Homers: What's going right

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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MORE MINORITY STUDENTS: It's encouraging to see that enrollment of Latinos at the University of Iowa increased 110 percent and African-Americans climbed 37 percent in the past five years. Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa saw smaller but significant increases in those two minority groups. The influx of Latinos reflects, in part, the 52 percent increase in their population in Iowa since 2000. The universities' stepped-up marketing to attract minority students also is credited.

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IMPROVING ECONOMY: The economic news in Iowa last week was largely upbeat. A statewide index tracking several categories increased for the 13th consecutive month. And the state's largest employers expect to increase capital spending and hiring this

quarter.

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CREDIT WISER: The national credit card delinquency rate is down 24.6 percent compared to a year ago, and Dubuque led all U.S. metropolitan areas in the third quarter of this year with a 48.4 percent reduction in delinquencies. Meanwhile, Iowans continued to have the lowest credit card debt: an average of $3,807, virtually the same as the second quarter, and nearly $300 lower than second-ranked North Dakota.