The mayor of Johnston received special recognition from Governor Kim Reynolds Tuesday for being the only city in Iowa with a sex trafficking ordinance. Johnston’s ordinance requires background information and licenses for massage businesses. The ordinance helped close an Asian massage parlor on Merle Hay Road that used to be the site of sex trafficking. “It was a place where women who couldn’t speak English were being brought in,” Johnston Mayor Paula Dierenfeld said. “They were living in the basement, and they were victims of sex trafficking.” Reynolds also announced a new initiative to crack down on sex trafficking in Iowa by better training hotels and motels in the state. “It's a harsh reality that dozens of victims are trafficked in Iowa hotels and motels every single day, and having more eyes and ears in every single corner of our state and every community can help,” Reynolds said. Iowa's Network Against Human Trafficking and Slavery will train hotel and motel employees to recognize the signs of sex trafficking. Half of all sex trafficking cases take place in hotel and motel rooms. “Some victims, like Elizabeth Smart, are kidnapped and trafficked,” Lt. Governor Adam Gregg said. “Others are lured in through the internet without even realizing what’s happening, but most people don't recognize the warning signs of abuse and captivity." Officials the Governor's weekly press conference estimate that every month more than 800 people in Iowa and Nebraska are at risk of being victimized by sex trafficking.