w/ News Director Ric Hanson

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GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says federal budget problems make extra aid to flooded-out Iowa and Nebraska farmers unlikely. At a meeting with farmers and others Thursday in Glenwood, Iowa, Vilsack says proposed budget cuts for his department make chances slim that more money would be given to disaster or insurance programs. Vilsack is scheduled to hold a similar meeting in South Sioux City, Neb., today (Friday).

The Iowa Farm Bureau estimates that up to 150,000 acres of cropland will be flooded and crops drowned by floodwater from the Missouri River.

The Iowa State Patrol reports no one was injured during a two-vehicle collision Thursday, in Page County. The accident happened at Noon, in Clarinda.

Officials say a vehicle driven by 30-year old Joseph Sitzman, of Osceola, was making a left turn into the Casey’s General Store entrance off of northbound South 16^th Street, when 49-year old Rhonda Key, of Clarinda, failed to yield the right of way, and ran into Sitzman’s vehicle.

Both drivers were wearing their seatbelts. Damage from the collision amounted to $4,000. The trooper cited Key for Failure to Yield upon entering a through highway.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Truckers and trucking companies are paying a price for the flood-related closures along  Interstate 29, in Iowa.  The president of the Iowa Motor Truck Association told The Des Moines Register that I-29 is a major corridor for trucks. Association president Brenda Neville says there is a tremendous cost to take the highway detours, “and while some of the costs can be passed on to the shipper, that doesn’t always happen.”

Flooding on the Missouri River has closed a 20-mile stretch between Council Bluffs and the Missouri Valley area and a 22-mile section from Iowa Highway 2 south to U.S. Highway 136 at Rock Port, Mo.

Two stretches of Interstate 680 in Pottawattamie County are also closed, including the Mormon Bridge over the Missouri River into Nebraska.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker is asking persons who normally travel Old Lincoln Highway for recreational purposes, to refrain from doing so for the time being, due to increased traffic being diverted from Interstate 29. Danker’s request followed a community meeting Thursday afternoon in Crescent.

Old Lincoln Highway has long been a popular route for bicyclists, pedestrians and recreational vehicles, because of the way it winds through the Loess Hills. Unfortunately, he says, it also has a 50-mph speed limit, and curvy roads, which limits the number of areas where vehicles can safely pass.

Pott County Emergency Manager Jeff Theulen also attended Thursday’s meeting. He said many citizens in the Crescent area voiced their concerns about some close calls that have taken place since I-29 was closed and traffic significantly increased on to Old Lincoln Highway.

Both men said the flood impacts everyone, and they asked citizens to voluntarily avoid using the road until the closures are discontinued. Danker says when highways begin to open, they will welcome back all recreational users to the scenic Loess Hills route. The Sheriff thanks everyone in advance, for your understanding of the situation, and your cooperation.

A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered to anyone who can provide information leading to an arrest associated with last Sunday’s railroad switch box tampering incident, near Menlo. That word came Thursday afternoon from officials with the Iowa Interstate Railroad (IRR).

Early Sunday morning, a train crew passing through the area discovered a switch box had been broken into about a quarter mile west of Menlo. A second train on its way to the area was ordered to stop short of Menlo until the incident could be investigated, and all traffic on the rail was shut down for about eight-hours.

IRR officials say if the first alert train crew hadn’t made the discovery as quickly as it did, a train coming through would have derailed, resulted in a fire, the death of the train‘s crew, and a potential hazard to the nearby community.

The FBI is assisting the Iowa State Patrol and the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Department in the investigation, but authorities say they do not believe the tampering to be a terrorist threat. Neighbors believe more than one person was responsible for breaking into the switch box.

If you have information about the incident that may help authorities, call (319)-298-5405 or e-mail to MenloReward@IASRR.com.

Special crisis counseling teams from the Iowa Department of Human Services are now working the flood zone areas of western Iowa. Mental Health specialist Karen Hyatt says their initial appearance created some mini crises of their own.  Hyatt says the teams are wearing red shirts that say: “Disaster Behavioral Health Response Team.” She says police and other officials were getting calls to ask if the team members were legitimate. Hyatt says they are in the area to help people deal with the stress of the situation.

She says the teams are going door-to-door and letting people in high-risk areas know the three levels of threat are so the people know when to evacuate, what to bring with them, where the buses will be, and other important information. Hyatt says the emotional toll of the flooding can be as trying as the physical aspect of moving items out of the way or building levees. And the response team works with people to help them deal with that emotional issues.

Wyatt ways they’re finding people who have been through numerous flood events before and are anxious about that. The crisis team can provide on site counseling to them if they need it, or refer them to community services. Wyatt says the physiological impact of flooding often doesn’t get enough attention.  “It’s one of the areas I think that goes unlooked at,” Wyatt says, “but what we’re hearing all up and down the western side of the state is that people are experiencing a lot of stress .” She says people are either in pre-flood staging, they’re getting ready for it and are asking “is it going to happen is it not, should I leave, shouldn’t I” and she says you add in concerns about the economy and there are all kinds of concern.

Crisis counseling teams have been active in Blencoe and Council Bluffs. They’ve also been invited to Hamburg, where many residents are expressing anxiety about the rising water.

(Dar Danielson/Radio Iowa)

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Airport officials in Lincoln, NE are working on a contingency plan just in case the airport in Omaha is flooded by the Missouri River. Lincoln Airport Executive Director John Wood said Thursday, that the airport is working on a worst-case scenario in case Eppley Airfield in Omaha has to close. Wood says if that happens, flights will likely be diverted to Lincoln and Des Moines. Omaha Airport Authority Director Steve Coufal says the airport is not considering closing.

Eppley is surrounded on three sides by the Missouri River and is protected by levees tall enough to withstand a flood stage of up to 42 feet. The river is expected to crest in Omaha at 36 feet and stay above flood stage for months.

Three non-injury accidents were investigated in Harlan over the past couple of weeks. Police in Harlan report the most recent accident happened June 10^th, at 6^th and Laurel Streets. Officials say Megan Behrendt was cited for failure to yield, after her vehicle struck a vehicle driven by Marcus Burmeister. Both drivers are from Harlan. The accident caused a total of $6,700 damage.

On June 5^th, Derek Monson, of Harlan, was cited for striking an unattended vehicle in the 500 block of Durant Street. The damage to Monson’s car, and a vehicle registered to Mark Greve, of Harlan, was estimated at $3,700 altogether.

And, on June 2^nd, Malerie Scheffler, of Harlan, was cited for failure to maintain control, after police investigated an accident at 4^th and Main Streets, where a bridge railing was destroyed.

A Red Oak woman was arrested Thursday evening following a traffic stop at 2^nd and Oak Streets, in Red Oak. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s office says 32-year old Becky Jo Hegarty faces charges of Littering, Driving While Barred, and Possession of Marijuana.

Hegarty was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $2,000 bond.