Steven R. ReedSteven R. Reed has supported the First Amendment and investigative journalism as a reporter and editor for four decades. His investigations exposed deceit in the pharmaceutical, construction and tourism industries and more recently in telemarketing for charities in Iowa. Before moving to Cedar Rapids in January 2011, he investigated government waste and cover-ups while working in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Texas, Alaska, London and Moscow. He has interviewed presidents, a Watergate prosecutor, killers and con artists, but lists batting against Nolan Ryan as his favorite assignment. |
|
Survey: Iowans favor more access to public records, meetings
Two of three Iowans favor creating a state government board to handle citizen complaints about violations of Public Records and Open Meetings laws, according to statewide survey results released Wednesday. The survey found most Iowans know little about the state’s Public Records and Open Meetings laws, but nevertheless value more openness than is practiced. [...]
Delinquent sales taxes nag restaurant industry
At 6 cents on the dollar, sales tax on goods and services adds up to about $2.4 billion annually — a vital source of revenue for Iowa. Yet every quarter, 13,000 businesses fail to remit sales tax collections in full or on time, according to the Department of Revenue. That’s 52,000 Iowa businesses a year. [...]
Other restaurants with tax deliquency problems
Amid thousands of Iowa sales tax delinquencies, the debt generated by a group of 19 Burger Kings is a whopper. Between June 2010 and June 2011, the Department of Revenue posted sales tax liens exceeding $1.3 million against Chicago-based MKMB Restaurant Partners LLC, which acquired the Burger King franchise in seven Iowa counties in March [...]
State sales tax delinquencies up 17 percent
CEDAR RAPIDS – Sales tax delinquencies increased substantially in fiscal 2011 while collections plummeted, according to figures released Thursday by the Iowa Department of Revenue. A union leader blamed Gov. Terry Branstad for eliminating state employees’ jobs and hobbling the effort to collect the taxes. The governor’s spokesman, meanwhile, characterized the rise in delinquencies as [...]
$70 million in delinquent sales, use taxes owed to state
DES MOINES — Iowa’s long-term sales and use tax delinquencies have increased 33 percent since 2000 and the dollar value has soared 132 percent to almost $72 million. The Department of Revenue has written off an additional $6.7 million in the past five years. At 6 cents state tax on the dollar, that represents a [...]
Iowans’ access to records not changed much
Since Sept. 11, 2001, Iowans have experienced modest, security-driven reductions in access to the state’s public records. The Legislature in 2001 added an access exemption under the public records law for critical asset-protection plans. Ten years later, the plans are exempt from being copied in any manner. Residents may examine the lists after approval of [...]
Quest to compare medical expenses can be challenging
Brenda Moore kept notes. First call, Feb. 22. Last call, April 5. Six weeks of calling physicians, hospitals and insurers. Retired in Solon after 31 years as a nurse practitioner with University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, she was experienced — considered herself an expert — at helping others find care they could afford. “That’s [...]
How area hospitals handle price transparency
Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids Adopted price transparency as policy in 2007. Only hospital whose site had identifiable link to prices; site also links to Iowa Hospital Association cost-comparison tool. Provides financial counselors at (319) 398-6854 or (319) 221-8960. Works to identify and reach out to patients who might need financial help but might not [...]
Marion mom finds big savings on kids’ surgeries
Marion mom Michele Brock has twice gone on cost-comparison missions for health care, and both times it saved her family money. In 2007, daughter Jackie, then 7, needed a tonsillectomy and adenoid removal. In January this year, daughter Jillian, then 10 months, needed ear tubes. Saddled with a high-deductible insurance plan, her family’s out-of-pocket costs [...]
