DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Congressman Dave Loebsack says he won’t seek re-election when his current term ends. The seven-term Democrat announced Friday he would retire at the end of his term after being elected seven times to represent southeast Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. Loebsack was first elected in 2006, when he beat 15-term Republican Jim Leach in a race still recalled for its civility.

Before being elected to Congress, he was a political science professor at Cornell College in Mount Vernon. Loebsack says he intended to serve no more than 12 years but decided to see re-election after Donald Trump was elected president.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The western Iowa city of Council Bluffs has received a Tree City USA Award — one of 80 Iowa communities to qualify for the status. The award was presented by the Arbor Day Foundation and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources on April 3. To qualify, communities must meet several established standards. They must have a tree ordinance, qualified leadership running the municipal tree program, a minimum of $2 per capita spent on trees annually and a celebration to mark Arbor Day, a holiday first observed in 1872, which celebrates the importance of trees.

State forester Jeff Goerndt says Council Bluffs has set an example for other Iowa communities and demonstrated “the great value of trees in providing multiple benefits for future generations.”

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indianapolis-based company has issued a recall for melon products sold in 16 states after being linked to a salmonella outbreak. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday that the recall includes cut watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe produced by Caito Foods LLC. The fruit has been sold under various brands or labels at Kroger, Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Target and Whole Foods. The affected states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Health officials advise consumers to check packaging to determine if the melon was distributed by Caito Foods, and, if so, not to eat it. They advise stores to pull the products from shelves. Authorities say 93 people have been sickened, 23 of whom were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Salmonella Carrau is described as rare. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines say two people have been arrested and charged with attempted murder after a man with a gunshot wound to his neck was thrown from a car into a parking lot. The Des Moines Register reports that 19-year-old Tyron Cratty and 20 years-old Madalynn Perez, both of Des Moines, were arrested shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday. Besides attempted murder charges, each faces charges of robbery and going armed with intent.

The arrests came after police were called Friday afternoon for a report of a shooting victim lying in the Chapel Ridge Apartment lot. A witness reported seeing people get out of a car and pull someone out of the back seat, dumping him in the lot before speeding off. The victim’s name has not been released.

DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds today received word that additional assistance is now available to public and nonprofit entities in flood-impacted counties.

A disaster declaration issued by President Trump on March 23, 2019, made 56 counties eligible to apply for emergency work and emergency protective measures assistance under the federal Public Assistance Program.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on April 11 announced that 13 of those counties are now eligible to apply for additional assistance for permanent work through the Public Assistance Program, to include the replacement or repair of disaster-damaged facilities such as roads, bridges, and public buildings. The counties included in this latest announcement are: Adair, Boone, Butler, Cass, Emmet, Guthrie, Kossuth, O’Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Tama, Union, and Woodbury counties. Twenty other counties are also eligible for permanent work through the Public Assistance Program: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Crawford, Dallas, Franklin, Fremont, Greene, Harrison, Ida, Jasper, Lyon, Marshall, Mills, Monona, Polk, Pottawattamie, Shelby, Sioux, Winneshiek, and Wright.

Additional counties may be added to the Presidential Disaster Declaration for the Public Assistance Program.

The Presidential Disaster Declaration also made available federal Individual Assistance for five counties, which provides aid to eligible homeowners, renters, and businesses. Residents in Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, and Woodbury counties are eligible to apply for this program, regardless of income.

Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated area can begin applying for assistance by registering online at www.disasterassistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362 or 1-800-462-7585 TTY. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time), seven days a week, until further notice.

For more information visit www.floods2019.iowa.gov.

An Order for Partial Release of Mandatory Evacuation Order was issued today by Pacific Junction Mayor, Andy Young.

An Order for Partial Release of Mandatory Evacuation Order was issued today by the Mills County Board of Supervisors and Mills County Emergency Management. The Partial Release area includes the following unincorporated areas:

The unincorporated areas of Mills County from South 221st Street to 195th Street, then North on 195th Street to the city limits of the City of Pacific Junction along with 210th Street North from South 221st Street to Kelting Avenue and Kelting Avenue from 210th Street to 20813 Kelting Ave.

Timeline for Re-entry: Residents and owners in the above area are allowed to return to their property, as of the date of this Order, during daylight hours to determine the viability of the premises.

Re-entry Routes: 221st Street South to 195th Street then North to the City Limits of Pacific Junction. 221st Street South to 210th Street then North to Kelting Ave

Reason for Release of Mandatory Evacuation Order: Floodwater has subsided sufficiently in the above area and road conditions are satisfactory enough to allow re-entry to the area homes and businesses.

GLENWOOD, Iowa – The Boil Advisory in place for the city of Glenwood for nearly the past month has now been lifted following extensive work and testing to the treatment plant.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources working with Glenwood city officials and Iowa Rural Water Association (IRWA) have collected and analyzed water in the city’s treatment system. Samples collected throughout the community and within all four schools indicate the water is safe to drink. The entire water treatment system has been flushed, as well, lifting the release of the boil advisory for the city of Glenwood.

Please be advised that the boil water advisory remains in effect for the Glenwood Resource Center. The Glenwood Resource Center will begin flushing its system on Monday. The newly produced water will be traced through that system as well. Bacteria samples will be collected within the Glenwood Resource Center once it is confirmed that the water has turned over. When the samples indicate the water is safe, the boil advisory for the Glenwood Resource Center will be lifted.

The DNR is very appreciative of the extremely hard work and dedication demonstrated by the City of Glenwood officials and IRWA during the last four weeks while assisting to get the city’s water treatment system back online after the flooding shut down the plant.

The DNR and city officials also wish to extend appreciation to the residents of Glenwood for their patience and for conserving water during the boil advisory as officials worked diligently to get the system back online.