;


                                                                   Exhibit 99.1



               McLeodUSA Incorporated Receives Court Approval of
             All "First Day Motions" to Conduct Business as Usual

o Trade Creditors to be Paid in the Ordinary Course of Business
o Employee Wages and Benefits to be Paid in the Ordinary Course of Business
o Interim Approval Granted to Access up to $20 Million of New $50 Million DIP
  Facility
o Plan Confirmation Hearing Set for December 15, 2005

Cedar Rapids, Iowa -- October 31, 2005 -- McLeodUSA Incorporated, one of the
nation's largest independent, competitive telecommunications services
providers, announced today that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the
Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, has approved orders requested
by the Company in a series of court filings known as "First Day Motions." This
follows last Friday's announcement by the Company that it had filed a
prepackaged plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy
Code.

The First Day Motions allow McLeodUSA to conduct business as usual with
respect to its customers, employees and suppliers and to maintain existing
cash management systems. Among other things, the Court authorized the Company
to:

     o    Continue payment of all trade creditors in the ordinary course and
          without interruption;
     o    Continue payment of all employee salaries and benefits without
          interruption;
     o    Access up to $20 million of a new $50 million debtor-in-possession
          (DIP) credit facility; and
     o    Continue to use existing cash management systems and maintain
          existing bank accounts.

The Court also set December 15, 2005 as the date for the combined hearing to
approve the Company's disclosure statement and plan of reorganization.

About McLeodUSA
- ---------------
McLeodUSA provides integrated communications services, including local
services, in 25 Midwest, Southwest, Northwest and Rocky Mountain states. The
Company is a facilities-based telecommunications provider with, as of June 30,
2005, 38 ATM switches, 39 voice switches, 698 collocations and 432 DSLAMs. The
Company today has approximately 1,720 employees. Visit the Company's Web site
at www.mcleodusa.com






Some of the statements in this press release include statements about our
future expectations. Statements that are not historical facts are
"forward-looking statements" for the purpose of the safe harbor provided by
Section 21E of the Exchange Act and Section 27A of the Securities Act. Such
statements may include projections of financial and operational results and
goals, including revenue, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, profitability, savings and
cash. In some cases, you can identify these so-called "forward-looking
statements" by our use of words such as "may," "will," "should," "expect,"
"plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "project," "intend" or
"potential" or the negative of those words and other comparable words. These
forward-looking statements are subject to known as well as unknown risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from our
expectations. Our expectations are based on various factors and assumptions
and reflect only our predictions. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the forward-looking statements include technological,
regulatory, public policy or other developments in our industry, availability
and adequacy of capital resources, our ability to continue as a going concern,
our ability to implement a strategic transaction or a capital restructuring,
current and future economic conditions, the existence of strategic alliances,
our ability to generate cash, our ability to implement process and network
improvements, our ability to attract and retain customers, our ability to
migrate traffic to appropriate platforms and changes in the competitive
climate in which we operate. These and other risks are described in more
detail in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. The
Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of future events, new information or
otherwise.

Contact:
McLeodUSA Incorporated, Cedar Rapids, IA
Investor Contact: Bryce Nemitz
Press Contact:    Bruce Tiemann
Phone:  (319) 790-7800