U.S. Small Business Administration offices in Iowa report a 42-percent increase in the amount of dollars loaned to Iowa small businesses in the just-completed fiscal year. The loan amounts climbed from about 138-million dollars in the previous year to nearly 200-million in the latest year. S-B-A District Director Joe Folsom says it’s a sign of a flourishing Iowa economy. The number of loans rose about 12-percent in the fiscal year. Folsom says the 917 loans helped to create or retain some 35-hundred Iowa jobs. He says the amount of dollars loaned to Iowa women rose 83-percent while dollars loaned to Iowa minorities rose 84-percent. Folsom says dollars loaned to Iowa veterans was up 65-percent from the previous year. He says the sorts of businesses being created or expanded are widely varied. The spectrum ranges from manufacturing to retail, restaurants, motels and chiropractic firms. Folsom says small businesses are the backbone of Iowa’s economy — and of the nation’s success and growth. He says there are 245-thousand businesses in Iowa and about 98-percent of them are small businesses, which make up “the most significant part of our state’s workforce.” Folsom says the dollar value of loans to -rural- businesses in Iowa rose 72-percent — that’s up from nearly 58-million to almost 100-million, as loans to rural businesses accounted for 40-percent of the total loans made in Iowa and accounted for 50-percent of the total dollars loaned. The S-B-A has offices in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. For more information, surf to “www.sba.gov”.