OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly survey report suggests economic conditions in nine Midwest and Plains states took a leap forward last month. The report released Tuesday says the Mid-America Business Conditions Index jumped to 61.1 in August, compared with 57.0 in July. It’s the 21st straight month that the index remained above growth neutral 50.0.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the region’s manufacturing growth of 3.1 percent over the past 12 months exceeds the U.S. growth rate of 2.6 percent.

The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth. A score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

(Radio Iowa) — Construction on the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska’s Prairie Flower casino in Carter Lake, Iowa is moving along on schedule, and the casino will soon start filling out the remaining available jobs. Ponca Tribe chairman Larry Wright Junior says they recently had a job fair for tribal members to fill some spots. “We have several positions already filled now and now we are going to be opening it up her in the next week or so or couple of weeks to the public as a whole. And so we’re going to invite people in the metro area or people looking for a job in the metro area to come to the fair,” Wright says.

The casino expects to have around 100 employees. Wright says another issue they will discuss is whether members of the tribe receive some sort of payment from the casino proceeds. “That will be a decision for our tribal people to decide, and we continue to work on that item specifically,” Wright says. “But we want to be sure we had other issues addressed first before we start spending money.” Wright says the majority of the tribe backed building the casino because of the jobs and other benefits it would bring. He says they need to know that that can take care of all the needs before moving ahead with anything else. “There’s lots of things to consider. We offer a lot of programs and services to our people — education, housing, health care — just to name a few,” Wright says. “We look at bolstering those programs to help our people become less dependent on those things.”

Wright says they want to be able to present the issue with all the information they can. “We’ll look at all avenues and give our people as much information so they can make an educated decision,” he says. The Ponca Tribe has some 43-hundred members in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. The 95-hundred square foot casino with 200 slot machines is expected to be opened sometime in late October.

Red Oak Police say no injuries were reported following a single-vehicle accident that occurred at around 6:30-p.m., Monday, in the 100 block of E. Corning Street. Authorities report Lowell Hardy was driving a 1999 Buick LeSabre westbound on East Corning Street, when he failed to see a large construction dumpster on the side of the street. His car hit the dumpster, pushing it about six-feet. The impact disabled the vehicle and caused its airbags to deploy.

No citations were issued. Red Oak Police were assisted at the scene by the Red Oak Fire Dept., Red Oak Rescue and a Deputy with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

Police in Red Oak arrested a woman Monday evening who has a lengthy record of being in the Montgomery County Jail. Officers arrested 48-year old Shelby Joann Olivares, of Red Oak, for Public Intoxication. She was taken into custody at around 7:35-p.m. in the area of 1st Avenue and W. 4th Street and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where Olivares’ bond was set at $300.

One week from today (On Tuesday, September 11th), the Audubon Community School Board will ask registered district voters to renew the district’s Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) for another ten years. School officials say the levy, which the board is proposing to leave at its current rate of $.67 per thousand, plays an integral part in providing a quality education for the students at Audubon Community School.

PPEL Funds can only be used for specific purposes as stated by Iowa Law. Here are a few of the ways PPEL funds have been utilized by the Audubon School District:
• Student Security – Security cameras, secure entrances, playground upgrades
• Building Maintenance – roof repair & replacement, carpet replacement, tuck-pointing
• Transportation Equipment – purchase/repair buses, vans & suburbans
• Technology – 1:1 initiatives, classroom technology, student management software
• Energy Savings – LED lighting, door & window replacement, upgrade HVAC system

Officials say by using PPEL funds to maintain facilities and equipment the Audubon Community School has been able to hold the line on the General Fund levy, making it one of the lowest levies in the area. That has also allowed the school board to focus General Fund dollars on the District’s main goal of providing a first-rate education to Audubon students.

If you have any questions concerning the PPEL fund levy, please feel free to contact the Superintendent’s office at 712-563-2607. Voting will open at 12:00 p.m. Sept, 11th and will close at 8:00 p.m. at the Agri-hall at the Audubon Fairgrounds.

For more information about voting or about absentee voting, please contact the county Audubon County Auditor at 712-563-2584.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — About two dozen environmental demonstrators are undertaking a 100-mile march in Iowa to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports that they began their eight-day trek Saturday in Des Moines. Advocacy groups Bold Iowa and Indigenous Iowa organized the march to show unity against the $3.8 billion, four-state pipeline. Protesters plan to walk 10-15 miles a day, completing the march Saturday in Fort Dodge.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three people are dead and two others are injured after a three-vehicle crash on Interstate Highway 29 in western Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports the Iowa State Patrol is investigating the cause of the Sunday crash in Harrison County north of Omaha, Nebraska. According to the Iowa State Patrol, an 80-year-old Rock Valley man drove off the road, across the median and hit two vehicles near Little Sioux.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democrats know who their voters are. They just have to figure out how to get them to the polls in November. That’s why the liberal group NextGen America is pouring more than $30 million into an effort to mobilize and energize young voters in 11 battleground states. It includes things such as setting up a dog petting booth on the University of Wisconsin-Madison to attract students and register them to vote. The group has nearly 800 organizers on 421 college campuses.

BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) — The father of slain Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts says his daughter’s death should not be used to promote political agendas. A Mexican farmworker suspected of being in the U.S. illegally has been charged in Tibbetts’ death. Rob Tibbetts in an opinion piece in The Des Moines Register spoke out against using “Mollie’s soul in advancing views she believed were profoundly racist.”