Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:45 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Republicans have had plenty to celebrate this legislative session, as they pushed through a conservative agenda, but none seem to be enjoying the final task of balancing the budget. Lawmakers could complete work as soon as this week on a roughly $7.24 billion budget that cuts funding for services including health care, higher education and court services.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — One of two men imprisoned for the 1983 robbery killing of an Iowa bartender is getting another chance to challenge his conviction with the trial court. The Quad City Times reports the Iowa Court of Appeals has sent B.C. Pendleton’s case back to Scott County District Court in Davenport. The appellate court ruled Pendleton didn’t get an adequate opportunity to argue against a summary judgment, and that the court record is incomplete.

DENVER, Iowa (AP) — A couple is restoring a 150-year-old church believed to be the second-oldest in Black Hawk County because of fear it would otherwise disappear like so many other churches in rural Iowa. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Martha Reineke and her husband, William Cozart, are restoring the former East Janesville United Methodist Church southwest of Denver, Iowa. They plan to reopen it as a country wedding chapel and community events center.

WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) — An iconic Madison County, Iowa, covered bridge _ pictured on the cover of the best-selling novel “The Bridges of Madison County” _ has been destroyed by fire, and authorities say they suspect it was intentionally set. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office tells the Des Moines Register that the fire at the Cedar Bridge was reported around 6 a.m. Saturday. Officials say the bridge was fully engulfed by the time firefighters got to the bridge near Winterset in south-central Iowa.

Police in Creston, Sunday, released information on two, earlier, non-injury accidents. Officials say at around 3:55-p.m. Friday, 21-year old Shandi Christine Brown, of Creston, was “Emotional” as she was driving a 2000 Dodge Neon and following her boyfriend’s vehicle westbound on Prairie Street. Witnesses said the woman was traveling at a high rate of speed and as she approached the stop sign at the 4 lane intersection with N. Sumner Street, failed to stop. She laid down some skid marks prior to failing to yield, but her vehicle hit a 2012 Mazda CX9, which was traveling north on N. Sumner, and preparing to turn left. The driver of the Mazda was 34-year old David James Crawford, of Creston. Damage from the collision amounted to $11,000. Officers cited Brown for Failure to Obey a Stop or Yield sign and Failure to show proof of insurance.

The other accident happened at around 8:30-a.m April 5th, when a car driven by 21-year old Malachi Xavier Canada, of Creston, failed to stop for the red traffic light at the intersection of W. Prairie and N. Elm Streets. The 1999 Pontiac he was driving struck a 2013 Ford SUV driven by 53-year old Mark Chubick, of Creston. Following the collision, Canada left the scene, but when located by Police, gave a story that falsely identified the occupants of the other vehicle. Canada was cited for Failure to have a valid driver’s license and failure to obey a traffic control signal. Damage from the collision amounted to $4,300.

Atlantic residents have another chance to take of spring cleaning by getting rid of good, used/and-or broken electronics, for FREE. Jason Erickson, COO of ThinkSpace IT, said the company and Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron have joined with Midwest Metal Recyclers in Logan, to host an e-waste recycling drive in Atlantic from 4-until 8-p.m. on Tuesday, April 18^th, at the American Legion Memorial Building (The Old Armory), at 2^nd and Poplar Streets.

Most all electronics expect tube televisions and large lead batteries, will be accepted. The electronic equipment can be almost anything can carry. Televisions and computer monitors should be recycled at your local landfill, or large “Box Stores,” like Best Buy (but you should call ahead first). The E-waste is transported to another location to be broken down into separate, smaller components and then melted down into their valuable metals (Gold, silver, etc). Those metals are re-sold to make new products.

Erickson says there’s really no limit on the amount of small electronics you can bring to event. They will accept laptops, desktops, servers, computer mice, printers, scanners, external & internal hard drives, keyboards, UPS battery backups, tablets, and more. The event is being coordinated by the local Civil Air Patrol group, the “Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron.”

The community service project is aimed at getting toxic chemical found in electronic that might otherwise be illegally dumped in the country, into a safe place for disposal.

Red Oak Police report a man was arrested on an assault charge, Saturday night. Officers arrested 35-year old Thomas Zachary Bentley, of Red Oak, at around 9:30-p.m. in the 100 block of E. Maple Street. Bentley was brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held without bond on a charge of  Domestic Abuse Assault.

Strong thunderstorms brought heavy rain, some brief tornadoes or funnel clouds, and large hail to parts of Iowa Saturday evening and night. The Severe Storms Predication Center issues a Severe Thunderstorm Watch a little after 5-p.m., Saturday, and it wasn’t long before warnings for severe weather were popping up in southwest Iowa.

The National Weather Service says one-inch diameter (quarter size) hail began to fall three-miles south/southwest of Pacific Junction in Mills County, just before the Watch was issued. Nickel size hail fell two-miles southwest of Thurman, in Fremont County, at around 5:35-p.m., but nearby, quarter-size hail was falling. About 10-minutes later, the hail had increased to the size of ping pong balls.

At around 7:40-p.m. quarter-size hail fell at Greenfield, in Adair County, and soon after, penny size hail was falling in Stuart. At around 8:45-p.m., ping-pong ball size hail fell around Mondamin, in Harrison County, and in Logan about 5 minutes later.  Quarter size hail fell around Portsmouth, in Shelby County, and golf ball size hail fell Persia at around 9:20-p.m. Golf ball size hail was also reported in southeast Iowa, near New Virginia and Traer.

There were no confirmed tornadoes in southwest Iowa, but there were reports of funnel clouds. Just south of the State line in Missouri at around 7:40-p.m., a trained spotter in Blanchard, Iowa, observed a funnel cloud had formed four-miles northeast of Westboro, MO., and law enforcement confirmed a funnel cloud near Rockport, MO., at around 7:15-p.m. In eastern Iowa’s Linn County, trained firefighter spotters saw a funnel cloud during a lightning event near Central City.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Heavy rain and hail contributed to a fatal motorcycle crash Saturday evening in eastern Iowa’s Johnson County. The Iowa State Patrol reports at around 5:50-p.m., a 2001 Chevy Prism driven by 55-year old Leroy Foster, Jr., of Marion, was traveling eastbound on Interstate 80 and had illegally parked with its hazards on in heavy rain and hail. 70-year old George P. Taylor, La Moille, IL, was traveling east on a 2012 Harley Davidson motorcycle, and saw traffic slowing in front of him due to the weather conditions.

Taylor pulled onto the south should to avoid a collision, and sideswiped the Chevy. Taylor, who was not wearing a helmet, was ejected from the cycle and came to rest in the middle of I-80. He died from his injuries at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics in Iowa City.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:00 a.m. CDT

WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) — An iconic Madison County, Iowa, covered bridge _ pictured on the cover of the best-selling novel “The Bridges of Madison County” _ has been destroyed by fire, and authorities say they suspect it was intentionally set. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office tells the Des Moines Register that the fire at the Cedar Bridge was reported around 6 a.m. Saturday. Officials say the bridge was fully engulfed by the time firefighters got to the bridge near Winterset in south-central Iowa.

WAVERLY, Iowa (AP) — A day-care center where the director was arrested on drug charges is closing. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the owner of the Little Learners Preschool and Daycare on Technology Place in Waverly said the business was closing at 6 p.m. Tuesday due to recent events. Police arrested 44-year-old Kelly Raney Hampton, of Waverly, on April 6 for misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine and marijuana and other charges.

SIBLEY, Iowa (AP) — A former Sibley-Ocheyedan football coach and middle school teacher fired in 2015 after the superintendent found him sleeping in his classroom next to a middle school boy has been charged with sexual assault. The Sioux City Journal reports that 38-year-old Kyle Thomas Ewinger, of West Burlington, was fired after he was found with a 10-year-old boy sleeping on an air mattress. The boy later said he had been sexually assaulted that night.

CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) — State prosecutors have taken the rare step of asking the Iowa Supreme Court to reverse the conviction of a man sentenced last year to up to 10 years for sexually abusing a teenage boy. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that Iowa Attorney General’s Office says in a new filing that Doug Lindaman, of Charles City, was allowed to represent himself at his trial without knowingly waiving his right to have an attorney.

SIBLEY, Iowa (AP) – A former Sibley-Ocheyedan football coach and middle school teacher fired in 2015 after the superintendent found him sleeping in his classroom next to a middle school boy has been charged with sexual assault.

The Sioux City Journal reports 38-year-old Kyle Thomas Ewinger, of West Burlington, was fired after he was found with a 10-year-old boy sleeping on an air mattress. The newspaper says the boy at the time denied anything sexual had happened, but later said that Ewinger had performed a sex act on him, according to a March criminal complaint.

Ewinger was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree sexual assault. He’s free on $10,000 bond.

WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) — An iconic Madison County, Iowa, covered bridge — pictured on the cover of the best-selling novel “The Bridges of Madison County” — has been destroyed by fire. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office tells the Des Moines Register that the fire at the Cedar Bridge was reported around 6 a.m. Saturday.

Officials say the bridge was fully engulfed by the time firefighters got to the bridge near Winterset in south-central Iowa. The original Cedar Bridge was built in 1883 before it burned in 2002. Investigators determined the fire to be arson, but no arrests were ever made. It was rebuilt and reopened in 2004.

The bridge was featured in the movie adaptation of “The Bridges of Madison County.” The novel was written by Robert Waller, who died in March.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Law enforcement officials in western Iowa will be collecting unused prescription medications later this month. The public will have the opportunity to drop off prescription drugs with no questions asked through the “Operation Medicine Cabinet” event on April 29. The event is being held by the Council Bluffs Police Department and is sponsored by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

The Daily Nonpareil reports that people can drop off prescription and over-the-counter drugs from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m. at Walgreens in Council Bluffs. Past events have collected more than 4,200 pounds of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, with more than 2,300 residents participating anonymously since 2010.