Latest Iowa Headlines

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

Damage to Iowa Ag Industry from Virus Will Be Huge, Economists Say

Apr 16 2020 // A group of agriculture economists said on April 15 the coronavirus pandemic will cause billions of dollars in damage to Iowa’s crop and livestock industries.In a report released from Iowa State University’s...

Massive Iowa Construction Site Fire Fueled by High Winds

Apr 15 2020 // High winds hampered firefighters’ efforts to extinguish a fire at a huge assisted living complex under construction in West Des Moines, Iowa, officials said.The four-alarm fire was reported around 6 p.m. Monday, the...

Iowa Beef Plant Suspends Operations Due to Worker Virus Infections

Apr 15 2020 // A beef processing plant in one of Iowa’s coronavirus hot spots has suspended production after several workers have become infected.National Beef announced that its Iowa Premium plant in Tama will be idled until April...

SelectQuote to Hire 150-Plus in West Des Moines, Iowa

Apr 6 2020 // A Kansas-based company intends to hire more than 150 new employees in West Des Moines, Iowa, as the state’s unemployment claims continue to soar from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.SelectQuote said it is filling...

Business Moves

Apr 6 2020 // Hub International Limited, Triester, Rossman & AssociatesHub International Limited, a global insurance brokerage, has acquired Triester, Rossman & Associates Inc. Located in King of Prussia, Penn., TRA Insurance...

Corps Says Some Midwest Levees Damaged in 2019 Still Vulnerable

Apr 2 2020 // With flood concerns already high in the Midwest, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is warning that many levees on the Missouri and Kansas rivers that were damaged during devastating floods last spring remain vulnerable to...

Twister that Damaged Iowa Apartment Building Was EF1

Apr 1 2020 // A tornado that ripped off part of a wall from a northeast Iowa apartment building has been rated an EF1 twister, with peak winds of 107 mph (172.2 kph), officials said.The funnel touched down around 6:30 p.m. Saturday near...

Iowa Safety Agency Fines Animal Food Operation $74K

Mar 31 2020 // Iowa’s workplace safety agency wants to fine an eastern Iowa animal food operation for workplace safety violations, saying it has exposed employees to risks that include long falls. The Occupational Safety and Health...

Severe Weather Spawns Tornadoes, ‘100-Year Flood’ in Midwest

Mar 30 2020 // A severe weather system tore through the Midwest over the weekend, bringing damaging high winds, tornadoes and flooding.Authorities say severe weather in Ohio spawned what forecasters are calling a “100-year...

Iowa Battery Manufacturer Cited for Safety Violations, Fined $42K

Mar 25 2020 // A battery manufacturer in eastern Iowa has been fined $42,000 for workplace safety violations, authorities said. The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Exide Technologies, of Manchester, was cited for...

Iowa’s First MainStreet Insurance Acquires 3 New Agencies

Mar 13 2020 // First MainStreet Insurance (FMSI), a Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based affiliate of TrueNorth Companies, has closed on its acquisition of three new agencies.The firm expanded to Western Iowa with the merger of EGR Insurance in...

Iowa’s BrokerTech Ventures Adds 5 New Agency Partners, Names Hatten as COO

Mar 10 2020 // BrokerTech Ventures (BTV), the Des Moines, Iowa-based broker-led investor group and accelerator program, has added five new investor partners/sponsors, including Heffernan Insurance Brokers Inc., The Horton Group, Inc.,...

Ratings Roundup: Midwest Family Insurance Group

Mar 9 2020 // Outlooks for Iowa’s Midwest Family Insurance Group Revised to PositiveAM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer...

Despite Finding Insurer’s Actions ‘Reprehensible,’ Iowa Court Slashes Payment to Paralyzed Worker

Mar 9 2020 // The Iowa Supreme Court has dramatically reduced the compensation a paralyzed northeast Iowa man received from a jury in a lawsuit against an insurance company even while finding the company’s actions were...

Outlooks Revised to Positive for Iowa’s Midwest Family Insurance Group

Mar 2 2020 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” of Iowa-based Midwest Family Mutual Insurance...

Iowa Court Slashes Insurer’s Payment to Paralyzed Worker

Mar 2 2020 // The Iowa Supreme Court has dramatically reduced the compensation a paralyzed northeast Iowa man received from a jury in a lawsuit against an insurance company even while finding the company’s actions were...

Broker Investor Group Selects 12 Insurtechs for First Cohort

Feb 27 2020 // BrokerTech Ventures, an investor group and accelerator program led by nine insurance brokerages, has selected 12 insurtechs for its first cohort that convenes March 2 in Des Moines, Iowa, for a five-week...

Deer Sent Flying by Car Crashed into 2nd Car, Killing Driver

Feb 24 2020 // A deer sent flying when it was hit by a car in southeast Iowa crashed through the window of a second car, killing its driver, the Iowa State Patrol said. The accident occurred a little after 7 p.m. Wednesday on Iowa...

United Fire in Iowa Reports 4Q Earnings Loss

Feb 19 2020 // United Fire Group Inc. on Tuesday reported a loss of $23.2 million in its fourth quarter.On a per-share basis, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based company said it had a loss of 93 cents. Losses, adjusted for investment gains,...

Suit: Iowa’s Drake U., Fraternity Negligent in Dangerous Hazing Event

Feb 19 2020 // A student is suing Drake University in Des Moines, along with a fraternity at the school and several fellow students for an unspecified amount after he said he nearly died from a hazing incident.Court documents filed Feb....