THURSDAY, NOV. 7, 2019  |  IN THIS ISSUE 
 
Story2Study: More Iowa farmers have 'vulnerable liquidity'
 
Farm equity across Iowa has declined markedly since 2014, according to a new study by Iowa State  Extension Economist Alejandro Plastina. He told Radio Iowa that in his survey of 200 farms in December 2018, 44% could be classified as having "vulnerable liquidity," compared to 31% a year earlier. What's more, the cumulative loss of working capital on Iowa farms and ranches from 2015-2017 reached an estimated $189 per acre, WNAX reports. Without government assistance in 2018, including $646 million from the Trump administration's bailout to farmers hurt by the trade war, Mr. Plastina says the economic conditions on Iowa farms would have been even worse.
The Iowa Board of Regents is selling the decommissioned, 48-acre Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School campus to the city of Vinton for $1, reports the Gazette. The complex, which includes nearly 200,000 square feet of building space, has cost the board millions over the years in upkeep and maintenance.
 
The regents may slim down the state's real estate portfolio in one place and beef it up in another, if the University of Iowa has its way. The university is asking the board to approve spending $2.18 million to buy a 22-acre tract in North Liberty, adjacent to a 38-acre tract it already owns at Forevergreen Road and Highway 965. A sign on that corner has long promised a UI Health Care facility is "coming soon."
 
Roy Azevedo, president of Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems unit in McKinney, Texas, will preside over one of Raytheon's four main business units after the company closes its mega-merger with United Technologies Corp., reports the Dallas Business Journal. The new Intelligence, Space and Airborne Systems division would have sales of approximately $15 billion, making it about the size of Texas Instruments. The $135 billion merger, which remains subject to regulatory approval, would cap the transformation of UTC by CEO Greg Hayes, who plans to spin off the company's Otis elevator and Carrier heating businesses and stay on as CEO of Raytheon Technologies, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The late harvest, wet corn and a fall chill have combined to create a supply pinch in propane, reports CBS2/FOX 28. Farmers are rushing to get crops harvested and stored, but nearly every bushel of corn needs to be dried, multiplying propane demand across the Midwest. The shortage has prompted a disaster declaration from Gov. Kim Reynolds, giving truckers permission to drive longer hours as they travel as far as Texas to bring LP to the state, reports KCCI. Minden farmer Dennis Fett told WOWT the shortage qualifies as "a state of emergency here in the Midwest. The floods are terrible but people are going to freeze if we don't have enough propane to heat people," he said.

The Chicago Cubs-Sinclair Broadcast Group partnership known as Marquee has reached a multiyear deal with Mediacom to deliver regional sports programming to about 250,000 pay-TV subscribers in parts of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, reports the Tribune. The new Cubs network will include 150 regular and about 30 spring training games, although a dozen Cubs regular season games remain reserved for national broadcasts. Marquee is on a bit of a roll, according to Sports Pro, picking up AT&T's DirectTV satellite service and AT&T TV and U-Verse streaming offerings last month and landing a deal with Charter Communications in July.
Rise and shine 

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CommuteYour Morning Commute
Traffic's moving normally this morning, but watch for pattern changes around the I-80/380 interchange if you're headed that way. See the DOT's interactive road conditions map here. 
 
Links as of 7 a.m.