WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) — A second person has pleaded guilty for a fire that destroyed a Madison County historic covered bridge featured on the cover of the novel “The Bridges of Madison County.” Cedar Rapids television station KCRG reports that 18-year-old Joel Davis pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree arson.

Davis told authorities that he and two others set fire to the Cedar Bridge in April last year. Rebuilding the bridge will cost more than $500,000. Davis is scheduled to be sentenced April 16. Nineteen-year-old Alivia Bergmann also pleaded guilty to second-degree arson in December. She’s set to be sentenced in May.

The bridge, located near Winterset, was also featured in the 1995 movie adaptation of “The Bridges of Madison County.”

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on a probation violation warrant, of 28-year old Andrew Heath, of Hancock. Heath was arrested at the Sheriff’s Office Feb. 1st at around 10-a.m., and booked into the Pott. County Jail. A man already being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail was charged Monday afternoon with Violation of Parole. 27-year old Cody Lee McKenzie, of Council Bluffs, was read the warrant by a Deputy, and then returned to the custody of jail staff. And, warrant was served Monday on 29-year old Jeremy Bo Ariel Gil, of Council Bluffs, while he was serving time at the jail. The warrant was for Theft in the 2nd Degree. Gil was returned to the custody of jail staff after he was read the latest warrant against him.

The Board of Supervisors in Adair County will meet at their regular time, Wednesday morning, but at a different location. The meeting begins at 9-a.m., and takes place in the Adair County Engineer’s Conference Room at the Adair County Secondary Roads Building. During the session, the Board will review/discuss taxable meals, Township clerk wages, and the resignation/appointment of a Harrison Township Trustee.

The Board will also hear from Stacie Euken, with Midwest Partnership, and April Hughes, with Iowa Workforce Development, with regard to a Home Base Iowa Initiative Resolution. And, County Engineer Nick Kauffman will present his regular report, and contracts for the Adair County Supervisors to sign.

A third and final Public Hearing prior to a vote to Adopt an ATV/UTV Ordinance in Cass County, will take place 8:35-a.m. Wednesday, in Atlantic. The hearing is part of the regular weekly meeting of the Cass County Board of Supervisors, that begins at 8:30-a.m. in the Board Room at the Courthouse. During the previous two meetings, persons filled the chamber seating area, voicing their thoughts both for and against the Ordinance, which, if approved, would allow ATV’s and UTV’s to be used on designated Cass County roads, but also sets certain restrictions on the age of the machine operator and calls for the use of some extra safety equipment.

Last week set, the Supervisors were in agreement with the idea that 16-to 18-year old’s may operate the machines with certification, and they added rear-view mirrors as safety equipment. Gone from the latest version of the Ordinance, is a section restricting the speed to 35-miles per hour, and the use of tall orange safety flags. ATV’s and UTV’s may be used from one-hour before sunrise to one-hour after sunset, according to the proposed ordinance. Following the hearing, the Board will vote to Adopt the ATV ordinance.

In other business, the Supervisors will act on approving a Crow River Construction application for partial payment Number 3, on the gray water transmission line to the ethanol plant currently under construction. They’ll also receive, as available, Cass County Department Head reports.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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A woman from Creston reported to the Creston Police Department late Monday morning, that sometime overnight Sunday into Monday, someone took from her wallet, her ID, debit and credit cards. The wallet was inside her home located in the 400 block of N. Jarvis Street. The loss was estimated at $5.

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

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A Des Moines man is facing charges for abusing his dog – abuse that was captured on video. Scott Wilson, with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, says 32-year-old Willard Street was arrested after Des Moines Police were notified about the incident last week. “A concerned citizen had a security camera and caught, on video, Mr. Street placing a dog in the backseat of his car and then leaning over and with a closed fist, punching the dog repeatedly in the head,” Wilson said. The dog, an adult pit bull, does NOT have “obvious external injuries,” according to Wilson.

Willard William Street Mugshot

ARL staff removed a total of three dogs from Street’s property. Street is charged with one count of animal neglect and two counts of failure to license a pet.  All three dogs are now being cared for by the ARL. According to Wilson, this type of animal abuse is more common in the state than most Iowans probably realize. “We probably hear about one or two a month – something like this around the state,” Wilson said. “The really scary thing is this was reported because someone did get it on video, so you have to consider there are probably a lot of cases like this that never get reported.”

The ARL of Iowa is urging state lawmakers to pass legislation to strengthen punishments for animal abusers in the state.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say seven people have been killed — including two teenage sisters — on Iowa roads as a winter storm swept the state Monday, leading to dozens of crashes and a 50- to 70-car pileup near Ames. The Des Moines Register reports that 17-year-old Avery Arneson and 13-year-old Aiden Arneson, sisters from Decorah, died a two-vehicle crash around 8:30 a.m. Monday on a county road in northeast Iowa. Four other teens were injured and hospitalized in that crash.

In Cedar Rapids, two men died in a crash on Interstate 380 that police say was weather-related, and one person died and several people were critically injured in the pileup that closed Interstate 35 near Ames. On I-80, police say a person was killed in a crash east of Grinnell around 1:20 p.m., and another person died and two others were injured at 1:40 p.m. near Durant.

There were many accidents along Interstate 80 in western Iowa. Two separate crashes occurred in Cass County, one at around 4:30-p.m. at the Wiota Exit (Exit 64), involved multiple vehicles and blocked both lanes. Anita and Wiota Rescue responded to the scene, along with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa State Patrol. Atlantic Fire and Rescue and Medivac Ambulance along with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and ISP responded to a crash near the Highway 71/Atlantic Exit (Exit 60), late Monday morning. Another crash blocked I-80 westbound between Exits 110 and 113 (DeSoto and Van Meter. Other accidents were reported on I-80, near Avoca.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Attorneys for Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz and his neighbors say they’ve settled a dispute over a private road and the coach’s refusal to join a homeowner’s association. A trial was scheduled to start Tuesday in the dispute that pitted Iowa’s highest-paid public employee and his wife against the three other families who live on Saddle Club Road outside Iowa City.

Neighbors filed a lawsuit after the Ferentzes refused to join a homeowners’ association and ignored a $9,500 assessment for road repairs. Neighbors say the Ferentzes trespassed by erecting privacy fencing and landscaping in the shared easement and roadway. Homeowners’ association attorney Adam Tarr says his clients “look forward to working with the Ferentzes instead of against them.”

The Ferentzes’ attorney, Mark Roberts, says, “the neighbors will all be glad to resolve this matter without a trial.”