New south Iowa store to sell dollar items

A St. Louis-based discount retailer is hoping to appeal to college students looking for a bargain by opening a new store along Lawrence’s south Iowa Street.

The store, Deal$: Nothing Over a Dollar, will open Aug. 21 in a 10,000 square-foot shop southwest of the Kmart store near 31st and Iowa streets.

Helping to prepare for the opening, are employees Cindy Wilson, above left, and Melissa Hardy.

Manager Theresa Zechiel said the store would sell a wide variety of items and all would be priced $1 or less. The store will stock food, towels, plastic dishes, glasswares, school supplies, greeting cards, cleaning supplies and several other products.

Zechiel said the store would carry a mix of close-out items and brand name goods, but said none of the items would be damaged or second-hand.

The store will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. It’s expected to employ about 20 people.

Leadership: New members join Fed

Former Princeton economist Ben Bernanke and longtime central bank staff aide Donald Kohn were sworn in Monday as members of the Federal Reserve Board.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan administered the oath of office at the Fed’s board room.

The two newest members are expected to attend the Fed’s Aug. 13 meeting to discuss interest-rate policy. Fed policy-makers have held short-term interest rates at 40-year lows at each of its four meetings this year. Amid economic uncertainties and the volatile stock market, many economists expect Fed policy-makers will leave rates unchanged at next week’s meeting.

With the addition of Bernanke and Kohn, President Bush has now selected five of the seven Fed board members.

Agriculture: State drought taking toll

Dry weather will cause yields for Kansas fall crops to drop by 15 percent to 55 percent according to estimates released Monday by the Kansas National Farmers Organization.

Yields for the state’s milo crop will be hit the hardest, according to the estimate. The organization predicts milo yields will be 40 bushels per acre, down from 62 bushels per acre a year ago, a drop of 55 percent.

The corn crop will fare the best, with yields of 110 bushels per acre expected compared to 127 bushels per acre a year earlier, a drop of 15 percent. Soybeans are expected to see their yields drop by 28 percent from 32 bushels per acre to 25 bushels per acre.

The state’s most recent crop condition report confirms all three crops are faring poorly. Corn is rated 50 percent poor or very poor, milo 51 percent poor or very poor and soybeans 31 percent poor or very poor.