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GOP budget cuts state support of Iowa airports

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State taxpayer support of the 107 airports in Iowa will be reduced by nearly 40 percent in the next budgeting year under the plan Republican legislators crafted.

The eight airports that offer commercial passenger flights will get about $600,000 less. Representative Dennis Cohoon, a Democrat from Burlington, says the state funding helps the smaller commercial airports in Iowa that offer passenger service update their facilities.

“In my own case, in Burlington, we have flights out to Minneapolis, St. Louis, Chicago,” Cohoon says. “Without this funding and with reduced funding year after year, what’s going to happen is we’re going to lose those flights and, when that happens, the airport will close down.”

Representative Ras Smith, a Democrat from Waterloo, says airports are economic development.

“Our airports are the first thing that people see when they enter our cities,” Smith says.

Representative Dan Huseman, a Republican from Aurelia, says the GOP had to make difficult choices because of lower-than-expected state tax revenue.

“In the past we have done better as far as the levels of funding that we have provided for the airports and I know that they do put that money to good use,” Huseman says. “…We looked at other ways that maybe we could find a little bit more money to put in there.”

But Huseman says, in the end, there just wasn’t enough money for every priority.

In addition to the state’s largest airports in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, commercial passenger service is available at airports in Burlington, Dubuque, Fort Dodge, Iowa City, Mason City, Sioux City and Waterloo. There are also 99 other airports in Iowa which offer “general aviation” service for smaller planes. Those smaller airports got $750,000 from the state in the current budgeting year. The GOP’s budget plan for the next year is a quarter of a million dollars less for those 99 airports.

High speeds cited as factor in uptick in traffic fatalities

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Interstate 80 traffic camera view.

At least six people have died in traffic crashes in Iowa since the start of the Christmas to New Year’s holiday period. That has increased the total number of roadway fatalities in Iowa this year to 397. Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Nate Ludwig says it’s the most traffic deaths recorded in the state in eight years.

“We haven’t been over 400 since 2008. Right now, the traffic fatality count is 397 and that is 82 more than last year at this time,” Ludwig says.

The rise in traffic fatalities is blamed on three main factors: distracted drivers, motorists not wearing seat belts, and speeding.

“We’ve seen a lot of fatalities this year that have been attributed to high speed,” Ludwig says. “We’re not talking about just barely speeding…this is 80 to 90 miles an hour.”

Ludwig believes too many people “take driving for granted” and are overly aggressive.

“Everybody is in a hurry, they wait until the last minute to leave, and then they try to make up time,” Ludwig says. “I spoke with some troopers in the Des Moines area who said that they’ve never seen so many vehicle on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after traveling at 80, 90, 100 miles an hour on the interstate.”

Ludwig says while the number of traffic deaths this year in Iowa is appalling, it’s not just a number.

“It doesn’t click with people, but this number is somebody’s loved one, somebody’s wife, husband, parent…and it’s an alarming number,” Ludwig says.

And Ludwig notes, this year, Iowa has not had a lot of “bad” weather that could be a factor in the rise in traffic deaths.

New byways for travelers through Iowa, to promote tourism

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Sign designating a byway in Iowa.

From palms to pines, a sign for historic highway

Three stretches of what could be considered “roads less traveled” in Iowa are now part of a state program that promotes tourism.

Iowa DOT director Paul Trombino says newly-designated “byways” will take travelers to cultural sites and scenic areas.

“The link between transportation and tourism is essential, allowing citizens and visitors alike to enjoy the unique offerings of this great state,” Trombino says.

The historic “Jefferson Highway” runs from Winnipeg to New Orleans. The 2300 miles along Highways 65 and 69 –between Northwood and Lamoni, Iowa — are now an official “historic byway.” Loring Miller of Leon, a booster of the project, says the Jefferson Highway was the brain child of Des Moines-based publisher Edwin Meredith back in 1915.

Governor Terry Branstad, Loring Miller of Leon and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds.

Governor Terry Branstad, Loring Miller of Leon and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds.

“Construction started in 1916,” Miller says. “By 1919 over 15,000 stenciled pole markers and 2000 enameled steel signs posted at mile intervals were placed on the route to guide motorists.”

The second new state byway is an 82-mile route that will originate in Winterset. The DOT’s director says it will guide travelers to the John Wayne birthplace and Madison County’s iconic covered bridges.

“Instead of a loop, like many other routes in the state, the ‘Bridges Byway’ is laid out like spokes of a wheel,” Trombino says, “with each spoke reaching one of the bridges.”

The third new “byway” is known as the “White Pole Road.” It runs 26 miles, between Adair and Dexter, just north of Interstate 80 along old U.S. Highway 6.

“The route had a historic claim to fame linking five small towns and highlights infamous events from outlaws such as Jesse James and Bonnie and Clyde,” Trombino says.

Trombino expects the signage and promotional materials for these new byway routes will be ready for the 2017 tourism season.

Three already-existing state “byways” have been selected for upgrades. The “Driftless Area Scenic Byway” in the Decorah area will be extended by 44 miles. The Historic Hills Scenic Byway will be extended from Moravia to Honey Creek State Park, a distance of about seven miles. Finally, the “Iowa Great River Road National Scenic Byway” that runs along the Mississippi River will get upgrades. The changes will improve access to amenities along the riverfront and address safety concerns along the route.

Pokémon Go game raises concerns for motorists, pedestrians

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Pokemon_Go-logoA popular new game played on smart phones may be endangering the lives of some Iowa drivers and pedestrians.

Pokemon Go uses “augmented reality,” where you switch on your phone’s camera, look at your screen and see virtual creatures you’re trying to catch superimposed over the real world view.

Gail Weinholzer, at AAA-Iowa, says you should never try to play the game while driving. “The three most important things you can do while driving are: keep your eyes on the road, your hands on the wheel and your mind on the task of driving,” Weinholzer says. “Obviously, playing this game while driving violates all three of those most important issues.”

The game is appealing to people in their teens and 20s and that’s the age group which the motor club says is already at the highest risk for crashes. “Younger drivers are the most vulnerable drivers, they’re the least experienced,” Weinholzer says. “If they’re participating in these sorts of activities, they’re only enhancing the risk of being involved in a serious or even fatal crash.” Another problem, pedestrian players are wandering into traffic, too engrossed in the game to realize their lives may be at risk.

“We’ve seen an increase in pedestrian fatalities across the United States over the last year and certainly, participating in this game is not going to assist us in reducing those numbers,” Weinholzer says. “It’s important that drivers and pedestrians alike both focus on the tasks they should be involved with.”

A recent AAA report showed distraction was a factor in 58-percent of all crashes. It also found six out of 10 moderate-to-severe teen driver crashes involved distraction, four times more than was reported on police records.

Check your tires before heading on a summer road trip

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Tire-changeIt won’t officially be summer for a few weeks yet, but many Iowans are already taking their summer road trips — and some of them will be riding on underinflated tires.

Anne Forristall-Lake, president of the Rubber Manufacturers Association, says only 17-percent of drivers surveyed know how to properly check their tire pressure.

“Open the door and look on the inside of the driver’s side door for the little sticker,” Forristall-Lake says. “It also has the proper tire pressure for the tires on that particular car. It’s in the owner’s manual as well.” When you check a tire’s pressure, the temperature of the tire is key.

“Check your tires cold,” she says. “When you drive a tire, heat builds up and that causes inflation. If your tires are warm when you check them, you might get a false reading.” Every year, she says there are 11,000 accidents nationwide that are tire-related. If you have a blow-out, you’ll need to change out the damaged tire for a spare, but some new vehicles don’t come equipped with a spare.

“Sixty-percent of people never check the pressure in their spare,” Forristall-Lake says. “If you’re lucky enough to still have an actual spare tire in your trunk, it’s important to make sure that you check the tire pressure and the condition of that tire as often as you’re checking your other tires.” About one in three drivers don’t know how to tell if their tires are bald.

To see if the tires are road-worthy, turn a penny upside down and stick it in the tire tread. If you can see the top of President Lincoln’s head, it’s time to replace the tire.

By Karla James

Record numbers expected to travel this holiday season

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Snow-SUVAlmost one in every three Iowans is expected to take a trip for the year-end holidays, according to a survey.

Gail Weinholzer, spokeswoman for AAA Iowa, says if the weather isn’t too frightful, a record number of people will be on the nation’s roads and bustling through airports, train stations and bus depots.

“We are expected to top 100 million people traveling for the Christmas/New Year’s holiday for the first time ever,” Weinholzer says. “We expect just over 100.5 million Americans to travel at least 50 miles from home between Wednesday, December 23rd and Sunday, January 3rd.” She says the boost in holiday travel is being driven by continued improvement in the labor market, rising incomes and low prices, including gasoline prices, which remain well below last year’s levels.

“In part, it is due to gas prices, this is however, the 7th consecutive year that we’ve seen growth in Christmas/New Year’s travel over the previous year,” Weinholzer says. “It’s not entirely due to gas prices but certainly in large part due to gas prices as we’re seeing record low prices for the Christmas/New Year’s holiday season. This is the lowest people have paid since 2009.”

Gasoline prices in Iowa have been steadily dropping for several weeks and now are averaging just under $2 a gallon statewide. While many Iowans will be taking buses, boats or planes to their holiday destinations, she says most of us will be on the road. “The overwhelming majority are traveling by personal automobile,” Weinholzer says. “Ninety-percent of all travelers, which equates to just over 91 million people. We encourage people to drive safely and that includes slowing down, paying attention, driving sober and buckling up.”

AAA says airfares for the top flight routes are 6 percent lower this holiday season, car rental rates are up three-percent from a year ago, while lodging at most of the nicer hotels is up between four and 11 percent.

 

‘Flourishing’ flowers in Orange City for town’s 75th annual Tulip Festival

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The “Dutch Dozen” perform on Saturday.

The “Dutch Dozen” perform on Saturday.

Orange City’s 75th annual Tulip Festival begins today.

“This is something that’s really important to us as the Orange City community, to continue celebrating our heritage and our Dutch roots and we look forward to sharing that with everyone here and everyone who comes to visit,” says Juliana Pennings, the event’s coordinator.

Many Orange City residents will wear their iconic wooden shoes for this weekend’s events. Pennings says the different styles and colors of the costumes that will be worn reflect which territory of the Netherlands their family came from.

“It’s a really fun thing to see, lots of color,” Pennings says. “…We love having so many people wear them.”

A new building opened in downtown Orange City last week where visitors can see and hear the city’s ornate “Dutch street organ” — the only working organ of its kind in the U.S.  The building is called the Stadscentrum. That’s the Dutch word for city center. In addition to serving as the new home for the street organ, the building houses the equipment for making wooden shoes.

“We also had a commemorative book written, telling the story of the 75 years of the festival, so the author will be at Stadscentrum each day doing book signings,” Pennings says. “And then we commissioned an art piece from John Vander Stelt from Maurice, Iowa, to be painted for this year and so the original will also be on display there.”

This annual event started as a flower show in Orange City, then evolved into three-day-long event, with two parades daily and fireworks at night. Tulips are the national flower of the Netherlands and the centerpiece of Orange City’s yearly festival.

“They look very good. The gardens all look really good. The different beds that we have planted around town all look great and the Tulip Town Bulb Company’s startings are flourishing,” she says. “So, yes, the tulips look wonderful for our annual celebration.”

According to the city’s website, Orange City was settled in 1869 by four Dutch men who set out for northwest Iowa from the central Iowa colony of Pella. It was named Orange City in honor of the “Royal House of Orange” — that’s another way to refer to the royal family of the Netherlands.

(Reporting by Dennis Morrice, KLEM, Le Mars; additional reporting by Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson; photo courtesy Orange City Tulip Festival)

 

Spring break travel vouchers are being rejected by airlines

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JetlinerSome Iowans who bought discount travel vouchers for far-away vacations this spring won’t be flying anywhere.

A wedding and event planner based in Omaha-Council Bluffs was selling the vouchers for thousands of dollars less than the retail price of airfares but now airlines are refusing to honor them.

Jim Hegerty, with the Better Business Bureau, says people are understandably very upset with Creative Creations. “It’s a pretty unprecedented event for the BBB,” Hegerty says. “In the last 10 days, we received more complaints on this company alone than we received on all companies combined last month. We’re up around 900 complaints from consumers all over the United States.” Hegerty says the company is now under investigation to determine if there was any fraud or criminal intent.

Hegerty says, “So many people purchased these vouchers that they were unable to manage them and ultimately, the people that purchased them were unable to redeem them for the travel that they’d all planned to do this spring.” Hegerty says it’s still not clear just how many people bought the travel vouchers, but there are likely many hundreds more who have yet to come forward.

“The company reached a tipping point at which it became very, very problematic,” Hegerty says. “Clearly, we’ve had 900 complaints in 10 days. The dollar value associated with those complaints is probably north of $600,000 and rising every day.”

An attorney for Creative Creations says it is not likely there will be any refunds. He says, simply, the company’s business model failed.

 

Air service increases out of Mason City, Fort Dodge

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Air-choiceJust months after announcing they were bringing airline service to Mason City and Fort Dodge, an airline has announced an expansion of their services to those communities.

Since mid-November, Air Choice One has been offering air service between Mason City and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, with the airline previously announcing that they would start service between Fort Dodge and Lambert International in St. Louis on February 23.

The St. Louis based company this week is announcing they’ll be adding a daily flight on weekdays between Mason City and St. Louis starting on February 23, and a once-a-day on weekdays service between Fort Dodge and O’Hare.

Air Choice One CEO Shane Storz says the company is excited to introduce the additional hubs, providing passengers with both international and low-cost travel options.

The Mason City and Ft. Dodge airports were left without service back in February after Great Lake Airlines suspended their service due to a pilot shortage.

(Reporting by Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City)

August & September are deadliest period of year on Iowa roads

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DriveSoberOrGetPulledOverState officials say the months of August and September have been the deadliest on Iowa roads over the past five years. Randy Hunefeld of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau says there are several reasons for the increase in traffic fatalities.

“It’s usually the last hoorah for everybody to have that final vacation and people are probably trying to hurry to get where they want to go,” Hunefeld says. “…You have new drivers going to school. Maybe it’s the first time they’ve driven a car to school.”

Hunefeld is the state coordinator for the “Special Traffic Enforcement Program” — an effort to catch speeders and drunk drivers during the Labor Day holiday.

“It’s a federally funded program for law enforcement agencies who receive…funding for overtime and/or…traffic safety equipment that will help them to enforce laws,” Hunefeld says.

More than 250 city, county and state law enforcement agencies will beef up traffic enforcement starting Monday, the 25th of August and continuing through Sunday, September. During just the three-day Labor Day weekend last year, there were four traffic fatalities and Iowa DOT officials classified one of those deaths as “alcohol-related.”