Gomers: What's going wrong

SALTY COST: Cedar Rapids and other Eastern Iowa communities have ramped up their use of salt for streets the past three relatively severe winters. The prices have also increased. Cedar Rapids will buy 9,000 tons of rock salt for this winter and pay 43 percent more than three years ago, joining a bid with the Iowa Department of Transportation at $68.67 a ton. The city sought separate bids but all three were higher.

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EMERGENCY FUNDING: Many Iowa counties' E-911 funds will not be enough to pay for system upgrades required by the Federal Communications Commission's new radio equipment standard as of Jan. 1, 2013. Even without the new requirement, Linn County's E-911 budget is headed to red ink. One reason for the shortfall is fewer land-line phones are in place, thus fewer users pay the E-911 surcharge. County supervisors will ask voters in November to approve an increase from 25 cents per month to as much as $1 per month for land-line users.

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WITHERING WEATHER: Iowa State Fair officials blame extremely humid weather, rain and a down economy for attendance that fell below 1 million for the first time in nine years.