OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A business conditions index for nine Midwest and Plains states has dropped after rising the previous two months.  The overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index plunged to a growth neutral 50.0 in October from 54.8 in September. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the partial government shutdown and slower business activity for firms tied to agriculture pushed overall economic conditions lower for the month.

The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth, while a score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

The sign up begins today (Friday) for the program that provides assistance to low income Iowans who need help with their energy bills. Rob Hillesland of the Iowa Utilities Board says those who are signed up for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or the Home Weatherization program also get some other help. “These programs help protect them against energy/utility service disconnection during the winter months,” Hillesland explains.

The protection against having the utilities disconnected begins Friday November first and runs through April 30th. Hillesland says LIHEAP provides some financial help with energy bills for those who qualify. “They have to meet certain income guidelines or show that they participate in certain programs in order to be eligible,” Hillesland says. He says you can find out how to sign up through your local community action agency. LIHEAP doesn’t cover all the utility costs.  “Usually it will pay a portion of what their winter heating costs are — its’ a supplemental assistance, it’s not going to pay all their heating bills,” according to Hillesland.

He says participants are encouraged to keep paying what they can. “That is something that the Iowa Utilities Board strongly urges, it that anyone who is certified as eligible for LIHEAP and receives that winter disconnection moratorium, continues to pay on their energy bills to the extent that they are able to throughout the winter months,” Hillesland says. “Otherwise.
they can collect a large bill that they are unable to pay when the moratorium ends in the spring.”

The Home Weatherization program is also available for low income Iowans. Hillesland says the program helps people do things to their homes to make them more energy efficient and provide longer term savings. Those who are signed up for the weatherization are also given protection from being disconnected from their utilities during the moratorium.

Hillesland says elderly Iowans have already been signing up for the program and now low-income Iowans who qualify can sign up. You can find out more about the eligibility requirements for the two programs from the Iowa Department of Human Rights, or on the Iowa Utilities Board website at: www.iub.iowa.gov

(Radio Iowa)

Iowans who receive benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will notice a smaller amount on their cash cards starting today (Friday). Kevin Concannon, a former Iowan and the U-S-D-A’s Undersecretary for Food and Nutrition Services, says the federal government raised the amount of benefits by 13-percent back in 2009 to help those struggling during the recession. It was a temporary increase. “The additional benefit added to the SNAP program expired the last day of October,” Concannon says.

About 421-thousand Iowans now receive SNAP benefits, or about 13-percent of the population. With the change beginning this morning, the federal government will be sending about 43-million fewer dollars to Iowa for food assistance. Concannon says every person taking part in the program will see a decreased amount.  “A single person receiving the benefit will see an $11 per month reduction and the current average benefit is about $133 dollars per month,” he says. “A four-person household will see a $36 per month reduction.”

Concannon served as the director of the Iowa Department of Human Services from 2003 to 2008. Cuts in SNAP benefits are also the subject of current debate in Congress as members of the House and Senate try to reach a compromise on a new farm bill.

(Radio Iowa)

A man suspected of reckless driving in Council Bluffs was arrested Thursday afternoon in Omaha, after authorities set-up a road block thanks to new technology that’s only being used in two states. The Daily NonPareil reports an officer responding to a report of a vehicle driving through yards near South Sixth Street and 23rd Avenue in Council Bluffs had attempted to stop the vehicle, but the suspect escaped.

A State Trooper was able to lock on to the vehicle using the Star system GPS, which is being used in Iowa and Florida. The system uses a “cannon” mounted in front of the grill on a police cruiser. The Star Chase System uses compressed air to shoot a GPS tag onto a targeted vehicle. Once the GPS tag is attached, dispatchers can continually monitor the whereabouts of the vehicle in question and relay the information to the officers involved. It also allows any police who may have been involved in a high-speed car chase to slow down and wait until it is safe to make a stop. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Tim Sieleman used the same system last week when he tried to stop a vehicle in Council Bluffs that he thought was stolen.

The officer who deployed the Star Chase system in Council Bluffs backed-off his pursuit while the suspect’s vehicle crossed into Omaha on Interstate 480. When it stopped near 42nd and J streets in Omaha, State Patrol officials in Iowa contacted their counterparts in Nebraska. Officers with the Nebraska State Patrol and Omaha Police Department were able to block the vehicle in and take the driver into custody.

50-year old Sean Richey, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on warrant for felony parole violation. A passenger in his vehicle fled after Richey’s car allegedly hit another vehicle near South 27th Street and Ninth Avenue, shortly before the chase began.