Archives: August 2023
Roadside Chat - School is in. Buses are out. Students are about.
August 25, 2023
It’s back-to-school time in Iowa! Did you know the greatest risk to your kids isn’t while they are riding on the bus? When the bus is stopped to load or unload passengers is the time for the most concern.
Personnel updates for Aug. 4 to Aug. 17, 2023
August 24, 2023
Information supplied by the Business Systems Bureau
Roadside Chat - 85 is the humidity, not the speed limit
August 18, 2023
Are you running late? Don’t try and make up time behind the wheel. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it’s not a new problem. NHTSA says speeding has been involved in approximately one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities over the last two decades.
Supporting rail transportation to improve the way freight moves in Iowa
August 14, 2023
While you may not spend a lot of time connecting the dots of how your tube of toothpaste got to the store shelf, one dedicated group at the Iowa Department of Transportation is constantly working to enhance how they can make lives better through transportation by improving the logistics for commodities that ship by rail.
Jim Glaspie is the administrator of the Railroad Revolving Loan and Grant Program that helps get entities including cities, counties, development organizations, businesses, or rail companies connected with rail transportation. Glaspie said, “This program is one of the few sources of state funding for rail infrastructure. Although building new rail can be costly, shipping by rail is an economical way to move goods long distances. With the loan and grant program, we work with shippers to support their efforts to secure access to the rail system, helping them be more efficient and reducing the wear-and-tear large trucks cause on the road at the same time.”
Personnel updates for July 21 to Aug. 3, 2023
August 11, 2023
Information supplied by the Business Systems Bureau
Roadside Chat - Camp at the state fair, not in left lane
August 11, 2023
Let’s talk a little about expectations. Having a common set of rules of the road makes it much easier to expect or anticipate what another driver might do, which helps you make your own decisions. Those decisions impact others on the road. This snowball effect runs pretty smoothly until someone does something unexpected, like driving slowly in the left lane.
The road to everywhere
August 7, 2023
Iowa has a brand-new road that's already making a big difference for farmers and their crops. Thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce combined with state and local funding, this rural freight road is now linking Interstate 29 to the Port of Blencoe on the Missouri River.
The port, located halfway between Sioux City, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska, is an ideal spot for helping western Iowa farmers move their agricultural goods straight from the highway to the port's barge terminal allowing their products to reach the global marketplace more easily.
Roadside Chat - Words to drive by: cool, calm, collected
August 4, 2023
Summer in Iowa is hot and humid. When the heat and humidity rise, some of us can get a little cranky.
Getting angry while you’re behind the wheel can be dangerous. If you drive angry, you’re more likely to be aggressive, risking your life and the lives of those who are sharing the road with you.
And you’re not alone. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s 2019 data, nearly 80 percent of drivers expressed significant anger, aggression, or road rage behind the wheel at least once in the previous 30 days.
But when you’re behind the wheel, staying cool, calm, and collected will help us all get where we need to go.