The pandemic certainly reduced traffic volume, but not bad driving habits. Law enforcement in the state is concerned with an uptick in traffic deaths, cases of excessive speeding, drunken driving and distracted driving.
The chief of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau and chair of the recently formed Iowa Traffic Fatality Reduction Task Force, Pat Hoye, says these are “some of the state’s worst-driving habits in decades.”
On this edition of River to River, host Ben Kieffer speaks with Sergeant Alex Dinkla of the Iowa State Patrol and other guests about the top news stories from the week.
Natalie Krebs of IPR starts off the show with an update on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Iowa followed by two interviews with Ian Richardson of the Des Moines Register about a so-called ransomware attack on Des Moines Area Community College and Linh Ta on the recent legislation regarding critical race theory and how it's taught in Iowa schools.
You'll also hear from seventh-grade math teacher Matthew Nevins about the end of an academic year unlike any other and IPR's Mark Simmet grooves listeners into the weekend.
Guests:
- Natalie Krebs, IPR health reporter
- Ian Richardson, Des Moines Register statehouse reporter
- Linh Ta, Axios Des Moines reporter
- Matthews Nevins, seventh-grade math teacher in Marshalltown
- Sergeant Alex Dinkla, public information officer, Iowa State Patrol
- Mark Simmet, IPR Studio One Tracks host
