JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — U.S. senators from seven Missouri River states are asking the Government Accountability Office to examine this summer’s heavy flooding throughout the river basin.The request was supported by 13 senators who are part of the Missouri River Working Group. The group includes senators from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.The senators want the GAO to review several issues, including whether the Army Corps of Engineers followed its master manual for managing the Missouri River and what role meteorological forecasts played. They also want to know if environmental concerns, such as protecting endangered species, influenced flood-control efforts.

The Atlantic Police Department reports two drug-related arrests Wednesday. Officials say 34-year old Eric Ostrander, and 20-year old Shelbie Brammann, both of Atlantic, were arrested on warrants charging them with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The pair were booked into the Cass County Jail and held, pending an appearance before the magistrate.

And, no injuries were reported following an accident Wednesday afternoon, in the 400 block of Walnut Street. The A-P.D. says vehicles driven by Alfrieda Johnson Neary, and Diana Schuler, both of Atlantic, collided at around 4:40-p.m., as Schuler was backing out of a parking stall and Neary was traveling north on Walnut Street. Damage from the mishap amounted to $3,700.  Schuler was cited for Moving a vehicle backwards on a highway.

Iowa’s unemployment rate remains well below the national average, but that isn’t much comfort to Iowans who are out of a job. Employment analyst Joanie Ruge, says a recent survey finds those who are employed aren’t feeling confident about their job security. Ruge says, “Almost half of the workers surveyed, 48-percent, believe that their companies might be cutting benefits in the new year and also 41-percent believe their companies might lay off some workers.” 

State labor officials say Iowa’s unemployment rate held steady at six-percent in October compared to the national jobless rate at nine-percent. Despite the fears of firings, Ruge says there were signs of optimism in the survey. “This survey shows that 73-percent of workers actually feel very secure in their company and with their jobs,” she says. “This is certainly a great sign to see that number is pretty high.” 

Ruge says there are numerous stable industries in Iowa that are continuing to grow and add employees. “Health care, pharmaceuticals, anything in information technology, engineering, there are job opportunities in these sectors,” Ruge says. “Where we’ve seen more of a struggle has been in automotive over the last few years. The jobs have really gone away from manufacturing even though we have seen some of the jobs come back.” 

Ruge says many people are taking precautions, cutting back on expenses and putting money into savings, just in case a job is lost. For people who are unemployed, she says to stay focused on networking with both your personal and social networks. Make sure you let people know you are looking for work, she adds, as you never know where that next job might appear. 

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Board of Regents will consider giving final approval to a 3.75 percent tuition increase for in-state undergraduate students.The regents will meet by telephone Thursday to consider the proposal, which would raise tuition at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa by $240. Mandatory fees would go up an additional $50 at Iowa and $45 at UNI.University officials caution the increase could be adjusted upward later depending on how much money lawmakers approve for the universities during budget talks next year.Also Thursday, the board is expected to discuss a plan that would bar state universities from naming academic institutes for current elected officials. The rule comes after criticism of the new center honoring U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin at ISU.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, approved a resolution accepting the 2012 Budget for the Atlantic Municipal Utilities (AMU), which the Utilities’ Board had adopted earlier this week, following a public hearing. Steve Tjepkes, with AMU, said the proposed budget for the Electric and Water Departments for Calendar Year 2012 totals nearly $10.8-million, which is an increase of almost $665,000, or 6.6%, over the current year re-estimate. The increased cost is being offset with increases in AMU’s retail electric rates.

Tjepkes says the increase, which went into effect in November, varies from 10- to 14-percent, due to the season and cost of energy prices. He says as far as the water distribution system is concerned, this was the first out of nine years AMU actually sold more gallons of water, as compared to previous years. Plans next year call for work on two water towers, which will cost about $175,000.  Tjepkes says there will be NO rate increases for AMU’s water customers in 2012.

The budget he says, includes $1.2-million for other system improvements, as well. That includes the completion of mapping their water distribution facilities via GPS, an energy efficiency program which uses programmable theromstats as a way to control peak usagae of electricty during the Summer months, and, automated meter reading systems, to better help the utlility detect and find outages more quickly.

Tjepkes says AMU’s revenues were down for the third year in a row, due to a decrease in excess energy sales, which he attributed in-part, to the economy. The utility will transfer $360,000 to the City of Atlantic in lieu of paying property taxes, which is a common practice. Their contribution equals about 3.3% of AMU’s annual revenues, and is designed to offset AMU’s utility charges to the City.