The Montgomery County Extension Office reports the Region 17 Showcase was held Tuesday, July 31 at 4:30pm the Council Bluffs Public Library in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Region 17 Showcase night is an event bringing the best of the best from each county in Region 17 together to compete for the top table setting in each category and age division along with the top Junk in a Bucket. Counties in Region 17 include Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, East Pottawattamie and West Pottawattamie.

During each county fair, each county holds a Table Setting Contest where youth choose a theme for either a formal or casual table setting. They plan a menu of what would be served, arrange a full single table setting with flatware, stemware, and dinnerware as needed to serve the planned meal at their dinner or party. They create a centerpiece to fit the theme. Finally, they set up the table setting, menu and centerpiece on a card table, or for informal table settings such as a picnic, arrange everything on a blanket on the floor. They youth wear clothing that goes along with the theme to strengthen the presentation. A judge then talks to the participant and judges them on their planning skills, ability to set a proper table, manners, ability to develop a theme, the menu, centerpiece and clothing choices, hospitality skills and communication throughout the judging process.

Junior Casual

Junior Formal

Will Pollock

Youth are divided into age groups of juniors (grades 4-6), intermediates (grades 7-8) and seniors (grades 9-12) and then are divided again into the categories of formal or casual. At the end of each county fair, their top junior, intermediate and senior in both casual and formal are selected to participate in the Region 17 Showcase night. Youth came together, set up their tables and were judged. The top junior, intermediate and senior in both casual and formal were selected and received an award at the end of the showcase evening. In addition to the Table Setting Contest, Junk in a Bucket Contest also takes place at the Region 17 Showcase. Each county again holds their own Junk in a Bucket contest at their county fair and select their top creation to send on to the Showcase.

Prior to county fair, participants receive a bucket full of metal scraps. Using their creativity, they create something fun, weld it together and bring it to fair. Creations are judged by people’s choice voting and the top creation is selected to participate at Region 17 Showcase. County winners bring their Junk in a Bucket creation to be on display during the evening and other participants along with the public vote for their favorite creation. At the end of the evening, the top youth were awarded.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowans can save some money if they’re doing back-to-school shopping this weekend — or for themselves if they don’t have kids — with the annual Sales Tax Holiday. John Fuller, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Revenue, says this is the 20th year for the holiday, which runs today (Friday) and Saturday. “A couple of things to keep in mind are, it basically covers clothing and footwear that are less than $100,” Fuller says. “So, if you buy an article of clothing or a pair of shoes that costs less than $100, that’s tax-free during those two days.”

There is often some confusion about what is — and isn’t — covered during the holiday. “There’s a lot of items that people wonder sometimes is that considered clothing,” Fuller says. “For instance, a work uniform would be considered clothing, but a shoulder pad for your son’s football team would -not- be considered clothing.”  There’s an online resource that should clear up all questions. Fuller says, “If your listeners go to tax.iowa.gov and look for the bright shopping bags, that webpage has a lot of information as well as a big list that says what is exempt and what is taxable.”

Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Kristina Wiltgen says this holiday is particularly important for communities on Iowa’s northern border. Wiltgen says, “Anytime you can give retail store customers an incentive to stay local to do their shopping that’s obviously a huge benefit, especially with our proximity to Minnesota, which is always tax-free on their clothing.”

Iowa’s Sales Tax Holiday began at 12:01-a.m. today (Friday) and ends at 11:59-p.m. Saturday.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — Marshalltown’s largest employer has announced $1 million in aid to its employees and the community as they recover from the July 19 tornado that tore through the city.
JBS USA employs 2,300 people at its Marshalltown pork facility. The tornado that hit Marshalltown was among a flurry of twisters that swept through central Iowa, injuring at least 17 people and flattening buildings in three cities

Martin Dooley is president and chief operating officer of JBS USA Pork, and he says he’s lived and worked in Marshalltown for several years, “so this devastating event resonates with me personally.” The Des Moines Register reports that the company donated $200,000 to Mid-Iowa Community Action, Inc., a nonprofit that serves children and families in vulnerable situations, and $200,000 to the Rebuild Marshalltown Fund.

Red Oak Police report a man was arrested Thursday afternoon on a Clarke County warrant for Failure to Appear in court, on a Public Intoxication/3rd or subsequent offense, charge. 58-year old Dennis Edward Elliott, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 3:55-p.m. in the 100 block of W. Reed Street, in Red Oak. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 cash-only bond.

Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports that at around 2:30-a.m. today (Friday), the Fremont County K9 unit made an arrest in the 500 block of main st of Tabor. 46-year old Brian Vanderpool, of Tabor, was arrested for valid arrest warrants out of Mills County.

Brian Vanderpool (Fremont Co. S/O photo)

Vanderpool was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center and later transferred to the Mills County Jail with charges of Intimidation with a Dangerous Weapon, Unlawful possession of Prescription Medication, and Harassment 1st Degree. His cash-only bond was set at $8,600. Fremont County Deputies were assisted by Tabor Police.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) — The mother of a missing Iowa college student is pleading with anyone who may have abducted her to let her daughter go and claim a fast-growing pot of reward money. Laura Calderwood said Thursday that she believes her daughter, 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, is still alive but potentially kidnapped. She says it’s the family’s greatest hope that whoever may have Tibbetts lets her go and claims the “money we have raised for her freedom.”

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — More than 200 people filled an amphitheater in Waterloo to draw attention to missing persons cases and demand justice for the slain. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Wednesday’s vigil was organized by the Family and Children’s Council of Black Hawk County. It aimed to bring awareness to missing and unsolved crimes involving young people.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Officials in northern Iowa are looking for a work release prisoner who walked away from a residential facility without permission. Prison officials say 29-year-old Matthew Ernest Andersen left the Beje Clark Residential Facility in Mason City on Wednesday night and did not return.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Cedar Rapids man has been accused of producing child pornography and threatening to distribute the depictions. Federal court records say 34-year-old John Hunt has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one of extortion and four counts of child pornography possession.

A woman who says her leg fell asleep while she was driving to the Greater Regional Community Hospital in Creston, crashed her car into two other vehicles in the parking lot late this (Thursday) morning. 75-year old Paula Jean Bowman, of Lenox, was driving a 2006 Lincoln Towncar eastbound through the hospital parking lot at around 10:30-a.m., when the car went out of control and drove over the median before rear-ending a parked 2002 Ford registered to a man from Afton. The impact forced the Ford into a parked 2014 Chevy Impala registered to a woman from Slayton, MN. A witness told police Bowman’s car ramped the median and went very fast across the parking lot before hitting the Ford. It then backed up over the curb and into the bushes before pulling away to park. No injuries were reported. Damage from the accident amounted to $2,500.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The mother of a missing Iowa college student pleaded Thursday with anyone who may have abducted her daughter to let her go and instead claim a pot of reward money that has ballooned to $172,000. Laura Calderwood said during a news conference that she believes her daughter, 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, is alive but has potentially been kidnapped. She announced the new reward amount, which spiked from $2,000 offered earlier this week after donations poured in from across the nation. Tibbetts’ disappearance has baffled investigators since she went missing more than two weeks ago. Calderwood said the money would be paid to anyone who provides information that leads to her daughter’s safe return.

“If someone has abducted her, we are pleading with you to please release her,” Calderwood said. “It is our greatest hope that if someone has her, that they would just release her and claim that money we have raised for her freedom.” Tibbetts was last seen on the evening of July 18, when she went for a routine jog in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, a town of about 1,400 people in central Iowa. She was dog-sitting that evening for her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s brother, who were out of town, at a home where she was living this summer after completing her second year at the University of Iowa.
Tibbetts was reported missing the next morning when she didn’t show up for work at a daycare in a nearby town.

The FBI and dozens of investigators from state and local agencies are working on the case but have so far hit dead ends . The latest came Thursday, when police confirmed that a possible sighting of Tibbetts at a Missouri truck stop turned out not to be her. Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa spokesman Greg Willey promised to protect the anonymity of tipsters who call in or submit tips online, saying the group uses software that scrubs identifying information. He said the group exists for people who cannot come forward to police, including those who are guilty or involved in a crime.
Mollie’s father, Rob Tibbetts, praised the investigation, saying it has been large, sophisticated, aggressive and sensitive to the family.

But he said he believes the case will be solved by someone who comes forward with new information. “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Come forward, bring information to the authorities, and let’s bring Mollie home,” he said.

The mother of a missing Iowa college student is pleading for anyone who may have abducted her daughter to let her go and claim a fast-growing pot of reward money. Laura Calderwood said Thursday that she believes her daughter, 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, is alive and may have been kidnapped. She said that it’s the family’s greatest hope that whoever may have Tibbetts lets her go and claims the “money we have raised for her freedom.” Tibbetts hasn’t been seen since July 18, when she went for a run in her small hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. Investigators have reached no conclusions about why she has disappeared.

Calderwood announced at a news conference that $172,000 and counting had been raised for a new “Bring Mollie Tibbetts Home Safe” reward fund. She said the money would be paid to anyone who provides information to Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa that leads to Tibbetts’ safety. Crime Stoppers is promising to protect the anonymity of tipsters.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Cedar Rapids man has been accused of producing child pornography and threatening to distribute the depictions. Federal court records say 34-year-old John Hunt has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one of extortion and four counts of child pornography possession. He’s scheduled to begin trial Oct. 1.

The federal indictment says that, between 2015 and 2017, Hunt produced sexual depictions of a child, possessed the porn on four different devices and sent communications containing threats to distribute the sexually explicit depictions. He remains in custody.