Republican leader will push for speed limit increase

You soon may be able to put the pedal closer to the metal on Iowa’s highways. Republican legislative leaders say they will consider raising the speed limit to 70 miles per hour, in conjunction with raising fines for driving over the limit.House Speaker Brent Siegrist, a republican from Council Bluffs, says Iowa’s speed limit doesn’t match surrounding states, and the fines for speeding are higher in other states, too.Siegrist says there are 20 new members of the Iowa House, and they may be more in favor of raising the limit. He says they’ll attempt to bring the issue out of committee.Former Senate Transportation Chairman Richard Drake of Muscatine opposed the speed limit hike, and was among those who stood in the way of its passage in the Senate. Drake, who is a republican, was NOT re-appointed to head the Transporation Committee by his G-O-P leaders.