The Iowa Department of Public Safety say ten bridges across Iowa will be dedicated late this summer and early fall, in memory of the ten Iowa State Troopers who have died in the line of duty throughout the State Patrol’s 75 year history. Members of the public are invited to attend these bridge dedications, starting with the Oran Pape Memorial Bridge today (Aug. 9th). The ceremony honoring Pape will take place at 10-a.m., at the Iowa DOT shop, in Tipton. The bridge honoring him is located on Interstate 80 westbound, traversing the Cedar River at mile marker 265.

Other ceremonies will be held: August 22nd, in Coralville, to honor Trooper Allen Nieland and Harold DeGear; Sept. 10th, in Indianola, in honor of Trooper Mark Toney; Sept. 26th in Cedar Rapids, in memory of Trooper Charles Whitney; Sept. 27th, in Des Moines, in memory of Trooper Marvin Vanderlinden; Oct. 18th, at State Radio near Lewis, in honor of Troopers Lance Dietsch & Stan Gerling; Oct. 20th, in Red Oak, in memory of Trooper Harold Klinkefus; and, on Oct. 23rd in Denison, in honor of TrooperRalph Garthwaite.

Trooper Pilot Lance Dietsch and Trooper Stanley Gerling were killed in an airplane accident on June 30th, 1989, southwest of Atlantic. The pair had been searching for an elderly man who had wandered off, and were about to call off the search when they troopers located him in a soybean field. They began to circle the area when the plane made a sudden turn and crashed vertically into the ground. Troopers Dietsch and Gerling were the first aircraft fatalities since the addition of the Patrol Airwing in 1956. A sign in their honor will be placed near the Indian Creek Bridge on Highway Six, west of Lewis.

The loss of Iowa State Trooper Mark Toney in September, 2011, was a reminder of the daily dangers that law enforcement officers face and the importance of recognizing the sacrifice made by those killed in the line of duty. In light of this tragic event, current and past members of the Iowa State Patrol began working through lobbyist and former State Trooper John Flannery to reach out to the Iowa Legislature and the Department of Transportation and gain approval to designate a memorial bridge near the site where each Trooper had fallen. With the support of State Legislators, DOT, and County Board of Supervisors the plan was approved and ten bridges were selected to be named in honor of the Troopers.

The costs of the signs were covered by the Iowa State Troopers Association, Supervisor’s Association and the Retirees Association. More specific information about each of the ceremonies and locations of the bridge signs can be found at: http://www.dps.state.ia.us/commis/pib/Releases/2012/08-08-2012_BridgeDedicationSched.htm