COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo, Nebraska woman has been charged in Iowa with stealing between $22,000 and $222,000. The Daily Nonpareil reports that 44-year-old Beth Beutler (BITE-ler) was arrested Friday and charged with 38 counts of forgery. Beutler used a checking machine to withdraw thousands of dollars. The machine allows truck drivers to access funds by giving a clerk at a truck stop an authorization code to pay for fuel, service or get cash.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A nationwide tax scam is sweeping through Iowa with phone calls from a fake IRS agent calling and threatening people to pay money. KCCI-TV reports a Des Moines woman who was targeted say she wants to get the word out so others don’t fall victim to the scam. Marlis Wagner says she’s older and retired, and thinks they are preying on older people because they tend to be more gullible. The IRS only communicates through mail and would never call or send an email.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – Iowa has more structurally-deficient bridges than any other state. Nearly 60,000 bridges are structurally deficient in the U.S. and over 5,000 of them are in Iowa. A report published by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association says 21 percent of Iowa’s bridges have one or more key elements, such as the deck, superstructure or substructure, in poor condition or worse.

.DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The smell of bacon filled the air in downtown Des Moines on Saturday. WHO-TV reports hundreds of people flocked to the Iowa Events Center for the 9th Annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival. Bacon lovers could try all sorts of bacon, and attend bacon lectures, bacon competitions, and the annual Bacon Queen contest. This year’s theme was “Body by Bacon.”