The Marion County Sheriff’s Office partnered with the Pella Police Department and the Iowa State Patrol earlier this month for a special traffic program along Highway 163.

Marion County Sheriff Jason Sandholdt says there were several components to the effort attempting to enforce excessive speed and try to slow down the flow of traffic around the Pella City Limits.

Sandholdt believes one of the biggest challenges law enforcement faces is the increasing dangers of traveling — especially as fatalities on Iowa’s roadways have increased. According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, there were 213 deaths due to vehicle crashes as of August 26th — an increase of 2.4% from 2021 at the same time.