Archive for July 2011
Yes or No? Commercial Property Taxes
State lawmakers, city administrators and local business leaders have long debated proposals to cut commercial property taxes. Though most agree that Iowa’s tax structure isn’t in line with those of neighboring states, more attention was …
Read MoreGUEST OPINION: Real patriots pay their taxes
Some of our nation’s biggest corporations are planning a tax holiday, and they want you to pick up the tab.
You already pay for their routine tax avoidance through the use of tax havens in …
Read MoreOUR VIEW: Best plan for budget was shelved
Short-term solutions are no way to handle problems, Thomas Hoenig told a Des Moines audience last week. Hoenig is the retiring president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and a 20-year veteran of …
Magistrate denies request for a third trial in age case
Jack Gross will not get a new trial in a seven-year-old age discrimination case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court and back to U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in Des …
Read MoreLife insurance sales see growth in first quarter
Nearly all U.S. life insurance product lines showed strong growth in the first quarter of 2011, according to figures tracked by LIMRA, a worldwide association of life insurance and financial services companies.
New individual life …
Read MorePublic four-year institutions with highest tuition
Here is a look at the top five, as well as a look at the costs at Iowa’s three public universities in the upcoming school year.
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Read MoreFBL’s retirement plan gained $28.5 million in 2010
West Des Moines-based insurance and annuity company FBL Financial Group Inc. reported that its employee retirement benefit plan had total assets available for benefits of $161 million at the end of 2010, an increase of …
Read MoreMeredith’s retirement fund surpassed $264 million
Meredith Corp.’s employee retirement plan gained $41 million in 2010, an 18.7 percent increase, according to a report filed June 29 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Des Moines-based publishing and broadcasting company had …
Read MoreMay 2011 Building Permits
Aging Resources connects seniors with services
As Iowa’s Baby Boomers begin reaching their mid-60s, both public and private agencies are being stretched to accommodate their growing needs. Aging Resources of Central Iowa is among the agencies that’s working to help seniors …