(Radio Iowa) – Iowans might be wise to order their holiday gifts now — in July — if they hope to have plenty of presents under the tree come late December, according to a logistics and supply chain expert at the University of Iowa. Jen Blackhurst, a U-I professor of business analytics, says many retailers simply aren’t recovering from the pandemic nightmares and a perfect storm is developing that will mean more shortages to come. “We’re seeing some pretty extreme delays with the chips not being available to put in the cars,” Blackhurst says. “If you’ve tried to order any kind of furniture, there’s five, six, seven months of delay.”

Blackhurst calls it the bullwhip effect, where a small change or glitch in demand or in the supply chain can quickly grow in severity. “There’s been recently a port in China that has lowered capacity due to a re-outbreak of COVID,” Blackhurst says. “That’s slowing the ability to move goods in, and more importantly, out of China, which is going to slow things down.” We’ve seen it repeatedly during the pandemic where certain items simply are unavailable and shelves are empty. Think toilet paper, cleaning products and hand sanitizer early on, while later it was webcams, furniture, lumber, video game consoles and countless other products.  “Come the holiday time, we’re going to see some delays and shortage of materials and goods and gifts,” Blackhurst says. “So, thinking about that right now and really understanding where your gifts would be coming from, things you want to have for the holidays, they could be, in fact, quite delayed.”

Many areas of the world are facing severe supply chain issues and it’s affecting a wide range of products, and she says it probably won’t be fixed by Christmas. She says, “If it’s a new toy that there’s going to be a lot of demand for, you’re going to have to start thinking about that now.” Blackhurst says one report tells how the price to purchase space on a shipping container from China to the U-S has risen 200-percent or more just in the past four months. She predicts we won’t see supply chains fully functioning again until mid-2022 at the earliest.

(Radio Iowa) – A northeast Iowa company, accused of creating hazardous waste, has reached a monetary settlement with the U-S Environmental Protection Agency. DCW Casing in Oelwein allegedly made the hazardous waste, in violation of federal rules. The company makes a blood product. DCW settled with the EPA by paying a civil penalty of slightly more than $80,000, plus bringing the facility into compliance with federal rules.

Two other businesses in the country have made similar settlements. They are located in Kansas City, Kansas, and Vinita Park, Missouri.

Welcome Home ceremonies are planned for July 31, 2021 to honor approximately 250 Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division. Times and locations are listed below.

Des Moines

Approximately 100 Soldiers will be honored at a formal ceremony on July 31, 2021, starting at 12:15 p.m. at the Des Moines International Airport. The ceremony will be livestreamed on Facebook @IowaNationalGuard.

Fort Dodge

Approximately 80 Soldiers will be honored at a formal ceremony on July 31, 2021 starting at 1:00 p.m. at the Fort Dodge Airport. The ceremony will be livestreamed on Facebook @Iowaredlegs.

These Soldiers supported multiple overseas locations in the U.S. Central Command theater of operation. CENTCOM is comprised of 20 nations in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries. Iowa Army National Guard Soldiers departed from armories in Spencer, Estherville, Charles City, Fort Dodge, Storm Lake and Johnston to support this mission in August of 2020.

An additional 70 Minnesota Army National Guard soldiers assigned to Battery C, 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery, will also be welcomed home from Alexandria, Minnesota.

(Adair, Iowa) – Discussions between City officials in Adair, residents of the community and others, are scheduled to take place three separate dates and times, in August. The talks are with regard to the construction of a new Community Center, which the city has been without for the past several months after the old building was sold to accommodate a new Dollar General store. The City completed moving a house from a lot at 4^th and Stuart Streets, and the site prepared to become the Adair Community Center.

Adair Mayor John Larsen says the City wants to get back to having a place for special events.

The current site was chosen because it is centrally located and has access to adequate parking. The new building will be constructed with steel, and feature a special attraction the kids are excited about.

The City of Casey has a similar building, which Larsen says has seen a lot of use. A project like a new Community Center doesn’t come cheap. I but Mayor Larsen said they are working on getting a $250,000 Iowa Community and Tourism grant in order to keep the project off the tax roles as much as possible, but there are some conditions for getting the grant.

The City has already set aside $400,000 for the project, but they need to raise a significant amount of additional funds from the community at large, in order to show strong local support for the project. The budget – including a Splash pad – is over $1-million. If the grant request is approved and private fundraising is successful, the City should be positioned to begin construction on the project in the fall. All gifts (which are tax deductible) should can be dropped-off at City Hall, or send a check to: City of Adair, 320 Audubon Street, Adair, IA 50002. Donations are tax deductible.

The deadline for the City to turn in its grant application and proof of community support, is August 27th, but they will continue to take any funds you wish to contribute. Informational & update sessions will be held: Wednesday, August 11th; Wednesday, August 18th; and Monday, August 23rd. All informational meetings will start at 5:00 p.m. at the Adair City Hall.