Latest Iowa Headlines
All the headlines from our Iowa Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Iowa Actuaries: Wellmark’s Proposed Increase Too High
Jan 10 2011 // A proposed 11 percent rate increase by Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield for Iowa customers who buy their own policies is too high, according to two experts who looked at trends in medical costs and services provided to...
Iowa to Allow Broad Public Access to Wellmark Rate Increase Hearing
Jan 4 2011 // Iowa’s Insurance Commissioner Susan Voss announced that she has made arrangements for unprecedented access to a Jan. 6, 2011, hearing that will be held at the Iowa Insurance Division, 330 Maple Street, Des Moines,...
Study: Tort Reform May Not Curb Defensive Medicine or Fear of Suits
Dec 17 2010 // Physicians’ fears of being sued for malpractice are out of proportion to their actual risk of being sued, according to a recent study. The study by a University of Iowa researcher and colleagues also suggests that...
Coalition Calls for $60M for Iowa Flood Prevention
Dec 10 2010 // A coalition of lawmakers, local officials, farmers and business people are calling on Iowa to invest $60 million to prevent flood damage and improve water quality in Iowa’s Cedar River Basin. The Cedar River...
Report: Flood of Problems Led to Iowa’s Lake Delhi Dam Breach
Dec 3 2010 // Several problems, including design flaws, likely led to the breach of an eastern Iowa dam last summer that decimated a nine-mile long lake, a panel of independent engineers said. The findings identified design and...
Washington, Oregon Rank High in Promoting Roadway Safety
Nov 18 2010 // Many states are making progress toward making roads safer, but Oregon and Washington do the best of promoting roadway safety with traffic laws, according to a new report by the Emergency Nurses Association. The report...
Jury: Iowa Hotel Unlawfully Fired ‘Tomboy’ Worker
Nov 17 2010 // A federal jury in Des Moines has ruled that an Iowa hotel chain unlawfully fired an employee because of her “tomboy” appearance. The jury found that Heartland Inns of America fired Brenna Lewis for not...
Iowa Joins States Barring Activities of Former U.S. Fidelis Owners
Nov 15 2010 // Attorney General Tom Miller and ten other state attorneys general, have obtained judgments against the owners of a former Missouri company, barring them from ever again selling auto service contracts or engaging in...
Elections Stir Up Political Mix in Midwest
Nov 14 2010 // Republicans made big gains across the United States – and the Midwest was no exception – in the November 2 midterm elections. Across the country, GOP gains gave the party its largest number of seats in state...
GOP Adds Governorships in Midwest
Nov 4 2010 // Midwestern states were among those that added to Republican gains in governor’s offices across the country on Nov. 2. Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin are among the states that voted to replace Democrats in...
Iowa to Spend $10M on Flood Mitigation
Nov 3 2010 // Iowa officials say they’ll use about $10 million in federal grant money on projects that they say will manage runoff and mitigate future flood damage. Iowa received an $84.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of...
Iowa State Study: Clear Strategy Essential in Supply Chain Security
Oct 20 2010 // Supply chain management can go a long way in determining the fate of a business. Just ask any businesses that were impacted by the disruption of seafood supply during the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. And yet...
Iowa Court: Property Transfer Doesn’t Negate Builder’s Risk Policy
Oct 18 2010 // The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld a decision by a lower court that a builder’s risk insurance policy remained in effect after the policyholder transferred the property, by warranty deed, to another party in exchange...
Iowa-based Principal Financial to Exit Health Insurance
Oct 1 2010 // Principal Financial Group Inc., an insurance, retirement and financial services company, said it is getting out of the health insurance business. It said the move will eliminate 150 jobs initially and more...
Iowa State Univ. Flood Damage Estimated at Up to $50M
Sep 21 2010 // Flooding that struck Iowa State University in August caused up to $50 million in damage and other costs, but the school started fall classes on time and won’t have to replace any of the major campus facilities that...
Slain Iowa Teen’s Family Settles with City’s Liability Insurer
Sep 16 2010 // The parents of a slain Waterloo girl will receive $103,000 in a settlement of their wrongful death lawsuit against the city. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported that the city’s liability insurance carrier,...
Indiana Insurance to Expand School Program in Iowa
Sep 8 2010 // Indiana Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets regional company, is expanding its school marketing efforts in Iowa. Indiana Insurance currently insures more than 1,100 public districts, private and charter schools...
Flood Report for Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Calls for Better Protection System
Sep 7 2010 // The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a draft report that calls for a better, if limited, flood-protection system in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Cedar River swamped the city in 2008, covering 10 square miles. The...
Iowa to Assess for Second Injury Fund; Workers’ Comp Rate Hike Proposed
Sep 6 2010 // Sufficient funds are not available to meet the liabilities of Iowa’s Second Injury Fund, so the state is imposing a $4 million assessment on insurers and self-insured employers in Iowa. Notices were mailed from the...
Iowa Supreme Court Affirms Ruling in Firefighter Workers’ Comp Case
Sep 6 2010 // The Iowa Supreme Court in mid-August affirmed a district court ruling that found a volunteer firefighter must be summoned to duty only through official channels and not by circumstances. The ruling came in a workers’...
