The Iowa Department of Transportation is in the final phase of determining if traffic cameras in six cities meet the requirements of new state rules that began in February. D-O-T director of traffic and safety, Steve Gent, says they have finished the review of the reports required of the cities and they still have some questions. There’s an issue with the speed cameras in I-380 in Cedar Rapids. “At this point we really just need to gather more information. There appears to possibly be an issue in Cedar Rapids that we need to be dealing with and that came about by looking at their review,” Gent says. “That’s probably the one that’s the biggest concern right at the moment.” He says the issue involves the speed zones near the cameras.

He says they want more information on whether the speed cameras on I-380 are located within one-thousand feet of a lower speed limit. Gent says they also had an issue with the Sioux City report. “Sioux City did not provide us before crash data. Anytime you are looking at a safety enhancement, you always look at the crashes before the enhancement was put into place and then crashes afterward,” Gent says. “And of course that was required by the rule and I am not sure why they didn’t submit that. We need more information.”

Other questions involved the before and after crash data for two cameras in Davenport, questions about crashes and violations for each intersection in Muscatine, and concerns raised about the number of red-light violations for an intersection in Des Moines. Gent says the rules are designed to be sure the cameras are used on state controlled roadways to enhance safety. and that’s what they are trying to determine in the review.

“These traffic cameras are okay as long as they are absolutely — and people have to believe that — they are for safety. If people believe that they are a money-making scheme, then that’s a terrible situation. That’s not about what our government is supposed to do,” Gent says. He hopes to wrap up the issue before the end of the year to determine if all the cameras are in compliance. “The emails were sent out last week for more information and we asked for that information back within a month,” Gent says. “Certainly by the end of the year we will have all of these resolved. When we have issues, we are going to sit down with the cities and make sure we understand all the issues and that they understand all the issues, and we will work together on coming to a resolution.”

Other cities had cameras on state roads, but decided to make changes. Clive decided to shut down its cameras in June. Windsor Heights and Fort Dodge decided to only place their speed cameras on local roadways, which are not covered by D-O-T rules.

(Radio Iowa)

A state audit released Thursday shows taxpayers paid nearly $700,000 to cover confidential settlements to former state employees over a four-year period. The dollar figure is roughly $200,000 more than what had been previously reported. On March 24, Governor Branstad signed an executive order ending the use of confidentiality provisions. At the time, his administration identified 24 former state employe

“We identified at total of 37 who had confidentiality clauses and of ones that were settled through court proceedings, we had five, so a total of 42 confidentiality clauses,” Mosiman said. The audit did not reveal any more evidence of so-called “hush money” payments to former state workers in exchange for their silence. Governor Branstad fired Mike Carroll, who was head of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services, after a Des Moines Register investigation found his office had paid nearly $300,000 in settlements to a half dozen former workers to keep the details of their firings secret. Mosiman noted in her report that the 42 confidentiality clauses did not violate public records laws.

“None of them violated (section 22.13 of) the Iowa Code, which states these clauses are a matter of public record,” Mosiman said. “It seems the (confidentiality clauses) were intended to impact the behavior of the parties to the agreements, but it did not impact the ability of the public to have access to the document as a public record.” Jack Hatch, the Democrat who is challenging Governor Branstad’s re-election bid, released a statement claiming Branstad has been “dodging the truth and hiding the facts.”

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governor Terry Branstad has issued a disaster proclamation for Clarke County to respond to recent storms. Branstad announced the declaration yesterday. The county suffered damage after severe storms and rain on Saturday. Under the declaration, the county can use state resources to recover from the storm. Clarke County is in southern Iowa.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa (AP) — A statue of former U.S. Senator James Harlan has been unveiled in Mount Pleasant after more than a century in Washington, D.C. The Burlington Hawk Eye reports Governor Terry Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds were among the guests Thursday as the statue was unveiled at Iowa Wesleyan College.

CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) — Floyd County officials plan to appoint someone to serve temporarily as county attorney, following the death of its top prosecutor. The Floyd County Board of Supervisors says it will appoint someone on Sept. 9 to fill the vacancy left by the Aug. 17 death of Normand Klemesrud. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports three people are currently running for county attorney in the November 4th election, but someone needs to serve as county attorney until then.

ELDRIDGE, Iowa (AP) — Three children have been removed from a home in eastern Iowa where police say an active meth lab was found. The Eldridge Police Department says that two men and a woman were arrested recently after officers found the meth lab. The children, ages 2, 7 and 10, are in the care of state officials.