Author Archives: Jeff

Jul 08

L is for Lovilia

Posted on Friday, July 8, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

November 12, 2008: Lovilia school building (1920) and closeup, below. Brian McMillin of Iowa Backroads wrote some history of the Lovilia school on his blog. Two State Board of Education documents tell a fuller story about the end of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Schools, Sequences | Comments Off on L is for Lovilia
Jul 07

Benton 30-218 interchange moves forward

Posted on Thursday, July 7, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

On June 30 the Iowa DOT held another meeting about converting the US 30/218 intersection in southern Benton County into an interchange. It won’t be finished until 2019. The interchange has ramps in the northwest and southeast quadrants to avoid … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction, Tama County | Comments Off on Benton 30-218 interchange moves forward
Jul 06

West Des Moines adds quadrants, sort of

Posted on Wednesday, July 6, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Jason Hancock noticed that an exit on the IA 5 bypass in West Des Moines is now Southeast 35th Street instead of just 35th Street. (For a short time after the bypass opened, it had a Polk County designation instead. … Continue reading →

Posted in Maps | Comments Off on West Des Moines adds quadrants, sort of
Jul 05

Classic, good Mapquest going away

Posted on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I predicted this was going to happen. A website that I’ve been using since the 20th century is being shut down, and while the name continues, it’s not really the same. (It also may mean that no Internet mapping site is … Continue reading →

Posted in Geography, Maps | Comments Off on Classic, good Mapquest going away
Jul 04

Liberty and law

Posted on Monday, July 4, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

September 2, 2008: Replica Statue of Liberty (1950) outside Buchanan County Courthouse (1939) in Independence, Iowa (1847).

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Liberty and law
Jul 01

Moving IA 17 off Lincoln Highway

Posted on Friday, July 1, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

July 5, 2013: The original Lincoln Highway runs on IA 17 between E41 and 205th Street in Boone County. The elevator is part of West Central Cooperative. There is a mile-long east-west segment of IA 17 that runs along old … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction, Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Moving IA 17 off Lincoln Highway
Jun 30

Map of Iowa school enrollment changes, 2001-2015

Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I have created a color-coded map of Iowa that shows changes in certified enrollment between 2001-02 and 2015-16. Certified enrollment is not a direct correlation with head count, because of certain formulas, but it’s the number used for all state … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous, Schools | Comments Off on Map of Iowa school enrollment changes, 2001-2015
Jun 29

Iowa’s largest enrollment gainers, 2001-2015

Posted on Wednesday, June 29, 2016, at 10:10 AM by Jeff

Statewide student enrollment over the past decade and a half tells a different story than a district-by-district breakdown: Rural areas continue to be drained of students while the gains are concentrated in the suburbs. By the raw certified enrollment total, … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous, Schools | Comments Off on Iowa’s largest enrollment gainers, 2001-2015
Jun 28

Smallest districts of 1996 by enrollment — where are they now?

Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I have a map of the state of Iowa’s school districts as they were in the 1996-97 school year. As with any district map, it doesn’t reflect what sharing arrangements were at the time, but counting up the numbers then … Continue reading →

Posted in Schools | Comments Off on Smallest districts of 1996 by enrollment — where are they now?
Jun 27

Largest one-high school areas in Iowa

Posted on Monday, June 27, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

This is a list of the top 10 places in Iowa, by size, served by one high school, in five-year increments. In most cases, it involves whole-grade sharing followed some time later by consolidation, but in some cases there is … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous, Schools | Comments Off on Largest one-high school areas in Iowa