Latest Iowa Headlines
All the headlines from our Iowa Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Number of Flood Policies Sold in Iowa Dropping in Recent Years
Oct 25 2016 // The number of flood insurance policies sold in Iowa dropped 22 percent between 2011 and this year, but it’s hard to determine the reason for the decline. The Des Moines Register reported the number of policies fell...
Judge Says No New Defendants in Wrongful Death Suit in Iowa
Oct 24 2016 // The family of a Des Moines, Iowa woman who died of a prescription-drug overdose is appealing a judge’s rejection of their motion seeking to name the doctor’s former health system as defendants. Brandy...
University of Iowa Cites Copyright Law to Block Flood Video Use
Oct 21 2016 // University of Iowa is citing a copyright law to block the use of the university’s footage of a 2008 flood for an upcoming documentary. Doug Krejci, who is trying to gather materials for a documentary about eastern...
Iowa Company Recalls Cookie Dough Sold to Blue Bell, Other Firms
Oct 12 2016 // An Iowa company is recalling the cookie dough it sold to Blue Bell Creameries and other food companies because it may be contaminated with listeria bacteria. Dough-maker Aspen Hills notified customers about the recall on...
Council Bluffs, Iowa Repairing, Upgrading Flood Protection System
Oct 4 2016 // Council Bluffs, Iowa, officials are working to strengthen the levees protecting the western Iowa city before homeowners are forced to pay higher premiums for flood insurance. The Daily Nonpareil reports the city wants to...
Iowa Request for Federal Disaster Declaration Approved
Oct 4 2016 // The governor’s office says the White House has issued a presidential disaster declaration for eight Iowa counties hit hard by several storms in late August. The office of Gov. Terry Branstad said the counties are...
Berkshire’s Applied Underwriters Defends Workers’ Comp Products, Says Brokers Should Not Be at Risk
Oct 3 2016 // Legal and regulatory squabbles in New York, California and other states involving Berkshire Hathaway and its Applied Underwriter affiliates over particular workers’ compensation products should not have any negative...
Insurers in Iowa Asked to Provide Relief to Those Impacted by Flooding
Oct 3 2016 // In advance of expected late September flooding in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-area, state Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart issued a bulletin requesting the assistance of both property/casualty and life/health insurance...
Iowa Insurance Division: Assessments for Second Injury Fund Total $8M
Oct 3 2016 // The Iowa Insurance Division reported that insurers and self-insured employers in the state are being assessed $8 million in order to pump up the coffers of the state’s Second Injury Fund. The IID said sufficient...
Could Trouble with Comp Products from Berkshire Affiliates Land in Brokers’ Laps?
Sep 26 2016 // Insurance brokers who sold allegedly illegal workers’ compensation products from Berkshire Hathaway affiliates involved in legal and regulatory troubles in New York and California could end up being strapped with...
Iowa Insurance Division: Assessments for Second Injury Fund Total $8M
Sep 22 2016 // The Iowa Insurance Division reported that insurers and self-insured employers in the state are being assessed $8 million to in order to pump up the coffers of the state’s Second Injury Fund. The IID said sufficient...
Case Before Iowa Supreme Court Pits Water Supplier Against Farmers
Sep 16 2016 // The Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments and must now decide whether to weigh in on a federal lawsuit that pits the water supplier to 500,000 central Iowa residents against upstream farmers accused of contaminating rivers...
Iowa Governor Declares Disaster for Northeast Counties
Sep 1 2016 // Gov. Terry Branstad has issued disaster proclamations for two northeast Iowa counties that endured severe storms and flooding. Branstad on this week issued the proclamations for Bremer and Chickasaw counties, allowing...
Iowa in Middle of Debate Over ‘Shadow Insurance’ Deals
Aug 31 2016 // For cash-strapped life insurance companies, the deal sounds almost too good to be true: A state law allows them to create complex financial instruments to transfer liabilities to new subsidiaries, instantly wiping huge...
Iowa Agency Proposes Fine for Theme Park over Safety Issue
Aug 30 2016 // An Iowa agency has proposed fining Adventureland park after an investigation prompted by the June death of a worker at the theme park. Officials have said Steve Booher was fatally injured June 7 when the Raging River ride...
Number of Iowa Drivers Penalized for Passing Stopped School Buses Declines
Aug 23 2016 // Fewer drivers are receiving the tough penalties Iowa lawmakers approved in 2012 for illegally passing school buses when they are stopped. The Des Moines Register reports that the number of people charged with violating the...
Workers’ Comp Rate Reduction Proposed in Iowa
Aug 18 2016 // The Iowa Insurance Division reports that a proposed workers’ compensation rate filing would lower rates by 4.7 percent next year. The National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. has made a rate filing that...
Derailed Train Car Hits Iowa Bar, DeRailed
Aug 10 2016 // Police say a freight train car that derailed in northern Iowa rolled into and damaged a trackside tavern called DeRailed. Police Chief Hugh Anderson says the accident occurred around 4 a.m. on Aug. 9 as crews moved rail...
$1M in Pipeline Construction Equipment Damaged in Iowa, Arson Suspected
Aug 3 2016 // Machinery located at three oil pipeline construction sites in central Iowa was found extensively damaged by fire on Aug. 1 in what the company building the pipeline called a shameful act. There’s little doubt the...
Former California Insurance Commissioner Served During ‘Crisis’
Jul 28 2016 // Wesley J. Kinder was a California insurance commissioner who served during a turbulent time. Kinder, a resident of La Habra, Calif., died Wednesday at age 94. “He was a great guy. He was the best boss,” said...
