Capitol Notebook: Iowa’s unemployment rate unchanged at 2.9 percent

Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.9 percent in September despite a slight decrease in total employment.

The state’s labor force participation rate also held steady at 66.3 percent.

The total number of working Iowans fell by 1,000 last month to 1,634,500 in September. That is 18,800 lower than one year ago. Iowa firms shed 4,800 jobs in September, largely driven by declines in education and health services. Leisure and hospitality saw modest gains, adding 600 jobs.

The number of unemployed Iowans increased to 49,400 in September from 48,400 in August.

Over the past year, Iowa firms have added 11,600 jobs, a 0.7 percent increase. The U.S. unemployment rate in September decreased slightly from 4.2 percent to 4.1 percent.

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“The September report is evidence that many Iowa businesses remain reluctant to hire due to uncertainty about the direction of the national economy,” Beth Townsend, executive director of Iowa Workforce Development, said in a statement. “This ‘wait and see’ attitude we are seeing in hiring is unlikely to subside until after the upcoming election. However, more than 52,000 open jobs remain posted on IowaWORKS.gov, and IWD is well-positioned to help anyone looking for their next job with employers who are hiring in their communities.”

Iowa joins several states demanding company stop illegal robocalls

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office joined several states as part of a national task force in a letter to a Florida-based company demanding it cease involvement in suspected illegal robocalls.

Iowa joined other state attorneys general as part of the bipartisan Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation task force calling on iDentidad Advertising Development LLC to “carefully scrutinize and actively investigate any suspected illegal call traffic” transmitted through the company’s network. iDentidad is suspected of allowing scammers to perpetrate robocalls, tricking people into providing credit card, banking or other financial information.

It follows similar actions taken by the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission last November. The letter states many of the suspicious robocalls concern impersonations of the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration and other government entities as well as utilities, banks and other financial institutions.

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According to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, data shows there have been nearly 200 notices to iDentidad of suspected robocalls since 2021. Many of those calls were driven by foreign service providers that are not listed in the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database. More than 470 calls also were made to phone numbers listed on the National Do Not Call Registry, according to the AG’s office.

Several reports have further been made in the last month about non-Illinois residents being contacted by someone spoofing the Illinois Attorney General’s Office phone number. It is believed that these calls were part of the campaign of suspicious robocalls. The Iowa Attorney General’s Office announced last week that an Oregon resident similarly reported a scam call from someone spoofing the Iowa Attorney General’s Office phone number.

The states are demanding that iDentidad take action to follow the law and shut down the gateway for mass, suspected illegal robocalls.

DOT awards $68.7 million for I-35/80/235 rebuild

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $68.7 million to reconstruct the Interstate 80, Interstate 35 and Interstate 235 interchange in Des Moines.

The DOT will administer the awards through a grant program funded under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The $114.5 million project is expected to begin in 2026 and be completed in 2029.

The existing interchange was constructed in the 1960s. Traffic has significantly increased since then, and the interchange needs to be reconfigured to improve safety and traffic movement, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. DOT officials have said the existing interchange does not provide drivers enough space to safely merge. The Iowa State Patrol has said it is a frequent site of crashes.

Specific construction projects include:

By constructing flyover ramps, the reconfiguration will alleviate some of the merging issues seen with the current configuration of ramps, per the DOT.

Reynolds appoints Cherokee attorney as district judge

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has appointed Cherokee attorney Adam Miller as a district judge in Judicial District 3A.

The district includes Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth, Lyon, O’Brien, Osceola and Palo Alto counties.

Miller received his law degree from Texas Wesleyan School of Law, according to Reynolds’ office. He fills a vacancy created after the retirement of Nancy Whittenburg.