Latest Iowa Headlines

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

Iowa School District to Pay $20K to Settle Gender Policy Lawsuit

Feb 23 2024 // MARION, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa school board has reached an agreement resolving a lawsuit over a now-rescinded district policy that allowed students to request a gender support plan to begin socially transitioning at school,...

Iowa Court Upholds Decision to Bar Late Expert Reports in Work Comp Case

Feb 5 2024 // The Iowa Supreme Court reinstated a deputy workers’ compensation commissioner’s decision to bar reports that were submitted too late by experts who weren’t certified, reversing decisions by the district...

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Iowa’s Horak Insurance

Jan 30 2024 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Washington, Iowa-based Horak Insurance, Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Horak Insurance is a retail property/casualty insurance agency serving...

AM Best Downgrades Credit Ratings of Iowa’s Pharmacists Mutual

Jan 26 2024 // AM Best announced it 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 Pharmacists...

Walmart to Pay $60K over Sex Discrimination Case at Iowa Store

Jan 25 2024 // Walmart will pay $60,000 and provide other relief to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced.The EEOC charged in its suit that...

Iowa Lawsuit Accuses TikTok of Misrepresenting Content

Jan 19 2024 // DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa on Wednesday became the latest state to sue TikTok over claims that the social media company deceives consumers over the amount of “inappropriate content” that children can access...

People Moves: VIAA Promotes Kaatman to Director of Growth; Krieger Joins Alliant in Iowa

Jan 18 2024 // Valley Insurance Agency Alliance Promotes Kaatman to Director of GrowthValley Insurance Agency Alliance (VIAA), headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., promoted Bill Kaatman to director of growth. Kaatman brings 17 years of...

Iowa Man Sentenced for Disaster-Related Insurance Fraud

Jan 18 2024 // An Iowa man was sentence last week to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to crimes of insurance fraud.Timothy Daryle Sletten, age 32, of Marshalltown, was sentenced on January 11, 2024. The charges against Sletten...

First MainStreet Adds Seven Iowa Agencies

Jan 11 2024 // First MainStreet Insurance L.C.announced the addition of seven new Iowa agencies to its platform to close out 2023.In late November 2023, Pfantz Insurance Services and the insurance operations of Eckhardt Enterprises, both...

Iowa Supreme Court Upholds Decision to Bar Late Expert Reports in Workers’ Comp Case

Jan 8 2024 // The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday reinstated a deputy workers’ compensation commissioner’s decision to bar reports that were submitted too late by experts who weren’t certified, reversing decisions by the...

Iowa Bail Bondsman Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud

Dec 12 2023 // An Iowa bail bondsman has pled guilty to insurance fraud and identity theft.David Mark Ellis of Spring Hill, Iowa, pled guilty in Polk County District Court to two counts of Identity Theft (Aggravated Misdemeanors) and one...

Iowa Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

Dec 4 2023 // An Iowa man pleaded guilty to wire fraud for using his position as an insurance agent and annuity salesperson to defraud elderly individuals out of their retirement savings and other monies.Zachary James Flaherty, age 47,...

EWG Report Finds Rapidly Rising Crop Payouts As Climate Change Hits U.S. Agriculture

Dec 4 2023 // Drought, heat, hail, rain and freezing temperatures – the five horsemen of crop insurance.A new report from EWG found that crop insurance payouts for the top five weather-related losses totaled over $118.7 billion...

EWG Report Finds Rapidly Rising Crop Payouts As Climate Change Hits U.S. Agriculture

Nov 15 2023 // Drought, heat, hail, rain and freezing temperatures – the five horsemen of crop insurance.A new report from EWG found that crop insurance payouts for the top five weather-related losses totaled over $118.7 billion...

1.2 Million Chickens Will be Slaughter At Iowa Egg Farm Where Bird Flu Was Found

Nov 14 2023 // An additional 1.2 million chickens will be slaughtered to prevent the spread of the bird flu after the virus was confirmed on an Iowa egg farm in the second massive case this week.The Iowa Department of Agriculture and...

Nearly 1M Chickens Will be Killed on a Minnesota Farm Due to Bird Flu

Nov 9 2023 // Nearly 1 million chickens on a Minnesota egg farm will be slaughtered to help limit the spread of the highly contagious bird flu after it was confirmed there, officials said Monday.The U.S. Department of Agriculture...

Iowa to Pay $10 Million Settlement to Siblings of Starved Teenager

Nov 8 2023 // Iowa will pay $10 million to the siblings of an adopted 16-year-old girl who weighed just 56 pounds (25 kilograms) when she died of starvation in 2017, according to a state board that approved the settlement Monday.Sabrina...

Deadly Bird Flu Cases in Iowa, Joining 3 Other States As Disease Resurfaces

Oct 26 2023 // Two commercial turkey farms in Iowa have been hit by the reemerging highly pathogenic bird flu, causing about 100,000 birds to be killed to prevent the disease from spreading.The Iowa Department of Agriculture reported the...

Iowa Farmers Eligible for $5 per Acre Discount on Spring Crop Insurance Premiums for Planting Fall Cover Crops

Oct 5 2023 // Iowa farmers and landowners who plant fall cover crops will soon have the opportunity to apply for a $5 per acre discount on their spring crop insurance premiums, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced.Farmers...

Drought and Low Mississippi River Levels Pose Challenges for Midwest Farmers’ Crop Transportation

Sep 18 2023 // DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A long stretch of hot, dry weather has left the Mississippi River so low that barge companies are reducing their loads just as Midwest farmers are preparing to harvest crops and send tons of corn...