Information Pertaining to the Public Hearing, 1986

On August 12, 1986, a public hearing was held in the Henry A. Wallace Building Auditorium, 900 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa, for the purpose of receiving comments and statements from individuals, groups, and associations that have an interest in the limits of financial responsibility for intrastate passenger motor carriers.

State Government Reorganization Commission, Answers and Recommendations to Select Information Technology Issues, 2009.

The State Government Reorganization Commission asked the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) to provide answers to questions pertaining to process improvements, and efficiencieswith the intent of reducing costs and discovering greater government efficiency.

Transportation Policy Strategies for Iowa to Advance the Quality of Life, 2004

Building on the policy directions advanced in the publication "Policy Strategies for Iowa in Making Major Road Investments", this report defines each policy issue and discusses how transportation can play a role in addressing it. Perspectives from several focus group meetings conducted in nine communities in Iowa are discussed. The report also examines available data pertaining to the issues. Finally, the report presents several specific recommendations dealing with issues on economic development, safety, choice of transportation modes, and financing transportation in the future. The recommendations are directed at proving the Iowa Transportation Commission with the best possible insights to be used in making investment decisions that will impact the quality of life in Iowa in future years.

Managing Quality under Heterogeneous Consumer Demand and Product Quality, October 2005

Based on accepted advances in the marketing, economics, consumer behavior, and satisfaction literatures, we develop a micro-foundations model of a firm that needs to manage the quality of a product that is inherently heterogeneous in the presence of varying customer tastes or expectations for quality. Our model blends elements of the returns to quality, customer lifetime value, and service profit chain approaches to marketing. The model is then used to explain several empirical results pertaining to the marketing literature by explicitly articulating the trade-offs between customer satisfaction and costs (including opportunity costs) of quality. In this environment firms will find it optimal to allow some customers to go unsatisfied. We show that the relationship between the expected number of repeated purchases by an individual customer is endogenous to the choice of quality by the firm, indicating that the number of purchases cannot be chosen freely to estimate a customer’s lifetime value.

Iowa Board of Nursing Annual Report, July 1, 2003-June 30, 2004

Annual Report of the Iowa Board of Nursing. Includes changes to rules,legislation and procedure during fiscal year 2004, as well as statistics pertaining to all aspects of board business: basic education, continuing education, enforcement, administration, financial report, and nursing demographics.

Performance Report for Fiscal Year, 2008

I am pleased to present the performance report for the Iowa Department for the Blind for fiscal year 2008. This report is provided in compliance with sections 8E.210 and 216B.7 of the Code of Iowa. It contains valuable information about results achieved because of the services that we and our partners provided to blind and visually impaired Iowans during the past fiscal year in the areas of Vocational Rehabilitation, Independent Living, Library Services, and Resource Management. We determine our competitive success in a number of ways. We look at the federal standards and indicators to learn our ranking in relation to the performance of other public rehabilitation agencies. We compare our library's production and circulation figures with those from previous years to determine trends. We set our own standards for success by looking at such factors as the number of successful case closures, average hourly wage at case closure, skills training provided, and compliance with regulations. Results show that the Department is working positively toward achieving its strategic goals of increasing the independence and productivity of blind Iowans and improving access to information for blind Iowans. Major accomplishments of the year included:  The selection of our Library as one of eight libraries to receive the new digital talking book machines and books in digital media from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Priority for distribution of the machines is given to Library patrons who are veterans.  The Department, the Iowa Braille School, and the Department of Education have been promoting the new expanded core curriculum as part of their continued efforts to improve the coordination and delivery of services to blind and visually impaired students in Iowa.  The Department's five-year grant funded Pathfinders mentoring program ended this year. A total of 49 blind youths aged 16-26 were paired with successful blind adult mentors. Assessments of the program clearly showed that participation in the program had a measurable positive effect on the youth involved.  Finally, earnings ratios and the percentage of employment for vocational rehabilitation clients of the Department are among the best in the nation, as measured by the U.S. Rehabilitation Services Administration's standards and indicators for the year ended September 30, 2007. Overall, we met or exceeded 13 of 18 targets included in this report. A discussion of the Department's services, customers, and organizational structure, and budget appears in the "Department Overview" that follows. Information pertaining to performance results appears in the final section of this document. The success of the Department's programs is evident in the success achieved by blind Iowans. It is reflected in the many blind persons who can be seen traveling about independently, going to their jobs and to the community and family activities in which they participate. Sincerely, Karen A. Keninger, Director Iowa Department for the Blind

A Brief Survey of Child Welfare in Iowa, 1937-1940

History of Child Welfare in Iowa and the studies pertaining to it for the years 1937 and 1940. Includes a table showing number of children and money paid per child through Widow's Pensions for the year 1939.

Whose Interest Is Being Served? An Investigation of a Walker City Council Member’s Conflict of Interest, April 15, 2010

The Ombudsman received a complaint concerning Bill Smith, a city council member who is also the Walker Fire Department Chief. The complainant stated that Mr. Smith votes regularly as a city council member on matters before the Walker City Council (Council) pertaining to the Walker Fire Department. These actions were alleged to be conflicts of interest in violation of Iowa law.

Facts about Iowa Law Enforcement Physical Standards for Pre-employment Testing, 2011

The Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Council, in recognizing the importance of physical fitness status for job performance, established this physical test regimen as a employment standard effective February 15, 1993. No person can be selected or appointed as a law enforcement officer without first successfully passing all of the elements of this test. (See 501 IAC 2.1, adopted pursuant to Section 80B.11(5), Code of Iowa.) Upon entry into the Academy every candidate will be given the same test as an assessment for training purposes and to ensure that each recruit can undergo the physical demands of the Academy without undue risk of injury, and with a level of fatigue tolerance to meet all Academy requirements. If at the time of entrance into the Academy an officer does not meet minimum standards, he or she will not be admitted. This pamphlet will provide information on the rationale, purpose, testing procedures, standards of performance and fitness activities to prepare for the fitness testing. It is intended to answer the basic questions pertaining to all aspects of the fitness testing process.

Iowa Pseudoephedrine Control Law, March 22, 2005

This law is intended to reduce the number of hazardous methamphetamine labs in Iowa, by controlling meth cooks’ access to the key meth-making ingredient: pseudoephedrine. In 2004, Iowa law enforcement agencies responded to a record 1,472 meth lab incidents. Below, please find links to: Senate File 169 (Iowa’s pseudoephedrine control law); an Iowa meth fact sheet; a brief overview of the law; and general compliance guidelines for consumers, pharmacies, retailers and law enforcement. Most provisions of this law, pertaining to pseudoephedrine sales, are effective May 21, 2005. However, two other provisions were effective immediately—March 22, 2005—upon the Governor’s signing of this measure into law: (1) removal of exceptions on the Schedule V Controlled Substance status for ephedrine [all ephedrine products now may only be sold in licensed pharmacies…no retail sales of ephedrine permitted]; and (2) addition of a requirement that bailable defendants charged with manufacture, delivery, possession with the intent to deliver, or distribution of methamphetamine, shall, in addition to a substance abuse evaluation, remain under supervision and be required to undergo random drug tests as a condition of release.

John Brown Among the Quakers: And Other Sketches, 1904

The Historical Department of Iowa compiled and published these historical papers pertaining to Iowa and the territory from which Iowa was formed. Included are: John Brown among the Quakers, Mascoutin: a reminiscence of the nation of fire, Black Hawk, Keokuk, and their village, Nauvoo and the prophet, the first meeting with the Dakotahs and the tragedy at Minnewaukon.

School Bus Safety Study: Kadyn’s Law, December 2012

In 2012, the Iowa legislature passed a bill for an act relating to school bus safety, including providing penalties for failure to obey school bus warning lamps and stop signal arms, providing for a school bus safety study and administrative remedies, and making an appropriation. The bill, referred to as Iowa Senate File (SF) 2218 or “Kadyn’s Law,” became effective March 16, 2012. A multiagency committee addressed three specific safety study elements of Kadyn’s Law as follows: * Use of cameras mounted on school buses to enhance the safety of children riding the buses and aid in enforcement of motor vehicle laws pertaining to stop-arm violations * Feasibility of requiring school children to be picked up and dropped off on the side of the road on which their home is located * Inclusion of school bus safety as a priority in driver training curriculum This report summarizes the findings for each of these topics.

Looking Back: Historical Hall, 1899-1904; State Historical, Memorial and Art Building, 1905-1999; Ola Babcock Miller Building, 1999-Present, June 2013

For more than 80 years, visitors to the Iowa State Historical, Memorial, and Art Building were treated to the state’s collection of historic documents, literature, portraits, and historical, geological, and archeological artifacts. Those who visited might have memories of the spectacular sand paintings by Iowan Andrew Clemens, the variety of taxidermy Iowa animals, the pioneer Conestoga wagon in the basement, the biplane hanging from the dome ceiling, the odd display by the medical library of things removed from stomachs, or the Native American display on the third floor. This booklet is a look back at the origins of the museum. It includes some of the Historical Department reports, legislation passed by the general assembly, newspaper and magazine articles, and photographs pertaining to the museum and library. It is not intended to be an exhaustive review and documentation of displays and exhibits. It is a brief overview of the building’s history and some photographs that may bring back memories, for some, of a field trip as a student. This booklet has been created from a variety of source materials: photographs, newspaper articles, and various reports. The following have contributed: State Library of Iowa, Iowa State Historical Society, the Iowa Judicial Branch, Susan Wallace, Helen Dagley, Barb Corson, Jerome Thompson, Pam Rees, Georgiann Fischer, and Jason Mrachina.

Effect of Mix Times on PCC Properties, HR-1066, 1998

The objectives of this research were the collection and evaluation of the data pertaining to the importance of concrete mixing time on air content and distribution, consolidation and workability for pavement construction. American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard C 94 was used to determine the significance of the mixing time on the consistency of the mix being delivered and placed on grade. Measurements of unit weight, slump, air content, retained coarse aggregate and compressive strength were used to compare the consistency of the mix in the hauling unit at the point of mixing and at the point placement. An analysis of variance was performed on the data collected from the field tests. Results were used to establish the relationship between selected mixing time and the portland cement concrete properties tested. The results were also used to define the effect of testing location (center and side of truck, and on the grade) on the concrete properties. Compressive strength test concepts were used to analyze the hardened concrete pavement strength. Cores were obtained at various locations on each project on or between vibrator locations to evaluate the variance in each sample, between locations, and mixing times. A low-vacuum scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to study air void parameters in the concrete cores. Combining the data from these analysis thickness measurements and ride in Iowa will provide a foundation for the formulation of a performance based matrix. Analysis of the air voids in the hardened concrete provides a description of the dispersion of the cemtitious materials (specifically flyash) and air void characteristics in the pavement. Air void characteristics measured included size, shape and distribution.

A Computer Based Information System for County Equipment Cost Records, Final Report, HR-173, 1975

This appendix is divided into three sections. The first section contains abstracts of each of the eight computer programs in the system, instructions for keypunching the three input documents, and computer operating instructions pertaining to each program. The second section contains system flowcharts for the entire system as well as program flowcharts for each program. The last section contains PL/l program listings of each program.