(Radio Iowa) – Summer doesn’t officially arrive until June 21st, but for most Iowans, the holiday weekend ahead is the real start of the season. Meredith Mitts, at Triple-A Iowa, says the motor club is predicting more than 37-million Americans will be taking trips over the next several days to celebrate Memorial Day. “That makes this the third-busiest Memorial Day weekend that we’ve had since we started tracking in about 2000,” Mitts says. “This is about 11% higher than what we saw last year, but it still brings us just under those pre-pandemic numbers. In 2019, we had 42.8-million travelers. This year, we’re only anticipating 42.3 million.”

Gasoline prices are holding steady nationwide, but pump prices have risen in Iowa in recent weeks. The statewide average is now three-43 a gallon, though that’s low compared to the statewide average a year ago at four-22. “Some of the reasons we might be seeing those higher prices in Iowa specifically is more people are finally starting to travel,” Mitts says. “The weather’s turning nicer, the growing season, the planting season that’s happening right now. There’s lots of big vehicles out there that are using fuels.”

Iowa’s average price for gas is 14-cents lower than the national average. Triple-A’s Nick Chabarria says whether it’s by car or by plane, Iowans are joining the throng in traveling again, as the figures are approaching pre-pandemic highs. “I’m seeing travel tick up in really all aspects, airfare bookings, hotel bookings, even international trips are on the rise,” Chabarria says. “We’ve been seeing folks making up for lost time during the COVID years and we think that’s going to continue.”

Chabarria says airfares have jumped 20 to 30-percent over this time last year, but he says you can still find last-minute deals. He says some of the most popular summer destinations are the beaches, the West Coast, Las Vegas, and national parks.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report a woman from rural Stanton was arrested Thursday, on an assault charge. Deputies responded to a physical domestic abuse call in the 2300 block of L Avenue, in Stanton. An investigation resulted in the arrest for 24-year-old Emily Joann Bass, for Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault. Bass was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond, pending an appearance before the magistrate.

(Radio Iowa) – Next Wednesday is the first day low income Iowa parents may apply for state-funded accounts to cover a child’s private school expenses. The New York based company hired to run the program will check Iowa income tax returns to verify eligibility. Odyssey C-E-O Joseph Connor says if a parent did not file a tax return, they’ll be asked to upload some other evidence of their income.

“A recent pay stub for both parents or guardians from their employer and a letter from each employer verifying annual income for the employee,” he says. The governor and most Republicans in the legislature voted this spring to make about 76-hundred dollars available to low income parents who enroll their child in a private K-through-12 school. Odyssey, the company managing the program, will first make tuition payments directly to private schools. If money’s left over, it must be used on approved expenses like books, software or tutoring available through Odyssey’s website.

The company has been holding online workshops for interested parents this week, with one scheduled for tomorrow and another on Tuesday. Today’s (Friday’s) will start at noon and will be conducted in Spanish. Applications for the state-funded Education Savings Accounts must be filed online. In the program’s first year, the money may be used for private school students in a household at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty line.

That’s about 90-thousand dollars for a family of four. In three years, all parents — regardless of income — can seek the state money to cover private school expenses, however private schools are not required to accept students.