Dogs may be a man’s best friend but puppy sellers can be among our worst enemies. Iowans are being warned about a series of scams involving online dog sales. Jim Hegarty, with the Better Business Bureau in Omaha-Council Bluffs, says a three-month study of internet puppy ads brought very discouraging results.

Hegarty says, “Nearly 80% of the paid ads that you will see online if you do a Google search for a pet are believed to be fictitious and set up by fraudsters who primarily reside in Cameroon, West Africa.”

Still, the ads all claim they’re based in the U-S, often in Texas. Initially, Hegarty says customers are often asked for a deposit. Later, they’ll be notified the puppies are ready to be shipped and full up-front payment is needed, typically for several hundred dollars.

He says, “Normally, when these deals are being operated by scammers in Cameroon, they are advised to make their payments through wire transfers, usually at Western Union or Moneygram.”

Hegarty says customers are then told by an alleged shipping company that a special crate is needed, for an extra fee. They may also get a call from the airport, claiming the animal is in quarantine and requires a vet check prior to release, yet another scam. Omaha resident Judy Stroy says she and her husband wanted to buy a beagle puppy from a breeder in Texas and had to send 400-dollars via wire transfer, which they did.

“The next day, I received the shipping instructions for the puppy and they requested another $750 for pet insurance,” Stroy says. “I was like, whoa, red flag. This isn’t working. So, I refused to pay the pet insurance and the owner kept emailing me saying, ‘Please send this money,’ and I said, ‘No.'”

They lost the 400-dollar deposit and never got the dog.  (Radio Iowa)

https://www.bbb.org/

An effort to replace one of the famous covered bridges in Madison County is gaining momentum. The Cedar Bridge near Winterset was destroyed by arson back in April. Brenda Hollingsworth, with the Madison County Historic Preservation Association, says the fundraising goal for replacing the bridge is $550,000. “We are at $246,000 and we have made an application for A Great Places grant that would pay for the remainder of that,” Hollingsworth says.

The group should learn by December 15 if they’ll be getting the grant from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. “With this particular grant, we’d have a two year window to finish the project, so we wouldn’t have to complete the bridge until 2019 – which is a reasonable time frame to do that,” Hollingsworth says.

Cedar Bridge credit Sarah Boden IPR

If they don’t get the grant, Hollingsworth says they plan to stay on their proposed timeline of beginning construction in late 2018. The Cedar Bridge was featured on the cover of the best-selling novel “The Bridges of Madison County,” which was adapted into the 1995 movie starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. The bridge has been destroyed by fire twice.

It burned in 2002, when insurance helped fund a replacement. Premium rates increased and the insurance was dropped. Hollingsworth says that will never happen again and all six covered bridges in Madison County are now insured. Three people, between the ages of 17 and 19, were arrested and charged with setting the April 15 fire at the Cedar Bridge.

(Radio Iowa with Thanks to Michael Leland, Iowa Public Radio)

(CORALVILLE) Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections say s staff member was assaulted by a patient at the Iowa Medical Classification Center in Coralville, at approximately 10:00 a.m. Friday.

The staff member, a nurse, was working at her computer terminal when the patient entered the office and began hitting her multiple times with a closed fist. Correctional officers and other staff in the area responded and took control of the patient once they heard noises coming from the office.

The staff member was sent by ambulance to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinic in Iowa City. They were released from the hospital to the care of family later the same day. The incident remains under investigation and no further information is available at this time.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A quirk in the mail delivery system is forcing some residents of rural northern Missouri to have Iowa mailing addresses, causing problems when they vote, pay taxes and even when they die.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill calls it “one of the dumbest things” she’s seen and has sent a letter to Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan, asking that issue be resolved. The agency says it’s working with the Missouri Democratic senator on the issue.

Local officials have been asking for help for years. In Missouri’s Clark County, residents launched a petition drive this summer to get address changed because a new 911 system will need accurate addresses.

The Iowa addresses aren’t recognized in Missouri’s voting system. And some affected residents have been asked to file taxes in the wrong state.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Senate Republicans have released findings from an internal investigation into alleged workplace misconduct that says state senators have made “sexually suggestive comments” or discussed “sexual preferences” on the chamber floor.

The three-page internal review released Friday spans a period between the end of 2012 and half of 2017. It doesn’t break down how many senators took part in such activity or when. Several Senate GOP staff members also indicated they fear retaliation in reporting workplace misbehavior.

Senate Republican leaders released the findings amid pressure from within the party, including from GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds, to disclose more information about the in-house investigation. Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix says he didn’t provide more information earlier, because he wanted to protect employee confidentiality.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s former worker’s compensation commissioner who alleges he was pressured by former Gov. Terry Branstad to resign because he’s gay plans to take his discrimination case to trial next year.

Chris Godfrey is seeking money damages in one of the first cases trying to hold the state financially liable for actions of officials that infringed on the rights of an individual. The case is being closely watched by state agencies across Iowa.

Godfrey’s attorney says a similar federal lawsuit was dismissed after an Iowa Supreme Court ruling in June provided a path for him to seek increased financial damages in state court. The lawsuit alleges discrimination, retaliation and extortion.

Branstad has denied the allegations and says Godfrey mismanaged the office. Branstad is now the U.S. ambassador of China.