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.