Author Archives: Jeff

Mar 03

T is for Thornton

Posted on Thursday, March 3, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

July 29, 2010 The Thornton school in all its Art Deco glory met the wrecking ball in April 2012, leaving both a literal and metaphorical empty space in the heart of town. It lives in photos like these.

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Mar 02

Chuck Offenburger writes about Diagonal

Posted on Wednesday, March 2, 2016, at 10:04 AM by Jeff

Former “Iowa Boy” Des Moines Register columnist Chuck Offenburger is still a prolific writer and blogger — he wrote a book about Bernie Saggau and the IHSAA in 2005. Recently, he made the trip down to Diagonal to see basketball games … Continue reading →

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Mar 01

The appointment that never happened

Posted on Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

December 31, 2015: Dr. Haldy’s dentist office in Traer, on his last official day in business. I was supposed to see my dentist on caucus day. Instead, though, I found out in October that Willard Haldy, Traer’s dentist, planned to … Continue reading →

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Feb 29

Meeting about US 30 in Toledo this week

Posted on Monday, February 29, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The Iowa DOT will hold a meeting in Toledo on Thursday to discuss the plan to four-lane US 30 in eastern Tama County. It won’t be completed for years, but the first step is acquiring right-of-way. The project statement says … Continue reading →

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Feb 27

Top ‘structurally deficient’ bridges on replacement cycle

Posted on Saturday, February 27, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Getting attention this week was an update to a type of report that gets issued in various forms semi-regularly since the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis in 2007, regarding the condition of bridges nationwide. One-fifth of Iowa’s bridges, over 5000 … Continue reading →

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Feb 26

U is for Ute

Posted on Friday, February 26, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

July 20, 2012 The Ute school building last had students in May 2012, despite its continued inclusion on a statewide directory of active buildings in 2014-15. The Charter Oak-Ute school district sold it for $10,010 on Oct. 21, 2013, according … Continue reading →

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Feb 25

Wagon Wheel Bridge irreparably damaged

Posted on Thursday, February 25, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

July 7, 2013: The Wagon Wheel Bridge in Boone County was accessible to pedestrians after its closure to traffic. In the foreground is the portion of the bridge that was damaged in early August 2015 and removed. One of Iowa’s … Continue reading →

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Feb 24

V is for Vincent

Posted on Wednesday, February 24, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

July 6, 2011: Entrance to the Vincent school building in northeast Webster County. At the time the picture was taken, a sign outside said “Vincent Antique Galleries.” The Eagle Grove school district closed the Vincent attendance center at the end … Continue reading →

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Feb 23

W is for Wyman

Posted on Tuesday, February 23, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

June 1, 2015: The Wyman building is on the cover of Barb and Dave Else’s book “For All the Small Schools: A Photographic Pursuit of Iowa’s Forgotten Schools.” The village of Wyman, east of Crawfordsville, has a scattering of houses and a Farm … Continue reading →

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Feb 22

Carving up Farragut

Posted on Monday, February 22, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The eastern quarter of Fremont County, including the towns of Farragut and Imogene, will become part of the Shenandoah school district next year. The Iowa Department of Education released its plans for the Farragut district, which will be forcibly dissolved … Continue reading →

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