(Radio Iowa) – The monthly survey of business leaders and supply managers in Iowa and eight other Midwestern states shows a moderate drop in the region’s leading economic indicator for March. The Creighton University survey ranks the economy on a zero-to-100 scale, with 50 being growth neutral. Creighton economist Ernie Goss says it’s the tenth month in a row the region’s been above that growth neutral mark. “The Mid-America region was still a very strong 68.9, that’s down slightly from last month’s 69.6,” Goss says, “so it’s a very, very strong reading, indicating the manufacturing sector is proceeding with very strong growth.”

Iowa’s business conditions index for March also sank to 66.5, falling from 71.1 in February. The surveys in February and March found about eight in ten manufacturers reported bottlenecks in getting raw materials and supplies from vendors, curtailing what could be even stronger growth. Goss says the impacts of COVID-19 have been long-lasting. “In April, we hit a downturn in 2020 and since then, it’s been trending upward,” Goss says. “We’re still four-to-five-percent below pre-COVID levels. We’ve still got more to go. I expect us, by the end of the year, to be back to pre-COVID levels in terms of employment and overall economic activity.”

While more Iowans are starting to plan and take vacations, Goss says companies are not as quick to approve travel plans for their employees. “We think the vaccine is opening up the nation, and it is for consumer travel and family travel, but not for business travel,” Goss says. “Businesses are going to continue to do Zoom conferences and we’re not going to see as much as we’d like to see, so that’s going to hurt the hotel and restaurant industry, leisure and hospitality will be under pressure.”

He predicts those industries won’t recover and be back to pre-COVID levels until 2022. Compared to pre-COVID-19 levels, Goss says the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Iowa manufacturing employment is down 3,600 jobs, or 1.6%, while average hourly manufacturing wages are 1.8% lower.

(Radio Iowa) – The president of the union representing employees in Iowa’s correctional system says violence inside the prisons has become commonplace, due to depleted staffing. AFSCME (AFFS-mee) Council 61 president Danny Homan says since a nurse and a correctional officer were murdered inside the Anamosa prison last week, there have been at least three other assaults against corrections employees. In a letter to legislative leaders, Homan said there are 234 vacant correctional officer positions in the system today – including 14 at the Anamosa prison. Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls of Coralville says last week’s attack at the prison in Anamosa should prompt decisive bipartisan action in the legislature. “It was obviously a tragedy and we’re at a point now where thoughts and prayers and flying the flag at half staff are not enough,” Wahls says. “We need action.”

Last week, the Senate’s majority leader indicated Senate G-O-P budget plans had already included four MILLIION more dollars for the Iowa Department of Corrections, so more prison guards may be hired. House Speaker Pat Grassley says House Republicans are planning something similar. “Obviously, we had a terrible situation happen at the prison,” Grassley said. “I think you were going to see a strong number in our budget, but I think it just further strengthens our option that was the right decision that we were working off of.”  Wahls says policy reforms are needed, too, like letting prison staff collectively bargain over workplace safety issues. “In order to truly make sure that our corrections officers and staff are able to work and do their jobs,” Wahls says, “and that they can leave home without having to worry about whether or not they’ll come home that evening.”

AFSCME’s president is calling on legislators to conduct their own investigation of the causes of last week’s attack at the Anamosa prison.

(Radio Iowa) – Police are searching for a Mason City man after a murder late Wednesday night in Mason City. Police Chief Jeff Brinkley says shortly after 10:25 Wednesday night, officers responded to a shooting in the northwestern area of the community, with the initial call being that one person had been shot. Officers confirmed this on arrival at the scene, with the victim being transported to MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center where they later died.

Benjamin B. Gonzalez

The name of the victim is being withheld pending the notification of relatives. A warrant for first-degree murder has been issued for 38-year-old Benjamin Gonzalez of Mason City, who should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Mason City Police Department at 641-421-3636. If you have any information about Gonzalez’s whereabouts, you are asked to contact your local law enforcement agency.

(Radio Iowa) – Some high-profile proposals have failed to advance past the final deadline requiring policy bills to have cleared at least five steps in the legislative process by the end of this week. One bill that stalled called for ending tenure at the three state universities. House Speaker Pat Grassley says Republicans will revisit the issue in 2022. “There still is interest within the legislature to do something within tenure, it just may be a different approach,” Grassley says. “It maybe is more of a reform proposal that we would see.”

One of Republican Governor Kim Reynolds’ education proposals has failed to advance in the House. It would have established state scholarships to cover private school expenses for students who transferred out of a few dozen public schools. Republican Senators included the proposal in a bill they passed early this year, but Grassley confirms there were not enough G-O-P votes in the House for what the governor called “Students First Scholarships.”

“We just were unable to find a path forward on that,” Grassley says, “but we feel very strongly about the charter piece.” A bill designed to let groups form publicly-funded charter schools in Iowa without approval from local public school boards passed the House in March and the Senate Education Committee took action on it yesterday (Thursday).

Proposals on to automatically restore felon voting rights and track racial profiling failed to clear today’s (Friday’s) deadline. The governor’s proposal to allow over-the-counter sales of birth control also stalled again this year. While today (Friday) is technically the deadline for action on policy bills, legislators typically do not meet on Fridays and are not meeting today.