(Radio Iowa) – A survey finds Iowa’s economy further slumped during November following a “weak” showing in October, with little optimism for improvement. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the monthly survey of business leaders and supply managers in Iowa and eight other Midwestern states found the state and regional economies sputtering. Goss says they were asked about the biggest challenges to business and manufacturing in the months ahead.

“Supply chain disruptions, by far, was the largest challenge that the manufacturers see going forward with 38.7% indicating that that was likely to be the greatest threat to their business,” Goss says. “Higher inflation was number two at 27.8%.” Other predicted challenges on the list include labor shortages and cyber threats. Goss says the leaders of many Midwestern manufacturing businesses are concerned about next month’s potential longshoremen’s strike for the 17 ports on the East and Gulf coasts.

Ernie Goss (Creighton University photo)

“And of course, with President Trump’s call for tariffs, that scares manufacturers and scares agricultural interests, and that’s a big concern,” Goss says. “That’s what this part of the country depends upon, and that’s a big issue going forward.” The report grades the economy on a zero-to-100 scale with a score of 50 being “growth neutral.” For the sixth time this year, the overall score fell below growth neutral during November, and for a second straight month, the wholesale price inflation gauge rose. Goss says hiring was also stagnant during the month.

“When you look at the overall reading for manufacturing this year alone, down about 90,000 jobs,” Goss says. “That’s about seven-tenths of 1%. The U.S. economy has lost jobs, manufacturing jobs, six of the last 10 months. The region’s only down slightly, 2,000 jobs or about two-tenths of 1% but the region’s lost jobs in four of the last five months.” The survey finds the Midwest’s employment index slumped below growth neutral for an 11th straight month during November. According to the latest U.S. International Trade Administration data, Goss says Iowa’s manufacturing sector experienced a $1.1 billion drop in 2024 year-to-date exports, compared to the same period in 2023, for an 8.5% decline.

The Iowa State Board of Canvass certified results from the 2024 general election Monday, finalizing results in races across the state. The Iowa Capital Dispatch says the board, consisting of Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate,  Gov. Kim Reynolds, Treasurer Roby Smith, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and Auditor Rob Sand, met virtually Monday. For all results outside of the presidential election, the board’s certification is the final step to make results from the Nov. 5 contests official as county boards of supervisors certified election results and the requested recounts in the weeks following the election.

Iowa’s six electors will meet Dec. 17 at the Iowa State Capitol to cast their votes for President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and results from the presidential race will be certified by Congress Jan. 6, 2025.

Pate told reporters Monday that 74.1% of registered Iowa voters cast their ballots in the 2024 election — a total of 1,674,011 ballots cast. This turnout was roughly in line with previous presidential election cycles, he said, but noted that there was a change in party absentee and early voting participation in 2024 compared to previous years.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate spoke with reporters in his office at the Iowa State Capitol Dec. 2, 2024 after he met virtually with other members of the Iowa State Board of Canvass to certify the results of the 2024 general election. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

According to Pate, a total of 268,629 registered Republicans voted early this year, more than the 257,634 Democrats who voted early. While Democrats historically have an edge in early and absentee voting, Pate said part of the shift to higher GOP participation this year was part of a deliberate push by GOP leadership to encourage voting prior to Election Day.

Pate called the high participation on and before Election Day “very impressive and significant,” thanking county auditors, election workers and volunteers for their work. He also thanked state lawmakers for recent changes to election law that helped make recount processes run more smoothly than previous years.

The recount process in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks won by 798 votes against Democrat Christina Bohannan, was conducted more quickly than previous recounts in the 1st Congressional District, he said. He said that was due in part to changes to Iowa Code and because of new guidance issued by his office calling for county auditors to avoid “hybrid” recounts, and either recount ballots either fully by hand or by tabulator machine.

The secretary of state said he plans to make requests to the state Legislature in 2025 that would require counties follow a uniform process, which Pate said would further speed up results. Additionally, Pate said he is in talks with lawmakers to take action on non-citizen voting in the upcoming legislative session. Pate’s guidance to county auditors in late October to challenge the ballots of more than 2,000 Iowans listed as potential non-citizens was upheld by a federal judge days before the general election.

Groups including the ACLU and the League of United Latin American Citizens said the measure intimidated immigrants who were legally able to participate in elections as naturalized citizens. But Pate argued that the measure was necessary because the federal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office would not share access to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database for the Iowa Secretary of State’s office to confirm the citizenship status of the individuals listed. The 2,000 people identified as potential noncitizens were people who identified themselves to the Iowa Department of Transportation or other government entities as noncitizens in the past 12 years, who later registered to vote or voted.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) –  For the second time in two years, a Pottawattamie County nurse is facing disciplinary charges and is accused of prescribing or dispensing drugs in an unsafe manner. According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the Iowa Board of Nursing alleges advanced registered nurse practitioner James D. Dickerson of Neola is guilty of professional incompetence for a willful or repeated failure to practice within the scope his license or ability; professional incompetence for failure to meet the telehealth standards defined by Iowa law; behavior that constitutes unethical conduct or practicing in a manner that’s harmful to the public; and behavior that constitutes unethical conduct related to prescribing or dispensing drugs.

According to the board, Dickerson is certified as a family nurse practitioner who has practiced in Omaha, Nebraska, and provided telehealth services in Iowa during the period in which he allegedly violated state regulations.

As is customary with Iowa’s licensing boards, the Board of Nursing has not publicly disclosed when the alleged violations occurred, where they took place, or whether any patients were harmed. Some of that information may be publicly disclosed after the case is resolved through a settlement or board order. A hearing in the matter is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2025.

In 2021, the Board of Nursing charged Dickerson with performing services beyond his scope of practice and prescribing or dispensing drugs to people who either weren’t patients or were outside his area of specialty. In 2022, the board resolved that case by ordering Dickerson to immediately stop providing any treatment to patients with a complex mental health diagnosis until he received certification as a psychiatric nurse practitioner. The board also fined Dickerson $1,000 and ordered him to undergo five hours of consultation with a nurse practitioner.

Other Iowa nurses recently charged by the board with wrongdoing include:

— Dawn O’Neil, a registered nurse was charged with failing to document patients’ status and misappropriating patient medications. The board has not disclosed where O’Neil lives, where the alleged violations took place, or when they occurred. The board has, however, agreed to settle the case by ordering O’Neil to participate in the Iowa Nursing Assistance Program, which assist nurses with substance abuse issues.

— Linda Jay of Clarinda, a licensed practical nurse who was charged in July with failing to assess or evaluate the status of a patient and committing an act that might adversely affect a patient. According to the board, the violations occurred when Jay was working at an unspecified long-term care facility in November 2023 and a resident under her care experienced a change in condition that she failed to report to a physician.

In February of this year, she allegedly failed to properly document a patient’s condition and, 10 days later, she allegedly administered medication to a resident “outside of the notified blood pressure parameters.” Jay agreed to settle the case by paying a $300 civil penalty and completing 30 hours of educational training.

— Brandy Wicks, a registered nurse who is charged with misappropriating or attempting to misappropriate medications; failing to properly document or perform the disposal of medications; and failing to properly secure medications. The violations are alleged to have taken place when Wicks was working in an acute care hospital. The board has not disclosed where Wicks lives or when the alleged violations took place. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2025.

— Cassie Forde of Mechanicsville, a licensed practical nurse who is charged with misappropriating medications or supplies belonging to a patient or clinic; failing to properly document or perform the disposal of medications; performing nursing services beyond the authorized scope of practice; falsifying records related to nursing practice; and committing an act that might adversely affect the welfare of a patient. No other details in the case have been made public. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2025.