Monthly Archives: March 2017

Mar 31

A light at the end of the tunnel for I-29 in Sioux City

Posted on Friday, March 31, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

June 12, 2005: I-29 at the downtown exit in Sioux City, not too long before the state started a project to rebuild and expand the interstate through the city. The first photo with the news story linked below shows this … Continue reading →

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Mar 30

Going into the I-74 toll bridge offices

Posted on Thursday, March 30, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The Quad-City Times‘ Barb Ickes got a chance to explore the “underbelly” of the I-74 toll plaza and offices that span a space over the Mississippi River joining the twin bridges. The photo gallery is definitely worth a look through. … Continue reading →

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Mar 29

A county has topped its 1870 population peak

Posted on Wednesday, March 29, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

UPDATE 9/20/21: After the official 2020 census numbers came out … it didn’t. ======================== To dig into the 2016 county population estimates, let’s start with the map I made last year. The pattern hasn’t changed much: Every decade, the urban … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on A county has topped its 1870 population peak
Mar 28

Heads we win, tails you lose

Posted on Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

July 21, 2012: Current HMS Elementary School in Hartley, formerly Hartley High School. Once again, a beautiful Art Deco school building is facing the challenge of time, cost, and utility. Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn has issued a challenge to its voters. If a … Continue reading →

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Mar 27

Some date edits, and a highway that was legally dead

Posted on Monday, March 27, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Going through the legal descriptions of Iowa highways — just the state ones, not the US routes — have merited some editing to some pages. Mostly, these are fixes to time spans, now that we have dates of Highway Commission … Continue reading →

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Some date edits, and a highway that was legally dead
Mar 24

Historic highway meetings in Denison and Denison

Posted on Friday, March 24, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The modern-day Jefferson Highway Association, dedicated to promoting the 1910s north-south Pine to Palm Highway, is having its 2017 convention in Denison, Texas. The JH ran through Iowa mostly on now-US 65 and 69, sharing the Lincoln Highway in Story … Continue reading →

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Mar 23

Links on IA 12 page fixed

Posted on Thursday, March 23, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

June 4, 2014: The national north end of US 77 is just across the border at I-29 in Sioux City. Well, this is embarrassing: When I moved the website from mac.com, I moved the locations of the IA 12 South … Continue reading →

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Links on IA 12 page fixed
Mar 22

Closing off an ancient curve, and Centerville’s IA 60 history

Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

  Appanoose County in the 1948 (left/top) and 1951 Iowa Highway Commission state maps. Notice the non-existence of Lake Rathbun. Drake Avenue is shown as the north-south piece of IA 277, but it actually belonged to IA 60, as you will … Continue reading →

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Mar 21

Analysis of 2017 RAGBRAI route

Posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

July 23, 2008: RAGBRAI riders enter the west side of Tama. FORTY YEARS after its first and only visit to Allamakee County, RAGBRAI is going to end in Lansing. From Orange City (which is new as a starter town; others … Continue reading →

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Mar 20

947. Palmer

Posted on Monday, March 20, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

March 20, 2003: A Fort Dodge Messenger newsrack in Palmer announces the beginning of U.S. military action in Iraq. Fourteen years and five ISU men’s basketball coaches ago, I took my first solo multi-day trip to photograph Iowa highways. Palmer … Continue reading →

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