Articles by David Pitt

Iowa Jury Awards $27M Verdict in Misdiagnosed Flu Case

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa jury has returned a $27 million verdict against a Des Moines medical clinic after a man with bacterial meningitis was misdiagnosed with the flu, suffered strokes and said he has been permanently injured. …

Fighting Food Poisoning: Sweeping Poultry Changes Proposed

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday proposed sweeping changes in the way chicken and turkey meat is processed that are intended to reduce illnesses from food contamination but could require meat companies to make extensive changes to their operations. …

Federal Court Finds Iowa Ag-Gag Law Unconstitutional

A federal judge has struck down the third attempt by the Iowa Legislature to stop animal welfare groups from secretly filming livestock abuse, finding once again that the law passed last year violates free speech rights in the U.S. Constitution. …

Iowa Metal Manufacturer Settles $500,000 False Claims Act Lawsuit

A southwest Iowa company that makes metal castings used by military contractors in helicopters and other equipment has reached a settlement in a lawsuit alleging the company failed to test the castings and falsely certified test results over seven years. …

Iowa Egg, Turkey Farms to Lose 5M Birds to Bird Flu

Bird flu has infected two more farms in Iowa, forcing the killing of 5.3 million hens and 88,000 turkeys, officials said. The new cases mean that across the nation, farmers have had to kill about 22 million birds, mostly egg-laying …

Lawsuit Over Iowa Beef Farm in Trout Stream Watershed May Proceed

A state court judge said environmental groups may proceed with a lawsuit seeking to halt expansion of a cattle farm in northeast Iowa near a prized trout stream. Judge Michael Huppert on Monday ruled against the Iowa Department of Natural …

Iowa to Kill 1.5 Million More Hens and Turkeys Because of Bird Flu

Iowa agriculture officials announced two more bird flu outbreaks in commercial flocks that will require the killing of more than 1.5 million hens and turkeys. One of the new outbreaks will lead to the killing of 1.5 million chickens at …

Midwest Chicken, Turkey Farmers Struggle to Keep Birds Safe From Bird Flu

Nearly 7 million chickens and turkeys in 13 states have been killed this year due to avian influenza, prompting officials and farmers to acknowledge that, despite their best efforts, stopping the disease from infecting poultry is incredibly difficult. Spread of …

New Strain of Bird Flu Related to 2015 Virus

Farms that raise turkeys and chickens for meat and eggs are on high alert and taking steps to increase biosecurity, fearing a repeat of a widespread bird flu outbreak in 2015 that killed 50 million birds across 15 states and …

Iowa to Pay $1.9 Million to Settle Religious, Speech Rights Cases

A state panel agreed Monday to spend nearly $2 million to settle two federal lawsuits brought against the University of Iowa in 2017 after a religious group denied a gay student a leadership role. The Iowa State Appeal Board, made …