OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The overall economic index of a monthly survey of Midwest business leaders hit a 16-year high for October, but the manufacturing sector of the economy remains stunted from the coronavirus outbreak. The overall measure of the Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions Index improved to 70.2 in October from September’s already strong 65.1. Any score above 50 on the survey’s indexes suggests growth.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey and says that even with the high index level, manufacturing output remains below levels seen before the pandemic. The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

The Nishna Valley Family YMCA Staff and Board of Directors will be hosting a “Community Discussion” on the future of “recreation and quality of life” in Atlantic and the surrounding area. Dan Haynes, Executive Director of the Nishna Valley YMCA says this opportunity for a community discussion will be Tuesday, November 17th at 6:30pm at the Cass County Community Building. All interested individuals, families, organizations and businesses are encouraged to attend and give input and feedback on this subject.

In the past year or two there has been considerable talk about future recreation; outdoor pool and splash pad concepts; senior center issues; community attractions for teens and family fun; and other quality of life issues. These topics are just part of the economic growth, vitality, and quality of life of our communities. The YMCA would like to revisit and focus discussions into a plan of action to move forward. The YMCA Board, city officials, and the park and recreation department will use input and information collected to direct future planning and actions.

All those interested in giving input are invited to attend. We will be using the entire community center but we do ask that you RSVP so that we are able to set the room up to allow for social distancing and the safety of all attending. Temperatures will be taken at the door. Masks as you enter and exit are highly encouraged and will be available at the door. Hand sanitizer will be widely available. Please RSVP to Dan Haynes at 712-243-3934 or email to dhaynes@nishnavalleyymca.com. Questions or comments ahead of time can also be emailed or called in.

Haynes says “We appreciate your time and attention to improving the quality of life for Atlantic and the Nishna Valley Area.”

(Radio Iowa) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is hosting meetings this (Monday) afternoon and evening to discuss managing the Missouri River and the federal reservoirs that feed into it. John Remus, chief of the Missouri River Water Management Division, says 2020 has been an unusual year. “We began the year with wetter than average conditions in the basin,” Remus says. “However, as many of you know, the basin dried up and dried up quickly.”

The Corps has shifted from evacuating excess flood water from 2019 to managing the system to meet what Remus calls “flow targets” for the river. Each second, about 30-thousand cubic feet of water is being released from the Gavins Point Dam near Yankton, South Dakota, today. Remus says that volume will drop in early December when the navigation season ends on the Missouri River. He expects lower flows out of that dam through the winter because the area to the north is in drought. “That is what the system is designed to do,” Remus says.

The first public meeting about the Corps’ Missouri River management is at 1:30 p.m. today (Monday) and the other starts at 6 p.m. Both are virtual or online meetings and questions may be submitted in advance.

The General Election is almost here. The polls open will be open Tuesday, from 7-a.m. until 9-p.m. Here in Cass County, the local races to watch include:

• Board of Supervisors/District 5, where Republican Bernard Pettinger and Democrat Russell Joyce are vying for a seat currently held by Frank Waters. Waters announced earlier this year that he would not be running for re-election.
• The Ag Extension Council: There are five candidates running for four non-partisan seats, including incumbents Darrin Petty; Marcy Jo Dorsey and Jody Steffen, along with challengers Curt Rush and Alice C. Williams.
• There are two candidates for Edna Township Trustee: Dan Schrier and Keith Nelson.

In Adair County, Democrat Thaddeus Hawley and Republican Incumbent John A. Twombly are running for the Board of Supervisors in District 5. In Adams County, Democrat Incumbent Merlin R. Dixson and Republican Tony Hardisty are both in the running for County Supervisor/District 2. Audubon County voters get to choose two out of three candidates for the Board of Supervisors, including Incumbent Republicans Todd M. Nelson and Rick Thompson, and no party candidate Doug Sorensen.

In Guthrie County, there are two races set to be played-out: Auditor and Supervisor/District 5. Democrat Eric Tiernan faces a challenge from Republican incumbent Mike Dickson for the Board of Supervisors in District 5. In the Auditor’s race, Dani Fink, who was appointed by the Supervisors in May following the resignation of Marci McClellan, is being challenged by Democrat Hans Erickson. Fink had served as Deputy Auditor for three-years, prior to her appointment.

There’s a four-way race for two seats on the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors, with Democrats Lisa Lima and Frances Parr in the running, along with Republicans Brian Shea and Incumbent Tim Wichman. In Montgomery County, four candidates, including two incumbents, are running for three seats on the Montgomery County Hospital Board of Trustees. The candidates include incumbents Lorin Petersen and Sarah Wearin Smith, along with challengers James Norris and Ann Carter.

(Radio Iowa) – An actor from the movie “Field of Dreams” is buying a historic building in the northeast Iowa town where the 1989 film was shot.

Dwier Brown as John Kinsella in Field of Dreams

Dwier Brown, who played John Kinsela — the father of Kevin Costner’s character, is purchasing the former Tegeler Dairy in Dyersville. Jacque Rahe, director of Dyersville Economic Development, says she’s thrilled Brown is the buyer. “He was looking for a project to do here since he has planned to return here often,” Rahe says. “He’s a lover of old buildings and this building definitely caught his eye.”

Rahe says Brown and his business partner flew out from California to perform a detailed inspection of the two-story brick structure and its attached warehouse.  “They spent a long few days inside the building just freezing, planning how they would do things and what they were going to do to it,” Rahe says. “We’re excited to see what their vision is. They both have quite extensive experience in building renovation.” She says Brown wants to give back to the town by rescuing the aging relic, which was built in the late 1800s. “It’s such an iconic structure in our community,” Rahe says. “Everybody has a story about going to Tegeler Dairy for ice cream or getting treats for the baseball team there. It is one of those buildings in Dyersville that has a lot of history and we want to preserve some of that.”

The plan is to turn the building into three unique apartments, along with commercial and riverfront space to lease. Work is slated to begin yet this fall. Rahe says the project has landed a $100,000 grant from the state’s Community Catalyst Building Remediation Program to help with the renovation.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa District office of the U-S Small Business Administration is wrapping up its busiest-ever fiscal year of providing traditional and emergency loans to thousands of Iowa businesses. The S-B-A’s state director Jayne Armstrong says in a typical year, they process around 400 loans. This past year, with the pandemic that caused widespread economic turmoil, the figure exceeded 79-thousand loans. The agency offers two “traditional” loan programs. “We increased over last year, not only the number of loans but also dramatically on the dollar volume,” Armstrong says, “to start-ups and to existing businesses.”

The value of those traditional loans jumped from around 168-million dollars last fiscal year to a total of 233-million this fiscal year. The district, with offices in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, also approved more than 17,000 loans through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program and another 61,000 through the Paycheck Protection Program. “On the PPP side, of course, that helps to keep the employees employed and on the payroll during the closures,” Armstrong says. “A lot of small businesses aren’t out of the woods yet. It’s critical that we get this next round of the stimulus package, whenever that comes.”

Calling 2020 an “unprecedented” year for the agency, Armstrong says the loan volume demonstrates the S-B-A’s commitment to Iowa’s small business community. “The unsung hero of the CARES Act was the SBA Debt Relief Initiative which SBA was making six months of payments on existing SBA loans and for all new SBA loans,” Armstrong says. “That really made a difference for a lot of small businesses to keep them afloat with helping them with the cashflow.”

More than 95-percent of Iowa’s businesses are considered small businesses, so the shut-downs due to COVID-19 were especially hard on multiple industries. Armstrong says a few key federal programs helped to keep many thousands of Iowa merchants in business during the exceptionally challenging times.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:05-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The City Council in Atlantic will meet during a regular session 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, in their Chambers at City Hall. One of the top items on their agenda is cutting the sleeves off of Atlantic Police Chief Dave Erickson, as part of Breast Cancer Awareness.

IA Gov, Kim Reynolds cuts the sleeve of Atlantic Police Chief Dave Erickson to get his pink Breast Cancer Awareness Month patch to benefit the Cass County Relay for Life. (A-PD photo)

Last week, the Chief presented Governor Kim Reynolds and Senator Joni Ernst with the opportunity to cut off one of the department’s pink police patches from his uniform, while they were in town. Both took him up on the offer and made a donation to purchase a patch. Money raised from the sale of the patches will be donated to the Cass County Relay for Life.

The Council will then receive an Annual report from Atlantic Public Library Director Michelle Andersen before taking action on a Resolution “Obligating funds from the Hotel Whitney Urban Renewal Area Revenue Fund for appropriation to the payment of annual appropriation TIF (tax increment financed) obligations,” which will be due in the next fiscal year. This will be the third year the City has been eligible to capture the taxes paid by the Whitney Group for their renovation project, using TIF. The appropriation will be an annual feature on the Council’s agenda until the maximum payment of $750,000 is paid-off, or 20-years expires…whichever comes first. The City will pull tax dollars from both the Hotel Whitney Urban Renewal Area and North Urban Renewal Area.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council will hold the third and final reading of an Ordinance amending the City Code, and entitled “Stop Required,” with regard to the proposed 4-way stop at 22nd and Olive, and the conversion to a three way-stop at 32nd and Chestnut. Afterward, the Council will hold a Public Hearing on an Ordinance calling for the City of vacate the Right-Of-Way for partial, non-connecting stub of E. 9th Street, east of Plum Street, which would agreeably increase the size of two taxable properties to the north and south, and provide a minor benefit to the City in the form of additional taxes.

The Council will hold the first reading of an Ordinance vacating a certain City alley, as previously discussed. And, they’ll act on an Order to approve the Fiscal Year 2020 Urban Renewal Report, as required by the Code of Iowa, for those cities with an active Urban Renewal Area. The report details everything related to TIF districts and projects.

(Update 10-a.m.) The Iowa Department of Public Health’s Coronavirus dashboard today (Monday), indicated the number of Positive cases in the State continue to rise, along with the number of deaths. There were 1,469 new cases statewide, and 17 deaths reported for a total of 1,733. Pre-existing conditions account for 1,132 of the total deaths. Cass County has one more death (total of 4), 16 more Positive cases, for a total of 495. Pottawattamie County has 29 new Positive cases.

Long-Term Care Facility deaths are up seven, 847. The number of outbreaks at LTC’s are down one, to 80. In Cass County, two facilities: Atlantic Specialty Care and the Griswold Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, have a combined total of 116 positive cases, with 17 recovered. Harrison County has 251 cases among three facilities, and 125 recovered.  (For more data not seen here, go to https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/)

Hospitalizations total 718 today (compared to 676 Sunday). There are 156 COVID patients in an ICU (Down from 164 on Sunday), 108 have been admitted since Sunday (down from 128 previously), and 57 are on a ventilator (up from 53 yesterday). In western/southwestern Iowa: there are 46 people hospitalized with COVID (compared to 43 yesterday); 10 are in an ICU, four were admitted and three are on a ventilator.

The IDPH reports a total of 984,539 Iowans have been tested for the virus, with 131,713 testing positive, and 851,139 testing Negative. The Individual Positivity rate is 13.4%, and the 14-day rolling average is 14.4%. There are 11 counties with a Positivity rate of 20% or greater, including: Cass County, at 21.9%;  Harrison County at 21.5%, and Taylor County at 20.1%.  Officials say 93,813 Iowans have recovered from the virus.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases in each county (as of 6-a.m., 11/2), along with the 24-hour change in case numbers {+#}; the number of persons recovered, and the total number of [deaths] (if any), since the pandemic began,

• Cass, 495 cases {+16}; 308 recovered; 4 deaths
• Adair, 230 {+9}; 77; 1
• Adams, 88 {+1}; 51; 1
• Audubon, 193 {+2}; 105; 1
• Guthrie, 440 {+13); 284; 15
• Harrison County, 745 {+5}; 351; 17
• Madison County, 401 {+5}; 275; 3
• Mills County, 489 {+16}; 233; 3
• Montgomery, 214 {+3}; 162; 7
• Pottawattamie County, 3,585 {+29]; 2,552; 45
• Shelby County, 430 {+4}; 360; 2
• Union County,  291; 232; 5

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa has four congressional districts and, once the votes are counted in this election, at least two but perhaps three of the four districts will be represented by women. University of Northern Iowa political science professor Donna Hoffman says getting more female representation, at all levels, is a national trend — and national studies show women are better than men at constituent case work. “The more experience that voters have with diverse models of representation, quite frankly the better off representation in the United States will be,” Hoffman says.

Iowa currently has two congresswomen, both seeking reelection to a second term. Democrat Cindy Axne of West Des Moines is in a rematch in the third district with former Republican Congressman David Young, a Republican. In Iowa’s first district, incumbent Abby Finkenauer, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, faces Republican Ashley Hinson of Marion. She’s a former T-V reporter in the Cedar Rapids market. Hoffman says both have emphasized how they have responded to derecho victims in the district. “This is one of the races that people across the country are watching,” Hoffman says, “the parties are sinking money into, lots of people are sinking money into.”

Hinson, who spoke with Radio Iowa this weekend, raised one-point-six million dollars for her campaign in the third quarter. “It shows the strength of our campaign and I think it shows that we are going to win this race on Tuesday,” Hinson said. Hinson has highlighted her votes as a member of the state legislature to reduce state taxes. During the president’s rally in Dubuque Sunday, she declared Iowa “Trump Country” and this was her message to a crowd in Maquoketa.”Abby Finkenauer is marching in lockstep with Pelosi and Biden as well,” Hinson said this weekend in Maquoketa. Finkenauer spoke Saturday at a rally with other Democrats in Marion.”We are going to keep this congressional district blue. We are going to send Joe Biden to that White House,” she said.

Finkenauer worked on Biden’s 2008 Iowa campaign and she endorsed him before this year’s Iowa Caucuses. In Iowa’s second congressional district, two women — Democrat Rita Hart of Wheatland and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottuwma — are competing for that seat. Dave Loebsack, a Democrat from Iowa City, is not seeking reelection .