Engineering Study for the Evaluation of Public Road Administration and Maintenance Alternatives, HR-265, 1985

Iowa's public road system of 112,000 miles is one of the largest and the best in the nation. It represents a considerable financial investment of taxpayer revenues over the years. And, it requires a sustained investment to preserve an economical level of transport service into the future. In 1982, a Governor's Blue Ribbon Transportation Task Force evaluated the effectiveness of Iowa's entire transportation system. Four important Task Force recommendations dealt with public road administrative issues in Iowa. These issues were related to: (1) Design criteria and levels of maintenance; (2) Consistency in the use of standards among jurisdictions; (3) Consolidation of maintenance operations at one jurisdiction level; and (4) Jurisdicational authority for roads; The issues formed the background for Research Project HR-265.

Engineering Study for the Evaluation of Public Road Administration and Maintenance Alternatives, Executive Summary for HR-265, 1985

Iowa's public road system of 112,000 miles is one of the largest and the best in the nation. It represents a considerable financial investment of taxpayer revenues over the years. And, it requires a sustained investment to preserve an economical level of transport service into the future. In 1982, a Governor's Blue Ribbon Transportation Task Force evaluated the effectiveness of Iowa's entire transportation system. Four important Task Force recommendations dealt with public road administrative issues in Iowa. These issues were related to: 1. design criteria and levels of maintenance 2. consistency in the use of standards among jurisdictions 3. consolidation of maintenance operations at one jurisdictional level and 4. jurisdictional authority for roads. The issues formed the background for Research Project HR-265.

State of Iowa Public Drinking Water Program 2006 Annual Compliance Report, June 2007

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) administers the Public Drinking Water Program in Iowa under delegation of authority from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The 1996 re-authorized Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires that each state that has been granted primary implementation authority prepare an annual report on violations of national primary drinking water regulations within the state, make the report readily available to the public, and submit it to the EPA. This report fulfills this responsibility in Iowa for the 2006 calendar year, and includes violations of maximum contaminant levels, maximum residual disinfectant levels, treatment technique requirements, major monitoring or reporting requirements, action level exceedances, and operation certification requirements.

State of Iowa Public Drinking Water Program 2008 Annual Compliance Report.

This report includes violations of maximum contaminant levels, maximum residual disinfectant levels, treatment technique requirements, action level exceedances, major monitoring or reporting requirements, and operation certification requirements of public water supplies in the state of Iowa.

Public Employees Leadership Institute Final Report, August 2011

Public agencies in Iowa are continually challenged with reduced staff levels, reduced budgets, and increased expectations for services provided. Responding to these demands requires a well-informed and coordinated team that includes professionals, supervisors, technicians, lead workers, and workers. Becoming a coordinated team requires the training and interaction to produce a common foundation to build upon. In 2007, a training program did not exist in the state to provide this level of training for existing or upcoming managers and leaders of public agencies. The Iowa Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), in conjunction with Iowa public agency representatives, set out to provide that foundation by developing the Iowa Public Employees Leadership Academy, which was renamed the Public Employees Leadership Institute in July 2011. The Institute is an on-demand, online training program designed to create better (or new) leaders and supervisors for Iowa’s public agencies. The Institute provides a curriculum to train the next generation of leaders, who will replace existing leaders when retirements occur. Through the Institute, Iowa LTAP will provide a coordinated, structured, non-credit educational program available for a modest fee. The techniques and skills offered through the Institute can apply to all who wish to develop or sharpen their leadership and management abilities. This will be true whether the participants are employed in the public or private sector. The 14 courses that were developed and are being offered are as follows: Supervisory Techniques and Skills, Team Development, Communications Skills, Leadership Skills, Community Service/Customer Orientation, Legal Understanding, Fundamentals of Government, Finance, Resource Management, Operations and Maintenance, Basic Management, Emergency Management, Project Management, and Winter Maintenance Management.

Project Newsletter Iowa Public Health Tracking, June 2013

The Data Warehouse Replacement Project includes updated County Health Snapshot reports. The snapshots provide an overview of key health indicators for local communities. They contain county-level measures that are organized into eight categories. The categories are asthma, cancer, health behaviors and outcomes, heart disease and other chronic conditions, infectious disease, mortality and injury prevention, population statistics and reproductive outcomes. The updated county health snapshots include almost forty new chronic disease indicators in addition to all of the indicators in the existing snapshots.There will be two different reports available in the Data Warehouse replacement system. One of the reports is a multi-year county health snapshot. This report has a similar format to the previous county health snapshot report in the current Data Warehouse. It will display multiple years of data for a single county. The data will be for the most current year available and the two years prior. The state values for the current year will also be included.

Disability in Iowa: Public Health Needs Assessment

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of adults reporting a disability is expected to increase, along with the need for appropriate medical and public health services. People with disabilities (PWD) face many barriers to good heath, including having overall poorer health, less access toadequate health care, limited access to health insurance, skipping mediacl care because of cost, and engaging in risky health behaviors including smoking and physical inactivity. The goals of the Iowa public health needs assessment were to assess the burden of disability in Iowa counties including health risk factors such as chronic conditions, determine access to preventive health care, and determine the effect of socioeconomic conditions. The state level assessment was based on th 2009-2012 American Community Survey (ACS) and publiccally available Behavioral Risk FactorSurveillance System (BRFSS) 2011 survey. The 2001-2010 combined BRFSS data was used for county level assessment. The needs assessment led us to conclude that adult Iowans with idsabilities face several challenges compared to non-disabled adults. They are more likely to suffer from debilitating chronic conditions and social disparities. Counties with the higher levels of poverty were more likely to have PWD with higher levels of disability related disparities.