The latest survey of the CEOs of Iowa’s largest companies shows they’re expecting the state’s economy will be cooling off in the coming six months. Elliott Smith is executive director of the Iowa Business Council (IBC). “The release of our third quarter survey did indicate a bit of a tempering of enthusiasm, I think, for some of the economic activity that we’ve seen lately,” Smith said. The survey employs a 100 point scale, with a score over 50 considered “positive sentiment.” The IBC’s third quarter Overall Economic Outlook Survey Index was 59 — eight points lower than last quarter and six points lower than one year ago.

“I think we are seeing some impact of international economic activity finally resonating here in the state, simply because so much of Iowa’s business activity itself rests on export trade and international business,” Smith said. The survey shows most of the CEOs anticipate steady or increased hiring levels, sales and capital spending between September and February. But, Smith notes the numbers in all three of those categories are down from previous surveys.

“Yes, the survey did back off a little bit from its previous optimism, but I think we’re still in for a decent remainder of 2015,” Smith said. ” The numbers still remain solidly in positive sentiment territory, so I don’t know if there’s any need to raise red flags of warning yet.”

(Radio Iowa) – more online at www.iowabusinesscouncil.org

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — John Deere says it will lay off 30 employees at its plant in Davenport. The company said Monday that the workforce reduction at Davenport Works affects employees who make construction and forestry equipment.

Spokesman Ken Golden tells the Quad-City Times that the layoffs are effective Oct. 2. The company on Monday also announced plans to lay off 150 people at its plant in East Moline in neighboring Illinois. Those layoffs are effective Sept. 18.

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The Red Oak Police Department announced the arrest Tuesday of 17-year-old Dakota Girouex of Red Oak for Driving While Revoked (a serious misdemeanor).  Girouex was arrested at 3:25pm at the intersection of North 5th Street and East Elm Street in Red Oak.  Girouex was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and cited into Juvenile Court and released to her parents.

The Red Oak Police made an arrest this (Tuesday) afternoon at 1:45pm of a Red Oak man on two active warrants out of Mills County.  Officers arrested 32-year-old Bryan David Sapp Jr. at 106 West Coolbaugh Street in Red Oak on a warrant for Forgery and another for 5th Degree Theft.  A $5,000 bond was set for the Forgery charge and Sapp is currently being held in the Montgomery County Jail awaiting extradition to Mills County.

A woman wanted on an Adams County warrant for Assault was arrested Sunday at the Union County Law Enforcement Center. Sheriff’s Officials say 31-year old Taycey Nichole Martin was later released from the Union County Jail on $500 bond.

(12-p.m. News)

Following reports from concerned citizens about a smell near an unnamed creek east of Redfield, officials with the Iowa DNR say they’re investigating a discharge to the creek. DNR staff found material seeping from an old tile line to the creek, which was creating a milk grey color in the creek and the odor. Authorities say it appears the discharge has been ongoing since July, based on comments from citizens.

The discoloration and odors exist along the creek until its confluence with the South Raccoon River. No impacts have been observed in the river. DNR staff are currently working to identify the source of the discharge. Nearby public water supplies have been notified. People and pets should avoid contact with water in the creek

Work on the Nishna Valley Trail Connector Project in Atlantic continues, despite some setbacks in funding for the project. Nishna Valley Trails President Dave Chase told KJAN’s Jim Field on the “Heartbeat Today” program, that progress is being made, and a pedestrian bridge over the Troublesome Creek just west of the KJAN Studios, is closer to reality, but there have been some “bumps in the road,” financially.

Chase said this past week, a couple of major grant applications they were counting on that were pending approval, went unfunded. The applications that were rejected include those from the Wells Fargo and Wellmark Foundations. He said while disappointing, there was no guarantee the grants would have been approved to begin with, and it does NOT stop the project from moving forward.

Work continues on the Nishna Valley Trail connector project near the KJAN studios.

He says also, there are other funding opportunities that they are exploring, and they still feel as good about their financial position, as they did when they “pulled the trigger” on the project in June. Chase says fundraising efforts will continue as well. Individuals and organizations who have already contributed to the project, according to Chase, have promised to do more if needed to help out. He says right now, they’re about $160,000 short of the funds necessary to pay for the project.

Donations for the project are tax deductible, because Nishna Valley Trails is a 501(c) 3 tax exempt organization. If you would like to contribute to the cause, mail your donation to P.O. Box 496, Atlantic, IA 50022, or call Dave Chase at 712-249-3059. There are other ways to contribute as well, so give Chase a call to find out more.

Chase said work on clearing the path for the trail is nearly complete, and a pre-construction meeting with contractors was held Monday, with the plan being to start work on the trail and the bridge next Tuesday, which is earlier than anticipated. It’s expected construction will be completed in about 40-days from the start, weather permitting. The trail is expected to be in use later this fall, instead of next spring, as originally anticipated.

BOSTON (AP) – Two Iowa men charged with making online threats of violence at a Pokemon competition in Boston are being held without bail for at least four months. A judge ruled Tuesday that 18-year-old Ames resident Kevin Norton and 27-year-old Boone resident James Stumbo pose a danger to society. Prosecutors say the men made social media threats against at least one competitor at last month’s World Pokemon Championships.

Police found a 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15 rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in their car. They were arrested at their hotel in Saugus, north of Boston.
Defense attorneys argued that there was no evidence the defendants planned to carry through on any threats. But the judge in his ruling said their online postings weren’t “just kids’ stuff on the computer.”

September is here and Iowa’s chief weather watcher says August was one of the colder, wetter Augusts the state has seen in several years. State climatologist Harry Hillaker says the just-concluded month was Iowa’s coolest August since 2009. “On the temperature end of things, we were running about two degrees below normal, mainly thanks to a very cool second half of the month,” Hillaker says. “On the rainfall end, as always, there was a lot of variability across the state, but overall the preliminary statewide average was 5.42 inches of rainfall.”

That’s about one-and-a-quarter inches above normal during August. Here in Atlantic, at the KJAN Studios (The official reporting site for Atlantic), we received 3.88 inches of rain in August, which was a little more than one-half inch above normal. The south-central Iowa town of Albia recorded only about one-and-a-half inches of rain during the month, while Randolph, in southwest Iowa, reported more than 13 inches. Monday marked the end of the three-month summer weather reporting period and Hillaker says the summer of 2015 went out on a cool note.

“Temperatures were a little bit cooler than usual, although June and July, neither one were all that far from normal, but no really hot months this year,” he says. In Atlantic, the average High for August was 83 degrees, which was about 3 degrees cooler than normal, while the average Low of 61 was almost 4 degrees below normal.

Fall will arrive on September 23rd, in a little over three weeks. As for the month ahead, Hillaker says September is starting off warmer-than-normal and humid and it may just stay that way. “The (National) Weather Service’s latest 30-day outlook for September is still favoring above-normal rainfall for much of Iowa and really, much of the central part of the country,” Hillaker says, “and on temperatures, the outlook favors above-normal temperatures.” That’s a flip-flop from the original September outlook which was released about 10 days ago.

(Radio Iowa/KJAN Weather data)

A 21-year old man from Branson, MO., was arrested Monday afternoon on a Page County warrant charging him with Probation Violation. Authorities say Ridge Ballard was taken into custody at the Page County Sheriff’s Office. Ballard was unable to post the $2,000 cash bond and remains in custody at the Page County Jail, pending trial.

Ridge Ballard