Whether you’re a master travel planner or just learning to navigate Iowa’s winter and construction travel seasons, Iowa’s hub for traveler information, www.511ia.org or the Iowa 511 app, is one tool to help you find the most reliable, up-to-date, traffic-related information in the state.

As you may have noticed, the www.511ia.org website, which has been active for nearly two decades, recently went through a major overhaul. For more than a year the Iowa Department of Transportation ran a test version of the new site alongside the existing site and gathered your feedback on features and functions. With your comments taken into consideration, the new site was fully launched on March 17. The “old” full-featured version and “trucker” versions of the 511 website were retired. The information from both sites have been folded into one robust site designed to allow you maximum flexibility to find the information you need. Professional drivers can still put the site in “trucker mode” by simply turning on the “Commercial Vehicle” toggle at the bottom of the layer bar.

As we move into construction season, one of the most helpful new features is the Weekly Construction Digest. You can choose from pre-defined areas that include major construction projects, metro areas, or regions of the state, and 511 will give you a heads-up regarding construction events starting the next week about active construction events happening in that area. The weekly digest is different from the “Your 511” feature that has been available for some time in that it is only available via email, includes only construction events (Your 511 also includes other traffic incidents), and is for pre-defined areas, not custom routes.

How the new construction digest emails work

Let’s say you have an area that you travel regularly. You can click the menu button in the upper right corner of www.511ia.org, go to “new 511” and then click “Construction Weekly Digest Sign up.” Once you enter your e-mail you can select weekly updates on major projects including:

• Council Bluffs Interstate System
• Iowa City’s I-80/380 project
• I-74 project in the Quad Cities

You can also choose to get information in major metro areas including:

• Cedar Falls/Waterloo
• Cedar Rapids/Iowa City
• Council Bluffs
• Des Moines
• Quad Cities
• Sioux City

A third option allows you to choose a region of the state. Once you set up the digest, you’ll receive an email every Friday afternoon that includes all construction events that are active or planned to start and may impact traffic for the next week. If the information is changed during the week, you’ll receive an email with the update. Included with your construction update is a link to each project as it is shown on www.511ia.org.

Being aware of work zones helps you avoid them if possible or know that you will encounter them on your trip so that you can prepare to travel safely through them.” Then you could always put in the plea to slow down and pay attention if you can get it to flow.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of an Atlantic man on Tuesday. At 4:04 p.m. officers arrested 24-year-old Anthony Allen Charles Rohner of Atlantic for Domestic Assault Causing Bodily Injury. He was arrested at Broadway and Nuckols Street in Red Oak and taken to the Montgomery County Jail. Rohner was being held on $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver says it is unlikely Republicans legislators will agree on how to address complaints that companies like Apple and Amazon are censoring conservatives. Senators have voted to withdraw state and local tax breaks for big tech companies if a court rules Iowans are being censored. A plan in the House narrowed the bill, to apply only when Iowa elected officials or political candidates have online posts or accounts removed.

“I’m not ready to throw any bill away for the session because there are a lot of negotiations going on,” Whitver says, “but it seems like we’re probably far enough apart on that issue that it’ll be tough to find resolution this year.” Friday is the 110th day of this year’s legislative session, the last day members of the Iowa House and Senate get a daily stipend to cover expenses. It’s often a target date for adjourning for the year.

IA Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver

“The House has passed a lot of different bills. We’ve passed a lot of different bills and we need to just get on the same page and figured out what those joint priorities are, what we can pass to move this state forward and end with a successful session,” Whitver says. “I am very optimistic that we will end a very successful session here fairly soon, but we just still have a lot of negotiations left to go to get to that point.” Senate Republicans, for example, have proposed a wide array of tax cuts, while House Republicans have proposed a series of tax credits.

“We’re still having that conversation, but I think overall we’re fortunate here in Iowa that we can even have that conversation,” Whitver says. “We managed our budget very prudently over the past few years, even through the pandemic we ended with a surplus, so that we can come back and not offer a stimulus payment to people, but offer permanent, lasting tax cuts to Iowans and still have a responsible budget.” Democrats have argued at least part of the state’s one billion dollar budget surplus and cash reserve should be used to help individuals and businesses in Iowa who’ve taken a financial hit in the pandemic.

Whitver says Senate Republicans are prioritizing 100 million dollars in property tax relief, with a proposed state take-over of the mental health system, along with eliminating some tax revenue guideposts set up in 2018, so a series of income tax cuts can take effect. “We want that tax cut to be done this year. We also have been very adamant about removing mental health off of the property tax rolls,” Whitver says. “If we can find agreement on those two things, I think a lot of other things will fall in place pretty quick.”

Whitver made his comments during an interview with Radio Iowa.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – April 27, 2021 – A bridge deck overlay project on Interstate 129 in Sioux City requires closing the ramp from southbound I-29 to westbound I-129/U.S. 20 from 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 11, until Monday, July 12, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s District 3 Office.

During this project, motorists will be detoured to Singing Hills Boulevard, then to northbound I-29 and westbound U.S. 20 (see map).

Atlantic, Iowa – April 27 — Atlantic Municipal Utilities (AMU) has received national recognition for achieving exceptional electric service reliability in 2020. The recognition comes from the American Public Power Association (APPA). APPA helps electric utilities track power outage and restoration data and then compares the data to national statistics tracked by the U.S. Energy Information Administration for all types of electric utilities.

AMU’s Average Service Availability Index is 99.9923%, meaning that on average, customers of AMU have their electric service available for use more than 99.99% of the time. APPA has awarded AMU a Certificate of Excellence in Reliability because AMU ranks in the top quartile (25%) of all electric utilities throughout the U.S.

“Public power utilities have proven their commitment to serving their community by continuing to lead the nation in reliability,” said Alex Hofmann, APPA’s Vice President of Technical and Operations Services. “These utilities are the best of the best when it comes to keeping the lights on in their communities.”

“We are proud to receive this recognition. It is a testament to the hard work of all our line workers and staff to ensure that we keep Atlantic and the surrounding rural area powered,” said Steve Tjepkes, General Manager at AMU.