SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A July trial has been scheduled for a Nebraska resident accused of stabbing to death a woman in Sioux City. Court records show a written plea of not guilty was filed Monday in Woodbury County District Court for 20-year-old Melissa Camargo-Flores, of Dakota City, Nebraska. Her trial is set to begin July 10. The charge: first-degree murder.

She’s accused of stabbing 24-year-old Kenia Alvarez-Flores on April 8. Court documents say Camargo-Flores admitted stabbing Alvarez-Flores and told investigators she’d been involved in a relationship with the victim’s boyfriend. Authorities say the two women were not related.

Police in Harlan report four recent arrests. On Monday, 35-year old Brent Michael Swisher, of Harlan, was arrested following a call of a disturbance in the 1000 block of Cyclone Avenue. He was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with interference with official acts. Last Saturday, 56-year old Dwight Alan Carroll, of Harlan, was cited for driving while suspended following a traffic stop at the intersection of Highway 44 and Maple Rd.

On Friday, 43-year old Darline Jean Bothwell, of Harlan, was arrested following a traffic stop in the 1300 block of College Blvd. She was transported to the Shelby County Jail on an active Plymouth County warrant and charged with driving while suspended and failure to secure financial liability. And, on April 24th, 28-year old Chelsea Rae Hill, of Harlan, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia.

A new study from the University of Iowa takes a closer look at the factors involved in emergency vehicle accidents. Professor Corinne Peek-Asa (Kor-rin Peek-A-suh) co-wrote the study and says they found police vehicles are more likely to be involved in accidents when heading to a call. “For police vehicles, we did find that they have a higher crash risk when they are driving in lights and siren mode. But we didn’t find the same thing for ambulance and fire vehicles. Their crash risk wasn’t higher if they were in emergency mode,” Peek-Asa says.

She says the increased danger for accidents in police vehicles could be attributed to a couple of factors. “One big difference is that sometimes police are actually in pursuit, so they are not going to a scene,” Peek-Asa says. “But also, even their job at a scene is a little different. Police need to get there first and control the scene and make sure there’s no violence going on and that everyone at the scene is safe.” Peek-Asa says ambulances and fire trucks may be more recognizable to motorists as they speed to an emergency. “Most fire vehicles and ambulances, they look different than other cars. Whereas police vehicles have the lights and sirens, but are somewhat similar to the fleet of other vehicles on the road,” according to Peek-Asa.

She says he study shows how important it is for motorists to quickly recognize any type of emergency vehicle and get out of the way. “More often than not the vehicles that crashed with the emergency vehicle had contributing circumstances. More often than the emergency vehicle itself,” she says. Peek-Asa says emergency vehicle drivers have many distractions to deal with and motorists can help. “The most important thing is to –even if it is not in your lane -0- to pull over to the side so you are not a visual distraction to the emergency vehicle,” Peek-Asa says. “Even if it doesn’t seem like you are in the way, it is important for all vehicles on the road to pull over just so the emergency vehicle can see better and understand what movement is going on — they don’t have to worry about which direction you are going.”

There’s also some advice for those driving patrol cars. Peek-Asa says more accidents happen at intersections and in winter weather conditions. She says police should remember to stick with their intersection protocol, knowing that other motorists can often not be aware of what is happening. And she says police are often out helping people in on really bad snowy conditions, and this reinforces the need for police to be cautious in those conditions.

The study looked at crashes involving emergency vehicles in Iowa between 2005 and 2013.

(Radio Iowa)

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, will act on approving an Order for an Engineering Agreement with Snyder and Associates Engineers, for the Bull Creek Tunnel Relining Project. City Administrator John Lund says in 2016, the City issued a bond for $990,000 for “Storm Water Drainage Improvements,” with the debt to be paid from the Storm Water Utility, for a period of 20-years. That was in anticipation of major improvements to Bull Creek. The Army Corps of Engineers stepped-in however, and assumed domain. The Corps also demanded mitigation for the improvements, causing the costs to soar to more than $3.9-million. Lund says since then, the City has spent a considerable amount of money on other Bull Creek-related projects and engineering, leaving around $545,000 of the fund remaining.

One of the projects that remained, was relining of the old storm sewers throughout the downtown area of Atlantic. Lund says the City will be able to completely finish the relining project for an estimated $399,750 from the unused bond money. The remaining $146,000, he says, can either be applied to completing the more than $3.9-million enclosure and relief project, or for a capital improvement reserve for future storm water projects.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council will act on re-appointing Steve Livengood to the Community Promotion Commission, for which he currently serves as Chair. His term expired last year, and Livengood wishes to continue to serve on the Commission. The Council will also set May 16th as the date for a Public Hearing to Amend the FY 2018 Budget. Lund says if the City overspends on any of the nine state-defined budget activities during a particular fiscal year, it is required to pass a budget amendment. It is a routine matter, according to Lund.

The Council will also recognize the Atlantic Police Reserve Unit, which recently was awarded with the Iowa State Reserve Law Officers Association’s Donald H. Mackman Outstanding Unit Award for the second year in a row. It’s also the seventh time Atlantic has won the award. The City’s Reserve Officers include: Bob McHugh; Jeff Hackwell; Jake Karns; Cole Lowary; Ryan Barnholdt; Jarrad Cavin, and Pastel Force. And, the Council will act on an Order to close designated streets on Saturday, May 19th, beginning at 3-p.m., for the Ba-da Ba-da Bing Bang Rally.

The Atlantic City Council meeting begins 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, in their Chambers at City Hall.

Gov. Kim Reynolds today (Tuesday) announced appointments to Iowa’s boards and commissions. The following area appointees are not paid and are not subject to Senate confirmation:

Judicial Nomination Commission, District 4: Kathleen Kohorst, of Harlan, and David Wiederstein, of Atlantic.

Judicial Nomination Commission, District 5A: Marlys Popma, of Kellogg.

Juvenile Justice Advisory Council: Olivia Tidwell, of Sioux City.

Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC): Shawn Shouse, of Atlantic.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 40-year old Kevin Lee Hillgren Jr., of Thayer, was arrested at around 1:30-p.m. Monday at the Clarke County line, on a Union County warrant for assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. Hillgren was later released from the Union County Jail on $2,000 bond. And a man in Lorimor reported to the Sheriff’s Office that sometime during the day on April 3rd, someone broke off the passenger side outside mirror and damaged the windshield of his Suburban. They also broke out a window on his house in Lorimor. There was no immediate dollar estimate of damage available.

The Institute for Supply Management, formerly the Purchasing Management Association, began formally surveying its membership in 1931 to gauge business conditions. The Creighton Economic Forecasting Group uses the same methodology as the national survey to consult supply managers and business leaders. Creighton University economics professor Ernie Goss oversees the report. The overall index ranges between 0 and 100. Growth neutral is 50, and a figure greater than 50 indicates growth in that factor over the next three to six months.

Iowa’s overall index dipped to 63.9 in April, compared with 64.7 in March. Index components were new orders at 69.7, production or sales at 76.8, delivery lead time at 62.4, employment at 47.0 and inventories at 63.4. “Over the past 12 months, the Iowa economy has increased nonfarm jobs by 0.7 percent (below regional average), durable-goods manufacturing jobs by 6.6 percent (above regional average) and nondurable-goods manufacturing jobs by 1.5 percent (above regional average),” he said.