(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic could become a qualifying site to hold a Bill Reilly Talent Show, with winners moving on to the State Fair Competition. Assistant Parks and Recreation Department Director Jeff Christensen spoke with the Parks and Rec Board about the possibility, and some hurdles that are in the way.

He says the event would be a great way to use the band shell at Sunnyside Park.

Christensen told the Parks Board that the Parks Department “Zombie Run,” held on October 29^th, was a big hit.

Parks Board President Jolene Smith said the Royal Neighbors helped out with the Zombie Run that night, by providing hot apple cider, water, candy and treats.

Emmetsburg, Iowa —The former owner of a shuttered Emmetsburg funeral home will stay out of prison. According to KCCI, Andrew Joyce pleaded guilty to misusing thousands of dollars meant to pre-pay for funeral services. Investigators say Joyce spent the money on operational expenses and for his own personal gain.

By law, Joyce was supposed to put the payments in a trust or use it to buy funeral insurance. Court records show those funds disappeared when the business closed in 2019. Joyce was given a 10-year suspended prison sentence and ordered to two years probation.

(Ringgold County, Iowa) – A single-vehicle, rollover accident Friday evening in Ringgold County, claimed the life of a teenager. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2009 Chevy Trailblazer driven by 15-year-old Abbi Overholser, from Benton, was traveling south on Ringgold County Road P-33, south of Diagonal at around 7-p.m., when the teen swerved to avoid a deer on the road.

When she over-corrected, the SUV went out of control and entered the west ditch, where it rolled over. Overholser was not wearing a seat belt. She was partially ejected and was found partially pinned under the vehicle as it came rest. She died from her injuries at the Ringgold County Hospital. Two juvenile passengers in the vehicle were not injured.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office.

(Radio Iowa) – A fundraiser will be held December 4th to support restoration work at a site in northwest Iowa that’s on the National Register of Historic Places. The Brugjeld Peterson Point Historic Farmstead has a house, barn and other buildings that date back to the 19th century. It’s located east of Wallingford.

Stacie Berg Nelson is a member of the Peterson Point Preservation Foundation, which just signed a three year agreement to manage the farmstead. The group is primarily made up of descendants of the couple who built and moved into the house in 1870. “The generations that branch out from Peder and Gjertrud Brugjeld,” she says. “We are starting from nothing. We’re trying to raise funds so that we can make improvements. There’s a lot of restoration that needs to be done.”

Peterson homestead (Foundation photo)

The historic farmstead will be open from 1 to 1:45 p.m. on the December 4th, then a Scandinavian Christmas Concert will start at 2 p.m. at the nearby Ingham Lake Bible Camp. “We’re going to be offering a silent auction and Scandinavian treats,” Berg Nelson says. Another fundraiser is planned on the afternoon of December 10th.

“We’re going to be offering sleigh rides, Scandanavian treats, folk art demonstrations and offering a little concert with Christmas songs in the parlor and tours of the farm,” she says. “I believe we are going to have the blacksmith shop open as well and we’re going to have the forge up and running and so people can walk by and check it out.” Organizers are hoping to host a snowman competition — if there’s enough snow.

The Brugjeld-Peterson family was among the first Norwegian settlers in Emmet County. Descents owned the farmstead until 1996, when Maynard Peterson donated the site to Emmet County.