ELDORA, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa worker safety agency has proposed fining the Iowa Human Services Department, saying the department’s school for delinquent juveniles isn’t protecting its employees. The Des Moines Register reports that school residents assaulted staffers at Iowa State Training School for Boys in Eldora during at least three incidents last spring. The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in its Aug. 28 report that the staffers “were unnecessarily exposed to violent attacks.” In one, the worker had numerous teeth smashed out and suffered broken bones in his face.

The agency proposes more than $23,000 in fines for the department. The school’s home to about 100 boys who’ve been convicted in juvenile court. Human Services Department spokesman Matt Highland says he can’t comment, because the two agencies are negotiating a settlement.

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — A local investment group has bought an eastern Iowa steel castings company that filed for bankruptcy protection in March. Scott Tinsman Jr. represents the Tinsman family, which is part of the group, and he said Friday the group bought 100 percent of the Sivyer Steel assets from the bankruptcy court in July. The price: $6.5 million.
The company’s new name will be Sivyer Steel Castings LLC. New CEO Michael Baxley says the company plans to renovate its Bettendorf facility and update its equipment. The company also hopes to add to the list of more than 240 employees.
Sivyer produces medium to large steel castings for the mining, military, passenger rail and oil and gas industries. Company officials say a slowdown in orders, especially from the mining industry, forced the bankruptcy filing. Tinsman says Sivyer has “hit the bottom, and we’re on the way up.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped slightly to 2.5 percent in August, giving the state the second-lowest rate in the country. Iowa Workforce Development reported Friday that the unemployment rate dropped from 2.6 percent in July and was down from 3 percent a year ago. Iowa was only behind Hawaii, which has the nation’s lowest rate of 2.1 percent.

The number of unemployed people in Iowa dropped to 42,800 in August, with the total number of working Iowans climbing to 1.64 million.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The Missouri River’s fluctuating water levels are keeping crews busy fixing broken sewer lines and filling sinkholes around Council Bluffs. The Daily Nonpareil reports that the Army Corps of Engineers believes the river will fluctuate between 23 feet and 28 feet deep over the next week. The agency says the water rises as upstream dams release water in order to reduce flood risk along the lower Missouri River.

Dan Christensen is the sewer department supervisor for Council Bluffs Public Works. He says the river’s ebb and flow has created several sink holes in the city. The issue has been complicated by heavy rain and drainage issues. Christensen says city workers and contractors are working as fast as possible to repair the holes, but more sinkhole issues could arise.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Insurance Division has fined a Florida man and revoked his license, alleging he’d scammed people who were buying health insurance. The division said in a news release Thursday that it ordered Covals Douze, of Coconut Creek, Florida, to pay fines and fees totaling nearly $44,000. The division also revoked Douze’s nonresident insurance producer license and barred him from reapplying for licensure for 15 years. Division spokesman Chance McElhaney says that, among other violations by Douze, people were told they were purchasing a health insurance policy but instead received a life insurance policy.