SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – An inmate has escaped from a work release facility in Sioux City. The state Department of Corrections says 22-year-old Melvin William Spencer III was placed on escape status Sunday after he failed to return from a furlough. Additional information about the furlough was not released.

Spencer was serving a seven-year sentence for convictions of intimidation with a dangerous weapon and carrying weapons. He began his sentence in 2012 and was transferred to work release in June.

The Guthrie County Fair is ready to get underway in Guthrie Center. The event, which runs from Thursday, Aug. 28th through Monday, Sept. 1st, officially has it’s royalty. Fair organizers say the 4-H Queen is Danielle Schwartz, daughter of Don and Carolyn Schwartz from Bayard. Danielle is entering her senior year at Coon Rapids-Bayard and is part of the Highland Hustlers 4-H Club.

The 4-H King is Clayton Wilkerson, son of Chad and Amy Wilkerson of Panora. Clayton started his senior year at Guthrie Center High School and is active in the Dodge Dodgers club. Free admittance to the Guthrie County Fair begins on Thursday.

For more information on the daily events and other pre-fair activities, go to http://www.guthriecountyfair.com/

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office today (Monday) released more information about a 2-vehicle crash that happened Friday morning, west of Griswold. Officials say at approximately 10:27-a.m., the deputies were dispatched to a motor vehicle accident with injuries at Highway 92 and County Road M-47.

An investigation revealed 68-year old Lela Lank was westbound on Highway 92 in a 2011 Cadillac Escalade, while 81-year old Richard McCauley, of Atlantic, was southbound on County Road M47 in a 2004 Chevrolet S-10. Officialssay at the intersection of Highway 92 and County Road M47, McCauley failed to stop at the stop sign and struck Lank’s SUV in the passenger side. The impact caused Lank’s vehicle to travel into the south ditch, where it rolled over. McCauley’s pickup spun around and came to rest in the ditch.

Lank was transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital and later airlifted to Creighton Medical Center. A passenger in her SUV, 75-year old Cecil Boos, was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital and later airlifted to Creighton Medical Center.

McCauley was transported to Creighton Medical Center by medical helicopter. A passenger in his pickup, 80-year old Patricia McCauley, of Atlantic, was transported Creighton Medical Center by medical helicopter.

No information is available on injuries. The cause of the accident is still being investigated.

Seven southeast Iowa counties are under a heat advisory until 8 o’clock tonight (Monday) as high temperatures are forecast in the lower 90’s with a heat index over 100 degrees. Several school districts in Iowa are dismissing early due to the steamy weather. Among them is the Nodaway Valley and Orient-Macksburg School Districts, which is dismissing classes 2-hours and one-hours early, respectively. Meteorologist Jim Lee, at the National Weather Service in Johnston, says a cold front should move in later tonight.

Lee says, “While it’s going to provide some relief to the northern and northwestern parts of the state in the form of a little bit cooler weather, unfortunately, the front’s going to stall near the Iowa/Missouri border and we’re going to have several upper level systems moving overhead throughout the week that are going to cause a lot of rainfall to form along that old boundary.” Lee said it’s too early to say how much rain is expected with this system.

“It will be highly variable across the state,” Lee says. “Some places will get a little rain and others will get multiple, multiple inches totaled out over several days this week.” He says it appears the heavier rains will be falling in northern and central Iowa.  “The areas that will see the highest rainfall totals will probably be from I-80 north, but it’s hard to say whether the four- or five-day totals might be a couple of inches or even more than that,” he says. The precipitation is expected to pull out of the state by Friday, promising the possibility for a dry holiday weekend.

(Radio Iowa)

CLARINDA, Iowa (AP) – Iowa officials say Clarinda Academy has continually failed to provide adequate schooling to its special education students. The Iowa Department of Education says the private academy for troubled youths uses a “cut-and-paste, one-size-fits-all” approach to treatment and teaching of special education students.

Des Moines Register reports the state has ordered the academy to make improvements and offer additional educational services to children who were ill-served by its practices within the past 14 months. The department investigated and issued a report last week, following a complaint filed in June by Disability Rights Iowa.

The academy didn’t respond to the Register’s attempts to seek comment.

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County say a Pacific Junction man was arrested late Friday morning on a warrant out of Cass County. 34-year old Leo Alan Edwards was wanted for Failure To Appear in court. His bond was set at $5,000.

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce’ Image Committee has awarded Deter Motor Company Community with Improvement Award.

Pictured: Saluk, Gene Fischer, Dolly Bergmann, Scott Deter, Rich Perry and Gerald Brink

The Chamber’s Dolly Bergmann said “It is nice to see a well-established business like Deter’s make the investment to change and update their building, leaving their customers with a positive impression of the business.

The Community Improvement Award is given to a business that takes pride in making Atlantic a welcoming and beautiful community by continuing to improve its appearance.