TUESDAY, SEPT. 12, 2017  |  IN THIS ISSUE 
Iowa is taking a leadership role in a multi-state probe of Wells Fargo and its fake account scandal, Assistant Attorney General Patrick Madigan told the Des Moines Register. He declined to offer any more details of the state's involvement in the probe, saying only that Attorney General Tom Miller's office has "been involved from the beginning." The bank is facing a myriad of investigations and lawsuits over allegations that its employees opened banking and credit card accounts without customers' approval, including around 12,000 in Iowa.   
 
Wells Fargo has paid millions in fines and settlements since the accounts scandal broke, but was recently hit with another major lawsuit alleging it gouged mortgage customers with improper fees, Reuters reports. The bank's home mortgage division is based in West Des Moines, and is the largest employer in the Des Moines metro, with more than 14,000 employees.
Iowa's former Department of Transportation director may soon have a new job in Washington D.C.
According to a White House memo, President Donald Trump intends to nominate Paul Trombino II as administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, reports the Washington Examiner. Mr. Trombino resigned last November as Iowa's DOT director after serving in the post for five years. He was then named president of McClure Engineering Co. of Clive, where he continues to be employed. Both U.S. Sen Joni Ernst and Gov. Kim Reynolds endorsed Mr. Trombino's nomination, saying he has the experience to improve the nation's infrastructure. The appointment requires approval by the U.S. Senate.
Dropping prices to stay competitive is taking its own toll on Target shareholders. The country's second-largest discount retailer last week said it was lowering prices on thousands of items to compete with the likes of Amazon and Wal-Mart, the No. 1 discounter, Reuters reports. The announcement dropped the retailer's shares, which were down as much as 4.5 percent on Friday, and remain down 2.5 percent from just before the news hit. The move could initially cost Target in margins, analyst Gabriella Santaniello told the news service, but lower prices and fewer temporary price cuts could also drive sales volumes, offsetting its eroding margins.  

The nation's oil refining capacity is still lagging several weeks after Hurricane Harvey devastated the Gulf Coast. Five refineries in Texas were still shut down Monday and 10 more are partially shut down, according to CNN Money. About 2.4 million barrels of daily refining capacity in Texas - about 13 percent of the country's total ability to turn oil into gasoline, jet fuel and other products - is offline due to damage from Harvey. The Energy Information Administration noted in a release yesterday that the storm caused the largest drop in Gulf Coast refinery production since 2008. 
 
At one point, about 4 million barrels of refining capacity was shut down, causing gasoline prices to spike across the country. However, the average price of gas has held steady for five days at $2.67 a gallon, up from $2.36 a month ago, according to AAA.  
Para5Travel warning: Bumpy flight schedules ahead

If you're flying south or east over the next few days, consider this your reminder to check your flight before heading to the airport. Most of Florida's major airports and Delta's busy hub in Atlanta are expected to reopen today following the devastation of Hurricane Irma. Unfortunately for flyers, it will take some time to make repairs and get crews back in place - a daunting task since many workers were evacuated, USA Today notes. The massive storm has grounded more than 14,000 flights since it first hit the Caribbean, with FlightAware already counting more than 300 cancellations for today. For up-to-the-minute air traffic operations at major airports, check out fly.faa.gov.
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CommuteYour Morning Commute
Construction continues on I-380 in downtown Cedar Rapids just south of the S curve. Construction also continues on Dubuque Street on the way into Iowa City, and traffic is reduced to one lane near Riverside on Highway 218 northbound. See the DOT's interactive road conditions map here.

Links as of 7 a.m.