(Atlantic, Iowa) – Here’s a reminder from the Station Where Your Friends are: A longstanding tradition has returned to Cass County…the annual Festival of Trees is underway now through Sunday, in Atlantic.The multi-day event, sponsored by the Cass County Chapter of the American Cancer Society, takes place at the Catholic Parish Center,105 West 5th Street in Atlantic.

This year’s event features 57 trees, decorated in a variety of themes ranging from cooking to local grown produce, and cupcakes to dolls, and even a grinch themed balloon Christmas tree. Other highlights include a tree constructed of coffee and beverage cups, an upside-down tree, several memorial trees and a step ladder tree.

Along with the trees, there will be 7 holiday themed displays including a seven-foot gold lion, a display of homemade satin and sequined boxes, an 8 ft x 4 ft  x 8 ft church with stained glass windows, an ice cream and cookies display and an 80 square foot operational Christmas train and village display.

Cookies and beverages are available for you to enjoy as they walk through the displays, or sit and reconnect with friends. The event will also feature musical performances by local artists from 1 to 3 pm on Saturday and soup served to attendees on Sunday. The local BPO Does will also be hosting a Cookie Walk upstairs on Saturday from 9 am – noon.

In addition to helping spread holiday cheer, the festival serves as a fundraiser to benefit the American Cancer Society. Admission to the festival is a free will donation, and raffle tickets are also sold for attendees to win a chance at a variety of seasonal home and gift items. A special feature for this year’s raffle is a quilt hand-made by local youth Paige Baier, in addition to watercolor paintings, Creighton basketball game tickets, seasonal wreaths, holiday wall hangings and table decor, and even a Christmas tree decorated with Hallmark collectible ornaments! A match of all raffle proceeds up to a thousand dollars will be provided by Royal Neighbors of America.

New this year, a separate raffle is being held for a vintage, life-sized mechanical Santa. This Santa, most recently housed at the now-closed Coca-Cola museum in downtown Atlantic, has graced many downtown windows as early as the 1950s. This raffle kicked off at the 2021 Coca-Cola Days celebration in Atlantic, and Santa has been traveling to storefronts around the downtown ever since. Tickets for this unique raffle can be purchased at any time prior to the drawing on December 5th- either at the Atlantic Chamber, or at Festival of Trees where he will be on display.

Trees and displays will be open to the public for viewing on the following schedule: Thursday, December 2nd from 10:00 A.M to 8:00 P.M., Friday, December 3rd from 10:00 A.M. to 6:30 P.M., Saturday, December 4th from 10:00 A.M. to 5:30 P.M., and Sunday, December 5th from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.

(Des Moines) — MidAmerican Energy officials say they are investigating the cause of a power outage affecting thousands of area residents Wednesday morning. Spokesman Geoff Greenwood, said customers in portions of six counties lost electricity at around 9 a.m.

Persons served by substations in the Red Oak, Griswold and Emerson areas, or about 6,000 customers, were affected. Power was restored in two stages, with everyone back online by around 10:00-a.m.

Greenwood said the cause of the outage had not immediately been determined.

(Radio Iowa)- This month’s updated voter registration data shows in two of Iowa’s new congressional districts, independent voters outnumber those who register as Democrats or Republicans. The new first congressional district which covers counties in southeast through central Iowa has more than 200,000 independent voters, about 195,000 Democrats and Republicans are the third voting block, with about 172,000 registered voters. Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa plans to run for reelection in the district.

Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion plans to seek reelection in the new second congressional district which sits in the northeast quadrant of the state. It has 197,000 registered independent voters as of December 1, 2021. The tally of Democrats is about 10,000 behind that and Republicans account for a little under a third of all voters in the district.

The new third district starts in central Iowa and flows down to the Missouri border. Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 17,000 in the new third district and it is the only district where independent voters are the third largest voting block. This is the district where Congresswoman Cindy Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, plans to seek reelection.

The new fourth district in western and northern Iowa has a large voter registration edge for Republicans and it’s where Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra of Hull is running for reelection. There are 87,000 more Republicans than Democrats and independent voters are the second largest group in the new fourth district.

National studies show up to three-quarters of voters who register as independents rarely split their ballots and routinely vote for candidates of one of the country’s two major political parties.

DES MOINES, Iowa (Dec. 2, 2021) — Officials with The Wellmark Foundation say they have provided 29 Iowa organizations with their Small Matching Assets to Community Health (MATCH) grant awards. Those organizations were notified in August of their pending awards, and had 12 weeks to secure the required matching funds. Small MATCH grant recipients were able to use a combination of in-kind donations, services, and cash in order to receive their award from The Wellmark Foundation. All the funded projects will help individuals, families and communities achieve better health through built environment initiatives that encourage physical activity or access to and consumption of nutritious foods. Mary Lawyer, The Wellmark Foundation executive director says “The projects these organizations are implementing will enhance the quality of life and the overall well-being of citizens in their communities for several generations.”

Among the organizations receiving a Small MATCH grant award, is:

• (In Ringgold County) – Diagonal Community Development Corporation, $25,000 for the Diagonal Walkable Community Initiative.
• (In Mills County) – The Glenwood Rams Parent Teacher Association, $25,000, for the NE Elementary Inclusive Playground Project.

To learn more about these and the other projects, visit Wellmark.com/Foundation. Since its inception in 1991, The Wellmark Foundation has provided more than $39 million in grant funding to communities across Iowa and South Dakota.

Police in Red Oak say the driver of a 2016 Chevy Equinox suffered suspected minor injuries, during a collision Wednesday, with a 2017 Chevy pickup. Authorities say the accident happened at around 4-p.m. at the intersection of U-S Highway 34 and N. 8th Street. According to the report, 74-year-old Dennis Dean Hartstack, of Clarinda, failed to yield the right-of-way from the stop sign, as he was southbound on N. 8th Street, crossing Highway 34 in his Chevy Silverado pickup. The vehicle was struck broadside by the Equinox, which was driven by 66-year-old Paul Henry Dumler, of Red Oak.

Dumler was injured, but was not transported to the hospital. His vehicle sustained $25,000 damage. Damage to the pickup was estimated at $50,000. Red Oak Police cited Hartstack for Failure to Yield. Both men were wearing their seat belts. Red Oak Police were assisted at the scene by Red Oak Fire & Rescue, and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

(Radio Iowa) – Authorities are searching for a missing autistic teenager in northeast Iowa’s Fayette County. Sheriff’s officials are asking for the public’s help in locating 14-year-old Walker Richardson, of Arlington. They say he was last seen Wednesday around 2:30 p.m. wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans. According to authorities, Richardson is a highly-functioning autistic who they are actively trying to find. Sheriff’s officials began their search Wednesday afternoon. but suspended operations overnight over safety concerns. Authorities are organizing a search party and plan to resume search operations at 9:30 this morning.

Walker Richardson

Anyone wanting to assist in the search should report to the Arlington Fire Station.