Des Moines, Iowa — The nearly 100 officers in the Iowa DOT’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division will soon become part of the Iowa State Patrol.
The switch takes effect on July 1st. Governor Kim Reynolds says it makes sense to have units with similar functions under the same roof at the Iowa Department of Public Safety. Iowa State Patrol Colonel Nathan Fulk says the organizations have been partners for many years.
Tom Bruun is chief of the DOT’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division.
Brunn, Fulk, and the state public safety commissioner will meet next week with the 365 state troopers and the 98 officers in the DOT’s Motor Vehicle Division to discuss how the merger will work. Bruun, who has worked in the DOT for nearly 34 years, says the focus for his officers will remain on commercial trucking and operating the 11 weigh stations in Iowa for semis.
Governor Reynolds signed the bill into law at the DOT weigh station for semis that’s along eastbound Interstate 80, just after the Van Meter exit. It was open for parts of 21 days last month and 25 thousand commercial vehicles passed through. State troopers and DOT Motor Vehicle Enforcement Officers drive vehicles that are of different colors and, while the style of their uniforms are similar, troopers have brown hats and shirts, while blue is the color worn by DOT officers. Officials haven’t announced whether those color-coded differences will remain after the merger.
