The Iowa Department of Transportation as of 5:30pm have noted a number of closures on roadways due to flooding issues and detours have been put in place.

Iowa Highway 44 on the East end of Harlan is blocked because of flooding between US Highway 59 and County Road M47. Traffic is being routed down to I-80 and back up on M47.

Interstate 680 is closed in both directions between Exit 71 and Exit 21 due to flooding. A detour using I-80 is in place.

US 30 between IA 44 and IA 37 in Woodbine is blocked due to flooding. A detour through Panama and Earling is in place.

Drivers in Cass County are being asked to avoid Highway 48 North of Griswold due to flooding of that roadway.

Delays are also occurring along Highway 6 in Cass and Pottawattamie Counties due to water of the roadway in numerous locations.

Motorists are being asked to avoid rural road travel all across the region if possible and to use extreme caution when traveling in the region. Do not attempt to cross a flooded roadway, standing or running water.

You can check the latest road updates at 511ia.org or by calling 511.

Mills County Officials have announced that L-68 (330th) south of H-46 (Paddock Ave.) is closed currently due to water over the road. Water is also over the road on Jabber Road north of Keys Avenue in Mills County.

Shelby County was placed in a Flash Flood Warning. River levels are continuing to be monitored by officials. We are working to implement plans in the event that the river levels continue to rise. Please be cautious in low lying areas and do not attempt to cross flooded roads. At this time there has been no highway closures reported to us from the DOT. We will continue to update everyone as details become available.

Authority:

Shelby County Emergency Management

Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon reports (as of 1-p.m.) driving conditions are deteriorating across the county, especially on rural roads.

Kennon says “We’ve had numerous reports of water standing on gravel roads.”

The low lying gravel roads are soft, but even the hills are rutted-out. Exercise extreme caution if you must travel on gravel roads, and remember not to cross ANY water standing on the roads, paved or otherwise.

Kennon says “Just be careful out there.”

Due to the amount of rain and the melting of ice and snow the Council Bluffs Police Department wants to remind you not to drive into flooded intersections and roads. We are working with public works to block as many flooded intersections and roadways as possible. Please avoid any roads with standing water. If you come across a road way that is flooded please contact Council Bluffs Public Works at 712-328-4641 or the Communications Center at 712-328-5737. Thank you.

The Audubon County Engineer’s Office reports says a bridge on 340^th west of F58 before Quail Avenue is closed due to damage by ice. The bridge will remain closed until it can be repaired. Officials are recommending the public not travel unless they absolutely have to, especially on the gravel roads, because the roads are treacherous due to the rain.

OSAGE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a school bus with 10 students on board went into a roadside ditch on an icy gravel road southwest of Osage in northern Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol said one person was taken to a hospital as a precaution after Wednesday morning’s accident. The name of the adult or student and other information about the bus and accident haven’t been released. Station KIMT reports that a power pole was lying atop the bus and that a firetruck was having trouble maneuvering on the slick roadway.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An investigation by The Associated Press has found that police departments routinely withhold video taken by body-worn and dashboard-mounted cameras of officer-involved shootings and other uses of force. To test the public’s ability to access police video under state open records laws for Sunshine Week, the AP made requests for roughly 20 recent incidents in a dozen states. The requests were met with denial after denial and failed, so far, to unearth video of a single incident that had not already been made public.

In rejecting or delaying the requests, most law enforcement agencies and prosecutors cited broad exemptions that allow them to keep records of pending investigations secret. Government watchdog groups say the exemption can be misapplied to hide embarrassing footage from the public.

(Radio Iowa) — It’s said April showers bring May flowers, but after Iowa’s snowiest February on record, March showers bring widespread flooding. Meteorologist Brooke Hagenhoff, at the National Weather Service, says there are flood watches and warnings all across the Iowa map and some roads are already barricaded off due to the high water. “We’ve got several areas that are forecast to go into either minor or moderate flooding,” Hagenhoff says. “Luckily, we’re not seeing that quite yet, other than in a few locations, but definitely with the continued snowmelt that we’re seeing and extra rainfall today, it’s only going to enhance that.”

Some waterways in southwest Iowa and across much of eastern Iowa have already seen water levels double in the past 24 hours. “The areas we’re really most concerned about are where we’re looking at ice jam potential,” Hagenhoff says. “Those can be especially hazardous just because they can happen fairly quickly with rapid rises and you don’t get a lot of warning.” Indianola and Ottumwa had flash flooding due to ice jams on Tuesday. Other areas of particular concern for ice jams include Marshalltown, Fort Dodge, Van Meter and north of Waterloo. The forecast calls for much warmer weather today (Wednesday), with high temperatures in the upper 40s in northern Iowa to near 60 in southern Iowa. Hagenhoff says there’s still deep snowpack in parts of the state. “We’re pushing ten to 15 inches across portions of northern Iowa,” Hagenhoff says. “Those areas will be a little cooler today but certainly, we’re expecting to see quite a bit of snowmelt all the way through central Iowa. Southern Iowa has seen a lot of melting already and in many cases, their snowpack has completely disappeared.”

The National Weather Service is again posting warnings to motorists approaching flooded waterways, telling them to “Turn around, don’t drown.”  “The biggest thing is just to be aware,” she says. “If you can’t see the road through the water, it’s probably a good idea to just turn around and find a different route. You never know how deep it is or what the road conditions are like under that water.” Even in areas where the snow is already long gone, Hagenhoff says there’s concern about flooding as waterways are swelling with runoff from snowmelt upriver.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A special state audit for a Shelby County agency has identified more than $59,000 in improper disbursements. The audit report released Wednesday says the audit was requested because of concerns regarding payments for overtime, compensatory time and vacation to county Emergency Management Agency employees. The audit covered July 1, 2013, through Sept. 30, 2017.

The report says more than $41,000 for paid leave was improperly disbursed for four county employees, primarily for compensatory time. More than $13,000 was improperly disbursed for an employee shared with Audubon County. The report also said nearly $1,600 given to three Shelby County employees was not adequately documented to determine whether the money spent was appropriate for county operations.

The report includes recommendations to strengthen the county’s internal controls and overall operations.