The Iowa State Capitol building Friday, July 31, 2020, in Des Moines.
A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items:
NEW FLUORIDATION LAW: Officials with the state Department of Public Health say a new Iowa law that took effect Thursday requires an owner or operator of a public water supply system to notify its consumers at least 90 days before taking any action to permanently discontinue fluoridation of its water supply. The public water supply also must provide notice to the Iowa Department of Public Health.
According to the agency, community water fluoridation is the precise adjustment of natural fluoride levels to the optimal level of 0.7 mg/L to prevent cavities — noting that for every $1 spent on community water fluoridation, $38 in dental treatment costs are saved. The IDPH Bureau of Oral and Health Delivery Systems monitors the fluoride levels of Iowa communities and provides information, education and assistance to water supply professionals, health care professionals and the public.
DOT HIGHWAY MESSAGING: The Iowa Department of Transportation has announced a change to its interstate highway overhead message board program. Under an updated program called “Roadside Chat,” the overhead message boards on the interstates and major highways that began in August 2013 will be lit from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. every Friday instead of Monday.
The program displays the year-to-date roadway fatality count for Iowa, as well as a conversation-starting message related to highway safety. Corresponding social media and blog posts that give a back story to the messages also will be moved to Fridays. The change to Friday will catch travelers on the second-highest fatal crash day of the week and leads into the weekend, which statistically features the highest fatal day in Iowa of Saturday and the third-highest day of Sunday (tied with Monday) based on data from 2010-20, Steve Gent, traffic and safety bureau director, said.
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