Latest Iowa Headlines

All the headlines from our Iowa Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Iowa Man Faces Prison for Arson, Insurance Fraud

Apr 7 2014 // A Davenport, Iowa, man faces up to 15 years in prison when he’s sentenced in May for trying to burn down his home. The Quad-City Times reports that a Scott County jury convicted 47-year-old Brian Earl Lebs of...

Owners of Leaky Iowa Apartments Win Suit Against Insurer

Apr 7 2014 // An insurance company has been told to pay $12.4 million to the owners of a West Des Moines, Iowa, apartment complex that was plagued with water leaks and mold. Construction of the Westlake apartments began in 2002....

Iowa Seeking to Reduce Fatal Crashes on Rural Roads

Apr 3 2014 // An effort to reduce fatal crashes on secondary rural roads has been launched in Iowa. The Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau announced the effort, which began April 1 and continues through Sept. 30, 2015. The program...

Owners of Leaky Iowa Apartments Win Suit Against Insurer

Mar 28 2014 // An insurance company has been told to pay $12.4 million to the owners of a West Des Moines, Iowa, apartment complex that was plagued with water leaks and mold. Construction of the Westlake apartments began in 2002....

Life Insurers Flock to ‘Easy’ Iowa As More Federal Oversight Looms

Mar 28 2014 // After Symetra Financial Corp. was formed in 2004, the life insurer set up shop in a 25-story glass tower outside Seattle, put its name on the building and pushed the state to adopt more favorable rules for its...

Iowa Court: Breastfeeding Employee Can’t Sue Nationwide Mutual Insurance

Mar 19 2014 // Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. did not discriminate against an employee who claims she was denied a room to pump breast milk and pressured to resign on her first day back from maternity leave, a federal appeals court in...

Repairs to Levees in Council Bluffs, Iowa Could Cost $50M

Mar 12 2014 // Repairs and improvements on Council Bluffs, Iowa’s river and creek levees could cost the city $50 million. The Daily Nonpareil says the estimate comes from a study on the work needed to repair river and creek levees...

Texas Company Stalls on Paying $6M Judgment in Iowa Disabled Workers Case

Mar 12 2014 // Federal and state officials are having trouble collecting the multimillion-dollar judgment a Texas company was ordered to pay for mistreating 32 mentally disabled workers at an Iowa labor camp. The Des Moines Register...

Iowa Council Facing Possible $50M Bill On Levees

Mar 11 2014 // Repairs and improvements on Council Bluffs river and creek levees in Iowa could cost the city $50 million. The Daily Nonpareil reported the estimate comes from a study on the work needed to repair river and creek levees to...

Only 2 Inspectors For Asbestos Projects in Iowa

Mar 7 2014 // Two inspectors are responsible for making sure thousands of asbestos-removal projects are being properly handled in Iowa each year. The Des Moines Register reported that the lack of inspections at asbestos removal projects...

Iowa Pharmacist Acquitted of Insurance Fraud Charges in Hemophilia Drug Case

Mar 6 2014 // Jurors acquitted an Iowa pharmacist of health care fraud, rejecting allegations that he fraudulently billed Iowa’s largest health insurance company for life-saving drugs sent to hemophilia patients. The federal jury...

Sioux City, Iowa Contemplates Insurance for Water Line Repairs

Mar 5 2014 // The City Council in Sioux City, Iowa, has discussed setting up an insurance fund to cover the costs of water service repairs. The Sioux City Journal says dozens of homeowners have had to pay hundreds or even thousands of...

Iowa Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty to Crafting Bogus Policies

Mar 5 2014 // An insurance agent in northeast Iowa accused of creating fake life insurance policies to make more money has pleaded guilty to mail fraud. U.S. Attorney Kevin W. Techau says in a press release that 46-year-old Melissa...

Only 2 Inspectors Monitor Asbestos-Removal Projects in Iowa

Mar 4 2014 // Two inspectors are responsible for making sure thousands of asbestos removal projects are being properly handled in Iowa each year. The Des Moines Register reports that the lack of inspections at asbestos removal projects...

Court to Hear Iowa Workers’ Comp Commissioner’s Defamation Lawsuit

Feb 26 2014 // The Iowa Supreme Court has set a date to hear arguments in a lawsuit filed by the state’s workers’ compensation commissioner against Gov. Terry Branstad. Justices say they’ll hear attorney arguments at 7...

Iowa Insurance Agent Charged with Creating Bogus Policies

Feb 26 2014 // A 46-year-old insurance agent in northeast Iowa has been accused of creating fake life insurance policies so she could make more in commissions. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier says Melissa Williams, of Dike, is charged...

Jury Awards Texas Woman $1.2M for Fall at Iowa Hotel

Feb 24 2014 // A Texas woman has been awarded more than $1 million for a fall on ice outside a Bettendorf, Iowa, hotel that shattered her right ankle and left her with limp. A Scott County jury awarded 54-year-old Brenda Alcala of Dallas...

People – Midwest

Feb 24 2014 // Merrill, Wis.-based Church Mutual Insurance Co., an insurer of religious organizations, named Bob Buckley as vice president – underwriting and policyholder services and Cheryl Kryshak as vice president – risk...

Stricter Texting While Driving Measure Advances in Iowa

Feb 20 2014 // Iowa lawmakers granted initial approval of a bill that would further crack down on texting while driving by allowing officers to pull over motorists suspected of that sole offense. A three-member Senate transportation...

Gilmore Named VP, Underwriting at Iowa Mutual

Feb 12 2014 // Iowa Mutual Insurance Co. has selected Amy Gilmore as vice president, underwriting. Gilmore most recently served as vice president and product manager of underwriting at another casualty company. She previously held...