Davis County to more than half of all residents in Johnson County. Ross McKinney, with the Association of American Medical Colleges, says the number needed for herd immunity will shift as the virus continues to circulate and mutate.

“As long as it keeps mutating, it’s going to keep changing what that magic number would be,” McKinney says. “And it’s always going to be getting worse, because the more contagious virus is going to be the one that spreads.” McKinney says unvaccinated people remain at risk for getting seriously ill or dying from the virus, especially with the new “delta variant” circulating.

“The delta variant is much more contagious,” he says. “It’s 50% more contagious than the variants that were there before and it’s about 50% more likely to put you into the hospital.” State health officials say 64-percent of adult Iowans have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. McKinney says it’s unlikely Iowa will reach President Joe Biden’s goal of 70-percent by the Fourth of July, though more than a dozen other states have already reached that goal.

(By Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)