There's an Iowa agency which provides several types of insurance coverages, including liability and property, to local governments in the state. The Iowa Communities Assurance Pool is better known by its initials--ICAP.
Actually, the agency is little-known outside of local government circles. But in September it got some unwanted publicity--an Associated Press article which concluded that members of the board of directors of the agency, "have frequently held public meetings at posh out-of-state resorts, costing tens of thousands of dollars while making it harder for the public to attend."
Two of the people on the ICAP board have Winneshiek County connections. Dave Hageman is the former County Landfill Manager who retired from that job in 2015, but remains on the ICAP Board. Michael Bergan is the state representative for House District 55, which covers most of Winneshiek County.
Bergan has declined comment on the Associated Press story, which said the ICAP Board has met several times since 2009 on islands off the coast of Florida, at Mackinac Island in 2012 and in 2017 and at private for-member-only clubs in the Des Moines area.
Instead, Bergan referred questions to ICAP Board Chairman Jody Smith, who has responded to an inquiry by decorahnews.com by stating that the ICAP Board of Directors has informally decided not to have a meeting in Florida this coming February. Smith says, "The ICAP Board of Directors had a preliminary conversation on the Associated Press article and has agreed to further discuss future meeting locations (2020 and beyond)."