Understanding Insurance Company Financial Stability Ratings, January 2007

Choosing a financially strong insurance company is important when buying health insurance. You want the company to still be in business when you have claims, which can be 20 to 30 years from now. Insurance companies selling insurance in Iowa have met the minimum legal standards to be licensed by the State of Iowa Insurance Division. This licensure doesn’t mean the company has a high financial stability rating. Several independent rating agencies evaluate the financial stability of insurance companies. The rating for an individual insurance company is an opinion as to its financial strength and ability to pay claims in the future. When evaluating a company, a rating agency may consider a company's balance sheet strength, operating performance and business management and strategies.

Business Disaster Case Management Task Force Report

During the 2010 session, the Iowa Legislature created per House File 2422 a Business Disaster Case Management Task Force. The purpose of the Task Force is to research disaster recovery case management assistance needed for businesses following a major disaster and to recommend steps for providing such assistance following disasters. The Task Force was duly constituted. Its recommendations are contained in this report.

Business Disaster Case Management Task Force, November 2010

During the 2010 session, the Iowa Legislature created per House File 2422 a Business Disaster Case Management Task Force. The purpose of the Task Force is to research disaster recovery case management assistance needed for businesses following a major disaster and to recommend steps for providing such assistance following disasters. The Task Force was duly constituted. Its recommendations are contained in this report. The Task Force focused on what the State of Iowa could do for itself without reliance on federal agencies or programs. It concluded that the hallmarks of any business disaster assistance must be speed of delivery and simplicity in execution. In addition, monies used to assist business recovery should be free of as many restraints on use as possible, relying on the affected businesses to judge for themselves how best to deploy capital resources.

Strategy Report for Electronics Waste Management in Iowa, December 30, 2003

Strategy Report for Electronics Waste Management

Business Organization and Coordination in Marketing Specialty Hogs: A Comparative Analysis of Two Firms from Iowa, November 2005

We study business organization and coordination of specialty-market hog production using a comparative analysis of two Iowa pork niche-marketing firms. We describe and analyze each firms management of five key organizational challenges: planning and logistics, quality assurance, process verication and management of �credence attributes,� business structure, and profit sharing. Although each firm is engaged in essentially the same activity, there are substantial differences across the two firms in the way production and marketing are coordinated. These differences are partly explained by the relative size and age of each firm, thus highlighting the importance of organizational evolution in agricultural markets, but are also partly the result of a formal organizational separation between marketing and production activities in one of the firm.

Targeted Small Business Program Report, 2008

Targeted Small Business (TSB) compliance is authorized by Iowa Code Chapter 19B.7. Iowa Code Chapters 73.16-73.19 requires the establishment of TSB procurement provisions through the Departments of Management, Inspections and Appeals and Economic Development. This report will provide an overview of the State of Iowa’s Targeted Small Business Program and efforts to assure equal opportunity through targeted small business procurement during FY 2007.

Flood Plain Management & Hazard Mitigation Task Force Report, August 2008

The Flood Plain Management and Hazard Mitigation Task Force emphasizes the long-term benefits of mitigation and management to the entire state in preventing or reducing damages from floods and other hazards faced in Iowa. Investments in efforts to manage watershed areas and to mitigate any damages from floods or other disaster events benefit individuals, families, communities, agriculture, business and industry, and certainly public entities and infrastructure. The Task Force encourages the Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission to balance the immediate needs for rebuilding to include the beginning of the investments required to effectively mitigate future damage and maintain effective policy in Iowa’s watersheds. The significance of the damage seen in Iowa from the tornadoes, storms, and floods of 2008 include the loss of eighteen Iowans in disaster-related events. This alone should inspire investment in mitigation efforts for all hazards. Much of the damage resulting from the disasters can be tied to floodplain management and hazard mitigation, pointing the way toward enhanced efforts and new initiatives to safeguard lives, property, and communities’ economic health. Even so, it must be recognized that the weather events throughout last winter and spring added impetus to the rains and storms that ultimately resulted in record flooding. Some perspective must be maintained as planning progresses and significant investments in mitigation are considered to meet a specific level of safety and protection from future threats. The Task Force identified a number of issues, and four were agreed-upon as those with the highest priority to be addressed by the Task Force through a set of recommendations.

Supplemental Information to the August 2008 Flood Plain Management & Hazard Mitigation Task Force Report, August 2008

The Flood Plain Management and Hazard Mitigation Task Force emphasizes the long-term benefits of mitigation and management to the entire state in preventing or reducing damages from floods and other hazards faced in Iowa. Investments in efforts to manage watershed areas and to mitigate any damages from floods or other disaster events benefit individuals, families, communities, agriculture, business and industry, and certainly public entities and infrastructure. The Task Force encourages the Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission to balance the immediate needs for rebuilding to include the beginning of the investments required to effectively mitigate future damage and maintain effective policy in Iowa’s watersheds. The significance of the damage seen in Iowa from the tornadoes, storms, and floods of 2008 include the loss of eighteen Iowans in disaster-related events. This alone should inspire investment in mitigation efforts for all hazards. Much of the damage resulting from the disasters can be tied to floodplain management and hazard mitigation, pointing the way toward enhanced efforts and new initiatives to safeguard lives, property, and communities’ economic health. Even so, it must be recognized that the weather events throughout last winter and spring added impetus to the rains and storms that ultimately resulted in record flooding. Some perspective must be maintained as planning progresses and significant investments in mitigation are considered to meet a specific level of safety and protection from future threats. The Task Force identified a number of issues, and four were agreed-upon as those with the highest priority to be addressed by the Task Force through a set of recommendations. Supplemental Information to the August 2008

Access Management Awareness Program Phase II Report, TR-402, 1997

This report presents the results of a number of detailed Iowa access management case studies. Case studies were selected to provide a cross-section of locations and community sizes in Iowa as well as a variety of project types. Generally, access management projects completed during the mid-1990s were chosen as case studies. Projects ranging from driveway consolidation to full raised medians were analyzed on a before and after basis in terms of traffic safety, traffic operations, and adjacent business vitality. Sources of information used for the case study analysis included: road project files; traffic accident records; state sales tax records; and personal interviews of business owners, business customers, and local officials. The case study results from Iowa essentially confirm results of previous access management research from around the nation. Recent access in Iowa had significant, positive impacts in terms of traffic safety. The average reduction of annual accidents and accident rates on improved roadways was approximately 40%. Improvements in access management also led to significantly better roadway operations for most case studies. Although a small number of individual businesses do report sales losses and/or customer complaints once projects have been completed, access management projects in Iowa have not had an adverse impact on the majority of businesses located along them. In fact, some access management projects in Iowa seem to have contributed to an improved business environment along the corridors that have been improved. The results from the Iowa case studies presented in this report will be used to develop access management education materials for Iowa transportation professionals and other audiences interested in the impacts of access management.

Access Management Research and Awareness Program : Phase IV, 1999

Access management involves balancing the dual roles that roadways must play - through travel and access to property and economic activity. When these roles are not in proper balance, the result is a roadway system that functions sub-optimally. Arterial routes that have a too high driveway density and provide overly extensive access to property have high crash rates and begin to suffer in terms of traffic operations. Such routes become congested, delays increase, and mean travel speeds decline. The Iowa access management research and awareness project has had four distinct phases. Phase I involved a detailed review of the extensive national access management literature so lessons learned elsewhere could be applied in Iowa. In Phase II original case study research was conducted in Iowa. Phase III of the project concentrated on outreach and education about access management. Phase IV of the Iowa access management project extended the work conducted during Phases II and III. The main work products for Phase IV were as follows: 1) three additional before and after case studies, illustrating the impacts of various access management treatments on traffic safety, traffic operations, and business vitality; 2) an access management handbook aimed primarily at local governments in Iowa; 3) a modular access management toolkit with brief descriptions of various access management treatments and considerations; and 4) an extensive outreach plan aimed at getting the results of Phases I through IV of the project out to diverse audiences in Iowa and elsewhere.