Stories

Iowa’s rural private drinking water wells “have several contaminant problems, some long-standing and some emerging,” according to the results of a two-year study released last week.

The vast majority of Democratic opposition to the final health reform bill in the U.S. House came from members whose districts are more rural than the nation as a whole.

A jury in Sioux Falls, S.D., returned to the courtroom late Thursday afternoon and delivered judgment on former Agriprocessors manager Sholom M. Rubashkin: Guilty on 86 of 91 possible counts.

Rubashkin, who is the 50-year-old son of company founder and president A. Aaron Rubashkin, was convicted of all possible money laundering and mail, wire and bank fraud charges. He was also convicted on 15 out of 20 counts of failing to provide timely pay to livestock auctions and providers.

More than 100 employees within the Iowa Judicial Branch will soon be without employment, and an additional 100 currently vacant positions will not be filled, as the department makes deeper cuts in an attempt to reduce its operating expenses for the current fiscal year.

Federal stimulus for Medicaid has boosted jobs and incomes in Iowa while meeting the immediate health needs of vulnerable Iowans enduring a recession, researchers with the Iowa Fiscal Partnership reported today.
“Increased Medicaid spending has an economic benefit for the state of Iowa far greater than the federal government’s initial investment,” explained David Swenson, an economist [...]

A 52-year-old Lamoni man has been charged, along with his father and three brothers, in a Missouri case of child abuse involving children as young as 11 that local authorities are calling “horrendous.”
Iowan David A. Mohler, along with his father and brothers in Missouri, allegedly committed numerous crimes against children including rape, sodomy and forced [...]

U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin bridged the great political divide today to issue similar statements praising and honoring America’s veterans.

There’s some good news, but there is also bad news in the way some students perceive their safety at Iowa schools.

A last-minute amendment to the health care reform bill that passed the U.S. House on Saturday is disruptive to the current ban on federal funding for abortion services and could lead down a slippery slope that prevents women from accessing services with their own money as well, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said Tuesday.

A new white paper released by The Iowa Policy Project focuses on the disparities at play when rural residents seek health care insurance.
“[This report] really highlights that the need for health reform that isn’t limited to people who are working outside their home — that it is a big issue for those who are self-employed [...]