(Radio Iowa) – Economic recovery from the pandemic further accelerated in Iowa during May, but the numbers fell slightly for the Midwest region, according to a survey of business leaders and supply managers in the nine states. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the April numbers showed record growth and while Iowa continued to display its momentum to dig out, the region’s progress slipped a bit. “While the trend is strong, we’re still not back to pre-COVID levels, but boy, we’re moving in that direction,” Goss says. “The overall readings are very strong, held back by supply bottlenecks. Nine out of ten supply managers reported supply bottlenecks, four out of ten reported significant supply bottlenecks.”

Almost one-third of supply managers identified soaring input prices as the greatest economic challenge of the year for their firms. Even with a surging manufacturing sector, Goss says Midwest manufacturers added jobs at only a modest pace. “We had shortages of qualified workers,” Goss says. “We’re still about 4.2% below pre-COVID levels. The U.S. number’s about 5.4% below pre-COVID levels.”

As pandemic restrictions begin falling, Iowans are starting to make travel plans, though many of them may be stunned by the airfares they’re seeing as high demand is quickly driving up prices. “Vacation travel is going to be very, very strong this year,” Goss says. “Transportation prices, that would be airline prices, are moving upwards. We’re seeing some very high increases in prices for vacation traveling. Business travel is not as strong. That’s going to remain weak throughout 2021.”

The survey points to very strong growth for the next three to six months and Goss projects the Midwest region’s economy will be back to pre-COVID levels in the first quarter of 2022.

Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 11:30-p.m. Tuesday, of 18-year-old Morgan Jo Bissell, of Red Oak. She was taken into custody for Possession of Marijuana/1st Offense, and, Interference with official acts. Bissell was transported to the Montgomery County Jail, and held in $1,000 bond.

Authorities said Tuesday, no injuries were reported following a collision that took place at around 8:50-a.m., Tuesday, at the intersection of N. 2nd and E. Maple Streets. Police said a 2004 Chevy pickup driven by 75-year-old Carroll Eugene Thuman, of Red Oak, was traveling south on N. 2nd Street and approaching the uncontrolled intersection with E. Maple, at the same time a 2002 Ford pickup driven by 25-year-old Jacob Daniel Orr, of Ft. Wayne, IN, was traveling eastbound on E. Maple. The Ford was registered to Lisa Gross, of Red Oak.

Police say Thuman failed to see Orr’s vehicle until it was too late. His pickup hit the Ford on the driver’s side rear door, causing Orr’s pickup to be pushed into the curb, where it broke off a large chunk of concrete before coming to rest partially in a yard. The Chevy pickup jumped the curb and hit a guy wire for a light pole, breaking the cable and the light pole wire. Thuman was cited for Failing to Yield to a vehicle on the right.

Both pickups were totaled in the crash.

(Radio Iowa) – For three consecutive days, the number of Covid patients in Iowa hospitals has dipped below 100. The last time Iowa had fewer than 100 hospital patients being treated for the virus was in early April of last year. On Tuesday night, the state website indicated 95 Covid patients were hospitalized in Iowa. Department of Public Health director Kelly Garcia says having fewer than 100 Iowans hospitalized with Covid-19 is a significant milestone.

The pace of vaccinations in Iowa has been lagging for several weeks. Garcia says her agency will continue to work with local partners to educate and answer any questions Iowans may have so they can feel confident about getting vaccinated.

About 58 percent of eligible Iowans have had at least one Covid shot. Infectious disease specialists warn if Iowa’s vaccination rate doesn’t rise, more contagious variants of Covid may take hold here as is the case in Britain.

(Radio Iowa) – After the pandemic hit to the Iowa economy a year ago, state tax receipts now are soaring. The state’s fiscal year ends June 30th. Net tax revenue for the state of Iowa in the past 11 months is more than seven-point-three BILLION dollars. It’s about a billion dollars more than same 11 month period in the previous fiscal year. Consumer spending is up. Sales and use tax payments to the State of Iowa jumped 10 percent from July through the end of last month.

Corporate income tax payments to the state more than doubled and personal income tax payments were up nearly 16 percent. Iowa’s unemployment rate has fallen by about two-thirds of what it was at the height of Covid-related shutdowns. In April of 2020, the state unemployment rate hit its pandemic peak of 11-point-one percent.

Iowa’s unemployment rate in April of this year was three-point-eight percent. Thousands of Iowans have dropped out of the job market. The latest figures indicate 90-thousand fewer Iowans are employed in non-farm jobs compared to February, 2020 — before the pandemic hit.

Both drivers and a passenger were injured during a collision Monday afternoon in Mills County, between a pickup and an SUV. The Iowa State Patrol reports the accident happened at around 1:35-p.m. at the intersection of Kidd Road and Highway 34, when 43-year old James Joseph Belt, of Glenwood, failed to yield.

Authorities say his 2007 Chevy Avalanche K1500, which was northbound on Kidd Road, struck a 2021 Ford Explorer broadside on the passenger side of the SUV, which was traveling west on Highway 34.Following the impact, the pickup went off the road northwest of the intersection and rolled into the ditch. The SUV also went off the road and came to rest in the ditch.

Belt, and the driver of the SUV, 63-year old Connie Sue Bowen, of Emerson, along with a passenger in the pickup, 14-year-old Elias Belt, of Glenwood, were injured.

Bowen was transported by LifeNet to the UNMC in Omaha, Joseph and Elias belt were transported to the hospital by private vehicle. All three of the accident victims were wearing their seat belts.

(Radio Iowa) – The search for a missing Montezuma boy who was last seen late Thursday morning continues in Poweshiek County. Hundreds of volunteers turned out Sunday on Xavior Harrelson’s 11th birthday to search in areas within one mile of the boy’s home and in rural areas around Montezuma. Iowa D-C-I assistant director, Mitch Mortvedt gave an update today (Tuesday) on FOX News, and was asked why an Amber Alert hasn’t been issued.

“What we concluded thus far is that it could probably be one of four avenues,” according to Mortvedt, “it could be a walk-away or runaway situation. Whether he was somewhere and had a horrible accident and we have not been able to locate him year. Or it could be criminal. With the criminal element and the Amber Alert in Iowa, his disappearance thus far has not met the criteria for an Amber Alert in Iowa.” He says investigators are going over their plan to be sure they cover all angles.

“Reviewing everything that we’ve done thus far — yet getting new information in and trying to find where Xavier is,” he says. Mortvedt noted many of the same people who searched for Mollie Tibbetts near Brooklyn three years ago helped search for Harrelson. He says they have brought in search dogs and have searched Diamond Lake.

“We’ve done everything possible, and anything we can think of,” Mortvedt says. Mortvedt says this is classified as a missing child case — NOT a kidnapping. Searchers have gone door-to-door in Montezuma and dive teams have searched Diamond Lake which is about a mile west of Montezuma.