Latest Iowa Headlines
All the headlines from our Iowa Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Grinnell Mutual Grows from Complacent to Dynamic
Feb 20 2017 // A mutual insurer created more than 100 years ago to reinsure farm mutual insurance companies in Iowa has grown faster in the past five years than it did during the previous 10 decades, its president and CEO says. Organized...
New Venture Capital Firm Looking for Insurtech Startups
Feb 8 2017 // The insurance industry has a new venture capital firm looking to make early to growth-stage investments in innovative insurance technologies. David Miles, a 30-year insurance investment veteran and owner of the insurance...
Lawyers: Iowa Hospital Sued Over Pain Medication Thefts
Feb 7 2017 // Attorneys for nine patients have filed a lawsuit against Iowa Methodist Medical Center, blaming the hospital for a pharmacy tech’s theft of potent painkillers from hundreds of vials. The lawsuit accuses the hospital...
Report: Many Iowa Lawmakers Underpay for Health Insurance
Feb 3 2017 // An analysis by The Des Moines Register shows more than two-thirds of Iowa legislators are paying hundreds of dollars less a month than appropriate for their health insurance, a potential violation of state law. Data...
Iowa Firefighter Test Scandal Could Affect 560 Fire Departments
Feb 3 2017 // Fire departments in nearly every pocket of Iowa have members who were awarded nationally-recognized certifications by the state fire academy despite failing their tests, according to documents released. The Fire Service...
Iowa Supreme Court Rejects Water Utility’s Effort Against Drainage Districts
Jan 30 2017 // A divided Iowa Supreme Court on Jan. 27 upheld a legal doctrine going back 100 years that protects agriculture drainage districts against lawsuits. The ruling presents an obstacle for the Des Moines Water Works, which is...
BNSF to Appeal $1M Iowa Jury Award to Ex-Employee
Jan 23 2017 // A federal jury in Nebraska has awarded a former BNSF Railway employee from Iowa more than $1 million by in a wrongful termination lawsuit. The Lincoln Journal Star says Daniel Monohon, of Ottumwa, Iowa, was fired from a...
Midwest Insurance Commissioners on the Move
Jan 23 2017 // Several Midwest states, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and North Dakota, experienced transitions among insurance commissioners as 2016 folded into 2017. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner named Jennifer Hammer to head of the...
Midwest Regulation Report Card: States’ Grades Range from A to D
Jan 9 2017 // Grades assigned to the insurance regulatory systems in the Midwest states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin range from A to D in a...
Former Iowa Insurance Commissioner Gerhart to Join FBL Financial
Jan 3 2017 // FBL Financial Group Inc. announced that former Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart is joining company as chief administrative officer, on or around Jan. 23, 2017. Gerhart will have responsibility for enterprise...
How Flood Risk in U.S. Is Changing: Increasing in North, Decreasing in South
Dec 30 2016 // The risk of flooding in the United States is changing regionally, and the reasons could be shifting rainfall patterns and the amount of water in the ground. In a new study, Recent Trends in U.S. Flood Risk, University of...
Midwest Regulation Report Card: States’ Grades Range from A to D
Dec 22 2016 // Grades assigned to the insurance regulatory systems in the Midwest states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin range from A to D in a...
Council Bluffs, Iowa Races to Improve Levees in Advance of FEMA Deadline
Dec 19 2016 // Improvements to the Council Bluffs, Iowa, levee system are continuing as city officials hope to beat federal government action that could cost homeowners a boatload of cash in flood insurance. The city council approved the...
Democrats Question Performance of Iowa’s Privatized Medicaid System
Dec 15 2016 // A handful of Democrats in a health oversight committee say they continue to have questions about the performance of Iowa’s Medicaid program, more than eight months after it switched to a privatized system run by...
Council Bluffs, Iowa Races to Improve Levees Before FEMA Deadline
Dec 12 2016 // Improvements to the Council Bluffs, Iowa, levee system continue step-by-step as city officials keep hoping it’s fast enough to beat federal government action that could cost homeowners a boatload of cash in flood...
Iowa Insurance Commissioner Gerhart to Leave Post Effective Dec. 23
Dec 6 2016 // Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart has resigned from his office effective Dec. 23, 2016. Deputy Commissioner Doug Ommen has been named as interim insurance commissioner upon Gerhart’s...
Iowa Nursing Home Fined $11.5K Following Death Investigation
Dec 6 2016 // An Iowa nursing home has been fined $11,513 after an investigation into the death of a resident in August. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports federal regulators imposed the fine after a state investigation determined...
Proposed Iowa Public Employees Contract Gives State more Control over Insurance
Nov 28 2016 // A contract Iowa has proposed for its largest public employees union includes no wage increase and removes health insurance provisions, a sign that changes could be on the horizon for collective bargaining laws when the new...
County in Iowa to Pay $30K to Man Who Scuffled with Deputy
Nov 10 2016 // Officials in Iowa’s Black Hawk County have agreed to pay $30,000 to a man who scuffled with an off-duty sheriff’s deputy after a traffic dispute. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports the county’s...
President Obama Approves Disaster Declaration for 19 Iowa Counties
Nov 2 2016 // President Barack Obama has approved a major disaster declaration for 19 Iowa counties because of storms and flooding in September and October. That makes federal funding available to state and local government agencies and...
