AMES, Iowa – All Iowa Department of Transportation business locations will be closed Monday, September 4, in honor of Labor Day.

Iowa DOT driver’s license service centers
All Iowa DOT driver’s license service centers will be closed Monday, September 4. The service centers will resume operations Tuesday, September 5, at 8 a.m.

Many people, including commercial driver’s license holders, may be able to complete driver’s license business online at www.iowadot.gov.

If you need to come to see us, the quickest way to get your driver’s license business done is to schedule an appointment https://iowadot.gov/mvd/driverslicense/service-selector. Walk-in customers will be served as time allows.

Special note to motor carriers
The Iowa DOT recommends that commercial vehicle operators plan ahead if they will need services from the Iowa DOT immediately following the Labor Day weekend. Commercial vehicle operators who need oversize/overweight permits for travel in Iowa Tuesday, September 5, should obtain them prior to 4:30 p.m. Friday, September 1.

No movements of oversize/overweight loads will be permitted in Iowa from noon Friday, September 1 until 30 minutes prior to sunrise on Tuesday, September 5.

Because the permit center typically experiences a heavy workload on the day following the holiday, customers are urged to submit applications for oversize/overweight permits, especially those more than 156,000 pounds, several days before needing the permit.

Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra says there are a lot issues left to resolve and the chair of the House Ag Committee says they will not pass the 2023 Farm Bill by the September 30th deadline.

Feenstra is a Republican from Hull representing the Fourth District. He says the U-S Senate is also working to get its version of the bill completed.

Feenstra says he does have some concerns about what will be in the final bill.

Feenstra made his comments after visiting with members of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce.

As many Iowa schools start classes this week, the state’s teacher shortage may be lessening, according to a source at the University of Iowa’s College of Education. Professor Mark McDermott, the U-I’s Associate Dean for Teacher Education, says he’ll frequently hear from K-12 principals and administrators who are scrambling to fill positions, even days before classes begin, but the demand is lessening.

Iowa has more than half-a-million students enrolled in some 13-hundred schools in more than 320 districts. Administrators routinely contact McDermott as fall approaches, checking to see if any recent graduates are available to fill teaching jobs.

The role of the U-I’s College of Education, McDermott says, is to work in partnership with the state’s K-12 schools, helping to support them.

Looking ahead, McDermott says he’s optimistic about the current crop of candidates who are just starting their journey toward becoming exceptional teachers.

While science teachers and those with special education training are often in high demand, he says the needs this year are individual to each district and there are few defined trends.

Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson says former President Donald Trump’s absence from Wednesday’s debate will give the candidates who ARE there a chance to have a serious policy discussion.

Trump is skipping the debate and the New York Times reports he’ll be interviewed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson instead. Hutchinson, a former Arkansas governor, spent five days campaigning at the Iowa State Fair and he spoke at the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox this weekend as the heat index topped 100 degrees.

Hutchinson says Trump so far has been the default position for most Republicans.

Hutchinson announced Sunday morning he’d qualified for this week’s debate in Milwaukee, after over 40-thousand donors contributed to his campaign. He had already registered with at least one percent support in a few polls, the other criteria for debate participation. Ten candidates have said they met the benchmarks for the debate, but the Republican National Committee has not confirmed the debate lineup.

Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions has submitted a revised pipeline permit application to utility regulators in North Dakota.  Earlier this month North Dakota’s Public Service Commission rejected the company’s application for a 320 mile route through their state. Summit’s revised application moves the proposed pipeline route nearly 10 miles north of Bismarck’s city limits and according to a statement from the company it addresses other concerns cited by the commission. The company says North Dakota landowners have signed contracts giving it voluntary access to nearly 80 percent of the newly drawn route. Summit says it has almost 90 percent of the underground space in North Dakota where it plans to store carbon shipped out of ethanol plants in Iowa and other states. The Iowa Utilities Board will start its review of Summit’s proposed Iowa pipeline route on Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Fort Dodge. The Iowa utility regulators will first hear from landowners who oppose having Summit’s carbon pipeline run through their property. The hearing is expected to last for several weeks. A Des Moines Register Iowa Poll in March found 78 percent of Iowans opposed having the Utilities Board give the company eminent domain authority and force unwilling landowners to sign contracts with pipeline developers.