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Posted July 10, 2014in Iowa Watchdog

Gas prices will climb, and you can blame corn

JOHNSTON, Iowa — Most of what Tim Maher knew about the renewable fuel standard came from TV commercials. “They all talk about how it’s good for the environment and good for [...]

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Posted July 03, 2014in Iowa Watchdog

Iowa ‘celebrates’ another Fourth without legal fireworks

Jerri Andersen wasn’t impressed by the Fourth of July fireworks display at her local Hy-Vee in Urbandale. “Of course, it’s not their fault,” she said. And it isn’t. The supermarket [...]

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Posted July 02, 2014in Iowa Watchdog

Board to spend $927,000 for a road to almost nowhere

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors voted to borrow $927,000 for a road project which, the county engineer says, will be little used after 2016. CF Industries, which [...]

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Posted June 27, 2014in Iowa Watchdog

School employees earn ‘wellness’ dollars without a breaking a sweat

DES MOINES, Iowa — Employees of the Des Moines Public Schools can forget about “no pain, no gain” when it comes to working out. Next school year, both the fit [...]

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Posted June 20, 2014in Iowa Watchdog

The Postal Service delivers the fail, audit shows

DES MOINES, Iowa — When it comes to incompetence, losing money and union muscle-flexing, the U.S. Postal Service always delivers. A recently released audit by the USPS Office of Inspector [...]

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Posted June 17, 2014in Iowa Watchdog

Small-town clerk helps herself to $80,000, auditor says

DES MOINES, Iowa — The way they tell it at Judy’s Country Curl, Brenda Simmons was nice enough, but she hadn’t done much in her 22 years as city clerk [...]

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Posted June 13, 2014in Iowa Watchdog

Sioux City looks to bag paper and plastic

DES MOINES, Iowa — Paper or plastic? Shoppers in Sioux City may be hearing that question a lot less in the near future. “We’re looking at all possible options to [...]

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Posted June 05, 2014in Iowa Watchdog

Stealth school tax increase on hold

DES MOINES, Iowa — After approving a tax increase without having given the public notice or taking a formal vote, the Muscatine Community School District has pulled back — for the [...]

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Posted May 29, 2014in Iowa Watchdog

Obamacare outreach does little to reduce number of Iowa’s uninsured

DES MOINES, Iowa — Only one quarter of Iowans without health insurance have opted to get coverage since the introduction of Obamacare, despite millions of dollars in federal spending encouraging [...]

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Posted May 23, 2014in Iowa Watchdog

Union contract will cost Iowa county’s taxpayers double original estimate

DES MOINES, Iowa — Woodbury County’s new contract with the union representing its deputy sheriffs will cost taxpayers more than twice what the county board of supervisors had previously estimated. [...]

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