The former vice president for the American Behcet’s Disease Association has been charged with felony first-degree theft in Shelby County.

38-year-old Leann Brown of Phoenix is accused of stealing from the association while serving as its fiscal agent. She allegedly transferred the money to her own personal bank accounts.

A preliminary hearing on the charge is set for Thursday at the Shelby County Courthouse.

If convicted, she could face up to two years in jail. She was arrested by police earlier this month and was being held in the Shelby County jail.

The investigation into Brown’s activities began in May when someone at the association alerted the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office that more than $25,000 had been embezzled by Brown.

At the time she was serving as a volunteer vice president for the association.

The American Behcet’s Disease Association is a non-profit organization formed to provide information and support to those afflicted with Behcet’s Disease. It is an autoimmune disease that results from damage to blood vessels throughout the body, particularly veins, with most symptoms of the disease caused by inflammation of the blood vessels.

Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) recently held their director elections.

On July 12^th the ICGA elected:

– District 1 – Bruce Rohwer, O’Brien County *
– District 3 – Bob Hemesath, Winneshiek County
– District 4 – Curt Mether, Harrison County
– District 5 – Roger Zylstra, Jasper County*
– District 7 – Kevin Ross, Pottawattamie County*

ICPB elected directors were:

– District 1 – Lowell Appleton, O’Brien County
– District 3 – Nick Leibold, Chickasaw County*
– District 5 – Roscoe Eggers, Marshall County*
– District 8 – Mark Heckman, Muscatine County
– District 9 – Wayne Humphreys, Louisa County

Director elections are only held in districts where terms have expired. For those districts not listed, current directors serve on the board.

The Midwest Partnership Corporation (MWP) has hired a new executive director.

The MWP announced the hiring of Chad Schreck Monday. He was formerly a regional and economic development planner with the region 12 Council of Governments.

MWP is a non-profit four county economic development organization formed to strengthen the economic vitality of Adair, Audubon, Greene and Guthrie counties. The group works to create jobs, help companies grow, and increase the area’s tax base.

Prior to working with the Council of Governments, Schreck earned a master’s degree from Drake University in public administration with a concentration in executive leadership. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in law, politics and society at Drake and worked as a legislative aide in the Iowa House of Representatives.