Author
Iowa grants license to psychiatrist with history of disciplinary actions
The Iowa Board of Medicine has granted a medical license to a psychiatrist accused of repeatedly violating standards of care in another state. The board has granted a license to Patrick Kin-Lee Chau, a 67-year-old physician who practices psychiatry in the state of Washington. At the same time, the Iowa board has issued Chau a […]
Ombudsman: Natalie Finn’s death followed ‘a tragedy of errors’ by state agency
The death of teenager Natalie Finn followed a series of errors and missed opportunities within Iowa’s child-protection system, according to the state Office of Ombudsman. The office on Monday released a long-awaited, 160-page report detailing its investigation into the manner in which the Iowa Department of Human Services handled child-abuse reports pertaining to 16-year-old Natalie […]
How accountable are private groups that conduct public business?
A tiny, four-acre plot of land in western Iowa is at the center of a dispute that could have major implications for private organizations that perform basic governmental functions. Under Iowa law, private organizations that are paid by cities and counties to conduct the business of government are typically treated as public entities subject to […]
State drops investigation into charity’s employment-tax debt
In return for $535, the state of Iowa dropped its investigation last year into taxes owed by a charity that stages publicly funded workshops on dating and marriage. In 2018, Iowa Workforce Development claimed the Iowa Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives was avoiding the payment of employment taxes by improperly treating one of its […]
Public information board warns against document-request restrictions
The Iowa Public Information Board is asking all state agencies to refrain from requiring that information requests be put in writing and submitted through an online portal. Last month, the Iowa Capital Dispatch filed a complaint with IPIB about the public-access policies of Iowa Workforce Development. Like other state agencies, IWD now requires individuals who […]
Should Iowa’s Hospital Licensing Board be eliminated?
The Iowa Hospital Licensing Board, which has long been accused of being a tool of the hospital industry, would be eliminated under a bill now being considered by state lawmakers. The board is controlled largely by active and retired hospital executives. Although its name suggests it’s responsible for the licensing of hospitals, it actually is […]
State agency defends its policy on public access to information
Iowa Workforce Development has responded to a formal complaint that its process of handling public-information requests is illegal. The department says its policy of requiring all public-information requests and all public-records requests to be put in writing and submitted through an online portal “is a process designed to ease the burden on both requester and […]
Millions of your tax dollars at work: Charity stages dating seminars like ‘Avoid Falling for a Jerk’
A faith-based Iowa charity is spending $4.2 million of taxpayers’ money staging workshops on dating and marriage. The dating workshops offered by the nonprofit Iowa Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives are called “How to Avoid Falling for a Jerk (or Jerk-ette).” They are described by the center as “eight-hour, hands-on, interactive” workshops. In a […]
Iowa fails to meet federal standard for nursing home inspections
For more than two years, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals has failed to meet federal standards for the timely inspection of nursing homes. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requires each state’s nursing home inspection agency to conduct a full inspection of every licensed care facility no later than every 15.9 […]
Campaigns given more time to ask for a recanvass of caucus results
In what could be a purely symbolic move, the Iowa Democratic Party is giving the presidential campaigns three additional days to request a recanvass of Monday’s caucus results. The deadline had been noon Friday. Three hours after that deadline passed, and with no requests having been made, it was extended to noon Monday. There’s no […]
Buttigieg hangs on to narrow lead with 100% of precincts reporting
With 100 percent of Iowa’s caucus precincts finally reported on Thursday evening, Pete Buttigieg held on to the narrowest of leads over Bernie Sanders. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., had 564.02 state delegate equivalents or 26.2%. Sanders, a Vermont senator, had 562.44 state delegate equivalents, or 26.2%. Sen. Elizabeth Warren was in […]
Cosmetic surgeon who posed a danger to patients is penalized
Dr. LeRoy L. Yates Jr., a 64-year-old gynecologist who practiced cosmetic surgery in Davenport, has been barred from performing such procedures in Iowa until his skill level improves. Yates’ patients at the Diamond Medical Spa and Vein Clinic allegedly experienced excessive post-operative infections and complications, some of which were not properly diagnosed or treated by […]