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Drivers with unpaid traffic camera tickets say the state of Iowa does not have the right to seize part of their tax refunds to collect the money.
Attorney Jim Larew argued in a petition filed last week that the Department of Administrative Services doesn't have the legal authority to collect unpaid tickets issued by traffic cameras. He says, under a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling, vehicle owners are not liable for traffic camera citations until municipalities prove them in District Court. Because that typically doesn't happen, Larew argues the unpaid tickets are not debts and the state cannot collect them.
The state has contracts with cities like Cedar Rapids and Des Moines to take funds to offset those debts and assesses an additional 6 % fee for itself.
A storm that could bring blizzard conditions to the Midwest is expected to swell creeks and rivers in South Dakota, but not to the levels they rose last month.
The National Weather Service says the winter storm could drop as much as 1 ½ feet of snow on parts of the state later this week.
The snow as it melts will push up rivers and creeks that are receding after massive flooding. But he says most areas on the Big Sioux River will see only minor to moderate flooding, not significant. And he says the new moisture will just prolong major flooding on the James River.
Last month, heavy rains fell on top of a wet snowpack that's now melted.