State of Iowa Long-Term Economic Recovery Strategy Prepared for the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, October 2010

The Rebuild Iowa Office (RIO) continues to coordinate the state‘s recovery effort from the storms, tornadoes and floods of 2008. Much has been accomplished since the Office‘s last quarterly report was issued in July 2010. State funding has been disbursed to help Iowans with unmet needs and housing. Local governments and entities are utilizing millions of federal dollars so thousands of disaster-impacted homeowners can be offered a buyout. More infrastructure projects are under construction and new neighborhoods are being built with mitigation efforts in mind. However, as Iowa continues to celebrate many successes along the road to recovery, it must also address the numerous challenges that are encountered along the path. Recovering from the state‘s largest disaster must be looked at as a marathon, not a sprint. Over the past three months, the RIO has especially remained focused on helping small business owners impacted by the 2008 disasters. Many disaster-affected businesses have reopened their doors, however their debt load continues to be overwhelming and many still struggle with the timeliness of the disbursement of funds. This report describes how programs and recent modifications are working to assist recovering businesses. This report contains updates on housing progress while outlining the complexities behind certain programs and the bottlenecks communities are facing due to strict federal guidelines for implementation. This following pages also describe how Iowa is implementing Smart Planning principles, publicizing flood awareness through outreach efforts and preparing a blueprint for the state to follow when future disasters occur. As always, the RIO recognizes and thanks the countless leaders and front-line workers from local, regional, state and federal government, businesses, non-profit organizations and private citizens that have provided input, support and leadership. Their dedication to Iowa‘s disaster recovery has made the plans and projects on the following pages possible.

Business Disaster Case Management Task Force, November 2010

During the 2010 session, the Iowa Legislature created per House File 2422 a Business Disaster Case Management Task Force. The purpose of the Task Force is to research disaster recovery case management assistance needed for businesses following a major disaster and to recommend steps for providing such assistance following disasters. The Task Force was duly constituted. Its recommendations are contained in this report. The Task Force focused on what the State of Iowa could do for itself without reliance on federal agencies or programs. It concluded that the hallmarks of any business disaster assistance must be speed of delivery and simplicity in execution. In addition, monies used to assist business recovery should be free of as many restraints on use as possible, relying on the affected businesses to judge for themselves how best to deploy capital resources.

Rebuild Iowa Office Quarterly Report, April 2010

The RIO’S quarterly Report details the economic recovery strategy in housing; business; workforce development; infrastructure investments; individual services and guidance; local economic recovery; smart growth; mitigation planning; floodplain and watershed management; floodplain mapping; quality of life; and emergency management.The report also includes an updated selection of charts showing the flow of federal and state disaster recovery funding to the state, counties, cities and individuals affected by the 2008 disasters.

Rebuild Iowa Office Quarterly Report, October 2010

The RIO’S quarterly Report details the economic recovery strategy in housing; business; workforce development; infrastructure investments; individual services and guidance; local economic recovery; smart growth; mitigation planning; floodplain and watershed management; floodplain mapping; quality of life; and emergency management.The report also includes an updated selection of charts showing the flow of federal and state disaster recovery funding to the state, counties, cities and individuals affected by the 2008 disasters.

Rebuild Iowa Office Quarterly Report, January 2011

The RIO’S quarterly Report details the economic recovery strategy in housing; business; workforce development; infrastructure investments; individual services and guidance; local economic recovery; smart growth; mitigation planning; floodplain and watershed management; floodplain mapping; quality of life; and emergency management.The report also includes an updated selection of charts showing the flow of federal and state disaster recovery funding to the state, counties, cities and individuals affected by the 2008 disasters.

Rebuild Iowa Office Quarterly Report, April 2011

The RIO’S quarterly Report details the economic recovery strategy in housing; business; workforce development; infrastructure investments; individual services and guidance; local economic recovery; smart growth; mitigation planning; floodplain and watershed management; floodplain mapping; quality of life; and emergency management.The report also includes an updated selection of charts showing the flow of federal and state disaster recovery funding to the state, counties, cities and individuals affected by the 2008 disasters.

2005 Annual Report Capitol Planning Commission, January 2005

The Capitol Planning Commission is authorized under Chapter 8A.371—378 of the Code of Iowa. “It shall be the duty of the commission to advise upon the location of statues, fountains and monuments and the placing of any additional buildings on the capitol grounds, the type of architecture and the type of construction of any new buildings to be erected on the state capitol grounds as now encompassed or as subsequently enlarged, and repairs and restoration thereof, and it shall be the duty of the officers, commissions, and councils charged by law with the duty of determining such questions to call upon the commission for such advice. “The commission shall, in cooperation with the director of the department of administrative services, develop and implement within the limits of its appropriation, a five-year modernization program for the capitol complex. “The commission shall annually report to the general assembly its recommendations relating to its duties under this section. The report shall be submitted to the chief clerk of the house and the secretary of the senate during the month of January.” —Code of Iowa, Chapter 8A.373

2006 Annual Report Capitol Planning Commission, April 2006

The Capitol Planning Commission is authorized under Chapter 8A.371—378 of the Code of Iowa. “It shall be the duty of the commission to advise upon the location of statues, fountains and monuments and the placing of any additional buildings on the capitol grounds, the type of architecture and the type of construction of any new buildings to be erected on the state capitol grounds as now encompassed or as subsequently enlarged, and repairs and restoration thereof, and it shall be the duty of the officers, commissions, and councils charged by law with the duty of determining such questions to call upon the commission for such advice. “The commission shall, in cooperation with the director of the department of administrative services, develop and implement within the limits of its appropriation, a five-year modernization program for the capitol complex. “The commission shall annually report to the general assembly its recommendations relating to its duties under this section. The report shall be submitted to the chief clerk of the house and the secretary of the senate during the month of January.” —Code of Iowa, Chapter 8A.373

2007 Annual Report Capitol Planning Commission, January 2008

The Capitol Planning Commission is authorized under Chapter 8A.371—378 of the Code of Iowa. “It shall be the duty of the commission to advise upon the location of statues, fountains and monuments and the placing of any additional buildings on the capitol grounds, the type of architecture and the type of construction of any new buildings to be erected on the state capitol grounds as now encompassed or as subsequently enlarged, and repairs and restoration thereof, and it shall be the duty of the officers, commissions, and councils charged by law with the duty of determining such questions to call upon the commission for such advice. “The commission shall, in cooperation with the director of the department of administrative services, develop and implement within the limits of its appropriation, a five-year modernization program for the capitol complex. “The commission shall annually report to the general assembly its recommendations relating to its duties under this section. The report shall be submitted to the chief clerk of the house and the secretary of the senate during the month of January.” —Code of Iowa, Chapter 8A.373

2010 Annual Report Capitol Planning Commission, January 2011

The Capitol Planning Commission is authorized under Chapter 8A.371—378 of the Code of Iowa. “It shall be the duty of the commission to advise upon the location of statues, fountains and monuments and the placing of any additional buildings on the capitol grounds, the type of architecture and the type of construction of any new buildings to be erected on the state capitol grounds as now encompassed or as subsequently enlarged, and repairs and restoration thereof, and it shall be the duty of the officers, commissions, and councils charged by law with the duty of determining such questions to call upon the commission for such advice. “The commission shall, in cooperation with the director of the department of administrative services, develop and implement within the limits of its appropriation, a five-year modernization program for the capitol complex. “The commission shall annually report to the general assembly its recommendations relating to its duties under this section. The report shall be submitted to the chief clerk of the house and the secretary of the senate during the month of January.” —Code of Iowa, Chapter 8A.373

2009 Annual Report Capitol Planning Commission, January 2010

This 2011 Annual Report further summarizes the work of the Commission during the last year and provides planning recommendations for the future of the Capitol Complex. Please note that Iowa Code Chapter 8A.373 provides that before any physical changes are made to the state capitol complex "it shall be the duty of the officers, commissions, and councils charged by law with the duty of determining such questions to call upon" the Capitol Planning Commission for advice. The Capitol Planning Commission members, as well as DAS Staff, welcome the opportunity to discuss future projects at the request of any legislator.

USE OF SCALED SEMIVARIOGRAMS IN THE PLANNING SAMPLE OF SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES IN SOUTHERN AMAZONAS, BRAZIL

There is a great lack of information from soil surveys in the southern part of the State of Amazonas, Brazil. The use of tools such as geostatistics may improve environmental planning, use and management. In this study, we aimed to use scaled semivariograms in sample design of soil physical properties of some environments in Amazonas. We selected five areas located in the south of the state of Amazonas, Brazil, with varied soil uses, such as forest, archaeological dark earth (ADE), pasture, sugarcane cropping, and agroforestry. Regular mesh grids were set up in these areas with 64 sample points spaced at 10 m from each other. At these points, we determined the particle size composition, soil resistance to penetration, moisture, soil bulk density and particle density, macroporosity, microporosity, total porosity, and aggregate stability in water at a depth of 0.00-0.20 m. Descriptive and geostatistical analyses were performed. The sample density requirements were lower in the pasture area but higher in the forest. We concluded that managed-environments had differences in their soil physical properties compared to the natural forest; notably, the soil in the ADE environment is physically improved in relation to the others. The physical properties evaluated showed a structure of spatial dependence with a slight variability of the forest compared to the others. The use of the range parameter of the semivariogram analysis proved to be effective in determining an ideal sample density.

USE OF SCALED SEMIVARIOGRAMS IN THE PLANNING SAMPLE OF SOIL CHEMICAL PROPERTIES IN SOUTHERN AMAZONAS, BRAZIL

The lack of information concerning the variability of soil properties has been a major concern of researchers in the Amazon region. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the spatial variability of soil chemical properties and determine minimal sampling density to characterize the variability of these properties in five environments located in the south of the State of Amazonas, Brazil. The five environments were archaeological dark earth (ADE), forest, pasture land, agroforestry operation, and sugarcane crop. Regular 70 × 70 m mesh grids were set up in these areas, with 64 sample points spaced at 10 m distance. Soil samples were collected at the 0.0-0.1 m depth. The chemical properties of pH in water, OM, P, K, Ca, Mg, H+Al, SB, CEC, and V were determined at these points. Data were analyzed by descriptive and geostatistical analyses. A large part of the data analyzed showed spatial dependence. Chemical properties were best fitted to the spherical model in almost all the environments evaluated, except for the sugarcane field with a better fit to the exponential model. ADE and sugarcane areas had greater heterogeneity of soil chemical properties, showing a greater range and higher sampling density; however, forest and agroforestry areas had less variability of chemical properties.

Statewide Economic Impacts of Disaster-Related Payments to Support Household and Private and Public Sector Recovery in Iowa, January 2010

There have been a multitude of programs providing assistance to the state of Iowa in the past 18 months. Springtime 2008 disasters resulted in tornado damage and widespread flood damage to large fractions of the state. In consequence, there was a very large flow of federal and state resources dedicated to assisting community and statewide recovery efforts. The nation was in recession as well and continued to be in recession through much of 2009. A sizeable amount of assistance found its way to Iowa under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in the forms of infrastructure stimulus spending, income supports and other safety net spending for households, and stabilization assistance for essential public services like education. On top of that, the state of Iowa authorized the I Jobs program as an additional infrastructure development program, and as a jobs stimulus program. The total amount of spending for all types of programs, disaster or economic recovery related, is perhaps as high as $7.5 billion over the next few years.