DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An administrative law judge has recommended Iowa throw out one of four contracts awarded to private companies set to take over the state’s Medicaid program in January. Judge Christie Scase says in a ruling Wednesday that Iowa should reverse its contract with Florida-based WellCare. The Des Moines Register reports the ruling is considered a “proposed decision.” It’s unclear how it will affect plans to let WellCare and three other companies run Iowa’s $4.2 billion Medicaid program for the poor and disabled.

The ruling says WellCare should have disclosed information early to state officials about fraud or mismanagement involving former executives. WellCare officials said in a statement it will challenge the ruling. Gov. Terry Branstad said in a statement Wednesday his office is working to ensure things remain on schedule.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – Defense attorneys in Fargo who have argued that unwarranted searches with drug-sniffing dogs are unconstitutional and unfair to lower-income people say an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling earlier this week backs their premise. The 8th Circuit says it was wrong for police in Iowa to bring a drug dog within inches of a resident’s apartment window without first obtaining a warrant. The court threw out the evidence.

Fargo lawyers who have had appeals on warrantless sniffs rejected by the state Supreme Court say the opinion shows flaws in the law that allows drug dogs in apartments and condos without warrants, but not in private homes. Cass County (North Dakota) State’s Attorney Birch Burdick says he hasn’t had time to review the 8th Circuit ruling and could not comment.

A new interchange set to open next week on Interstate 80 features something new to the state. Iowa Department of Transportation district four engineer Troy Jerman says the “diverging diamond” interchange will provide access to western areas of Waukee and West Des Moines. “This interchange is the first-of-its-kind in the state. Other states have had them for years, but this is the first one in Iowa,” Jerman said. The new interchange, located about 3 miles west of the Jordan Creek Parkway interchange, is scheduled to open Tuesday (December 1) at noon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKpLquQTbGw&feature=youtu.be

The diverging diamond design has at least a few benefits, including less landuse, increased vehicle capacity, and improved safety. “It takes some of the left turn conflicts out of play, which is where many crashes happen,” Jerman said. The new interchange allows for “free-flowing” turns, instead of left turns, for drivers entering or exiting the interstate. Drivers crossing I-80 are directed to the opposite side of the road, then directed back to the original driving pattern.

Jerman isn’t worried about the “new-to-Iowa” design confusing motorists. “They’re pretty self-explanatory, just don’t try to over think it,” Jerman suggests. “As people drive through them, they get through and then realize ‘hey, I just went through that new diverging diamond.’ It’s not terribly complicated to drive through.” Construction work on the interchange began around one year ago with a total cost of $50 million. It’s designed to relieve congestion at major interchanges in West Des Moines and Waukee, two of the fastest growing cities in the state.

(Radio Iowa)

The Broadway production of “The Bridges of Madison County” is opening its national tour in central Iowa this weekend and one of the musical’s main stars is an Iowa native. Elizabeth Stanley plays Francesca, the Iowa housewife who has a whirlwind four-day romance with a traveling photographer. Stanley was born in Cedar Rapids, grew up in Denison and has a host of relatives across the state, from Creston to Stanton to Gilbert. She says it was natural for the tour to debut in Des Moines and it’ll be a tremendous holiday homecoming.

“Oh my gosh, it absolutely is,” Stanley says. “It’s really special for me. Even though I lived there about half my childhood, it so really feels like the state that I’m from and where my roots are and generations of my family have been from, so it’s really, really special for me to be there again.” Based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller, the story is set in rural Madison County, famous for its decades-old covered bridges. Since the real bridges of Madison County are a matter of 35 miles from Des Moines, Stanley says she and the entire cast know how necessary it is to start their nine-month national tour here and to give a stellar performance for Iowa.

“Probably no other place we go will people know the story so well and be familiar with it, and in addition to that, really know about the place in which it’s set,” she says. “I think there’s a lot of care and thought that’s put into making it be as authentic as possible.” Her father’s job with the Rural Electric Cooperative forced the family to move several times, and the Stanleys left Iowa for Illinois when she was in junior high. She’s planning to have Thanksgiving dinner with family members at her uncle’s farm in Stanton and Stanley says she’ll likely need to borrow a car.

“It will be imperative that, at some point, I just take a drive and I get lost on some country roads and just spend some ‘alone time’ amongst the fields,” Stanley says, laughing. “It feels kind of right. It’s very similar to where I grew up, even in Illinois, just the rural life and that’s very much what my character is doing also but I happen to like that myself so I’m sure that’ll be happening.” The character Stanley is playing onstage was first portrayed by Meryl Streep in the popular 1995 film, a role for which Streep was nominated for Best Actress. Streep has won three Oscars and is considered one of the world’s greatest actresses, so Stanley realizes many people will compare her Francesca to Streep’s version. At first, she says, that was “terrifying.”

“Usually I don’t watch a film if I know I’m going to be playing that role in some other capacity because I don’t want to confine my creative ideas to what that person has done,” Stanley says. “Sometimes, when you watch a performance, it’s hard to get that version of it out of your head, even subconsciously, but with Meryl Streep I felt -not- scared about that. I thought, you know, fine, I’ll watch the movie and if some of that sticks in my brain, I would be so lucky!” The show opens Saturday and will run through December 5th at the Des Moines Civic Center.

(Radio Iowa)