(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Fair will be open to the public beginning July 27th. That same evening, 14 youth will compete for a place in the Royal Court. Preliminary judging is set to take place on Monday, July 17th at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic, with each candidate being interviewed by two judges.

Candidates vying for the title of queen include: Rachel Becker, Sydney Becker, Natalie Behnken, Ryleigh Harrison, Cecilia Hensley, Rio Johnson, Claire Pellett, Natalye Scholl, Quincy Sorensen, Trista Swain. The candidate selected as queen will advance to the Iowa State Fair, where she will compete in the statewide competition for the title of the 2023 Iowa State Fair Queen.The King candidates are Dylan Comes, Tristan Becker, Parker Brock, and Brett Dreager.

Judging criteria is based on leadership, citizenship within the community, poise, charm, appearance, personality, attitude, and the ability to communicate openly with honesty about current youth issues. Candidates competing for the Queen and King Position voted amongst themselves for a Miss Congeniality and Mr. Congeniality.

The crowning of the 2023 Cass County Fair King and Queen will take place in the north garden of the Cass County Community Center on Thursday, July 27th at 7:30 pm. The evening will kick off at 7:00 pm with the Little Miss and Mister contest. Cass County youth ages 5-through 8 can participate by signing up in the Extension Office by noon on Wednesday, July 26th. All contestants introduce themselves to the crowd before a winner is drawn out of a hat. The candidate selected as Queen will advance to the Iowa State Fair, where she will compete in the statewide competition for the title of the 2023 Iowa State Fair Queen.

Coordinating the event this year is superintendent Haley Schmidt, the 2022 Cass County Fair Royalty including, Queen, Keira Olson, Princess, Paige Jensen, King, Bryan York and Prince, Logan Evens. As always, the Cass County Fair is FREE. The are no parking or admittance charges. The Fair runs July 27th through July 31st.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Police in Council Bluffs say ne person was dead following a collision between a semi and a truck early this (Saturday) morning. Authorities say at around 3:04-a.m., Officers were dispatched to I-80 westbound, mile marker 5 (near the Madison Avenue exit), with regard to a semi on fire. Witnesses told police a pickup was traveling east on I-80 in the westbound lanes before the vehicle collided head-on with the semi.

Both vehicles erupted into flames. The driver of the semi was transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.  No names were released. Both lanes of Interstate 80 westbound at Madison Avenue are blocked, due to the crash and were expected to remained closed until the accident investigation is completed.

Additional information is currently not available. Anyone with information about the accident is being asked to call the Traffic Unit at (712)328-4948 or, to remain anonymous, please call Crime stoppers at (712)328-7867.

(Radio Iowa) – Ground is being broken today (Friday) on the first phase of what’s billed as a fully sustainable community in northeast Iowa. Steve Davis is sales director for Switch Homes, which is starting to develop a 105-home subdivision in Dubuque. Davis says it’s the first of several proposed master-planned communities in Iowa. “All the homes will be pre-wired for electric vehicle charging stations,” Davis says. “They’ll be set up where a homeowner or buyer can add solar panels to their home, and the materials are carefully selected, made with at least 50% recycled material, in a lot of cases.” Davis says the neighborhood, called The Farm, will feature community gardens, green spaces, walking trails, a community park, and more to support the sustainable mission for generations to come.

“They will be net zero energy-ready homes, meaning, they have the ability — with a couple of easy changes on the part of the homeowner — to basically produce as much energy as they consume,” he says. The houses are smaller than many traditional homes now being built, which Davis says is an effort to change the industry with what he calls “right sized” homes. “There are eight different floor plans that are being offered in the Dubuque community,” Davis says. “They range from 925 square feet up to approximately 1,800 square feet. The homes will start at $325,000 and they are expected to be 40% more efficient than the average new construction home.” Davis says the company’s website was created to streamline what’s ordinarily a very lengthy process of designing and buying a home.

“It’s kind of like building your own car online and having it delivered to you,” Davis says. “Much would be the same with Switch Homes, choose your lot, choose your floorplan, choose all of your finishes, and in five to six months, you’ll have a completed home that you can pay for at that time, whether it’s a loan or whatnot. There’s no construction financing on the front end.” The land is now being developed for construction to begin in October on the first 36 homes. Within three to five years, Davis estimates all 105 homes will either be sold or planned.
Switch-Homes.com