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Harkin Wants Unemployment Benefits Extended

(Washington) — While some in Congress say cutting the deficit should be the top priority, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin says there’s no task more “urgent” now than extending unemployment benefits to the long-term jobless.

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Harkin says the nation’s unemployment rate is holding around nine-percent with around 14-million people jobless, though he says that figure may be closer to 28-million. He says this is our country’s worst bout of unemployment since the Great Depression with four job seekers for every available job.

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Harkin, a Democrat, says Republicans are “out of touch” when they say unemployment benefits destroy the incentive to look for work. He says extending the jobless benefits would be an act of “human compassion.”

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(Des Moines) — Expected levels of sales, capital spending, and employment for Iowa’s largest employers all edged higher as business leaders’ optimism improved for the coming six months.  The Iowa Business Council’s Fourth Quarter Economic Outlook Survey Index rose to 62 – nearly five points higher than the survey conducted in the third quarter.  The fourth quarter survey was two points higher than last quarter, but two points lower than one year ago.  Nearly ninety percent of the CEOs expect steady or increased sales over the next six months.  Eleven percent of survey respondents expect sales sales levels to be lower or substanially lower.

 

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An analysis of new census data shows Iowa is fifth in the nation for residents 65 or older.
    Nearly 15 percent of Iowa’s 3 million residents are 65 or older. The oldest state is Florida, with 17.3 percent of its residents 65 or older, followed by West Virginia, Maine and Pennsylvania.
     The analysis of the data released Wednesday says Iowa is among the top three states in percentage of residents 85 and older.
     Families, employers, health care and other institutions have been faced with adjustments as the baby boomers born after the end of World War II age.
     The Census Bureau says the 65-and-older segment grew more than 15 percent over the past decade and now makes up 13 percent of the nation’s population.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics says a new cancer clinic that opens next week will provide more space for patients and researchers.
     The $12 million clinic will occupy two floors at the Pomerantz Family Pavilion and house cancer care teams that focus on several types such as breast and prostate.
     Hospital officials say the new clinic will provide for more exam rooms and patient suites. They say the clinic will have patient-friendly features such as loveseats in the waiting areas, open walls that allow chemotherapy patients to talk to each other and headsets to let patients watch television.
     The clinic will also bring together cancer center researchers who work on clinical trials, allowing them to better coordinate their activities.