A new monthly survey of bankers points to a quickly recovering economy in rural parts of Iowa and nine other Plains and Western states…the survey’s individual indicators soared and the overall index rocketed to its highest reading since it began in 2006. The overall index of the Rural Mainstreet Survey shot up more than 18 points to 71.9 in March from February’s 53.8. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss credits in part sharp gains in grain prices, federal farm support and the Federal Reserve’s record-low interest rates.
National Beef Packing Company is planning to expand its beef processing facility in Tama to increase capacity and add a second production shift. The project, which is expected to cost more than $100 million, will double capacity to allow the plant to process 2,500 head per day. The project is expected to be completed in late 2022 and will bring several hundred additional jobs to the region. National Beef Packing, based in Kansas City, Missouri, employs more than 9,500 workers, including about 850 currently at the Tama plant.
Republicans in the Iowa Legislature are rewriting the state’s gun laws with a bill that would allow people to buy guns and carry a concealed handgun without first obtaining a state permit. The bill that passed the House Wednesday with all Republican votes plus one Democrat would eliminate current state permit requirements which carry with them background checks to ensure the person obtaining or carrying a gun isn’t disqualified from ownership due to past felonies or abuses. Supporters says it improves Iowans’ basic right of self-defense outlined in the Second Amendment but opponents say it will make Iowa more dangerous for police and citizens and will make it more difficult to stop gun violence before it happens.
T.J. Otzelberger is returning to Iowa State as head coach after two years at UNLV. Athletic director Jamie Pollard announced the hire yesterday. This will be the 43-year-old Otzelberger’s third stint in Ames..but his first as head coach. He previously was an assistant under Greg McDermott, Fred Hoiberg and Steve Prohm. Prohm was fired Tuesday after a 2-22 season in which the Cyclones went winless in the Big 12. Otzelberger left Iowa State in 2016 to become head coach at South Dakota State; he has been at UNLV the past two seasons.
The Black Hawk and Dubuque County Health Departments have been notified by the Iowa Department of Public Health that the U.K. COVID-19 variant has shown up in each county. This strain of the virus is known to spread more easily than the version at the start of the pandemic. The Black Hawk County Health Department says there are multiple cases of the variant in the county, but did not say how many. Health officials have contacted the individuals and are notifying anyone they’ve been in contact with. Mitigation efforts are being recommended for the individuals, and they are advised to isolate.
The Republican leader in the U.S. House has spoken out in favor of an Iowa Congresswoman. Speaking at his weekly news conference yesterday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says Democrats should not be trying to overturn Iowa Congresswoman’s Mariannette Miller-Meek’s election to Congress, and noted she has already been confirmed to the House. Miller-Meeks won the Second Congressional District race by a total of six votes, and the race was certified as official by the bi-partisan Iowa state elections panel. Democrat Rita Hart is continuing to challenge the election results by appealing directly to fellow Democrats who control the House.
A decommissioned eastern Iowa nuclear plant could become the site of a new massive solar energy project. NextEra Energy of Florida this week laid out plans with nearby landowners to build a solar farm near the now-idle Duane Arnold Energy Center. The company said the project, planned for 2023, could bring in a $700 million capital investment and about 300 construction jobs. The solar farm would stretch across 3,500 acres near the plant in Palo and would produce up to 690 megawatts of solar energy—more than the nuclear plant had generated.
An Iowa City park has been renamed for a former resident and the first black winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. The Iowa City City Council this week unanimously approved changing the name of Creekside Park to James Alan McPherson Park. McPherson enrolled at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop after graduating from Harvard Law School, and in 1978, won the Pulitzer for “Elbow Room,” a collection of short stories. He joined the Writers’ Workshop faculty in 1981. McPherson died in 2016. The park that now bears his name was recently renovated and features a new playground, shelter, basketball court, and restroom.
