Author Archives: Jeff

Jun 01

Notes on 2021 Iowa map

I guess Map Day is officially the Friday of Memorial Day weekend now. Here’s the big new PDF. Dubuque’s Southwest Arterial is marked on both the main map and Dubuque inset. IA 32 is dead, US 52 has been removed … Continue reading

Posted in Maps | Comments Off on Notes on 2021 Iowa map
May 28

Names are hard

Traer Star-Clipper, September 26, 1930, notes added: New service station to open about Nov. 1 Wieck Bros. plan largest and best-equipped structure of its kind in town — work now in progress Rapid progress is being made on the construction … Continue reading

Posted in Tama County | Comments Off on Names are hard
May 27

The unbelievable part of ‘Superman and Lois’

The whole super powers thing? I’m basically a Superman apologist (Synderverse excepted). Clark Kent at his gosh-darn-shucks-iest moving back to the family farm and town he loves? I will eat that up. Star reporter quitting in statement fashion in light of … Continue reading

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on The unbelievable part of ‘Superman and Lois’
May 26

Mocking Iowa’s 2020s congressional districts (4)

The Census Bureau released its county-by-county estimates on May 4. By “released”, I mean “said in advance they would be available but I had to dig into nested folders and stumble on a straight-outta-1995 icon list that led me to a … Continue reading

Posted in Maps | Comments Off on Mocking Iowa’s 2020s congressional districts (4)
May 25

Casualties along the Tenderloin Trail

Iowa Pork dreamed up the Tenderloin Trail, a checklist of Iowa’s establishments serving the classic breaded tenderloin sandwich, in 2017. The checklist needs to be completed by July 1, according to Iowa Pork’s website. But not all the servers on … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Casualties along the Tenderloin Trail
May 24

Niland’s is back, again, again

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Niland’s is back, again, again
May 21

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

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

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Notes on 2022-26 five-year plan (2)
May 19

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

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

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Notes on 2022-26 five-year plan (1)
May 18

Algona, Lu Verne look into consolidation

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

Posted in Schools | Comments Off on Algona, Lu Verne look into consolidation
May 17

Diverging diamond interchange coming to Coralville

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

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Diverging diamond interchange coming to Coralville