Author Archives: Jeff

Mar 08

Four, count ’em four, visits to Dows

September 11, 2014: Eight years after starting its partnership with CAL, Dows started sending students to Clarion-Goldfield, one of the few times a school switched sharing arrangements before eventual consolidation. (TLDR: I added a bunch of photos to the IA 72 … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Four, count ’em four, visits to Dows
Mar 06

Springville interchange proposal moves forward

Security State Bank probably thought it had a swell deal with a high-visibility spot on four-lane US 151 at the new main entrance to Springville. A building opened in the northwest corner of the intersection with County Road X20 in … Continue reading

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Springville interchange proposal moves forward
Mar 05

Dateline Buckingham

!!! Politico: A native Californian learns that Iowa is as nice as it’s cracked up to be. BUCKINGHAM, Iowa — Janet and Mike Shock reclined in loungers while trying to write the first sentence of this story. Janet offered a … Continue reading

Posted in Tama County | Comments Off on Dateline Buckingham
Mar 04

Private schools dominate 1A basketball field

For the second time this century, more than half of the teams in a Class 1A state tournament will be private schools. The bracket for the boys’ basketball tournament starting today has Algona Garrigan, Grand View Christian, Council Bluffs St. … Continue reading

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Private schools dominate 1A basketball field
Mar 01

Daily Iowegian becomes slightly less daily

Mondays are cancelled in Centerville. The oldest business in Appanoose County, the Daily Iowegian newspaper, will no longer print a Monday edition after next week’s. In a column/letter to readers, the editor and publisher write: The choice was necessary in … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Daily Iowegian becomes slightly less daily
Feb 28

IA 406 and Burlington’s ‘Seedling Mile’

When you look at IA 406 before its death in the Second Great Decommissioning, it’s hard to make an argument for its existence. It was never a spur to West Burlington — in fact, it’s a bypass of the oldest part … Continue reading

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous, Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on IA 406 and Burlington’s ‘Seedling Mile’
Feb 27

Mount Pleasant gets a batch of medium green signs

October 3, 2018: One of the new generation of signs near one of Iowa’s two quadplex routes, the Mount Pleasant bypass. Blessedly, the Series D font is appropriate for the wide shields, which is the case much less often than it … Continue reading

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Mount Pleasant gets a batch of medium green signs
Feb 26

Dual, divided freeway made real in Council Bluffs

The Council Bluffs and Sioux City interstate projects continue to plod along, and a big sign of progress is coming soon in Council Bluffs. The Daily Nonpareil reports the Iowa DOT plans to open the westbound dual divided freeway for … Continue reading

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Dual, divided freeway made real in Council Bluffs
Feb 25

Old 34 to be widened in Montgomery County

It’s been more than half a century since County Road H34 from Hastings to Corning was US 34, but it’s still “old Highway 34” to the locals, and this spring it’s going to lose part of its old-ness. The Red … Continue reading

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Old 34 to be widened in Montgomery County
Feb 22

A look into Marshall County school history

This is just the kind of thing I like to see when I’m looking into the “genealogy” of school districts, so I better give the Marshalltown Times-Republican some props for this two-story series. Marshall County rural schools: A history (1) … Continue reading

Posted in Schools | Comments Off on A look into Marshall County school history