Latest Iowa Headlines
All the headlines from our Iowa Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Iowa Considers Lowering Alcohol Limit for Boaters
Jan 26 2009 // Iowa lawmakers are again considering a bill to cut alcohol limits for boaters. The bill calls for lowering the blood-alcohol limit from .10 to .08, which is the limit for drivers on the road. The bill was approved by the...
Iowa House Panel Clears $56 Million Flood Relief PLan
Jan 23 2009 // A $56 million Iowa flood relief package has easily cleared its first legislative hurdle, and backers promise to quickly deliver the measure to Gov. Chet Culver. Some Republicans complained that the measure was too vague in...
Iowa Landlord Faked Insurance Claims to Cheat Tenants Out of Deposits
Jan 21 2009 // Iowa authorities said that Robert K. Miell was tried and convicted on Jan. 9 on income tax fraud in United States District Court in Des Moines. Last week, Miell had pled guilty to 18 counts of mail fraud relating to an...
Former Iowa Commissioner Vaughan Named CEO of State Regulators’ NAIC
Jan 15 2009 // Former Iowa Insurance Commissioner Therese M. Vaughan, Ph.D., has been named chief executive officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), effective Feb. 18, 2009. Vaughan replaces Catherine J....
Iowa Burial, Health Savings Plan Insurers Merge
Jan 14 2009 // Two Des Moines area insurance companies have signed a letter of intent to merge. West Des Moines-based Homesteaders Life Co. and American Enterprise Mutual Holding Co. of Des Moines will merge under the plan, with...
Regents Consider Bonds to Aid University of Iowa Flood Recovery
Jan 13 2009 // The Iowa Board of Regents plans to meet Friday to consider issuing $30 million in bonds to help with flood-recovery at the University of Iowa. The school suffered more than $230 million in damage during widespread June...
It Figures
Jan 11 2009 // 750 A St. Louis company has recalled 750 pounds of sausage products that may be contaminated with a bacteria that can cause a potentially fatal illness. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the sausage products were...
Iowa Judge Certifies Retirees’ Class Action in Deere & Co. Lawsuit
Jan 8 2009 // A federal lawsuit against Deere & Co. filed by a group of retirees is scheduled to go to trial in September, and a judge has ordered class action certification in part of the case. The retirees of the Moline,...
Iowa Lawmakers to Focus on Flood Recovery Despite Economic Concerns
Jan 7 2009 // Despite a state budget crisis and a crumbling national economy, Iowa legislators will nonetheless take on one of the most expensive problems in state history–flood recovery. No one is sure of the price tag, but all...
Iowa Safer Cigarette Law Starts Jan. 1
Dec 30 2008 // An Iowa law requiring the sale of new cigarettes that are less likely to start fires goes into effect Jan. 1. The state Legislature voted earlier this year to approve the sale of the cigarettes that are less likely to...
FEMA Announcs $10 Million in Flood Recovery in Eastern Iowa
Dec 29 2008 // FEMA has announced it will give more than $10 million for flood-recovery projects in eastern Iowa. Projects in Lake Delhi, Iowa City, Anamosa, Bluffton and Cedar Falls will split the FEMA dollars. Among those receiving...
Damaged Iowa Levees Won’t be Fixed by Spring
Dec 23 2008 // Damaged levees will stand between Iowa homes and farm fields this spring because of a delay in repairs. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had estimated that the flood-damaged levees certified by the corps would be fixed by...
Iowa Cities Push for Flood Gauges
Dec 18 2008 // Some Iowa cities want more river gauges following last summer’s flooding. Officials say gauges are an important warning tool, but they may be too expensive. Startup cost for each electronic gauge is $15,000 to...
Iowa Experts Say Serious Flood Frequency May Increase
Dec 17 2008 // Time will tell if the record floods of 2008 are an aberration or the beginning of a trend. But some experts say the likelihood of serious floods in Iowa is increasing in frequency. Eugene Takle is a professor of...
Rebuild Iowa Office Announces Disaster Aid Figures
Dec 15 2008 // Iowa state officials say more than 39,800 Iowans have registered for disaster assistance, and funding for Iowa residents and governments impacted by severe storms and flooding continues to increase. According to the...
Iowa City Proposes Tax to Help Pay for Flood Relief
Dec 8 2008 // A Cedar Rapids Iowa City Council member has proposed a 2 percent sales tax increase for two years to help pay for flood relief. Justin Shields this week urged his colleagues to back the emergency local option sales tax to...
Iowa Gets $125 Million in Federal Grants for Tornado, Flooding Recovery
Dec 2 2008 // Iowa lawmakers announced on Nov. 24 that the state will get $125 million in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for flood and tornado recovery efforts. Gov. Chet Culver said the money...
Former Iowa Governor Says He Won’t be Next Agricultural Secretary
Nov 26 2008 // Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack says he won’t be the next Agriculture Secretary, according to a report on the Des Moines Register Web site on Nov. 23. Vilsack says in an e-mail that he has never been contacted by aides...
Iowa Supreme Court Rules on Case of Woman with Cancer Diagnosis
Nov 24 2008 // The Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling on Nov. 21 that sends the case of a woman who sued her doctors for failing to diagnose breast cancer back to a lower court for more proceedings. In her lawsuit filed in Scott County...
Principal Financial Declines Tax Breaks Connected to Iowa Jobs
Nov 19 2008 // Principal Financial Group Inc. will not pursue tax incentives tied to creating 900 jobs in Iowa. The Des Moines-based retirement, insurance and financial services company has notified the Iowa Department of Economic...
