Author Archives: Jeff

Jul 25

Best refills at the fair, gone

Posted on Thursday, July 25, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

It’s a short story, but a notable one. Crescenti’s food stand won’t be at the Iowa State Fair for the first time in four decades. The five-paragraph, two-subhead story in the Des Moines Register says the owner is hanging it … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Best refills at the fair, gone
Jul 23

Koality control

Posted on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

This clip is from the RAGBRAI support vehicle map for today. /stares //STARES Does Gannett not have proofreaders for anything anymore? (This is a rhetorical question. — Ed.) And what map service were those support vehicle route directions copied from, … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous, Maps | Comments Off on Koality control
Jul 22

‘The Funeral Directors Of Flight 232’

Posted on Monday, July 22, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Via a KTIV story I learned of a 15-minute documentary about funeral directors who responded to the crash of United Flight 232 in Sioux City in 1989. It’s worth a watch. Last week was the 35th anniversary of the crash. … Continue reading →

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Jul 18

RAGBRAI LI and picking routes

Posted on Thursday, July 18, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I did my annual look at RAGBRAI on my Substack site. This year, I concentrated more on the issue of mapping out routes in southern Iowa. The plain fact is, there are fewer options to choose from.

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Jul 16

NT graduate bringing music to Traer

Posted on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

July 9, 2024: A poster promoting the appearance of Robert Yeltman at the Ripley United Church of Christ parsonage was near the entrance to North Tama Veterinary Clinic. I was back home last week for the district semifinal baseball game … Continue reading →

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Jul 12

60th anniversary of Walcott truck stop

Posted on Friday, July 12, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The location now known as the Iowa 80 Truckstop, or the “World’s Largest Truckstop”, opened at the Walcott exit on I-80 six decades ago. It is also the 45th anniversary of the Truckers Jamboree there. Stories: Quad-City Times via Cedar … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on 60th anniversary of Walcott truck stop
Jul 09

Randalia has disincorporated

Posted on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The 897th-largest town in Iowa isn’t a town anymore. KCRG reports that Randalia, in Fayette County, officially unincorporated on June 30. The town’s population was 84 in 2000, but had fallen to 50 in 2020. The story said that to … Continue reading →

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Jul 08

Interstate 11 extended through Las Vegas

Posted on Monday, July 8, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

This isn’t an Iowa story, obviously, but it’s important for the interstate system as a whole. The Nevada DOT is replacing Interstate 515, which ran southeast from Las Vegas toward the Hoover Dam area, with Interstate 11. The I-11 designation … Continue reading →

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Interstate 11 extended through Las Vegas
Jul 05

Breakdown of 2025-29 highway plan

Posted on Friday, July 5, 2024, at 10:44 AM by Jeff

My annual breakdown of the big stuff planned for construction in the Iowa DOT’s five-year plan is on Substack.

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Jul 01

Sing, sang, sung

Posted on Monday, July 1, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The Associated Press needs someone to copy-edit its news alerts, especially on weekends. That should be “formerly incarcerated” not “formally incarcerated.” If anyone is being informally incarcerated something strange is going on. (note: the author’s work schedule has always included … Continue reading →

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