(Radio Iowa) – After another year filled with supply chain troubles and global health concerns, the economic outlook for 2022 in Iowa and for the Midwest isn’t rosy, according to Creighton University economist Ernie Goss. “The outlook depends heavily on what happens with the South African strain of COVID-19, the variant there,” Goss says. “Even with that, I’m still expecting slower growth in the first half of 2022. It will slow even more, obviously, if we see that expanding in the U.S.” The monthly Creighton survey of supply managers in Iowa and eight other states in the region is showing strong growth, but it’s bogged down by continued transportation troubles and labor shortages.

“One out of four of the supply managers expect the supply chain delays that we’re currently now experiencing to improve in the first half of 2022,” Goss says. “More than 50-percent of supply chain managers expect these supply chain disruptions, supply chain bottlenecks to get worse.” According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Iowa’s seasonally adjusted manufacturing employment rate was down by fewer than 500 jobs from October to November, or only about two-tenths of one-percent. On the national front, the Gross Domestic Product is booming. “The oddity of it is, we’ve got GDP back to above pre-pandemic levels, but employment? Not there,” Goss says. “We’re still seeing reluctance to return to work. We’ve got a lot of retirements. We’ve got individuals leaving the workforce.”

Ernie Goss

Goss says job gains for Iowa’s nondurable goods producers, including food processors, were more than offset in the past month by losses for the state’s durable goods manufacturers such as metal producers. Also, inflation levels are worsening and keeping prices on a wide range of products high. The region’s wholesale inflation gauge for November hit 92.9 on a zero-to-100 scale. “We’re seeing some of the highest numbers we’ve recorded here at Creighton University since we began the survey more than 25 years ago,” Goss says. “I would say it’s the most consistent upward price pressures we’ve recorded in the last three decades.”

The survey’s overall Business Conditions Index for the Midwest, which also uses a zero-to-100 scale, dropped from 65.2 in October to 60.2 in November. The overall index for Iowa tumbled even further, from 67.8 in October to 59.4 in November.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday, reported the arrest of 35-year-old Daniel John Vornbrock, from Glenwood. He was arrested for Driving while barred, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Bond was set at $4,300.

Sheriff’s officials said also, a single-vehicle accident that took place at around 8:45-a.m. Tuesday, resulted in one person being transported to the hospital. Authorities say 63-year-old Mark Blair, of Stanton, was driving a 2007 Mack truck eastbound on Highway 34 eight mile-marker for Glenwood, and approaching the intersection of the off-ramp and 221st Street. When he attempted to turn right (South) onto 221st, the vehicle went out of control and rolled onto its side on 221st, dumping a load of dirt the truck was carrying across the northbound lanes.

Glenwood Fire Department personnel extricated Blair from the truck by mechanical means. He was then flown by helicopter to the hospital. An initial investigation determined there were skid marks about 52-feet long past the stop sign, traversing the corner. Authorities say that indicates the truck did not stop at the stop sign, and was traveling at a speed which, combined with the turn, resulted in the vehicle overturning.

(Radio Iowa) – The top Democrat in the Iowa House expects Republicans will propose new abortion restrictions during the 2022 Iowa Legislature session, even before the U.S. Supreme Court decides a case that could reverse the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion. “If anything, I think Republicans would be emboldened by the potential for this Supreme Court going their way and can’t help themselves and would want to do something to continue to attack women,” says House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights.

In a recorded message released Monday, Governor Kim Reynolds said she hopes two federal rulings that have blocked abortion restrictions in states like Iowa will be overruled by the new conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court. Konfrst says Reynolds does not represent the majority view on abortion, as a recent Des Moines Register Iowa Poll found 57% of Iowans believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases. “And yet the governor has decided to once again to amplify minority opinions, amplify those that are not in line with what Iowans believe and pretend that it represents the entire state,” Konfrst says.

Jennifer Konforst. (file photo)

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a Mississippi law that forbids abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. Reynolds has approved attempts to ban abortions in Iowa after the sixth week of pregnancy or to require waiting periods for abortions. This fall, Reynolds asked the Iowa Supreme Court to reverse a 2018 opinion that said women have a fundamental right to an abortion under Iowa’s constitution. “The governor continues to lean into extremist views, extremist beliefs and to pretend that they represent the entire state,” Konfrst says, “and Iowans are fed up.”

Konfrst expects abortion will be a big issue in legislative races in 2022. “We’re going to point it out,” Konfrst says. “We’re going to make sure that Iowans know that when Republicans are voting in the legislature, they’re voting on extreme legislation that doesn’t match what Iowans want and we’re going to hold them accountable.” Konfrst made her comments during the weekly news conference organized by the Iowa Democratic Party.

The Iowa Republican Party’s leading 2022 candidates — Reynolds, Senator Chuck Grassley and the three Iowa Republicans serving in the U.S. House — all oppose abortion, as do nearly all of the Republicans serving in the Iowa legislature.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Revenue has caught fraudulent claims for $200 million in state income tax refunds.

A source in the agency said two claims for a total of $200 million came from what appears to be the same source in late November. The suspect claims for those state income tax refunds were detected and no money was paid out.

A written statement from the Iowa Department of Revenue’s spokesman said the agency has “strong and effective fraud detection procedures in place” and the department is “encouraging Iowa taxpayers and tax professionals” to be vigilant about protecting their personal information by creating strong passwords and spotting phishing attempts in email and text messages. The agency’s spokesman also said Iowans shouldn’t sharing things like Social Security and bank account numbers over the phone.

The $200 million worth of false state income tax refund claims were included in the overall November estimate the Department of Revenue provided to the Legislative Services Agency, but the money was never paid. The department has not released details about where the false claims originated.