Police in Creston report the arrest at around 9:45-p.m. Monday, of 29-year old Matthew Jay Davis, of Creston. Davis was arrested at Levy/Division on a charge of OWI 1^st ofense. He was released later on a $1,000 bond.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A teacher accused of being drunk at her school in Dubuque has pleaded guilty. Dubuque County court records say 38-year-old Erin Ellerbach, of Asbury, entered the plea last week to a charge of public intoxication. She was ordered to pay $135 in fines and $60 in court costs.

She was taken into custody Dec. 17 at Jefferson Middle School. A Dubuque officer sent to the school reported that she had slurred speech, red and watery eyes and smelled of alcohol. A subsequent test showed she had a blood alcohol level of nearly three times the legal limit for driving. The court records also say school officials found cans of flavored alcoholic beverages in her office.

The district says Ellerbach has resigned her position.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller filed a lawsuit Monday to shut down an alleged puppy-laundering ring. Spokesman Lynn Hicks says the ring sold nearly 13-hundred puppies. “And what puppy laundering is, basically is and effort to obscure the source of dogs and deceive customers about where the puppies are coming from,” Hick says.  He says the pure-bred puppies were sold as rescue animals by non-profit organizations to organizations outside of Iowa. “Especially places like California and Chicago, which have bans on puppy mill dogs,” according to Hicks. “You can’t in those locations, you can’t buy dogs that have come from anywhere else besides animal shelters or rescue groups.”

In addition to California and Illinois, the dogs from Iowa were also sold in Florida and New Jersey. “There is a for-profit breeder based in Britt call J.A.K.’s (Jacks) Puppies. And our lawsuit is alleging that they are essentially serving as the broker, and transferring these dogs through two non-profits — Hobo K-9, and Rescue Pets Iowa — essentially laundering through the non-profits, selling them, and exporting them out-of-state,” Hicks explains.  The lawsuit alleges the puppies were sold from September 2016 to July 2018 for 714-thousand-510 dollars. Hicks says they want the operation stopped. “We’re asking the judge to dissolve the non-profits, number one. We are asking them to put a temporary injunction stopping all the defendants in this case from doing any business or charitable activities involving transferring animals and stopping them altogether form doing deceptive practices. And we’d also like to see some civil penalties,” Hicks says.

He says they are also seeking refunds for those who bought these dogs. “These dogs were sold for, in some cases, a few thousand dollars at pet shops in California and Chicago. They thought they were buying rescue pets — and they actually didn’t know where they were coming from,” Hick says. The individuals names in the lawsuit are: Jolyn K. Noethe of Britt, president of Hobo K-9 as well as co-president, secretary and director of J.A.K.’s Puppies; Kimberly Dolphin of Britt, treasurer of Hobo K-9, as well as co-president, secretary and director of J.A.K.’s Puppies; Megan Peterson of Wesley, a manager with J.A.K.’s Puppies and secretary of Hobo K-9; Russell Kirk of Ottumwa, president, secretary, treasurer and director of Rescue Pets Iowa. Hicks says you should know where the animal you are buying is coming from.

He says it is likely not a rescue animal if they are charging you thousands of dollars. “In some cases these dogs were not spayed or neutered. Those are all red flags that this is probably not a rescue dog. Most rescue organizations charge minimal fees,” Hicks says. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties for up to 40-thousand dollars for each violation.

(Radio Iowa) — “Catastrophic devastation.” That’s how Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds describes the carnage from the second major flood along the Missouri River within a decade. “We’ve got towns that are shut down. We’ve got businesses that have been impacted. We’ve got individuals that are moving. We’ve got hospitals that are being shut down and the water supply,” Reynolds said. “Iowans are hearty and we’re tough and we know how to take care of ourselves, but after several times of this happening, it’s just ‘enough is enough.'”

Reynolds toured flood-impacted areas of southwest Iowa Monday, with stops in Council Bluffs, Glenwood, Pacific Junction and Hamburg. While in Hamburg, Mayor Cathy Crain told Reynolds citizens fought valiantly, but water seeped through barriers and swamped all but the northern portion of the community.”We had to give up the fight. We’ve never done it before,” Crain says. “We go back from us to our father’s generation to our grandfather’s generation and we never gave it up, but had to today.” Flooding not only knocked out the city’s water plant, but also Hamburg’s City Hall, fire station and almost all the businesses in the community. The mayor says virtually all the equipment the city owned is gone.  “We lost everything. We have no equipment…We don’t even have a lawmower, but look like leather. O.K.? We’re tough. We’re going to be able to do this,” she said. “We have two pickups left and a skid loader.”

Governor Reynolds met with officials from Hamburg and Fremont County inside an elementary school that’s now serving as a temporary city hall. Reynolds also got updates on other communities such as Percival, where floodwaters entered the community Monday afternoon. She also heard concerns about how this latest flooding incident will impact the local farming community. Fremont County Supervisor Dustin Sheldon says many residents were still recovering from the floods of 2011. “You’re going to lose a lot of farmers financially because they can’t recover from this. They’ve mortgaged farms, just now kind of getting back to where you can make a living again and here it happens again,” Sheldon said. “What do we do?”

Sheldon and other officials say it’s time for federal flood control policies to change. Others expressed anger that federal officials forced the city to remove fortifications to a levee which helped protect Hamburg during the 2011 flooding. The governor says she intends to review that levee issue. “To build something and then have them tell you, ‘You have to tear it down’ — I mean just the frustration. There seems to be no common sense,” Reynolds says. “There seems to be bureaucracy and red tape.”

Reynolds says the state will come up with a plan to rebuild and recover. “We’ve got farmland that’s been impacted. We’ve got bridges that we have to replace. We’ve got secondary road system all across this state that’s being impacted by the flooding,” Reynolds says. “…We’ve got a long road ahead.”

Interstate 29 has been closed in southwest Iowa due to flooding. Rivers in other parts of the state are elevated and ice jams have been reported in places like the Cedar Rivers in Cedar Falls and the Iowa River in Iowa Falls. There were sandbagging efforts in Iowa Falls Monday to protect the city’s water supply.

A regular meeting of the Atlantic City Council will be held 5:30-p.m. Wednesday (March 20), at City Hall. On their agenda is recognition of the Atlantic High School State Speech and State Wrestling teams.

The Council will also act on an Order accepting an amendment for the Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) Grant, a Resolution for which was approved in July 2017, and is between the State of Iowa’s Enhance Iowa Board and City Council. The Grant for  $175,000 is for ongoing park development at the Schildberg Recreation Area and Campground. The agreement requires all grant purchases be completed by April 31, 2019. Work still remains on the project that should be complete before the end of the Summer. Former Parks and Rec Director Seth Staashelm was able to obtain an extension from the Board to complete the project by no later that Nov. 30, 2019. The Council must formally amend the agreement at the request of the State.

There will also be a Public Hearing during the Council’s meeting, with regard to “Vacating and Conveying a portion of an alley east of 708 W. 10th Street, as part of efforts by the City to “Clean up the plat map,” according to City Administrator/Zoning Administrator John Lund, who recommends the Council approve the plan as proposed. The hearing will be followed by the first reading of an Ordinance to that effect.

The final order of business for the Council, prior to regular reports, is for them to approve the Mayor’s request to re-appointment: Joyce Jensen to the Board of Adjustment; Judd Meneely to the AMU Board, and Jennifer Miller to the Planning and Zoning Commission. The latter two have terms expiring April 1, 2019. Jensen’s term expired in February.

Police in western Iowa are looking for a Nebraska man suspected of robbing a convenience store in Council Bluffs. Bluffs Police report the suspect, 28-year old Ryan Ross, of Bellevue, NE., entered the Kwik Shop at 3632 Ave G at around 2:25-a.m.,, and demanded money from the cashier. After the clerk handed the suspect an undetermined amount of cash, the suspect fled the scene in his vehicle.

Robbery suspect Ryan Ross

Video surveillance was able to get the vehicles license plate information. The suspect (Ross) was driving a 2018 Red Toyota with Texas license number KBX6564. If you see the him, or the vehicle, please contact the Council Bluffs Police Department at 712-328-5737 or contact Crime Stoppers at 712-328-STOP (7867). Do not approach Ross, as he is considered to be armed and dangerous.