(Continued from page 23)

The jobs index declined to 52.8 in August from July's 55.3.
• The indexes in the survey report all range from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth, while a score below that suggests decline.
• The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
• Goss said the business leaders surveyed are less optimistic about the next few months because they're worried about international tensions and have questions about the implementation of health care reform.
• The confidence index slipped to 53.9 in August from July's 56.9.
• The survey also suggests more inflation in the months ahead because the prices-paid index, which tracks the cost of raw materials and supplies, rose to 61.8 in August from 58 in July.
• For the first time in eight months, the survey suggested businesses were cutting back on inventory because that index dipped to 49.4 in August from 52.7 in July.
• The other components of the August overall index were:
• -- The export index grew to 56.2 from July's 50.
• -- The import index fell to 49.3 in August from 53.6.
• -- New orders increased to 56.8 from July's 52.2.
• -- The production or sales index soared to 60.1 in August from 54.2.
• And the delivery lead time index slid to 50 from July's 53.3.
•

• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- Former South Dakota legislator Jay Duenwald died over the weekend.
• Gov. Dennis Daugaard says Duenwald, of Hoeven, died Saturday. He was 76. Daugaard did not give a cause of death.
• Duenwald served from 1997-2002 in the South Dakota House of Representatives and from 2003-2008 in the state Senate. He held a leadership role as the Republican majority whip for four years in the House and two years in the Senate.
• Daugaard has ordered flags lowered to half-staff at the Capitol on Friday, the day of Duenwald's funeral. Lien Funeral Home says services are scheduled for 10 a.m. at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Hoven.
•