More Midwest flood relief funding and alternative energy legislation will be among the top issues Iowa’s congressional representatives will push for when Congress reconvenes next month, four members of the state’s congressional delegation told more than 350 Greater Des Moines Partnership members this morning. Though they differed in their approaches to energy policy, Sens. Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley and Reps. Tom Latham and Leonard Boswell were united in expressing frustration at Congress’ unwillingness to provide the same level of disaster relief it had provided for Hurricane Katrina victims. The first-time event at the Polk County Convention Complex was meant to provide a local venue replicating the congressional breakfast held during the Partnership’s annual lobbying trip to Washington, D.C.

In a statement released yesterday, Tom and Frank Boesen said that due to the death of their brother, Ed Boesen, and a lawsuit that has marred the title to the land, Rice Development Partners want to pull out of a deal to buy the Rice Elementary School site in Beaverdale. Made up of several partners, including members of the Boesen family, Rice Development Partners proposed a multimillion-dollar mixed-use project on the 4.4-acre property. The Des Moines School Board agreed to sell the land to the developers for $650,000 in 2006, but the sale has been challenged in court by local activist group Save the Green, which wants to preserve the site as a park and believes the district violated the open meeting laws when it considered the land sale. The Boesens said they have contacted the school district to discuss options for pulling out of the deal, but the district issued a statement yesterday saying that it believes the contract is binding and that it has fulfilled all contractual obligations. The school board will discuss the property’s future in an upcoming meeting, still to be determined, and will take action to mitigate the district’s losses. The Boesens’ statement said, “With the best interest of moving to a positive result for the Rice site, and recognizing that due to delays and the uncertain time frame of the lawsuit, Rice Development Partners would withdraw, which effectively removes the basis of the lawsuit (challenging the proposed sale to Rice Development Partners); we trust that the process will continue in a direction that is best for the neighborhood.”

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is expected to center his probe into auction-rate securities on the three biggest players in the auction-rate securities market that have not yet reached a deal with him, the Associated Press reported. Cuomo will investigate Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG to find out how these investments were presented to clients before the market collapsed in February. Five major financial firms have already agreed to make $42 million in settlement. Cuomo is seeking the deals on behalf of regulators and state authorities. Brokerages, including Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab Corp., TD Ameritrade Holdings Corp., E-Trade Financial Corp. and Oppenheimer & Co., also are being investigated over how they pitched the investments to clients after they purchased auction-rate securities from the major banks and packaged them to resell.

After reaching its goal to lend $1 billion to African-American business owners by 2010 earlier this year, Wells Fargo & Co. has increased its goal to lend an additional $1 billion by 2018. The announcement was made in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of Wells Fargo’s African-American Business Services Program. For more information about the program, go to www.wellsfargo.com/biz/aabs.

The Science Center of Iowa and Blank IMAX Dome Theater will host the museum’s 10th annual fund-raising event and auction, “Elements of Science: The Powers of 10,” on Friday from 6 to 11 p.m. The evening will feature live music, cocktails, food and a silent auction that will benefit the Science Center’s programs and exhibits. Tickets are $100 per person. Register by calling 274-6868, Ext. 223, or emailing development@sciowa.org.



FBL Financial Group Inc.‘s board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of 12.5 cents per share on its Class A and Class B common stock, payable on Sept. 30 to shareholders of record on Sept. 15.