Officials with the Missouri DOT said Tuesday, the Interstate 29 closure has been extended further south to the U.S. 71 intersection north of St. Joseph, MO (mile marker 57) due to flooding. Previously, I-29 had been closed at Rock Port, MO (mile marker 110).

Interstate closures include:

• I-680 in both directions between the Nebraska border and I-29 near Crescent (Mormon Bridge).
• The North portion of I-680 between I-80 and I-29 remains open for northbound traffic.
• I-29 in both directions between the I-680 interchange (near Loveland) and North 25th Street in Council Bluffs.
• Northbound I-29 between U.S. 71 in Missouri (north of St. Joseph, MO) and the Iowa 92/U.S. 275 interchange (in Council Bluffs).
• The I-29/U.S. 34/ U.S. 275 interchange (exit 34 near Pacific Junction) has also been closed.
• Southbound I-29 between the I-80 interchange in Iowa (near Council Bluffs) and U.S. 71 in Missouri (north of St. Joseph, MO)

Local traffic is urged to check www.511ia.org for current flood-related closures and detour routes. Interstate 29 travelers are being detoured using the following route:

• Northbound I-29 traffic is being detoured at I-35 in Kansas City, MO where travelers will continue north on I-35 into Iowa. From Des Moines, travelers will drive west on I-80 and continue onto I-680 to connect back with northbound I-29 in Iowa.
• Southbound I-29 traffic will be detoured at Loveland onto eastbound I-680 where travelers will continue on to eastbound I-80 to Des Moines. From Des Moines, travelers will head south on I-35 into Missouri where travelers can connect with I-29 in Kansas City, MO.

Travelers should be aware that westbound I-680 on the detour route in Iowa is reduced to one lane due to damage from previous flood waters.

Click on the map to enlarge the image

AMES, IOWA – Iowans submitted nominations between February 11 – March 11 to kick off the quest to find the best burger in Iowa. Nominations were accepted online by the Iowa Beef Industry Council and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association. The number of votes each restaurant received determined the 2019 Top Ten restaurants. The restaurants making the Top Ten list (in alphabetical order) include:

• Ankeny Diner, Ankeny *
• Dotzy’s Restaurant and Saloon, Elgin
• Landmark Restaurant, Williamsburg
• Morgan’s Corner Bar & Grill, Ottumwa *
• Rides Bar & Grill, Fort Dodge *
• Robin’s Nest Café and Bakery, Clarinda *
• Saucy Focaccia, Cedar Rapids *
• The IowaStater Restaurant, Ames *
• The Twisted Tail Steakhouse & Saloon, Logan (Beebeetown) *
• and Wood Iron Grille, Oskaloosa.

Seven of the contestants have returned to the Top 10 list from previous nominations over the past few years, including the Robin’s Nest Cafe/Bakery in Clarinda, and The Twisted Tail in the Logan/Beebeetown area. (* indicates returning contestant)

To qualify, the burger must be a 100% beef patty or patties, although other ingredients may be added such as spices, and served on a bun or bread product. Burgers may include any combination of condiments, sauces, cheese or toppings.

The quest for the winner of the Iowa’s Best Burger will now begin. All Top Ten restaurants will be visited by a panel of anonymous judges who will evaluate the burgers based on taste, appearance, and proper doneness (160 degrees Fahrenheit). The judges’ scores and comments will be accumulated and the winner will be crowned on May 1.

To learn more about the contest and the Top Ten restaurants, including addresses and hours, visit www.iabeef.org. Last year, Café Beaudelaire of Ames took home the title of the 2018 Iowa’s Best Burger.

The Mills County Board of Supervisors and Mills County Emergency Managment have issued a partial release of mandatory evacuation order. The partial release area includes the unincorporated areas from Mills County/Pottawattamie County line south to Allis Road between the West face of the Loess Hills to the East and Missouri River to the West.

Residents in the area outlined may return to their homes. Residents are asked to contact 712-527-9699 if they need volunteers to assist.

Police in Council Bluffs say the suspect in a convenience store robbery that took place early this (Tuesday) morning, was apprehended without incident a little after 2-p.m. today (Tuesday). 28-year old Ryan Ross, of Bellevue, NE., was taken into custody at a residence in the 600 block of South 1st Street. Ross was arrested on a warrant for Robbery in the 3rd degree.

Earlier, authorities said Ross entered the Kwik Shop at 3632 Ave G at around 2:25-a.m., and demanded money from the cashier. After the clerk handed him an undetermined amount of cash, Ross fled the scene in his vehicle.

Robbery suspect Ryan Ross

Video surveillance was able to get the vehicles license plate information.

Mills County Emergency Management officials said today (Tuesday), that Glenwood Municipal Utilities (GMU) has issued a BOIL ORDER (effective 1:30-p.m. today) until further notice. The Order is in response to an electrical outage at the Glenwood Water Treatment Facility. GMU says it will be adding water to their system to assure ongoing availability for their customers. In the meantime, water meant for consumption should be boiled first, and then cooled.

The water is safe to use for bathing and household activities. Officials stress “Conservation of water is still required.” Drinking water is available at no cost, and can be picked up at  the Glenwood City Hall. Anyone with questions should contact GMU at 712-527-4868.

(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds says “a perfect storm” of weather conditions in the region has caused the catastrophic flooding along the Missouri River corridor. “It has compromised every single levee from Council Bluffs all the way down to the Missouri border,” Reynolds says. Reynolds briefed statehouse reporters this (Tuesday) morning after touring flooded communities in northwest and southwest Iowa over the past two days. “Make no mistake,” Reynolds said. “They are and we are still in the fight.”

Reynolds flew over parts of the Missouri River corridor yesterday. “It’s hard to really describe the devastation that we witnessed,” Reynolds says. “It looked like an ocean and I mean I saw the top of grain bins. We saw buildings flooding. I mean, it’s just unbelievable and you know that’s people’s lives. Those are fifth-generation farms. Those are businesses, communities.” Reynolds has asked for the early release of federal funds to rebuild flood-damaged roads. She’s also talked with the U.S. Ag Secretary to discuss what options farmers may have if stored corn and soybeans have been flooded — as that grain is uninsured.

“All of our bins and elevators are full of grain. This is typically the time they start to move it, so tremendous loss there as well as livestock,” Reynolds says. Some livestock confinements have been flooded, so officials are discussing how to properly dispose of the animals. Reynolds has declared 41 of Iowa’s 99 counties disaster areas and she warns as Minnesota goes through the thaw cycle, other rivers — especially the Mississippi — are going to rise. “As we prepare ourselves for the spring thaw and the rains that are going to come, we need to just recognize that, you know, we’re just getting started,” Reynolds said. “We’re in this for the long haul.”

Reynolds says she has “no doubt” western Iowa areas that have been hard hit by flooding will be declared a FEDERAL disaster area. The governor’s emergency management director says the state has likely qualified for federal disaster assistance for damage to government-owned facilities, including roads and bridges. Assessments of damage to individual property owners can’t be made until the flood waters recede — and those assessments will determine if individual Iowans will get disaster assistance as well. “We want to see what we can do to expedite the funding to make sure we can get that in place and start to alleviate some of the concerns and questions that communities and farmers and Iowans have all across the state,” Reynolds said. State officials are providing some immediate paperwork relief to small businesses in the affected areas. Businesses are being given a 30-day extension to file sales, use and income tax withholding.

Floodwaters are washing away roads, making some communities unreachable and forcing drivers to make time-consuming detours in parts of the Midwest. Flooding has closed more than 100 roads in Missouri. And 70 miles of Interstate 29 is closed from St. Joseph to the Iowa border, complicating efforts to access the Cooper Nuclear Station along the Missouri River in Nebraska.

This satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe shows from top, Pacific Junction, Iowa on Aug. 10, 2018 before flooding and Pacific Junction during flooding on March 18, 2019. (DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company, via AP) – CLICK on the image to enlarge.

Some plant workers travel from Atchison County, Missouri, where a levee breach grew larger overnight. The county’s emergency management says so many roads are closed in the region that residents are traveling more than 100 miles out of their way to get to the plant. The flooding is due to melting snow and heavy rains that hit the region last week.

The Atlantic Police Department reports three arrests took place, Monday. 39-year old Melissa Wheeler, of Atlantic, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Meth. 51-year old Michael Clason, of Marne, was arrested for Public Intoxication, and, 52-year old Sharon Aupperle, of Adair, was arrested by Atlantic Police on a Cass County warrant charging her with two counts of Tampering with a Witness or Juror.

All three subjects were booked into the Cass County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) — Leaders of water-inundated towns in southwest Iowa are blaming the U-S Army Corps of Engineers for blundering decisions that may have contributed to the region’s widespread flooding. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he “absolutely” will call for an inquiry into the Corps’ actions, like ordering the town of Hamburg to remove reinforcements from a levee which protected the town in the 2011 floods. “When a town was trying to help themselves and then have to take protection down and then get flooded like they have now, where it’s probably worse than it was in 2011,” Grassley says, “we have to have a complete review of the manual that governs all that.”

The Corps is also being criticized for having radically boosted releases recently from Gavins Point Dam upriver on the Missouri River and for now vowing to cut back the flow when the damage is already done. Critics say it’s far too little, too late. “Now that this flooding is taking place, to have the Corps say that some of the dams, that they’re going to shut down releases right now as the flooding is happening, not being on top of it ahead of time, trying to anticipate things,” Grassley says. “It’s ridiculous.”

Defenders of the Corps’ actions say it was the perfect storm of conditions that brought the unstoppable flooding, with frozen soil, a deep snowpack that melted quickly, and heavy rain showers. Grassley disagrees and says the Corps’ should have known better. “Anticipating weather ahead of time, they just didn’t take that into consideration,” Grassley says. “The tremendous rain and storms they recently had in Nebraska is a perfect example of being out in front of it instead of always being behind the curve.”

Grassley says the Corps’ river management priority list includes several elements, like maintaining water levels for commercial and recreational boating, when he says the number-one concern should be flood prevention.