The Audubon County Sheriff’s Department reports two, minor injury accidents occurred Tuesday within the county. The first happened at around 4:30-p.m., at the intersection of Highways 71 and 44, in Hamlin. Officials say 58-year old Stephen Robert Miller, of Audubon, who was driving a 2011 Chevy, turned in front of a 2006 GMC, driven by 46-year old Norma Jean Weitzel, of Sac City, as Weitzel was traveling south on Highway 71, and Miller was traveling east on 44.

After the vehicles collided, Weitzel was transported to the Audubon County Memorial Hospital, for treatment of minor injuries. Damage from the crash, which remains under investigation, amounted to $8,000.

The second accident happened on Highway 44, just east of Hamlin, at around 6-p.m, Tuesday. Officials say 20-year old Tiffany Marie Ward, of Audubon, was traveling east when she fell asleep at the wheel. When her 1994 Oldsmobile e ran off onto the shoulder of the road, Ward overcorrected, sending the car sideways into the south ditch, where it hit a field drive. The impact knocked-off the back tire. Her vehicle continued over the field drive before coming to rest on its wheels.

Ward was also transported to the Audubon County Hospital and treated for minor injuries. She was later cited for Failure to Maintain Control. Damage from the crash amounted to $2,000.

Two Atlantic residents were arrested Tuesday on theft charges. 56-year old Sara Gustafson was arrested by Atlantic Police, on warrants for 1^st Degree Theft and Forgery. And, 18-year old Carey Klindt, of Atlantic, was arrested on a charge of shoplifting.

Both women were brought to the Cass County Jail and held pending a court appearance.

w/ Ric Hanson

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A Clarinda teen had a bad driving day, Tuesday. Officials says 17-year old Tianna Martin, of Clarinda, suffered minor, possible injuries, after the car she was driving rear-ended a mini-van north of College Springs, and later hit a bridge guard rail head-on.

The first accident happened at around 3:25-p.m., near the intersection of 280^th Street and Nutmeg Avenue. Authorities say Martin told investigators her brakes acted “funny” as she approached a van stopped at the intersection. Despite swerving to try and avoid the collision, the 1999 Pontiac Bonneville Martin was driving, collided with the rear of a 2003 Chrysler Town & Country van, driven by 44-year old Janette Macvenn, of College Springs, causing a total of $2,000 damage. Macvenn was not injured during the accident. Martin suffered possible, minor injuries during the mishap. She was also cited for following too close.

About 35-minutes later, Tianna Martin was involved in another accident. Officials say she was traveling north on 280^th Street in the same car involved in the earlier crash, when the vehicle ran off the road. The car was totaled when it hit a bridge car rail head-on. Martin was transported by Clarinda EMS to the Clarinda Regional Hospital for possible injuries. The teen received another citation for failure to maintain control.

Red Cross workers from chapters across Iowa are stationed along the East Coast, helping residents recover from the weekend hit by Hurricane Irene. Danelle Schlegelmilch, with the Heartland Chapter in Omaha/Council Bluffs, is deployed in Washington D-C where thousands of residents have been overnighting in Red Cross shelters. She says the damage ranges from North Carolina to Maine. “It is kind of mind-boggling to think about the number of people who were impacted,” Schlegelmilch says. “I heard a statistic there are close to 50 or 60-million people, and that would be about 15 to 18-percent of our population in the United States, all lived in that affected area.” Schlegelmilch says most people have no choice but to head to a shelter for the basics of life.

She says, “Here on the East Coast, there is literally nowhere else for people to go when things like this happen so they really depend on the Red Cross and our partner agencies to be there to be able to provide the essentials of comfort, care, food.” Schlegelmilch was sent to Washington D-C last week to prepare for Hurricane Irene but she got a bonus, of sorts.  “Actually, I was deployed for the hurricane but ended up in an earthquake by accident,” she says. “It’s been one of those summers I couldn’t have ever predicted. I’ve worked three tornados, a flood, a hurricane and was in an earthquake, so it’s one for the books for sure.” Many people remain stranded at airports with hundreds of fights cancelled. It could be weeks before electricity is restored in some areas as four-million homes lost power in the storm. At least 40 people died in Irene in 14 states and territories. Flooding is now a big problem in Vermont, New York and elsewhere. Schlegelmilch expects the Red Cross shelters will be open for some time as the region recovers. Damage may reach seven-billion dollars.

(Radio Iowa)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — For the first time in more than two months, Council Bluffs is no longer under a flood alert from the Missouri River. Public Information Officer Don Gross says the city on Tuesday canceled the Alert Level 1 status, which had been in place since June 22. The alert warned people to have an evacuation plan in case of a breach or other emergency. The city’s flood call center is also closing on Tuesday, and it’s the last day the Iowa National Guard will patrol the levees.

With river levels dropping, the city plans to reopen its side of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge that spans the river to Omaha, Neb., on Saturday. Other bike trails may reopen this weekend, but no specifics have been released.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa officials say they don’t expect the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s decision to  freeze disaster aid in the wake of Hurricane Irene to affect the state’s recovery from flooding along the Missouri River. FEMA has announced it will freeze disaster aid to parts of the country recovering from tornadoes, drought, flooding and wildfires.

FEMA has enacted similar restrictions when disaster relief funds dipped below $1 billion. The fund currently stands at $800 million. John Benson of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management says he doesn’t expect the decision to affect the state’s recovery from disasters, including flooding along the Missouri River.

FEMA says the restrictions will not affect individual aid to disaster survivors but will apply to longer-term repairs, rebuilding and mitigation projects.

The Shelby County DevelopSource is looking to invest in entrepreneurs in a new program. The Shelby County DevelopSource has released a program entitled the “Shelby County New Enterprises competition.”  Entrepreneurs with business ideas to implement within the borders of Shelby County could be the winners of up to $30,000.

Shelby County New Enterprises is a program to cultivate local economic development by both inspiring and financially supporting local entrepreneurs. The program is open to all start-up and expansion businesses located in, or are willing to locate to, Shelby County. The funds from the program can go towards studies or research, equipment, property or marketing for the winning business.

Shelby County DevelopSource Board Chairman, Rick Burchett says, “Encouraging and supporting entrepreneurship is a key to maintaining business momentum in our business county.” You can access an application form by logging on to www.developsource.com or by contacting M.J. Broomfield at 712-755-3569. The deadline to submit an application to the Shelby County New Enterprises is Friday, October 28^th.

A panel of judges will select the finalists and all finalists have the opportunity to present their business plan on Friday, November 18^th.

AMES, Iowa–As waters recede from farmland that has been covered for several months by Missouri River flooding, Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Extension are jointly planning a workshop for Monday, Sept. 12 to address cropland issues. The workshop will be conducted via webinar at several viewing sites in both states from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Extension agriculture staff will host the workshop sites and facilitate questions to the panel.

Topics to be covered during the webinar and extension presenters include: sedimentation and debris removal, Shawn Shouse, ISU Extension ag engineer; managing post flooding soils: flooded soil syndrome, Mahdi Al-Kaisi, ISU Extension soil specialist; cover crops for soil health, Paul Jasa, UNL Extension engineer; and leases and crop insurance on flooded land, William Edwards, ISU Extension farm management specialist. Rick Koeslsch, UNL associate dean of extension, will moderate the panel.

“It is important for us to share information with those tasked with caring for farmland post flooding, but it is also important for Extension to hear the concerns and specific issues these folks have on their land,” said Shawn Shouse, extension ag engineer and planning committee member. “There is science that we can apply to this situation, but there is much that comes from farmer experience.”

Physical damage to farm ground may include obvious things like erosion and sand deposition. But some effects are invisible, having to do with the loss of soil microbes and soil structure. Land managers need to start planning and acting as the waters recede so that the soil can be productive again for next year.

“Using webinar technology helps us reach the most people on both sides of the river without having them travel great distances,” said John Wilson, UNL Extension educator and event co-chair. “It also allows for informal discussion at each site among those who have been most affected by the flood and with extension staff.”

In Iowa, the workshop will be held at the following ISU Extension offices: Fremont County in Sidney, Harrison County in Logan, Mills County in Malvern and Monona County in Onawa. ISU Extension in West Pottawattamie County is hosting the session at the Lied Multipurpose Center, 3501 Harry Langdon Blvd, Council Bluffs and Woodbury County Extension is hosting at a site to be determined. Nebraska viewing sites will be in Auburn at a site to be announced, in Blair at the Blair City Hall Council Chambers, in Dakota City at the USDA Service Center, in Falls City at the Courthouse, in Omaha at the Douglas/Sarpy Extension Office and in Tekamah at the City Auditorium. The Extension agriculture educator hosting the workshop at each location will be available after the webinar to address additional questions and concerns, if needed.

The webinar will also be available in South Dakota at the Davison County Extension Complex in Mitchell and in Kennebec at the Lyman County Courthouse. Further information on the Flood Recovery for Cropland Workshop, including additional sites and information as it becomes available, is available on ISU and UNL extension websites: www.extension.iastate.edu/topic/recovering-disasters and flood.unl.edu .

(Press Release from Cass Co. Extension)