DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Hundreds of communities line the Mississippi River on its 2,348-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico, but Davenport, Iowa, stands out for the simple reason that people there can actually dip their toes in the river without scaling a flood wall, levee or other impediment.

It’s a point of pride in Davenport, a city of 100,000 people that calls itself Iowa’s front porch and which has repeatedly tolerated the floods that have long since convinced all other major riverfront cities to build concrete or dirt walls.

“It’s the personality of the community,” said Kelli Grubbs, who runs a business a few blocks from the nearly half-mile-wide river. “There is just a great love of the river.”
That love is being tested this summer after record-setting floods broke through temporary barriers and for weeks inundated some of Davenport’s trendiest restaurants and shops with foul-smelling water. Now that the river has finally seeped back to its banks, business owners and city officials are confronting a painful question: Can they still remain connected with the river without being overwhelmed by it?

Looming over the discussions is an acknowledgement of what’s likely coming from climate change: heavier rainstorms that, combined with spring snowmelt, will swell the river to ever higher levels. Even as residents scoff at the prospect of a concrete wall or rocky levee replacing the gently sloping lawn that dips down to the river, they wonder if a downtown that has seen roughly $500 million in investment in recent years can survive being awash and cut off from the rest of the city so frequently.

Of the 15 biggest floods in Davenport’s history, seven have occurred since 2008. Davenport owes much of its roughly 200-year-old history to the Mississippi River, which was instrumental in the area’s selection as a fort. The river allowed steamboats to reach the community and later led to bridges that connected people and products to large cities to the east.

That history is one reason that despite repeated flooding in the last 40 years — especially severe in 1969, 1975, 1993 and 2001 — Davenport residents have largely supported a modest containment system that includes a wide strip of grass and Nahant Marsh, a 305-acre wetland.

During more serious flooding, large sand-filled temporary barriers can be placed on River Drive, which runs parallel to the river, to protect the low-lying business district. Most homes are safely perched on the hills rising steeply to the north. But this spring, separate crests repeatedly pressured and finally breached the barriers, causing an estimated $30 million in lost revenue and damage.

Davenport residents couldn’t help but notice that across the river in Rock Island, Illinois — where a permanent floodwall was erected after floods in 1993 — the city stayed almost completely dry. Bettendorf and Moline, Illinois, the other two communities that make up the Quad Cities, also have floodwalls and didn’t flood.

Mayor Frank Klipsch has formed a task force to consider options, which include setting aside more land that could be open for flooding and improving the system of temporary barriers protecting the city’s nine miles of riverfront. Environmentalists support giving the river more room instead of a wall.

Becca Clark said she supports the city’s go-slow approach, even though the flooding forced workers and customers to frantically haul items up a narrow staircase to the second floor of her clothing and jewelry shop. “The city is all about the natural flow of the river and green space. It would ruin that,” said Clark, who grew up in the area.

But, as they settled into a new location a block farther from the river, her business partner Nicole Perez noted, “We fixed our problem. We moved up higher from the river.”

Sheriff’s deputies in Montgomery County this (Sunday) morning, arrested 29-year old Cody Thomas Hoggatt, of Villisca. He was taken into custody at around 4:37-a.m. in Villisca, following an incident at N. 3rd Avenue and E. 3rd Street. Hoggatt was charged with Public Intoxication and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $300.

A single-vehicle accident that took place at around 10:30-p.m. Friday in Taylor County, has claimed the life of a 40-year old woman. The Iowa State Patrol reports Anna Michelle Eischeid, of Bedford, died in the crash that happened when the 2003 Ford F-150 pickup she was driving went out of control and rolled several times into a ditch.

The crash occurred as the pickup was traveling north on Forest Avenue and attempting to turn east onto 300th Street. The vehicles skidded across 300th Street before it rolled. The accident report did not indicate if Eischeid was wearing a seat belt.

Taylor County Rescue, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office and LifeNet Helicopter assisted the State Patrol at the scene.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:45 a.m. CDT

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Police in northeastern Iowa say a Waterloo woman wounded in an accidental shooting is expected to recover. The Courier reports that the woman was taken to a hospital following the shooting Thursday night. Police say first responders were called to a home around 10:15 p.m. Thursday and found the woman with a single gunshot wound to the torso. Officers say a man at the house was handling a handgun when it accidentally fired.

ALTOONA, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in central Iowa say a 19-year-old woman has died after being hit by a pickup truck. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that the incident happened around 9:30 p.m. Friday at an Altoona intersection. The Iowa State Patrol says the truck was northbound and had a green light when it hit the woman. The woman, whose name has not been released, was taken to a hospital, where she died.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — An agricultural economist says the Trump administration’s decision to base new handouts to farmers hit by the trade war with China on how many acres they’ve planted might be a fairer way to distribute the cash. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Thursday that the government will pay another $16 billion in aid to farmers affected by the president’s trade war with China. Scott Irwin, a University of Illinois agricultural economist says per acre payments are fairer than per bushel.

HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Omaha, Nebraska, says repair work on a levee breach near Hamburg, Iowa, has been completed. The agency said in a news release Friday that the breach was one of four priority breaches to be closed in the wake of historic flooding along the Missouri River in March. The Corps says the work was completed Thursday after work began in early May.

The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office reports that at around 1:40-p.m. today (Saturday), the Marshall County Communications Center received a report of an airplane crash in the 2700-block of Parker Avenue, near Haverhill (Iowa). As deputies arrived, they located the pilot outside the aircraft, which was being used to apply agricultural chemicals. The pilot, John Yost, was not injured during the landing and the aircraft sustained minor damage to a wing during the emergency landing.

Photos from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page

It was reported by the pilot the empty aircraft was experiencing mechanical problems as it was heading back the the airport. The pilot decided to make a controlled emergency landing in a nearby hayfield. The aircraft is owned and operated by John Yost, contracted by Meyer Ag Service to apply agricultural chemicals.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Police in northeastern Iowa say a Waterloo woman wounded in an accidental shooting is expected to recover. The Courier reports that the woman was taken to a hospital following the shooting Thursday night.

Police say first responders were called to a home around 10:15 p.m. Thursday and found the woman with a single gunshot wound to the torso. Officials say she underwent surgery for her injuries.

Officers say a man at the house was handling a handgun when it accidentally fired.

The 2019 Governor’s Charity Steer Show will mark the 37th consecutive year the beef industry has raised funds to help families who utilize the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Iowa. This year, the show ring competition takes place Saturday, Aug. 10, at 4:00 p.m., in the Pioneer Livestock Pavilion at the Iowa State Fair. Celebrities will lead 25 steers around the ring, vying for the championship designation, showmanship honors, and the People’s Choice award. Immediately following the competition, the steers will be sold at auction with proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Iowa. Both the show ring event and the auction are open to the general public.

Since the Iowa Beef Industry Council and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association began the Governor’s Charity Steer Show in 1983, the effort has raised more than $3.5 million for the Des Moines, Iowa City and Sioux City Ronald McDonald House Charities. The houses provide a “home away from home” for families of seriously ill children being treated in area hospitals and have served nearly 47,000 families.

Each of the 25 steers are owned by Iowa youth who have cared for the animals and participated in other shows with them. The youth prepare the animals for the show and assist a celebrity in the show ring. Sponsors reimburse the youth for the cost of the animal and choose the celebrity. Youth participating in the 2019 Governor’s Charity Steer Show will also learn additional information about the beef industry on Thursday, and volunteer some time with the Ronald McDonald House Charities in Des Moines on Friday, Aug. 9th.

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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Three people from Clinton (in eastern Iowa), were injured during a single-vehicle accident at around 1:35-p.m. Friday. The Iowa State Patrol says a 2000 Pontiac Montana van driven by a 27-year old from Clinton, was westbound on 292nd Street, when the driver lost control. When the van entered the south shoulder, the driver over-corrected, causing the vehicle to rollover before landing on its passenger side in the westbound lanes. The driver and his two passengers, one of whom is 24 and who was not wearing a seat belt, were injured and transported to Genesis East Hospital, by DeWitt Ambulance. The names of the injured during being withheld by authorities, pending an investigation. The driver and the other passenger were wearing their seat belts, according to the Patrol.