The top ten restaurants will be visited by a secret panel of judges who will evaluate the nominee’s hamburgers by proper temperature for serving a ground beef patty, appearance and taste. The winner will be named the first week of May as a kick-off to May Beef Month, and will receive a plaque and a media prize package that will include an on-site live radio announcement. All Top Ten restaurants will receive a certificate. To continue to learn more about the contest, you can visit www.iabeef.org or “friend” the Iowa Beef Council Facebook© page. You’ll also find a map showing the locations of the Top Ten restaurants. 

Last year, 3,500 nominations for the Best Burger title were received. The winner was the Rusty Duck in Dexter, while Sac County Cattle Company of Sac City won the inaugural event in 2010.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office says two people were arrested Friday in connection with the thefts of tractor weights and batteries from numerous pieces of farm equipment in Fremont County, and northwest Missouri. 23-year old Joshua Robert Dasovich and his future mother-in-law, 42-year old Rhonda Kay Corbett, both of Council Bluffs, faces charges of Conspiracy, Trespassing and Possession of Burglary tools. Each faces 15 counts of burglary, 18-counts of theft, and eight counts of Criminal Mischief.

Sheriff’s officials say Dasovich and Corbett allegedly broke into at least 14 different, empty farmhouses and machine sheds. The pair allegedly stole copper from air conditioning units and furnaces, propane tanks and other items. Some of the stolen tractor weights were recovered at Alters Salvage, in Council Bluffs.

The couple was being held in the Fremont County Jail on $5,000 cash bond, each. The Atchinson County Missouri Sheriff’s Office also has requested a “hold” on both suspects.

The Iowa Department of Transportation reports  asphalt resurfacing and bridge construction work on northbound Interstate 29 north of Iowa Highway 2 will require shifting traffic to one lane in each direction in the southbound lanes at two locations beginning Monday, April 2n, weather permitting. The asphalt resurfacing project is between Iowa Highway 2 (exit 10) and Fremont County Road J-34 (exit 15) near Percival. The bridge construction work is between Fremont County Road J-24 (exit 20) near Thurman and Fremont County Road J-10 (exit 24) near Bartlett. A 16-foot width lane restriction will be in place. The $6.9 million dollar resurfacing and $1.2 million dollar bridge projects are expected to be completed by late summer.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the owner of a large amount of commercial telephone cable. The cable was recovered March 11th by Sheriff’s deputies, with the assistance of the Tabor Police Department. Anyone with information as to the owner of the cable, is asked to call the Fremont County Sheriff’s Department at 1-800-432-9240.

Sheriff’s Officials report also, Corey Ware, of Thurman, was arrested March 11th on felony charges of Domestic Assault and burglary. The burglary charge they said, was not related to the discovery of the telephone cable. Ware was being held in the Fremont County Jail on $6,000 bond.