Iowa’s tax-free holiday weekend begins this Friday, August 3rd, and ends on Saturday, August 4^th. During those two days, certain goods can be purchased tax-free. So how much will you save? The 6% state sales tax is waived throughout Iowa, and you can save even more as local taxes (amount varies by county) are waived as well. Below are some of the items that will be tax-exempt for the shopping holiday:

• Clothing: Including work and school uniforms, diapers, and coats. Under $100 per item
• Footwear: Including sandals, hiking boots and cowboy boots. Under $100 per item

Tax-free weekend offers great savings on hundreds of items, but not everything is exempt. For example, items such as backpacks, athletic uniforms, wallets, and shoes with spikes/cleats will not be exempt. See more information at https://tax.iowa.gov/iowas-annual-sales-tax-holiday.

A Council Bluffs Police Sergeant who attempted to stop a Chevy Yukon at around 2:25-a.m. Today (Monday), ended-up in a pursuit. The traffic stop near S. Main and 6^th Avenue was initiated, because the SUV was running without headlights. Authorities say when the Yukon fled, the Sergeant chose not to pursue.

Dispatch received a call then that a house had been hit by a vehicle matching the description of the eluding vehicle, at 102 S. 3rd St. The Sergeant arrived on scene and attempted to apprehend the offender, but the man fled South on foot. The Sergeant then tased the offender in order to apprehend him. The man was then handcuffed and taken into custody without further incident.

The unidentified suspect was charged with Operating a motor vehicle without owners consent, Eluding, Curfew, Interference w/ Official Acts, numerous traffic violations and he was being investigated for Operation while Intoxicated. The man suffered a cut to his forehead and abrasions to his shoulder and knee from falling as a result of being tased.

The last, full-day of activities take place today at the Cass County Fair, in Atlantic. On the schedule:

8:00-a.m. Beef Show (Outdoor Show Ring), with the Beef Fitting contest to follow one-hour afterward.

4-H Exhibits open

9:00-a.m. Best of Iowa (Community Center)

11:00-a.m. Rotary Watermelon Feed (Outdoor Show Ring)

The Noon Special today at the Foodstand is Roast Beef. And don’t forget hot beef is sold each day of the Fair after 4:30-p.m. Other food can be found on the fairgrounds at the FFA Foodstand and Chuckwagon.

4:00-p.m. Building Awards (Community Center)

5:45-p.m. Parade of Champions, Woodcarving & Bucket of Junk Auction (Outdoor Show Ring)

6:30-p.m. Grand Champion Beef Selection (Outdoor Show Ring)

7:15-p.m. Villa Dance Performance

7:45-p.m. Livestock released

8:00-p.m. Youth Council Activity

The 2018 Cass County Fair concludes Tuesday morning, with the Livestock Sale.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say two men were injured by a fire at a construction trailer in Cedar Rapids. The Cedar Rapids Fire Department said in a news release that firefighters were dispatched around 3:40 p.m. Saturday. They found the trailer engulfed in flames, which had spread to a nearby wooden fence and had melted yard and garbage containers.

The department says the men were hurt when they tried to remove tools and equipment from the trailer. One man was taken to a Cedar Rapids hospital. The other was treated at the scene. Their names haven’t been released. The fire cause is being investigated.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Department of Public health says a mild but highly contagious viral disease has been widespread in the state this summer. D-P-H Medical Director Caitlin Pedati says the heat may be contributing the high number hand-foot-and-mouth disease cases. The symptoms include a sore throat and a miserable rash. “And that rash can look like either flat red spots or raised red bumps and sometimes it looks like blisters as well,” Pedati says “We tend to see these on the hands, feet and mouth of kids which is where it gets its name, although it’s possible it could occur on other parts of the body.”

Doctor Pedati says while hand-foot-and-mouth disease makes kids feel miserable, they rarely need to go to the hospital. “It’s not typically very serious, you know usually what will happen is you’ll recover on your own in about seven to ten days,” according to Pedati.  The disease is contagious so Pedati says it’s important that those who have it stay home for several weeks after the symptoms are gone. “There’s no specific treatment for it, it’s one of those where we say getting some rest and staying hydrated, providing supportive care is really the way to go,” Doctor Pedati says.

While Pedati says anecdotally there are more cases than usual this time of year, the department doesn’t count incidences of hand-foot and mouth disease.

Red Oak Police, Sunday evening, arrested a man for Criminal Mischief in the 2nd Degree. 24-year old Devon Ray Briggs, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 7:50-p.m. in the 700 block of north 3rd Street. Briggs was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $5,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) — An estimated 30-BILLION “robo-calls” were made in the U.S. last year — and so far this year, the pace of these nuisance calls in Iowa and the rest of the country is dramatically accelerating. According to YouMail.com, three-point-three billion automated robocalls were made in the U.S. in April — a 34 percent increase from April of 2017. The area code in Iowa getting the most automated calls is the 515. So far this year, there have been more than 33 million robocalls to phones with a 515 area code. In the 319 area code, there have been nearly 19 million robocalls this year and there’s been nearly 12 million into the 563 area code. People with the 712 area code code got nearly nine-point-nine million robocalls and in the 641 area code there were about six-point-two million.

By YouMail.com’s calculation, people with one of the five Iowa area codes got more than 135 million robocalls in 2017. A small percentage are legitimate, like pharmacies notifying patients they can pick up a prescription, but the vast majority are recorded messages from spammers.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:47 a.m. CDT

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A new health center in Mason City is expected to provide much-needed medical and dental care to low-income residents of the community who currently need to travel to other cities for help. The Globe Gazette reports that the Community Health Center of Fort Dodge is set to open another location in Mason City in October. Officials say one of the center’s main goals is to help those who’ve been incarcerated or are facing social challenges.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa school advocates hope a bipartisan push to extend a statewide sales tax for schools receives legislative approval early next year. State Sen. Dan Dawson, a Council Bluffs Republican, says a bill to extend the 1 cent sales tax until 2050 will be a top priority next session. A bill passed the House last session but didn’t receive a vote in the Senate.

BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) — The reward for information into the disappearance of a University of Iowa student has doubled to $2,000, thanks to a pledge from the power utility in the woman’s hometown. The FBI, state and local investigators have been searching for 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts since she was last seen jogging in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, the evening of July 18.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Patrol says an 18-year-old woman has died after her car was hit by a train in southeastern Iowa. Television station KCCI reports that the crash happened just after 1 a.m. Saturday at a railroad crossing in Mount Pleasant. A report by the State Patrol says Lydia Johnson, of Brighton, tried to drive around crossing gates when her car was hit by a westbound train.

Police in Council Bluffs said Sunday that a transient man was attacked by another transient Sunday afternoon, who fled the scene. Officers were called at around 3-p.m. to assist the medics at the Joshua House (1435 N 15th St). When officers arrived with medics they located a victim, 57-year old Douglas E. McCall, of Council Bluffs, who was bleeding from his head and hands.

McCall was transported to Jennie Edmundson Hospital and treated for his injuries. The man told police he was sitting in a chair in the 1700 block of N. 15th Street in a wooded area when the suspect attacked him with a sharp object. The suspect fled the scene prior to officers’ arrival.

None of McCall’s injuries appeared to have been life threatening. If anyone has information on this case please contact the Criminal Investigations Division at (712)328-4765 or, to remain anonymous (712)328-STOP.

One person is dead following a single vehicle accident this (Sunday) morning, in Fremont County. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports the driver of the a 2010 Dodge Ram truck, 67-year old Marsha Kay Moore, of Riverton, was trapped in her vehicle and had to be extricated by mechanical means. She died from her injuries at the Grape Community Hospital, in Hamburg.

Photo courtesy Fremont County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities say deputies responded to the scene of the crash in the 2900 block of Highway 275, at around 10:25-a.m. An investigation determined the pickup, which was traveling south, had exited the west side of the roadway and rolled over several times.

An autopsy will be performed on Moore by the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny. The manner of her death is being withheld until a full autopsy report is complete. The accident remains under investigation.