public safety - Investigate Midwest

Woodbury County counting on $15M in COVID relief funds for new $65M jail

Woodbury County plans to rely on $15.6 million in federal COVID-19 relief to build a $65 million jail complex near Sioux City. The project has been in the

By Andy Kopsa / For IowaWatch

/ 24 Jun 2021

Woodbury County counting on $15M in COVID relief funds for new $65M jail

Amid protests and change, Iowa police training on implicit bias varies

In 2015, the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy lacked training on implicit bias. As a cadet there then, Natasha Greene sought discussions on her own about some of the mistaken beliefs

By Danielle Gehr / IowaWatch

/ 6 Sep 2020

Amid protests and change, Iowa police training on implicit bias varies

State Public Safety Department Vehicles Lacked Secure Devices To Store Weapons: Gun Stolen From Vehicle in 2018

Fewer than half of the vehicles from the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s two largest law enforcement divisions were equipped to give officers the option of locking up weapons

By K. Rambo

/ 11 Oct 2019

State Public Safety Department Vehicles Lacked Secure Devices To Store Weapons: Gun Stolen From Vehicle in 2018

Deer Collisions, Hail Help Drive Up Cost To Repair Iowa's Public Safety Vehicles in 2018

Iowa Department of Public Safety vehicles sustained a five-year high of $849,878 worth of damage in 220 incidents in 2018, department officials said. Although only six more incidents

By K. Rambo

/ 11 Oct 2019

Deer Collisions, Hail Help Drive Up Cost To Repair Iowa's Public Safety Vehicles in 2018

Opinion: Proposed Federal pork inspection changes may be a risk to public safety

As early as this month, the Trump administration could allow pork plant employees rather than federal inspectors to be responsible for hazard analysis and critical control points inspection measures.

By Dave Dickey, Columnist

/ 1 May 2019

Sex Registry Failures, Pesticide Drift Concerns, Mental Health Care Top Readers' Interest at IowaWatch in 2018

The IowaWatch.org stories from 2018 that you read most covered a variety of topics: the environment, mental, cultural diversity, agriculture and personal safety from being assaulted. Here they are.

By Taylor Odekirk

/ 26 Dec 2018

What Happens When A Driver Kills Someone While Fiddling With A Cellphone? Often, Not Much

The victims include a Bible college student in Iowa who was bicycling home from work, a 13-year-old Michigan boy riding in his older sister’s car and a

By Paul Feldman/FairWarning

/ 6 Feb 2018

What Happens When A Driver Kills Someone While Fiddling With A Cellphone? Often, Not Much

IowaWatch Connection Podcast: Understanding And Reducing Gun Violence In Iowa

President Barack Obama's recent executive orders on gun access and control reignited debates over how to rein in gun violence. There's a perception that gun violence in Iowa is worse than ever. The number of shootings in Iowa’s major cities is increasing, but law enforcement says it’s due to a small

By Jeff Stein

/ 11 Jan 2016

IowaWatch Connection Podcast: Understanding And Reducing Gun Violence In Iowa

IowaWatch Connection Podcast: Gun Violence in Iowa

The number of shootings in Iowa’s major cities is increasing, but law enforcement says it’s due to a small number of people.

By Jeff Stein

/ 5 Oct 2015

IowaWatch Connection Podcast: Gun Violence in Iowa

News Quiz: Texting While Driving

Iowa legislators are taking another look at legislation to prohibit cellphone use while driving, in an effort to give more teeth to the current texting law. Last year, legislation that proposed making texting while driving a primary offense, meaning law enforcement officials could pull drivers over

By IowaWatch

/ 20 Feb 2015