Archive for February 2011
Groups push for water quality in farm bill
The Des Moines Water Works was among a coalition of water, wastewater, conservation, agricultural, environmental and state organizations to distribute letters urging members of Congress to support policies that strengthen the links between agriculture and …
Read MoreCouncil announces finalists for city attorney
The Des Moines City Council is moving forward in its search for a new city attorney to fill the spot vacated by Bruce Bergman.
The council will conduct interviews of four applicants on Feb. 17. …
Read MoreDes Moines No. 2 on safest cities list
The Farmers Insurance Group of Cos.’ 2010 survey listed Des Moines as the second-most secure large city.
The rankings look at crime statistics, extreme weather, risk of natural disasters, housing depreciation, foreclosures, air quality, terrorist …
Read MoreIFBF names policy advisor
The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) announced today that Trudy Wastweet will join the organization as its national policy adviser.
Wastweet served as the assistant executive director for the Minnesota Pork Producers Association and Pork …
Read MoreMarsh U.S. appoints CEO
Risk and insurance services provider Marsh Inc., which has five locations in Iowa, including an office in Urbandale, announced the appointment of David Bidmead to the newly created position of CEO of Marsh U.S., the …
Read MoreTrade deficit widens in December, increases overall in 2010
The U.S. trade deficit widened in December for a second straight month, according to Bloomberg.
Information from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows the gap grew 5.9 percent to $40.6 billion.
Excluding petroleum purchases, though, …
Read MoreCorporate profits should lead to wage increases in 2011
U.S. workers should see wage gains this year, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A combination of saving money at the corporate level along with a surge in exports to fast-growing emerging markets could lead …
Read MoreMore home contracts were written in January
The Des Moines Area Association of Realtors reported that 530 contracts to purchase homes were written in January, and that there were 5,086 active listings.
That compares to 554 contracts written in January 2010, but …
Read MorePolk County, Des Moines show population growth
Polk County’s population has grown 15 percent since 2000 to reach 430,640, according to the 2010 Census numbers released on Thursday.
Des Moines’ population increased 2.4 percent to 203,433. Numbers show that the state’s three …
Read MoreStudents could see expanded health care
The Department of Health and Human Services proposed regulation this week designed to ensure that students enrolled in health insurance plans through their college or university would benefit from consumer protections created by the Patient …
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