DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The state of Iowa says it would damage public safety if the state were forced to refund traffic fines and remove wrongful convictions from motorists’ records. The state made those assertions in documents made public Wednesday as it asked the Polk County District Court to reject an effort to certify as a class action a lawsuit against the state. The lawsuit cites a judge’s October ruling that the Iowa Transportation Department didn’t have authority to issue a speeding ticket to a 16-year-old driver.

The state is arguing in part that district court decisions aren’t binding to other district courts. The lawsuit seeks an order barring the department’s officers from issuing tickets. A 1990 Iowa attorney general opinion said the officers’ authority is limited to drunken driving and commercial vehicle regulations.

Red Oak Police arrested two men on separate charges, overnight Wednesday into early this (Thursday) morning. At around 9-p.m., Wednesday, 23-year old David James Zwerk, of Red Oak, was arrested on a Possession of Drug Paraphernalia charge. Zwerk was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 bond. And, at around 12:17-a.m. today (Thursday), Officers arrested 33-year old Kirby David Stoneking, of Red Oak, on a Montgomery County warrant for Trespass. Stoneking was also being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 bond.