Latest Iowa Headlines

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

Judge Blocks Texas Company’s Attempt to Shield $600K from Disabled Workers

Sep 21 2015 // U.S. District Chief Judge Jorge A. Solis issued an order on Sept. 11, 2015, to override a confidential settlement that would have re-directed nearly $600,000 away from a class of 32 intellectually disabled former employees...

IA&B in Pennsylvania Announces Officers for 2015-16 Administrative Year

Sep 18 2015 // The fall marks a new administrative year for the Insurance Agents & Brokers Service Group (IA&B) in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and its partnership of agents’ associations. The following directors have...

Iowa Insurers Assessed $10M for Second Injury Fund

Sep 16 2015 // Sufficient funds are not available to meet the liabilities of the Second Injury Fund in Iowa, the Iowa Insurance Division reported. As result, insurers and self-insured employers in Iowa are being assessed for $10 million....

Plymouth Rock’s ‘Prime’ Combines Online Sales With IA Channel

Sep 7 2015 // Plymouth Rock Assurance — a Boston-based auto insurer serving Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire — launched a new online tool called “Prime.”The insurer says the new tool will give...

Iowa Hotel Owners Must Pay Over $1M in Harassment Case

Sep 1 2015 // The owners of an Iowa hotel have been ordered to pay two former employees who complained about sexual harassment more than $1.2 million.An Iowa jury ruled against the owners of a Quality Inn and Suites in Peosta, Iowa, The...

Kansas Man Sentenced for Iowa for Insurance Scam

Aug 26 2015 // A 38-year-old Kansas man has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for mail fraud connected to an insurance commissions scam in Iowa.Brian Henton, of Olathe, Kansas, was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in...

NCCI Files for Workers’ Comp Rate Increase in Iowa

Aug 18 2015 // The National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. has filed a workers’ compensation rate proposal in Iowa that would increase voluntary and assigned risk rates by 2.7 percent from the current rates that became...

Iowa Jury Awards Nearly $12M in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Aug 7 2015 // An Iowa jury has awarded nearly $12 million to an Indianola woman who said in a lawsuit that her former co-workers at a toy company subjected her to graphic sexual comments and other harassment.The jury awarded $11.9...

Iowa School Building Closed Due to Asbestos

Jul 10 2015 // The main building at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been closed as officials deal with the presence of asbestos. A contractor working in the building raised concerns with the Iowa Natural Resources...

90% of Cars at Central Iowa Auto Shop Destroyed in Flood

Jul 6 2015 // A Clive, Iowa, auto repair business reported that 90 percent of the vehicles on its property have been ruined by a flash flood. Acheson Auto Works, which backs up to Walnut Creek, was flooded early on June 26, destroying...

Iowa Governor Extends Bird Flu Disaster Proclamation

Jul 1 2015 // Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has extended a state of disaster emergency through July 31 in response to the bird flu outbreak in the state. The declaration was the second extension of the original disaster proclamation. It...

Court: Iowa Universities Can’t Be Sued for Unpaid Insurance Fees

Jun 25 2015 // Iowa’s three public universities cannot be sued for allegedly refusing to pay their share into a state program that subsidizes insurance for Iowa residents who have health risks, the Iowa Court of Appeals has...

Iowa Egg Farm Sued After Bird Flu Disrupts Supply

Jun 25 2015 // A food supplier claims an Iowa egg farm breached a contract after bird flu disrupted the supply of eggs.Michael Foods Egg Products Co., a subsidiary of St. Louis-based cereal-maker Post Holdings Inc., filed a lawsuit in...

Warm Weather Bringing Relief from Record U.S. Bird-Flu Outbreak

Jun 12 2015 // There’s relief ahead for U.S. poultry farmers suffering through the worst ever domestic outbreak of bird flu.As the weather warms, there’s likely to be fewer instances of the disease, which has already left 47...

Ex-Iowa Deputy Gets 13 Years in Arson for Insurance Case

Jun 12 2015 // A former sheriff’s deputy in Jones County, Iowa, has been given 13 years in prison for fraud linked to a fire he set at his vacant home. Prosecutors say 50-year-old James Plower, of Olin, was sentenced in U.S....

Construction of 2 Flood Barriers in Iowa City Almost Finished

Jun 10 2015 // Workers are finishing up two multimillion dollar flood barriers in Iowa City even as residents welcome a break from flooding that has hit the area in past years.Forecasters with the National Weather Service predict a less...

Economic Report Suggests Slower Growth in Midwest

Jun 2 2015 // Slower economic growth is likely through the end of the third quarter this year for nine Midwestern and Plains states, according to a report issued on June 1.The survey report says the overall Mid-America Business...

What States Are Doing to Battle Bird Flu Threat

May 31 2015 // Indiana is training 300 prisoners to kill infected chickens and banning bird shows at county fairs. Mississippi is considering road barricades and planning biosecurity measures. Iowa is trying to figure out how to deal...

Petersen Inducted into Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame

May 29 2015 // W. Harold Petersen, founder of Petersen International Underwriters, has been inducted into the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame.A pioneer of and advocate for the disability insurance industry, Petersen was one of five insurance...

Dubuque, Iowa, Repeals City Park Sledding Ban

May 27 2015 // The Dubuque City Council has repealed a section of city ordinances that banned sledding from some city parks.On Jan. 5 the council voted to prohibit sledding, skiing and inner tubes on all but two city properties. The...