Monthly Archives: January 2015

Jan 21

Collins-Maxwell-Baxter athletics split ahead?

Posted on Wednesday, January 21, 2015, at 10:19 AM by Jeff

Austin Draude pointed me to this Newton Daily News article that’s pretty much a bolt out of the blue: The very-long-term Collins-Maxwell-Baxter athletics sharing agreement may be falling apart. According to the article, there are some complaints about the location or split … Continue reading →

Posted in Schools | Comments Off on Collins-Maxwell-Baxter athletics split ahead?
Jan 20

County maps now default to color versions

Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2015, at 10:16 AM by Jeff

Over the past year, the Iowa DOT has worked to spiff up the interface for the iowadotmaps.com domain and the maps linked from there, including the individual county PDF maps. The images of each county and its towns, and their … Continue reading →

Posted in Maps | Comments Off on County maps now default to color versions
Jan 19

Traer Theatre closed indefinitely

Posted on Monday, January 19, 2015, at 10:22 AM by Jeff

Last week’s fire at Simply Blooming in Traer has forced the theater next door to close until further notice. The building, which shares a wall with the flower shop, got soot all over everything. This is not good at all. … Continue reading →

Posted in Tama County | Comments Off on Traer Theatre closed indefinitely
Jan 17

Rock Chalk conference championships

Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2015, at 10:14 AM by Jeff

ESPN College Gameday comes to Iowa State today*, the Cyclones’ first ever appearance on the show (basketball or football), and the fourth-to-last power-conference school to be featured either as the home or away opponent. If ISU was ever going to … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Rock Chalk conference championships
Jan 15

Legislature maps symbolize Iowa’s rural-urban split

Posted on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 10:07 AM by Jeff

With the 2015 Iowa Legislature now in session, it’s a good time to look into the maps and composition of district control. Republicans control the House 56-43 (pending one election in the west), and Democrats hold the slimmest edge in … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous, Maps | Comments Off on Legislature maps symbolize Iowa’s rural-urban split
Jan 14

Fire destroys Traer flower shop

Posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2015, at 10:07 AM by Jeff

Simply Blooming, formerly known as the Flower Basket, burned Tuesday in downtown Traer. Stories: KCRG (embedded above, misspells John Novak’s name), KWWL. The building is attached to all the others on that side of the downtown block, and some of … Continue reading →

Posted in Tama County | Comments Off on Fire destroys Traer flower shop
Jan 13

Iowa HS football brackets in PDF form

Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, at 10:23 AM by Jeff

The 2014 Iowa high school football season playoff brackets that I made individual images of are now available as one PDF. I added the class name in larger letters. (Quasi-related: With the ratings for the College Football Playoff through the … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Iowa HS football brackets in PDF form
Jan 12

Temporary signs in Sioux City this winter

Posted on Monday, January 12, 2015, at 10:21 AM by Jeff

June 4, 2014: Permanent signage at the north end of US 77 in Sioux City, after the removal of the volleyball interchange. At far right you can see a detour sign for Gordon Drive, which is off to the right … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction, Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Temporary signs in Sioux City this winter
Jan 09

JC Penney at Crossroads closing

Posted on Friday, January 9, 2015, at 7:03 PM by Jeff

“My” J.C. Penney — that is, the one that was closest to me — is now a victim of that retail company’s continued troubles. Crossroads Mall in Waterloo has lost an original anchor tenant. There won’t be a Penney’s in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on JC Penney at Crossroads closing
Jan 09

“Oregon Trail” now available as online game

Posted on Friday, January 9, 2015, at 11:39 AM by Jeff

Technically, it’s the MS-DOS version, not the Apple IIGS, but the emulator appears to work on a Mac so… The real Oregon Trail from MECC is back! (Washington Post) (link to game page) And so is Carmen Sandiego! (But neither work … Continue reading →

Posted in Geography | Comments Off on “Oregon Trail” now available as online game