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Archives: January 2014

  • Dash cameras to give the world a rare view

    • Dash cameras to give the world a rare view

    January 31, 2014

    Mounting-2
    Cameras mounted on the windshield of snowplows will automatically relay images back to a website.

    When it's snowing outside and you’re trying to decide whether or not to get in the car and go, there are lots of tools you can use to check road conditions and weather. But when the road condition on 511 is listed as “partially covered,” what does that look like? A new tool in the testing phase at the Iowa DOT will let you see still photos of current road conditions from the windshield of a snowplow.

  • Transportation Matters for Iowa blog now online

    • Transportation Matters for Iowa blog now online

    January 21, 2014

    Iowa-DOT-logo_horizontal-with-tagline_color-gradientAmazing things are being accomplished each and every day at the Iowa DOT. Whether we’re developing a new way to track material use in the field, planning a safer intersection option, or finding innovations in driver licensing, the work you do matters to every person who lives, works, or travels through Iowa.

  • This is not your teenager's social media

    • This is not your teenager's social media

    January 21, 2014

    Social-media-backgroundOver the past two years, the Iowa DOT’s use of social media has steadily developed into one of the Iowa DOT's most popular communication tools. The agency currently has more than 1,600 Facebook users who “like” our primary page and 18,000 “followers” on the Iowa DOT’s Twitter account. 

  • Mobile WOPR helps field forces battle winter weather

    • Mobile WOPR helps field forces battle winter weather

    January 21, 2014

    Winter--2013-1Technology changes quickly, and keeping up with it is no small task, but it is necessary to maintain the most efficient operation. In keeping up with the deployment of iPads to each highway maintenance supervisor, a new mobile version of the Winter Operations and Portal Reporting (WOPR) is now under development for those employees. 

  • Iowa DOT's MVE welcomes first K-9 officer

    • Iowa DOT's MVE welcomes first K-9 officer

    January 21, 2014

    K9
    Killpack and Sara

    To be successful, all law enforcement officers must be well trained, disciplined, and passionate about the job they do. That certainly applies to the dedicated men and women in the Iowa DOT’s Office of Motor Vehicle Enforcement.

  • Iowa DOT employees use Yammer to collaborate, communicate more effectively

    • Iowa DOT employees use Yammer to collaborate, communicate more effectively

    January 21, 2014

    Yammer_001Over the past year, you might have received an email from another DOTer inviting you to join Yammer. If you took advantage of the invitation, you found an internal social media platform with many opportunities for employees to share ideas and information.

  • Sullivan Brothers award to Officer Ben Driscoll

    • Sullivan Brothers award to Officer Ben Driscoll

    January 21, 2014

    Sullivan
    (from left) Major Lance Evans, Chief Dave Lorenzen, Officer Ben Driscoll, Major Ned Lewis

    The events of Oct. 30, 2012, won’t soon be forgotten in Fayette County. Two men armed with AK-47 assault rifles and handguns robbed the Maynard Savings Bank then fled in a vehicle toward the town of Frederika. Law enforcement, including Iowa State Trooper Mark Domino, Sumner Police Chief Dennis Cain, and Iowa DOT Motor Vehicle Officer Benjamin Driscoll, pursued the robbers.

  • Iowa DOT completes bridge slide project

    • Iowa DOT completes bridge slide project

    January 21, 2014

     

    Bridgeslide
    Bridge engineer Ahmad Abu-Hawash (center) discusses the plans

    Nobody likes a detour. For recreational travelers, it may be just inconvenient. For a freight shipper, the out-of-distance travel costs money, adding to expenses and possibly raising prices for all of us.

  • Young Chinese professionals visit Iowa DOT

    • Young Chinese professionals visit Iowa DOT

    January 21, 2014

    ChinesedelegatesOn the surface, Iowa and China don’t appear to have much in common, but in a recent visit to the Iowa DOT a delegation of young professionals from China were very interested in our highway system.

  • Iowa DOT Family happenings

    • Iowa DOT Family happenings

    January 21, 2014


    Family-happs

    This segment of the Transportation Matters for Iowa blog is a space where Iowa DOT employees can share family milestones with their co-workers. Celebrating life events like the birth of a new baby, a wedding, retirement or other personal news brings us closer together as an Iowa DOT family. If you are an employee and want to submit information for this section, please click on the "submit a story" link in the upper right corner or contact the correspondent in your office or work location.

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Iowa highway in the evening