Category Archives: Geography

Dec 13

Des Moines’ smallest annexation?

The City Development Board approves actions related to municipal boundaries in Iowa, which makes it an important source for annexations and discontinuations. The board’s website is pretty good at posting agendas and minutes, but no additional information is included. This … Continue reading

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Dec 11

The last link in the Transcontinental Railroad

Did you know that when the (first) Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869, there was no connection between Omaha and Council Bluffs? A bridge wouldn’t be built for three years. The story of that bridge, and how it took a … Continue reading

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Dec 06

Cedar Rapids, Fairfax finally touch

(Delayed until I needed fillers. — Ed.) Despite annexations in the southwest quadrant of Cedar Rapids over the past half-decade, the city limits have never touched Fairfax. The right-of-way for Williams Boulevard (US 151) around the intersection with Stoney Point … Continue reading

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Jan 23

Re-countying Connecticut

October 12, 2017: The grave of Nathaniel Lyon is in Phoenixville, Connecticut, in the northeastern corner of the state. Lyon was killed at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in Missouri, southwest of Springfield, in 1861. The following year, the Iowa … Continue reading

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Jan 11

2023 Iowa Legislature geography by the numbers

There is the typical coverage of a new legislative session by demographics, so this post is going to focus on geography. Last time, I made a map, but this time, that job has largely been done for me, so thank … Continue reading

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May 10

150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad

August 5, 2016: The restored Union Pacific depot in downtown Cheyenne WY has an inlaid map of the eastern portion of the Transcontinental Railroad. However, it marks Omaha as the terminus. A century and a half ago today, the United … Continue reading

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Apr 18

Online mapping and geographical illiteracy

I was all set to cite this story to weep and wail about the state of education — for the most part I still should — but then I stopped to think. ‘Many people can’t find themselves on a map,’ laments … Continue reading

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Mar 13

Significant part of country already ‘ahead of time’

July 15, 2013: The westernmost highway entry into the Eastern Time Zone, MI 28 in the Upper Peninsula, is farther west than a lot of Illinois. Longitudinally, it’s roughly on par with Sterling, less than 30 miles from Clinton. It’s … Continue reading

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Dec 11

San Antonio-Austin suggestions

January 25, 2012: Reconstructed boyhood home at Lyndon Baines Johnson National Historic Park near Johnson City, Texas. Let’s say you’re an Iowa State fan who is going to the Alamo Bowl, but don’t want to be among the crowd who have … Continue reading

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Aug 16

The other mall between two school districts

Last month I wrote about how Coral Ridge Mall was divided between two school districts. It turns out it’s not the only one like that in Iowa. Merle Hay Mall is split not just between the Des Moines and Urbandale … Continue reading

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