Author Archives: Jeff

Jan 24

Legislature tries to circumvent will of the voters

Posted on Friday, January 24, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

OH COME ON. Of all the things that Iowans can’t find agreement on, “license plates” probably wasn’t on the list a decade ago. In 2017, the state offered voters three choices for a new license plate. A reworked version of … Continue reading →

Posted in License Plates | Comments Off on Legislature tries to circumvent will of the voters
Jan 23

Utah keeps powering past Iowa, with Nevada on its tail

Posted on Thursday, January 23, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The depopulation of rural Iowa is now a problem for the National Guard. In the adjutant general’s “Condition of the Guard” message to the Iowa Legislature earlier this month, he said: “I can’t continue to have quality infrastructure where I’m pouring … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Utah keeps powering past Iowa, with Nevada on its tail
Jan 22

How Minnesota, and California, will vote ahead of Iowa

Posted on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Before, states seeking to usurp Iowa and New Hampshire as the first-in-the-nation for primary cycles would move their elections forward in the calendar in a game of chicken. Now there’s a simpler, yet more insidious method: Early voting. Minnesota voters … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on How Minnesota, and California, will vote ahead of Iowa
Jan 21

Nevada paving project doesn’t change US 30 configuration

Posted on Tuesday, January 21, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

There was a meeting last week about US 30 in the Nevada area, but what may be more interesting is what it wasn’t about. In the mid-2010s, there was discussion about closing at-grade intersections on US 30 between Ames and … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Nevada paving project doesn’t change US 30 configuration
Jan 20

Mile of old US 65 turned over

Posted on Monday, January 20, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The only interesting development from last week’s Transportation Commission meeting was a transfer of jurisdiction. The segment in question is a mile or so of US 65 that was left behind when the interchange in Jasper County was built. You can … Continue reading →

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Mile of old US 65 turned over
Jan 17

On bubbles, or possibly rocks

Posted on Friday, January 17, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Am I living in one or are they living under one? From Wednesday. WATCH: Adam Schiff was an answer on "Jeopardy!" and none of the contestants knew who he was https://t.co/4A8AA2R1kW pic.twitter.com/a693uJV4kJ — The Hill (@thehill) January 16, 2020 If … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on On bubbles, or possibly rocks
Jan 16

The passing of an age, a couple ages ago

Posted on Thursday, January 16, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

“That the ranks of Civil War veterans are being thinned more rapidly as the years pass is indicated by the mortality figures at the Iowa Soldiers’ Home for the year 1919. The heaviest death rate ever known in the institution … Continue reading →

Posted in Tama County | Comments Off on The passing of an age, a couple ages ago
Jan 15

Photo 37,000

Posted on Wednesday, January 15, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

June 21, 2018 US 8 is almost exclusively confined to Wisconsin. It used to run to downtown Minneapolis but currently ends at I-35 on the fringes of the Twin Cities metro area. It barely gets into Michigan, where it ends … Continue reading →

Posted in Sequences | Comments Off on Photo 37,000
Jan 14

An exhortation to be there

Posted on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

South Tama sports are not in a great place right now. Multiple teams have long losing streaks. In the past decade or so the school has bounced from the WaMaC to the Little Hawkeye Conference to the NICL and back … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports, Tama County | Comments Off on An exhortation to be there
Jan 13

A historic note, slightly appended, or upended

Posted on Monday, January 13, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

After the 2018 midterms I wrote: So, barring surprises, in 2020 Iowa will have Republican women in three top positions — Reynolds, Ernst, and Speaker of the House Linda Upmeyer — and Democratic women in two more, Axne and Finkenauer. Well, … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on A historic note, slightly appended, or upended