OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Figures from a survey of supply managers in nine Midwest and Plains states have risen, suggesting economic growth ahead. A report issued Wednesday says the Mid-American Business Conditions index hit 52.1 in May, compared with 50.1 in April and 50.6 in March.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the region’s manufacturing sector is expanding. The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests economic growth. A score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports a traffic stop early this (Wednesday) morning in Sidney, resulted in the arrest of a local woman on drug charges. 22-year old Nicole Penfield, of Sidney, was taken into custody after the Fremont County K9 unit found her to allegedly be in possession of a controlled substance and numerous pieces of drug paraphernalia.

Nicole Penfield

Penfield was being held at the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center on $1,300 bond.

Police in Red Oak, Tuesday afternoon, arrested a man on a felony drug charge. 31-year old Andrew Thomas Copeland Falk, of Red Oak, was arrested for Possession, with the Intent to Deliver – Methamphetamine. Falk was also charged with Unlawful Possession of Prescription Pills. He was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $50,000 cash bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 2:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have identified the 60-year-old man whose body was recovered from the Des Moines River last week. Authorities say Leonard Dawson’s body was pulled from the river Thursday afternoon near the Southeast 14th Street bridge in Des Moines. Police say Dawson was reported missing by his family earlier this month. Authorities have not released an official cause of death but they say there were no obvious signs of injury

LA MOTTE, Iowa (AP) — No injuries were reported after a Dubuque school bus hit an agricultural sprayer. The bus drove onto private farm property near La Motte in an attempt to turn around Tuesday morning and hit the boom of a sprayer. The sprayer broke the front windshield of the bus and also hit a side window. The sprayer broke the front windshield of the bus and also hit a side window. Students on the bus were not injured.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Although rain has slowed progress in some regions of the country, farmers planting corn remain ahead of schedule. Nationally, 94 percent of the crop is planted, two percentage points ahead of the five-year average.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Most students at Iowa’s three public universities would pay $300 more in the upcoming school year under a plan to increase tuition. The 4.4 percent increase for undergraduate in-state students would replace a tuition freeze approved by the Board of Regents and make up for a stingy budget approved by lawmakers.