Iowa

Iowa City’s plate reading technology approved in parking ramps. What to know:

Published

1 year ago

August 21, 2024

Iowa City’s plate reading technology approved in parking ramps. What to know:

Iowa City’s parking department can use automated license plate technology in city ramps and on certain city parking enforcement vehicles. They are also allowed to use traffic cameras “primarily for traffic engineering and study.”

The ordinance was passed and adopted into Iowa City code by a narrow 4-3 vote by the Iowa City City Council on Tuesday, August 20. Councilors Andrew Dunn, Laura Bergus, and Mazahir Salih voted “no.”

The ‘no’ votes came despite the council unanimously adopting Dunn’s changes prior to the final reading and vote to the surprise of some councilmembers.

More: Iowa City moves closer to using automated license plate cameras in parking ramps

Cameras meant to save time, city says

City staff said the new code will increase efficiency and save time for both the city’s Parking Division and the community. The recently installed cameras are equipped with plate reading capabilities in three of the city’s ramps. The two ungated ramps at Chauncey Swan and Harrison have the tech available, as does the gated Capitol Street Ramp. Those cameras have not yet been activated.

Staff members said the cameras would improve efficiency around the entrance and exit of the city’s gated ramps. Associate Director of Transportation Mark Rummel estimated the technology will save the division an hour of manpower per ramp per day.

Rummel said the cameras will also discourage customers who park in a ramp for several days and then choose the ‘lost ticket’ option open at the exit gate. Likewise, the camera tech will help drivers who actually misplace their tickets.

Drivers with city parking permits would also no longer need a physical “hang tag” that is issued annually.

Traffic cameras are OK

The city’s “traffic engineering” cameras—or “intersection cameras”— are now code-exempt as well.

The city uses intersection cameras to investigate damaged or malfunctioning traffic signals.

The council held lengthy discussions about Flock cameras recently as they built the Fiscal 2025 budget, ultimately deciding not to buy them. Flock is an automated license plate reader that some police departments, including the University of Iowa PD, have used.

More: Vote for top offensive player in Iowa City area entering 2024 Iowa high school football season

City can’t store license plate data for common use

A previous council had instated protections against the use of automated plate readers and automated traffic surveillance systems and necessitated this change.

The recent change carved out legal definitions for the use of the traffic-related automated systems. It restricts the city from storing, selling or aggregating data from the automated plate cameras and automated traffic systems “unless the data directly pertains to a qualified traffic law violation or other criminal law violation for which a ticket, citation, or arrest was issued.”

Councilors voted unanimously in favor of these amendments.

On plate cameras, the ordinance will now read:

“Automatic license plate recognition systems or devices installed in City parking ramps or on City Parking Department vehicles, primarily used for parking enforcement, are not included in this definition.”

On traffic camera technology, the ordinance reads:

“Specific Streets and Traffic Engineering Division cameras installed at intersections with traffic signals or roundabouts, used primarily for traffic engineering and study, shall not be included in this definition.”

More: Iowa’s 39 EF1 tornadoes set single-year record, NWS says

Council did not want to completely restrict police from accessing cameras

The language in the amended city code still allows police to access the parking cameras during investigations, consistent with department policy.

Previous discussions considered limitations to the police department’s power to use these cameras in relevant investigations. For example, some of the off-the-cuff amended language proposed by Dunn at the last meeting had unintentionally created exclusions for police by limiting camera usage “exclusively” to the Parking Division.

This could have then stopped police from using the parking and traffic cameras to help investigate a sexual assault where they had little other details to work with, for example, City Manager Geoff Fruin said at a previous meeting. The council seemed hesitant to limit police use in all cases.

Councilor Shawn Harmsen also noted on Tuesday that police could have used the cameras to help locate a missing person “out of concern for their health and safety” during a recent investigation.

He wanted to ensure that the code did not restrict police and still allowed investigators to use the litany of city cameras to find or investigate a person’s whereabouts in a similar situation.

City Attorney Eric Goers said that would be allowed in the altered code.

Councilor Dunn wanted the city to find a balance between stopping the omnipresent use by city departments and allowing other relevant uses, like a police investigation where little other evidence is available.

“The really big thing that I wanted to avoid was excluding entire camera systems,” Dunn said. “This excludes cameras used for a specific purpose in a specific way, but it does not exclude every camera that is operated by the traffic services department. I believe that, functionally, it has the same effect as was desired by staff.”

Goers said the amendment did not amount to a “substantive change” of the previously twice-passed ordinance after some additional late modifications by Dunn. A substantive change would have required the council to consider the code change three times again and adhere to Dunn’s initial language.

More: Suspect in Marion quadruple murder deemed competent to stand trial in April 2025

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

Source link

Click to comment

Iowa

Iowa Supreme Court upholds $4.25 million wrongful death verdict against Manchester police

Published

4 hours ago

November 25, 2025

Press Room

Iowa Supreme Court upholds .25 million wrongful death verdict against Manchester police

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a $4.25 million wrongful death verdict against the city of Manchester in the death of 31-year-old Gus Mormann, who died following a police chase in December 2020.

Mormann was killed after Lt. James Wessels of the Manchester Police Department continued a high-speed chase that other agencies had discontinued. The chase ended when Wessels crashed into Mormann’s motorcycle, severely injuring him. Mormann died about a month later from his injuries.

The case was never initially investigated until Mormann’s family took matters into their own hands, according to their attorney, Dave O’Brien.

“This case, for example, was never even investigated. No one would have ever heard of it if this family hadn’t sat down and said We’re going to get to the bottom of this,” O’Brien said.

Mormann’s mother, Sandra, described her son as someone who “had a lot of friends, everybody just loved him.” She said he was known as a character who always made people laugh and was an avid outdoorsman. Mormann lived with schizophrenia and had previous encounters with Manchester police.

On December 10, 2020, Mormann was riding his motorcycle despite having a suspended license when a police chase began. Eight law enforcement officers from the state patrol, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, and the Manchester Police were involved as Mormann travelled at 100 mph.

The State Patrol and County Sheriff’s Office discontinued the chase, but Wessels continued pursuing Mormann. O’Brien said the police officer bumped Mormann’s motorcycle twice, causing him to crash.

Initially, Mormann’s parents were only told their son had gone into a ditch and was thrown from his motorcycle.

A jury found the police were reckless and disregarded Mormann’s rights, awarding the family $4.25 million. The Iowa Supreme Court upheld that verdict last week.

O’Brien said cases like this don’t happen often, but when they do, they set a precedent.

“We honour officers in Iowa, but if they are committing reckless, egregious, wrongful conduct, we’re going to hold them accountable,” O’Brien said.

The attorney noted this outcome would have been impossible without Mormann’s parents pushing for answers. Sandra Mormann said the family continues to grieve.

“Now we just have a broken heart, empty soul,” she said.

O’Brien said the city still has avenues to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, but he believes that is unlikely to happen.

Source link

Iowa

25 burning questions we have entering the 2025-26 Iowa high school boys basketball season

Published

21 hours ago

November 24, 2025

Press Room

25 burning questions we have entering the 2025-26 Iowa high school boys basketball season

The Iowa high school boys basketball season is almost here.

The Des Moines Register came up with 25 questions we’re asking about the upcoming IHSAA season, which begins on Dec. 1. Most questions focus on Des Moines-area teams, but our staff was also curious about teams and players all around the state.

The answers to these questions will be revealed over the next few months.

25 questions entering the 2025-26 Iowa high school boys basketball season

What does back-to-back-to-back state champion Valley look like under a new head coach and without players like Jayden McGregory, Kiki Deng, Trevin Jirak and Zay Robinson?
With three of its five starters back – including Division I-bound big men Colin Rice and Landon Davis – is last season’s runner-up Waukee Northwest the favorite in Class 5A?
Ames graduated most of its starting lineup from last year’s 21-win campaign. How many wins can the Little Cyclones pull off this season?
Who will fill the Anthony Galvin-sized gap in Cedar Falls’ lineup?
Cael LaFrentz scored 400 points as a sophomore and 701 as a junior. Can he break the 800-point mark in his final season of high school basketball?
Is Des Moines Roosevelt the top team in the DMPS?
Only one team across the state finished last season with an undefeated record. Can any programs do that this year?
Players like Jevyn Severson (Madrid) and Pete Craig (Waukee) made an instant impact in their freshman year. Who will be the top first-year high school player in the state this season?
Does Cedar Rapids Kennedy bring back enough firepower to return to the Casey’s Center for the fifth-straight season?
Can Hudson Lorensen, Hudson Shull and Trey Bryte lead ADM back to the state tournament – and past the semifinals?
Who will emerge as the best big man in Iowa?
Will junior Lincoln Norris (Knoxville) sink over 100 3-pointers for the second-straight season?
Can MOC-Floyd Valley make another surprising run in the state tournament, despite graduating three starters from last year’s championship-winning lineup?
Dallas Center-Grimes graduated its leading scorer and leading assist-getter. Who will take over for Kyle Cason and Mateo Dzolota?
Only one Iowa high school boys basketball player has ever scored over 1,000 points in a single season: Wapsie Valley’s Brooks McKowen in 2003. Are there any players capable of hitting that mark this year?
Madrid capped an undefeated season with the Class 1A state title. After graduating three starting seniors – Brody Buck, Fabian Ortiz-Alaniz and Toryn Severson – can the Tigers make it back to the tournament?
Will Des Moines Christian make it to the state tournament after coming up short last season?
Jaxon Clark opted to return to Keokuk instead of playing for Montverde Academy. Will he lead the state in rebounds?
Iowa City Liberty relied on a lot of young players last year. Can Jerimiah Washpun – who scored 437 points – and his teammates help the Lightning to a winning record?
Dual-sport recruit Evan Jacobson opted to play his final season of high school basketball instead of graduating early. How far can he take Waukee after leading the Warriors in points and rebounds last year?
Of the top 10 scorers in Class 5A from last season, seven graduated. Will Rio Aguirre (Ankeny), Washpun (Iowa City Liberty), Tevin Schultz (Dubuque Senior) or someone else emerge as the top scorer in Iowa’s largest class?
What does Linn-Mar look like without Davis Kern on the court?
It’s been a couple of years since Pryce Sandfort (Waukee Northwest) scored over 600 points in a single season. Will any player in Class 5A break the 600-point mark?
West Lyon came up short last season, losing to Western Christian in the state title game. Can Jorden Meyer, Jared Ciesielski and Ben Meyer lead the Wildcats back to the state tournament?
Which program – across all four classes – has the best shot of winning its first-ever state championship?

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

Source link

Iowa

Iowa State basketball Players Era Festival tourney schedule, bracket

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2025

Press Room

Iowa State basketball Players Era Festival tourney schedule, bracket

Iowa State basketball will compete in the loaded Players Era Festival this week in Las Vegas.

The Nov. 24-27 tournament calls itself “The biggest college basketball event outside of March.”

Iowa State begins play Monday, Nov. 24 against St. John’s in a 3:30 p.m. CT contest.

The Cyclones then will play Creighton on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 1 p.m. CT.

Eugene Rapay’s Cyclone men’s basketball preview

T.J. Otzelberger’s team will play a third game either Wednesday, Nov. 26 or Thursday, Nov. 27. Opponent and time are contingent upon the results of Iowa State’s first two games.

Here’s a closer look at the tournament: