DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics employees who say that overtime and other payments were improperly paid will receive $15 million as part of a class-action suit that was filed in 2019. The healthcare system and about 11,000 workers have argued that managers didn’t pay overtime, bonuses or accrued leave as quickly as state and federal laws require. Lawyers for the employees say in court documents filed Friday that the settlement figure could have been as high as $64 million. The attorneys for the workers were worried that a higher court could have reduced the amount to as low as $11 million after lawyers for the Iowa Board of Regents threatened to appeal a judge’s ruling for partial summary judgment.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – At 3:40 a.m. Sunday morning the Cedar Rapids Fire Department was dispatched to 1512 Wheatland Court SW for a structure fire after receiving a report of smoke and flames coming from the back of the home. When crews arrived they found heavy fire expanding into the attic space at the back of the building. The firefighters used hoselines both inside the house and at the rear of the house to successfully battle the fire. More fire crews from the Cedar Rapids Fire Department went to the scene where they checked for fire extension, secured a continuous water supply, searched the home’s three floors for occupants, vertically vented the house’s attic, and secured utilities. One male, one female, and three dogs were inside the home during the fire. The occupants have been displaced but none of them needed medical attention. However, Area Ambulance Service did assist the Cedar Rapids Fire Department at the scene. The home suffered both outside and inside smoke and fire damage and the smoke alarms were working. The incident is under investigation.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – At around 3:45 a.m. Sunday morning the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office looked into a suspicious vehicle located at High and Dry Storage Units in Oelwein. After investigating, they arrested 47-year-old Christopher Monzu from Omaha, Nebraska for an out of state warrant for a felony controlled substance violation. Monzu was taken to Fayette County jail and held on a 50,000 dollar cash/surety bond. The Oelwein Police Department assisted the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – The latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed a lead for incumbent Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley that has narrowed since the poll’s last edition in the summer. The poll of likely voters, taken between Oct. 9 and 12, showed Grassley with 46% support over Democratic challenger Mike Franken’s 43%. 4% of respondents said they would cast a ballot for a different candidate, 4% would skip voting on the Senate race, and 3% are not decided. The poll shows a swing toward Franken of 5% since the last poll in early July. If it translated perfectly to real votes in the election, it would be Grassley’s closest race for the Senate seat since taking office in 1980. Franken showed additional strength among independent voters in the October edition of the poll, leading Grassley 46% to 35%. Franken’s support among that group increased by 8% since July, while Grassley’s slipped by 2%. The survey also indicated a record-high disapproval rating for Grassley among Iowans, for the first time indicating more disapprove of his job performance than approve by a 48% to 44% margin. The poll, conducted by Selzer & Co., included 804 Iowans of voting age that were contacted by landline and cellular phone, with 620 of those considered likely voters. The margin of error for likely voter questions is +/- 3.9%.
