Latest Iowa Headlines

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

AM Best Removes Under Review Status of Iowa’s Pharmacists Mutual

Nov 18 2024 // AM Best has removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” (Excellent) of Pharmacists Mutual...

Iowa Couple Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud

Nov 13 2024 // An Iowa couple pleaded guilty to insurance fraud, forgery and theft, the Iowa Insurance Division announced.Des Moines – Lance Seastrand, age 52, and his wife, Staci Seastrand, age 56, of Davenport, were sentenced on...

AM Best Removes Under Review Status of Iowa’s Pharmacists Mutual

Oct 30 2024 // AM Best has removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” (Excellent) of Pharmacists Mutual...

AM Best Assigns Superior Credit Rating to Iowa-Based Berkley Luxury

Oct 23 2024 // AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “aa-” (Superior) to Berkley Luxury Insurance Company (Berkley Luxury), based in...

Former Iowa Insurance Producer Sentenced for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering

Oct 21 2024 // William Berg, an insurance producer and former financial advisor from Waukee, Iowa, was sentenced to nine years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty in federal court to wire fraud and money laundering charges. In...

Two Iowa Men Charged With Insurance Fraud

Oct 10 2024 // Michael Vecchio, age 50, of Sioux Center was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud – Presenting False Information (Class D Felony) and Todd Meendering, age 61, of Boyden was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud...

Iowa Woman Charged With Insurance Fraud

Oct 3 2024 // An Iowa woman was charged with insurance fraud following an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau. Antonia Maddison, age 46, of Sully, was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud –...

Black Man Sues Iowa Trucking Company for Alleged Hair Discrimination

Oct 2 2024 // A Black man alleges in a lawsuit that an Iowa trucking company fired him as a driver because he wouldn’t cut off his dreadlocks, the latest in a series of incidents across the country over an issue activists have...

Cease and Desist Order Issued Against Iowa Contractor

Sep 25 2024 // The Iowa Insurance Division has issued a cease-and-desist orderagainst William Campbell and All or Nothing LLC, a Clive, Iowa limited liability company doing business as All or Nothing Roofing and Construction.The order...

Iowa and Iowa State Athletes Join Civil Lawsuit Over State Gambling Sting

Sep 17 2024 // DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ten more Iowa and Iowa State athletes and an Iowa basketball equipment manager ensnared in a 2023 state gambling sting joined a civil lawsuit Tuesday seeking unspecified monetary damages from the...

Iowa Hotel Worker Charged With Insurance Fraud

Sep 12 2024 // An Iowa hotel worker was charged with insurance fraud, the Iowa Insurance Division announced Sept. 10.Jose De Jesus Rodriguez Esparza, age 39, was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud – Presenting False...

Iowa Manufacturer to Pay $51K Fine For Alleged Hazardous Waste Violations

Sep 10 2024 // Hawkins Inc., a chemical manufacturer based in Camanche, Iowa, will pay $51,158 in civil penalties and purchase equipment for local emergency responders to resolve alleged violations of the federal Resource Conservation...

Contractor Agrees to Iowa Consent Order Regarding Unlicensed Public Adjusting

Sep 6 2024 // The Iowa Insurance Division entered into a consent order with a Midwest roofing contractor on Sept. 5 following a June cease and desist order against contractors acting as unlicensed public adjusters.IID alleges that...

Burglary Ring Accused of Targeting Rural Pharmacies in Iowa and Nebraska

Sep 5 2024 // OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Five members of an alleged burglary ring are facing federal charges for break-ins that targeted rural pharmacies in western Iowa and western Nebraska in 2022 and 2023, authorities announced...

AM Best Downgrades Credit Rating of Iowa’s IMT Insurance

Sep 4 2024 // AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to A-(Excellent) from A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings to “a-” (Excellent) from “a” (Excellent) of IMT Insurance Company and...

Scientists at Iowa Research Facility Race to Halt Spread of Bird Flu

Aug 26 2024 // AMES, Iowa (AP) — At first glance, it looks like an unassuming farm. Cows are scattered across fenced-in fields. A milking barn sits in the distance with a tractor parked alongside. But the people who work there are not...

Charter Bus Carrying Baseball Team Catches Fire in Iowa; No One Hurt

Aug 5 2024 // A charter bus caught fire early Friday as it was transporting a professional baseball team from Iowa to a game in a Chicago suburb.Members of the Sioux City Explorers made it off the bus safely, although several lost their...

Iowa Insurance Commissioner Appointed Receiver of Fraudulent Investment Companies

Jul 25 2024 // The Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen was appointed the receiver of Beckstone Partners, LLC (Beckstone), DesFined, LLC (DesFined), East King Management, LLC, and The Corporate Leasing Company, LLC to wind down the...

Record Flooding and Tornadoes This Spring In Iowa Caused $130M in Damage

Jul 17 2024 // DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Record flooding and powerful tornadoes ravaged parts of Iowa for weeks this spring, destroying or damaging thousands of homes, closing roads and bridges and costing over $130 million in...

Iowa Woman Sentenced for Pet Insurance Fraud

Jul 11 2024 // An Iowa woman was sentenced on July 2, 2024 after pleading guilty to Tampering With Records (Aggravated Misdemeanor) following an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau.Sarah Rahm, age 39, of...