When Ron and Cheri Cunningham of Sedalia, Missouri were pulled over by police while driving through Washington County, Iowa on US Highway 218, it was far from a typical traffic stop, according to a September 17th story by KCRG TV, a local ABC news affiliate based out of Cedar Rapids.
Instead of being read their Miranda Rights, the couple was asked to meet the mayor of Kalona, Iowa, a community located about 20 miles southwest of Iowa City. According to a USA Today article on September 22nd, the traffic stop was part of a tourism promotion headed by the Kalona Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Washington County sheriff.
According to a September 3rd announcement outlining the plan in the Kanola News, the initiative was called the "Arrest a Traveler" project and aimed to 'arrest' three cars with out-of-state license plates by pulling them off the highway on the afternoon of September 17th and offering the motorists a free, all-inclusive overnight visit in Kanola, Iowa - population 2,300.
KCRG reports Chamber of Commerce member Larry Moeller and Sheriff Jerry Dunbar targeted cars with out-of-state license plates traveling northbound on Highway 218. Vehicles chosen for the tourism stunt were waved down on the side of the highway, according to the KCRG report, including a car from Illinois heading to the hospital. The car was left to proceed. The Cunninghams were the lucky recipients of the guest package, so rather than spending the night in a jail cell, the couple spent the night in a local hotel. KCRG reports The Cunninghams were also presented with tee-shirts reading "Ask me about Kalona," gift baskets filled with items from local businesses, complimentary meals, and planned to tour the town. However, the tourism publicity gimmick has recently sparked a legal and ethical brouhaha in certain corridors of the blogosphere. A September 21st blog post at The Volokh Conspiracy, a legal analysis blog with contributions from law experts and professors, alleges the traffic stop was an abuse of police power, speculating the involvement of law enforcement was a constitutional violation of search and seizure protections outlined by Fourth Amendment. A September 20th post on the blog Popehat echos a similar sentimentality, scathingly titled "Criminal Conspiracies To Violate Civil Rights Are Not, In Fact, Amusing" The story has also ignited a firestorm of over 150 comments on KCRG's own website in both opposition and defense of Kanola's "Arrest a Traveler" project. The Cunninghams, however, do not appear to have any animosity about their visit to Kalona nor the alleged slippery slope legality of the traffic stop. The couple was quoted by the KCRG TV, saying "It's interesting, it's fun. He probably pulled over the right people. We didn't really have an agenda," and adds, "Everybody's been so nice, so friendly, and the little downtown area here is darling."
According to a September 3rd announcement outlining the plan in the Kanola News, the initiative was called the "Arrest a Traveler" project and aimed to 'arrest' three cars with out-of-state license plates by pulling them off the highway on the afternoon of September 17th and offering the motorists a free, all-inclusive overnight visit in Kanola, Iowa - population 2,300.
KCRG reports Chamber of Commerce member Larry Moeller and Sheriff Jerry Dunbar targeted cars with out-of-state license plates traveling northbound on Highway 218. Vehicles chosen for the tourism stunt were waved down on the side of the highway, according to the KCRG report, including a car from Illinois heading to the hospital. The car was left to proceed. The Cunninghams were the lucky recipients of the guest package, so rather than spending the night in a jail cell, the couple spent the night in a local hotel. KCRG reports The Cunninghams were also presented with tee-shirts reading "Ask me about Kalona," gift baskets filled with items from local businesses, complimentary meals, and planned to tour the town. However, the tourism publicity gimmick has recently sparked a legal and ethical brouhaha in certain corridors of the blogosphere. A September 21st blog post at The Volokh Conspiracy, a legal analysis blog with contributions from law experts and professors, alleges the traffic stop was an abuse of police power, speculating the involvement of law enforcement was a constitutional violation of search and seizure protections outlined by Fourth Amendment. A September 20th post on the blog Popehat echos a similar sentimentality, scathingly titled "Criminal Conspiracies To Violate Civil Rights Are Not, In Fact, Amusing" The story has also ignited a firestorm of over 150 comments on KCRG's own website in both opposition and defense of Kanola's "Arrest a Traveler" project. The Cunninghams, however, do not appear to have any animosity about their visit to Kalona nor the alleged slippery slope legality of the traffic stop. The couple was quoted by the KCRG TV, saying "It's interesting, it's fun. He probably pulled over the right people. We didn't really have an agenda," and adds, "Everybody's been so nice, so friendly, and the little downtown area here is darling."