OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – For the first time in nearly two years, the overall Business Conditions Index for a nine-state region of the Midwest and Plains took a negative turn.  Today’s (Tuesday’s) report on the survey of supply managers and executives says the index dropped to 49.9 in October, compared with 52.2 in September. Organizers say any survey score above 50 suggests growth while a score below 50 suggests decline for that factor.

Creighton University economics professor Ernie Goss oversees the survey. He says one reading slightly below a growth-neutral 50 doesn’t signal a recession. But Goss says the October figure is evidence that the weakness in the national economy has hit the regional economy.

The states are Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

ATLANTIC – Gronewold, Bell, Kyhnn & Co., P.C. CPAs have released an audit report on Cass County Memorial Hospital, Atlantic, Iowa. The auditors reported that the Hospital’s Unrestricted Funds revenues totaled $31,689,800 for the year ended june 30, 2011, a 3.6 percent decrease from 2010. The revenues included $27,909,900 in net patient revenue, $844,700 in other operating revenue, $1,989,600 from the county and $297,300 in interest on investments.

Expenses for the year totaled $31,057,600, a 3.3 percent decrease from the prior year, and included $5,976,800 for nursing services, $12,993,800 for other professional services and $8,077,000 for fiscal and administrative services. The decrease in revenues and expenses was primarily due to the Hospital discontinuing its home care and hospice services during the year.

There were no corrective measures indicated necessary for this audit. A copy of the audit report is available for review in the office of the Auditor of State and the Hospital Administrator’s office.

(Press Release from CCMH)

(5:00-a.m.) In an update to a story posted earlier this morning: A smoldering  ember from a controlled burn was the apparent cause of a fire early this (Monday) morning about four-miles west of Atlantic, that destroyed a machine shed on the Dave and Lynn Eckles farm  The fire at 57899 Indian Creek Street was reported by Lynn Eckles at around 2:25-a.m.

Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees told KJAN News the structure, which was basically a pole barn with metal sides, formerly used as a hog farrowing house, was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. The structure was close to three, nearby, recently filled propane tanks, so that was a concern as crews sought to keep the flames from spreading.

McNees said the Eckles’ had conducted a controlled burning of leaves in a grated pit area on Monday afternoon. It appears a spark from the fire made it’s way into another pile near the building and smoldered for some time, before erupting in flames. He declared the fire accidental in nature. No injuries were reported. Firefighters were on the scene for a little over two-hours. A dollar amount of the damage is not currently available, but McNees said there wasn’t much in the building that was lost.

The U-S Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa said Monday, a Nebraska man was sentenced Friday 15-months in prison, for being an illegal user of drugs, while in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt said Judge James E. Gritzner also ordered 26-year old Eric Steven Blevins of Norfolk, Nebraska,  to serve two-years of supervised release following his imprisonment.  And, he’ll have to pay a $100 penalty to the Crime Victim Fund. Blevins’ pistol and ammunition were also seized.  He remains in the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons facility at which he will serve his sentence.

Klinefeldt says on January 26th, 2011, the federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment against Blevins, charging him with being an unlawful user of marijuana in possession of a 9-mm pistol and ammunition. The charges were filed against him after Council Bluffs Police officersfound Blevins and another person at a Council Bluffs motel with marijuana and K2 (“synthetic marijuana”), on October 3rd, 2010

Outside the window of the motel room in which Blevins was staying, officers found an unloaded 9mm pistol and ammunition. A Subsequent investigation by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives further linked the firearm and ammunition to Blevins, and demonstrated that Blevins had a lengthy history of use of marijuana, including on or about October 3rd, 2010. Blevins entered a guilty plea to the charge on June 30, 2011.

The case against him was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa and investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Transportation is showcasing the rebuilding of a flood-damaged stretch of Interstate 680 that links Iowa and Nebraska on its website. A 3-mile stretch of the highway north of Council Bluffs had some of the worst damage from a summer of flooding along the Missouri River. It’s to open on Wednesday, nearly two months ahead of schedule.

The department has put a time-lapsed video of the rebuilding from Sept. 30 to Oct. 25 on its website, plus a collection of photographs of the flooding and rebuilding on other highways, including I-29. The video and photos are available at http://www.iowadot.gov/floods

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa should revamp its mental health system by replacing its county-based approach with regional services and new crisis intervention programs, according to a report by the Department of Human Services that was released Monday. Agency head Chuck Palmer said the current system needs to be changed because there are inequities from county to county. The recommendation calls for creating from five to 15 regional divisions. Palmer said the next six weeks will be spent developing implementation plans with a final report ready for the Legislature in mid-December. DHS officials conducted nine regional forums to hear ideas on reshaping mental health programs in the state, a major issue that the next session of the Legislature will face.

Roughly $1.3 billion is spent each year on mental health programs in the state, with services delivered at the county level. About $120 million of that comes from local property taxes, with the rest coming from state and federal funding. Critics have pushed to overhaul that system, arguing that services vary widely from county to county.

A legislative interim committee will examine the recommendations and key lawmakers of both parties predicted lawmakers will reach agreement. The study committee is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, and the issue has not caused partisan divisions. During the last session, lawmakers approved a measure effectively ending the current mental health system in the summer of 2013. The move was designed to put pressure on the Legislature to overhaul the system.