Iowa
Iowa students now majoring in insurance coverage classes
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – The University of Iowa has seen big success in its new ‘Risk Management and Insurance” program.
Iowa has had classes for insurance for decades, but students would only be able to obtain a certificate for completing the courses. In the last year, the school said it was ranked 8th in the country.
“I have one more to take next semester, and I am taking three currently,” said Will Eastman, an Iowa senior.
Eastman is one of 200 students currently taking part in the University of Iowa Tippie College of Finance ‘Risk Management’ major. Before this year, Eastman studied finance, but when he learned adding a second major would include 5 classes, he jumped at the opportunity. He plans to get into the health insurance field when he graduates next Spring.
“Everyone was jumping on it because of how easy and how good of a sale it is,” said Eastman.
Tippie School of Finance Professor Martin Grace said being ranked 8th in the country was a novelty this year – that next year would be the real test, but the program was something he said brings a lot more to the state of Iowa than people might think.
“In most states, the insurance industry is around 2% of the state’s economy, here, it’s five times that or more,” Grace said.
The new program comes at a time when some Iowans were starting to see insurance companies pulling out of the state of Iowa. We reported that 5 companies left Iowa last year due to losses of billions of dollars from storm damage. That included the 2020 derecho, which caused $10 billion in damage in Iowa.
“The whole world is having larger and larger claims because we live in more dangerous areas, more risky areas,” said Grace.
It’s challenges like this that Eastman said he had learned about and was ready to take to his new career when he graduates.
“A lot of us students were drawn in because we weren’t just talking about definitions and how auto or home insurance, we were talking about unique real-world problems that are happening now in current events,” said Eastman.
Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.
After a spectacular senior year with Iowa basketball, point guard Bennett Stirtz won Iowa Athletics’ men’s Athlete of the Year and men’s Hawkeye of the Year awards at the athletic department’s 10th annual Golden Herky awards ceremony.
Stirtz, who made stops at Northwest Missouri State and Drake before his lone season at Iowa, finished with a career Division I average of 19.5 points, 5.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game on 48.7% field goal shooting, 37.2% 3-point shooting, and 82% from the free-throw line.
This past season, the 6-foot-4, 190-pounder from Liberty, Missouri, averaged 19.8 points and 4.4 assists per game on 47.7% field goal shooting and 35.8% 3-point shooting, to accompany 4.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.4 steals through approximately 37:44 of action in his 37 games played.
At the end of the season, Stirtz’s play earned him AP and USBWA honorable-mention All-America honors, first-team All-Big Ten recognition, and the winner of the prestigious Chris Street Award.
In addition to Stirtz’s men’s Athlete of the Year award, Iowa’s men’s basketball team took home four additional Golden Herkys.
Redshirt freshman Cooper Koch was named men’s Breakthrough Athlete, freshman Tate Sage was named men’s Freshman of the Year, and the team earned the awards for men’s Outstanding Team and Best Moment for defeating No. 1 seed Florida to advance to the Sweet 16 in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A University of Iowa student critically injured in an April 19 shooting at the Pedestrian Mall is off a ventilator after multiple surgeries.
Miranda, who suffered the most serious injuries in the shooting, was taken off a ventilator and breathing through her tracheostomy with oxygen support as needed, according to a May 2 update on a GoFundMe page organized by her sister, Janjay Peters. The fundraiser has raised more than $195,000.
Doctors said if Miranda continues to do well with her breathing, she may be moved out of the ICU soon. The family expressed appreciation for the support they have been receiving.
The shooting happened at the Pedestrian Mall in Iowa City, around 1:45 a.m. on April 19. Five people were hurt, one critically.
Iowa City Police said 17-year-old Damarian Jones of Cedar Rapids was involved in a fight before he retrieved a gun from another person and fired six shots into the crowd, hitting five people.
Authorities said there is no evidence Jones targeted any of the victims, and none were involved in the initial fight.
Iowa City Police are still searching for Jones. He is facing five counts of attempted murder among several other charges.
The Iowa City Police Department said it expects to arrest more people in addition to the charges for Jones.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
IOWA (KWQC) – Iowa Democrats responded to Vice President JD Vance’s visit and endorsement of Rep. Zach Nunn in a press release.
The statement addressed Vance’s comments on tax cuts for American manufacturers. Democrats said corporate greed and policies pushed by Republicans including Vance and Nunn have led to the ongoing closure of Burlington’s CNH plant.
The release stated that from 2015 to 2024, CNH made $11.6 billion in profit and the CEO made $113 million during that time period. The statement said the money could have provided as much as $5 per hour per employee and could have been used to keep plants open in the U.S. and Iowa.
Vance discussed opening regulation for E15 fuel so Iowa farmers can have another revenue source, along with recent progress made for the Farm Bill.
A farmer from central Iowa remarked on the recent Farm Bill, saying a new Farm Bill has just passed the House, but it is not future-looking and continues to support big operations. The farmer said the bill gives money for precision agriculture development and purchases for farmers.
The statement referenced the president’s February executive order to purchase metric tons of beef from Argentina instead of supporting Iowa’s beef production.
Copyright 2026 KWQC. All rights reserved.
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