Tuesday morning read: Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix resigns, Cedar Rapids schools and council working on deal, companies bid to be part of Iowa's Medicaid program

In stunner, Iowa Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix quits: Hours after a video was posted online appearing to show Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix kissing a female lobbyist, the senator shocked his caucus Monday by immediately resigning — leaving the GOP to quickly find a new floor general who could usher through tax cuts and other conservative priorities. Dix, R-Shell Rock, an 18-year veteran of the Iowa Legislature, quit both his leadership position and his District 25 seat. In a short statement, he resigned effective at 2 p.m. Monday. Read more >

Deal calls for joint input between Cedar Rapids school and city officials on school closures: A memorandum of understanding between the city and the school district would create a committee of 10 — three members of City Council, three School Board members, two city staffers and two school district employees — to 'provide input' to the Cedar Rapids school board. This group would meet regularly to discuss 'the long-term viability of the community's core neighborhoods' as the school board oversees the closures of eight elementary schools, under a proposal on Tuesday's council agenda. Read more >

Companies toss their hats into Iowa Medicaid ring: The state of Iowa announced two companies — Iowa Total Care and Trusted Health Plan — are bidding for a spot on Iowa's $5 billion Medicaid managed-care program, one of which is one of the largest health care insurers in the country. The company selected would become the state's third managed-care organization and would start administering coverage to members July 1, 2019. Read more >

Coralville's Integrated DNA Technologies to be acquired: Integrated DNA Technologies, a maker of synthetic DNA and RNA that was started in Coralville by University of Iowa researchers, will be acquired by a multibillion-dollar conglomerate of science and technology companies for an undisclosed amount. The company has about 770 employees in Coralville. Read more >

All-state boys' basketball 2018: Xavier's Matt Mims a repeat 1st-teamer in Class 3A: The school's all-time leading scorer, Mims was a three-year starter who helped the Saints win back-to-back Class 3A championships in 2016 and 2017. He was selected for the 3A all-state tournament team those two years and this year, when Xavier finished third. Now the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association has named him a first-team all-stater in 3A, the second year in a row for that honor. Read more >