CLARINDA (KJAN) – 2 students escaped from the Clarinda Academy early this (Tuesday) morning. The Native American males are both from South Dakota. Anyone with information on their location should call 9-1-1.

COUNCIL BLUFFS (KJAN) – Two men were injured when three unidentified men invaded their Council Bluffs home late Monday night. One of the suspects fired a shotgun during the incident, but no one was hurt as a result of the blast. The suspects got away with money and other items.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Council Bluffs police charged a 39-year-old man with attempted murder after stopping his vehicle and finding him bleeding from stab wounds. Police charged David Leroy McKee, who is being treated at an Omaha hospital. After stopping McKee, he was treated and charged with attempted murder, first-degree burglary and felony domestic abuse assault.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The head of Iowa’s economic development agency says she will try to facilitate communication between labor leaders and officials overseeing construction of a $1.8 billion fertilizer plant that recently issued layoffs. Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham says she is open to hosting a meeting with labor leaders and officials involved in the construction of Iowa Fertilizer. Iowa Fertilizer recently had about 3,000 workers at its construction site near Wever in southeastern Iowa. Layoffs were issued in April to more than 1,400 employees.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Ideal weather last week enabled Iowa farmers to make progress planting their corn and soybean crops. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says as of Sunday, farmers had planted 68 percent of the state’s corn crop and 11 percent of the soybean crop. Both figures are better than the five-year average. The USDA says 84 percent of farmland had adequate topsoil moisture, with 11 percent short and 5 percent in surplus.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Officials say the bird flu virus has been found in four more locations in Iowa, bringing the total number of poultry that must be killed in the state to more than 19 million. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship says new cases were reported at an egg-laying operation in Wright County with 2.8 million chickens and at three turkey farms. Two of the turkey farms are in Buena Vista County and one is in Cherokee County. State officials didn’t release the number of birds at the turkey operations.