Iowa
Iowa couple ticketed after old license plates turn up in NYC
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (WOWT) – A mystery has resurfaced in Pottawattamie County and more vehicle owners are frustrated by a lack of answers.
Two years ago, 6 News exposed how old Iowa license plates turned into the treasurer a decade ago have been caught on speed cameras in New York City, most recently in April.
It’s been 12 years since Vern and Debra Harness turned in their Iowa license plates that recently showed up on a bumper in New York City.
“I’ve never been to New York City, and I’ve never had an inkling to go there,” Debra Harness said.
However, New York City Traffic citations have sure come to them. The NYC finance department sent threats of a civil judgement if the couple doesn’t pay $300 on four speeding tickets since April. All the citations on a van caught by a school zone camera with their old license plates.
“They don’t care, they just want us to pay these bills, and if we pay these bills, we are admitting that they’re still our plates and I’m not going to do that,” Debra said.
The Pottawattamie County Treasurer says there are about 40 vehicle owners in the same boat.
“Well, I hope it solves all of them,” Pottawattamie Co. Treasurer Lea Voss said. “This is just ridiculous what these people have gone through, and I’ve contacted everybody.”
The Harnesses say when they turned in those plates 12 years ago, they came off their pickup truck. Now, those same plates turned up on a white van in New York City and it shouldn’t take the world’s greatest detective those plates are on the wrong vehicle.
“It seems very simple, but they’re not being helpful at all,” Debra Harness said.
The New York speed camera caught the same van on the same street in less than a month, so innocent Iowans say undeserving fine notices can be averted by New York’s finest.
“Pull over the vehicle, detain them until they come up with why they got that plate,” Vern Harness said. “When, where, and why.”
That might help Iowa’s department of transportation investigation into how ole plates got new life in New York City, because for years Iowa Department of Corrections picked them up.
“I didn’t ask, I just assume they are going to recycle them.” Voss said.
The DoT Investigations Bureau Director says solving this ongoing issue has not been easy. He says unfortunately investigations have not been able to determine if the Iowa plates in New York are counterfeit, or actual plates issued in Iowa at one time. Multiple attempts to work with New York Law Enforcement will continue, as does the mystery for the Harnesses and many other Iowans who turned in plates, never expecting to see them again.
“If I turn mine in, I turn them into them but from now on they’ll be cut in half,” Vern Harness said.
In a positive development, Vern and Debra Harness got an email from the New York City Finance Department saying all the speeding citations against them have been dismissed. The treasurer hopes that others with undeserved fines will have the same outcome.
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IOWA — Iowa’s new restrictions on SNAP benefits are drawing concern from advocates who say the changes could make it harder for families to buy food and could put future summer assistance for children at risk.
The state’s SNAP waiver took effect January 1, 2026, limiting what items can be purchased based on Iowa’s taxable food list. While that includes widely discussed restrictions on soda and candy, the policy also affects certain prepared foods, creating confusion for shoppers.
“Something as small as whether or not a utensil is included in a food item actually impacts whether or not you can continue to purchase that item using your SNAP benefits,” Paige Chickering, Iowa State Manager for the Save the Children Action Network, said.
Advocates say the rules can be difficult to navigate, especially for people relying on quick meals. Items like prepackaged salads or sandwiches may or may not qualify depending on how they are packaged.
At the same time, new legislation slated for the next session at the statehouse could make those restrictions more permanent by requiring Iowa to continue seeking federal approval for the waiver.
That’s raising additional concerns about the future of Summer EBT, also known as “Sun Bucks,” which provides food assistance to children when school is out.
“This makes that food assistance dependent on a decision made in Washington, D.C. that is just arbitrary and not really dependent on the needs of Iowans and Iowa children,” Chickering said.
The program is expected to help around 220,000 children in Iowa during the summer months. Advocates worry leaving it up to federal approval of the waiver could jeopardize that support if policies change. They also point out that SNAP plays a major role in addressing hunger compared to other resources.
“We know that for every one meal provided by an emergency feeding organization, SNAP provides nine,” Chickering said.
Advocates say they support improving nutrition but argue there are more effective, evidence based ways to do that without limiting food choices.
For now, organizations across Iowa are working to help families understand the new rules, while also pushing lawmakers to reconsider how the policy could impact food access moving forward.
Scoop: Iowa Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek snagged a major endorsement for his Senate bid from former Sen. Tom Harkin.
Harkin, who retired in 2015, was the last Democrat to represent Iowa in the Senate. Turek is locked in a competitive primary with state Sen. Zach Wahls in a race that has divided major factions of the Democratic Party.
“I have a pretty good idea of what it takes to win an election, and then to faithfully represent all Iowans, not just those who voted for you,” Harkin said in his endorsement. “That’s why I’m supporting Josh Turek.”
Harkin served in the Senate for 30 years and is the author of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Turek, who was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, was 11 when the ADA was enacted.
Harkin is a widely sought after endorsement in the Hawkeye State. His decision to wade into the race is notable because Harkin also has a relationship with Wahls.
Wahls called Harkin “one of my closest political mentors,” and said the former senator officiated his wedding in 2021.
Iowa’s Senate primaries are June 2.
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