The percentage of Iowans without health insurance has dipped to five percent in the first half of the year, according to the latest Gallup poll.  That’s almost half of what it was two years ago.  Only four states have lower rates.

More good news for Iowa workers…you could be in for a pay raise, according to a survey from Towers Watson.  A three percent salary increase is what most companies project, which is above inflation. Of course, big execs are also expected to get a 17 percent bonus.

Governor Branstad says he’s waiting for the December revenue estimate before making any decisions on how much money to give public schools next year.  The governor says he’d like to have avoided the waiting game, but blames the legislature for not going with a 2-year plan.            

Leadership in the Iowa legislature has tasked a set of special panels with studying certain issues for the general assembly while it’s not in session.  Among the topics to be tackled are oversight of the state’s transition to private management of its low-income health care program, and how to provide more equitable funding of the state’s public schools.

Education experts across the state are stepping in to help teachers structure their plans under the new Next Generation science standards.  The new standards will be adopted by some schools this fall, while a statewide timeline is in the works to help other schools plan how to execute them.  A statewide survey shows 69 percent of the public agreed the Next Generation standards would better prepare students for college and the workforce.

Des Moines Public Schools and its insurance company will shell out 350-thousand dollars to a former superintendent to settle a suit over sexually explicit emails sent by her on a school server.  Nancy Sebring sued after the emails were made public. The district expected to win the suit, but its insurance company insisted on settling to avoid extra legal expenses.

Ankeny’s school board has voted to open the Miracle League playground to the public during school hours, despite objections of some parents of Terrace Elementary School. The playground is next to the school and was built for kids with disabilities, many of whom do not attend the school. Some of the Terrace parents felt it should be used exclusively by their kids during school hours for safety reasons.

A new center aimed at helping laid-off John Deere workers is about to have its grand opening next week.  The John Deere Transition Center opens up shop a week from today at Hawkeye Community College Main Campus.  More than 13-hundred workers from the company lost their jobs since last fall because of the downturn in Iowa’s agriculture.

Expect to keep paying more for eggs and turkey for the next year or more.  The Iowa Poultry Association says it will take between 12 to 18 months for supply quantities to get back to normal after losing millions of birds this year to the bird flu.

The Iowa State Fair is adding 34 new food contests this year at the Elwell Family Food Center.  One of them is a Billion Dollar Cookie Contest.  The fair hosts the largest food department of any state fair.

Upcoming country music stars Justin Moore and Easton Corbin will be performing on Friday at the Iowa State Fair.  Reba will perform on Sunday.