(Red Oak) – After taking a year off due to the pandemic, more than three-dozen Iowa communities will be taking part in the National Night Out this (Tuesday) evening. In Red Oak, Fountain Square Park is the site for a showcase of area law enforcement, fire and EMT agencies. Red Oak Police Chief Justin Rhamy told KJAN News it’s not just about Red Oak’s Police, Fire and EMS…they reached out to surrounding counties and jurisdictions and asked them to attend, just like many communities are doing across the country.

You may even have a chance to meet the people who protect the President.

While you’re at Fountain Square Park, you’re welcome to look at the various pieces of equipment, talk with Police, Fire and 1st responders, and pick up some free food.

Rhamy said you’ll find lots of information from medical professionals abut staying healthy and safe in the sun, on the farm, and more.

The Iowa DNR will talk about hunter safety and hunter education, as well. After a one-year absence due to COVID-19, National Night Out takes place from 6-to-8 p.m.  Find the community nearest to you that’s having National Night Out events at: www.natw.org. The list locally, includes: Bridgewater, Council Bluffs, and Stuart. This marks the 37th year of these events.

(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.