The Iowa Department of Transportation’s District 4 Office in Atlantic reports two bridge replacement projects will begin next month in northern Adair County. Both projects are on Highway 25, less than five-miles south of Interstate 80. The projects include a bridge over the Middle River (1.2 miles S. of I-80), with an estimated cost of slightly more than $2-million, and, the North Turkey Creek bridge, located 4.6-miles south of I-80. That project is estimated to cost a little more than $1.4-million. In both cases, the old bridges will be removed, with a new substructure and piers installed prior to the bridge deck.

Residents in the area of the bridge closures will still have access to their homes, with staggered barricades for local traffic only. Traffic will otherwise be detoured from I-80 on County Road P-28, south to Highway 92, east of Greenfield. Both projects are scheduled to begin May 29^th, with completion in November.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A woman accused of abducting her three daughters in northwest Iowa has pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors. Clay County District Court records say 26-year-old Danica Arzaga, of Spencer, entered the pleas Wednesday to three counts of misdemeanor child endangerment. The charges had been lowered from felony kidnapping. She was given two years of probation and a suspended prison sentence of six years.

Authorities say Arzaga took the two 8-year-olds and a 4-year-old from their home in Royal on Sept. 19. The children were found abandoned in Sanborn later that day. She was arrested Sept. 20 in Sioux City.
The children had been removed from Arzaga’s custody and placed in another relative’s care.

Officials with the Audubon County Emergency Management agency report a bridge replacement project will begin in northern Audubon County, one week from Monday. Work on the bridge located on 130^th Street between Mockingbird and Nighthawk Avenues in Viola Township between sections 18 and 19, is set to begin April 16th. The road will be closed at the work site, through the end of May, weather permitting.

MAXWELL, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a pilot who was injured when his small plane crashed in northeastern Polk County. The crash occurred around 4 p.m. Thursday in a cornfield about 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of Maxwell, shortly after the aircraft took off. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office identified the pilot as 43-year-old Jason Beckman, of Lakeview. He was flown to a Des Moines hospital for treatment of leg and arm injuries. He was alone in the plane. The crash is being investigated.

Montana Governor Steve Bullock says he’s in Iowa today (Friday) to help his fellow Democrats prepare for the 2018 election and deliver an economic message to voters. There’s a 2020 calculation here, too. Bullock isn’t ruling out the idea he might run for president and this IS Iowa — host to the first round of voting in the nominating process.

“Being a western governor in a state that Donald Trump won by 20 points, yet being able to get progressive things done, I have an important voice for the party and it is an important voice as we go toward 2020,” Bullock says. Bullock, who spoke with Radio Iowa Thursday afternoon, won re-election to a second term as Montana’s governor in 2016. He’s a Democrat working with a Republican-dominated legislature.

Many Democrats seem enthused about potential White House candidates from the party’s liberal wing, but Bullock is unapologetic about being labeled a moderate. “If the idea of being a pragmatist is that I’m willing to work with folks on the other side of the aisle to get things done that matter, that I’m o.k. with,” Bullock said. “We can’t just be against and, unfortunately, what we’re seeing a lot, in a lot of places, is just: ‘We’re against Donald Trump.'”

Bullock says Democrats must channel their energy toward reshaping the party’s brand and convincing voters Democrats care about “pocketbook issues” and share their desires for a good job and a safe community. “We as a party and individuals need to actually be showing up in places other than the coasts,” Bullock says. Bullock rejects the notion that “microtargeting” and assembling constituency groups under the banner of the Democratic Party can win the presidency.

“Even if you can do that, you’re going to lose the ability to have a governing majority if you’re not talking in places like Michigan or Wisconsin or Montana or Iowa when it comes to the General Election,” Bullock says. Bullock, who by law cannot seek a third term as Montana governor, will become chairman of the National Governors Association this summer. He’s formed a political action committee which is financing his political travels. He also plans to use his Big Sky Values PAC to make contributions to Democratic candidates around the country in 2018. It’s all the kind of positioning presidential candidates of the past have made.

“I would hope that anybody that even contemplates the discussion is humbled a little bit by what that takes,” Bullock says of a presidential race, “but hopefully that anybody that contemplates it, too, says that we’re at our best and when we can bring people, a state or a nation together.” Bullock, who is the former attorney general of Montana, headlined a campaign fundraiser for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller last night. He’s met with Democrats in the statehouse and he’ll have a meet-and-greet with Polk County Democrats this (Friday) evening.

(O.Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge has upheld an Iowa elections panel’s conclusion that a former Cedar Rapids mayor fell eight signatures shy of the 4,005 needed to challenge Gov. Kim Reynolds in the Republican primary. Ron Corbett, who has also served as speaker of the Iowa House, said Thursday that he accepts the ruling and that it will always “haunt” him that he didn’t collect more signatures. Reynolds will be the only Republican on the ballot. Six Democrats and two Libertarians are also running for governor.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s faceoff with China over trade has exposed an unexpected political vulnerability in what was supposed to be Republicans’ strongest region: rural America. The clash with China poses a direct threat to the economies in both red and blue states, from California to Washington through Minnesota and across Missouri into Ohio. They are regions where the GOP’s quest to retain its congressional majorities is tied to voters’ views about their pocketbooks and Trump’s performance.

MAXWELL, Iowa (AP) — A pilot was injured when his small plane crashed in northeastern Polk County. The Des Moines Register reports the man, whose name wasn’t released, was hurt when the plane he was piloting crashed Thursday about five miles south of Maxwell. Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Nathan Ludwig says the crash happened about 4 p.m. The pilot was the only person on the plane. The pilot was taken by a helicopter to a hospital. Ludwig didn’t know the extent of his injuries.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman has been indicted on fraud charges for allegedly stealing $175,000 from her now-dead fiancee and his elderly mother. Robin Ann Bertelli has been arrested Thursday on a 35-count indictment and is expected to make an initial appearance Friday in Cedar Rapids. Bertelli is charged with stealing from accounts that belonged to her fiancee _ former Navy SEAL Ken Martin Jr. _ and Martin’s mother.

MAXWELL, Iowa (AP) — A pilot was injured when his small plane crashed in northeastern Polk County. The Des Moines Register reports the man, whose name wasn’t released, was hurt when the plane he was piloting crashed Thursday about five miles south of Maxwell.

Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Nathan Ludwig says the crash happened about 4 p.m. The pilot was the only person on the plane. The pilot was taken by a helicopter to a hospital. Ludwig didn’t know the extent of his injuries, but some reports say he suffered from a broken leg.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman has been indicted on fraud charges for allegedly stealing $175,000 from her now-dead fiancee and his elderly mother.
Robin Ann Bertelli was arrested Thursday on a 35-count indictment and expected to make an initial appearance Friday in Cedar Rapids.

Bertelli is charged with stealing from accounts that belonged to her fiancee — former Navy SEAL Ken Martin Jr. — and Martin’s mother. Bertelli allegedly started a relationship with Martin around 2013 after a prior husband died and lived with his family in Central City, Iowa.

Martin died in 2016 while on vacation with Bertelli in Puerto Rico from what Bertelli told others was an accidental drowning after hitting his head on a rock. He was 57. The indictment alleges that Bertelli stole checks that belonged to the Martins before and after his death and wrote them payable to herself, forging their signatures.

Officials with the Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) say the organization is preparing a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application on behalf of the City of Villisca, for a housing rehabilitation project with the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA). If awarded, Villisca would receive grant funding to rehabilitate at least six (6) homes in the city over a three (3) year period.

Under the program, up to $24,999 in repairs can be made to each home. Additional funds are available for lead abatement. The City’s application is due to IEDA no later than May 4, 2018.

SWIPCO will hold a town hall meeting on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Villisca City Community Building located at 207 South 3rd Avenue. The town hall meeting will start immediately after a special city council meeting that starts at 5:30 p.m. SWIPCO staff will present information on the CDBG housing rehabilitation program, answer questions, and assist home owners interested in participating in the project to complete pre-applications for submission with the City’s CDBG application to IEDA.

The pre-application is a one-page document asking for the individual’s name and address, whether they are the home owner, the household’s annual income, and a brief description of the home’s repair needs. All citizens are welcome to attend, especially those living in the designated target area. The target area includes all houses south of 4th Street.

SWIPCO Community Development Director Dan Lee says, “We’re excited that Villisca wants to pursue another CDBG housing grant. This program can have a tremendous impact on a City and greatly improve the lives of home owners. We have a relatively short amount of time to build a strong application, but I’m impressed with the City’s response and commitment to making this happen. I encourage everybody to attend the town hall meeting on the 24th. The more home owner pre-applications we can submit with our grant application, the better, to help show there’s an existing need for housing rehabilitation in Villisca.”

Community Development Block Grants are awarded annually by the Iowa Economic Development Authority with funding from the department of Housing and Urban Development with SWIPCO’s assistance. Villisca has received CDBG funds for housing in 2006 and for past water and sewer improvements.

SWIPCO is a council of government serving the eight counties of southwest Iowa with public transportation, community development, and housing. SWIPCO is an equal opportunity employer, provider, and lender.