The Iowa Department of Transportation is taking bids to develop an application for smart phones that allows parents to track their teen’s behavior behind the wheel. D-O-T spokeswoman Tracy Bramble says once the app is installed on a teen’s phone, it would disable texting while the teen is in the driver’s seat and monitor their driving habits. “It tracks things like speed and whether they stop at a stop sign or don’t stop at a stop sign,” Bramble says. “There’ll be a parent portal where a parent can log in with a secure I-D, so only they can see their child’s information. What we’re hoping it’ll do is start a conversation between parents and kids about safe driving.” The app is to be called “Text Later.” Bramble says once installed on a driver’s phone, the app will create a trip log each time a vehicle is going more than 15 miles-an-hour.

“What we’re hoping the app will do is disable the text function of their phone as the kid is driving,” she says. “They will be able to, if they are a passenger, log on as a passenger, but their parent will be able to see if they’ve logged on as a passenger.”

Bramble says the department also wants the app to block all notifications, so teens won’t be tempted to check their phones while driving. She says they hope to make “Text Later” available by early 2014. The D-O-T is promoting the upcoming app this week at the Iowa State Fair.

(Radio Iowa)

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest on Saturday, of a woman from Central Iowa. 28-year old Jill Hanselman, of Boone, was arrested for OWI 1st Offense. She was transported to Cass County Jail and booked in.  And, on Friday, officers arrested 18-year old Nicholas Renner, of Atlantic, for Violation of Probation. He was transported to Cass County Jail and booked in, as well.

The A-PD also investigated two recent accidents.  One took place Saturday morning, in the Dollar General parking. Officials says vehicles driven by Jon  Frederiksen, of Atlantic, and Nichelle Whipple, of Massena, were both traveling northbound and approaching the entrance to Dollar General from Wal-Mart. Frederiksen’s vehicle was slowing and stopping to make a left hand turn into Dollar General, when it was struck by Whipple’s vehicle. Authorities say Frederiksen planned to stop by the Cass County Hospital to be checked for possible injuries. No citations were issued. Damage to the vehicles was estimated at a combined  $4,200.

The other accident happened late Friday morning, at the intersection of 5th and Chestnut. Vehicles driven by Christopher Bohlmann, of Audubon and Suzanne Just, of Atlantic, collided as  Bolhmann was eastbound and stopped to back up into a parking stall. Just was also traveling east on 5th Street. Bohlmann didn’t see Just’s car behind him, proceeded to back up, hitting the Just vehicle in the front bumper. No citations were issued and no injuries were reported. Total damage was estimated at $1,800.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Department of Public Safety has decided it will keep secret information about police checks on Gov. Terry Branstad’s license plate. The department said last month it would search for and release information showing how many times the plate was run through police databases, when and by which agencies. But the department said Friday it was mistaken, and the data must be kept confidential.

A former investigator alleges the governor’s vehicle routinely speeds. The data would indicate whether Branstad’s state-assigned vehicle faced other stops or pursuits beyond the April 26 incident in which the trooper driving Branstad was clocked at 84 mph. It would also show whether the vehicle was caught speeding or running red lights by traffic cameras but avoided citations because of its undercover designation.

Officials with MidAmerican Energy Company today (Monday) announced they plan to move forward with the development of up to 1,050-megawatts of additional wind generation by the end of 2015, through the construction of new wind turbines in five Iowa counties, including Madison. The utility company credits a decision by the Iowa Utilities Board, in allowing MidAmerican Energy to move forward with its plans.

In May, MidAmerican announced plans to invest up to $1.9 billion to expand its wind generation fleet in Iowa. The company continues working with county officials and landowners and has secured development and interconnection rights for the wind farm sites. Construction is expected to begin in September 2013, and all projects are planned for completion prior to the end of 2015.

The utility says wind expansion will enhance economic development and provide in excess of $360 million in additional property tax revenues over the next 30 years. Landowner payments totaling more than $3 million per year also are expected as a result of the expansion. The expansion is planned to be built at no net cost to the company’s customers and will help stabilize electric rates over the long term by providing a rate reduction totaling $10 million per year by 2017, commencing with a $3.3 million reduction in 2015.

The rate reduction will begin after MidAmerican Energy installs the first 350 megawatts of generation capacity. During construction, approximately 460 jobs will be added to the Iowa economy, and nearly 50 new permanent jobs will be added when the expansion is complete.

The company began building wind projects in 2004 and, to date, has installed 1,267 wind turbines in Iowa, making MidAmerican Energy the largest rate-regulated utility owner of wind generation in the U.S.