DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials say they’re giving a $344 million raise to two companies that manage the state’s Medicaid program. The state’s share is nearly $103 million, or a 7.5 percent increase. The federal government will cover the remainder.
The Iowa Department of Human Services, which oversees the health care program for 680,000 poor and disabled Iowans, said Friday the additional funding is “a manageable increase.”

Medicaid Director Michael Randol says the new contracts improve oversight of services provided by UnitedHealthcare and Amerigroup. Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen calls the increased cost a gut punch to Iowa taxpayers.

Former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad privatized the program in 2016 and Gov. Kim Reynolds supports it despite questions about whether it is saving the promised millions of dollars and complaints that services have deteriorated.

CHICAGO (AP) — Federal health officials say they’ve confirmed more than 500 cases of people who became sick with an intestinal illness after eating McDonald’s salads.
The illnesses reported earlier this year are linked to the cyclospora parasite, which can cause diarrhea, intestinal pain, nausea or fatigue. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that 507 cases have been confirmed in 15 states and New York City.

McDonald’s stopped the sale of salads at 3,000 restaurants last month until it could find a different supplier. The FDA says it’s still investigating the supplier of romaine lettuce and carrots.

States with cases include: Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Officials also said people sickened in Connecticut, Florida, New York City, Tennessee, and Virginia had traveled in Illinois and Kentucky.

(Radio Iowa) — A young man is in custody after a deadly shooting in southeast Iowa Thursday night. Ottumwa Police were called just before 10 p.m. to a home on the city’s south side (at 137 North Ward Street) where the caller said one person had been shot and the suspect left in a car. Officers arrived to find a man found suffering from a gunshot wound. He died at the hospital. His name has not been released.

The suspect was arrested a little over two hours later. Police say 18-year-old Jacob Heckethorn was taken into custody at his home (at 311 North Birch Street) in Ottumwa. He’s charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. Heckethorn is being held in the Wapello County Jail with no bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines realty company says it has reluctantly sold prime riverfront land to the federal government under threat of having the land taken through eminent domain. Hubbell Realty Co. told the Des Moines Register on Friday that it has entered a purchase agreement with the General Service Administration for the former Riverfront YMCA land.

The federal government announced earlier this month that it planned to build a $137 million federal courthouse on the site. A day earlier, Hubbell had said it would build a $75 million, 115-unit condominium complex on the 2-acre site — a move supported by the city. Hubbell CEO Rick Tollakson says the government previously made an offer for the land that was “not realistic.”

The U.S. government can acquire private land for public use through eminent domain, as long as the landowner is fairly compensated. Hubbell bought the site in 2016 for $4.77 million. The company declined Friday to say how much the government is paying for the site.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds became emotional today (Friday), discussing her telephone conversation with the mother of slain college student, and she urged residents not to politicize the case. Asked during an impromptu news conference whether she expected Mollie Tibbetts’ family to become public advocates, Reynolds’ voice broke in recollecting her conversation Tuesday with Laura Calderwood. The body of her 20-year-old daughter was found that day. “I talked to her as a mother and just really said there weren’t even words to express my sadness for her,” Reynolds said. “So that’s all we talked about. I talked to her as a mom. And as somebody that was trying to relate to her that the state was grieving for her and their loss and the individual needs to be held accountable.”

Reynolds also told reporters politics ought not be injected into the matter. However, she noted in her initial statement about Tibbetts’ death that “too many Iowans have been lost at the hands of criminals who broke our immigration laws.” Asked if the Tibbetts case represented one in a trend of similar crimes by people in Iowa illegally, Reynolds said, “One life is too many.”

In 2016, 21-year-old Sarah Root of Council Bluffs died after an automobile accident in Omaha involving Eswin Mejia, a 19-year-old immigrant from Honduras who as in the country illegally.
Reynolds, a Republican who became governor last year when then-Gov. Terry Branstad became U.S. ambassador to China, is seeking election to the office in November.
Democratic nominee for governor Fred Hubbell’s campaign also issued a statement Tuesday, making no mention of illegal immigration.