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Iowa’s labor participation rates struggle to return to pre-pandemic rates

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Iowa’s labor participation rates struggle to return to pre-pandemic rates


CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Tic Toc, a Cedar Rapids restaurant, is a prime example of the ongoing struggle to find workers even after the pandemic.

“I know we’ve held open interviews and people don’t show up. I’ve hired people and been like ‘Hey, this is your first day.’, they didn’t show up.” said General Manager Alyssa Gregory.

The frustration shows up in state labor data. After state unemployment rates rose to nearly 183,000 in April of 2020, many workers older than 40 never returned to the workforce because they now had the money to retire or quit.

”The older workers were the ones who atypically dropped out. Part of that was because of government increase payments for unemployment benefits, so they were both more generous and easier to get. But also, 401Ks were increasing at a very rapid rate. We had about a 30-40% run-up in the value of your pensions in 2020 and 2021.” said Iowa State Economics Professor Peter Orazem.

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Fewer workers means those who remained could demand higher wages and better benefits. And the competition for top talent compounded the problem – making it even harder to find reliable employees while still making a profit.

“It’s kind of hard for us to find good quality candidates. Or, you know, when you do find somebody, they might get a better opportunity somewhere else, which, you know, it does happen.” said Gregory.”

Though Iowa’s labor force has had a slower recovery, Orazem believes its time to reckon with the facts and find new solutions.

”I just don’t think that Iowa is going to be able to get those older workers who decided to drop out. They’re just not coming back. So we’re either going to have to attract people from other states or we’re going to have to hope that there’s an increase in nationwide immigration and we get our share of those workers.” said Orazem, who noted that due to lockdowns, immigration rates hit a sharp decline during the pandemic, but considering immigration accounted for 38% of Iowa’s population growth since 2000, the sudden drop-off has had a large affect on the size of the labor force.

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Iowa

Runnin’ Utes give up 2nd half lead as Iowa pulls away for 95-88 win

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Runnin’ Utes give up 2nd half lead as Iowa pulls away for 95-88 win


SOUIX FALLS, S.D. — Iowa’s defense was smothering, and Utah did little to help itself on offense by starting the game shooting just 12.5% from the floor.

It was another first-half slow start against a Quad 1 opponent this season.

But unlike in previous Quad 1 games, where Utah allowed the opposing team run away with an early double-digit lead, the Runnin’ Utes fought back. And it was Mason Madsen, who earned his first start of the season, who provided the game-changing spark.

Madsen got a defensive rebound, and then hit a 3-pointer on the other end to open up three straight 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give Utah its first lead of the game.

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From there, Utah found its offense to control a 4-point lead at the halftime break before building up the lead to 10 in the second half.

Iowa didn’t back down, though, and slowly chipped away at the lead before eventually pulling away for a 95-88 win at the Sanford Pentagon in the Utah’s final nonconference game of the season.

Madsen finished with 24 points, including going 6-of-11 from 3-point range, six rebounds and four assists, but it wasn’t enough to contend with Iowa’s offensive attack late. Lawson Lovering added 25 points, four rebounds and two assists in the loss.

Iowa forward Payton Sandfort led the charge in the second half and contributed a team-high 24 points and seven rebounds, while four other Iowa players finished in double-digit scoring.

Utah opened up the game shooting just 1-of-8 from the field as Iowa took an early 9-2 lead that was also helped by a defense that forced the Utes into late-shot situations and poor looks. Little by little, Utah found a way to get back into the game, largely by Madsen’s hot shooting and Lovering’s strong post play.

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Less than two minutes into the second half, Ezra Ausar hit two free throws to give the Utes a team-high 11-point lead. Over the next five minutes, Iowa slowly chipped away at Utah’s lead and made it a 4-point game with 14:13 left to play.

Utah made only 2 points over the next three minutes as Iowa cut the lead to a single possession before Drew Thelwell hit a 3-pointer with 10:47 left for the go-ahead score. Once Iowa reclaimed the lead, there was little Utah could do over the final 10 minutes of game time to stop the Hawkeyes’ lead from growing.

Owen Freeman, the team’s leading scorer who averages 17.2 points per game, got into foul trouble and was forced to sit for much of the game — including picking up a fourth foul with just under 11 minutes to play — but finished with 16 points, six rebounds and two assists, while adding three blocks in just 19 minutes of play.

Thelwell and Josh Nix added 15 points apiece, and Brock Harding contributed 12 points to round out Iowa’s top scoring.

Utah closes out nonconference play with an 8-3 record, with all three losses coming against Quad 1 opponents. The Utes resume action on Dec. 31 in Waco, Texas, to start Big 12 play against Baylor.

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The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.



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Extra Point: What Awaits Miami in the Pop-Tart Bowl vs. Iowa State?

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Extra Point: What Awaits Miami in the Pop-Tart Bowl vs. Iowa State?


When the Miami Hurricanes and Cam Ward take the field against the Iowa State Cyclones on Dec. 28, the Hurricanes will see an offense much like some they faced this season in ACC play.

The Cyclones are no pushover, and have the numbers to back that up. Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht tossed for over 3,200 yards this season and 22 touchdowns, most of which came at the hands of leading receiver Jayden Higgins, who caught for almost 1,200 yards on his own. Higgins has also pulled down a team-leading nine touchdowns thus far in the season, and will be looking to add to that total in the bowl game against the Hurricanes.

Those are just the surface level stats, though. Iowa State has some other weapons that could give the Miami defense some issues as well. For instance, their two headed backfield of Carson Hansen and Abu Sama III, which combined for over 1,200 yards on the ground this year. Samha is touted as one of the most talented underclassmen in the country, and is predicted by many to secure the starting role in the backfield next season.

Senior wideout Jaylin Noel serves as the team’s second leading receiver, and accounted for another 1,077 yards through the air this year for the cyclones. To put it bluntly, Iowa State has four to five guys on the field that can hurt a defense at all times, and that’s before discussing the defense.

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The Cyclone defensive backfield has picked off 14 passes this year, good enough for a top-30 ranking in that category per game. The pass rush may not be what it was for ISU in 2023, but with Cam Ward under center anyway, this game looks to be one decided through the air.

Unless Miami running back Damien Martinez gets going, it looks to be a pair of high-flying offenses duking it out in the Pop Tarts Bowl this year.



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AP Poll Top 25: Iowa State stays in same spot as no change at the top of rankings

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AP Poll Top 25: Iowa State stays in same spot as no change at the top of rankings


The Iowa State men remain No. 3 in the latest AP Poll Top 25, which was released on Monday.

Following a win over Morgan State, the Cyclones (10-1) check in behind SEC powers Tennessee and Auburn, keeping the Top 3 the same for another week.

Duke and Alabama are right behind Iowa State, as Kentucky dropped six spots to No. 10 this week. Florida, Kansas, Marquette and Oregon complete the Top 10.

Along with Iowa State and Kansas, the Big 12 Conference is represented by Houston, Cincinnati and newcomer Baylor. The Cougars are ranked 15th, the Bearcats are No. 17 and the Bears are 25th.

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Other newcomers include Mississippi State, Arkansas and Illinois, as Memphis, Dayton, Michigan and Clemson all dropped out. 

The Cyclones close out 2024 when they travel to Boulder to take on Colorado. That game is set for Monday, Dec. 30 and will be the conference opener. 

Here is the men’s college basketball AP Poll Top 25 for Week 8:

(Dec. 23)

1. Tennessee (41)

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2. Auburn (21)

3. Iowa State

4. Duke

5. Alabama

6. Florida

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7. Kansas

8. Marquette

9. Oregon

10. Kentucky

11. Connecticut

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12. Oklahoma

13. Texas A&M

14. Gonzaga

15. Houston

16. Mississippi

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17. Cincinnati

18. Michigan State

19. Mississippi State

20. San Diego State

21. Purdue

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22. UCLA

23. Arkansas

24. Illinois

25. Baylor

Others receiving votes: Maryland 119; Dayton 108; Drake 91; St. John’s 90; Memphis 65; Michigan 50; Georgia 45; Pittsburgh 27 West Virginia 26; Missouri 25; Ohio State 23; North Carolina 20; Clemson 18; Arizona State 13; Utah State 9; Wisconsin 9; Texas Tech 8; Indiana 8; St. Bonaventure 4; Penn State 3.

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Dropped from rankings: Memphis 21; Dayton 22; Michigan 24; Clemson 25.



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