Cedar Rapids-Waterloo News (BETA)

University of Iowa faculty and staff are forming a petition requesting the university postpone implementing major changes to its insurance benefit package.

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards’ endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama likely will shift more Edwards delegates to the Illinois senator, Edwards’ Johnson County campaign chairman said Thursday.

Sue Strauss and her husband, John, moved to Iowa City three decades ago when he took over the dermatology department at the University of Iowa.

Johnson County supervisors continued to discuss plans for a new justice center Thursday but did little else in the way of deciding building scope or location.

After years of books, quizzes and papers, University of Iowa pharmacy students are ready to reap the rewards of their education.

CEDAR FALLS --- Former Black Hawk County Attorney David Correll told police officers Wednesday that their careers have been directly impacted by those who died in the line of duty in years past.

OMAHA, Neb. --- A shooting here has claimed the life of a former Waterloo man.

WATERLOO --- Six Waterloo police officers will be recognized for their actions in connection with a November 2007 house fire.

WATERLOO --- The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center at the National Cattle Congress grounds passed inspection by the city fire marshal Wednesday.

DES MOINES (AP) --- The Iowa Court of Appeals on Wednesday sided with a state commission's decision not to reissue a racing license for a defunct greyhound park in Waterloo.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Three people arrested in this week's immigration raid at a meatpacking plant in Postville have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division and several government officials.

AMES (AP) - Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard says the Cyclones' new "life skills" position for the football team is a success and it will continue.

DUBUQUE - An early morning fire destroys a vacant home at 7th and Hill in Dubuque... The call came in shortly before four this morning. The Dubuque County Sheriff's Office tells us the building was at least two stories high, but was vacant when officials arrived on scene.

POSTVILLE - The majority of businesses in Postville say they haven't skipped a beat since Monday's raid. Thursday the Chamber of Commerce said the business district is running as usual. The true focus in town is trying to get life back to normal.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Gay rights activists are hailing Thursday's high court decision in California overturning a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) - Deere & Co. is cutting jobs at its factory in Dubuque. The company says 34 jobs will be cut early next month because of slowing market conditions.

CLEVELAND (AP) - A former Cleveland firefighter has been convicted in a deadly shooting rampage last summer. The jury rejected the defense argument that Terrance Hough acted in a fit of temporary rage because people were setting off 4th of July fireworks when he shot them early on the 5th.

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) - Police in the Des Moines suburb of Clive are parking their squad cars and hitting the road on bicycles as the price of gas continues to climb.

Agriprocessors, Inc., continues to make meaningful progress in addressing the challenges presented by the worksite enforcement action by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies on May 12, 2008.

WATERLOO (KWWL) -- Crews were called to the scene of a fire in a mobile home park in Waterloo Thursday morning. Rescuers were called to Bristol Road just before 11:00 a.m.

Traffic is inching along on northbound Interstate 380 from Wilson Avenue to H Avenue, where there was an accident.There is no word on the severity of the accident or how long traffic could be impacted.Sixth Street SW is one alternative route to get into downtown.

Supporters of the Highway 100 extension in Linn County aren't panicking about the project's omission from a draft five-year highway plan released this week that emphasizes highway maintenance over new construction.Although the plan includes about $11 million for improvements on the Collins Road portion of Highway 100, it doesn't include funding for land acquisition on the Highway 100 extension ...

Blindness is thought by many to be a great calamity, still viewed in 19th-century Dickensian terms, says University of Iowa professor Steve Kuusisto.But the reality, says Kuusisto, who has been blind since birth, is that his talking computer, his guide dog and public transportation allow him to do most anything sighted people can."It's not an obstacle to having a good job and a full life," he ...

POSTVILLE and#8212; State Sen. Mark Zieman said the Monday raid of the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant is bringing out both the worst and the best in people in his hometown of Postville.Zieman, who represents Iowa Senate District 8, is also a longtime rural Postville businessman.On Tuesday, he visited both St. Bridget's Catholic Church, where Latinos have sought refuge, and the Presbyterian ...

A wrongful-death lawsuit was settled in March for $240,000 in the death of Anthony Moore, 16, of South Amana.Moore was sitting in the trunk of a car driven by Nicole Eckman, 16, of Amana on May 13, 2005, when Eckman drove out of the driveway at the Brick Haus Restaurant in Amana, according to a police report. Moore fell off the back of the car, suffering fatal head injuries.Carole Moore, ...

A special Washington School Board meeting was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5 to hire a new high school principal and a new business manager for the district.

With the Washington County Fair only two months away, the Washington County Fair Board discussed the work that needs to get done by the first day of the fair on July 13. Among the projects is installing a drainage tile, finding shelter for 4-H and FFA goats and completing a recognition wall to honor people who donated $500 or more toward the new fair association building.

Washington School District Technology coordinator Jeff Brock and assistant technology coordinator John TeBockhorst post the school district’s new Web site on the Internet Wednesday evening during the regular Washington School Board meeting.

To sign or not to sign? That's the key question in the debate of whether or not the Washington County Jail should require signed contracts to house prisoners from other counties.

In tribute to the military veterans in Washington County, the city and the county have made it possible for a veterans' memorial to be installed just west of Highway 1.

VINTON–The Department of Human Services (DHS) helps 137 clients in Benton County with various needs, according to a report given last Thursday at the Benton County Board of Supervisors meeting last Thursday morning in Vinton.

DES MOINES - Outstanding communities and individuals dedicated to statewide tree planting and conservation efforts were honored April 5 by officials with the Iowa Urban and Community Forestry Council.

VAN HORNE–Administrative contracts were approved and a new football coach was hired at a special meeting of the Benton Community Board of Directors meeting last Wednesday night at the packed multi-purpose room of the Van Horne Elementary Center.

VAN HORNE–Both long-term and short-term building solutions for a Benton Community’s elementary were explored last Wednesday night at a work session and special meeting of the Benton Community Board of Directors in Van Horne.

Belle Plaine residents will see an increase in water, sewer and garbage pick-up rates in the city as of July 1 and could see a further increase in their monthly bill if a proposed storm water drainage utility ordinance is passed.

The Board of Supervisors approved the agreement to provide nurse practitioner services for the Washington County Jail at the May 13 meeting. The agreement between the County and the Washington County Hospital provides details for the services on an as needed basis.

Full Gospel Revival Center church will be going on a mission trip this summer. However, this mission trip is different. This mission trip is for the youth of the church.

Pay hikes of 4.28% were for Supt. Mark Schneider, the building principals, certified staff, support staff and home school staff for the 2008-09 school year were approved by the Mid-Prairie Board of education at its May 12 meeting.

Kalona city officials were shocked and surprised Tuesday, May 13, when the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) voted 3-0 to reject a joint petition by Kalona, Wellman, Rolfe, Terril and Everly to municipalize electric utilities of Iowa Power & Light Co (IPL) or Alliant.

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- Deere & Co. is cutting jobs at its factory in Dubuque.

Project leaders expect to start construction during the last week of August or the first week of September.

Immigrant workers detained during this week’s Agriprocessors Inc. meatpacking raid in Postville allege that the company withheld pay for what it called “immigration fees,” denied compensation for overtime and refused to let employees use the restroom during some 10-hour shifts, according to a lawsuit filed late Thursday.

MARION, Iowa -- State environmental officials say a fish kill in Marion may be linked to swimming pools that were recently treated with chlorine.

Most of the 389 immigrant workers caught in the nation’s largest single-site immigration raid moved out of a makeshift detention center Thursday and into one of nearly a dozen jails scattered throughout Iowa.