Latest news with #IowaDepartmentofTransportation
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jasper County acquires concrete for bridge project on N. 107th Ave. W.
Jun. 4—The Jasper County Board of Supervisors approved less than $15,000 worth of concrete that will be poured onto a new bridge deck along North 107th Avenue West over Clear Creek. County Engineer Michael Frietsch said the bridge — classified as Bridge D05 — will be about 120 feet long when fully completed. Purchasing the concrete was an attempt to stay below the day labor limit of less than $15,000, Frietsch said. Only one bidder submitted an estimate for the structural concrete. The board of supervisors awarded the contract to Manatt's Inc. for $14,800.50, giving the county about 90 cubic yards of poured concrete. "Our estimate, the engineer's estimate, was $15,750, so they were underneath our estimate a little bit," Frietsch said. "Overall, that's pretty good and that will put them under contract and not count against our day labor limit so we can avoid getting hand slapped by the (Iowa Department of Transportation)." Progress of the bridge work is coming along. "Should be setting the beams here on it pretty quick here actually, so we're getting real close to pouring the deck probably next month," Frietsch said. Newton News previously reported about Bridge D05 in August 2024 and March 2025. Last year, the county paid for geotechnical services on the bridge to determine the underlying soil conditions. Allender Butzke Engineers conducted the geotechnical services to Bridge D05 for $6,000. Earlier this year, the county had to acquire permanent easements in order to move forward with the bridge replacement. Since the steel beam, single-span bridge will be raised about two feet higher, Frietsch decided to try and get a 30-foot strip of additional right-of-way on both sides of the bridge.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Kim Reynolds signs bills on election recounts, voter citizenship verification
Gov. Kim Reynolds was joined by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, legislators and county auditors in her office June 2, 2025 as she signed into law two bills from the 2025 legislative session related to Iowa elections. (Photo courtesy the Iowa Secretary of State's office) Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed two bills related to Iowa's election laws Monday, making changes to the state's citizenship verification for voting and election recount processes. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, alongside several county auditors and some of the lawmakers who worked on the bills during the 2025 legislative session, joined Reynolds at the signing. Pate thanked Reynolds and lawmakers for moving the two measures forward in a news release Monday, saying the bills are important steps in 'strengthening and maintaining Iowa's election integrity.' 'These new laws add additional layers of integrity to our robust election procedures, supporting our efforts to balance election integrity and voter participation,' Pate said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX House File 954, signed Monday, was the bill Pate proposed to better allow his office to check the citizenship status and other eligibility requirements of those on Iowa's voter rolls. The bill gives the Secretary of State's office the ability to contract with federal and state agencies, and with private entities, for voter roll verification and maintenance, in addition to setting up a process for setting a voter's registration status as 'unconfirmed' when the state or county officials have received information from a 'reliable source' that the person is not qualified to vote. The measure came up in the wake of Pate's guidance to county auditors shortly before the 2024 general election in November that directed the local elections officials to challenge the ballots of 2,176 voters at the polls. Pate had flagged these individuals as 'potential noncitizens' because they had, within the past 12 years, reported to the Iowa Department of Transportation or another state entity that they were noncitizens, and later registered to vote. A majority of these individuals were naturalized citizens who had the ability to vote, but Pate said the instruction was necessary because his office had been denied access by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database to verify these people's citizenship status. USCIS later granted the Iowa office access to the database — when Pate said his office confirmed 277 of the 2,176 'potential noncitizen' voters did not have U.S. citizenship. The secretary of state said the new law will prevent similar situations from arising in the future where individuals have their votes contested at the ballot box. The bill gives tools to election officials for voter eligibility verification before Election Day, but also allows registered voters to be challenged over their citizenship status at the polls. A challenged voter would have to present precinct election officials with evidence they are qualified to vote to cast a regular ballot. If the challenge is not withdrawn, they would cast a provisional ballot. The second measure, House File 928, makes changes to Iowa's system for election recounts, including setting new limits on who can request recounts. For statewide and federal races, the election results would have to have a 0.15% difference in votes between candidates for a candidate to request a recount. For state legislative and local races, a difference of 1% or 50 votes would be required. This would stop recounts in future elections similar to those requested in recent elections, like the 2024 election recount for the race between U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Christina Bohannan, that was within 0.2%. The measure would also make changes to election recount boards. Under the previous system, each candidate in a recount designates one person to serve on the board, alongside a third person agreed upon by both candidates. The new law has county auditors lead election recount boards with their staff and hired election workers, adding the requirement that boards must have an equal numbers of workers from each political party. Candidates can choose up to five people to observe the recount process in each county. While some Democrats said this new system could lead to Iowans questioning election integrity because of conflicts of interest with county auditors, Republican supporters argued the change will lead to more uniform and fair election recounts. Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton, who led the bill in the House, said in a news release the recount bill was 'one of the most important pieces of legislation we've passed this year.' 'We have seen in years past where the old system was used, abused, and manipulated by campaigns to try to 'fix the outcome' for their preferred candidate,' Harris said in a statement. 'Now we have a system that brings uniformity, consistency, and most importantly, trust to that system.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs new laws retooling elections. Here's what they'll do:
Iowa's election officials will have new tools to verify voters' citizenship and will be empowered to question voters at the polls about whether they are citizens under a new law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. The legislation, House File 954, also bans ranked-choice voting in Iowa and makes it harder for third-party groups such as Libertarians to qualify as a major political party. Reynolds, a Republican, also signed a separate law, House File 928, overhauling Iowa's election recount procedures. She announced the signing of both bills in a Monday, June 2, news release. The legislation comes in response to the chaotic weeks leading up to the 2024 election, when Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, instructed county auditors to challenge the ballots of 2,176 registered voters who he suspected were not citizens based on a faulty list from the Iowa Department of Transportation. The directive resulted in hundreds of registered voters being challenged at the polls and casting provisional ballots, which were only counted if they provided additional proof of citizenship. In March, Pate said an audit of the state's voter registration list confirmed 277 noncitizens on Iowa's voter rolls, including 35 noncitizens who successfully voted in the 2024 election and five more who tried to vote but had their ballots rejected. Pate praised lawmakers and Reynolds for enacting the legislation, saying the laws "add additional layers of integrity to our robust election procedures." "Keeping Iowa elections safe, fair and accurate is a team effort, from the Iowa Legislature and Governor Reynolds to our county auditors and local election officials on the frontlines of our elections," Pate said in a statement. "Today, we saw a clear consensus that upholding consistent, statewide procedures and ensuring voter eligibility are key to balancing participation by all eligible Iowans with election integrity." During legislative debate, Democrats raised concerns about election workers being able to ask voters about their citizenship status at the polls and said Iowa's elections are already secure. Beginning July 1, election workers may challenge a voter at the polls on the basis of their citizenship status under the law, which adds to a section of current law that allows election workers to challenge voters on their age and residency. The law also gives the Secretary of State's Office the ability to contract with "state and federal government agencies and private entities" to check voters' records. And it requires the Iowa Department of Transportation to send the Secretary of State's Office a list of everyone 17 years old and older who has submitted documentation to the DOT saying they are not a citizen. If a registered voter's citizenship status is in question, they must provide documentation affirming they are legally eligible to register and they will be designated as an active registered voter. The law bans ranked choice voting in Iowa at the state, federal and local level, although the voting method is not currently used in any elections in the state. It says any statewide or local government cannot conduct elections using ranked-choice voting, sometimes known as instant runoff voting, which involves ranking each candidate in order of preference and reallocating votes to a voter's second choice if their first choice fails to win a majority. Political parties will now need to receive at least 2% of the vote in three consecutive general elections in order to be recognized as major political parties in Iowa. That's a change from Iowa's previous law, which allowed major party status to be awarded to parties whose presidential or gubernatorial candidates earn 2% of the vote in one general election. Libertarians have objected to efforts to make it more difficult to qualify as a major party in Iowa. Libertarians gained major party status following the 2016 election, lost it following the 2018 election, gained it again following the 2022 election and lost it again after last fall's presidential election. The party's presidential or gubernatorial candidate has never received 2% of the vote in three consecutive general elections. After a razor-thin congressional race in Iowa was decided by just six votes in 2020, Iowa has finally taken steps to overhaul its election recount procedures. The law places county auditors and their staff of election workers in charge of conducting recounts, doing away with Iowa's current system which uses a recount board with members appointed by the leading and trailing political candidates, as well as a third agreed-upon member. Under the new law, candidates can only request recounts in local or state legislative races if the election was decided by 1% or 50 votes, whichever is less. For statewide and federal races, candidates can only request a recount if the election was within 0.15%. Iowa's previous law allowed candidates to request a recount regardless of the winner's margin of victory, but the state would only pay the costs if the results of the election were within one percentage point. Had it been in place last year, the new recount threshold would have prevented Democrat Christina Bohannan from requesting a recount in her 2024 race against U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in southeast Iowa's 1st Congressional District. Miller-Meeks won the race by 798 votes, or 0.2%. The law says the state will pick up the costs of the recount in all cases. The law requires recounts to be conducted using Iowa's vote tabulators. Recounts can only be conducted by hand in extraordinary circumstances, defined to include machine failures, a discrepancy between the results of the election and an initial recount and a number of overvotes that exceeds the margin between the candidates. Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@ or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Kim Reynolds signs Iowa election laws on voter citizenship, recounts
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Iowa roads see decrease in fatal crashes at the start of ‘100 deadliest days of summer'
An Iowa State Patrol squad car parked at the State Capitol. (Photo by Kathie Obradovich/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Memorial Day 2025 kicked off what the Iowa State Patrol calls the '100 deadliest days of summer,' a period of time marked by an increase in teen driver crashes and fatalities. This time of year, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, is when many younger drivers are hitting the roads for the first time and others may be indulging in the holiday season. Law enforcement agencies, including the Iowa State Patrol, increased their presence on the roadways over the holiday weekend and noticed a continued pattern of decreasing fatal crashes over the past three years. 'Our focus is to make the roadways a safe and enjoyable experience,' said Sgt. Alex Dinkla, public information officer for Iowa State Patrol. 'This is one of those periods where that extra enforcement, we know, did pay off.' The state patrol arrested 21 individuals for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and covered over 47 crashes across the state. The Iowa Department of Transportation reported two fatal accidents in the days leading up to Memorial Day. Buckle that seatbelt, put the phone down and always remember, if you're gonna go out and have some alcohol, to get that sober driver. – Sgt. Alex Dinkla, public information officer for Iowa State Patrol Many of the crashes occurred at intersections around the state. Dinkla noted that drivers often forget the blind spot on both sides of their car, between their windshield and door window. These blind spots can obscure entire vehicles from the driver's view. Dinkla recommends drivers check two or three times before crossing an intersection to ensure they spot any threats. In 2023, the DOT reported four fatal crashes in the days before the holiday, one of which was attributed to alcohol. In 2024, there were three fatal crashes. This year, the number dropped to two. Dinkla said that while the patrol doesn't 'want to call that a success because that's still two fatalities,' it's evident the extra presence and effort to educate the public is making a difference. Going forward, Dinkla said, the ISP plans to utilize their Air Wing Unit, a unit of five pilots and aircrafts primarily used for traffic enforcement, more during other holidays and times of peak travel. Founded in 1956, the unit currently consists of three Cessna 182 aircraft, one Cessna 206 and one SR-22 CIRUSS. Two of the aircraft have thermal imaging equipment to aid in missing-person cases, fugitive location and specialized surveillance. 'None of us know when we may or may not be involved in a fatal crash,' he said. 'Buckle that seatbelt, put the phone down and always remember, if you're gonna go out and have some alcohol, to get that sober driver.'
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Iowa DOT proposed new bridge replacement
WOODBURY COUNTY, Iowa (KCAU) — The Iowa Department of Transportation is asking for feedback on a proposed bridge replacement project in Woodbury County, Iowa. The bridge is located on Iowa 175 over Reynolds Creek. The project would remove the existing bridge and build a new and bigger bridge. Officials say traffic will be detoured on county roads l-37 and E-16. Story continues below Top Story: Midwest Honor Flight still raising money for June 3 trip Lights & Sirens: Officials searching for Monona County resident after going missing on Missouri River Sports: Dell Rapids claims SDHSBA Class B title with 5-4 win over Dakota Valley in eight innings Weather: Get the latest weather forecast here Construction is set to begin in the spring of 2027 and is expected to be done in the fall of that year. The estimated cost of the project is more than $1.7 million. People can go to the Iowa DOT's website to share their feedback by June 9. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
