Republicans in the Iowa Senate have passed a bill they say will reduce medical malpractice insurance premiums for doctors. Senator Charles Schneider, a Republican from West Des Moines, says malpractice insurance premiums in Iowa are a deterrent to getting doctors to practice here. “When a doctor can go to Nebraska and pay less than half for malpractice insurance than what an Iowa doctor has to practice, are you going to practice in Council Bluffs or Omaha?” Schneider asked during debate. “…When you can pay less in malpractice insurance in South Dakota, are you going to go live in South Dakota can or you going to live in Sioux City?”

Democrats like Senator Nate Boulton of Des Moines say the 250-thousand dollar limit on “non-economic” damages will devastate people who’ve been “seriously injured” by a medical error. “This is about real people’s lives and when we talk about capping damages, we’re talking about the most extreme cases,” Boulton says, “the ones whose lives are ruined, the ones who are losing the ability to function.”

Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, says the bill is a “bail out” for bad doctors who seriously injure patients. “I know who pays for it,” Dotzler says. “They end up on some form of welfare and the people of the state of Iowa and this country pay for it.”

Schneider says Iowa ranks in the bottom ten states when it comes to the number of doctors in certain specialties like psychiatrist, radiology and general surgery — and the state ranks 51st in the number of doctors who’ll deliver babies. “This bill is an effort to improve our malpractice climate by doing some things that a lot of other states around the country have already done and, in some cases, have been doing for decades,” Schneider says.

Schneider says malpractice insurance rates have gone down in states that have placed “caps” or limits on “intangible” damages for things like “mental anguish” and “inconvenience.”

(Radio Iowa)

New and startup businesses in Iowa are invited to enter a contest for the chance to win up to $25,000. This marks the 12th year for the competition sponsored by venture capitalist John Pappajohn. Randy Pilkington, director of the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center at the University of Northern Iowa, says judges will decide the top three submitted business ventures. “We give away $50,000; $25,000 for first, $15,000 for second, and $10,000 for third place,” Pilkington said.

The competition is designed to stimulate business development in the state and provide support for entrepreneurial ventures. “Any venture that’s been in business for four years or less, that’s located in Iowa, or newer startup businesses, we hope they’ll consider entering,” Pilkington said.

Businesses entering the contest must submit an online application by May 15.  “After May, we narrow the group down to maybe 15, 20, or 30 businesses and then we take them through another round of interviews. That usually runs through August and then we have the finals in September,” Pilkington said.

The winners will be recognized at a special awards luncheon on September 21 in Des Moines.

LINK: www.pappajohnentrepreneurialventurecompetition.com

The Cass County 4-H Endowment committee is hosting the annual 4-H Endowment Pancake Supper on Thursday, March 23 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic.  The Pancake Man will be dishing up fresh pancakes; 4-H members serve juice, coffee and more.  Supporters can enjoy all you can eat pancakes for $6.

Proceeds from the 4-H Pancake Supper directly benefit Cass County.  The money raised goes to the Cass County 4-H Endowment, a fund to defray the 4-H Program Development Fee, support scholarships, and start up dollars for youth programs including Clover Kids and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

The 4-H Program Development Fee is $30, instead of having individual 4-H’ers and families take on that expense, the Cass County Extension Council, and the 4-H Endowment Committee pick up this expense. The Cass County 4-H Endowment also offers opportunities for youth to get involved in the 4-H program by attending camps and conferences and offering scholarships to graduating seniors. “These opportunities are very important to the success of the 4-H program in Cass County,” stated Shelby Williams, Cass County Youth Coordinator. “It certainly would not be possible without a great deal of support from the community.”

There is also a silent auction during the supper. The 14 4-H clubs in Cass County, as well as additional friends of 4-H and local business supporters donate items. “This is a great part of the pancake supper,” says Williams, “it will be exciting to see what items are up for auction this year!” If a community business is interested in supporting the Pancake Supper through the Silent Auction, please contact the Extension Office.

For more information on the Pancake Supper, Endowment or 4-H contact Shelby Williams, Cass County Youth Coordinator, at 243-1132 or xcass@iastate.edu.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say an emergency alert mistakenly was sent to some wireless phones in eastern Iowa and Polk County. The message sent around 7:30 p.m. Monday read, “Civil Emergency in this area until 8:45 p.m. EDT” and “Take Shelter Now Polk-County.” But there was no emergency.

A news release from Johnson County Emergency Management says the message was supposed to be a follow-up on a missing person from Johnson County. The message system vendor is investigating how and why the erroneous message was sent and how it reached Polk County towers.