Author Archives: Jeff

May 04

What will happen to St. Ansgar Elementary?

August 4, 2015: Detailed view of the brickwork at the southeast corner of the St. Ansgar Elementary building, which started out as the town’s main school building. They don’t build them like this anymore. The St. Ansgar school district has … Continue reading

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May 03

Jefferson Highway book published

The Jefferson Highway, the much-less-known north-south counterpart to the Lincoln Highway in Iowa, is getting its time in the spotlight. There is now a book about the route, which went from Winnipeg to New Orleans (“Pine to Palm”). In Iowa, … Continue reading

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May 02

Draft Gladbrook-Reinbeck dissolution map released

At a meeting last week, the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Dissolution Committee unveiled a first draft of the way the school district would be divided up should a vote pass. The district’s PDF is here (Google Docs) and I have replicated it below. … Continue reading

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Apr 29

The ‘Oregon Trail’ Generation

With the news that millennials now outnumber baby boomers, I want to pass along this Huffington Post piece that points out not all millennials (and late X’ers) are created equal. I’ve thought for years that Generation Y should be broken … Continue reading

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Apr 28

$1.986

I had back-to-back interesting number issues while filling my gas tank recently. (I also have a gas tank that refuses to let the pump run until it gets full, but that’s another issue.) First, I got caught in a “nine-tenths” … Continue reading

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Apr 27

GR dissolution committee meeting tonight

The Gladbrook-Reinbeck dissolution committee will have a public meeting tonight at 5:30 in the MPR in Reinbeck. The agenda is pretty short with only one real new item: “Discussion – Begin boundary line drawing.” I don’t think there will be any … Continue reading

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Apr 26

Council Bluffs highway decommissioning May 1

June 12, 2006: The end is here. West Broadway (US 6) and North 16th Street (IA 192) will be turned over to Council Bluffs for $16 million on Sunday. Stories: Nonpareil, WOWT, KETV, KMTV. I’ve sent an e-mail to the … Continue reading

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Apr 25

Forty years of Iowa route descriptions posted online

OH HO, what do we have here? Transfer of jurisdiction agreement number TJ‑318‑0(3)‑‑2M‑86, between the city of Clutier and the Iowa Department of Transportation, transferred that portion of Iowa 318 from Front Street north and east to the east corporation … Continue reading

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Apr 22

A bridge of Madison County

September 19, 2014: The Imes Bridge on the east side of St. Charles is the easiest of the “Bridges of Madison County” to visit from I-35. John Weeks has a lot more for pictures and history of not just the … Continue reading

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Apr 21

North Winneshiek throws in the towel

The North Winneshiek School District plans to be absorbed by Decorah at the end of the 2018-19 school year. Articles: Decorah Public Opinion, Decorah News, KWWL, KCRG. The school district, whose building is located southeast of Burr Oak, will send junior … Continue reading

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