(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Transportation has been putting up new signs at intersections and interchanges on state highways to try and prevent more people from going the wrong way. D-O-T traffic safety engineer, Willey Sorenson, says it started with a study along Highway 30 near Ames around 10 years ago. It then expanded with the gathering of lots of information.

“So we kind of have started from nothing and grew a statewide database. And we ranked all 467 interchanges that we have in Iowa,” Sorenson says. They started with an intersection ranking guide from the University of Auburn that used crashes, volume of traffic, proximity to liquor stores, and the type of interchange. He says they added 9-1-1 wrong-way calls during the day that didn’t involve a crash.

“If you can measure the people who are going the wrong way during the daytime — it will help us find the hot spots of where they are going during the nighttime,” he explains. Sorenson also included G-P-S navigation in his data — as some drivers follow them to the word.

“I’ve actually documented a couple of locations where it will say ‘turn right in on thousand feet.’ Well, some drivers don’t necessarily know if that ramp is at 500 feet — they may turn down that ramp the wrong way. So, there’s a component of that,” according to Sorenson. He says around 90 percent of people realize they are going the wrong way and turn around within 500 to one thousand feet of making the mistake.

“We put out 62 cameras that actually have the ability to kind of detect a wrong-way driver and then record it and then send us an alert that documents it….so it has helped us to come up with some better numbers. And to see if the treatments that we did do work — because if they didn’t work — we need to do something else,” Sorenson says. He says the signs go along with pavement markings that are designed to make it very clear you are going the wrong way.

He says the signs are the same ones they’ve used in the past — but they are larger, more strategically placed, and aimed to catch a driver’s attention. The intersections on Highway 30 where you cross two lanes to get to the lanes on the other side going the opposite direction were some of the problem areas. Sorenson says these “grade level” crossings on other sections of highway also got new signage.

“The Iowa 60 corridor way up in northwest Iowa to Sioux City, the diagonal is one corridor, and then Highway 30 is in that grade, and Highway 163 on the east side of Des Moines, we did some signage enhancement there,” he says. Sorenson says they will go beyond signs if they find wrong-way drivers are still an issue. In one Highway 30 intersection, they put in an acceleration lane.

“We did all kinds of signage, but there were still people going the wrong way, so we kind of changed that environment, we built this acceleration lane.” Sorenson says. “We did that last year and I off the top of my head I think we have not had a wrong-way driver on that one since that. We were averaging one a month or every two months — I think that worked.” Sorenson says they will be around 50 percent complete getting the new wrong way markings and signs in by Thanksgiving.

(Harrison County,  Iowa) – In update to our earlier report on the death of a student with the Tri-Center School District, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday, said 17-year-old Seth Pauley, of Persia, died at the scene of a single-vehicle accident that occurred at around 8-a.m., Wednesday, southeast of Persia.

Authorities say the teen was driving a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad-Cab pickup westbound on 315th Street near Winston Avenue, when the vehicle went out of control as it was traveling downhill toward the T-intersection with Winston Avenue. The pickup began swerving back and forth, leaving visible tire marks within the gravel on the roadway. The vehicle eventually rolled over and entered into the south ditch off of 315^th Street, just west of Winton Avenue.

Seth Pauley was ejected from the pickup, which came to rest on its wheels, pinning Pauley underneath the rear axle. He was extricated from underneath the vehicle and found to be unresponsive with no pulse. Life-saving measures were taken on scene without success.

The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Shelby County Rescue, Persia Rescue, Medivac, Minden Rescue, LifeNet Helicopter and Harrison County Medical Examiner.

(Radio Iowa) – Plan two for reconfiguring Iowa’s congressional and legislative districts has been delivered and, if approved by the legislature next week, it could pit two incumbent members of the U.S. House against one another. Congresswomen Cindy Axne, a Democrat, lives in West Des Moines. Congresswoman Mariannette Miller Meeks, a Republican, lives in Ottumwa. Both of their homes are in the proposed third congressional district. That sets up a potential incumbent-versus-incumbent race for reelection in 2022 if neither moves. Axne has said she’s also considering a run for governor rather than pursuing a third term in the U.S. House.

The legislature will convene in special session next Thursday to vote on the second plan for redistricting. This process happens after every Census, to redraw the boundaries for Iowa’s congressional districts as well as the 150 state legislative districts to reflect population changes.

If Plan two for redistricting is approved, none of Iowa’s four members of the U.S. House live in the new first congressional district. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion lives i the proposed second district. Congressman Randy Feenstra of Hull, a Republican, lives in the proposed fourth congressional district.

(Exira, Iowa) – The Exira-EHK School District, like others in our listening area, has experienced an increase in the Certified enrollment numbers. Superintendent Trevor Miller says even though it doesn’t seem like much, the numbers are going up, and that’s good news for the district, financially.

He says “In a small district, every little bit helps.”

Miller says the Exira-EHK School Board, Monday, approved bids for glass and concrete work related to the daycare center.

He said they’re working hard to find an on-site supervisor.

He says the problem is exacerbated by the worker shortage being experienced nationwide.

The board, Monday, approved a trip for high school students to Washington DC for the Spring of 2023, and Transfers, resignations as well as new hires, including Riann (RYAN) Hansen as Athletic Trainer.

(Shenandoah, Iowa) — Police in Shenandoah arrested a member of the Shenandoah School Board, who is also running for mayor. Authorities report 58-year-old Jeffrey Alan Hiser was arrested early this (Thursday morning), for OWI 1st offense. He arrest occurred after officers saw a vehicle drive over the sidewalk and hit a retaining wall in the 700 block of South Center Street. The incident happened at around 1:50 a.m. Hiser was later released from custody after posting $1,000 bond.

Jeff Hiser (Shenandoah CSD photo)

Hiser served on the Shenandoah School Board from 1985-91, and again from 2019 to the present, he also served as mayor and as a city council member of Shenandoah.