(Radio Iowa) –  Don’t forget: You can save some money while shopping this Friday and Saturday during the annual tax-free holiday. Iowa Department of Revenue spokesman, John Fuller, says it was started to help parents shopping for back-to-school items, and is very popular. “In general, the holiday runs for two days, Friday and Saturday, August 6th and 7th this year,” he says. “No state sales tax and no local option sales tax will be collected on clothing and shoes under a hundred dollars.” He says the savings can add up. “We have an estimate that Iowans saved about four-point-six million dollars in sales tax last year during the two-day event,” according to Fuller.

Fuller says you can find out more information on what can and cannot be accepted during the two-day period at the Iowa Department of Revenue website. “Go to tax.iowa.gov. There is a picture on our website of a bunch of shopping bags and they can click the link and get a lot more information on what would be tax-exempt and what would not, and there is a whole bunch of lists of different items and what qualifies,” Fuller says.

The tax-free weekend starts at 12:01 a-m Friday, August 6th, and runs until 11:59 a-m on Saturday, August 7th.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s most populous county and host of this month’s Iowa State Fair now has a high level of coronavirus transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Polk County officials are urging all residents to resume wearing masks in public indoor spaces and to get vaccinated. Polk County Board of Supervisors Chair Angela Connolly says the county’s vaccination rate is still too low to prevent the spread of variants.  “As we start to see more large gatherings such as concerts, the state fair, back to school — this is really a perfect storm,” Connolly said.

According to the C-D-C, 75 of Iowa’s 99 counties are experiencing a high or substantial spread of the cornavirus. Walmart and Target are among the retailers requiring employees to wear masks in these areas and encouraging customers to do so as well. Aneesa Afroze, an infectious disease doctor at MercyOne Des Moines, says in the last four months, her hospital has treated more than 200 Covid patients.

“95% of them were not vaccinated and 4% succumbed to this, so it is real,” she says. “And in order to prevent hospitalizations, in order to prevent deaths, vaccination is very important. Prevention is very important.”

About 61-and-a-half percent of Iowa adults are fully vaccinated according to data on the state’s website. A new state law prohibits local governments and schools from enacting mask mandates.

(Radio Iowa) – Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines has endorsed one of the Democrats seeking the chance to run for the U.S. Senate seat Republican Chuck Grassley holds today.

Axne, the only Democrat in Iowa’s congressional delegation, has been considering whether to seek reelection in the U.S. House, run for governor or a run for the U.S. Senate. Her endorsement of Democrat Abby Finkenauer’s U.S. Senate bid makes clear that third option is off the table. Axne and Finkenauer campaigned together in Des Moines last (Monday) night.

Former Crawford County Supervisor Dave Muhlbauer (MULL-bow-er) and Dr. Glenn Hurst of Minden also have announced they’re seeking the Democratic Party’s 2022 nomination for the U.S. Senate. There’s a mid-march deadline for getting petition signatures filed in the secretary of state’s office in order to qualify for the June Primary ballot.

Retired Admiral Mike Franken of Sioux City told the Carroll Times Herald he’s been seeking medical care at the main military hospital in Washington, D.C. over the past few weeks and plans to launch another bid for the U.S. Senate once he gets a clean bill of health. Franken ran for the U.S. Senate in 2020, but finished second in the Democratic Primary.

(Radio Iowa) – The man convicted of murdering Mollie Tibbetts in 2018 as she went for a run in Brooklyn will not get a new trial and is scheduled to be sentenced to life in prison. Attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera said in July that they’d heard from someone who claimed another man had confessed to the crime. Judge Joel Yates said that confession was significantly at odds with the account Bahena gave during his trial.

Bahena testified two masked men forced him to participate in the crime and it was one of them who killed Tibbetts. At a hearing last month, Bahena’s attorney’s also sought to link Tibbett’s murder to an alleged sex trafficking ring and two other missing person cases.

The judge, in his ruling, said those arguments were not convincing. Bahena’s sentencing is now scheduled for August 30. His first degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, Monday, released details about a rollover accident with injuries that took place last Wednesday. Officials say 34-year-old Ryan Michael Morrison, of Stuart, was driving a 2014 Chevy Silverado pickup that was pulling a camper, when the camper began to swerve, causing Morrison to lose control. The pickup and camper entered the west ditch off northbound Highway 25. The accident happened a little south of Monteith Road, at around 6:15-p.m., and was witness by two motorists who confirmed the trailer was swaying wildly.

When Guthrie County Deputies approached the scene, they found Morrison laying on the ground outside the pickup, alert and conscious, but complaining of wrist pain. The man had been ejected from the pickup when it rolled. He admitted he wasn’t wearing a seat belt. He was transported by Panora EMS to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines.

The truck and camper were a total loss. Authorities planned to cite Morrison for Failure to Maintain Control and Failure to wear a safety belt.

The Board of Education for the Atlantic Community School District will hold a Special Meet 8:30-p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3rd, to discuss a plan for relocating the Middle School. The current facility was damaged by a fire on July 27th, and will not be available for occupancy by the time school starts on Aug. 23rd.

Following discussion, the Board will act on a Technology Purchase and AMS Relocation Plan. The meeting will take place in the High School Media Center and viewable via YouTube.

The driver of a Honda CRV was injured during a collision Monday afternoon, in Council Bluffs. According to Bluffs Police, the accident happened at around 3:10-p.m.. Authorities say a 2020 Mack Semi hauling a loaded dump trailer was westbound on Vets Hwy. An eastbound 2016 Honda CRV was preparing to make a left turn to go northbound on S 24th Street. Preliminary investigation revealed the traffic light was yellow when both vehicles entered the intersection and the Honda turned in front of the semi causing the collision.

The driver of the Honda was transported to an area hospital with life–threatening injuries. There were no other injuries reported. The Council Bluffs Traffic Unit is investigating the crash. The names of the drivers involved were not released as of late Monday evening.