(Radio Iowa) – A monthly survey of supply managers and business leaders in Iowa and eight other states finds the economies in Iowa — and the Midwest — slowed during April. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the regional economy is still in the “healthy” category but dropped from being considered “very strong” in March. Goss says much of the blame goes to supply chain disruptions. “Four out of ten supply managers expect those supply chain disruptions to get worse,” Goss says. “Now, only one to five expect them to get better, and of course that leaves another four out of ten that expect those supply chain disruptions to remain the same.”

The prices consumers are paying for most goods remain high and the survey results indicate things likely won’t be improving anytime soon. “Inflation is still strong. That’s what we’ve seen and that’s what we’re going to continue to see,” Goss says. “The April number’s at 89.7. Again, these indices range from zero-to-100 and 89.7 is quite strong. I will call it excessive inflationary pressures, but it is down from March’s 95.5.”

Long-term interest rates will likely be going up a full percentage point, Goss predicts, which will have far-reaching ripple effects. “Of course, that’s going to slow the housing sector more than what we’re seeing right now,” Goss says. “The housing sector has been going gangbusters. These higher mortgage rates are going to slow that growth in prices and we’re going to see the housing market slow down a bit, but still in a positive range.”

The survey shows Iowa’s Business Conditions Index for April sank to 69.8 from 75.6 in March, again on a zero-to-100 scale. For the nine-state region, the overall index showed a “still healthy” 65.9 for April, down from March’s “very strong” rating of 71.3.

Police in Red Oak, early this (Monday) afternoon, arrested a man on an active warrant for Contempt of Court. 42-year-old Michael Shane Webster, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 12:30-p.m. and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held without bond.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports five arrests took place over the past week. Saturday evening, 49-year-old Robert William Fears, of Fort Collins, Colorado, was arrested at the abandoned/locked Stuart Burger King store, after a door’s window glass was found to be broken, and Fears laying on the floor inside the building. Fears said he went inside to get out of the wind, but denied breaking the glass. He was taken into custody for Criminal Mischief/3rd Degree (Causing $800+ damage), Trespass causing damage, and Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana-1st offense. He was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $4,000 cash or surety bond.

At around 12:50-a.m., Saturday, 32-year-old Matthew David Swanson, of Orient, was arrested in Orient for OWI/1st offense. His breath-alcohol tested at .190%. Swanson was later released on a $1,000 bond. Friday night, 38-year-old Erich Sean Johnson, of Casey, was arrested in Adair, for Driving While Barred. He was later released on $2,000 bond. Friday evening, 50-year-old Allen John Sample, of Des Moines, was arrested at mile marker 86 of Interstate 80 in Adair County, after an Adair County Deputy initiated a traffic stop. Sample was arrested for OWI/1st offense and later released on a $1,000 bond.

And, on April 25th, 21-year old Madison LM Hayward, of Calais, Maine, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol, following a traffic stop on a speeding BMW, in which she was a passenger.  The vehicle was stopped on I-80 EB at mile marker 76, for traveling 84 mph in a 70 mph zone. Hayward was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, Poss. of a Controlled Substance/Psilocybin mushrooms, and poss. of drug paraphernalia. She was later released on a $2,300 bond.

(Johnston, Iowa) – The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum invites the public to attend the opening of a traveling exhibit on Thursday May 5, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. “The League of Wives: Vietnam’s POW/MIA Allies and Advocates” exhibit, sponsored by the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas, includes 18 illustrated panels and related artifacts tracing the story of the women who formed The National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia. They became the POW and MIAs most fervent advocates, going to extraordinary lengths to facilitate their husbands’ freedom and to account for missing military men by relentlessly lobbying government leaders, conducting a media campaign, holding covert meetings with antiwar activists, attempting negotiations with the North Vietnamese, and encoding messages in letters to their imprisoned husbands. The exhibit will be available for viewing through 31 August 2022.

Iowa Gold Star Museum

Ms. Heath Hardage Lee is the opening event’s guest speaker. Her 2019 book, The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home from Vietnam, has been optioned for a feature film. Ms. Lee is also the curator of the exhibit. During her presentation, Ms. Lee will tell the story of these remarkable women drawing on first person interviews, diaries, letters, oral histories and archival government records to tell the story of courage, resilience, and rescue. She will provide a book signing opportunity at the conclusion of the program.

(Ames, Iowa) – Iowa has a new, number one burger. Officials with the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association said today (Monday), The Flying Elbow earned the title of “Iowa’s Best Burger, 2022.” The establishment is tucked in among other businesses on North 13th Street, in Marshalltown. Local business owners support one another by encouraging their customers to stop by a neighboring boutique, restaurant, and/or shop. And it’s clear – Iowa’s Best Burger Contest has not only increased foot traffic at The Flying Elbow, but the adjacent, small businesses. The Flying Elbow, an alternative sports bar, was six years in the making. It did not happen by chance; it is the result of pitfalls and perseverance. Now it’s been named Iowa’s Best Burger.

Garrett Goodman, a Marshalltown native, considers himself a foodie, or “a person with a particular interest in food,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Goodman’s passion for preparing food took off early in life, as he spent the weekends cooking alongside his step-dad, a chef. Similarly, his great-grandfather worked in the restaurant business. With no formal culinary training, Goodman can affirm, “You can learn a lot in the field just by doing.”

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Marshals Service has announced 40 people in Black Hawk County have been arrested over the past four weeks in what the agency calls Operation Washout – Waterloo.
According to a news release from the U-S Marshals Service, the people who’ve been arrested are sex offenders, violent criminals and fugitives facing state, federal and local charges. Twenty-two of the 40 people arrested in Black Hawk County are accused of having connections to organized crime or gangs. The next phase of the operation will involve tracking a handful of fugitives who’ve recently fled the area according to a deputy U.S. Marshal.

Over the past four weeks, the U-S Marshals Service and 10 other law enforcement agencies from the local, state and federal level have been involved in the investigations and arrests in the Waterloo area.

(Radio Iowa) – Numbers from state climatologist Justin Glisan confirm spring jackets weren’t always the best option in April.  “We’re about five degrees below average looks like the top 15 coldest April on record in our records go back 150 years,” Glisan says. The state climatologist says he also got a lot of comments about how windy the days were in the just completed month.

“Now April is climatologically the windiest month of the year for Iowa — but really windy conditions — we had you know strings of days in which sustained winds were 20 to 25 miles per hour and gusting up into the 30s,” Glisan says. “So we look at the averages, the climatology of wind speed and direction. We had a significant wind direction out of the northwest but also a secondary southeasterly component to that. And those are driven by wetter days from the northwest and then warmer days from the southeast.”

Those wind conditions help create some stormy weather throughout April. Glisan says the positive from the storms is they brought more precipitation with them. “We look at April last year, we were an inch and a half below average. So relatively dry conditions last April,” according to Glisan. “We were only about four-tenths of an inch below average across the state. And we had pockets in central in north-central Iowa, where we had rainfall departures — positive so surpluses of anywhere from one to two inches.”

The statewide average for precipitation was three-point-two inches. Glisan says the early projections are for May to remain cool and damp. Check out the April weather data for Atlantic in a report on the Weather page at kjan.com (Located under the Community Hub column).

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Board of Supervisor’s meeting will be held in the City of Harlan’s Council Chambers, Tuesday, instead of at the courthouse. The meeting time is still 9-a.m.  Among the action items on their agenda is:

• Appointing Zoning Board Members for Shelby County
• A Resolution allocating ARPA Funds and declaration of LOST (Local Option Sales Tax) funds.
• The appointment of a Deputy Sheriff for the 2022 Calendar year.

In other business, the Shelby County Supervisors will receive reports from the County Recorder, Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, and the Secondary Roads report.

DENISON— The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports a small amount of process wastewater reached the Boyer River in Denison, Sunday afternoon. Alarms rang about 2:45 p.m. at Smithfield Foods when a wastewater processor malfunctioned. Staff immediately closed a nearby storm drain. But an estimated 50 to 100 gallons had already flowed through the storm drain and into the Boyer River.

Smithfield staff continue cleanup efforts. DNR does not recommend recreation in the area until cleanup is complete. DNR will monitor cleanup and consider appropriate enforcement action.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a deputy took custody Friday of Atlantic man, who was wanted on valid warrants through the State of Iowa. 36-year-old David Michael Theisen was picked-up from Cass County (Iowa) Correction on an Absence from Custody charge, on an original charge of Driving While Barred. He was transported to the Pott. County Jail and held on a $1,000 bond.

A man from Council Bluffs was cited for Violating the Pott. County Burn Ban, Friday evening. 58-year-old Vincent Paul Tangeman told a deputy he thought that with all the rain he had received Thursday night, the burn ban was lifted. If fact, it wasn’t lifted until just this (Monday) morning.

And, an Omaha man being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail, was served with a valid arrest warrant out of Douglas County, Nebraska. The warrant was for being a Fugitive from Justice. 34-year-ol Paul Matthew Hughes was presented with the warrant, and then return to the custody of Pott. County Corrections staff.