Andrea White

The Iowa Department of Transportation's FY2026-2030 Business Plan establishes a framework for strategic collaboration and action. It centers on two primary goals: Transportation Safety and Business Excellence, supported by a mission to make lives better through transportation and a vision of being safe, innovative, and service-driven. The plan aims to enhance safety by implementing a comprehensive safety portfolio and fostering collaboration for improved outcomes, while achieving business excellence through smart decision-making and a focused investment in workforce talent.

This Interpretive Plan and Tool Kit, developed by the Mississippi River Parkway Commission, provides comprehensive guidance for presenting the stories along the Great River Road. It establishes a unifying framework for interpretive efforts at national, state, and local levels, focusing on the overall theme 'The Mississippi River is the flow of life shaping land and peoples,' supported by eleven major themes, national interpretive strategies, and consistent branding. The accompanying Tool Kit details interpretive methods, visitor profiles, and funding resources to enhance the visitor experience and foster appreciation for the region's natural, historic, cultural, and recreational resources.

This report summarizes the 2024 Research and Innovation Peer Exchange, hosted by the Iowa Department of Transportation with multiple state DOTs and the Federal Highway Administration. The exchange focused on structuring and challenging innovation programs, methods to encourage innovation, and the importance of developing innovation strategic plans. Key takeaways covered programmatic aspects of innovation, including the role of foundational strategic plans and documenting success, as well as strategies for promoting innovation across agencies and leveraging existing tools and passionate volunteers.

The Iowa Department of Transportation's FFY 2025 Title VI/Nondiscrimination Plan outlines the organization's commitment and procedures to prevent discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in its federally assisted programs and activities. Key focus areas include establishing a clear nondiscrimination policy, defining the roles and responsibilities of the Civil Rights Bureau and its various officers, and implementing detailed procedures for complaint resolution, data collection, and program reviews. The plan also emphasizes compliance by sub-recipients, provision of services for Limited English Proficiency individuals, and training programs, all designed to ensure equitable access and treatment for all beneficiaries and stakeholders.

The commission meeting included the approval of meeting dates for the upcoming fiscal year. Key rulemaking actions were taken to rescind and adopt new chapters of the Iowa Administrative Code regarding state transit assistance, school transportation services provided by regional transit systems, and the coordination of public transit services. Discussions also covered regulatory compliance and reporting standards for these services.