E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. declared a fourth-quarter common stock dividend of 41 cents per share, payable Dec. 12 to stockholders of record Nov. 14. The dividend is the same amount paid in the third quarter of 2008, and is the company’s 417th consecutive quarterly dividend.

Principal Financial Group Inc. said yesterday it believes life insurers should be included in the Treasury Department’s multibillion-dollar bailout program, Bloomberg reported. The life insurance trade association “should have had a seat at the table during the negotiations,” said Rick Swalwell, a Principal spokesman. The Treasury Department is talking with the Washington-based American Council of Life Insurers about propping up the industry with equity investments.

Des Moines Metro Opera announced the operas that will be produced for it 37th summer festival season. Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca,” Carl Maria von Weber’s “Der Freischütz” and Gioacchino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” will be presented in 16 performances between June 19 and July 12, 2009. Season tickets will be available to purchase Nov. 3 and single tickets will go on sale April 1, 2009. All tickets are available by visiting www.desmoinesmetroopera.org or calling the opera’s box office at (515) 961-6221.

Des Moines’ KCCI has won a regional Emmy Award for best evening newscast in market size 21-140; the Des Moines market ranks No. 71 in size. Winners of the 2007-2008 Upper Midwest chapter of the National Television Academy Emmy Awards were announced at the ninth annual Regional Emmy Awards Gala on Oct. 25 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Minneapolis.

Aplington-Parkersburg High School, which was destroyed this past summer by a tornado, was awarded $25,000 to help it rebuild as part of Arizona-based Henkel Corp.’s 2008 Henkel Helps Schools contest and sweepstakes. Aplington-Parkersburg had to submit a 200- to 500-word essay detailing what improvements or enhancements it could use and how Henkel could help. Henkel chose 10 schools as finalists, and then posted the finalists to its Web site for public voting. Public voting closed Oct. 19 and Aplington-Parkersburg was announced the grand-prize winner this week.