(Radio Iowa) – State officials have approved the purchase of an industrial property about two miles northwest of the Iowa Capitol, to consolidate Iowa Department of Public Safety facilities. Once the two building complex is occupied, two district offices for the Iowa State Patrol in Des Moines will be closed. A vehicle storage facility, a warehouse for supplies and the shop where squad cars are put together will also be relocated to the new site.

Governor Kim Reynolds and other statewide elected officials who serve on the state’s Executive Council approved spending 10-point-eight MILLION dollars to buy the centrally located property. This is one of several moves over the past few years that are changing the footprint of state government operations in Iowa’s Capital City.

Last August the Executive Council spent 21 MILLION dollars to buy a two-story office building on the south side of Des Moines — for staff from two state agencies who’ve been working in the Wallace Building across the street from the statehouse. In 2019, the state acquired an office building near the Des Moines Airport and it’s where the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa Finance Authority are located.

This spring, the Iowa legislature approved spending five MILLION dollars to complete renovations of the Lucas State Office Building, which is directly east of the Iowa Capitol. The 45-hundred employees of the Department of Health and Human Services will work in the building once that project’s done. In 2011, the Iowa Utilities Board moved into a new building constructed on the southeast side of the Capitol Complex. And, in 2007, a restored building to the southwest of the Iowa Capitol became the headquarters of the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds today announced her appointment of Jeffrey McDaniel as a district judge in Judicial District 7.   

McDaniel, of Bettendorf, Iowa, serves as shareholder and president of Brooks Law Firm, P.C. He received his undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of Iowa. 

McDaniel fills a vacancy created following the retirement of the Hon. John D. Telleen. Judicial District 7 includes Cedar, Clinton, Jackson, Muscatine, and Scott counties.  

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – June 12, 2024 – If you travel on the Pottawattamie County Road L-55 bridge over Interstate 80 in Neola you should be aware of an upcoming road closure that may slow down your trip.

The Iowa DOT’s Council Bluffs construction office announces that both directions of Pottawattamie County Road L-55 at I-80 (exit 23) will be closed on Monday, July 1, weather permitting, so crews work on repairs to the bridge approach and guardrails.

If you are traveling on southbound Pottawattamie County Road L-55 you will be detoured around the work zone using eastbound I-80, westbound I-880, and Railroad Highway.

If you are traveling on northbound Pottawattamie County Road L-55 you will follow a marked detour route using westbound I-80, Magnolia Road, and eastbound I-80.

Help keep everyone on the road safer. Drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, you should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

The latest traveler information is available anytime through the 511 system. Visit 511ia.org; call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide); stay connected with 511 on Facebook or Twitter (find links at https://iowadot.gov/511/511-social-media-sites); or download the free app to your mobile device.

(Creston, Iowa) – The driver of 2007 Ford Mustang was cited following a non-injury accident Tuesday afternoon, in Union County. According to the Union County Sheriff’s Office, the car, driven by 41-year-old Christopher David Zimmerman, of Clearfield, was traveling east on Highway 34 at around 1:20-p.m., when Zimmerman tried to pass multiple vehicles at one time. The attempt started in a legal passing zone, but ended-up in a no passing zone at the crest of the road.

Zimmerman saw a 2018 Ford Transit van approaching from the west, and tried to evade a collision by traveling toward the north shoulder of the road. The driver of the van, 28-year-old Sean Ray Hodges, of Carlisle, also took evasive action toward the same shoulder at the same time. The reaction of both drivers resulted in the vehicles colliding before they came to rest in the north ditch.

Union County Sheriff’s Deputies cited Zimmerman for Unsafe Passing. Damage from the accident amounted to $10,000.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Community Wellness Coordinator Grace McAfee says the Cass County Child Abuse Prevention Council and Healthy Cass Coalition are currently planning the Family Fun Day at the Cass County Fair. The event will be held July 27th from noon until 4-p.m., at the Cass County Fairgrounds. The event is meant to encourage families to visit the Cass County Fair, by hosting fun activities for the entire family. In past years, booths have included Water Fights, Yard Games, a Duck Pond, a Book Walk, and more.

Mark your calendar for July 27th for this free family fun event. If your community organization would be interested in hosting a free activity booth at Family Fun Day, please get in touch with Grace McAfee by Tuesday, June 25th, at mcage@casshealth.org or 712-250-8170.

Getting ready for the Free Family Fun day, 2024

(Kellerton, Iowa) – A single-vehicle accident this (Wednesday) morning in Ringgold County claimed the life of a man from Lucas County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2015 Chevy Express 3500 van driven by 34-year-old James Cody Sage, of Lucas, was traveling east on Highway 2 west of Kellerton at around 4-a.m., when the vehicle left the roadway and entered the south ditch before striking a tree. James Sage was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt.

The Patrol was assisted at the crash site by the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office.