A federal report suggests Iowa has one of the nation’s worst ratios of nursing home inspectors to care facilities, and that the state’s use of private contractors to inspect homes is extraordinarily costly to taxpayers. The report, published earlier this year by the majority staff of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, highlights some […]
Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch
Posted inCommunity/News
Insurance company ‘orchestrated the bankruptcy’ of a Coralville clinic to get tort reform passed in Iowa, court file claims
An insurance company engineered a record-setting medical malpractice judgment against an Iowa clinic as part of a successful scheme to have state lawmakers approve tort-reform legislation this year, according to a court filing by the clinic’s lawyers. In March 2022, a Johnson County jury awarded more than $97.4 million to the family of a boy […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Judge: Sheriff’s secretary violated citizens’ privacy for her own entertainment
A secretary for the Linn County Sheriff’s Department violated the privacy of “innumerable” citizens while searching for entertainment in the trauma of others, an Iowa judge has ruled. The decision comes in the unemployment-benefits case of Shelby Burns, who was fired from the sheriff’s department last fall for using a law enforcement database to satisfy […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa dog breeders responsible for 36% of all violations in the U.S. last year
Iowa’s dog breeders had the worst record of compliance with federal regulations in 2022, accounting for 36 percent of all violations cited nationally. The U.S. Department of Agriculture cited dog and cat breeders and brokers for 795 violations in 2022, a total that excludes citations for “missed” inspections resulting from USDA officials not gaining access […]
Posted inCommunity/News
University of Iowa sued by its corporate partner in billion-dollar utility deal
Just three years into a 50-year, billion-dollar partnership with a utility company, the University of Iowa is being sued over an alleged failure to abide by the terms of the deal. The University of Iowa Energy Collaborative is suing the public university in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. The UIEC […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Iowa church wages four-year fight with IRS over hallucinogenic drug ceremonies
An Iowa-based church that allegedly charges members up to $800 to use a hallucinogenic drug in religious ceremonies is continuing to pursue a four-year battle to win tax-exempt status. Last year, the Iowaska Church of Healing sued the IRS in U.S. District Court, challenging the federal agency’s decision to deny the church status as a […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa will not receive $30 million in federal aid for child care
The state of Iowa is losing $30 million in federal money that would have helped families access basic child care services. The governor’s office says the loss of that money is the result of a deliberate decision to avoid having to commit $3 million in matching state funds toward child care. But a Democratic state […]
Posted inStatewide
Judge says Iowa’s third ag-gag law is unconstitutional, like previous versions
For the third time in five years, a judge has struck down the Iowa Legislature’s efforts to criminalize the use of cameras in agriculture facilities and other businesses. “The United States Constitution does not allow such a singling out of the exercise of a constitutional right,” U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose ruled on Monday. She […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa continues to lead the nation in puppy-mill violators
Iowa continues to lead the nation in puppy mills sanctioned by the federal government and is expanding its lead over other states. During the second quarter of 2022, a total of 23 Iowa breeders and brokers were cited for regulatory violations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Missouri came in a distant second place for […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Tyson asks U.S. Supreme Court to shield it from COVID-19 lawsuits in Iowa courts
Faced with court rulings that say a Trump administration directive doesn’t protect Tyson Foods from liability caused by workers’ deaths due to COVID-19, the food giant is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter. Arguing that recent court rulings against the company will have “drastic consequences for the next national […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘This has been a nightmare’: Why the Easter Bunny was listed as prosecutor in hundreds of Iowa court cases
The Easter Bunny is representing the prosecution in several hundred Polk County criminal cases. At least that’s what Iowa Courts Online, the court system’s official, statewide web-based repository of court records, indicates. On April 4, the online docket sheets for hundreds of Polk County cases — primarily misdemeanors and drunken-driving cases — were revised to […]
