(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday, approved a Floodplain Permit/Application Flat Fee of $100 when a person applies, and once the permit is approved, a review fee not to exceed $400. They also approved the issuance of a Floodplain Permit to NextEra Energy, with an initial permit fee of $100. The Board approved the appointment of Stacy Huss as Treasurer Clerk, upon recommendation from Adair County Treasurer Brenda Wallace. In other business, they approved a Lake Road speed limit Resolution for 250^th Street and Marion Avenue, near the City of Greenfield. Board Chair Steve Shelley read the Resolution as written.

They also approved two Right-Of-Way (ROW)/temporary easement contracts, and a Service Agreement with U-S Cellular for backup internet service. The Adair County Board of Supervisors gave their blessing to have County Engineer Nick Kauffman review the suggested location of a Greenfield Chamber Mainstreet Sign, which was proposed to be placed along eastbound Interstate 80, southeast of the Casey Exit. Supervisor Matt Wedemeyer….

If Kauffman approves the sign following the review, the process can proceed.

In his report, Nick Kaufmann said on G-51, LeRoy and Sons will move in Sept. 7^th and start moving dirt for a box culvert project, with the work to be completed in about two-weeks. A pre-pour meeting will be held Thursday Sept. 9^th with regard to the bridge at North 34/Richland.

And, the Secondary Roads Department, he said will be undergoing CPR training Sept. 8^th and 22^nd.

OMAHA, Neb. (Sept. 1, 2021) – The MidAmerica Business Conditions Index (BCI), a leading economic indicator for a nine-state region that includes Iowa and Nebraska, has remained growth-neutral for 15 of the last 16 months. The survey by Creighton University director of Economic Forecasting Dr. Ernie Goss, ranges between 0 and 100. An index greater than 50 indicates an expansionary economy over the course of the next three to six months.

As of the latest report, the Index had fallen to a still healthy 68.9 in August, from July’s 73.1. Supply managers reported that supply chain bottlenecks represented the greatest challenge for the next 12 months and was restraining growth.  Iowa’s Business Conditions Index for August climbed to 68.2 from 67.9 in July.  Looking ahead six months, economic optimism, as captured by the August Business Confidence Index, dipped to 53.5 from July’s 53.6.  This is the third straight month that the index has declined.

Components of the overall July index were: new orders at 77.2, production, or sales, at 63.2, delivery lead time at 84.3, employment at 61.4, and inventories at 54.8. “Both durable goods and nondurable goods producers in the state are expanding at a solid pace. Metal products manufacturing and food producers are experiencing very healthy growth,” said Goss.

According to Goss, “Creighton’s monthly survey results indicate the region is adding manufacturing business activity at a healthy pace, and that regional growth will remain positive, but somewhat slower.  Supply chain bottlenecks and labor shortages remain obstacles to growth. Approximately 94% of supply managers reported supply chain bottlenecks for the month with half of those detailing significant supply disruptions,” he said.

The regional employment index remained above growth neutral for August, but sank to 64.6 from July’s two decade high of 67.2. “Even with strong manufacturing job growth, the region has yet to recover all job losses from the pandemic. The latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate that current regional nonfarm employment is down by 431,000 jobs, or 3.3%, compared to pre-COVID-19 levels,” said Goss. Even with healthy job growth for the month, firms continue to report difficulties in finding and hiring new workers. One of five supply managers said finding and hiring qualified workers will be the greatest challenge for the next 12 months. One supply manager asked “Where did all the workers go?”

Other comments from supply mangers in the August survey were:

•   “Very difficult to get balance. Feel like a ‘fiddler on the roof.’”
•   “There has been a significant movement away from plastic products to paper-based packaging. This has significantly added to an already constrained market.”
•   “We are a heavy and medium duty truck dealership with sales, rental/leasing, service, parts and collision centers. Biggest challenges are delays on factory orders of new trucks with demand far outpacing supplies/deliverable orders.”
•  “Supply bottlenecks on assembly parts, collective bargaining work stoppages impacting new truck production, driver shortages are all impacting our sales efforts.”

The wholesale inflation gauge for the month slipped to 95.0 from July’s record high 98.7. Said one supply manager, “(It) will take a long time to catch up to demand, passing along rising prices does not seem to be denting demand.” As reported by supply managers, rising input prices represented the second greatest challenge or threat faced by their firm over the next 12 months. “At the wholesale level, Creighton’s survey is tracking higher and higher inflationary pressures.  Commodity prices are up approximately 20.9% over the last 12 months, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Supply managers in Creighton’s June survey expect prices for their firm’s products to advance by 7.7% for the next 12 months,” said Goss.

The regional inventory index, reflecting levels of raw materials and supplies, plummeted to 54.9 from 70.7 in July.  Despite supply chain bottlenecks, regional trade numbers were solid for the month. The new export orders index expanded to a very healthy 64.7 from July’s 63.9. Supply bottlenecks pushed the August import reading to a lower 52.4 from 65.3. Other survey components of the August Business Conditions Index were: new orders advanced to 75.8 from 73.5 in July; the production or sales index declined to 65.0 from July’s 67.9; and the index reading for the speed of deliveries of raw materials and supplies was unchanged from July’s index of 84.5. A higher reading indicates slower deliveries.

(Radio Iowa) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing financial aid to Iowans for some COVID-19-related funerals. FEMA spokesman Bryon Boka says the agency is covering up to nine-thousand-dollars per person.  “If they’ve lost more than one person, they can apply for multiple individuals,” Boka says. “That does have its own max as well, up to a maximum of $35,500.”

The aid applies to COVID funeral expenses incurred after January 20th of 2020. Boka explains some of the qualifications.”It’s any individual who has assumed those costs upon themselves and have no other form of insurance or pre-paid burial costs that are tied to the deceased individual,” he says. To apply, call FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Hotline Monday through Friday at 1-844-684-6333.

(Radio Iowa) – The State Health Facilities Council has reversed its vote of six months ago and approved a plan for the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics to build a 230 million dollar hospital in North Liberty. The 4-1 vote Tuesday reversed the 3-2 denial of the plan in February. The administrators at other hospitals in the area say plan if for the new facility to expand beyond specialty care and take away their patients. U-I-H-C C-E-O Suresh Gunasekaran says they provide complex treatments beyond what the other hospitals offer. “So, what we’ve seen is as the Iowa population is aging — not just complex care — but care being delivered for complex patients,” Gunasekaran says.

He says other hospitals are closing their residencies for new doctors while the U-H-I-C wants to expanding by 100 in the next five years — and the new hospital provides more space to do that. Gunasakren says the new facility will not take away the patients of the other hospitals in the area. “Let’s be clear, over 70 percent of U-I-H-C volume comes from outside of Johnson and Linn County. The patients are not choosing between U-H-I-C and the other hospitals in Johnson and Linn County,” he says. “They are choosing whether to get their tertiary care at U-H-I-C or whether to seek it out of state. Sixty-eight-hundred patients leave Iowa every year for care that U-H-I-C can provide.”

The C-E-O of Unity Point in Cedar Rapids, Michelle Niermann was one of those to speaking opposition. Niermann says the plan presented is nearly the same as the one that was turned down. “It has the same potentially detrimental impact to community hospitals — which is what we are here to talk about today. It represents the same governmental entity competing with private enterprise, competing with community hospitals,” Niermann says. She says the U-H-I-C is trying to expand to take in more patients who need less specialized care while the hospitals in the area have the capacity to handle patients. She says most have more than 50 percent of their capacity available and will continue to struggle as “the University of Iowa seeks to pull and keep care from our system.” Niermann says the U-H-I-C hasn’t shown the need is there for a new facility.

“We’ve heard over and over today that this expansion is necessary for the university to meet the most complex needs of Iowans — yet across 50 slides, three consultants, and dozens of pages of correspondence about their resubmitted application — we still don’t have a specific description of how it addresses needs,” Niermann says. Several other speakers testified before the state body throughout the afternoon — with both sides at times saying the other was not telling the truth. The members of the Facilities Council asked questions during the testimony, but did not make any comments before taking the vote approving the facility. The new hospital would be completed in 2025. The opponents have an opportunity to appeal.