Traffic deaths soar in Iowa during 2016

Ask new Chickasaw County Sheriff Marty Hemann about the shocking jump in traffic fatalities in 2016, and his answer is pretty simple.“We need everyone to pay more attention,” he said. “Seriously, there are so many distractions, and I think we’re finding out that there is a huge cost for them.”According to the Iowa State Patrol, at least 401 people died in traffic crashes in 2016, and that number may rise slightly because officials count a death as being traffic-related if it occurs within 30 days of the crash.Even if it stays at 401, that’s a 25.3 percent  increase in fatalities from the 320 that occurred in 2015 and the first time since 2008 that Iowa had more than 400 traffic fatalities.In Chickasaw County, the State Patrol reported five fatalities that included a January crash that killed three Waterloo men just south of New Hampton.For the complete story see the 1/6/2017 New Hampton Tribune.