Local Police Department Makes National News [WATCH]

The West Liberty Police Department has been getting a lot of positive attention lately! The official Facebook page for CBS News posted a video yesterday outlining how the Iowa police station is celebrating Autism Awareness Month, and how you can be a part of it!

The month of April is Autism Awareness Month, and in honor of that, the West Liberty Police Department will be donning new, colorful, puzzle piece patches on their uniforms for the next several weeks. The purpose? To raise awareness and money! They got the idea from another police department in Iowa that did something similar a few years ago. West Liberty Police Chief Kary Kinmonth told KWWL, “It’s really important for us to reach out to our community members. All of our community members have to feel their important, they are very important to us. Anything that we can do that again, can break the ice that can build those relationships that can break down barriers.”

The department is selling the patches to the public, and they're getting requests for them from all over the country! They cost $20 a piece, with all of the money raised going to the autism unit at the University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital. They estimate that they've raised around $1,000 already, but I'm sure that number is going to go way up!

If you would like a patch, you can send a self addressed stamped envelope with a check for $20 to:

WLPD - Autism patch
409 N Calhoun Street
West Liberty, IA. 52776

[Via KWWL]