Monthly Archives: December 2016

Dec 30

The Final Countdown: 1. Klemme

Posted on Friday, December 30, 2016, at 9:43 AM by Jeff

October 4, 2016: The sign on US 69 at old IA 179, Main Street into Klemme. County Road B55 is a quarter-mile north. Compared to nearly all the rest of my final 50 towns or so, Klemme’s population of 507 … Continue reading →

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Dec 28

The Final Countdown: 2. Curlew

Posted on Wednesday, December 28, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

October 3, 2016: The Curlew Cannon ranks up with the Coin Overpass in my observations of Iowans’ modest humor. You can see the regularity of railroad stops along the diagonal from the junction west of Fort Dodge: Clare, Pioneer, Gilmore … Continue reading →

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Dec 27

The Final Countdown: 3. Greenville

Posted on Tuesday, December 27, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

October 3, 2016: The remnants of a baseball diamond on the east end of Greenville, possibly just south of where the school was. I just missed Greenville, pop. 74, on my spring break 2003 trip, the one that I have … Continue reading →

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Dec 25

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 1922-1991

Posted on Sunday, December 25, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The Soviet Union officially came to an end a quarter-century ago today.

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Dec 23

License Plate Letters — EZE

Posted on Friday, December 23, 2016, at 12:00 PM by Jeff

As 2016 comes to a close, the E series of Iowa license plates is too. I have yet to “stand on the corner in Winslow, Arizona.” Some day.

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Dec 22

KOKZ begins closing the circle

Posted on Thursday, December 22, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

^ So mid-’90s it hurts. KOKZ-FM 105.7 in Waterloo switched to oldies in late 1996 or early 1997*. That was the station the school bus radio was turned to, and for quite a while there was a one-hit wonder practically … Continue reading →

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Dec 21

The Final Countdown: 4. Archer

Posted on Wednesday, December 21, 2016, at 10:01 AM by Jeff

October 3, 2016: Archer, like MANY other hamlets in Iowa, owes its existence to the railroad, but the rails were pulled up when a Cherokee-Sioux Falls line was abandoned in the mid-1980s. Archer, pop. 131, is five miles from US 18 … Continue reading →

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Dec 20

The Final Countdown: 4 1/2. Meriden

Posted on Tuesday, December 20, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The trio of Meriden, Cleghorn, and Marcus were once served by individual spur routes from IA 5 (now IA 3) until the highway was moved closer to the railroad. Today, IA 143 is the only number that remains, because downtown … Continue reading →

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Dec 19

Bernard school in trouble

Posted on Monday, December 19, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

June 18, 2015: The Bernard school was built in 1960. The lettering outside, presumably original, says “West Dubuque” instead of “Western Dubuque” — a name that would have brought it in line with all the other “West”s in Iowa. The … Continue reading →

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Dec 16

Iowa Highway Ends’ 15th anniversary

Posted on Friday, December 16, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

September 2, 2008: South end of IA 15 July 23, 2009: North end of IA 140 June 14, 2011: South end of IA 62 Fifteen years ago today, after a couple weeks of “beta launch,” I let other roadgeeks know … Continue reading →

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