The Des Moines Register

Iowa’s judicial branch staff - including all judges and magistrates - has been ordered to close office and take 10 days of unpaid leave between Dec. 4 and June 18, 2010, according t a notice posted on the court’s Web site today. Full Story »

Three members of the Iowa Delta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta at Drake University have been suspended from the fraternity pending a full investigation into their alleged roles in an alcohol poisoning case. Full Story »

An Indiana woman was killed Sunday when the car she was driving went out of control on U.S. Highway 34 east of Fairfield near Osage Avenue and rolled several times. Full Story »

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good connection. Full Story »

Rainy October delayed harvest, increased moisture content of corn and soybeans Full Story »

A Minnesota woman woman is reporting the theft of more than $15,000 in gold jewelry. Full Story »

Iowa state employees represented by AFSCME are also being asked to forgo some retirement contributions in exchange for job protection. Full Story »

Officials at Drake University are investigating a fraternity’s role in an incident early Sunday that sent a student to the hospital for alcohol poisoning. Full Story »

The former president of the Iowa Funeral Directors Association faces sanctions from the state after being accused of keeping kegs of beer in his funeral home and discussing with workers a desire to kill his wife. Full Story »

Des Moines lawyer Roxanne Conlin filed paperwork Monday to enter the race for U.S. Senate, kicking off her campaign for the Democratic nomination with an Internet video. Full Story »

Four Iowa communities are placing bets with state gambling regulators that new casinos will create additional jobs and provide them with a badly needed economic boost. Full Story »

Plans to buy a rundown mobile home park along Southeast 14th Street will help reinvigorate the gateway corridor and provide a redevelopment model for similar areas, Des Moines leaders say. Full Story »

Click to view the photo. Check back daily for a new photo from the Register’s archives. Full Story »

Iowa City, Ia. - The president of one of the largest unions in Iowa called on University of Iowa officials to cancel planning for a $130,000 trip to the Disney Institute in Orlando, Fla., aimed at improving customer service at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Full Story »

Joice, Ia. - Authorities say a northern Iowa farmer died after he was buried in a trench in a farm field near Joice. Full Story »

Humboldt, Ia. - A federal judge in Sioux City imposed restrictions Monday on a Humboldt woman and her tax preparation business after a government complaint said she claimed improper deductions on federal income tax returns. Full Story »

Fontanelle, Ia. - Sheriffs officials in Adair County said a woman has died in a crash. Full Story »

The Iowa Department of Public Health is reporting two more H1N1 flu-related deaths. Full Story »

Des Moines police are investigating a home invasion and robbery in the 2500 block of Southeast Sixth Street on Sunday. Alvaro Tapia-Bachena and Iseva Tapia told police they were awakened about 5:45 a.m. by two masked men with handguns. The men demanded money and put a gun to Tapia's head. Full Story »

State and local governments and their employees would contribute far more - roughly $80 million in the first year - to a key state-worker retirement plan under a proposal outlined before lawmakers Monday. Full Story »

The Northwest 26th Street Citizens Advisory Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. today at Polk County River Place, 2309 Euclid Ave. Full Story »

Sioux Falls, S.D. — Lawyers in the fraud trial of Sholom Rubashkin closed their cases Monday with clashing portraits of the former eastern Iowa meat plant executive. Full Story »

The movie "Clean Out" was supposed to be a comedy about Russian and Italian mobsters who come together to rob a bank. Full Story »

A Republican-leaning political action committee that operates in Iowa is asking federal regulators to override state laws around the country that regulate automated telephone calls. Full Story »

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is scheduled to make her first appearance in Iowa since the 2008 presidential campaign with a stop in Sioux City Dec. 6 aimed at promoting her new book, according to the bookstore promoting the visit. Full Story »