Latest Iowa Headlines
All the headlines from our Iowa Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Iowa Hospitality Industry Seeks Dram Insurance Law Changes
Jan 24 2018 // The Iowa Restaurant Association reported it is asking state lawmakers to pass dram insurance reform that would make it possible for restaurant and tavern operators to secure better policies to help compensate innocent...
Ratings Assigned to Iowa’s Midwest Family Advantage Insurance
Jan 17 2018 // A.M. Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” to Midwest Family Advantage Insurance Co. (Midwest Advantage). The outlook...
Iowa High-Rise Project Uncertain After Property Swap with Insurer
Jan 12 2018 // The developer of an $88 million high-rise project in downtown Des Moines has announced plans to trade the land to an insurance company in exchange for a portion of a downtown property. Blackbird Investments’...
Iowa Agrees to Pay $1.1M in Lawsuit Over Worker Injury, Firing
Jan 11 2018 // An Iowa board has approved payment of nearly $1.1 million in a lawsuit by a former state worker who said the state Natural Resources Department fired him because of a work injury. A judge had ordered the state to pay John...
People
Jan 8 2018 // Grinnell, Iowa-based property and casualty insurer/reinsurer, Grinnell Mutual, named Dave Wingert, executive vice president and chief operating officer, to serve as acting president. Larry Jansen retired on Dec. 15, 2017,...
Iowa Roads Were Safer Last Year, Fatality Statistics Suggest
Jan 3 2018 // State statistics on traffic-related deaths suggest Iowa roads were safer last year than in 2016. Iowa Department of Transportation figures show that 329 people died in traffic-related incidents in 2017, as of Dec. 29. The...
Top Insurance Journal Midwest Stories of 2017
Dec 29 2017 // A bad broker, classic cars that got destroyed in a fire and insurer rating downgrades were among the most widely read news stories in Insurance Journal’s Midwest region in 2017. Broker Gone Bad One story that...
Wingert Named Acting President at Iowa’s Grinnell Mutual
Dec 18 2017 // Grinnell, Iowa-based property and casualty insurer/reinsurer, Grinnell Mutual, has named Dave Wingert, executive vice president and chief operating officer, to serve as acting president. Larry Jansen retired on Dec. 15...
A.M. Best Upgrades Outlooks for Petroleum Marketers Management Insurance
Dec 13 2017 // A.M. Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating “a-” of Des Moines, Iowa-based Petroleum Marketers...
Nebraska Corn Crop Diminished by Strong Winds in Late October
Dec 11 2017 // Several days of strong winds in late October arrived at the wrong time for many farmers who saw their crops shrink as ears of corn fell to the ground in Nebraska and western Iowa. The extent of the damage varied, but in...
Iowa Man Suing Gun Maker Savage Arms Over Exploding Rifle
Dec 7 2017 // It was the opening day of deer hunting season, and Iowa farmer Ronald Hansen says he loaded his rifle the same way he had countless times before, aimed at a target and fired a shot. This time, the gun barrel exploded,...
Iowa Exhausts Appeals in Lawsuit over Worker Injury; Costs Could Top $1M
Dec 1 2017 // Iowa has exhausted its challenges to a lawsuit filed by a former state employee who said an agency fired him because of a work injury, and the costs to the state could top $1 million. The Iowa Supreme Court on Nov. 9...
Number of Road Construction Work Zone Deaths High in Iowa
Nov 26 2017 // Iowa officials say a surge in construction projects and an increase in miles driven by motorists have led to a high number of people dying in road construction work zone crashes this year. Ten people have died in work zone...
Western Iowa County Supervisor Dies in Grain Bin Accident
Nov 9 2017 // Authorities say a western Iowa county supervisor has died in a grain bin accident. Harrison County Sheriff Pat Sears says 63-year-old Russ Kurth, of Logan, died in the bizarre Tuesday morning accident outside a grain bin...
Manure Runoff from Iowa Dairy Farm Blamed for Death of 60K Fish
Nov 1 2017 // Authorities are blaming a manure runoff from a dairy farm for killing about 60,000 fish in eastern Iowa. The farm is situated about three miles east of New Vienna. The fish kill was reported Oct. 9 after fish carcasses...
Thousands of Chickens Killed in Iowa Facility Fire
Oct 25 2017 // Authorities say firefighters from at least eight departments responded to a blaze that heavily damaged a building at an egg facility on the west side of Charles City in northern Iowa. Firetrucks were dispatched a little...
Iowa’s Millhiser Smith Agency, The Accel Group to Merge
Oct 24 2017 // Millhiser Smith Agency, an independent insurance agency in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, specializing in risk management, has entered a definitive merger agreement with The Accel Group, a Cedar Valley, Iowa-based insurance agency...
Iowa’s Grassley in ‘Violent Opposition’ to Withdrawal of Rule Protecting Animal Farmers
Oct 20 2017 // The Trump administration’s decision to kill a rule designed to protect the rights of farmers who raise chickens, cows and hogs for the United States’ largest meat processors has infuriated farmer advocates,...
Common Reasons FEMA Denies Disaster Funds
Oct 17 2017 // Local governments and nonprofits trying to recover from major disasters have sometimes learned the hard way that money spent on protective measures, cleanup and rebuilding is not always reimbursed by the U.S....
Feds Shut Down Iowa Trucking Company Tied to Trafficking Deaths
Oct 13 2017 // Federal safety regulators have shut down a troubled Iowa trucking company that owned the semitrailer involved in a human trafficking case in which 10 immigrants died in Texas. Pyle Transportation was placed under an...
