Author Archives: Jeff

Mar 23

Doug Gee to be Clear Lake’s superintendent

Posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, at 3:00 PM by Jeff

Earlier this month, I wrote a post about former North Tama teacher/coach Doug Gee serving as superintendent for two districts in far western Iowa. Now, Gee is going to Clear Lake for the same position because that district will no … Continue reading →

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Mar 23

Open enrollment will deal big hit to MMCRU

Posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

When Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn and Remsen-Union go into whole-grade sharing next year, the combined districts will lose $450,000 in state funding because dozens of students are open-enrolling out, reports the Sioux City Journal. Distance could be a factor in the exodus, because … Continue reading →

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Mar 22

Iowa Falls drops an ultimatum on Alden

Posted on Tuesday, March 22, 2016, at 10:04 AM by Jeff

The whole-grade sharing agreement between the Alden and much-larger Iowa Falls school districts is currently the oldest two-way deal in the state (2004). Any arrangement that’s older has either fallen by the wayside through consolidation/dissolution or only sends students to … Continue reading →

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Mar 21

A series of unfortunate events

Posted on Monday, March 21, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

As an Iowa State fan, I know the game is never over until the clock reads zeroes, but … I can’t even. This is how you erase a 12-point deficit in 35 seconds. https://t.co/l3eJ83wDDB #MarchMadness — NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) … Continue reading →

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Mar 18

Blue Bunny redesign masks decrease in container size

Posted on Friday, March 18, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Not even an Iowa icon is immune from the Law of Shrinking Products. The week’s previous post referencing the trend was written around two weeks ago, but a tour of the Hy-Vee frozen section has merited a second entry along … Continue reading →

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Mar 17

The mistakes that keep on giving

Posted on Thursday, March 17, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Remember when this season’s Iowa State team was “Sweet 16 is the floor” instead of “Sweet 16 is the ceiling”? The bracket wags have, but they haven’t forgotten about the Cyclones’ other classic tournament flops. “Just look at last season … Continue reading →

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Mar 16

Music to drown by

Posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2016, at 10:21 AM by Jeff

Oh, no reason. No reason at all.

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Mar 15

RAGBRAI map analysis, in dribs and drabs

Posted on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

For the first time in decades at least, the full RAGBRAI route was not printed as a single map in The Des Moines Register. This year, the Iowa Life cover on the first Sunday of March was about… prom styles. … Continue reading →

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Mar 14

e.e. cummings, web and logo designer

Posted on Monday, March 14, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

No wonder today’s students can’t understand capitalization rules. Informal typing is one thing, but then there is this ridiculousness. First, this is how election results (in this case, Iowa’s) look on CNN’s website. There isn’t a single capitalized letter to … Continue reading →

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Mar 12

The Onion writes an unbelievable headline

Posted on Saturday, March 12, 2016, at 10:39 AM by Jeff

“Area Dad Concerned He’s Running Out Of Family Photos To Digitize” I assure you, this is not physically possible.

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