Craig Leighton, of Griswold

Officials with the Iowa Lottery say a Cass County man has claimed the top prize in the “Monopoly” instant-scratch ticket game. Craig Leighton, from Griswold, claimed his $50,000 prize last Friday at the Iowa Lottery’s regional office in Council Bluffs. He’d purchased his winning ticket at a convenience store in Council Bluffs.

MONOPOLY is a $5 scratch game. Players win a prize by matching any of “your numbers” to any of the “winning numbers.” If they find the “top hat” symbol they win double the prize shown. There are also three bonus areas where players can win $10, $25 or $50 instantly. Seventeen top prizes are still up for grabs in MONOPOLY as well as 266 prizes of $1,000, more than 1,060 prizes of $200 and more than 2,650 prizes of $100.

Since the lottery’s start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.7 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.3 billion for the state programs that benefit all Iowans.

Lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for veterans, help for a variety of significant projects through the state General Fund, and backing for the Vision Iowa program.

The first of a series of meetings will be held this evening with regard to options for whole grade sharing between the Villisca and Stanton, and Villisca and Corning Community School Districts. The first session, a joint meeting between the Villisca and Stanton School Boards, takes place in the Villisca High School gymnasium, beginning at 7:30- p.m. That will be followed by a similar meeting between the Villisca and Corning districts, at 8:35, also in the Villisca High School gym.

During both meetings, members of an educational consulting group from the University of Northern Iowa will present the results of feasibility studies conducted between Villisca and Stanton and Villisca and Corning School Districts. Villisca Superintendent Willie Stone says the studies will outline options for wholegrade sharing between the districts.

Tonight’s public meetings are the first of several planned with regard to whole grade sharing. They’re designed to help the school boards make a more informed decision on how to proceed with their plans for the future.

After the respective presentations with regard to the feasibility studies, members of the public in attendance at the meetings, will have three minutes each to make comments, or ask questions.

An official with a major employer in Hamburg has confirmed rumors a portion of its factory will close this fall. Teresa Paulsen, with ConAgra Foods said in an e-mail to the media Wednesday evening, the company will close its microwave popcorn facility in Hamburg, this October, and transfer that portion of the operation to the company’s other popcorn facilities. The Hamburg plant produces Orville Redenbacher’s and ACT II microwave popcorn. The move will result in the loss of 95 jobs at the Hamburg plant.

In her e-mail, Paulsen said those employees were notified of the company’s plans in meetings held Wednesday. She said also ConAgra Foods is committed to providing benefits and services that will help employees transition from the company. In the meantime, Paulsen says the bulk popcorn processing and packaging plant will remain open in Hamburg where 45 employees will continue to work.

Chris Whitehair, ConAgra’s vice president of Operations for the Snacks division, said in a written statement they wish the decision was not necessary, “Especially given the challenges the Hamburg community has faced this summer.” He said also that while the people in Hamburg “Have worked hard to maintain normal operations in the midst of historic flooding…” the company needed to find a more efficient and economically viable option to producing its product.