Author Archives: Jeff

Mar 10

Mocking Iowa’s 2020s congressional districts

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

Normally, at this time of a year ending in 1, the Legislative Services Agency would be hard at work carrying out the nation’s best mapping exercise. This will be the fifth time the LSA has drawn up boundaries for Iowa’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Maps | Comments Off on Mocking Iowa’s 2020s congressional districts
Mar 08

Linn Grove bridge to be replaced

Posted on Monday, March 8, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The bridge across the Little Sioux River just north of Linn Grove will be replaced in 2022, the Storm Lake Times reports. The state will chip in about half the $2 million replacement cost. The bridge dates back to 1940, … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Linn Grove bridge to be replaced
Mar 05

2021 Lincoln Highway conference cancelled

Posted on Friday, March 5, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

June 13, 2011: Route 66 Visitors Center at the Joliet Area Historical Museum, in a city I will not be visiting this summer. The 2021 Lincoln Highway Association conference, which was going to be in Joliet after the 2020 conference set … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on 2021 Lincoln Highway conference cancelled
Mar 03

Why does ‘Nomadland’ use old license plates?

Posted on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

In the embedded tweet is a poster for the streaming movie Nomadland. It should take about five seconds to see where I’m going with this post. The states are ordered by their admission to the Union, which is a neat thing … Continue reading →

Posted in License Plates | Comments Off on Why does ‘Nomadland’ use old license plates?
Mar 01

Lincoln Highway, Historic 20 get special designations

Posted on Monday, March 1, 2021, at 10:10 AM by Jeff

September 28, 2014: A painting of Youngville Station in Benton County, inside Youngville Station, at the now-interchange of US 30 and US 218. The Historic 20 Route Association is Bryan Farr’s brainchild, and his decade of work has paid off: … Continue reading →

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous, Maps | Comments Off on Lincoln Highway, Historic 20 get special designations
Feb 26

Mid-Iowa Council’s first female Eagle Scouts

Posted on Friday, February 26, 2021, at 10:01 AM by Jeff

Girls in Ankeny and Ottumwa are the first two in central Iowa to become Eagle Scouts after changes to Scouting opened the doors to them. Stories: Des Moines Register, KYOU (with video). They are among the first 1,000 girls nationwide … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Mid-Iowa Council’s first female Eagle Scouts
Feb 24

School enrollment analysis, 2020-21

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

The first takeaway from the 2020-21 certified enrollment list is the most obvious: There were big drops across the board. Growing districts that had not seen decreases in years if not the century to date (Ankeny!) lost kids. There were … Continue reading →

Posted in Schools | Comments Off on School enrollment analysis, 2020-21
Feb 22

Today is March 359, 2020

Posted on Monday, February 22, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Large Group All-State Speech honors were given out to Iowa high school students last week. (See, for example, here and here and here and here.) Each locally-focused story, though, contains one sad detail: There will be no All-State performance day. Again. … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Today is March 359, 2020
Feb 19

Bettendorf gets a few blocks of State Street

Posted on Friday, February 19, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

May 9, 2018: The on-ramp from eastbound State Street, once northbound US 67, to eastbound/southbound I-74 has been temporarily retained for access to the old bridge, which as of December is only for downtown Moline. An item from this month’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Bettendorf gets a few blocks of State Street
Feb 18

NT boys play tonight after last-second win

Posted on Thursday, February 18, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

This post is mainly to link to the Newton Daily News article about North Tama beating Baxter on Monday night on a 3-pointer by a freshman. The Redhawk boys play a district basketball semifinal tonight at Meskwaki Settlement. (edit: mistimed … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports, Tama County | Comments Off on NT boys play tonight after last-second win