Author Archives: Jeff

Apr 12

I-35 bridge project creates detours for US 30

Posted on Monday, April 12, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Two years after a permanent change to the I-35/US 30 interchange in Ames, a temporary one is here, and this time it will affect some football gameday traffic. Starting last week, the DOT closed some ramps at the interchange in … Continue reading →

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Apr 09

Iowa’s 1920 Highway System: The short and winding road

Posted on Friday, April 9, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Iowa Highway Commission 1919 map. Notice the absence of a primary road southeast of Waukon and the town of “North McGregor,” which did not become Marquette until March 29, 1920. IA 51 has never been outside of Allamakee County, but … Continue reading →

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Apr 07

Mocking Iowa’s 2020s congressional districts (2)

Posted on Wednesday, April 7, 2021, at 10:10 AM by Jeff

The Iowa State Fair does not have a redistricting contest. There are no awards for Most Politically Balanced, Fewest Counties, Best District Made With Bacon, etc. Nevertheless, I have a hankering to be the Robin Tarbell-Thomas of submissions. In my first set of … Continue reading →

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Apr 05

‘Against Professionalism’

Posted on Monday, April 5, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

From the Cedar Rapids Republican, March 15, 1901: Against Professionalism. At the close of the football season last fall representatives of ten middle western colleges and universities met in Chicago and adopted a set of rules to the regulation of … Continue reading →

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Apr 02

Your call cannot be completed as dialed, er, tapped

Posted on Friday, April 2, 2021, at 10:03 AM by Jeff

June 14, 2011: A (non-functioning) wonder of the ancient world in Winthrop. Awfully public for a changing room, don’t you think, Clark? Another part of a simpler technological life is going away in two large swaths of Iowa. According to … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Your call cannot be completed as dialed, er, tapped
Mar 31

Is America slipping into a fat-jeans phase?

Posted on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I must voice support for my millennial sisters who have spent much of this year having fashion choices heckled by the youth of Generation Z who wouldn’t know a pair of JNCOs if it walked up and said howdy. We shall not … Continue reading →

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Mar 30

License Plate Letters — KKJ

Posted on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Let’s just skip a couple notches ahead, ‘k?

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Mar 29

Happy 100th birthday, Iowa state flag!

Posted on Monday, March 29, 2021, at 10:10 AM by Jeff

July 21, 2012: The Iowa flag flies at West Lyon Community School, between Larchwood and Inwood, the northwesternmost school district in the state. The Iowa Legislature made the Iowa state flag official on March 29, 1921, according to this story … Continue reading →

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Mar 25

Not like that

Posted on Thursday, March 25, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I try to keep this a clean blog, so I will simply say that last night’s Iowa State women’s NCAA game happened. ESPN said ISU had a 98% win probability with 39 seconds left. Probability, two dozen turnovers notwithstanding, does … Continue reading →

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Mar 24

Women’s work in the Iowa Highway Commission (2)

Posted on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Excerpted from “Main roads designed as 24-foot pavement,” by Ellen Landon, Ames Daily Tribune, June 9, 1953, with some cleanup: The bridge design division makes preliminary layouts and final detail design and drawing and bridges or large culverts on a … Continue reading →

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