The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 32-year old Trisha Breanne Moffitt, of Creston, was arrested late Tuesday morning at the Union County Law Enforcement Center. Moffitt was taken into custody on a Union County warrant for failure to appear and serve jail time.

Moffitt was being held without bond in the Adams County Jail, for Union County.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Crews evacuated people from some buildings and cars Tuesday afternoon after a flood barrier failed along the Mississippi River, sending floodwaters rushing into downtown Davenport, Iowa. The National Weather Service sent an alert around 4 p.m. of a flash flood emergency in Davenport, urging people downtown to immediately seek higher ground. Public works officials reported that a temporary flood barrier had failed and that many people sought shelter on the rooftops of downtown buildings.

“It was just the one barrier, so we’re not expecting the flooding to spread beyond what we’re seeing now,” Davenport Public Works Director Nicole Gleason said. “That could change with heavy rain.” Gleason said crews and volunteers scrambled Tuesday afternoon to fill sandbags for other downtown businesses looking to keep the floodwaters out of their buildings.

The breach hit as communities in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri prepare for record or near-record crests along the river. The National Weather Service already issued flood warnings for areas directly on either side of the river in 10 states, “all the way to the Gulf of Mexico,” said meteorologist Mike McClure in Davenport.

The floodwaters had overtaken vehicles and the first floors of some buildings on the river’s edge, and rescue crews could be seen launching boats into the floodwaters to retrieve people stranded by the sudden surge. Mayor Frank Klipsch said there were no reports of injuries. He asked that people stay away from downtown while officials work to evacuate the area.

In Iowa, some cities on the river’s banks — including Davenport and Muscatine — had already closed some low-lying streets and erected flood walls and sandbag barriers. Flood watches have been issued for larger tracts around in the river in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, as well as sections of Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, as heavy rain that began in some places Monday was set to continue into Wednesday.

The rain comes as the Mississippi River is set to reach record or near-record crests in Iowa, Illinois and northern Missouri. At 5 p.m., the Mississippi River at Davenport was recorded at 21.88 feet — the fifth highest for the spot ever recorded, according the National Weather Service. That’s approaching the record crest of 22.6 feet set in July 1993.

The river’s expected to crest Wednesday evening a few inches short of the record.
The gauge in nearby Muscatine showed the river just under 3 feet below the July 1993 record of 25.6 feet. It’s expected to crest a little more than a foot under the record at Muscatine, where officials have placed new berms and are diverting downtown traffic.

(Radio Iowa) — Even though evacuation orders are being lifted, many southwest Iowans still can’t return as standing water is making their homes unreachable. Sheri Bowen, a spokeswoman for Mills County, says people are mostly trying to get back to their houses to assess the damage caused by the record Missouri River flooding that started more than a month ago.

“They may decide to wear their hip waders and go in and get their prized possessions that they weren’t able to take with them,” Bowen says, “but no one is expecting anyone to move back in at this point.” The county did an unofficial survey asking people whether they would return home. About half of the families that answered said they were unsure about their next steps, while ten-percent said they would definitely leave.

South of Mills County, Hamburg residents are allowed to return to their homes in Fremont County, but in unincorporated areas of the county, about 250 families cannot go back yet. Fremont County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Crecelius says there’s still standing water in the south end of Hamburg.

“That is where the water hit the worst and was the deepest,” Crecelius says, “so I think that those folks are probably going to be looking for some place else to be living instead of moving back in there.” The mayor of Hamburg lifted the city’s partial evacuation order last week. The communities of Percival, Bartlett and McPaul are still evacuated.

(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports numerous recent arrests. Last Friday, 25-year old Hisham Nasser Alsaeed, of Omaha, NE – was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance (Bond $1,000). At around 2-a.m. Saturday, 28-year old Cody Alan Hunkins, of  Imogene, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension (DUS) and Operating a Non-Registered Vehicle. (Bond $427.50).

Sunday evening, 20-year old Lacyrus Green, of Southaven, MS, was arrested for having a Concealed Weapon (Bond $2,000); 21-year old Marcus Deshawn Grantham, of Union City, TN, was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance (Bond $1,000; 19-year old Logan Christopher Harding, of Glenwood, was arrested Saturday for Possession of Drug paraphernalia (Bond $ 300); and 30-year old Brandon Lee Barber, of Omaha, NE, was arrested for Eluding, OWI 1^st, Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Prevent Apprehension, Speeding, Reckless Driving, No Valid DL, Improper Lane Change and Open container (Bond $7,000)

Sunday afternoon, 26-year old Daniel Joseph Polan, of Glenwood, was arrested on a warrant for Violation of Probation (Bond $1,000).

Two men who were allegedly trying to pick fights in Council Bluffs Monday evening, were stabbed by a man who they allegedly assaulted. Council Bluffs Police say just before 7-p.m. Monday, Council Bluffs police and fire personnel were dispatched to the area of North 42nd Street and River’s Edge Parkway for a stabbing. 19-year old Ronald Buchanan of Council Bluffs and 27-year old Tevin Vanderpool, of Omaha, were both on the ground, bleeding from their abdomens. Medics transported both to a trauma center in Omaha for treatment; each were found to have received one puncture wound. Buchanan was in stable condition and Vanderpool was in critical condition at last report.

Officers were able to quickly determine that their alleged target, 27-year old Andrew Poeckes, of Council Bluffs, who was still at the scene, had stabbed both Buchanan and Vanderpool. Poeckes, who was treated at a Council Bluffs hospital for facial injuries, was released after being interviewed by detectives. Poeckes told detectives after he left work in downtown Omaha, he was walking to his Council Bluffs home, crossing the Bob Kerrey pedestrian bridge. While on the bridge, Poeckes noticed Buchanan and Vanderpool on the bridge as well. He said the two men were being loud and aggressive, and attempting to start fights with other people on the bridge.

As Poeckes walked past them, Buchanan and Vanderpool reportedly made derogatory comments directed at him. Poeckes stated that he did not respond to the comments and continued to walk eastward, across the bridge. Buchanan and Vanderpool followed Poeckes and as he neared the bottom of the bridge on the Iowa side, Buchanan and Vanderpool began to assault Poeckes, repeatedly punching him in the face and pulling on his clothing.

While he was being attacked, Poeckes was able to pull out a small folding pocket knife that he was carrying in his pocket and stabbed both Buchanan and Vanderpool one time each in their abdomens. Several witnesses in the area gave statements that indicated that they saw Buchanan and Vanderpool assaulting Poeckes, with Poeckes eventually swinging back at them to protect himself. The witnesses did not realize that Poeckes had a knife in his possession until after both Buchanan and Vanderpool were laying on the ground, bleeding from their mid‐sections.

The case remains under investigation, but preliminary indications are that Poeckes was acting in self‐defense when he used his pocket knife to fend off Buchanan and Vanderpool. The County Attorney’s Office has been consulted and at this time authorities anticipate requesting arrest warrants for Buchanan and Vanderpool, charging each of them with assault. Detectives are interested in speaking with any other citizens who were on, or near, the Bob Kerrey pedestrian bridge Monday evening, who may have witnessed anything relevant to this case. Please call  712‐328‐4728 if you have any information to share.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has some big decisions to make about several controversial measures approved by the Legislature. Topics include limiting duties of the attorney general, changing how judges are picked, sports betting, prohibiting the use of Medicaid funding to pay for sex-reassignment surgery and prohibiting the government spending on sex education courses offered by Planned Parenthood.

On sports betting, Reynolds says she’s hearing from people concerned about gambling addiction and from those who say sports betting is happening anyway and should be regulated.
Reynolds declined Tuesday to give her views on the bills, saying she’ll analyze each and make a decision.

More than 100 bills have been sent to Reynolds, who has 30 days to make decisions. She’s signed nearly 50 measures passed by the Legislature so far.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a pursuit that began in the County Monday afternoon ended with the arrest of a Nebraska man. 30-year old David-John Kalani Kaneala Kauai, of Omaha, faces charges that include Theft in the 2nd Degree, Eluding, Reckless Driving, and Speeding. Additional charges are pending in Page County. Authorities say at around 3:36-p..m., Deputies attempted to stop a 2009 Ford F-350 near the intersection of S. Avenue/Highway 34 east of Stanton.

The vehicle however, fled the scene eastbound on Highway 34 into Adams County. The pickup entered a farm field and eventually came back to Highway 34, and back into Montgomery County. It turned southbound onto Highway 71. The truck continued southbound on Highway 71 at speeds over 100 mph, until it hit a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle at Highway 2/Highway 71 east of Clarinda. The vehicle then went into the ditch just south of that intersection.

Kalani Kaneala Kauai was taken into custody without further incident. Authorities determined the vehicle he was driving had been stolen from Council Bluffs earlier in the day, Monday. The Iowa State Patrol is handling the accident investigation. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Iowa State Patrol, Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Page County Sheriff’s Office, Clarinda Police Department, and Clarinda EMS.

Audubon Police Chief Matt Starmer today (Tuesday) reports 37-year old Amanda Thompson, of Atlantic, was arrested April 5th, on an active Carroll County Warrant.  Thompson was later released to Carroll County Deputies. On April 18th, 35-year old Laura Lynn Madden, of Audubon, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension, No Insurance and Expired Registration.  Madden was subsequently cited, and released on promise to appear in court.

On April 21st, 27-year old Alex Michael Garside and 21-year old Emily Christine Camden, both of Audubon, as a result of a search warrant, were both charged with Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and two-counts of Child Endangerment.  The pair were transported to the Audubon County Jail to appear before a magistrate.  The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the search warrant.

The Harlan Police Department reports 23-year old Collin Reed Smith, of Harlan was cited this (Tuesday) morning, for driving while suspended, following a traffic stop in the 2900 block of 12th Street. Last Saturday, 40-year old Dane Markes Purcell, of Dunlap, was arrested following a traffic stop. Purcell was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with driving while suspended and failure to prove security against liability.

On Friday, 64-year old Mark Edward Olson, of, Harlan, was arrested following a call regarding a possible domestic situation. Olson was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with domestic abuse assault. And, on April 25th, 50-year old Jodie Ann Tuttle, of Harlan, was arrested following a call for an accident. Tuttle was transported to the Shelby County Jail on an active warrant out of Council Bluffs. Tuttle was also charged with driving while barred and failure to prove security against liability.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — A Newton company that builds wind turbine blades has settled with state regulators following an investigation into workplace safety violations. The Des Moines Register reports that TPI Composites didn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in the settlement with Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration signed last month.

The settlement requires TPI to restrict employee contact with hazardous chemicals, eliminate fall dangers and alter how the factory stores combustible liquids. The company has adopted new polyethylene suits to protect workers against the chemicals. Iowa regulators gave TPI until Aug. 31 to fix all of the residual safety hazards.

Iowa OSHA levied nearly $155,000 in fines against TPI last year due violations including fire dangers, airborne contaminants, improper record keeping, fall hazards and a shortage of adequate protective gear for employees.