AMES, Iowa – All the information you need to more easily travel Iowa’s state and U.S. highways and interstates is now on one, cohesive website www.511ia.org. For many years Iowa’s authoritative source of traveler information has been available in different formats depending on the needs of the driver and the bandwidth of your internet service. A single, fully functional site is now available with just one click. Previous versions which included a “Streamlined” version for lower bandwidth connections and “Full Featured” versions for travelers and commercial drivers have been retired. The new site, which can easily be viewed on any device, has been ramping up its functionality over the last year, and the final pieces were added in late June to allow the old sites to be retired. Anyone who had bookmarked the previous sites will automatically be redirected to the new www.511ia.org.

The 511 system allows you to set up an account that alerts you of activity such as construction or incidents on routes or areas you have saved. In addition, you can save your favorite cameras to more easily see the traffic situation on routes you want to monitor. If you had an account previously set up on 511, your account was transitioned to the new site back in March.

With the retirement of the final legacy 511 website, we are launching a refreshed 511 logo. The popular 511 app for iOS and Android is also in the process of being updated and new features will be available in 2022.

As a reminder, www.511ia.org tracks traffic incidents, highway construction, and weather impacts on state and U.S. highways, and interstates. Traffic events on county roads and city streets are not shown on www.511ia.org.

There will also be an adjustment made to the 511 information on Twitter. The @statewide511 Twitter posts will no longer be retweeted to the @iowadot Twitter feed. All information input into the 511 system will continue to come to you on the @statewide511 Twitter handle. The @IowaDOT feed will focus on traffic safety and transportation-related information. There will be no change to the regional or metro 511 Facebook or Twitter feeds.

AMES, Iowa – July 14, 2021 – The Iowa Transportation Commission will hold a public input meeting in Carroll at the Santa Maria Event Center, 218 West 6^th Street on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, to hear about transportation matters from representatives of local government, interest groups, and individuals. Items that may be discussed at the meeting include the Iowa Transportation Improvement Program; transportation policies; and highway, aviation, rail, river, bicycle, pedestrian, and public transit issues.

A brief business meeting will begin at 8 a.m. immediately followed by the public input meeting. A detailed agenda will be posted on https://www.news.iowadot.gov/ prior to the meeting. Final plans for the public input meeting are subject to change based on the status of COVID-19 in Iowa and the Carroll region.

While the meeting is anticipated to be open for in-person attendance by delegations and the public, participation via conference call or Teams is still encouraged to minimize the number of in-person attendees.

For more information concerning the meeting or to obtain a scheduled time on the agenda, contact the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Program Management Bureau, 800 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010, telephone 515-239-1288 or email shawn.majors@iowadot.us. Please include the general topic you wish to discuss. The statements, presentations, or suggestions should be 10 minutes or less.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Legal Aid is now operating four help desks in county courthouses across the state to help tenants avoid eviction. The agency opened its help center at the Johnson County Courthouse this week and has others operating in Polk, Linn and Black Hawk counties. Ericka Petersen, of Iowa Legal Aid, offers important advice to tenants, and is letting landlords know they can get rent assistance without seeking an eviction. “I think the number-one piece of advice for people is to come to your hearing,” Petersen says. “In several counties, you will now be greeted with people that can offer you legal assistance and people that can offer you and your landlord rent assistance.”

A recent federal survey shows some 84-thousand Iowans are behind on rent, many due to the pandemic. Petersen wants tenants to know they do have rights. “If you can, reach out early,” she says. “We’re there. We’ve got rent assistance folks there, but if you reach out to us beforehand, even better. We can get things rolling even faster, maybe we can avoid even having the court date in the first place.”

With the federal eviction moratorium set to expire July 31st, attorneys and service providers are anticipating a surge in evictions. Residents can call Iowa Legal Aid at 800-532-1275.
iowalegalaid.org

(By Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)