May 19, 2013

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“Set back” for efforts to expand passenger rail line to Iowa City

May 18, 2013 By

Using federal money to extend passenger rail service from the Quad Cities to Iowa City is less likely due to votes taken in the Iowa House and Senate Friday.

Senator Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines, has been an advocate of expanding passenger rail service in Iowa.

“It’s a set back,” McCoy said of Friday’s legislative action, “but not a fatal set back.”

Senate Democrats wanted to set aside some of the state’s gambling taxes to fulfill the obligation to provide state matching funds for the project, but House Republicans rejected that proposal and a bill that passed both the House and Senate Friday did not include any money for passenger rail. McCoy said tens of millions in potential federal support is slipping away because the state’s not coming up with five-and-a-half million dollars in matching funds.

“It is a set back for those folks who believe the $87 million is a missed opportunity if we don’t step up in some way,” McCoy said.

In October of 2010, Iowa and Illinois won a $230 million federal grant to expand passenger rail service, with the ultimate goal of a 110-mile-per-hour train running between Chicago and Omaha. However, when Republican Governor Terry Branstad took office in 2011, he raised concerns the state would have to sink too much money into the rail line and the top Republican in the Iowa House has said it doesn’t make sense, financially, since there’s already passenger rail service through southern Iowa cities like Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa and Creston.  Senator McCoy is still holding out hope of a last-minute reprieve for the project.

“We’re looking for the governor to exert leadership with this legislature and say that we’re still committed to passenger rail,” McCoy said. “…We think that there’s other options and available sources of funding if we decide to fully fund passenger rail…There’s still time.”

The 2013 legislature hasn’t adjourned for the year. All legislators are due back in the state capitol Tuesday. Republican Governor Terry Branstad submitted a budget proposal to legislators back in January which called for setting aside $5.5 million in the Iowa DOT’s budget that would have met the state match for that federal funding of a Chicago to Omaha passenger rail line,.

Filed Under: News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , , ,

On-line drivers license renewal, coming soon for Iowans

May 15, 2013 By

Many Iowa drivers soon will be able to go on-line to renew their license — for eight years rather than just five under a bill Governor Terry Branstad signed into law Wednesday.

Drivers with vision problems or physical deficiencies may only get their license renewed every two years — that’s the current practice, but most Iowa drivers between the ages of 18 and 70 would be eligible for the longer license renewal. Plus, they’ll be able to go online to complete the transaction. Governor Terry Branstad says that will save $1.2 million in the DOT’s budget.

“Demonstrating ways that government can be more efficient and certainly reduce some of the wasted time of many people waiting in line to get their licenses renewed,” Branstad says.

State officials suggest Iowans will personally save about $3 million in gas money they’ll no longer have to spend driving to a DOT driver’s license station and in lost wages from the time they have to take off from work to stand in line for a license.

“I think the system will work very well,” Branstad says. “I have a lot of confidence in the DOT and we’re not the first to do this, but I think it’s going to be of great convenience for the citizens.”

Iowa Department of Transportation director Paul Trombino says the online registration option has “really taken off” in other states.

“This was really one of our main priorities,” Trombino says.

The new law does NOT propose changing the four-dollars-per-year charge for a driver’s license.

Filed Under: Featured Story, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,

Two new websites help with vacation planning via car or bike

May 13, 2013 By

The state is launching two new interactive websites to help visitors and locals plan Iowa vacations, whether they’re traveling by car or bicycle. Mary Stahlhut, at the Iowa DOT, says the new IowaByways.org website is focused on spotlighting Iowa’s two national scenic byways and nine state scenic and heritage byways.

“The Iowa Byways site provides you a great look at all that Iowa has to offer in rich Midwest history and natural resources,” Stahlhut says. “Along the byways, you can find a lot of history, cultural and scenic and recreational opportunities and it’s going to be a great resource for travelers coming to Iowa and for Iowans who don’t know what’s in their back yard.”

The search function offers visitors the ability to search the website by cost, by type of event or attraction and by category — like arts and culture, dining, events and festivals, historic sites, natural areas, recreation, and shopping. “Once you log on, you can create your own travel,” Stahlhut says.

“You can list all of the things that you want to do and create an itinerary and save it. You can share it with others and you can even access it with your smartphone.” She says the website will be updated regularly by local byway organizations.

“What you’ll find on the Iowa Byways site is a lot more detail about our local communities’ development for sharing their resources and historic and cultural background things that are available,” Stahlhut says. “Also, there’s a new Iowa Byways travel guide that’s just rich with maps and details of where you can find all these different types of amenities.”

Sign-up is free and you can create trips by selecting events, attractions and travel services of interest, or add something from your list of favorites. The byways website is linked to a new web version of one of the Iowa DOT’s most popular publications, the Iowa Transportation Map for Bicyclists.

The interactive map helps cyclists to plan their trips and find bicycle trail routes and amenities, right down to available rest stops and restaurants. It shows bike lanes, paved trails, unpaved trails, roads with paved shoulders, sidepaths and bicycle-friendly roads. It even shows the locations of bike repair shops.

Filed Under: News, Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With: ,

Truckers encouraged to help stop human trafficking

May 10, 2013 By

The Iowa DOT’s Office of Motor Vehicle Enforcement is partnering with the nonprofit group Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) to help try and stop human trafficking. Motor Vehicle Division Chief, David Lorenzen, says it’s a natural role for his office, which comes into regular contact with truckers.

“One of the initiatives of our office is to reach out to the motor carrier industry and to provide materials that educate them on the aspects of human trafficking,” Lorenzen says. “We have materials in all 11 of our state scale sites, we work with the highway division to put materials for drivers in the 40 state rest areas, and we’re also continuing to work with putting the materials in the truck stops across the state.”

Lorenzen says they learned of TAT and it’s goal, and thought it was a good fit to work with them. “This effort is something that we feel is important, we feel we can help play a part in it and do what we can to help curb this,” Lorenzen says.

He says enlisting the help of truck drivers is a good way to expand the reach of law officers. “The motor carrier industry are people who are out there every day, 24-seven, 365 days a year they see things where there’s not that much law enforcement out there. They can obviously give us a set of eyes that we don’t have,” according to Lorenzen.

The U.S. Justice Department estimates between 100 and 300,000 American children are at risk to enter the sex trade industry every year. “And that doesn’t even count some of the people who’re being imported from other countries,” Lorenzen says.

“Obviously human trafficking involves that part of it too, and it’s a billion-dollar industry. It’s something obviously that the FBI noticed there’s a lot of these things happening in truck stops and those types of things.”

The FBI held four stings between 2003 and 2009 that targeted truck stops and over 500 children were rescued and millions of dollars recovered. The TAT program began in March 2009.

You can find out more about the program on it’s website at: www.truckersagainsttrafficking.com. The National Hotline number to call and report suspected human trafficking is 888-373-7888.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Featured Story, News Tagged With:

Proposal to raise registration fees for electric cars resurfaces

May 9, 2013 By
Senator Tod Bowman

Senator Tod Bowman

Owners of cars that run solely on electricity would no longer get a big break on their registration fees under a proposal that’s been revived at the statehouse.

Currently there’s a flat, $25 annual registration fee for electric cars, but fees for other vehicles are based on weight and value. Senator Tod Bowman, a Democrat from Maquoketa, says there are fewer than four dozen of these cars licensed in Iowa today, models like the Nissan Leaf and the TESLA Roadster.

“We have 41 vehicles currently registered, ” Bowman says. “…They’re not hybrids that we’re talking about, but pure electrical cars.”

This past week senators voted 33 to 17 to attach this registration change to a budget bill that includes now includes dozens of policy proposals. Earlier this year the Senate passed a bill to raise electric car registration fee, but it stalled in the House over objections about a section of the bill that dealt with registration fees for recreational vehicles.

Filed Under: News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , , ,

DOT will allow cutting of hay along state highways again this summer

May 3, 2013 By

The Iowa Department of Transportation will allow the harvesting of hay along state highway right of ways this summer. DOT agronomist Joy Williams says a permit is required and there are specific guidelines on where the work is allowed.

“Medians, shoulder areas, we don’t allow any haying the interstate,” Williams explains. “The permit is just kind of of a system to both inform the applicants as well as to protect our won right of way. If there is any damage, applicants are responsible for any damage.”

The harvesting of hay along the state’s highways for livestock feed has been allowed for several years but has become more popular as hay continues to be in short supply. Williams says the rules allow farmers to use one state resource while protecting another.

“The mowing law was designed primarily to preserve habitat for wildlife during the nesting season. And this was in particular response to the low pheasant population,” Williams explains. “Pheasants nest on the ground and mowing can disturb the nests, or kill the hen and crush the eggs.”

Williams says those who do the mowing must wear approved safety apparel furnished by the state. She says work performed between the road and the ditch bottom requires that someone is on hand to direct traffic.

There are two harvesting seasons; the first is July 15th through September first. Contact the DOT for more information.

Filed Under: Agriculture, News Tagged With:

Detour on I-35 to continue through Thursday due to damaged bridge

May 1, 2013 By

A 9-mile stretch of Interstate 35 south of Des Moines remains closed due to a damaged bridge, but it should reopen sometime Thursday. An overpass on I-35 northbound was struck just before 6 p.m. Monday by construction equipment being hauled on a trailer.

Bob Younie, director of the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Office of Maintenance, says the damaged portion of the bridge needs replaced. “Our intentions are to tear down the unsafe part of the bridge by the end of this Thursday and get traffic back onto I-35,” Younie says.

The overpass is located just north of Cumming in Warren County. Only the northbound lanes of I-35 are affected. The nine-mile stretch will be reopened once the unsafe section of the bridge is removed.

Younie says the contractor will work on reconstructing the bridge while I-35 is open to traffic. “There will likely be periodic closures to set the bridge beams on the bridge. We can’t have traffic driving under when that happens, but it will be taken care of during off hours or evenings,” Younie said.

The detour, which adds about eight miles to a motorist’s trip, follows highways 92 and 28 through Norwalk to Highway 5, which connects back with the interstate in West Des Moines. Monday’s mishap marks the third time since March an interstate bridge in Iowa has been hit by an oversized load.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, News Tagged With:
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