Auditions for the Prairie Fire Children’s Theatre’s original musical production of “Alladin and His Magic Lamp” will be held Monday, July 6th, beginning at 1-p.m. in the Atlantic High School Auditorium. According to Melissa Ehrman Johnson, Atlantic Children’s Theatre Group Vice President/Secretary, two professionals from the PFCT will direct the production, which requires up to 81 local young people to play one of numerous roles, including Alladin, Harmonia, the Sultan, Princess Serena, and more.

Auditions are open to any area youth that has completed the 1st through 9th grades. No preparation is required. Rehearsals will be held from 1-to 5:15-p.m. throughout the remainder of next week, with performances scheduled for 7-p.m. Friday, July 10th, and 2-p.m. Saturday, July 11th, at the Atlantic High School.

Independence Day is a time of celebration with family and friends, food, and fireworks, but the Fourth of July holiday weekend is one of the deadliest on the nation’s roadways, of crashes involving alcohol. Extra law enforcement officers will be present on Iowa roadways during a Special Traffic Enforcement Program (or, STEP), July 1st through the 7th, watching for impaired drivers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports in 2013, the most recent year in which data is available, 512 people were killed, nationwide in motor vehicle crashes over the Fourth of July holiday (5 p.m. July 3–6 a.m. July 8). One hundred and ninety-nine of those deaths, or 39 percent, occurred in crashes that involved at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.

More than 20 percent of the impaired drivers involved in those fatal crashes had a BAC of .15 or higher and the incidence of impaired driving was over three times higher at night than during the day. Twenty-seven percent of motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes had BACs of .08 or higher. During that same time period, six people were killed on Iowa roadways. Half of those fatal crashes were alcohol related.

The Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau says “If you have been drinking, don’t risk it; make a plan before the celebration begins. There is always another way home; arrange for a ride or call a taxi and remember: Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving.”

Police in Council Bluffs are looking for a man who they say was involved in an attempted murder late Monday afternoon. Sgt. Dave Dawson with the Council Bluffs P-D says officers were called to 733 Mynster at around 4:40-p.m. for a shooting that had just occurred. After they arrived, officers determined 44-year old Sally L. Huffman, of Council Bluffs, had been shot by a small caliber handgun, and had suffered a wound to the right ankle area. The woman was transported to Creighton Hospital in Omaha for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

Huffman told investigators a black male, about 30-to 40-years old, weighing about 500-to 600 pounds, had knocked on her door. When the woman opened the door, the suspect asked if “Antoine” was there. Huffman told the man she didn’t know anyone by that name, and closed the door on the suspect. While she went to a back room in the apartment, the suspect, who was also described as having a chipped front tooth, medium length black hair and was clean shaven, came in through the unlocked apartment door and confronted the woman.

He produced a small caliber gun and pointed it at Hoffman’s chest, but did not say anything to her. The man became distracted when the woman’s cat ran across the room. The sudden action caused the suspect to point the weapon in a downward direction before he fired once, striking Hoffman. The man then fled from the apartment on foot in an unknown direction.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to Call CrimeStoppers at 712-328-7867.