Gomers: What's going wrong

CLOSED FOR BUSINESS: Blend Inc., which closed last week, is among hundreds of small businesses that eventually reopened in Cedar Rapids' downtown area after sustaining major damage in the 2008 flood. Blend's owners struggled with an increased debt load because of loans to cover extensive restoration costs. A slower local economy hurt business, too. Also, patrons of nearby Paramount Theatre and Theatre Cedar Rapids often came to dinner before a show. Those attractions also were flooded out and are still closed.

The fear is that other small businesses with similar problems are vulnerable to failure in the next couple of years. The City Council's approval last week of a buy-local policy for some city purchases could help some.

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WELFARE OOPS: Nearly 14,000 Iowa families on welfare received double their expected monthly payments last week because of a Department of Human Services error. This was the month that checks were supposed to be replaced by a debit-style swipe card. But the checks went out anyway. So did the cards. DHS blames an oversight mistake and requests that double recipients send back the checks. Otherwise, they won't be paid in February.