Midwest News

Wal-Mart to Pay $90K to Settle Disability Lawsuit

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will pay a former, long-term employee at a Wal-Mart location in Illinois, $90,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). EEOC’s lawsuit charged Wal-Mart with violating federal discrimination law …

Nebraska Doctor Opens Membership-Based, Insurance-Free Practice

Dr. Todd Johnson of Lincoln is a modern-day pioneer, starting the first membership-based, insurance-free medical practice in Nebraska. Access Family Medicine opened in mid-July and provides what is called direct primary care, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. His patients pay …

Crop Insurance Fraud Leads to 2 Years in Prison for Missouri Farmer

A southeast Missouri farmer has been ordered to spend two years in prison for crop insurance fraud of more than $200,000. The Southeast Missourian reports that 48-year-old Bobby David Lowrey, of Parma, was sentenced for making false statements about crop-insurance …

Illinois Contractor, in Default of $268K in Fines, Cited Again for Safety Hazards

Illinois contractor Robert Barringer III’s long history of putting his workers in danger of debilitating or fatal falls at his company’s job sites continues, this time at a residential home under construction in Glen Carbon, according to federal safety officials. …

Workers’ Comp Rate Reduction Proposed in Iowa

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 proposes an overall decrease in voluntary and …

Safety Officials: Higher Speeds Causing More Traffic Fatalities in Illinois

Safety and insurance industry experts say Illinois traffic fatalities are expected to pass 1,000 this year for the first time since 2008 because of higher speeds, more miles driven and an increase in the number of younger drivers on the …

Omaha Answers Pothole Complaints with New Dirt Roads

For miles and miles Omaha stretches on, one tidy, suburban-style neighborhood after another filled with modern low-slung houses set on spacious lawns with towering oaks and elms. It’s a model of comfortable mid-American living, with one unusual exception: thanks to …

Collapsing Hill Has Some Homeowners in North Dakota Worried

Some homeowners in a Bismarck neighborhood are questioning the long-term safety of their houses after some backyards dropped as much as 7 feet in June. Jim Hopfauf is one of the homeowners affected by the collapsing hill where houses are …

Dakota Access Pipeline Owners Sue Protesters

Developers of a $3.8 billion, four-state oil pipeline sued in federal court on Aug. 15 to stop protesters near an American Indian reservation in North Dakota from interfering with the project, alleging the safety of workers and law enforcement is …

Illinois Treasurer Looking into How Life Insurance Companies Avoid Payouts

Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs is launching a series of public hearings to explore how life insurance companies avoid paying death benefits. The first hearing is set for this morning in the city council chambers in Normal. The state treasurer’s office …

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