(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s unemployment rate increased to three-point-three percent in November. That’s six-tenths of a percent higher than it was in July and the fourth consecutive month it has inched up. Beth Townsend, director of the Iowa Workforce Development agency, says there were about a thousand job losses in Iowa’s professional and business services sector in November — including a reduction in administrative support staff. “We also saw a number of people drop out of the workforce — about 6700 people between October and November. That was mostly due to retirements and students who willingly left the workforce,” Townsend says. “While we don’t like to see a reduction in our labor force, that number’s not overly concerning at this point.”

Just over 68 percent of Iowans who are 16 or older and actively seeking employment were working in November — that’s about five points higher than the national average. “Before the pandemic, we were at about almost 69% labor particiption rate and we’ve been over 68% for 2023,” Townsend says, “so we’re inching up and moving closer to pre-pandemic labor rate participation numbers.” There were about 100 layoffs in Iowa’s manufacturing sector in November, but Townsend says compared to the beginning of the year, there were about three-thousand more people employed in Iowa manufacturing by the end of November.

The most job GROWTH in November came in Iowa’s construction industry, which added 18-hundred jobs. “The good weather has certainly helped us out in that,” Townsend says, “and the hiring was primarily in commercial construction, so that was a good sign.” About a thousand jobs were added in the financial services sector in November. “Insurance and the financial industry are very key to the Iowa economy,” Townsend says, “and one of our bigger industries.” Townsend says 11-hundred people were hired in November to work in Iowa hospitals, nursing homes and other health care settings.

“Which is really good news for the health care industry because as you know they’ve had a difficult time hiring since the pandemic,” she says, “and they are up over 8500 jobs over the past 12 months.” The state’s IowaWORKS website lists 62-thousand job openings today. According to government data, more than one-point-six million people are working in Iowa. The national unemployment rate dropped to three-point-seven percent in November.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Red Oak Police have arrested a man from Nebraska on felony warrants. 53-year-old Joshua Norman Fuller, of Lincoln, NE, was arrested a little after 8:30-a.m. today (Thursday), on a valid DCI (Dept. of Criminal Investigations) warrant for Class-D Felony two-counts of Assault on persons in certain occupations, and a Class-B Felony charge of Attempted Murder of a Peace Officer.

Fuller was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the current drought is the longest in Iowa since the 1950s, with abnormally dry and drought conditions extending into the 188th week in a row, according to the latest data available.Following the 16th driest November on record, precipitation for December is currently about 60 percent of average, which is normally 1.37 inches. Portions of southeast Iowa recorded above normal rainfall for the month, leaving most of the state with below average precipitation.

Depending on potential rainfall during the coming weekend, December could finish with average levels This would help stabilize, but not improve, drought conditions. Tim Hall, the Hydrology Resources Coordinator for the Iowa DNR, says “At this point, any moisture we get in the state will be helpful. With conditions as dry as they are coming out of 2023 there is a real concern for hydrologic conditions moving into 2024. Low stream flows and dry soil conditions could lead to water supply challenges in the coming year.”

However, the dry winter months will make drought recovery challenging. January is normally the driest month of the year in the state, with an average of less than one inch of moisture. Iowa State Climatologist, Dr. Justin Glisan says “Strong El Niño conditions are projected to persist through winter. In an El Niño winter, precipitation can be highly variable. Warmer than normal temperatures could result in more rain than snow during the winter months.” 

The Iowa Drought Team, made up of staff from the Departments of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and Natural Resources will continue to meet over the winter months to prepare for potential continuation and worsening of drought conditions. The next Water Summary Update, which will include a review of the 2023 conditions, will be published in January.

(West Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) will award 27 graduating high school seniors from Iowa (three from each of IFBF’s nine districts) a $2,500 scholarship each, renewable for four years (up to $10,000 per recipient). College and graduate students are not eligible to apply. IFBF President Brent Johnson says offering scholarships has been a long-standing program for the organization.

He says agriculture hinges on the passion and ingenuity of the next generation.

The scholarships give students interested in agriculture, but not sure which aspect they want to specialize in, the opportunity to explore the options.

Johnson says the scholarships aren’t just for farm kids.

Each of IFBF’s 100 county Farm Bureaus will select one application from their county to be considered for IFBF’s state scholarship.

To qualify for the IFBF scholarship renewal, the recipient must continue to meet the scholarship requirements annually. To learn more about IFBF eligibility requirements and guidelines, click here.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood are investigating a hit-and-run property damage accident that took place sometime between 8-and 9-a.m., Wednesday (12/20/23). The owner of a 2013 Toyota RAV4 notified the police department about the incident, which took place in the parking lot the Glenwood McDonald’s restaurant. The SUV was parked in the lot earlier in the morning, Wednesday. When the owner came back, he noticed damage to the passenger side quarter panel of the vehicle, which – according to restaurant employees – was by a white truck that was pulling a horse trailer. The damage was estimated at $2,500.

Restaurant staff were contacted by Glenwood Police, who were expected to review surveillance images of the suspect vehicle.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Three people were recently arrested on separate charges. Today (Thursday, 12/221), 59-year-old Raymond Price, of Missouri Valley, was arrested for Possession of a controlled substance, and poss. of drug paraphernalia. His cash or surety bond was set at $1,300. There were two arrests Wednesday, in Glenwood: 42-year-old Crystal Rowland, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear. Her cash-only bond was set at $2,000. And, 35-year-old Brittany Baker, of Glenwood, was arrested for driving under suspension. She posted a $300 bond and was released.

(Radio Iowa) – The development of housing and businesses has exploded in the last decade in many of the state’s metro areas, but a farmland expert says all the building hasn’t put much of a dent in agriculture. Peoples Company president Steve Bruere says central Iowa is a good example. “There’s 27 million crop acres in Iowa. And when you look at what’s happening around the Des Moines metro, there’s about three-thousand new homes being built a year. And so that takes about one thousand acres of development ground,” he says. Bruere says when you throw in commercial developments, that takes another one-thousand acres.

“Of course for farmers and people that grew up on a farm, it makes you sick to see some of these fields get turned into turned into houses,” Bruere says. “But from a statewide impact, you know, that 27 million acre figure versus the two thousand it’s not going to move the needle.” He says there will be some local impact on farming, especially if there are big chunks of land that are bought for data centers or other development.

“That’ll have an impact on the local market when you see those big transactions happen. But, you know, as far as food security and whatnot, it’s not as impactful as one might think,” according Bruere. His company producers an annual report that reviews all types of sales information and other factors for Iowa’s cropland. The survey this found farmland prices have held their own along with the rest of the country despite issues with the national economy.

(Radio Iowa) – The six Republicans who represent Iowa in the U-S House and Senate are calling on the Biden Administration to reopen rail crossings in Texas. The U-S Border Patrol suspended rail operations in Eagle Pass and El Paso on Monday to shift agents to process migrants crossing the border. Congressman Zach Nunn of Bondurant says those two rail crossings are critical to getting Iowa grain and agricultural exports to Mexico.  “That’s a third of all ag export coming out of the country to Mexico, our number one trading partner,” Nunn says. “…So at the same time we have a dumpster fire on immigration, now we’ve poured gasoline on it by saying we’re not going to allow Iowa corn to leave the country, but we’re going to allow unfettered access to illegal immigrants coming into the country.”

Iowa’s congressional delegation sent a letter to President Biden and the U-S Secretary of Homeland Security yesterday (Wednesday), calling the situation at the southern border grave. Nunn says the Biden Administration’s failure to secure the border is making things tougher for law enforcement in Iowa. “There is no strategy for curbing the amount of crime coming across the border,” Nunn says. “With the border incursion comes crime, comes fentanyl, comes human trafficking.”

Nunn met with local officers at the Davis County Law Enforcement Center in Bloomfield on Wednesday.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says he will withdraw from the Colorado Primary if former President Donald Trump isn’t on it. The Colorado Supreme Court this week declared Trump ineligible for office, citing Trump’s role in the January 6th, 2021 riot at the U-S Capitol. Ramaswamy says the Colorado ruling is based on a misinterpretation of the U-S Constitution.

“Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was made for people from parts of the Confederacy from being re-elected to a post-Civil War government,” Ramaswamy says, “so I always stand with the Constitution, not with a fake set of Democratic un-elected cabal of judges in a partisan vote in the state of Colorado interpreting our Constitution in a way that no federal judge would.”

Ramaswamy made his comments yesterday (Wednesday) during a stop in Hampton. He’s making stops in eight Iowa cities today (Thursday) and has said he’ll have visited each of Iowa’s 99 counties twice by early next year.

(Elk Horn, Iowa) – The Exira-Elk Horn/Kimballton School District’s Board of Education met in a regular monthly session, Tuesday night. The Board discussed updates with regard to the Exira weight room renovation. Superintendent Trevor Miller said they’re looking at other school districts offer their students and the community.

The total cost estimate is $421,000. Mr. Miller said the goal is to get construction started in about a year or so. During the facilities discussion, Superintendent Miller shared with the Board an update on potential projects at both the Elk Horn and Exira campuses.

Invision Architecture and Boyd Jones are working to provide anticipated costs for the projects. Miller says they hope to get going on those projects by next Summer. In other business, the Board approved the Fiscal Year 2022 Audit as presented. Mr. Miller said the audit revealed typical issues faced by many districts and government entities, but nothing substantial.

The FY23 audit just wrapped-up this week. The results won’t be available for several months. The Exira-EHK Board approved a snow removal bid from Duane Christofferson in the amount of $275 per snow incident. They also approved a MSA (Modified Supplemental Amount) for At-Risk/Dropout Prevention request to the SBRC of $160,211. And, the 2023-24 Early Notification Incentive for Early Retirement was approved as presented.

The Board approved the purchase of a used, 12 passenger van from Bob Brown Chevrolet, for $42,705. And, as we’ve previously mentioned, the Exira-EHK Board, Tuesday, approved a Superintendent Sharing Agreement with the Audubon Community School District. The Audubon School Board approved the agreement during their meeting Monday evening. The agreement means Trevor Miller will oversee both districts effective July 1, 2024.

The Board approved the resignations of a Food Service employee (Cindy Gries) and an Associate (Dee Hill-Gorger). They also approved the hiring of an Elementary Special Education Teacher (Riley Simpson).

Their regular next meeting is 5-p.m. January 16, 2024, in the High School Conference Room in Elk Horn.