Authorities in Montgomery County, Monday, were investigating the theft of a car from Villisca. They also report the arrest of a Villisca teen, on drug charges.

The Sheriff’s Department said a 2009 silver, 4-door Chevy Impala was reported stolen from the 200 block of East 5^th Street in Villisca, Monday. The car bore Iowa plate number 497 YAM.  Anyone with information on the location of the vehicle or with regard to the theft, is asked to contact their local law enforcement agency or the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, at 712-623-5107.

In other news out of Montgomery County, authorities say 13-year-old Ashley Fitzwater, of Villisca, was taken into custody Monday morning, for allegedly being in possession of marijuana.  The teen was later released to the custody of a parent.

The Iowa State Patrol says a Council Bluffs man was arrested early this (Monday) morning following a chase that wound its way from Iowa into Nebraska, and resulted in a collision with a trooper’s patrol cruiser. Authorities say 41-year old Richard David Poast was trying to elude Trooper James Bullington when Poast lost control of the 1994 Ford Explorer as it was traveling south on North 19st Street in Council Bluffs. The SUV had been reported stolen.

As the SUV went out of control, the 2008 Ford Crown Victoria patrol car Bullington was driving collided with the right side of the Explorer,causing only minor damage to the cruiser. The trooper was not injured.  Damage to the SUV was estimated at $3,000.  Following the collision, Poast continued to elude authorities and made his way into Nebraska, where he was eventually taken into custody.

The incident began at around 1:40-a.m., Monday.

Officials with the Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn have announced the awarding of a major grant to the museum from a foundation which provides grants for co-operation and cultural interaction between Denmark and the other Nordic-related countries. A $158,000 grant from the A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation in Denmark will be used to digitize and provide global, on-line access to historic Danish-American archival collections.

Danish Immigrant Museum, Elk Horn, IA

The project is a partnership with the Danish American Archive and Library in Blair, Nebraska, the Danish Immigrant Archive – Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Danish American Heritage Society, Salem, Oregon. The project will also include digitization of forty-nine (49) original scrapbooks of newspaper clippings by the world renowned Danish tenor, Lauritz, Melchior, which he began keeping in 1925.

The clipping have recently come into the possession of The Danish Immigrant Museum and are in a very fragile and deteriorating condition.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Department reports three people were arrested recently, with one of the arrests occuring over the weekend. 19-year old Dilan Seth Olesen, of Audubon, was arrested at around 2-a.m. Saturday on charges of OWI/2nd offense and Driving While Revoked. The charges stem from a traffic stop in Exira. Olesen was brought to the Audubon County Jail and released after posting a $2,000 bond.

Friday morning, 24-year old Randy Travis Kurth, of Audubon, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for Violation of his probation. Kurth posted bond and was released from custody. He was scheduled to appear in court today (Monday). And, 29-year Kenneth James Peel, of Audubon, was also arrested Friday afternoon on an outstanding warrant for Violation of his probation. Peel was being held in the Audubon County Jail on $10,000 bond.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports a local teen was injured Friday evening during a single-vehicle rollover accident just east of the Audubon City limits. 16-year old Riley Thomas Christensen, of Audubon,  was driving a 1992 Pontiac westbound on 200th Street at around 6:25-p.m. Friday, when he lost control of the car.  The vehicle entered a ditch and rolled an undetermined number of times before hitting a power pole and landing in a field on the north side of the road. Christensen was taken to the Audubon County Memorial Hospital by Audubon Rescue. Damage to the car was estimated at $5,000. The report didn’t indicate if any charges were filed.

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce reports the annual “Elect a Scrooge” contest wrapped up last week, with Janet Cappel taking the title as the 2011 Scrooge, as well as the honor of Grand Marshall in the Chamber Lighted Christmas Parade Saturday night.

Scrooge candidates (from L-R: Peerbolte, Fredrickson, Nelson & Siggins)

Scrooge organizer Eleanor Hoover says “Janet did a great job,” but that all the candidates were winners in her book.” The other nominees included Nancy Fredrickson of Geis Perry Jewelry, Brad Peerbolte of Peerbolte Chiropractic, Aaron Siggins of Hy-Vee, and Karen Smith of Handbag Ranch.

Each nominee had one month to raise funds and non-perishable food items for the Atlantic Food Pantry. The total collaborative effort brought in 15,845 points. One point is equivalent to a single item or $1 in cash donations ($15,845). Food Pantry organizers said they have seen an increase in traffic in the past several months, and the donations help them provide for the community for the entire year.

Chamber Director Megan Roberts said “The contest stirs up a little friendly competition, and each candidate adds their own flavor to help them raise items and funds.”  Roberts said “This year Cappel’s Ace Hardware gave away a lighted Christmas tree to encourage donations.”

Hoover is already starting a list of candidates for the 2012 Scrooge race. Suggestions are welcome by calling the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 712.243.3017 or emailing Chamber@AtlanticIowa.com.

Seventeen businesses and organizations braved the rain and snow Saturday evening in Atlantic, to participate in the Chamber’s Lighted Christmas Parade. Chamber Executive Director Megan Roberts says the Heritage House won the judged portion of the parade, with their custom made Ferris wheel and other carnival rides.

Coming in with a close second place finish in the parade was the Nishna Valley YMCA. Third place went to the First United Methodist Church. Scrooge candidates also participated in the parade with winner Janet Cappel as Grand Marshall.

Fireworks provided by AM Cohron and Son, preceded the parade,  and as has always been the tradition, Santa Claus rode the Atlantic Fire Department’s ladder truck, to bring the evening to a close.

A special exhibit will open tomorrow at Veteran’s Auditorium, in Harlan. The exhibit, “Remembering Our Fallen,” will be on display for one week. It’s a stark reminder of the ultimate sacrifice made by 76 Iowans killed in the War on Terror while wearing our country’s uniform in a war zone.

Gene Cavenaugh, Shelby County Veteran’s Affair’s Director, says opening ceremonies will begin at 10-a.m. Tuesday. The photo display has traveled around the State of Iowa and is on location for a week at a time. Bill and Evonne Williams of Patriotic Productions in Omaha created the exhibit. Cavenaugh says the couple wanted away to honor the soldiers. Cavenaugh says there’s no charge to view the exhibit.  

Following the opening day, the regular hours for the exhibit during the rest of the week will be from 7-am to 7-pm, at the Harlan Veteran’s Memorial Building.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa judge sentenced a woman to life in prison Monday for killing a neighbor in the small northwest Iowa town of Early as part of a plot to frame her ex-husband. Tracey Richter claimed she shot 20-year-old Dustin Wehde in her Sac County home in 2001 after he and another man broke in and strangled her with pantyhose. She appeared on national television soon after the shooting, telling how she killed Wehde to protect herself and her three children.

Jurors sided with prosecutors, who said Richter made up the story as part of a convoluted plot to frame her ex-husband. They said Richter then shot Wehde to keep him quiet. Richter was sentenced in Webster County District Court after being convicted of first-degree murder Nov. 7th. The conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole in Iowa, which doesn’t have a death penalty.

Before her trial, Richter lived in Omaha, Neb. Prosecutors had maintained that Richter, now 45, killed Wehde to keep him quiet about his role in a plot to frame her ex-husband. They said Richter lured Wehde to her home in December 2001, had him write in a pink notebook that her ex-husband hired him to kill her and her son, and then shot him nine times with two guns. Richter was involved in a custody fight at the time, and prosecutors said she was trying to gain an advantage before an upcoming hearing to keep from losing her son and $1,000-a-month child support payments.

The prosecution’s star witness was a former family friend who testified Richter told her about the notebook a few months after the shooting and then later told her to forget about it. Investigators testified they had found the notebook in Wehde’s car but kept its existence secret because they believed whoever knew about its contents had committed a crime. The notebook included references to Richter’s first husband, Virginia plastic surgeon John Pitman III, but he testified he never met Wehde and knew nothing about the notebook.

Governor Terry Branstad says he’ll recommend that the state pay to have all Iowa high school juniors take a college entrance exam, like the A-C-T. “When you look at the whole budget we have for K-12 education, it’s a relatively small amount,” Branstad says. “But we do have some families with financial needs that are not taking the ACT or not taking a college entrance exam and we think this is something the state can pay for and will maybe help some families that otherwise might not have considered it.” Branstad, a Republican, had recommended last year that the state quit paying for preschool for all four-year-olds and, instead, require those who could afford the tuition to pick up the cost. Senate Democrats resisted that, and Branstad is suggesting this latest proposal is tailored to avoid those kind of objections.

“We’re going to pay it for everybody…so we think this will appeal to Senate Democrats. Sorry, I just couldn’t help that,” Branstad said, laughing. “They like this idea: make it free for everybody. So I’m sure they’ll like this.” The proposal is part of Branstad’s education reform package. Branstad is standing by another proposal that would require reading tests for third-graders, and they’d have to repeat the grade if they failed. Some teachers and administrators have suggesting students who can’t read well may be proficient in other subjects and it would be wrong to make them keep studying the same third-grade material in those subjects for another year.

“We need to make sure that we’re providing the extra assistance that’s needed for students that are falling behind in reading, so hopefully that can be achieved,” Branstad says. “But not having social promotion I think is an important part of making sure that people know that we’re seriuos about that and I think it’s a very important message to send to parents.” Branstad’s staff sent a survey to teachers, administrators and others who attended this summer’s Iowa Education Summit. Six-hundred responded to the survey and nearly 56 percent said making students repeat third grade should be decided on a “case-by-case basis.” The survey also found 58 percent believe 11th graders should take a college entrance exam to see if they’re ready for college.

(O.Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)