Iowa not hurt by travel slump

Iowa’s lack of mountains, ocean views and big-time theme parks may be helping the state’s economy do better than other states. With the slump in the travel industry, tourist hot spots are suffering economically. Dr. Sung Won Sohn, chief economist for Wells Fargo, says while Iowans may bemoan the lack of tourist action here, it’s actually helping the state weather the storm since September 11th since the state’s not that dependent on the tourist trade. And the economist says Iowa’s economy has another surprising thing going for it. About five-and-a-half percent of the nation’s economy is financial services. The financial services sector, though, comprises about 15 percent of the Iowa economy.