IOWA FLOODING
Rivers rise in Iowa as flood warnings issued
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Rivers are rising across Iowa as snow melts and rains are forecast in the state.
National Weather Service flood warnings were in effect Wednesday for portions of Iowa. On Tuesday, 17 river gauges statewide showed record-high stream flow for the calendar date. U.S. Geological Survey river gauges found 48 stream flows to be above normal.
The Skunk River in Augusta in southeastern Iowa was above flood stage. The National Weather Service said this week that the flooding risks stem from a combination of melting snow statewide and forecast rains.
Bill Cappuccio is with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and is the state coordinator for the National Flood Insurance Program. Cappuccio says worry comes from large amounts of rain on top of a saturated watershed.
ANHYDROUS AMMONIA LEAK
Anhydrous ammonia leak shuts down Iowa highway
BOONE, Iowa (AP) - Emergency crews are on the scene of a anhydrous ammonia leak near Boone in central Iowa.
Officials say a tanker truck carrying the chemical went off Iowa Highway 17 around 4 a.m. on Wednesday. The truck crashed into a snowbank and into a ditch full of water where it overturned.
Boone County Emergency Management Director Dave Morlan says there is a small leak, and officials believe it's caused by a release valve on the tanker.
The tanker is carrying about 7,000 gallons of anhydrous.
Morlan says there are no evacuations and no one was injured. He says the chemical will be off-loaded onto another truck.
Morlan says a 3-mile stretch of Highway 17 is closed in both directions. The accident happened about 5 miles east of Boone.
IOWA-AIRPORT FUEL
Iowa airport looks into possible fuel problem
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids is looking into a possible fuel contamination.
Airport spokeswoman Pam Hinman says tests on Tuesday showed a possible contamination in the tanks at the airport and they "erred on the side of caution."
She says some flights were canceled Wednesday. Other planes that left Cedar Rapids fueled up in Moline, Ill., while those that arrived late had full tanks and were able to leave Wednesday morning.
Hinman says two operators have contracts with the airlines to supply fuel.
She says fuel is tested regularly and a test must have indicated the fuel needed to be checked further.
Hinman says test results are expected Wednesday.
DES MOINES OFFICER INJURED
Des Moines officer returns to work after injury
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A Des Moines police officer who was run over by a pickup truck while on duty has returned to work.
Thirty-one-year-old Nick Lloyd suffered broken bones and teeth last October when he was run over by the truck in the parking lot of an apartment complex.
Lloyd, who underwent extensive physical therapy and was confined to a wheelchair for a time, returned to work on Monday.
A Des Moines man was charged with attempted murder and other crimes stemming from the incident. Elvin Redmond is accused of ramming Lloyd's police cruiser while trying to escape authorities after a series of assaults at the apartment complex.
IOWA-WELL DEATH
Woman dies after falling into well on Iowa farm
DONELLSON, Iowa (AP) - Officials are investigating the death of an elderly woman who apparently drowned after falling into a well on a farm in southeast Iowa.
The Lee County sheriff's office says the woman fell into the well Tuesday morning on the farm near Donnellson. The woman's name has not been released. The sheriff's office had no additional details Wednesday morning.
Sheriff Buck Jones says authorities believe the woman drowned, but the cause of death has not been determined.
IOWA-MOTEL EXPLOSION
Meth lab may have caused explosion at Iowa motel
KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) - Authorities believe a methamphetamine lab may have caused an explosion inside a motel room in Keokuk. The blast happened early Sunday in a room at the Chief Motel.
Police Chief Tom Crew says officials don't know if anyone was hurt because the person who rented the room apparently fled the scene.
The motel was evacuated, and no injuries were reported.
Crew says the explosion seared a comforter and some blankets on the bed and blew off part of a soffit vent on the outside of the motel. Crew says there was smoke, but no fire when firefighters arrived.
TERRA-CF INDUSTRIES
Terra picks CF buyout bid over previous Yara deal
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - Fertilizer company Terra Industries says it will pursue a bid to be acquired by CF Industries instead of a previous agreement with Norway's Yara.
Terra has notified Yara that their $4.1 buyout deal announced last month will not go forward.
Chemical maker CF Industries Holdings Inc., based in Deerfield, Ill., last week offered to buy Terra Industries Inc. in a cash and stock deal valued at $4.7 billion.
Yara has five business days to meet or beat CF's offer, Terra says.
AIRPORT DEDICATION
Gateway names field after 2 Hall of Famers
MESA, Ariz. (AP) - A grassy courtyard at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport has been named after baseball Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Ferguson Jenkins.
The two pitchers were on hand Tuesday to dedicate the Fergie & Feller Field and unveil a bronze plaque that passengers will pass by on their way to boarding planes. Airport officials say March is their busiest month, partly due to Midwesterners flying to Arizona to watch spring training.
The 67-year-old Jenkins is a former Chicago Cubs star who now lives in Anthem. He says he flies out of Gateway frequently for hunting and fishing excursions in Illinois and Iowa.
The 91-year-old Feller has held a pilot's license for more than 50 years. The former Cleveland Indians star was in Arizona for spring training in the 1950s when the team was a pioneer in the Cactus League.
