Sun and clouds mixed. High 91F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 69F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.

Sun and clouds mixed. High 91F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 69F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.

(Washington, DC) -- Federal officials say a southwest Iowa manufacturer has agreed to pay a half a million-dollar settlement after a whistleblower claimed the company failed to properly test parts it made for military contractors. W-D-C Acquisitions in Creston, known by its trade name Wellman Dynamics, makes aluminum and magnesium metal castings used in the military’s Apache, Osprey and Black Hawk helicopters. The federal government alleged that between 2014 and 2021, the company did not conduct required strength and quality tests of its parts and falsely certified that tests had been performed. The whistleblower, Wellman employee Bradley Keller, sued the company on behalf of the United States and will be paid 90-thousand dollars. The Justice Department says the claims resolved by the settlement remain allegations and there has been no determination of liability.

(Omaha, NE) -- A survey says supply managers from nine midwestern states, including Iowa, are very pessimistic about the economy. The Business Conditions survey shows continued growth but Ernie Goss, an economist with Creighton University in Omaha, says that growth is not very fast. He says the country is probably in a recession or skating along and moving into the recession in the next quarter or so. Goss says to listen carefully to what the Federal Reserve Governors say because when they see a recession ahead, they’re going to be raising interest rates. Goss says he expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in September.

(Des Moines, IA) -- Iowa ranks ninth in the country on the annual Kids Count report, which ranks states on 12 factors divided into four categories: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. Iowa’s high ranking can be misleading, according to Anne Discher, executive director of Common Good Iowa, which partners with the Annie E. Casey Foundation on the report. Discher says Iowa ranks first for high school kids graduating on time but ranks 21st on the share of young children attending preschool, 22nd in fourth graders not reading proficiently, 25th in eighth graders not proficient in math, 25th on child and teen death rates, and 33rd on the percentage of kids who are overweight or obese. Discher says Iowa ranked 17th overall in the health category and it did well on some measures such as kids covered by health insurance, where it was ranked fourth best in the U-S.

(Davenport, IA) -- An eastern Iowa company is manufacturing and marketing what it calls “micro rooms” that can be placed in your back yard or beside the house to be used as a spare bedroom, office or sunroom, and in a host of business applications. Fred Smith, co-owner of Fast-Pacs -- based in Davenport -- says they have four styles of rooms, all of which are eight-by-12-feet with a ten-and-a-half-foot high cathedral ceiling. The price of a micro room starts around 16-thousand dollars, which Smith says is a much more cost-effective solution to solving space needs versus hiring a contractor to build a permanent addition to your home or business. Fast-Paks’ micro rooms are being featured this week at the Home & Garden Show in Austin, Texas, with a series of similar home shows coming up, including one in Des Moines in February.

At KMA, we attempt to be accurate in our reporting. If you see a typo or mistake in a story, please contact us by emailing kmaradio@kmaland.com.

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