Leading economists are upbeat about the U.S. recovery, forecasting steady growth over the next two years as businesses grow and jobs return, CNNMoney.com reported after the release of a survey today. “We see a healthy expansion under way, although it will take time to reduce economic slack and repair damaged balance sheets,” said Lynn Reaser, president of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE), which conducted the survey of 48 top economic forecasters in late January and early February. The NABE panel says it “expects the recovery to remain firmly on track.” Its forecast is for the economy to grow 3.1 percent in both 2010 and 2011, an estimate that is essentially unchanged from the 3.2 percent target in NABE’s November survey. The group’s estimate is a marked improvement from last year’s survey, which had forecast that the economy would contract. Most economists surveyed expect the recovery to be led by businesses. The NABE estimates that corporate earnings will grow 15 percent this year, which will spur hiring and ultimately bolster household spending.

President Barack Obama announced a revised health-care overhaul today that aims to make coverage more affordable and bolsters federal authority to regulate insurance premium hikes, Reuters reported. The proposal comes three days ahead of a bipartisan White House health-care summit on Thursday as Obama tries to rally flagging congressional and U.S. public support for a sweeping overhaul that would tighten regulations on insurers and expand coverage to an estimated 31 million Americans. The plan, which revises the bill passed by the Senate last year, would cost $950 billion over 10 years and would not expand the deficit, White House officials said. It expands tax credits for middle-class workers to make insurance more affordable and strengthens federal oversight of insurance premium hikes.

For the 10th straight year, Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) has set spring semester enrollment records in both headcount and credit hours as more than 3,300 new students have enrolled in DMACC compared with the same period last year. Headcount at all six DMACC campuses and two learning centers was up nearly 17 percent compared with the same period last year. As of Feb. 17, spring 2010 enrollment stood at 23,208. Credit hours were up 18.3 percent to 195,807 compared with the same period last year. These enrollment numbers are higher than the official count; recorded 14 days after the spring semester began, because bad weather forced school districts across Central Iowa to delay reporting the numbers of high school students enrolled in DMACC’s Career Advantage program.

Back-to-back conferences will focus on wind energy at Iowa State University. The 2010 Iowa Wind Energy Association’s (IWEA) annual meeting and conference and the Iowa Alliance for Wind Innovation and Novel Development (IAWIND) conference will be April 6-7 at Iowa State University’s Scheman Conference Center. The April 6 IAWIND conference will feature speakers from industry, academia and the public sector to highlight the latest trends in technical, research and development, manufacturing and workforce issues facing the wind industry. This year’s IWEA conference, held on April 7, theme is entitled: Harnessing the Power of the Plains. Click here for more information.