Author Archives: Jeff

Jun 08

Wisconsin expanding license plates to seven characters

Instead of phasing out license plates from the same system and same design that has been around since 1986, Wisconsin is adding a seventh character to its license plates as of a few weeks ago. The combination will be three letters … Continue reading

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Jun 07

Tama County US 30 construction to begin

Construction on new lanes for US 30 east of Tama will start later this summer, the Marshalltown Times-Republican reports. In the highway program, this project is under the header for grading in fiscal 2018. (The five-year plan itself notes that … Continue reading

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Jun 06

Grand Junction overpass under construction

July 5, 2013: Poles for each county on the Lincoln Highway in Iowa are part of the Lincoln Highway Interpretive Site on the east side of Grand Junction. The US 30 overpass being replaced is west of the park. After … Continue reading

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Jun 05

Replacement of US 63 bridge over Mississippi River begins

Not in Iowa, but related to this website because it involves US 63 and the Mississippi River: Last month, the Minnesota Department of Transportation began construction on a replacement for the US 63 bridge at Red Wing. Story: KARE (warning: … Continue reading

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Jun 02

Great Scott!

From California: Man receives ticket after hitting 88 mph in his DeLorean Absolutely worth it.

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Jun 01

A slight extension of this website’s coverage

Blog post 2000! With all the Iowa highway information newly available online, there’s plenty of work I can do. I’ve been doing some of that by editing the pages with the most important changes (or obvious corrections). I announced a … Continue reading

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May 31

Walnut McDonald’s closed for good

The McDonald’s at I-80 exit 46 in western Iowa closed permanently April 17. I found out first-hand, but it slipped my mind for about a month. It didn’t have great reviews on TripAdvisor, for whatever that’s worth. The closure is … Continue reading

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May 30

WHAT Confederate monuments in Iowa?

October 4, 2015: In this view of the Civil War soldier at top of the monument at Keokuk National Cemetery, it doesn’t look like he has a specific insignia. But that’s likely intentional, at least in part because he represents unknown soldiers … Continue reading

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May 29

LeRoy Whannel, 1914-2017

In early April, around the time of his 103rd birthday, WHO-TV profiled LeRoy Whannel of Whannel’s Hardware in Traer. (His last name is mispronounced in the story.) He ran the store for decades and was still working there earlier this month. … Continue reading

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May 28

Final graduation at Charter Oak-Ute

A week ago today, Charter Oak-Ute High School graduated its 55th and last class of students. Story: KTIV. One line in the story is practically boilerplate text in this era: Low enrollment numbers and lack of funding are responsible for the … Continue reading

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