(Radio Iowa) – Over the upcoming holiday weekend, tens of thousands of Iowans will be declaring their independence from their houses and heading off on road trips. Brian Ortner, spokesman for Triple-A Iowa, says travel records are being forecast for the four-day weekend, both for the Midwest and for the nation. “Looking at our region, AAA is forecasting more than 3.7-million travelers are going to be taking a trip of at least 50 miles or more between this Friday and Tuesday, July 4th,” Ortner says. “That’s 140,000 more holiday travelers than the previous high that was set last year, which tied the record that was originally set in 2019, our pre-pandemic numbers.”

For the nation, Triple-A predicts 50-point-seven million Americans will be traveling over the long weekend, which is over two-million more than over the 4th of July last year. As far as the travel industry is concerned, the pandemic is a distant memory now, as all travel numbers are back to where they were before COVID-19 disrupted the world. “This year is really going to be the benchmark for that, because we were looking back at pre-pandemic numbers,” Ortner says, “and if we look at where we were for holiday travel during Christmas and Thanksgiving last year, we were edging up on those pre-pandemic numbers, and then Memorial Day we broke pre-pandemic numbers.”

Since the majority of travelers will be in cars, trucks, SUVs and other motor vehicles, gasoline prices are key, and Ortner says compared to a year ago, they’re down considerably. “Last year, between July 1st and July 6th across the state of Iowa, the average price per gallon for gas was $4.57 to $4.61 a gallon, so definitely, we were over that $4 mark last year,” Ortner says. “If we look at gas prices today in Iowa, the average is $3.36, so a dollar-plus more in savings.”

The financial news isn’t all good for vacationers, though, as Triple-A also says airfares and hotel rates are more expensive than last year.

(Radio Iowa) – A southwest Iowa couple who are the parents of twins born prematurely at 22 weeks say taking their son home from a Des Moines hospital five and a half months later is exciting. Cristal Alvarez of Lenox went into labor on January 11th. “I didn’t think they were going to make it,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes. “…Seeing them here and alive is a miracle and it was really scary for us because you know you never really see babies this early make it…so seeing them now, you know, it’s overwhelming.”

Jacob was one pound, six ounces when he was born 167 days ago. His twin sister, Luna, was three ounces smaller. Luna remains in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines. She’s in stable condition and will be released when she starts getting her food from a bottle. She was the vocal twin, chiming in, as her parents spoke at a news conference Monday afternoon at the hospital.

“It’s exciting to start this adventure with them at home,” Alvarez said. “I know Luna will eventually come home soon, but just seeing them do good is exciting for us, to take them home and be a family.” Dr. Samir Alabsi is medical director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Blank Children’s Hospital. Dr. Alabsi says the hospital had not been providing active treatment for babies born before 24 weeks, but that changed January 1st. On January 11th, he got a call about Crystal’s early labor and the twins.

“I said: ‘We are ready and we prepared to provide the best care for those babies,'” Alabsi says. “And they came and we did it.” The twins are the first babies born at 22 weeks at the hospital to survive.  “They are not only alive, they are alive with good condition,” Alabsi said, “and that’s a big achievement for the team here.” Dr. Alabsi says the survival rate for 22 week old babies in U-S hospitals is between 30 to 50 percent and for twins that age, the survival rate is even lower.

Junior Mendez, the father of the twins, spoke through an interpreter at the news conference. He says after visiting the babies in the hospital for 166 days, it was a happy day to be able to leave the hospital with Jacob.

(Radio Iowa) – A settlement with the governor in an open records lawsuit is now final. A-C-L-U of Iowa attorney, Thomas Story, says there will be some oversight along with the payment in case. “We have now settled this case by an agreement that the court has approved and adopted We are pleased that the governor’s office has agreed to a one year term of judicial oversight of its compliance with the open records law,” Story says.

Clark Kauffman and The Iowa Capital Dispatch, Randy Evans and the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, and Laura Belin and the Bleeding Heartland blog sued after the governor failed to turn over records requests during the pandemic. An Iowa Supreme Court ruling against the governor led to the settlement. “We look forward to working closely with the governor’s office to ensure our clients can access public records in a timely manner and report on state government so that we the people can understand oversee and engage with our elected officials,” Story says.

Iowa Freedom of Information Council executive director, Randy Evans, says the settlement will hopefully send a message to others. “The governor’s failure to comply with the law would cost Iowa taxpayers 135-thousand dollars. Those are 135-thousand reasons why state and local government officials and employees should understand they cannot ignore their duty to comply in a timely manner with records requests,” Evans says.

Story and Evans made their comments in a news conference on the finalized settlement.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of 21-year-old Drake Leslie Brown of Red Oak at 7:11 a.m. on Sunday, June 25th for OWI, 1st Offense. Brown was arrested in the 300 block of West Coolbaugh Street in Red Oak and taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest at around 5:20-a.m. Saturday, of 26-year-old Edy Geovani Baltazar-Franciso, of Omaha. Baltazar-Franciso was arrested following a traffic stop on Interstate 29, and charged with OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000.

The Sheriff’s Office said also, a man from Malvern reported Sunday afternoon, an incident of Theft in the 2nd Degree. The only other information provided was that the incident occurred at a location on Rains Avenue.