A landmark in Stanton that has stood the test of time for about 100 years, is coming down later this year. The Omaha World-Herald reports a tower fashioned to look like a Swedish coffee pot will be removed by a crane and placed on the grounds of the nearby Swedish Heritage and Cultural Center. The water tower is being removed because repairs would be too costly.

Instead, it will be refurbished and put on display at the cultural center. It will sit on the south side of the Cultural Center, about a half-block from the childhood home of Victoria Christine, an actress and Stanton native who appeared on American televisions as “Mrs. Olson” in Folgers Coffee commercials, teaching newlyweds how to brew a good cup of coffee. It is not known when the coffee pot will be fully restored.

The City of Stanton will pay $30,000 to remove the coffee pot, move it, and dismantling the legs that hold it about 125 feet above the ground. The Stanton Historical Society, which operates the center, will need to raise $73,000 to repaint and refurbish the coffee pot, which was built to function as a water tower, while also serving as  a tribute to the city’s Swedish heritage and a nod to Virginia Christine.

Over 200 delegates of the Democratic Party from 16 counties will meet this Saturday (April 26th) at the Kirn Middle School in Council Bluffs, for the Third Congressional District Convention. Cass County Democrat Party Chair Sherry Toelle says the convention consists of delegates from sixteen county conventions, meeting to help create the State Democratic Platform, send delegates on to the State Convention, and select candidates for the State Central Committee.

Cass County residents who were elected as delegates at the Cass County Democratic Convention in March include Sherry Toelle and Dale Whittaker, both of Atlantic, and Karen Thomsen of Cumberland. Alternates are Armando Rosales, Rusia Salapa, and Helen Stillian, all from Atlantic.

The delegates from the convention will meet with those of the other Iowa districts in June in Des Moines to set up the leadership of the party and hammer out a final platform to inform the public where the Iowa Democratic Party stands on issues. Toelle says Democrats consider this to be an important middle step in setting out the direction of the party and the leadership going into the 2014 campaigns.

The keynote speaker will be Staci Appel, the Third District Democratic Candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. Many other candidates are expected to appear and to speak about the issues that confront Iowa and the nation.