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MONDAY, NOV. 18, 2019 | IN THIS ISSUE
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 Iowa Chief Justice Cady dies at 66
Changes in the judicial nominating process approved by the legislature earlier this year
give the governor more influence over the selection, reports the Gazette. Lawmakers eliminated the role of the senior justice and gave the governor a ninth committee appointee - a majority of the seats - for vetting the applicants.
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Despite the Trump administration's farm aid payments, finances for Iowa producers continue to erode, with
44 percent struggling to pay their bills last year, reports the Des Moines Register. A study by ISU ag economist Alejandro Plastina shows the number of financially vulnerable farmers has increased by a third since 2014. "A massive number of delayed and prevented planting acres, low crop prices, reduced demand from biofuel refineries, and trade uncertainties in 2019 present a
challenging liquidity scenario," said Mr. Plastina. He said a new round of aid will help mitigate liquidity gaps, but he questions whether the payments will be sustainable over time, reports Farm Forum.
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Eastern Iowa's Delaware County
has been chosen for a pilot project to beef up the rural workforce through an Iowa Workforce Innovation Network initiative. I-WIN's Sloan Schroeder says her team will be working with county leaders on how to grow the workforce instead of focusing just on the small number of people who are unemployed. Options include looking at part-time workers who could become full-time, recruiting more young people and bringing back people who commute out of county, reports KMCH. Team members from ISU's Center for Industrial Research and Services were in Manchester on Thursday to host a
meeting with local business and community leaders on the new initiative.
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The United Automobile Workers have
approved a four-year labor contract with Ford, accepting wage increases and other terms similar to those reached with General Motors, reports the New York Times. Fifty-six percent of those voting ratified the pact calling for Ford's 55,000 union workers to receive 3% wage increases in the second and fourth years of the contract and 4% lump-sum payments in the first and third years.
The UAW now turns to Fiat Chrysler, which has seen a recent leadership shake-up and faces a spreading criminal corruption probe, reports the Wall Street Journal. Contract changes like those at Ford and GM will be
more costly for Fiat Chrysler to accept because its workforce is newer, with fewer employees earning the top wage.
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New rules from the Trump administration that would require insurers and hospitals to tell patients upfront the actual prices for common tests and procedures are facing stiff pushback from the health care industry, reports the Chicago Tribune. A coalition of major hospital groups said it will sue to block key provisions, which the government says will promote competition and push down costs. The first regulatory change finalizes a rule that requires hospitals to display negotiated rates to patients starting in January 2021, while the second would make insurance companies show patients their expected out-of-pocket costs through an online tool, reports NPR. That proposed rule is subject to 60 days of public comment, and it's unclear when it would take effect.
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Your Morning Commute
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Traffic's moving normally this morning, make it a great start to your week. See the DOT's interactive road conditions map here.
Links as of 7 a.m.
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