From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The family of a boy whose brain was severely injured during birth at an Iowa City hospital has been awarded $97.4 million. The Des Moines Register reports that a Johnson County on Monday handed down the award, believed to be the largest medical malpractice verdict in Iowa’s history. The award came in a lawsuit filed by Kathleen and Andrew Kromphardt against Mercy Hospital Iowa City and an obstetrician. The family’s lawyers contend that the boy’s brain damage was caused by, among other things, medical staff’s failure to deliver the baby by cesarean section. The boy is now 3 years old and is unable to walk by himself or speak beyond a few words. The family says he will need 24-hour care for the rest of his life.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa agriculture officials have confirmed another case of bird flu in a commercial turkey farm in northwest Iowa. Official on Thursday said the outbreak in Buena Vista County will require the killing of nearly 54,0 turkeys. It’s the third case of avian influenza in the county, following a March 6 case that led to the killing of nearly 50,000 turkeys and an infection found March 17 that resulted in the killing of 5.3 million egg-laying hens. Iowa has had one other commercial egg-laying chicken farm affected in Taylor County, which involved 915,000 birds. Two other Iowa cases involved backyard birds. U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows 17 states have confirmed cases in commercial or backyard flocks.
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – Planned Parenthood North Central States has received an unexpected donation of $20 million from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. It’s the largest donation in the organization’s history. Scott is the former wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. North Central States operates 28 facilities in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, says the donation brings tremendous relief because costs of providing care are going up. Scott revealed Wednesday that she has donated nearly $4 billion to 465 nonprofits, including $275 million to Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A hearing scheduled for Thursday in the case of one of the teenagers charged with killing a southeast Iowa teacher has been placed on hold after his attorney sought a review by the Iowa Supreme Court. Willard Miller and Jeremy Goodale, both 16, are charged with murder in the death of Spanish teacher Nohema Graber, who was found dead Nov. 3 at a Fairfield park. Miller’s attorney wants a hearing on suppression of evidence she claims was obtained in violation of Miller’s constitutional rights before other hearings and has asked the high court to rule on her request. A judge on Wednesday postponed Miller’s hearing but Goodale’s hearing is still set for Thursday.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – Union leaders for workers at a Davenport defense contractor supplier say a labor strike that began last month has ended. A representative of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District Lodge 6 tells the Quad-City Times that more than 400 union members employed at the Eaton Mission Systems Division of Davenport will return to work after a contract agreement was reached Tuesday. DeLane Adams said in a statement that the new contract included improved wages and other items, but terms of the contract were not disclosed. The strike began Feb. 18 after 98% of union members voted to reject a tentative agreement that included what union officials said were sub-standard wages and cuts to health care and retirement benefits.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Developers of $492 million transmission line are appealing a federal judge’s ruling that blocks the project’s crossing through the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge. American Transmission Co., ITC Midwest, and Dairyland Power Cooperative are building the 345-kilovolt transmission line which would run more than 100 miles from Dane County to Dubuque County in Iowa. The Driftless Area Land Conservancy and the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation have mounted a number of legal challenges to the project in state and federal court. In a ruling earlier this year, a federal judge sided with the conservation groups that sued the agencies that issued approvals for the line.
