An illegal immigrant from Mexico who was caught in Iowa has been sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison. On November 30th of 2009 Juan Cardona-Tinajero was convicted of a drug crime in Iowa District Court in Woodbury County and deported. This past May Cardona-Tinajero was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped in western Iowa by a state trooper and he’s been in federal custody ever since. He’s now 23 years old. This summer he admitted to reentering the country illegally. In late November he was sentenced to 30 months in a federal prison.

Forty-seven-year-old Javier Garnica-Rodriguez, a Mexican citizen, was sentenced to six months in federal prison. Garnica-Rodriguez was being held in the Webster County Jail for driving without a license when federal authorities picked him up. Another man, 38-year-old Jose Bautista-Perez of Mexico, has also been sentenced to six months in federal prison. He was caught by Homeland Security agents doing a records check to see if deported immigrants had returned to the U.S. Both Bautista-Perez and Garnica-Rodriguez had been deported once before.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce’s Holiday Concert and Angels of Christmas presentation is set to take place Saturday, Dec. 8th. The concert will be held at the First United Methodist Church at 800 Poplar Street. Chamber officials say the seats traditionally fill up fast for what has become a holiday tradition for many. The concert begins at 7-p.m., however those who arrive early will hear a violin prelude by local instructor and performer Pat McCauley.

Coordinated by Guy Somers of Somers Guitar, the Holiday Concert will officially begin with the Atlantic First United Methodist Joy Ringers Bell Choir directed by Sheryl Sunderman. Adults and teens comprise this well-seasoned group of ringers. The finale  features area youth who represent the Wilson Performing Arts Center’s Southwest Iowa Youth Chorale, directed by Terra Marsden. The choral consists of nearly 20 auditioned third to eighth graders from around the Southwest Iowa region.

The Holiday Concert is once again sponsored by two local business women, Jan Kinnison and Rebecca Power, whose ventures include Aunt B’s, Bonnesen’s, J&R Tax Service and Unique Salon and Spa. The concert is free and open to the public. Another part of the evening is Stifel Nicolaus’  “Angels of Christmas” presentation. The recipients of the award embrace the true meaning of giving and holiday spirit, according to Stifel Nicolaus branch manager Larry Turner. Two recipients are selected each year. The announcement will come a surprise, during the Concert, with the winners recognized in front of the audience and honored with a special gift from Stifel Nicolaus representatives and the Chamber.

More information about the Holiday Concert, Angels of Christmas presentation and other holiday happenings can be found at ChristmasInAtlantic.com or by contacting the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 712.243.3017.

Officials with the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce said Friday, that their “Scrooge” contest, which serves to raise funds and collect non-perishable good for the Atlantic Food Pantry, is over, and the winner of this year’s contest is Melanie Petty, representing the Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund, who collected 6,367 donations.  Oddly enough, her donations represented the lowest cash total of all the candidates, with 6,017 of her points coming from food items. Each food item counts as one unit and each dollar counts as one unit. Overall, the Scrooge contest brought in a total of 17,542 donation units. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans donated supplemental funds to each candidate for the benefit of the food pantry.

Atlantic’s 12th Scrooge will take her place at the head of the Lighted Christmas Parade on Saturday (Dec. 1st) at 6 p.m. on Chestnut Street. Petty will be leading Saturday’s lighted parade as Grand Marshal on the Wal-Mart sponsored float. The other four Scrooge candidates (Frank Rizzo, Mark Jacobsen, Greg Franken and Bruce Kreutzer) will also be featured behind her in a limousine. Eleanor Hoover, Scrooge contest coordinator, said many thanks go out to the five candidates for their tireless efforts in the contest which benefits the Atlantic Food Pantry and many community members throughout the whole year.

Prior to the parade on Saturday, there will be carriage rides, Santa will be in his cabin at the City Park, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and there will be living window displays, which are available for viewing beginning at 5-p.m., in downtown Atlantic.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A thickly coated sheep has been captured after an hour of freedom in downtown Des Moines.  The Navajo-Churro ram jumped from a trailer near the Capitol on Friday morning and led police, Animal Rescue League officials and Capitol workers on a chase.  It finally was cornered and controlled near the power plant south of the Capitol.

Authorities say the ram was being taken from Creston to Cedar Rapids.

His visit Friday morning to Cass County marks the 99^th county visited this year for both Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who visited Plastic Professionals in Atlantic, and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who wraps up her tour with a STEM Community Conversation at the Rock Island Depot in Atlantic on Tuesday, December 11th at 11 a.m.

The Governor says “Each year, I am committed to visiting every Iowa county because I want to hear directly from Iowans.: He said also, “When I put together my legislative proposals for the upcoming legislative session, I rely upon these visits to truly understand what Iowans wish to see in moving this state forward. I am grateful for each and every Iowan who turned out for our events, and I look forward to starting all over again this January.”

Lt. Gov. Reynolds’ travels this year included a number of town halls with Gov. Branstad, dozens of solo STEM appearances and joint STEM presentations with University of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen, and visits to dozens of Iowa small businesses throughout the state.

Branstad and Reynolds have each committed to all of Iowa’s 99 counties every year.

The Iowa National Guard says funeral services have been set for a 23-year old Algona native who was killed in the line of duty earlier this month, in Afghanistan. Sgt. Joseph A. Richardson died while serving on active duty in the U.S. Army on Nov. 16th, during a patrol in Paktika province, Afghanistan. His unit was attacked by enemy forces using an Improvised Explosive Device and small arms fire.

Also killed in the attack was Sgt. Channing B. Hicks, age 24, of Greer, S.C. Both men were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan., as infantrymen. Richardson was assigned to the 1st I-D in October 2008 and had previously served a tour in Iraq with them. This was his first deployment to Afghanistan.

Visitation for Sgt. Richardson will be held from this (Friday) evening, from 5-to 8, at the Oakcrest Funeral Home (218 S. Moore Street), in Algona. The funeral service will be held 10:30- a.m., Sat., Dec. 1st, at the St. Cecilia Catholic Church, (715 E. North St.,) in Algona.

A collision Thursday morning in Atlantic caused $4,000 damage altogether, but no one was injured. According to the Atlantic Police Department, a vehicle driven by Ruben Weirich, of Atlantic, was turning right onto 8th Street from the Iowa Western Community College parking lot, when Weirich failed to yield to a westbound vehicle driven by Ethan Nachtman, of Atlantic. During the collision, the Weirich vehicle hit Nachtman’s vehicle on the right front corner. Weirich was cited for Failure to Yield upon entering a through street. The accident happened at around 9:30-a.m., Thursday.

Deputies and staff with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department will hold their 14th Annual Sheriff’s Office sponsored “Shop with the Sheriff” program, Saturday, Dec. 1st.  The shopping event, which is held at the Target Store in Council Bluffs, will benefit twenty-eight children this year. Target opens their doors at 6:45 a.m. to allow uninterrupted shopping before the store opens at 8:00 a.m.  About 43 employees and families from the Sheriff’s Office volunteer their time to assist with the program.

This program is funded by donations from individuals and businesses throughout Pottawattamie County and surrounding areas.  The Iowa Department of Human Services provided names of the families who would benefit from the program.  Each child will receive $175.00 to spend and is encouraged to use most of the money on clothing, shoes and other necessities, but are allowed to purchase toys.  Each family will receive a food basket.

Repairs on the Keg Creek bridge along 1100th Street in Shelby County will result in the closure of that street for about two-weeks, beginning Monday, December 3rd. Shelby County Emergency Management officials say the bridge is located in the 700 block of 1100th Street, between Lincoln Townships 7 and 18, and east of all residences in the area.

Emergency responders need to plan alternate routes nearby residences, should they be called to homes in the area. If you have any questions, call the Shelby County Engineer’s Office at 712-755-5954.