Johnson County won’t fight nursing home chain
IOWA CITY — Johnson County officials have decided not to fight a nursing home chain’s attempt to be reclassified as a residential property, citing a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling showing a broad...
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Third defendant in Bailey slaying sentenced to life
Denise Frei looks toward the gallery during her sentencing at the Iowa County Courthouse on Monday, Sept. 19, 2011, in Marengo, Iowa. (SourceMedia Group News/Jim Slosiarek)MARENGO — Alex Bailey looked...
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Fall from grace
Pepe Rojas-Cardona (left) poses with fellow student government member Vernon McKinley on the University of Iowa campus in this April 1990 file photo. At the time, Rojas-Cardona was student president....
View ArticleInmate charged with sending threats to judge
CEDAR RAPIDS – A mentally-impaired inmate at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center has been charged with sending a threatening letter to a district court judge working in Johnson County.Albert W....
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Fight or flight: If you witnessed abuse, would you have the courage to stop it?
It’s hard to hear about the Penn State University child sex abuse scandal without wondering what you would do if you witnessed wrongdoing by a respected public figure.Would you confront the alleged...
View ArticleRoosevelt endowment will move to Borlaug
IOWA CITY — An $11,313 endowment at Iowa City’s Roosevelt Elementary School, which is closing in June, will move to the new Norman Borlaug Elementary School.The Jerry Hoffey/Roosevelt Memorial...
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40 percent of bus drivers in largest school districts have traffic violations
A Gazette-KCRG probe finds 40 percent of school bus drivers at the Corridor's four largest school districts have at least one traffic violation. (AP)More than 40 percent of school bus drivers in the...
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Honey Creek Resort struggling to find profits
Visitors at Honey Creek Resort in this early 2010 photo. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)The Iowa Department of Natural Resources stands by two companies hired to manage Honey Creek Resort, despite continued...
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Universities: Overload pay cheaper than hiring more faculty
Students walk across the University of Iowa Pentacrest. (Gazette file photo)Iowa’s three state universities paid professors a combined $3.4 million in bonuses for teaching beyond their required course...
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Honey Creek posts operating profit, but not yet self-supporting
Visitors linger in the lobby at Honey Creek Resort State Park near Moravia in March 2010. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)Honey Creek Resort, a $58 million state-owned facility in southern Iowa, had an...
View ArticleLawyer who claimed Iowa jackpot alleged to have ties to Delaware fraud
A New York attorney who presented an Iowa Lottery ticket worth more than $14 million is accused of defrauding an East Coast company.Crawford Shaw, representing a trust called Hexam Investments, turned...
View ArticleSecrecy key to offshore accounts linked to Hot Lotto case
Secrecy is the main reason people stash cash in offshore accounts like the one that would have received a Hot Lotto jackpot worth millions, according to Iowa tax and accounting professors.In this case,...
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Water worries
Water filters through one of the two 40 foot. tanks at the water treatment plant in Coralville. (Nikole Hanna/The Gazette)Iowa doesn’t have water shortages like in western and southern states, but...
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Corporate programs don’t always help neediest schools
National corporate giveback programs raised more than $100,000 for local schools last year, but some programs disproportionately benefit schools with wealthier students, a Gazette analysis shows.Target...
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Public schools turning to private financial sources
Indian Hills Elementary first-graders raise their hands to use the classroom's interactive white board as teacher Gina Merrill sets up a math lesson on Friday, Jan. 27, at the school in Marion. All the...
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Iowa Democrats have had no contact from Rojas-Cardona family
Pepe Rojas-Cardona (left) poses with fellow student government member Vernon McKinley on the University of Iowa campus in this April 1990 file photo. At the time, Rojas-Cardona was student president....
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Iowa Lottery takes steps to protect jackpots
A lottery ticket is a piece of paper representing a dream.To give everyone a fair chance at the dream, the Iowa Lottery tries to build security into the system to keep scammers, thieves and...
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Iowa gets C+ on integrity index for states
Iowa public officials have created a government that keeps a sizable portion of its operations shut off from public scrutiny, according to a comprehensive study of government openness and...
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Confusion reigns over legal authority to close Price Lab
University of Northern Iowa campus (Copyright © 2012 U.S.News & World Report) CEDAR FALLS — Who has the authority to close the University of Northern Iowa’s Price Lab School was a central question...
View ArticleState demands return of grant from AgSugar International
CEDAR RAPIDS — The state of Iowa wants its money back.An upstart company that surfaced in Cedar Rapids in 2011, secured support from local economic-development officials and won public incentives for...
View Article14 percent of court-ordered restitution collected in 2011
The state collected more than $3.5 million in court-ordered restitution from offenders in 2011 — less than 14 percent of the $26 million ordered by judges in Iowa’s eight judicial districts.Restitution...
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Prostitution investigations aimed at rescuing minors
The Internet makes it easier for those in the sex trade to hide their identities and harder for investigators to track them down. The technology is also making it easier for minors to be ensnared in...
View ArticleHealth department closures of pools and hot tubs
In Linn County since July 1, 2010:In Johnson County since July 1, 2010:
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Common waterborne pathogens that can make swimmers sick
Cryptosporidium (Crypto)This parasite can cause diarrhea in animals and humans. Cryptosporidiosis is usually mild for most people but can cause severe, potentially fatal gastrointestinal illness in...
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How pool inspections work in Iowa
Pool inspections are not a moneymaker for health departments.Annual inspection fees range from $50 for a small wading pool to $270 for a large swimming pool or waterslide. These fees bring in about...
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Gazette investigation: Corridor pools repeatedly closed for health, safety...
Linn County environmental health specialist Kayla Sweeney checks that a ladder is secure at Bender Pool in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, April 11, 2012, during a routine yearly inspection. (Cliff...
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Iowa wineries’ ag designation means thousands in tax breaks
Jasper Winery co-owner Jean Groben of Newton talks about the barrels of wine that are aging on racks in one of the rooms at the business Monday, April 30, 2012 in Des Moines. The winery, which is...
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Emails shed light on process leading to Cedar Rapids school closings
Polk Elementary School fifth grader Trent Cox (right) walks with his mother, Dawn Kearney (from left), father Clinton Buress and older brother CJ Buress as he leaves on the second-to-last day of school...
View ArticleIowa law shields businesses’ names in pool-related illnesses
An Iowa law that allows public health officials to keep secret the name of a business involved in a disease investigation puts business interests before public safety, say citizens who were sickened in...
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Revenue director’s relocation package raises questions about state perks
Courtney Kay-Decker, executive director, Iowa Department of RevenueOne state director’s relocation expenses, which included closing costs on a Des Moines condo, have raised questions about executive...
View ArticleBranstad defends relocation pay for Revenue director
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad told reporters in an Aug. 6 news conference that nearly $8,000 in relocation expenses for Courtney Kay-Decker, director of the Iowa Department of Revenue, is warranted, despite...
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Disgruntled Iowans form own governments
Rodney Lange, owner of Wheatland Grocery & Meats, has a "Don't Tread on Me" flag as well as the U.S. and the Iowa state flags hanging on the wall over his meat counter. Langle is the newly elected...
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Sales tax exemptions bite into Iowa coffers
Paul Remington of Swisher washes his car at Edgewood Car Wash in Cedar Rapids. After decades of lobbying, carwash owners received a sales tax exemption following action by the Iowa Legislature this...
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Soldier’s family believes cancer death tied to Army burn pits
Kristi Casteel stands next to a portrait of her late son Joshua Casteel at her in Cedar Rapids on Tueday, October 2, 2012. The photo was taken in 2006 or 2007 while Joshua spoke with peace activist Jim...
View ArticleBranstad gives directors bonuses that raise pay beyond caps
Bonuses paid to two state directors raising their pay beyond state salary caps have caused several Iowa legislators to question whether Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has overstepped his authority.Courtney...
View ArticleFees eat into limited income for “unbanked”
CORALVILLE – Nick Birtcher closed his bank account because he needed the $7 that was keeping it open.“It was a decision to cancel my account and utilize the funds or keep the $7 in there and not have...
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UI Hospitals sends $180,000 in food waste to landfill
Table to Table volunteer Dan Nidey (right) delivers donated food items to Four Oaks Iowa City office manager Marcia Steckly of Wellman (left) as he works his route Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, in Iowa...
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Branstad: University of Iowa Hospitals could do more to reduce food waste
Food waits to be purchased in the Melrose Dining Room at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013 in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics,...
View ArticleUniversity of Iowa Hospitals makes changes to reduce food waste
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics said this week it will change procedures to reduce food waste, following a Gazette investigation about the hospital throwing away $181,000 worth of prepared...
View ArticleEconomic development aid owed to Iowa ‘relatively small,’ Branstad says
As he heads off to the “happy hunting grounds” of California to stalk economic development prospects, Gov. Terry Branstad says the $7.5 million owed the state by companies that failed to meet their job...
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