News – APWA Iowa Chapter

Newsletter June 2026

National Public Works Week (NPWW)

NPWW was May 17-23 and was themed “Rooted in Service, Powered by Community”. Some cities shared how they celebrated, which is featured on our website. If you want to city featured on this page, please email your pictures/stories to Rob Kline.

Member Recognition – Rick Fosse

Photo Courtesy of ISU CCEE website

Our very own, Rick Fosse, former Iowa APWA Chapter National Top 10 Recipient, received the 2025 Distinguished Alumni for Iowa State University’s Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering Department.

Over the years, Rick has worked as an environmental engineer, the public works director for the City of Iowa City, and after retirement, as faculty for the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Iowa. Click here to read the full story. Please congratulate Rick on this exciting accomplishment!

PWX (National APWA Conference – Houston)

August 30-September 2
Iowa Chapter Dinner – Tuesday, September 1 – watch for an email invitation, coming soon!

Call for APWA Iowa Chapter Award Nominations

Nominations for the APWA Iowa Chapter awards will be accepted until August 1, 2026, and winners will be announced at the Fall Conference. The nomination form and information for the Projects of the Year can be found on our website. Individual member award nominations are to be submitted via email along with a justification for the nomination. All award nominations will only be accepted via email to Eric Cowles. If you have any questions, please contact Eric.

2027 North American Snow Conference (Des Moines)

Iowa Chapter will be hosting the APWA North American Snow Conference on April 18-21, 2027.
An appeal to member firms and partner businesses for sponsorship opportunities will be sent out soon. If you already know you are interested in contributing, please email Beth Richards.
Iowa Chapter is in charge of Technical Tours for this event. Have ideas? We want to highlight Iowa and public works in our area. Need to be within a 30-minute bus ride of downtown Des Moines. Contact Adam Smith with your ideas.

APWA Iowa Chapter Committees

At our most recent Executive Committee meeting, we discussed the Iowa Chapter committees. The Exec Committee will be developing a committee charter and plan to announce committee openings at the fall conference. Please stay tuned for more information.Upcoming Events

Iowa DOT Updates

New Urban Engineer

Tyler Wilson stared as the DOT’s new Urban Engineer on June 19. Tyler is a licensed Professional Engineer in Iowa and comes with a great deal of experience working at the Federal Highway Administration, Felsburg Holt & Ullevig, and Garden & Associates. Tyler has excellent leadership and organizational skills and is great at building relationships to help people understand our shared goals in making lives better through transportation. He has excellent communication skills, and will be a great asset to the Iowa DOT, the Local Systems Bureau, and cities, counties and consultants across Iowa. He is very interested in learning more about the uniqueness of cities across Iowa and to continue building relationships within the DOT and with the Local Public Agencies we serve.

Bridge Funding Opportunity

Are you looking for bridge funding? Iowa DOT is putting together a Competitive Highway Bridge Program (CHBP) application for FFY2026. They are looking for city bridges to include in this application. City bridges will be bundled into a contract with other nearby city, county, and/or Iowa DOT bridges. Click here for more details.

Speed Limit change information (60 mph default speed limit)- Senate File 378

Click here for general information from the Iowa DOT regarding Senate File 378 was passed by the 2026 Iowa Legislature and signed by Governor Reynolds. Please take the time to review and how it will impact you or your agency. Please reach out the to DOT Local Systems with questions.

Needs Survey: NEW Railway Tracks Overpass and Underpass Fund

During the 2026 Iowa legislative session, Senate File 2484 was passed. This enabling legislation deposits $5 million in RIIF moneys into a Railway Tracks Overpass and Underpass Fund each year for five (5) years. Iowa DOT is directed under Iowa Code 307.19 to “distribute in the form of grants to cities and counties to assist with the construction of highway overpasses and underpasses across railway tracks.” As Iowa DOT works through development of this new funding program, they want to ensure the needs of the cities and counties are being met. To do that, they’re hoping you will take 5-10 minutes to complete and submit this survey. The survey was developed to help better understand the collective city and county needs ahead of developing guidance and recommendations to present to Commission for this new program. Please submit your response by July 7, 2026. Your participation is greatly appreciated, and your insights will help shape how this new program is implemented.

APWA Iowa Chapter Tour

Courtesy of Tim Mroch

The Iowa Chapter hosted a tour of the Lightline Loop in Cedar Rapids on June 25^th, followed by refreshments at Lionbridge. We had 20 people attend the tour and 12 people attend the social. Thank you for all who participated and to Tim Mroch for organizing!

Scott Kleppe Obituary

Courtesy of Chapman FH

We are sad to report that Scott Kleppe, APWA Iowa Chapter Small Communities Committee Chair, has passed away; read his obituary here. He was the former public works director for Solon (26.5 years). Scott was passionate about our small communities and helping out in the City of Solon. He will be greatly missed by our membership. Please stayed tuned at our fall conference for an important announcement regarding how the chapter will honor Scott’s legacy.

Water Resources Management Committee (National)

Rachel Conrad sits on the APWA National Water Resources Committee and they are looking for volunteers for a new stormwater microcredential program. The program will consist of four microcredentials that can be taken separately or stacked toward the Certified Stormwater Manger (CSM) designation. A microcredential is a short, focused learning experience that focuses on a specific skill, task, or knowledge area. They are seeking subject matter experts to contribute to the education development or exam item writing for each microcredential. If you are interested in either of these tasks, please apply directly here Stormwater Credential SME Interest Form or reach out to Rachel with questions.

Upcoming Events

The Iowa Chapter will be hosting or co-hosting the following upcoming events:

PWX – August 30-September 2, Houston, TX
APWA Iowa Chapter Winter Maintenance Certificate Courses and Roadeo – September 23-24, 2026 – Cedar Rapids
APWA Iowa Chapter Fall Conference – October 7-9, 2026 – Spark by Hilton, Ames, IA
APWA Iowa Chapter Spring Conference – March 25-26, 2027, Des Moines
2027 APWA North American Snow Conference – April 18-21, 2027 – Des Moines

Upcoming Training Opportunities (through LTAP)

2026 ICEA Mid-Year Conference – 7/9/26 (Ames) at 8:00 am
Iowa Streets and Roads Workshop and Conference – September 22-24 (Des Moines)

For an updated list, check out LTAPs event website. Please contact Keith Knapp (kknapp@iastate.edu) with any questions.

Public Works Service Bureau

The Public Works Service Bureau (PWSB) provides a resource for public works staff members from cities of all sizes to connect with and learn from others how best to improve work efficiencies, learn new techniques, and maximize available resources. If you haven’t joined already, check out their website.

APWA Iowa Chapter Apparel!

New Option!

Logoed Apparel has the option for individuals to order APWA Iowa Chapter apparel! If you are interested in personally purchasing some apparel, please contact Pam Johnson at pam@logoedapparel.us or 515-225-2365.

T-shirts

Don’t forget to order your RAYGUN t-shirts, developed based on ideas submitted by chapter members. Click here to purchase. If your city would like to place a bulk, tax-exempt order (minimum of 25 of one design/color combo), please email Beth Richards.

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