COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s annual sales tax holiday set to coincide with back-to-school shopping also brings Nebraskans looking for bargains across the Missouri River. The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports that Iowa’s sales tax holiday this year is being held Aug. 7-8. Nebraska doesn’t have a sales tax holiday, although the idea has been kicked around from time to time by Nebraska lawmakers.

The Iowa holiday allows shoppers to buy select clothing and footwear priced at less than $100 without paying sales tax or local option taxes. The two days are usually among the best of the year for Iowa retailers. Although the sales tax holiday falls during the back-to-school shopping season, the tax exemption applies to merchandise for adults, too.

In an update to our story that posted Friday afternoon, officials say it was an Omaha man who died and whose wife was critically injured, during a motorcycle crash in Monona County. The Sioux City Journal reports that 81-year-old Willard Crowl was killed and 78-year-old Sonya Crowl was injured in the Thursday morning crash near Onawa on Interstate 29.

The Iowa State Patrol says the motorcycle was northbound when it began to drift into the right lane, then switched back to the left lane and crashed into the median. Investigators say Willard Crowl died at the scene. Sonya Crowl was taken to an Onawa hospital, then transported to Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City.

It is not known who was driving the motorcycle at the time. The investigation into the crash continues.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Ames are warning of a phone scam targeting Iowa State University students. The Des Moines Register reports that multiple Iowa State students have received calls demanding money. Police say the callers threaten to take a student’s diploma, issue an arrest warrant or cause problems with a visa. Often, the callers mask their phone numbers through caller ID, posing as police departments.

Police are asking on-campus residents who have given money to the callers or who think they have received a call from a scammer to contact ISU Police. Off-campus students are asked to report incidents to the Ames Police Department. All are urged to contact the Federal Trade Commission through the commission’s website.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The 7:06-a.m. report w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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Police in Red Oak conducted a traffic stop early this (Saturday) morning, and ended up arresting  a man on a drug charge. 19-year old Todd Michael Rensch II, of Red Oak, faces a serious misdemeanor charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, following the traffic stop at 12:15-a.m.  Rensch was also cited for Failure to Provide proof of Insurance. He was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $1,000 cash bond.

And, at around 12:30 this (Saturday) morning, 41-year old James Reed Mitroff, II, of Red Oak, was arrested for Public Intoxication, after Red Oak Police responded to a report of a man causing a disturbance in the 300 block of E. Washington Street. Mitroff was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 cash bond.

Police in Red Oak report an investigation into the theft of $400 from Tangles Salon in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of 59-year old Sheryl Lynne Franzen, of Red Oak. The woman was taken into custody Friday evening on a charge of Theft in the 4th Degree. The money was recovered by the businesses employees. Franzen was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $1,000 cash bond.

No injuries were reported after a car nearly struck a building and later struck an SUV Friday afternoon, in Stanton. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 89-year old Jean C. Johnson, of rural Red Oak, was entering a parking stall in front of The Hair Company in the 300 block of Main Street at around 3:10-p.m., when she stopped, looked around briefly and thought she had her foot on the brake pedal. Her foot was instead, on the accelerator.

The woman’s 2014 Hyundai Elantra went up the stairs on the east side of Main Street and stopped prior to hitting the building. Johnson, who was shaken-up by the incident, tried to back her car up. In the process, the vehicle struck a 2015 Jeep Cherokee owned by Patricia Eklof, which was legally parked in a parking stall directly north of Johnson’s original parking spot.

Damage from the accident amounted to $6,600. No citations were issued.

An Iowa man was arrested on a second degree Robbery charge for allegedly robbing a  Nebraska man Friday evening, in Council Bluffs. 31-year old James Kramer, of Elkhart, was taken into custody by Council Bluffs Police in the 200 block of S. 17th Street, a little after 5:30-p.m., after he allegedly took a man’s cellphone.

Authorities say 24-year old Trevor Coleman, of Elk Horn, NE., was at the Dairy Queen located at 3210 West Broadway in Council Bluffs, and speaking on his cellphone. Kramer is said to have approached Coleman, grabbed the man’s cellphone from him, and expressed a desire to fight Coleman outside the business. Kramer then went outside with Coleman’s cellphone, and waited for Coleman to leave the business.

As Coleman called 911 from the Dairy Queen’s business phone, Kramer left the area with the stolen cell phone. A short time later, officers were notified by Coleman that he found Kramer in the 200 block of South 17th Street. Police then placed Kramer under arrest.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Nineteen Iowa counties will be getting federal help in their recovery from severe storms last month that delivered high wind, tornadoes, heavy rain, hail and thunderstorms A statement from the White House released Friday says President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration to help share the cost of emergency work, repair and replacement of facilities including roads and bridges with state and local government agencies.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by seven Iowa residents who claimed the city of Des Moines violated their constitutional rights by operating an automated speed detection camera on Interstate 235. Judge Charles Wolle says in an order filed Friday that previous rulings by the Iowa Supreme Court and another federal judge in Cedar Rapids establish the camera’s legality.

NODAWAY, Iowa (AP) — Officials estimate about 15,000 gallons of manure was spilled near a hog operation in southwest Iowa. The state Department of Natural Resources says manure ran out a pipe Thursday afternoon at a New Fashion Pork facility near Nodaway in Adams County.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Kenny Wallace has made more starts in NASCAR’s second-tier circuit than anyone. Yet he’s arguably known more for his TV work than his driving. Wallace is set for one last weekend in the spotlight before retiring from NASCAR as a driver. Wallace will make his 547th and final NASCAR Xfinity start Saturday night at Iowa Speedway in Newton.