Iowa’s unemployment rate nudged up to 6.7 percent in October from a seasonally adjusted 6.6 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said today. Overall, 2,300 people lost their jobs last month, despite gains in the service, health, education, finance, government, manufacturing and leisure and hospitality sectors, Iowa Workforce Development said in a news release that followed the federal report. Those gains were offset by job losses in construction, professional and business services, and trade and transportation. The state has lost 43,200 jobs since October 2008, when the unemployment rate was 4.3 percent. The national unemployment rate was 10.2 percent last month.

General Growth Properties Inc. has reached agreements to restructure about $8.9 billion in debt, the company said yesterday. The Baltimore Business Journal reported that General Growth, which owns about 200 malls nationwide, including Jordan Creek Town Center, has reached deals to extend its average loan terms on that debt by an average of 6.4 years and will not have any maturing debt until 2014. The Chicago-based company, whose portfolio includes approximately 200 million square feet of retail space and more than 24,000 retail stores nationwide, filed for bankruptcy protection on April 16.

Norwalk Family Physicians will open its new clinic at 801 Colonial Circle on Nov. 23. The 9,000-square-foot building, which has 18 examination rooms, two procedure rooms and a lab/X-ray area, was constructed to meet the needs of Norwalk’s growing population. The clinic has five family medicine physicians: Lori Miller, Patricia Newland, Bill Chase, Andrea Silvers and Jason Brehmer. A public open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for Dec. 3.

Drake University alumni Bill and Jean Buchanan have donated $3 million to the university to establish the William M. and Jean M. Buchanan Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. “I wouldn’t have gone to Drake, nor would have Jean, had we not had scholarships from the university,” said Bill Buchanan, who graduated from Drake in 1957 with a degree in actuarial science. The center, which will be housed in the College of Business and Public Administration, will give graduate and undergraduate students, as well as faculty members, in all disciplines a place to hone the skills and tools necessary to become effective and successful entrepreneurs. Buchanan is the chairman of Unified Life Insurance Co. in Overland Park, Kan.

Iowa’s fuel prices remain below the national average, the Energy Information Administration reported yesterday. But a late harvest “has translated to increases in most fuels” in the state, said Jessica Zopf, communications specialist for the Iowa Office of Energy Independence. The average price of 10 percent ethanol blended mid-grade gasoline on Nov. 16 was $2.51 per gallon, which is 33 percent higher than the November 2008 price of $1.89 per gallon for the same blend. The Nov. 16 average price for diesel fuel in Iowa was $2.76 per gallon, which is 1 percent lower than the November 2008 price of $2.80. To view a list of statewide average fuel prices, click here.

ARAG has announced that Senior Vice President Ann Dieleman is taking on an expanded role as the company’s chief marketing and business development officer. “Ann will continue to provide strong leadership for marketing, product development and service operations, while also overseeing business development opportunities,” said CEO Cam Sutton. Dieleman, who has more than 10 years of experience in senior executive positions in employee benefits, has spent her professional career in the financial services and insurance industries. ARAG is a legal insurance provider with a premium base of nearly $2 billion.