The state Board of Pharmacy has imposed new sanctions against 10 previously disciplined Walgreens stores in Iowa.
In late 2023, eight of the 10 stores were charged by the board with having failed to comply with previous board orders, violating Iowa law. In May 2024, a ninth Iowa Walgreens store was added to the group charged by the board, and in July 2025, a 10th store was added.
Board of Pharmacy records show the initial eight Walgreens stores were each alleged to have intentionally or repeatedly violated an administrative rule requiring them to create and maintain complete and accurate records as required by state or federal law.
Each of the eight stores was also accused of committing unspecified acts that would render their Controlled Substances Act registrations “inconsistent with the public interest.”
The Walgreens locations are those at 15601 Hickman Road in Clive; 901 N. Ankeny Boulevard in Ankeny; 3140 S.E. 14th St. in Des Moines; 2545 E. Euclid Ave. in Des Moines; 111 W. Ridgeway Ave. in Waterloo; 4555 Fleur Drive in Des Moines; 1251 4th St. in Mason City; and 12753 University Ave. in Clive.
The 2023 charges appear to be tied to a set of sanctions the eight stores faced in 2022, when various Walgreens stores were penalized for a variety of alleged violations, including missing narcotics, a lack of qualified personnel and issues that caused some Iowans to lose access to their medications.
Two of the nine stores had previously been sanctioned for their hiring practices. Of those nine stores, the Mason City retailer was hit with the most serious penalties: probation for 18 months plus a civil penalty of up to $20,000.
Separate from that case, the store located at 3140 S.E. 14th St. in Des Moines was fined $5,000 in 2023 for incorrectly filling customers’ prescriptions. At the time, that store was already on probation with the Board of Pharmacy over allegations that patient counseling was not provided to a patient given a new prescription for prednisone.
In 2022, the Walgreens store located at 12753 University Ave. in Clive was fined $1,500 for operating for 12 days without a designated pharmacist in charge. With the hiring of a new pharmacist in charge, the store then failed to complete a controlled substance inventory, according to the board.
Latest charges lead to settlements
To settle the most recent allegations, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy on May 1, 2026, approved a series of settlement agreements that call for the originally charged eight Walgreens stores to be placed on probation, again, for a period of five years, effective Aug. 24, 2023 — which would mean the “five years” of probation would actually be terminated in about 27 months, in late August 2028.
The agreement also provides that the stores can request termination of their probation as soon as May 2027.
As part of their probation, the eight stores will each be required to retain an independent auditor to track and audit the controlled substances at each location. According to the agreement, Board of Pharmacy compliance officers will conduct unannounced site inspections at each store while they remain on probation.
The ninth and 10th Walgreens stores, located at 4650 Morningside Ave., Sioux City, and 3910 University Ave., Waterloo, were each accused by the board of failing to maintain adequate records and failing to maintain accountability for its inventory of controlled substances.
Both stores “strongly contested” those charges, according to the board.
On May 5, 2026, the board agreed to resolve the case involving those two pharmacies with a settlement agreement that calls for each store to be given a warning. The two stores must also ensure that within six months, they will be making full use of Walgreens’ internal electronic medical recordkeeping system.
