The state got another big check from big tobacco this week. The latest check is nearly 55-million dollars and is part of the tobacco settlement Iowa and other states reached back in November of 1998. Iowa’s received more than 358-million dollars in yearly payments since the settlement was reached. The state Attorney General says 22-percent of this year’s payment — over 12-million dollars — will go into an account that’s used for tobacco prevention, substance abuse treatment and other health care programs. The remaining 78-percent of the payment goes to bondholders who were sold the bonds as a way to ensure Iowa’s portion of the settlement money is secure. Iowa’s expected to get some two billion dollars through the first 25 years of the settlement.
