(Radio Iowa) — People in southwest Iowa are preparing for more flooding as recent heavy rains and rising river levels could push even more water beyond now-useless flood barriers. There’s a 12-hundred-foot breach on a levee south of Highway-34 in Mills County . Fixing it is a priority of the U-S Army Corps of Engineers but that could take until mid-June.

Mills County spokesperson, Sheri Bowen, says that’s one reason the county is being proactive-recommending that some areas prepare to evacuate as the Missouri River is projected to rise again. Bowen says the few people that had moved back into their homes in these areas since the March flooding have heeded the warning.

“We’re estimating around 5 families that were actively living in their properties and those families are no longer residing there temporarily,” Bowen says. She adds officials are closely watching Missouri River levels, since the county currently has no levee protection. “We wanted people who live west of the interstate there between the river to be very watchful and to be sure they were aware of the rising water and not caught by surprise, Bowen says. Bowen says most families in the areas had not yet returned to homes severely damaged from March flooding.

(CORALVILLE) – Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Corrections report a staff member was assaulted by an inmate at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville, at approximately 8:45 a.m. today (Wednesday).

A member of the support staff was talking with an inmate in her office when the inmate unexpectedly began to physically assault her. She used personal safety defensive tactics to keep the attacking inmate at bay, and additional staff members arrived to restrain the inmate.  The incident lasted less than twenty seconds.

The staff member was assessed by institution medical professionals and found to have suffered minor scratches and soreness.  The incident remains under investigation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Disappointed in Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ veto of a bill that would have expanded Iowa’s medical marijuana program, two Democratic lawmakers are calling for a special session of the Legislature to override the veto.

Sen. Joe Bolkcom and Rep. John Forbes called Wednesday for the special session, but that’s unlikely because it would require a request by two-thirds of lawmakers in the House and Senate. Republicans control both chambers.

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer says a special session is “ill-advised” since it’s unclear whether there’s enough support to override a veto. She supports Reynolds’ request for a new compromise bill next year.

Bolkcom and Forbes say Reynolds is wrong when she argues the bill she vetoed allowed too much THC, the chemical that produces a high. Forbes, a pharmacist, says a lower THC limit supported by Reynolds wouldn’t help those who rely on capsules, oils and creams infused with a marijuana derivative to treat conditions like pain, nausea and lack of appetite.

Red Oak Police have arrested a man from SE Iowa on a Theft charge. 44-year old Anthony Deon Gregory, of Keokuk, was arrested at around 11:30-a.m. Wednesday (today), on a Red Oak P-D warrant for Theft in the 4th Degree, and Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. Gregory was taken into custody in Fountain Square Park and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $2,000.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum announced today (Wednesday), 61-year old Leonard David Capp, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge John A Jarvey for prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Capp was sentenced to 46 months in prison, to be followed by a term of supervised release of two years.

According to court documents, on August 13, 2018, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding shots fired at Capp’s residence. Witnesses told deputies Capp fired a shot into the ground at his son’s feet. Neither Capp nor his son were at the residence when deputies arrived.

Knowing Capp was a prior convicted felon and not permitted to have firearms, deputies obtained a search warrant for his residence. Deputies executed the search warrant on August 22, 2018, and located two loaded firearms in Capp’s home, as well as additional ammunition. At the time of his arrest, Capp was in possession of a small amount of marijuana and methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by Taylor County Sheriff’s Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Veterans groups around Northeast Iowa are struggling to provide honor guards for veterans’ funeral services because of decreasing membership. Oftentimes, veteran service organizations provide honor guards when reserve units can’t because of the lack of active duty bases in the area. A reserve unit may send two members to fold the flag for the family, but a local service organization will provide the rifle salute and pallbearers for a full military detail. Even the Patriot Guard, an organization that holds a flag line at funerals and escorts remains to cemeteries, is struggling with declining membership.

Kevin Dill, formerly Black Hawk County Veterans Affairs executive director, knows about the need. “When I was the VA director I would get calls all the time, ‘Hey dad died, grandpa died, how do we get an honor guard detail at the funeral?’ I would always tell them to call the funeral home,” Dill told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. “I didn’t realize until once I was out here talking to these guys there’s going to be a time when the funeral home will have nobody to call, because the average age of honor guard members is in their 70s and 80s.”
Many service organizations don’t have the money to staff honor guards either, Dill said. He wants to reach out to veterans who have a service-connected disability or are retired to help when they can.

“Otherwise there’s going to be a day that’s going to come when these guys who pass away, who deserve that honor — they’ve earned it — are not going to be able to have it because the guys that are doing it now are going to get too old or they’re going pass away,” Dill said. “That honor may not happen sometime down the road because we as a community and the younger veterans have forgotten.” Dill predicts in 10 years there won’t be enough people around to perform honor guards properly.

“The same thing is happening to our numbers,” said Tim Houts, Patriot Guard ride captain. “We have about five or six in Northeast Iowa that come, that includes Waterloo and Cedar Falls.”
Houts said sometimes he won’t know if anyone is going to show up for a funeral. “We’ve been down to four, to three for a funeral, and that’s tough. Especially in winter when people don’t want to go outside,” Houts said.

People can donate their time or money to help with honor guards in the Cedar Valley. The Cedar Falls AMVETS has an honor guard, and many other veteran service organizations do also. “It’s a problem all over,” said Marvin Mattfeld of Cedar Falls AMVETS. “A lot of younger guys don’t want to become members of a veteran service organization.” The Cedar Falls AMVETS does 60 to 70 funerals a year. There are 21 AMVETS members who take part in funeral honor guards. “These guys, they’re in their 70s and 80s,” Dill said. The youngest are in their 60s.

Anyone who wants to get involved or donate can contact Dill at (309) 738-8684 to donate or get involved with any veteran service post. To get involved with the Patriot Guard, visit patriotguard.org and sign up. The only requirement is a want to help and respect for the American flag, Hout said.

MARION, Iowa (AP) — The Marion school district in eastern Iowa has settled another lawsuit with a family who alleged their child was sexually abused by a 15-year-old classroom volunteer.
Television station KCRG reports that the Marion Independent School District will pay $619,000 to the family, which was the fifth of six families to sue the district over abuse of kindergartners. The district has so far agreed to pay a total of more than $3.3 million to victims’ families.

The 15-year-old boy was convicted of sexual abuse in 2016. The kindergarten teacher who oversaw the class was acquitted in 2018 of failing to report sex abuse allegations. Prosecutors had said two students at Starry Elementary told the teacher in 2016 that they were being abused by the volunteer and that she failed to report it.