Iowa's Radio News Network
Senate Democrat leader Mike Gronstal, Senate President Jack Kibbie. (L-R file photo)
Late this morning the Iowa Senate took about half an hour to pass four bills on which the two parties have compromised.
Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs says it’s time to reach common ground on the state budget and avoid a state government shut down next month.
Levees along the Missouri River in Sioux City are being put to the test. Woodbury County Emergency Manager Gary Brown says all levees in the area were built to a level of 35 to 37 feet. The river is creeping closer to the top.
“We’ve been running about 34 feet the last few days. We expect the river to go up to somewhere around 35 feet over the weekend. It’ll probably level out in that area, depending on precipitation, but it could fluctuate in both directions,” Brown said. “That’s our best guess, obviously we’re in unchartered territory here.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently releasing water from the Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota at a rate of 160,000 cubic feet per second. Brown says cities along the Missouri River will be fighting the flood battle all summer.
“We’ve got no choice, it’s not optional,” Brown said. “We’ll have to react to whatever the Corps throws at us and the Corps has to react to whatever mother nature does for them over the next couple months. That’s the game we’re all playing. We’re at the mercy of the weather and we’re at the mercy of the Corps. So, we’ll have to react accordingly.”
The Corps increased the water release rate at Gavins Point this week because of recent rainfall.
See photos of the western Iowa flooding here: www.radioiowa.com/demos/
By Josie Cooper, KSCJ, Sioux City
A Sioux City man is jailed after a shooting and standoff at a rural home near Ireton on Thursday. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a gunman had fired a shotgun at another person and the gunman was in the house at the location of the shooting.
A standoff ensued. The Plymouth-Sioux County SWAT unit was dispatched to the scene. Phone contact was made with the suspect and after about two hours, officers were able to talk him into coming out of the house where he was apprehended by the SWAT unit without incident.
Forty-year-old Kevin J. Busch was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and going armed with intent. The victim was not injured.
By Doug Broek, KSOU, Sioux Center
A big tourist attraction in central Iowa is about to get bigger. The Des Moines Botanical Center is getting a $3-million gift from DuPont to expand its garden area beside the giant glass dome. DuPont is the parent company of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, where spokeswoman Bridget Anderson says it’s a logical investment.
Anderson says, “DuPont is really dedicated to science education and working with a botanical garden is a great opportunity to help advance that and bring new hands-on learning experiences for youth in Iowa.” Pioneer is in the midst of a 5-year, $70-million expansion project that’ll bring a total of 500 jobs to the region.
Anderson says there are two major building efforts being undertaken north of Des Moines, the first being a $40-million investment.
The money is going into Pioneer’s Beaver Creek facility on the Johnston campus, bringing 400 new jobs, along with another 100 jobs at the campus greenhouse facility, an expansion worth about $30-million. She says there will be a range of positions coming open.
“The 500 jobs we’re talking about will be primarily located in the Johnston area and will be in the areas of research, information technology, sales and other support areas,” Anderson said. Pioneer already employs around 3,200 people statewide.
The $3-million donation to the botanical center hinges on the center raising $10-million separately. It’s hoped construction on the new complex of 20 gardens can begin in 2013.
A busy weekend of action begins at the Iowa Speedway tonight with the running of a USAC Triple Crown race. The weekend will be capped off by tomorrow night’s running of the Iowa Corn Indy 250. It will mark the first time the IndyCar series has run under the lights in Newton.
Iowa Speedway president Jerry Jauron says the track can change when you run at night and don’t have sunlight. Today they will run a practice session to be sure the are ready to go when daylight transitions to night Saturday.
Jauron says track officials are urging fans to be patient after Saturday night’s race as the parking lots empty. He says they have gotten a lot of cooperation from law enforcement and he says people will have to be patient.
If pitching is tthe biggest factor in baseball then Waverly-Shell Rock is headed for a big season. Coach Casey Klunder’s rotation features four senior starters and the team E.R.A. right now is a sparkling 1.89. All four of them will play in college next year, three in division three and one in division two.
The pitching has led the Go-Hawks to nine wins in their last ten gasmes and they are 15-3 overall. Klunder says anytime you have that much pitching, you have a chance in any game and the bats have started to come around.
On offense Klunder says the Go-Hawks use their speed at home and rely on the power game on the road. He says they’ve had games where they hit homes runs on the road, but at home they play at Wartburg College field and run more in the bigger park.
Waverly-Shell Rock leads a Northeast Iowa Conference race that Klunder says is tough from top to bottom. He says everyone entered conference play with a winning record and he says any team can knock of the others.
The Go-Hawks return to action this evening against Waterloo Columbus.
Two people are dead after a crash in northern Iowa. Authorities say 68-year-old Mary Quinn and 70-year-old Bernard Quinn, both of Woodbury, Minnesota, were killed in a one-vehicle accident at 4:43 P.M. Thursday on U.S. Highway 218 near Nashua.
The Iowa State Patrol reported that the southbound vehicle, driven by Mary Quinn, was in the inside lane, drove onto the inside shoulder, drove back into the roadway and onto the inside shoulder again. The driver overcorrected to the right, causing the car to roll, coming to rest upright on the southbound lane.
Authorities from the city of Nashua and Chickasaw and Floyd counties assisted at the accident scene. The accident remains under investigation.
By Chris Berg, KCHA, Charles City
O.KayHenderson.com