Author Archives: Jeff

Mar 07

Orient-Macksburg dissolution passes

Posted on Friday, March 7, 2025, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The Orient-Macksburg school district will dissolve after the 2025-26 school year. The vote wasn’t close, 203-18, with 10 of the no’s coming from Madison County. Most of the district’s land and students will become part of Nodaway Valley. Orient-Macksburg’s speech … Continue reading →

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Mar 05

Some people will drink to this

Posted on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Tama County now has a (one, singular) Starbucks. It’s not a standalone site, it’s inside the casino, but it still counts … right? (Funny enough, it’s about equal distance from Traer to the casino as it is from Traer to … Continue reading →

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Feb 28

Dubuque wants roundabouts on University Avenue

Posted on Friday, February 28, 2025, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Four roundabouts are planned for central Dubuque on the University Avenue corridor. KCRG reports that drivers are using that street to get off US 20. (University is an ancient alignment of 20.) This plan would require buying houses at certain … Continue reading →

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Feb 25

Does it need a ‘SLOW’ triangle?

Posted on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

There’s going to be something big moving on the highways in Washington County today and tomorrow. (Too bad I already have something in the works for Substack this week.)

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Feb 24

Watching TV is so hard nowadays

Posted on Monday, February 24, 2025, at 10:10 AM by Jeff

About a month ago, Mediacom shut off its unencrypted cable signal. That means my favorite way to watch TV — on the computer — couldn’t work with cable anymore. Ironically, even as I write this now, the signal to my … Continue reading →

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Feb 20

Fixing West Fork’s ancestry

Posted on Thursday, February 20, 2025, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

A reader informed me that my school timeline page had the merger of Meservey-Thornton off by a year. I double-checked through the Mason City Globe Gazette archives, and the reader was right. M-T formed in 1962. The thing is, the … Continue reading →

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Feb 17

Headline goes here

Posted on Monday, February 17, 2025, at 11:16 AM by Jeff

January 8, 1883, was the last Monday that residents of Cedar Rapids didn’t have a hard-copy newspaper sold at stores or delivered to their doorsteps. Until today. Tuesday will be 600 days since I lost my job there.

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Feb 14

Remember January?

Posted on Friday, February 14, 2025, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Like I said, and say at the opening of the short-takes piece below, it’s been … yeah.

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Feb 11

License Plate Letters — PHX

Posted on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

January 31, 2012: Downtown Phoenix is pictured minutes after takeoff from Sky Harbor International Airport. PHX was the layover for a Southwest Airlines flight from Omaha to Austin. To date, it’s the last time I was in Arizona, but it … Continue reading →

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Feb 04

US 30 construction starting next week

Posted on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

In a very rare move, a construction project is beginning in February. Three bridges on US 30 between Calamus and Wheatland, all turning 70 years old, are going to be replaced this year. The DOT press release says work will … Continue reading →

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