Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Alex Londo reports, personnel with FEMA will be out in the county going door-to-door, to get people who were affected by the floods to register to receive assistance. All of the people going around will have identification on them to show that they work for FEMA. The crews will be out over the next week to two weeks.

If you have questions, call Alex Londo at 712-755-5160.

(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds says the flood damage estimate the State of Iowa submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in March will be increased. The original one-point-six BILLION dollar estimate of damage in western Iowa was developed a month ago. “Then FEMA came in, with the National Guard and counted rooftops,” Reynolds says. “…I made it very clear in what I submitted that this was initial damage and there more than likely be additional damage and the dollars would increase moving forward.”

The Iowa Farm Bureau has estimated 127-thousand acres of Iowa cropland has been affected by the flooding and ag-related damage alone is two BILLION dollars. The governor says the repair costs for many of the busted levees along the Missouri River cannot be determined now because the water is still high in key areas. “That’s one of the things I talked to FEMA about when I met with acting director Gaynor, to just say: ‘Please don’t shut this incident down because we are still vulnerable right now. We don’t know the extent of the damage,'” Reynolds says. “We need some time to get those numbers to them.”

On Friday, March 22nd, state officials pegged major and minor damage to flooded homes at more than 400-MILLION dollars. Damages to businesses and commercial property was estimated in the range of 300 MILLION. The FINAL damage estimates are key for each county, as it determines whether federal disaster assistance will be made available to individuals — and whether federal money will help rebuild facilities owned by the state, city and county governments.

The SEVEN western Iowa counties of Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Pottawattamie, Shelby, and Woodbury already have been declared federal disaster areas. For individual residents, it means they may apply for federal grants and low-interest loans to cover home repairs or other disaster-related expenses. In addition, federal food assistance is available to residents in those seven counties who had high-water or lost power in their homes — or who had reduced work hours or lost their job because of the flooding.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Waterloo officials have identified parts of three city parks as potential candidates for sale. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that council members broached the idea of selling portions of parks for development. The thought is such sales could reduce maintenance costs, generate sales revenue and grow the tax base with new homes built on the land.

Neighboring property owners have resisted the idea in past discussions about selling park pieces. They feared losing direct sightlines and access to the parks or losing spots for recreation.
Leisure Services Director Paul Huting told the council earlier this week that if a portion of the sale proceeds were to be used for park improvements, the park neighbors might be happier with such sales.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Woodbury County officials have been discussing plans for a new county jail and a bond issue to pay for it. County board chairman Keith Radig told the Sioux City Journal on Thursday that it makes more sense to build a jail that could cost between $35 million and $50 million than pay $12 million to $14 million for repairs on the current, 234-bed facility. It opened in 1987.

Radig says a new jail with 300 to 440 beds would provide extra space to accept federal detainees. The county could contract with federal immigration officials and receive around 80 inmates a day on average. The resulting hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue could possibly eliminate the need to pay back construction debt with property taxes.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A woman from Colombia has been sentenced for her role in an email scheme that defrauded companies in Iowa and other states. Prosecutors say Karina Henao was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids to 13 months in prison. Henao also was ordered to pay more than $297,000 in restitution. She pleaded guilty in November to wire fraud. Prosecutors say she’d been living in Florida.

A court document says Henao admitted that from September through November 2017 she participated in a scheme to infiltrate or otherwise gain access to email systems in order to divert money from the businesses’ bank accounts.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports a traffic stop at around 5-p.m. Thursday resulted in an arrest. A vehicle was pulled over for failure to display license plates. The K9 “Baxo” was deployed, and alerted to the odor of narcotics. Upon further investigation, Janet Scuturio (no city of residence given) was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance – Tramadol/1st offense. And, at around 9:15-p.m. Thursday, Adams County deputies responded to a reported domestic disturbance. As a result of their investigation, Robert Loe was placed under arrest for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense.

(Radio Iowa) — Two Democrats in the U.S. Senate — both presidential candidates — have a blunt message for Vice President Mike Pence. Last Friday while he was in southwest Iowa, Pence criticized senators who are presidential candidates for blocking a Senate vote on federal disaster aid because it lacked funding for two 2017 hurricanes. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand says the president and vice president are pitting Puerto Ricans against Iowans.

“If we’ve learned anything from history, if we exclude one group, they’re going to exclude the next group and then then next group,” Gillibrand says, “and then eventually it will be you.”

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar says the Trump Administration is trying to “siphon money away” from Puerto Rican hurricane victims rather than approve the broader approach Democrats in the House have taken. Both Klobuchar and Gillibrand have visited flood victims in western Iowa. Klobuchar went to Pacific Junction three weeks ago and visited a woman who had to use binoculars to see her home in the distance — in the middle of the flooding.

“When it comes to infrastructure…there’s no Republican levee or a Democratic levee. There are only levees,” Klobuchar said. “And we should not be talking politics about this. We should be talking about how we come together.” On Wednesday, Gillibrand went to a home in Pacific Junction with a couple returning to see the flood damage for the first time. “Devastation. I can’t tell you how heartbreaking it was,” Gillibrand says. “…Congress needs to come together and pass that relief package. Now.”

On Wednesday, Democratic presidential candidate and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker said he’d like to invite Pence to join Democrats and Republicans in congress to find a solution that helps “all Americans” recovering from natural disasters rather than have disaster victims exploited for political gain.

A traffic stop Thursday morning on Interstate 29 in Mills County, resulted in the arrest of a man on numerous charges related to having a weapon, and drugs. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports 41-year old Andy Charles Andrew, of Pacific Junction, was arrested at around 6-a.m. at the 38-mile marker, and charged with Carrying a Concealed weapon; Possession of a Controlled Substance and Drug Paraphernalia; Fraudulent use of registration, and failure to provide proof of insurance. His bond was set at $3,300.

19-year old Gerald Timothy Thomas Yanna, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 2:35-a.m. Thursday, in Glenwood. Yanna was charged with Failure to provide proof of insurance following a traffic stop. Bond was set at $300.

Wednesday evening, Mills County deputies arrested 73-year old Marvin Jay Konfrst, of Glenwood, for OWI (bond $1,000), and 36-year old Dustin Lee Harriman, of Omaha, was arrested at around 8-a.m. Wednesday, for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Introducing intoxicants or drug into a (Correctional) institution. His bond was set at $6,000.