(Update 8-p.m.: Suspect taken into custody apparently by a K9 unit just before 8-p.m. No other details available.)

Law enforcement officers with the Pottawattamie and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office,  Iowa State Patrol and elsewhere were converging on Walnut late Monday evening following a chase that began near Avoca with a traffic stop. The suspect, a white male wearing a tank top and driving a black 1996 Cadillac Deville took off and led a deputy on a chase along Highway 83 that terminated in Walnut at around 6:18-p.m, where the driver abandoned the car and took off on foot near the intersection with Atlantic Street.

A search was being conducted of the area as of 6:30-p.m.

The Montgomery County Fair Queen, sponsored by the Montgomery County Fair Board, will be crowned on Tuesday, July 14th, at 7:30 pm at the Fairgrounds Auditorium. To qualify, contestants must be at least 16 years of age and not more than 21 years of age on August 13, 2015 (the first day of the State Fair), have not been married, be enrolled in school (or be a high school graduate), and be an active member of at least one worthwhile organization in her community.

If you are interested in running for this honor, stop by the Montgomery County
Extension and Outreach Office at 400 Bridge Street for the application form, or you
can also download the information at www.extension.iastate.edu/montgomery.

Please be sure to access all information if you do so online, including the
information letter, rules, and entry form. Applications are due at the Extension
and Outreach office by noon on Wednesday, July 1st.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Under a compromise budget deal in the Legislature, the state will spend about $7.3 billion for the coming fiscal year, with some additional dollars coming to schools.

Lawmakers announced the terms of the tentative agreement Monday. The budget includes $7.17 billion in ongoing spending, plus another $125 million in one-time expenses. As it is structured, the Republican-led House maintains a pledge to limit ongoing spending, while the Democratic-controlled Senate gets some more money for key priorities like education.

Republicans say the one-time expenses will come out of the surplus dollars remaining at the end of the current budget year.

The plan includes new funding for state universities that lawmakers said should ensure a tuition freeze. And K-12 education will get new dollars through a combination of ongoing and one-time funds.

The Montgomery County Extension Services says a ServSafe™ Certification Exam is being offered on June 23rd at their office in Red Oak. This option is for anyone needing to take the food safety certification exam at the end of their five year certification. No book and no class room instruction will be offered. The exam meets the Iowa Certified Food Safety Manager certification.

The cost is $60 per person to cover the exam cost. ISU Extension and Outreach, Montgomery County is located at 400 Bridge Street in Red Oak. Exam is at 1:00 pm. Photo ID is required. The next class in Montgomery County will be August 10th, and registration is open for that class. For information contact Barb Fuller at 641 202 1843 or Jodie Smith at 712 623-2592.

Cass County Attorney David Wiederstein reports an Underwood man plead guilty this (Monday) morning in Cass County District Court, to one count of Sexual Abuse Assault, 2nd Degree. The crime committed by 56-year old Roger Allen Ericksen is a Class B Felony, that carries a term a maximum term of up to 25 years imprisonment. Wiederstein says at a minimum, Ericksen will be incarcerated for 17 and a half years before being eligible for parole.

Roger Allen Ericksen (booking photo courtesy Cass Co. Sheriff’s Dept.)

He will also be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life under the sex offender registry rules. There is also pending parole violation arising from his conviction in Cass County to Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree, on December 4th, 2012.

In exchange for his plea of guilty to Count I, the remaining nine counts will be dismissed. Sentencing is set for June 22nd, at 9:00 a.m.