(Radio Iowa) — A former Belmond resident will serve three years on federal probation for possessing stolen mail from his wife’s postal route.  Fifty-year-old Timothy VanZweden of Clarion pleaded guilty to one count of possession of stolen mail. In the plea agreement, he admitted that while living with his wife in Belmond in 2017 he had thrown out a large trash bag that contained mail. Officers used a search warrant and found five letters taken from the wife’s mail route in the garbage, and a counterfeit key used to unlock mail holders.

VanZweden also admitted to burglarizing two homes on his wife’s mail route. He said the homeowners were “beautiful people” for whom everything in life came easily — and one of the women was snotty to him and looked down on him.

(Radio Iowa) — Eight Democrats in the Iowa House and an attorney from Cedar Rapids are filing a lawsuit, seeking to block changes in the commission that nominates candidates for openings on the Iowa Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Representative Brian Meyer, a Democrat from Des Moines who’s joined the lawsuit, says they’re arguing the changes are unconstitutional because the plan was included in a bill with a wide range of other topics. “It’s a provision in the constitution that prohibits log-rolling, which is having multiple subjects in one bill,” Meyer says. “This was a very controversial issue…and it was slammed through at the last minute.”

Governor Kim Reynolds approved the plan last week and has already used her new authority to appoint another member to the Judicial Nominating Commission. Meyer says the group is initially seeking an injunction to prevent the man Reynolds appointed to the commission from joining it. “This was done backroom deal, last minute, as part of a massive bill…but this was such an important subject that it should have had lots of public discussion and lots of input from the public,” Meyer said.

Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison, led the House effort to come up with the final plan that won approval from the Republican majority. “it’s not a surprise that they’re making what I consider to be a desperate attempt because they know full well that what we did was constitutional,” Holt says, “so instead of going after it legally on the merits of what we did, they’re going after it based on where we passed the legislation.”

Last week, Governor Reynolds said the changes to the Judicial Nominating Commission “give all Iowans a greater voice in the process.” The lawsuit filed by eight Democrats in the Iowa House also challenges a section of the plan that changes the term for the chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court — arguing that violates the separation of powers between the three branches of state government.

(Radio Iowa) — A special investigation by the state auditor’s office has identified nearly 75-thousand dollars worth of improper transactions by the former city clerk in the small northwest Iowa town of Westfield. The investigation was sparked by concerns about former Westfield City Clerk Angela Sorensen. Sorensen claimed the city’s financial records were destroyed in a fire at city hall that started on the edge of her desk and more recent records were lost due to a computer virus. Auditors, though, were able to review about four-and-a-half years worth of records and identified nearly 40-thousand dollars of utility payments to the city that were never deposited.

Sorenson was overpaid by more than 13-thousand dollars during the four-and-a-half year period and Sorenson wrote herself about 43-hundred dollars worth of unauthorized checks, plus another three-thousand dollars worth of checks were redeemed for cash.  Copies of the auditor’s report have been forwarded to the Plymouth County Sheriff and County Attorney as well as the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the state attorney general. Westfield is a community of about 130 residents. No other city in the state is located further west than Westfield.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Communities that were flooded when levees failed along the Missouri River earlier this spring will likely remain exposed to high water for months to come, leaving displaced residents wondering when — or if — they will be able to return and rebuild their homes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — the federal agency that regulates flood control along the waterway — has been assessing the levees that were crippled in March when heavy rain and snow melt caused the river and its tributaries to overflow in Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas. But repairs have been hindered by the extent of the damage and lingering floodwaters.

In this May 10, 2019 photo, flood waters from the Missouri River cover fields north of Hamburg, Iowa. The communities that flooded this spring after levees failed along the Missouri River will likely remain exposed to flooding for at least several more months. More than 40 levees were damaged but only a handful of construction contracts to fix them have been issued. Two of those are for repairs to levees near Hamburg, Iowa, but even the initial repairs won’t be done until after the spring rainy season. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

The flooding that caused an estimated $3 billion in damage in the Midwest forced 94-year-old Ardis Rogers from her farm near the small community of Percival in southwest Iowa. She said she’s heard from people who flew over her home that it appears dry but that the roads leading to the property remain flooded. “I haven’t a clue of when I can go home, and there’s no place like home,” said Rogers, who has been staying with friends in Hamburg. “We’re dependent on the levees, and we’re dependent on the Corps of Engineers.”

Only a handful of the more than 40 construction contracts needed to fix the damaged Missouri River levees have been issued. Sherri Bowen, spokeswoman for Mills County, whose hometown of Glenwood sits behind a broken levee, said “Until those levees get back up to regular height, we won’t feel secure. It’s very stressful.” Even the quickest repairs — plugging holes in two levees near Hamburg and Percival, Iowa — won’t be completed until the spring rainy season is over. Lowell Blankers, who oversees levee repairs in Iowa and Nebraska for the Corps, said
“We’re working hard to get that initial level of protection in place.” But completing the repairs will be difficult.

Jud Kneuvean, emergency manager with the Kansas City district of the Army Corps of Engineers, said “We have been hampered by poor conditions.” Often after floods, officials are able to drive along the levees to assess the damage, but that hasn’t been an option this spring in many places where floodwaters surged over the top. The Corps is relying more heavily than ever on watercrafts and helicopters to find out what is going on. Even in Hamburg, where repair work is underway, some of the still-flooded job sites can’t be accessed without a boat.

Once the damage surveys are completed, the Corps will review which levees were the most effective in protecting populations and the most critical infrastructure. That helps determine which repair projects come first. The federal government will pay for all of the repairs to levees in the federal system and 80% of the cost to repair levees owned by cities or agricultural groups. Mike Crecelius, emergency manager for Fremont County, which includes Hamburg, said “Until the levees are repaired, any heavy rain will threaten Missouri River communities with more flooding. It’s going to be a long, treacherous summer for us.”

The dragging levee repairs make it hard for people to decide when or if to rebuild their homes and businesses. Only six of the 32 businesses in Hamburg have reopened since the floods, and residents are still boiling water. Hamburg Mayor Cathy Crain said “Right now we’re not alarmed. But we have to get through May and June.”

(ANAMOSA) – The Iowa Department of Corrections reports a man being incarcerated on robbery charges died Tuesday night, as the result of an apparent suicide. 52-year old Calvin Pearson was pronounced dead due at 8:03-p.m., at the Jones Regional Medical Center where he had been taken.

Pearson had been incarcerated at the Anamosa State Penitentiary for two convictions of Robbery- 2nd Degree from Johnson County. His incarceration began on November 2, 2010.

The department conducts an investigation into all inmate suicides, and an autopsy will be conducted.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests took place Tuesday night. At around 8-p.m., deputies arrested Erin Purcell, of Corning, for a Violation of a No Contact Order. Purcell posted bond and was released.

And, at around 10:50-p.m., Tuesday, Adams County Deputies arrested Delson Grantham, of Fontanelle, on an Adams County warrant for Probation Violation. Grantham was being held without bond until seen by the magistrate.