Latest Iowa Headlines
All the headlines from our Iowa Topic Page, ordered by recency.
River Communities in Iowa Bracing for Spring Floods
Mar 10 2009 // The impact won’t be clear for a couple of days, but major flooding along two eastern Iowa rivers has local and county officials preparing for the worst. The major floods of last summer left a lasting impression on...
Areas with Flood Insurance Policy Sales Potential Include Iowa, Missouri
Mar 9 2009 // GAO compared the number of NFIP policies in a given area, as of September 2006, with the total number of county flood declarations from January 1980 to June 2008, cumulative flood claims payments from January 1978 to April...
New Markets
Feb 22 2009 // The following markets were selected from the MyNewMarkets database of 25,000 coverages and programs. To find additional markets, or to submit markets, go to www.MyNewMarkets.com. Fire Protection Contractors Market Detail:...
Iowa Could Fine Drivers Caught Using Cell Phones
Feb 16 2009 // Some Iowa legislators have a message for cell phone users: stop talking or texting while driving. A measure being considered in the Legislature would fine drivers $30 if they used their phones while behind the...
Former Iowa Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty to $1 Million Fraud
Feb 11 2009 // A former Iowa insurance agent accused of siphoning more than $1 million from clients has pleaded guilty to federal charges. Jack Straw pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and one count each of mail fraud,...
Iowa Insurer Lays Off 60 Employees
Feb 9 2009 // A Des Moines-based insurance company has announced it will eliminate 60 jobs as part of the company’s business plan. Officials with American Enterprise Group Inc. said that 51 of the layoffs will come from Des Moines...
Parents of Iowa Teen Killed in Crash Sue Insurer for Underinsured Benefits
Feb 9 2009 // The parents of an Iowa teenager killed 10 years ago in a van crash in southern Wisconsin have filed a lawsuit seeking damages for their son’s death. Albert and Deanna Roberts of DeWitt, Iowa, filed the lawsuit...
Study Unveils Target Areas for Flood Policy Sales
Feb 8 2009 // But Selling More at Subsidized Premiums Could Sink Flood Program There are a number of communities across the country where more flood insurance policies should be sold given their populations and flood risk. They include...
Study Shows Need for Standardizing Nursing Home Social Workers’ Credentials
Feb 8 2009 // Only Half of Nursing Homes Surveyed Employ Social Workers with Degrees in Social Work Social workers play a vital role in improving the quality of nursing home residents’ lives. But qualifications of nursing home...
Iowa Governor Signs $56 Million Flood Relief Bill
Feb 4 2009 // Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has signed into law a $56 million package designed to help Iowa recover from last summer’s record flooding, but he cautioned that the measure was only one step in a long recovery...
Iowa Legislature Sends Governor $56 Million Flood Relief Plan
Jan 30 2009 // The Iowa Senate has sent Gov. Chet Culver a $56 million flood recovery package. Backers said the measure marked the first of a series of measures lawmakers will approve to respond to last summer’s natural...
Iowa Considers Local Disaster Relief Tax Option
Jan 28 2009 // A local option sales tax could go on the books as early as April 1 in flood-ravaged regions of Iowa under legislation moving quickly through the Legislature. Cedar Rapids Democratic Sen. Rob Hogg is a main backer of the...
Iowa to Address Flood Recovery Despite Economic Concerns
Jan 26 2009 // Despite a state budget crisis and a crumbling national economy, Iowa legislators will nonetheless take on one of the most expensive problems in state history—flood recovery. No one is sure of the price tag, but all...
Iowa Considers Lowering Alcohol Limit for Boaters
Jan 26 2009 // Iowa lawmakers are again considering a bill to cut alcohol limits for boaters. The bill calls for lowering the blood-alcohol limit from .10 to .08, which is the limit for drivers on the road. The bill was approved by the...
Iowa House Panel Clears $56 Million Flood Relief PLan
Jan 23 2009 // A $56 million Iowa flood relief package has easily cleared its first legislative hurdle, and backers promise to quickly deliver the measure to Gov. Chet Culver. Some Republicans complained that the measure was too vague in...
Iowa Landlord Faked Insurance Claims to Cheat Tenants Out of Deposits
Jan 21 2009 // Iowa authorities said that Robert K. Miell was tried and convicted on Jan. 9 on income tax fraud in United States District Court in Des Moines. Last week, Miell had pled guilty to 18 counts of mail fraud relating to an...
Former Iowa Commissioner Vaughan Named CEO of State Regulators’ NAIC
Jan 15 2009 // Former Iowa Insurance Commissioner Therese M. Vaughan, Ph.D., has been named chief executive officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), effective Feb. 18, 2009. Vaughan replaces Catherine J....
Iowa Burial, Health Savings Plan Insurers Merge
Jan 14 2009 // Two Des Moines area insurance companies have signed a letter of intent to merge. West Des Moines-based Homesteaders Life Co. and American Enterprise Mutual Holding Co. of Des Moines will merge under the plan, with...
Regents Consider Bonds to Aid University of Iowa Flood Recovery
Jan 13 2009 // The Iowa Board of Regents plans to meet Friday to consider issuing $30 million in bonds to help with flood-recovery at the University of Iowa. The school suffered more than $230 million in damage during widespread June...
It Figures
Jan 11 2009 // 750 A St. Louis company has recalled 750 pounds of sausage products that may be contaminated with a bacteria that can cause a potentially fatal illness. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the sausage products were...
