Author Archives: Jeff

Feb 23

M Avenue bridges near Traer to be replaced in 2018

October 30, 2015: The northern of two 1915 bridges on M Avenue, border between Crystal and Perry townships, across Four Mile Creek (which is longer than that). The southern bridge is across Wolf Creek. Hyper, hyper, hyper-local. — Ed. Two … Continue reading

Posted in Construction, Tama County | Comments Off on M Avenue bridges near Traer to be replaced in 2018
Feb 22

A complete history of the Rembrandt school district

July 23, 2009: When the Rembrandt school was torn down in 2002, the gym was left and the former edge sided up. An identification stone from the building was preserved. An alumnus of the former Rembrandt High School has created … Continue reading

Posted in Schools | Comments Off on A complete history of the Rembrandt school district
Feb 21

Harcourt corner to become four-way stop

The west junction of US 169 and IA 175 on the north side of Harcourt will become a four-way stop, the Fort Dodge Messenger reports. A number of accidents is the impetus behind the change, the DOT says. This would, … Continue reading

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Harcourt corner to become four-way stop
Feb 20

Iowa newspapers to be archived, digitized

YAY! Under the authority of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, the State Historical Society has signed a 5-year contract to loan the newspapers to the Advantage Companies, a Cedar Rapids business with a division dedicated to the preservation and … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Iowa newspapers to be archived, digitized
Feb 18

Devaluation by omission

For the old salts of the Internet, read this sentence and notice what it doesn’t say. Quick, name five tech websites. Give up? There’s Recode, The Verge,Tech Crunch, Select All and Ars Technica. A glance at Techmeme, the aggregator for Silicon Valley obsessives, shows at least … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Devaluation by omission
Feb 17

Most of Walnut school will be saved

August 2, 2016: A view of the Walnut school complex. Something to end the week on a little higher note. The town of Walnut will turn its now-closed school into a community center, the Omaha World-Herald reports. The core is … Continue reading

Posted in Schools | Comments Off on Most of Walnut school will be saved
Feb 16

Ainsworth school will close

It’s been a brutal time for rural Iowa schools. Over three weeks, three towns have been told their only school will close forever and two more districts acknowledged they can no longer maintain their high schools. The third ax to … Continue reading

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Feb 15

Bernard Elementary will close

In what was pretty much a foregone conclusion after the initial news broke in December, Western Dubuque voted on Monday to close Bernard Elementary. Stories: KWWL, KCRG. In the KWWL interview, the district superintendent said it costs twice as much … Continue reading

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Feb 14

Charter Oak-Ute losing high school; new area, acronym champion

(A championship no one particularly wanted to gain. — Ed.) For months I have been waiting to find out what would happen to Charter Oak-Ute. There were rumblings back in October that COU would enter into a one-way whole-grade-sharing agreement … Continue reading

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Feb 13

Laurens-Marathon losing its high school

July 23, 2009: Laurens-Marathon High School in Laurens. There are newer additions to the left. “The busiest little town in Iowa” is about to get less busy. Laurens-Marathon will not have a high school next year; it has agreed to … Continue reading

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