Author Archives: Jeff

May 05

Clearing up Clearfield

Posted on Friday, May 5, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Following a reader’s letter, I dug in on the history of the Clearfield school for the 1982-92 school years. It got so complicated I had to make a spreadsheet. The Clearfield district, on the Taylor/Ringgold county line, dissolved in 2014. … Continue reading →

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May 03

Peyton Manning, call your office

Posted on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The above image comes from an Iowa DOT sign letting contract that is to be let May 16. The contract covers sign trusses and BGS replacement at four key interchanges: Both ends of I-880 and IA 29 at old IA … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Peyton Manning, call your office
May 01

Truss no one

Posted on Monday, May 1, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

June 19, 2021: The underside of the Iowa approach to the old I-74 bridges. Deconstruction continues on the I-74 Mississippi River bridge following the decision last year not to bring it down with explosives. WQAD has a story about the … Continue reading →

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Apr 28

Fort Madison cuts sports sharing, then reverses course

Posted on Friday, April 28, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

When the Fort Madison school district voted to end its sports sharing programs early this month, it got the governor’s attention. The public school had been sharing multiple programs with students from Holy Trinity, and wrestling to Central Lee. In … Continue reading →

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Apr 26

Taking a run through every town, updated

Posted on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

March 19, 2022: Unincorporated towns on the Iowa map include Voorhies, in the southwest corner of Black Hawk County. About a year and a half ago, I ran a blog post about Tyler Sullivan, who is doing the every-town thing … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Taking a run through every town, updated
Apr 24

Malvern’s ‘End 41’ found a new home

Posted on Monday, April 24, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

March 13, 2002: The only photo this site has of IA 41’s south end before decommissioning, taken by Neil Bratney. IA 41, a spur to Malvern, was an original 1920-series highway that was killed off in the Second Great Decommissioning … Continue reading →

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Malvern’s ‘End 41’ found a new home
Apr 21

Pomeroy school’s future unclear

Posted on Friday, April 21, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Pomeroy-Palmer merged with Pocahontas Area a decade ago. The building in Pomeroy has been vacant nearly as long, except that the gymnasium has remained in use for practices*. But Pocahontas Area doesn’t want the facility anymore, KCCI reports, and the … Continue reading →

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Apr 19

US 30 bridges in C.R. under construction

Posted on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Now for the worst kind of construction update, the kind that affects me: Bridge deck overlay projects in a couple spots on US 30 in Cedar Rapids west of I-380 will reduce freeway traffic to one lane in both directions. … Continue reading →

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Apr 14

RAGBRAI L map notes and analysis

Posted on Friday, April 14, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

July 29, 2021: RAGBRAI riders enter Center Point. RAGBRAI was not held in 2020, so 2023 marks the 50th ride. (The plague ended a lot of continuous/consecutive records.) My analysis (with passing corrections) of the RAGBRAI L map is based … Continue reading →

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Apr 12

What’s next for NT after bond issue failure?

Posted on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

North Tama’s year-plus planning for a decades-plus future of the school complex failed by six votes last month. Now, writes Superintendent David Hill, the board is looking for advice on what to do next. Tonight, the North Tama school board’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Schools, Tama County | Comments Off on What’s next for NT after bond issue failure?