Today (Friday) marks the official start of Summer. It’s also the day for the 15th Annual Cass County version of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event, which takes place this evening, from 6-until 10-p.m., at the Atlantic High School Track. Carole Schuler, Chair of the Cass County Relay for Life, says it’s a way to support cancer survivors and remember those who have lost their lives to cancer. Schuler says that support can come in many different ways. She says the community can show its support by simply walking around the track, buying a sandwich, or just sitting in the stands.

Schuler says while it’s too late to become a member of a Relay For Life team to raise money for cancer research, it’s not too late to participate in the event, and that’s especially true for cancer survivors. Anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer for any length of time, is invited to the track at 4:30-p.m. for a free meal for that person and a family member from Hy-Vee. Wheelchairs are available for those who want to take a trip around the track. Survivors may also place a candle on a huge cupcake to show the number of years they have survived.

Activities for the Relay for Life start this morning at 8-o’clock with a Tractor Ride, which begins at the Cass County Fairgrounds. There’s also a tractor show at Hy-Vee, which gets underway at 2:30 p.m. All the other activities will be held at the Atlantic High School Track, including the serving of food, starting at 5-p.m., thanks to the Kiwanis & CJ’s Barbeque. Schuler says while they’ve had a cancer Education Tent for the past few years, this year they’re placing a special emphasis on education, to try and improve peoples’ lives and prevent cancer.

The tent opens at 5:30 p.m. There will be water available, and you can pick up a ribbon for the “Colors of Cancer” Theme Lap, which begins at 7:20-p.m., and features a door prize at the end. The Survivors Lap begins at 6:00 p.m. Entertainment, in the form of the Sheltered-Reality Drum Corps, kids games and a YMCA bounce house, begins at 6:30 p.m. There will also be vocal presentations every 10-minutes by Sara Masker, Rachel Bown, Amy Mardesen, starting at 7:30 p.m., and a performance by Dance Atlantic, at 8:00 p.m. A Don McCunn Memorial with special presentation by Bev Groves, will take place at 9-p.m., and the Luminaries surrounding the track in remembrance of those lost to cancer, will be lit at around 9:20 p.m.

All funds from the Cass County Relay for Life will go to the American Cancer Society to continue its programs of research, education, advocacy and service to cancer patients. Last year the event raised $74,000.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Denmark Ambassador to the U-S, Peter Taksøe-Jensen are scheduled to speak during a banquet Saturday evening in Elk Horn, at the 30^th Anniversary Celebration of the opening of the Danish Immigrant Museum.

The Ambassador of Denmark to the U-S, Peter Taksøe-Jensen

The Ambassador represents the government of Denmark in the United States. Prior to commencing his position in Washington, Taksøe-Jensen was the Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs at the United Nations.

Museum Executive Director, Dr. John Mark Nielsen, who was knighted this February by the Queen of Denmark, will also speak at the event, which runs from 5-to7-p.m. Tickets for the banquet were through advanced sales only, and are no longer available. 

Excluding the banquet, museum events will be free will donation, open to the public, and include music, dancing, exhibit tours, and the annual Sankt Hans Aften bonfire. Sankt Hans Aften is the traditional midsummer celebration in Denmark, celebrated since the days of the Vikings. A bonfire will be started in the Jens Jensen Prairie Landscape Park on the museum grounds at 9 p.m., including a smaller fire in the council ring. (The complete scheduled is listed below) 

The DanishImmigrantMuseum was established in 1983 and the museum building constructed in 1993. Open daily, the museum’s core exhibition shares the story of early Danish immigrants to the United States. Through text, photographs, and artifacts, visitors learn of the factors that influenced decisions to immigrate, the challenges they faced and their accomplishments, and the lasting legacy of those travelers. 

More information can be found at www.danishmuseum.org or by calling (712) 764-7001. 

30th Anniversary Schedule of Events – Saturday, June 22, 2013

2:00 & 3:00:  Tours of Danish Modern: Design for Living

2:30 – 3:30:  Glenn Henriksen playing Victor Borge’s Grand Piano

3:45 – 4:15:  “Danish Troubadour” Flemming Behrend Performs Outdoors

4:30:  Doors Open for Tent Dinner

5:00 – 7:00:  Tent Banquet

7:30:  Sankt Hans Aften Celebration begins:

• Cake, Ice Cream, Lemonade
• Flemming Behrend Performs
• Kimballton Folk Dancers Perform
• Games for Children
• Community Singing

9:00: Bonfire

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest Thursday evening of a Corning man. 23-year old Ian Gepner was taken into custody at around 6:15-p.m., on an Adams County warrant for Supplying Alcohol to a Minor resulting in injury. Authorities say the warrant stems from a incident which took place June 16th, where a person under the age of 21 who was allegedly on Gepner’s property and had been drinking booze, was injured. Gepner was being held in the Adams County Jail on $2,000 bond,Thursday.

And, the Red Police Department reports an alcohol-related arrest occured, Thursday. 23-year old Kiley Brian Caron, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 3:15-p.m. on west Coolbaugh Street, on a charge of OWI/1st Offense. Caron was being held in the Montgomery County Jail Thursday, on $1,000 bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Republican Governor Terry Branstad now has the final say on payments for all Medicaid-funded abortions in Iowa. Branstad yesterday signed a health care bill that includes a provision that changes the rules for how the state reimburses abortions for Medicaid patients. Previously the state Medicaid program approved the dollars after extensive review. But under the new rules, Branstad, a practicing Roman Catholic, will have to sign off on those reimbursement dollars.

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) — Republican Ben Lange says he won’t run in next year’s elections for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District seat. The 34-year-old attorney from Independence lost in 2010 and 2012 to Representative Bruce Braley, a Democrat who is running for the U.S. Senate instead of seeking re-election. Lange cited family demands in his announcement on Wednesday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say the suspicious death of a Des Moines hammer attack suspect wasn’t the result of a crime. The Des Moines Register) reports that a police spokesman said that although the cause of Larry Western’s death on April 25th was undetermined, the case is not a homicide.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Johnson County and its sheriff’s department have reached a settlement with a transgender woman over the courthouse’s bathroom policy. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports the settlement with 56-year-old Jodie Jones of Iowa City, means deputies will receive new training on civil rights matters and the county will clarify its policy on public restroom use.