Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad thinks his state and four others should consider forming a group to seek changes in how the Army Corps of Engineers manages the Missouri

River. Branstad sent a letter in April to governors in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska that outlined his complaint that federal officials place too much importance on recreational needs in upstream stretches of the Missouri. The Associated Press obtained the letter through Iowa’s open records law.

Branstad wrote the letter before spring rain and a huge snow pack prompted the corps to begin months of record releases from its dams that have increased the flood risk downstream. Corps spokeswoman Monique Farmer says officials base their decisions on specific guidelines.

Other governors say they’ll consider Branstad’s idea after the floodwaters recede.

Authorities in Adams County report a Corning man was arrested Wednesday on a Minimus Warrant out of northeast Iowa’s Black Hawk County related to time-served. 55-year old Jack Pembrook Nevius, of Corning,  was taken into custody at around 1:50-p.m. and brought to the Adams County Jail.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office is reporting numerous arrests have been made over the past week. On Monday, 21-year old Cam Christopher Jahnke, of Lewis, was arrested on a charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance. Jahnke was taken to the Cass County Jail where he is being held pending pre-trial release.

Last Sunday, deputies arrested 32-year old Damon John Bucy, of Glenvil, NE, on a Cass County District Court warrant for Failure to Appear. Bucy was taken to the Cass County Jail where he is being held on $5,000 bond. That same say, 23-year old Rachel Marie Huggins and 22-year old Bryceton Lee Flathers, both of Cumberland, were arrested on charges of Public Intox and Interference with Official Acts. The pair were taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that same day on their own recognizance.

On Friday, July 1^st, 27-year old Robbie Troy Metheny, of Anita, turned himself in to authorities on a Cass County Warrant for OWI 1st Offense. Metheny was booked into the Cass County Jail and was released later that day on $1000 bond. That same day, 21-year old Kevin Damien Engles, of Atlantic, was charged with Use of a Person Under 18 in the Drug Trade. Engles remains at the Cass County Jail where he is being held also on charges of Possession with Intent to Deliver and Violation of Drug Tax Stamp. Bond on his prior charges is $5000; bond on the new charge is $10,000.

On June 30th, 26-year old Robin Lee Grieshaber, of Cumberland, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Possession with Intent to Deliver Controlled Substance. Grieshaber was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released the following day on $5,000 bond. And, on June 29^th deputies in Cass County arrested 34-year old Aimee Jo Nicholson, of Des Moines, on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Nicholson was taken to the Cass County Jail where she is being held on $10,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa health official says cases of Lyme disease are on the rise in the state. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection carried and spread by ticks that can result in fever, headache, fatigue and a characteristic “bulls-eye” skin rash. If left untreated, it can spread and damage the joints, the heart and nervous system.

Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, the Iowa Department of Public Health’s medical director, says the disease appears to be far more prevalent in Iowa than it was in the 1980s. In 2000, the state recorded 34 cases. That number jumped to 97 in 2006, and topped 100 cases from 2007 to 2009. Last year, 87 cases were reported across the state.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the offer of a conditional commitment for a $105 million loan guarantee to support the development of the nation’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, to be located in northwest Iowa. Project LIBERTY, sponsored by POET, LLC, will produce up to 25 million gallons of ethanol per year and will be located in Emmetsburg.

POET estimates the project will generate approximately 200 jobs during construction and 40 permanent jobs at the plant. POET estimates the project will also bring approximately $14 million in new revenue to area farmers. Secretary Chu says the project “Will help decrease our dependence on oil, create jobs and aid our transition to clean, renewable energy that is produced here at home. “

Unlike many conventional corn ethanol plants, Project LIBERTY will use corncobs, leaves and husks – sources provided by local farmers – that do not compete with feed grains. The project’s innovative process uses enzymatic hydrolysis to convert waste into ethanol and will produce enough biogas to power both Project LIBERTY and POET’s adjacent grain-based ethanol plant.

Project LIBERTY will displace over 13.5 million gallons of gasoline annually and fulfill more than 25 percent of the projected 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard Requirement for biomass-based cellulosic ethanol. POET plans to replicate their unique process at 27 of their other corn ethanol facilities, which would have a projected combined annual capacity of one billion gallons per year of cellulosic ethanol. The company estimates that 85 percent of Project LIBERTY will be sourced with U.S. content.

w/ Ric Hanson

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A Clarinda Police officer was treated for minor injuries after he was allegedly assaulted at the jail Sunday by a man who was being booked into the Page County Jail. Police Chief Keith Mehlin said the unidentified officer was struck with a closed fist in the left eye region of his head. The officer was treated at the Clarinda Regional Health Center and released.

Twenty-two year old Dakota Jim Smith, of Gravity, was subsequently charged with felony assault on a peace officer. Smith was originally arrested on charges of public intoxication and simple assault, following a disturbance in the parking lot of a Clarinda apartment complex earlier in the day, Sunday.

A judge has sentenced a Shenandoah man to five-years in prison for selling more than $65,000 in Ag products and inventory that was not his. 28-year old Adam Sandahl had pleaded guilty in May, to selling products last year, that belonged to the Coin Seed and Chemical Company. He was arrested in June 2010 following a six-month long investigation by the Page County Sheriff’s Office.

Page County Attorney Jeremy Peterson said Sandahl’s sentence on Monday was suspended, and the man was placed on probation for two-years. In addition, he must pay the Ag seed dealership $65,405 within a period of two-years.

The Iowa Department of Transportation has been using and learning about new types of technology as it fights the flooding along state highways. D-O-T spokesperson, Dena Gray-Fisher says one of the new things they’ve been using is called “Trapbag.” It’s a large bag that is filled with rock and creates a barrier along the road. She says the Trapbag is a variation of the so-called Hesco barriers.

Gray-Fisher says the Trapbags are bags that are already connected together in a line and they move down the road filling them and can create about 400 feet of barrier in an hour. Gray-Fisher says the Trapbags let them put up a lot of barrier in a short amount of time. She says it allows them to be more efficient, and requires less labor, which she says is helpful when you are under time limits. Gray-Fisher says the new technology is used along with the old to find the best protection for roadways.

Gray-Fisher says they still use the traditional sandbags and barrier walls, and they also look at raising the elevation of the pavement. She says they’ve had plenty of practice in recent years in find ways to protect the highways, and they are getting more education from the western Iowa flooding.

For example, she says they’ve learned to use Trapbags in different ways on different roads to get the best results. Gray-Fisher says lessons learned in the past have served them well, but western Iowa also provides some new challenges.

She says this is very different because the flooding started happening in June and will last well into August, causing more seepage and impact from flowing waters than in past floods. Gray-Fisher says there is a lot of debris in the Missouri River and that can cause damage to roadways as well. She says they will have a lot more to learn from examining roadbeds and bridge structures once the Missouri River floodwaters finally recede.

(Radio Iowa)

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones, Wednesday, announced his selection of individuals who will serve on an advisory panel to the Community Development Committee, in formulating a means to implement a fair and balanced Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Policy for the City to follow when it comes to doling out tax incentives to current and prospective business owners who either wish to locate in the community, or expand their operations here.

The advisory panel includes local developer Don Sonntag, the USDA’s Teresa Jorgensen, Greg Williams, Katrina Sonntag, George Howard, and Attorney J-C Van Ginkel. Jones says he had others who were interested in serving on the panel, but he wanted to limit the number to 6. Councilman Kern Miller objected to the selection. Miller said the only people who should be involved in determining with a CDC a TIF policy for the City, is the City Administrator and City Attorney.

Councilman Shaun Shouse, the City’s liaison to the Committee, says the panel will have no authority, implied or otherwise, to establish a TIF policy. It will only offer an opinion on how such a policy should be formulated and implemented.

Miller however continued to voice his objections over the Mayor’s selection to the panel, and insisted it wasn’t need.