OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — After an unusually rainy September in the region, the amount of water flowing down the lower Missouri River this year is likely to match the 2011 record. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it now expects 61 million acre feet of water to flow down the Missouri River this year. That would equal the record set during the prolonged 2011 flooding. So the Corps will continue releasing massive amounts of water from the dams along the river.

The amount of water currently being released from the Gavins Point dam on the South Dakota-Nebraska border _ 80,000 cubic feet per second _ is more than twice what is typical for this time of year.

The City of Atlantic announced on Thursday afternoon that South Olive Street will remain closed tonight through sometime tomorrow for roadwork going on in that area. The closure is in place from 22nd Street to Jasper Road. We’ll provide an update on the opening when it becomes available.

Audubon County Sheriff Todd Johnson, Thursday (today), said 49-year old Scott Allen Jensen, of Adair, was charged Sept. 23rd with Reckless Use of a Firearm, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of Marijuana 1st Offense. 50-year old Nikki Jolene Larson, also of Adair, was charged with Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Possession of Marijuana 1st Offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia on September 23rd. They both appeared before the Magistrate and were released. All of the charges stem from an investigation into an incident that occurred on August 21st at their residence in Audubon County.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says there are dangers associated with “vaping” and she’s discussing policy options with key advisers. “I think it’s alarming what we’re continuing to see and the increase in the number of cases and so we continue to work with the Iowa Department of Public Health to collect the data,” she says. State officials announced last Friday that nearly two dozen Iowans had been diagnosed with a respiratory illness linked to so-called “vaping” with an electronic cigarette.

Reynolds says a majority of the illnesses involved vaping products containing T-H-C, a chemical from marijuana. “That’s a significant concern,” Reynolds says. “That’s, you know, illegal.” According to federal officials, nine people have died in the U.S. from the mysterious illness connected to vaping and hundreds have been hospitalized.

“The increases that we’re seeing in people using, especially young people, is concerning,” Reynolds says, “to see the growth really in a short time frame.” This week the Republican governor of Massachusetts declared vaping a public health emergency and approved a four-month ban on ALL vaping products. Also this week, Minnesota’s governor called on his state’s legislature to ban the sale of the flavored pods inserted in “e-cigarettes.”

Similar bans are already in effect in New York and Michigan. A federal study found the number of high school seniors who were “vaping” doubled from 2017 to 2018. Preliminary data from this year’s survey indicates one in nine teenagers “vapes” DAILY.

(Radio Iowa) — After a third round of flooding hit southwest Iowa last month, Iowa Congressman Steve King met Wednesday with officials from the U-S Army Corps of Engineers in Missouri Valley. The goal was to find ways to better protect people and property from high water. King, a Republican from Kiron, says he knows the Corps has requested funds to study the lower Missouri River and its tributaries.

King says, “I want to make sure this river can contain all of the water that has ever run down it and not have this thing outside the levees.” King recalled a bill he introduced in 2011 directing the Corps to adjust its flood control storage space in the Missouri River Reservoir System. Opposition from recreational fishermen froze the bill, but King says he may bring it back to Congress in the future.

Corps officials say the Missouri River study will look at the waterway’s impact from Sioux City to St. Louis, seeking ways to reduce flood risks and improve infrastructure resilience. Corps District Commander Colonel John Hudson says solutions for future flooding go beyond beefing up levees and may include establishing floodways and looking at drainage management.

“We have a similar melt event that we had in this last March, we’ll have similar impacts on the system,” Hudson says. “It was overtopped for four days and we’ll have levees overtopped for four days again. It was all on unregulated tributaries.” Hudson says the study could take three to five years. King asked how many would be in favor of an expedited study and the majority of the people at the meeting raised their hands.

(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)