DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s unemployment rate remained 2.4% in June, making it among the lowest in the nation. The rate released Friday by the Workforce Development agency ranked third in the nation, behind only Vermont and North Dakota. Iowa’s unemployment rate has been stuck at 2.4% for nearly a year.

Both the number of people working and those who are unemployed increased slightly in June from May figures. Iowa’s rate compares to a national unemployment rate of 3.7%.

A single-vehicle accident resulted in injuries Thursday evening, in Union County. Sheriff’s officials say 30-year old Andrew Wayne Long, of Creston, was driving a 2007 Mazda hatchback north/west bound on Old Highway 34, when he failed to negotiate a curve in the road. When the passenger side tires left the road causing Long to lose control, his vehicle entered the south ditch and struck an Alliant Energy power pole. The accident happened at around 5:35-p.m.

Long suffered suspected serious/incapacitating injuries, and the transported by Medic 1 helicopter to Methodist Hospital. The car was totaled in the crash. Damage to the utility pole was estimated at $1,000.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s 14-year-old voter registration system will live to see another presidential election. The Iowa Secretary of State’s office confirmed Thursday that a long-discussed plan to replace the I-Voters database will not be completed before the 2020 elections. Spokesman Kevin Hall says the office is still in the information-gathering phase of the project. He says the state plans to solicit information from potential vendors soon and later move forward with a bidding process.

Hall says the project will cost millions and “we owe it to the voters of Iowa to build it responsibly with the future of elections and security in mind.” Current and former state officials say the I-Voters system is secure and that they’ve taken steps to prevent intrusions. Built in 2005, the system has been updated numerous times and contains Iowa’s 2 million registered voters.
Linn County Auditor Joel Miller, a Democrat, says he worries the system is running on technology that is vulnerable to hackers. He says he’s disappointed by the pace of the replacement project.

(Radio Iowa) — Today (Friday) could be the hottest day yet in this latest heat wave, with high temperatures in parts of Iowa forecast to hit 99 degrees. Air conditioners are getting a workout with Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories posted for much of the state. Alliant Energy spokesman Mike Wagner says overnight low temps are staying quite warm and customers should plan ahead to avoid sticker shock from their utility bill. “On that overnight, your air conditioner is not going to get a break,” Wagner says. “These machines are going to be running in a pretty long cycle here for the next couple days. We think it’s important for customers to recognize that and then also try to look for ways to control their energy use so they don’t get a big surprise in August when their bills come and they’re surprised at the amount of energy they’re using.”

Wagner says make sure your air conditioner has had a tune-up recently.  “A friend of mine was having problems with their air conditioner and found out that it was down to about 20% coolant,” he says. “They had a service tech come out, clean it, do the service on the machine but also add more coolant, and then the machine was working much more efficiently, it wasn’t running as often and was cooling at a much better rate.” He also suggests you have a clean filter inside and out so airflow isn’t restricted. Wagner says to use ceiling fans and box fans to keep cool.  “Think of it kind of like using those fans as creating your own wind chill,” Wagner says. “I don’t know if I’d necessarily rely on them to circulate air around the house, but to have that cooler air blowing on you helps cool you down, and also allows you to maybe turn the temperature in your thermostat up a couple degrees so that you don’t necessarily need to have your air conditioner working quite so hard.”

Wagner says this is not the time to use your oven.  “Use the stove top if you need to, use a toaster oven, crock pots, instant pots are really popular,” he says. “I can find an excuse to grill just about anything. You don’t want to turn the oven on. This is not really the time during the heat wave here to start baking a cake or maybe put a pizza in the oven if you don’t need to, because those are things your air conditioner has to compete with.”

For more energy-saving tips, visit: https://alliantenergy.wordpress.com/2019/07/15/be-cool-control-costs/