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• MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) -- Authorities say a Mitchell man shot and killed himself when police responded to a report of a domestic dispute in a mobile home.
• Police Lt. Don Everson tells The Daily Republic newspaper that the man had assaulted a woman, and the man retreated to a bedroom when officers arrived. KSFY-TV reports that the man turned a shotgun on himself.
• The man's name was not immediately released.
• A nearby road was closed for a time Thursday morning, and a nearby elementary school was locked down for about 1 ½ hours.
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• OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Another economic slump may be developing in the Midwest and Plains states, according to a survey of business leaders released Thursday.
• The Mid-America Business Conditions index is based on monthly surveys of business leaders and supply managers in nine states. It includes a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth while a score below 50 suggests decline for that factor.
• The overall index dropped to 46.5 last month from 50.4 in September, the report said. It was 57.2 in June but fell below 50 in the following months.
• "Surveys over the past several months point to slightly negative growth for the next three to six months," said Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey. "However, as in (the) past months, two states with significant dependence on energy, North Dakota and Oklahoma, will continue to expand at a positive pace while the rest of the region pulls back.
• The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
• While business leaders' responses indicated an economic slump was ahead, they expressed more confidence in October than the month before. Last month's business confidence index jumped to 58.0 from September's very weak 44.7.
• "Despite less favorable business conditions for their own firms, supply managers are more positive about the overall economy in the months ahead," Goss said. He said drops in the national unemployment rate and upturns in the U.S. housing market were boosting the economic outlook of those who responded to the survey.

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