Canadian funeral home operator in financial straits

A Canada-based company that runs a dozen funeral homes or cemeteries in tenIowa cities is filing to reorganize under “Chapter 11” bankruptcy code.Officials in the Iowa Securities Bureau want the public to know about it.Craig Goettsch (getch) is Iowa’s Superintendent of Securities. He says theVancouver-based Loewen (LOW’-in) Group is having serious financial problems.Goettsch says Iowans who are prepaying for funerals or cemetery plots throughLoewen may want to seek the advice of legal or financial professionals.Loewen Group owns or operates funeral homes or cemeteries in: Ottumwa,Waterloo, Burlington, Cedar Falls, Fort Madison, Centerville, Fairfield,Iowa City, Fort Dodge and Keokuk.