OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – An economic survey index for nine Midwest and Plains states has rebounded, suggesting slow growth in the months ahead. A survey report released Thursday says the overall regional Business Conditions index rose to 52.6 in November, jumping 2.7 percentage points from the 49.9 in October. Organizers say any survey score above 50 suggests growth while a score below 50 suggests decline for that factor. Creighton University economics professor Ernie Goss oversees the survey. He says the regional surveys over the past several months indicate the slowdowns in the national and global economies are pushing down the region’s economy.

The nine states are Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

The Walnut City Council will hold its regularly scheduled meeting this evening. On their agenda for the 5-p.m. session at City Hall, is: a request for possible business incentives; discussion with regard to a proposed trail plan for Pottawattamie County; the Appointment of a replacement Zoning Administrator; Discussion pertaining to: solid waste disposal, the City’s budget, and, the annual evaluation of City Employees’ salary.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is shifting his Iowa campaign into a more aggressive phase, launching his first TV ads in the state with a spot in which he declares he knows about how economies grow. In the 30-second spot set to begin running Friday, Romney says the right answer for America is to stop the growth of the federal government and to start private-sector growth. Romney’s decision to start spending money on paid advertising in Iowa just five weeks before the Jan. 3 caucuses signals a belief that he can fare well in the state even though his 2008 bid was tripped up there. The move comes as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has emerged as Romney’s chief challenger for the nomination.

A U.S. House subcommittee held a hearing Wednesday to discuss the management of the Missouri River. Iowa Congressman Steve King has introduced legislation that would require the Army Corps of Engineers to revise its management policies to increase the total amount of storage space within the Missouri River reservoir system that is allocated for flood control. King told the panel Corps officials initially stated they would not alter their policies because they felt the flooding this past summer was a “500 year flood” event.

“I want to emphasize that we have 150 years of records and they’re declaring a 500 year event,” King said. “If you had 10,000 years of records and (flooding) happened a couple times a millennia, you might be able to say this is a 500 year event. No mortal can tell you it’s a 500 year event.” The Corps announced in early November that it would change how it manages the river. King believes Congress should still take charge of flood control in the Missouri River basin.

“We have to tell them…if we don’t tell them, (the Corps) will slide back to being run by the environmental interests as opposed to the first priority, which should be protection from flooding downstream,” King said. Many lawmakers have blamed the Corps of Engineers at least in part for the severity of the flooding that destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes and reduced miles of highways and interstates to rubble. Congressman Leonard Boswell said the flooding “requires us to change our policies.”

(Pat Curtis/Radio Iowa)

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich attracted a standing-room-only crowd in Council Bluffs last night (Wednesday). Gingrich’s status as a candidate gaining in popularity drew Drake University student Mike McInereney to make the two-hour trip to see Gingrich at what was billed as a “Slice the Deficit” event.  “It was more focused on creating jobs in America, you know, reducing regulations on certain industries, so people really enjoyed it,” McInereney said. “It was awesome.” Gingrich called the federal government bloated and wasteful.

“It’s an embarassment,” Gingrich said. “We don’t have to tolerate the government being stupid — and it’s expensive.” Gingrich has been getting rapped by rivals for proposing what they call “amnesty” for illegal immigrants. Gingrich told the crowd in Council Bluffs it’s a “hopeless” promise to suggest there’s a way to deport all the illegal immigrants who are here today. Gingrich, in turn, promises that as president he would secure the border within a year by using unmanned drones and fences in high-traffic areas. Teresa Butterbaug, an engineer from Council Bluffs, says Gingrich has handled the issue well.

“I like the way he stood for the immigration, especially shutting the borders,” Butterbaug says. Gingrich is  due to publicly sign a border security pledge today (Thursday), one of several campaign events scheduled in the central Iowa area.

(Radio Iowa)