Gomers -- What's going wrong

YOUNG WORKERS LEAVING: Iowa lost more than 60,000 residents in the young worker group (between ages 25 and 44) over the last decade, says the 2010 Census. Iowa's drop of 7.6 percent in that category was more than double the national average rate. Virtually all of the loss came in rural areas, where the rate was 17.3 percent. Which means rural employers face even tougher sledding as they try to turn a profit and find new employees. It also seems to indicate that the long trend of too many young people leaving Iowa hasn't subsided.

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THIEVERY: The new major construction sites around Cedar Rapids are apparently too tempting for some with larcenous intentions. As of Friday, thieves had swiped more than $17,000 worth of materials and tools from at least five construction sites in Cedar Rapids since April 1, police reported.

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STORM DAMAGE: One of Tuesday's storms in Iowa toppled a 1966 concrete bell tower, which then smashed a covered walkway at the entrance to First Lutheran Church in Belle Plaine. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

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