DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds, Monday, received word Iowans impacted by flooding and severe weather now have until July 16 to apply for federal recovery assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) granted Iowa’s request for an extension of the registration deadline for the federal Individual Assistance Program. This will give those impacted by flooding and severe weather between March 12 and June 15 additional time to register. Homeowners and renters in nine counties now have until July 16 to apply for Individual Assistance. The nine counties are: Fremont, Harrison, Louisa, Mills, Monona, Pottawattamie, Scott, Shelby, and Woodbury. The deadline had been July 1st.

The deadline for residents and businesses to apply for Small Business Administration (SBA) loans has also been extended to July 16. To register for FEMA assistance, visit www.disasterassistance.gov or call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. Information on how to apply for low-interest SBA loans for businesses and residents is available online at SBA.gov/disaster or by calling 800-659-2955.

For more information visit www.floods2019.iowa.gov.

(Radio Iowa) — The June survey of business leaders in Iowa and eight other Midwestern states signals positive growth for the region over the next three-to-six months. Ernie Goss, an economist at Creighton University, says while things are starting to pick up after several down months, international trade troubles continue to cloud the regional and national outlooks “Tariffs restrict buying from abroad,” Goss says. “A lot of our supply managers are finding it more expensive to buy from abroad. Likewise, selling into Chinese markets where the Chinese have retaliated, that’s been a real challenge.”

The Creighton survey found the regional economy expanded at a slower pace than the rest of the nation for the first half of 2019, Goss says, but overall, hiring for the region’s manufacturing sector for June was up significantly.  “The number-one challenge over the next 12 months is finding and hiring qualified workers due to almost-record low unemployment rates in most of the region,” Goss says. “Forty percent of supply managers indicated that was their number-one challenge.”

Still, according to the June survey, better than 71-percent of supply managers supported continuing current tariffs on China or even raising them. Finding workers to fill open positions remains a daunting chore. “Both the U.S. and the region’s employment growth are slowing down, and that’s somewhat troubling, but that’s what we’re seeing,” Goss says. “Some of that is related to finding and hiring qualified workers, but there have been negative impacts from floods and from trade.”

Goss says the recent surveys indicate both durable and non-durable goods producers in Iowa are seeing positive gains in economic activity. Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show Iowa workers have experienced a solid 3.6 percent increase in hourly wages over the past 12 months, above the national gain of 3.1 percent over the same period of time.

WESTFIELD, Iowa (AP) — A former city clerk has been charged with stealing from the city in northwest Iowa. Plymouth County court records say 50-year-old Angela Sorensen is charged with theft and ongoing criminal conduct. Sorensen’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.

Station KTIV reports that Sorensen had been clerk in Westfield from May 25, 2013, until she quit in August 2017. A special state audit of the city books shows auditors identified nearly $40,000 of utility payments to the city that were never deposited.

Auditors also said Sorensen was overpaid by more than $13,000 during the 4½ years, and said she wrote herself about $4,300 worth of unauthorized checks.

BRIGHTON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say the body of a missing kayaker has been found in southeast Iowa. A news release from Washington County says the body of 52-year-old David Woodson was recovered around 4:40 p.m. Monday. He was reported missing Saturday night, after his kayak flipped in the Skunk River near Brighton. He didn’t resurface.
The search began Saturday night, continued without success on Sunday and resumed Monday morning. Woodson lived in Brighton.