Latest Iowa Headlines
All the headlines from our Iowa Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Drought, Low Export Demand Sap Midwest Economy
Sep 5 2012 // An August survey suggests that the continuing drought and lessening export demand for U.S. products are among the drains on the economy in nine Midwest and Plains states, according to a report released Tuesday. The...
Interstate Crash Deaths Rose in Iowa, Records Say
Sep 5 2012 // State records suggest higher interstate speeds have proved fatal for more Iowa motorists. The Des Moines Register reports that rural interstate fatalities are up about 10 percent since the speed limit was raised to 70 mph...
Nebraska, Iowa Officials Watch For Contaminated Corn
Aug 30 2012 // Farmers, crop inspectors and grain elevators in Nebraska, Iowa and other corn-producing states are keeping an eye out for corn contaminated by a poison-producing fungus. They’re watching for signs of aflatoxins that,...
Cedar Rapids, Iowa Gets Key OK for Flood Plain Projects
Aug 29 2012 // Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has gotten state permission to make rule changes that could lead to redevelopment in four downtown historic or commercial areas in the 100-year flood plain. Those areas are New Bohemia; Czech Village;...
Report: Iowa School Bus Inspection System Has Gaps
Aug 28 2012 // Almost 100 Iowa school buses have been repeatedly labeled unsafe to transport children in the past five years. The Des Moines Register reported that gaps in the bus inspection system make it possible for those buses to...
Iowa Brokerage Founder Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud
Aug 20 2012 // The founder of an Iowa-based brokerage pleaded not guilty on Aug. 17 to fraud charges in a suspected $200 million embezzlement scheme that drove his firm to bankruptcy and left thousands of customers without their...
Sedgwick Announces Job Openings at 2 New Midwest Offices
Aug 16 2012 // Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc. announced the planned opening of two new Midwest service centers, located in New Albany, Ohio, and Coralville, Iowa. The Coralville location is contingent on the approval of...
Is Peer Pressure Better Employee Motivator Than Money?
Aug 7 2012 // A sense of belonging and attachment to a group of co-workers is a better motivator for some employees than money, according to a new study by University of Iowa researchers. “We found that self-managing teams exhibit...
Midwest Light Rain Not Enough to Stave Off Crop Losses
Jul 26 2012 // Light showers overnight in the southwestern U.S. Midwest were too little too late to prevent further losses to corn and soybean yields, and next week will bring the return of high heat and drought, an agricultural...
Crop Insurance Helps Farmers Now More Than in 1988 Drought
Jul 24 2012 // U.S. crops are taking a beating in the worst drought since 1988 but most farmers are not sweating like they did 24 years ago when a drought hit as they were just starting to recover from a farm depression that brought down...
Officials Tracking Down Assets of Disgraced Iowa CEO
Jul 20 2012 // Officials are moving quickly to seize the wide-ranging personal assets of the disgraced founder of an Iowa brokerage so they can try to reimburse thousands of customers and workers affected by his alleged $200 million...
Severe Drought Includes Much of Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana
Jul 20 2012 // The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map shows that severe drought affecting much of the Midwest and Great Plains now covers more than half of Iowa and three-quarters of Nebraska. More than half of Indiana is now listed in...
Record Number of Farmers Expected to File Crop Insurance Claims
Jul 20 2012 // The drought ravaging America’s prime farmland is having an unexpected consequence that could shape the future of agricultural finance: in some cases, farmers who have amped up their insurance coverage may be giving...
Official: 250 Iowa Jobs Lost After Peregrine Financial Collapse
Jul 19 2012 // A state official says that up to 250 employees in northeastern Iowa lost their jobs following the collapse of a financial empire owned by a businessman arrested in connection with a $200 million fraud scheme. Iowa...
Worst Midwest Drought Since 1956 Expanding North, West
Jul 17 2012 // An expanding U.S. drought, now deemed the worst since 1956, dealt another blow to the corn crop, with conditions deteriorating for a second straight week in the world’s top exporter of the grain, U.S. government data...
PFGBest Broker Scandal Leads to Calls for Insurance for Grain Trade
Jul 12 2012 // The largest U.S. grain trade group was stunned by the latest scandal to hit the futures industry when Iowa-based brokerage PFGBest collapsed after regulators accused the firm of misappropriating customer funds. “Even...
Corn Belt Fears Large Crop Loss from Heat Wave, Drought Conditions
Jul 9 2012 // Fears are rising that grain crops in the core of the U.S. Corn Belt – the top corn-producing region in the world – will suffer big losses that are already causing farmers to plow up fields in other regions of...
Iowa to Pay $3.75M for Boy’s Injuries
Jul 6 2012 // Iowa has agreed to pay $3.75 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed negligence by University of Iowa hospital employees during a birth that caused a baby to have brain injuries that left him severely retarded, newly...
People – Midwest
Jul 2 2012 // R&R Insurance Services Inc. in Waukesha, Wis., has appointed David Lancaster vice president of Employee Benefits. Lancaster has more than 25 years of insurance industry experience. Prior to R&R, he worked for...
Iowa Court Backs $1.2M Fine Over Disabled Workers’ Pay
Jun 29 2012 // A court is upholding a $1.2 million state fine for labor violations committed by a Texas labor broker who underpaid dozens of mentally disabled workers at an Iowa turkey processing plant. The Iowa Court of Appeals rejected...
