(Radio Iowa) – State traffic safety officials are singling out five Iowa counties where crashes, injuries and deaths are the worst to focus efforts on changing driver behaviors and making roads safer. Brett Tjepkes, chief of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, says the initiative is called the High Five Rural Traffic Safety Project and it’s now underway in Appanoose, Fremont, Humboldt, Keokuk and Mitchell counties.

Tjepkes says, “How we selected the High Five counties is, we looked at some of these underserved areas that have a higher incidence of drivers and passengers not wearing their seatbelts involved in crashes and not wearing their seatbelts, meaning, either seriously injured or killed.” The High Five project involves a three-tier approach, including law enforcement, engineering, and education with the ultimate goal of building safer communities. In the engineering portion, experts from the Iowa D-O-T are teaming up with the Institute for Transportation at Iowa State University.

“They’ll meet with local engineers and look at some of these crash locations and try to find are there some low-cost engineering solutions that we might be able to implement that could reduce crashes in certain areas,” Tjepkes says. “Some of these examples may be just some better painting, markings that are on the roadway, or signage, or wider shoulders.” The education portion of High Five targets drivers of all ages, but also tries to reinforce certain messages with teenagers, before they might form bad driving habits.

“We partner with an organization called Seatbelts Are For Everyone, or SAFE,” Tjepkes says. “The SAFE program works with local school districts to have some peer-to-peer type of education opportunities, the importance of wearing seatbelts and other traffic safety topics with high school-age kids.” A recent study found nearly three-quarters of all deadly crashes in Iowa take place on secondary rural roads, and most of Iowa’s roads are considered secondary. Tjepkes says Iowans have a great national score for seatbelt use, but some people continue to ignore the law.

“Almost 96% of Iowans wear their seatbelts, but also 45% of the people killed in crashes are not wearing their seatbelts,” Tjepkes says. “So this one thing is, with what we’re doing, we really feel that we can make an impact and save people’s lives by encouraging them to wear their seatbelts through programs like the High Five.”

Last year, 338 people died in traffic accidents on Iowa’s roads, a number that’s down from the past few years. Iowa hasn’t had fewer than 300 traffic deaths in a year since 1925.

(Radio Iowa) – The top Republican on a senate panel that drafts tax policy says property tax reform plans will be developed first before other any tax ideas are considered.

“Obviously, property taxes is the name of the game this year,” Republican Senator Dan Dawson of Council Bluffs said, “and we’ll see what opportunities we have here.”

Dawson, who is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, is hinting that GOP legislators are likely to propose changes that are phased in, because the state’s property tax system is complicated.

Senate Ways and Means Committee. (RI Photo)

“The system didn’t get there overnight and I don’t expect us to change things overnight,” Dawson said, “but we’re going to have to kind of find out a different way of going about our system right now, because it’s not sustainable.”

Senator Pam Jochum of Dubuque, the top Democrat on the committee, has been urging Republicans to move cautiously, since property taxes pay for a variety of city and county services. And more than 40 percent of property taxes support K-12 schools.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs today announced it has awarded more than $1.5 million in grants to leverage local infrastructure projects and engaging programs that build culturally vibrant communities across the state.

The $1,573,997 in grants come from the department’s Iowa Great Places, Strengthening Communities, School Arts Experience, Artist Catalyst, Creative Places Project, Folk Arts Learning and Humanities Collaboration programs.

In southwest Iowa:

The Iowa Arts Council also awarded a total of $84,784 through the latest two rounds of three quarterly grant programs: School Arts Experience, Artist Catalyst and Creative Places Project grants. The small matching grants are intended to help jump-start creative projects in the classroom or community and support artists with their career development needs. Included among the grant recipients is The Wilson Performing Arts Center in Red Oak, which will introduce K-8 students to theater by bringing a visiting performer to three southwestern Iowa schools this spring. Grant award: $2,500.

The Iowa Arts Council, a division of the department, awarded Folk Arts Learning grants to help sustain artistic traditions and cultural heritage in the state. Funding for the program comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Museum of Danish America, Elk Horn, will bring in an experienced pressman to teach staff how to use an early-20th century Chandler and Price letterpress for workshops and demonstrations. Grant award: $2,850.

More information is available HERE.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa State Patrol has identified the two people who were killed in a multi-vehicle accident Sunday morning on I-80 near Iowa City.

The patrol says 57-year-old David Mosinski of Fairfield, died when his pickup hit a semi that had jackknifed on the roadway. Thirty-seven-year-old Junier Caballero-Venero of Houston, Texas, was a passenger in the semi and got out after it jackknifed. The patrol says he was then was hit and killed on the roadway.

The accident report says the roads were icy and it was foggy at the time of the accident. The accident involved some 15 vehicles, nine of them semis.

(Iowa DNR News) – Elk seem to be visiting Iowa more frequently each fall, and thanks to social media, their visits are now shared at the speed of downloads among tens of thousands of people among the various social networks. Most of these sightings are in western Iowa due to the proximity of the larger wild elk herd found in the Black Hills of South Dakota and in central and western Nebraska. These visitors tend to be young males conceivably searching for new territory. And this fall was no different. “I had reports coming in weekly to my office all fall,” said Josh Gansen, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Saylorville Wildlife Unit covering nine counties in central and west central Iowa.

The number of individual elk visiting the state is likely very low, state experts say, and the frequency of reports in the fall are based on these elk covering a lot of distance and appearing on different trail cameras. “It’s to the point that it’s no longer uncommon,” Gansen said. The elk rut (breeding season) out west is in September and October, which is around the same time as the juvenile elk have been showing up in Iowa. The Iowa DNR is collecting scat and muscle tissue for DNA analysis to learn more about these animals, including where they are coming from, said Doug Chafa, wildlife biologist with the Iowa DNR’s Missouri River Wildlife Unit in western Iowa.

Elk were native to Iowa, but left as the state was settled. While there isn’t a population in Iowa, they, along with moose, are protected in Iowa Code, which includes a $1,000 fine if illegally killed. That does not exclude the right of a person from dispatching an elk that is causing property damage or from causing physical harm. “Three or four years ago, we had an elk that was trying to get into a penned livestock area damaging the fence in northwest Iowa, and it had to be dispatched,” Chafa said. However, most elk wander in and out of Iowa with no issues. But not all. This fall, an elk was hit and killed on I-80 and another was found dead within sight of Hwy. 20, east of Sioux City. The Woodbury County elk was a 1 to 1-1/2-year-old adolescent animal weighing approximately 450-500 pounds which is significantly larger than a white-tailed deer.

“An adult elk can weigh between 750-800 pounds with hooves as large as your hand,” Chafa said. As a comparison, a five-year-old buck white tailed deer can weigh up to 250 pounds at its heaviest. Large wildlife always catches peoples attention and Chafa said if you encounter an elk, give them plenty of room and don’t approach it. “Take a moment to enjoy seeing a wild elk in Iowa,” he said. “As long as these animals are not causing any problems, our position is we are going to leave them be.”

(Radio Iowa) – Democrats and progressives say polls show the top agenda items Republican lawmakers plan to pursue in the 2023 legislature are unpopular with Iowans. Matt Sinovic, executive director of Progress Iowa, hosted what he called “The People’s Condition of the State” event at the Capitol this (Tuesday) morning. “Think of where the public opinion is on these issues,” Sinovic said. “Every poll that we’ve seen…We wan fully funded public schools. We want to raise in the minimum wage. A vast majority oppose the voucher scheme that we expect to see.”

Governor Reynolds will deliver the annual “Condition of the State” address tonight (Tuesday) at 6 p.m. and she’s likely to use the event to unveil her latest plan to provide state money to parents who send their kids to private schools. Mazie Stilwell of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa says her organization is on high alert because she expects the Republican-led legislature to pass new abortion restrictions. “Abortion, for now, remains safe and legal in Iowa, but it hangs by a thread,” Stilwell says, “even though a growing 61%of Iowans support abortion access.” Some labor union advocates predict G-O-P lawmakers to try to pass more restrictions on bargaining rights and pass new limits on benefits.

Peter Hird is an officer of the Iowa Federation of Labor A-F-L-C-I-O. “All employees deserve to have their voice on the job through a union,” Hird says, “whether they work for a private employer or serve the public.” Connie Ryan of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa says despite November’s passage of a constitutional amendment on gun rights, polls show Iowans oppose repeal of gun safety laws. “We ask all fair minded Iowans to join with us in this fight for everyday Iowans,” Ryan said.

The Republican Leader in the Iowa House says more Iowans voted for the gun rights amendment than for any candidate running for statewide office, showing Iowans want their freedom to carry weapons protected.

(Guthrie County, Iowa) – The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman suffered possible/unknown injuries, when the pickup she was driving struck a deer on the road this (Tuesday) morning. The accident happened at around 6:45-a.m. on Justice Road. Authorities say 36-year-old Jessalyn Arlene Ocker, of Coon Rapids, was traveling south on Justice Road, when she swerved to miss a deer. The 2002 Ford F-250 pickup she was driving went out of control and entered the east ditch before rolling over and coming to rest in a field.

Ocker was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle through a side window. She complained of pain and was transported by Panora EMS to the Guthrie County Hospital. Her pickup sustained $12,000 damage and was declared a total loss. The report said she was driving too fast for conditions, but no citations were issued.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports three arrests took place on Monday (Jan. 9): 23-year-old Shelby Nelson, of Villisca, was arrested for Driving While Revoked; 48-year-old Carrie Tripp, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Public Intoxication and Disorderly Conduct, and 58-year-old Randall Manzer, of Omaha, was arrested for Assault.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors held their regular weekly meeting this (Tuesday) morning. Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken started-off his report by saying due to the fact they are expecting an increase in road rock prices next month, they’ve been stockpiling for next Spring before the prices jump. The jump is likely to be 10-percent, but possibly as much as 13-percent.

Wolken updated the Board on a bridge project. Bridge 302 on 680^th Street, he said is a DOT project. A.M. Cohron and Son is the contractor for the project. He anticipates they’ll be starting in about a week or so. Work continues on a bridge that collapsed last September, after an overweight crane used for Wind Turbine installation caused the bridge to break apart.

The nine beams for the project arrived last week. They weigh about 34,000 pounds each. The Board once again tabled action on approving a five-year lease agreement with the Cambridge Law Firm, for use of the County’s building on S. Poplar Street. The firm currently uses the upper half of the building, with the lower half occupied by the Cass County Communications Center.

By a vote of 3-to 2, the Cass County Supervisors opted to continue with the use of ZOOM as a means to view and interact with the Board during their meetings electronically, at the appropriate time on the agenda. Supervisors O’Brien and Pettinger voted Nay. Green, Richter and Baier voted in favor. Pettinger was of the opinion it should be shut-down, with certain exceptions.

Supervisor Wendy Richter said she’s her from people who are fans of the technology. Supervisor Mark O’Brien said he just “Wants to simplify it,” and made a motion to get rid of the Zoom.” Richter asked Pettinger what the downside to using Zoom would be, in his opinion.

Supervisor Steve Green pointed out the media and others appreciate the use of Zoom, which enables them to multitask during times when the meeting begins to drag.

Board Chair Steve Baier said Zoom was necessary during COVID, and that having the technology is worth something, and he’s willing to continue using it.

The Board approved 2023 County Holidays, including Veterans Day, November 11^th. Since that falls on a Saturday, the day will be observed the preceding Friday. And, it includes the day after for Thanksgiving. In other business, the Supervisors approved the appointment of Drew Williams as Victoria Township Clerk, effective March 1, 2023.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is encouraging Iowans to wear blue on Wednesday, January 11 in recognition of Human Trafficking Awareness Day. This day is specifically dedicated to increasing awareness and preventing this horrific crime. Human trafficking occurs when men, women, or children are forced to perform labor services or sexual acts and it happens across the world, including here in Iowa. Trafficking is a crime that can occur behind closed doors, in plain sight, at a workplace, and in any community.

“By wearing blue on Wednesday, January 11, we can show support for survivors of human trafficking and also hopefully open people’s eyes to a crime that might be happening in their community,” Secretary Pate said. “I challenge you to join us in raising awareness by wearing your blue shirt, tie, socks, or whatever you have on Wednesday.”

Secretary Pate’s office oversees Iowa’s Safe at Home program which provides address confidentiality for survivors of trafficking and other violent crimes. He also launched the Iowa Businesses Against Trafficking initiative in January 2022. It has grown to more than 620 members.

“If we aren’t aware of human trafficking-what it is, what it looks like, and what to do-how can we identify those being victimized by it or assist them to freedom, and if we don’t help them, who will?” asked Teresa Davidson, CEO of Chains Interrupted, a Cedar Rapids-based organization that focuses on preventing human trafficking and has specific programs to educate organizations and the community at large on the issue.

Iowans wearing blue on Wednesday to raise awareness and show support for survivors of human trafficking are encouraged to post pictures on social media using #HumanTraffickingAwarenessDay and #IowaSAH.