Author Archives: Jeff

May 24

Niland’s is back, again, again

Posted on Monday, May 24, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Niland’s Cafe in Colo, a classic feature along the Lincoln Highway, has reopened for the second time in three years. The cafe closed in late 2018, then reopened in 2019, then closed again in mid-2020. Earlier this month it came … Continue reading →

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May 21

Notes on 2022-26 five-year plan (2)

Posted on Friday, May 21, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Major and/or interesting things in the Iowa Transportation Commission’s five-year program, continued: New IA 9 bridge over the Mississippi River at Lansing in 2024, but removal of the present one in 2026 (which, because all of these are fiscal years, … Continue reading →

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May 19

Notes on 2022-26 five-year plan (1)

Posted on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

June 20, 2017: This intersection on the south side of Nevada will not be closed in 2023 in favor of an overpass between here and the S14 intersection in the deep background. UPDATE/CORRECTION 6/25/21: Current plans leave the intersection intact … Continue reading →

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May 18

Algona, Lu Verne look into consolidation

Posted on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

What’s left of what once was the Corwith-Wesley-Lu Verne school system — officially never consolidated but together for three decades — is probably going away soon. Algona and Lu Verne have formed a reorganization committee, Radio Iowa reports. Realistically, this means … Continue reading →

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May 17

Diverging diamond interchange coming to Coralville

Posted on Monday, May 17, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I-80’s 1st Avenue exit in Coralville, scheduled for replacement in 2023, will be Johnson County’s first diverging diamond. That will be a year after I-380 at Tower Terrace Road becomes the first such exit in eastern Iowa. The interesting thing … Continue reading →

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May 14

790,150: Not officially a magic number, but a curious one

Posted on Friday, May 14, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

We have a lot of census-related numbers floating around right now, and each makes one piece of a puzzle, but it will be hard to put them all together until the granular data comes out later this year. Here’s what … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous, Maps | Comments Off on 790,150: Not officially a magic number, but a curious one
May 12

RAGBRAI XLVIII, v3.0

Posted on Wednesday, May 12, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Maps for this summer’s RAGBRAI route, which is last summer’s RAGBRAI route, were released online May 3. Wait, didn’t we do this already? Yes, we did! But what’s presumably the final route has some notable differences from the previous final route, … Continue reading →

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May 11

Well, that’s embarrassing

Posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

My chronology of Iowa congressional districts had Tama Jim Wilson’s election years off by a decade. He was elected to the U.S. House in 1882 and 1884. Blog-me should’ve told map-me about this, but even then the error has been … Continue reading →

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May 10

Council Bluffs dual, divided freeway completion this week

Posted on Monday, May 10, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

An e-mail from a mailing list and this DOT press release bring good news for western Iowa: The I-80 dual, divided freeway separation will be completed this week. There will be some closures to get lane shifts complete, but starting … Continue reading →

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May 07

KSO: A saga in three paragraphs

Posted on Friday, May 7, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

KSO, Iowa’s other three-letter AM station starting with a K, debuted Nov. 2, 1925. The Berry Seed Co. of Clarinda had specifically applied for the letters: “Keep Serving Others.” The following articles are from the Clarinda Journal in 1932, which … Continue reading →

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