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.