A Cass County woman scheduled to appear at a trial this month in connection with a June 2010 crash, has instead plead guilty to a felony charge of Vehicle Homicide/OWI. 46-year old Christine Riedemann, of Griswold, waived her rights to a trial and plead guilty on November 21^st.

Riedemann was the driver of an SUV that went out of control on June 4^th, 2010. The vehicle entered the ditch, and hit a utility pole west of Atlantic. 44-year old Katrina L. Christensen, a passenger in the vehicle died in the accident.

Two separate blood-alcohol tests each indicated Riedemann was above the legal limit to drive. She was also found to have been in possession of marijuana. Riedemann is scheduled to be sentenced January 23^rd in Cass County District Court.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – An economic survey index for nine Midwest and Plains states has rebounded, suggesting slow growth in the months ahead. A survey report released Thursday says the overall regional Business Conditions index rose to 52.6 in November, jumping 2.7 percentage points from the 49.9 in October. Organizers say any survey score above 50 suggests growth while a score below 50 suggests decline for that factor. Creighton University economics professor Ernie Goss oversees the survey. He says the regional surveys over the past several months indicate the slowdowns in the national and global economies are pushing down the region’s economy.

The nine states are Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.