Broadlawns Medical Center and Iowa Health – Des Moines today announced a $2.4-million pledge from Iowa Health to assist with the Broadlawns Community Capital Campaign to be formally launched this spring. The pledge, which marks the third major gift from community organizations, will be paid in two installments. Iowa Health made gave $1 million today, the largest gift to date to Broadlawns for its capital campaign. In addition, Iowa Health will provide a $1 match for every $2 received by the Broadlawns’ Community Capital Campaign. The Iowa Health match component will leverage community contributions into as much as an additional $1.4 million.

The U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) announced today that they will give $20 billion to Bank of America Corp. and guarantee losses on more than $400 billion of assets both from Bank of America and Citigroup Inc. The Treasury Department and FDIC said in a statement that the $20 billion will come from the Troubled Assets Relief Program in exchange for preferred stock paying an 8 percent dividend. The government also will provide Bank of America protection against the possibility of unusually large losses on an asset pool of approximately $118 billion of loans, securities backed by residential and commercial real estate loans and other such assets, which have been marked to current value. Bank of America will absorb $10 billion of losses while the government will share losses from that point up to $10 billion. If that pool of assets sees losses of more than $20 billion, then the government will absorb hits on 90 percent of them. A similar guarantee was provided to Citigroup, where the government is on the hook for $301 billion of assets, with Citigroup taking the first $39.5 billion of hits, and then the government absorbing 90 percent of the rest.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota’s largest newspaper, reported today that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an effort to restructure its debt and lower its labor costs. Chris Harte, the paper’s publisher, said the filing would have no impact on home delivery, advertising, news gathering or any other aspects of the paper’s operations. The filing, which was made with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, follows several missed payments to the paper’s lenders, and it comes less than two years after a private equity group, New York-based Avista Capital Partners, bought the paper for $530 million from McClatchy Co. In its filing, the newspaper listed assets of $493.2 million and liabilities of $661.1 million.

Bank of the West is seeking $1.2 million in principal, interest and fees on a $1.6 million loan guaranteed in February 2008 by brothers James and Robert Myers for the 63-foot yacht Regensea that is harbored in Stuart, Fla. In a lawsuit filed in Polk County District Court, the bank said it has repossessed the boat and a dinghy, but has been unable to sell them to pay off the loan. Maryland-based Lab Marine Inc. had the boat listed for sale today for slightly more than $1.1 million. The boat has been listed for sale since last spring, when Regency development companies collapsed while under the control of the Myers brothers. West Des Moines-based Regency was founded by their late father, Michael Myers. Bank of the West already has won judgments exceeding $10 million from James and Robert Myers and business partners in connection with a failed condominium project in Minneapolis and loans for residential construction projects in Central Iowa.

Casey’s General Stores Inc. reported Thursday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that same-store gasoline gallons sold increased 5.7 percent in December 2008 compared with December 2007. The gasoline profit margin was below the company’s fiscal 2009 goal of 10.8 cents per gallon. The average retail price of gasoline sold during December 2008 was $1.59 per gallon. Same-store sales of grocery and other merchandise increased 6.8 percent and prepared food and fountain same-store sales increased 8.1 percent in December 2008 compared with December 2007.

Former Iowa insurance commissioner Therese Vaughan has been named CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) effective Feb. 18. Vaughan will serve as the association’s chief representative and spokesperson in Washington, D.C. In addition, her responsibilities will include outreach to federal governmental entities and state government associations, as well as consumer and insurance industry representatives. She will also oversee the launch of the association’s new Center for Insurance Information, which will make the NAIC information and resources more accessible to members of Congress and other federal agencies. As a result of the appointment, Vaughan resigned as a director of Principal Financial Group Inc. and Principal Life Insurance Co.

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has appointed Edward Mansfield, a Des Moines attorney, to the Iowa Court of Appeals. Mansfield is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale University Law School. In 1996, he joined the Des Moines law firm Belin Lamson McCormick Zumbach Flynn, where he currently practices. He has served as chair on the board of directors for Goodwill Industries of Central Iowa and has been an adjunct professor of law at Drake University since 1997.

Kevin Prust has been appointed to the First American Bank board of directors. Prust, who retired Dec. 31 after more than 30 years with RSM McGladrey Inc., also is the chief financial officer for Weitz Co. and serves on the boards of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, Blank Park Zoo Foundation, Mercy Medical Center Finance Committee and Drake University School of Accounting.

Kurt Schade has been named president of the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors. Schade has more than 30 years of real estate experience and was named Realtor of the year in 2005.