MASON CITY, IA - The Iowa Supreme Court has handed down a ruling in Mitchell County vs. Matthew Hoover Zimmerman in a case involving the use of steel wheel vehicles on county roads.
Zimmerman is a member of the Old Order Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church. They are forbidden from driving tractors unless their wheels are equipped with steel cleats. A Mitchell County road protection ordinance forbids driving such vehicles on highways.
On Feb. 1, 2010, Matthew Zimmerman was cited for operating a tractor in violation of a Mitchell County road protection ordinance. The tractor had steel cleats on its wheels.
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled the ordinance as applied to church members violates their First Amendments rights under the United States Constitution
The Supreme Court has found that "religious rights prevail." They are reversing the district court's earlier decision and ordering a dismissal in the case.
We’ll have reaction to this story today on KIMT News 3.
