Category Archives: Iowa Miscellaneous

Jun 23

Early Centerville continues to vex me

Posted on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Pinning down early highways in places that fall in the “large town” category is often difficult. Records are sparse and, because the state was not in charge of routes within city limits until later, county maps omit detail and city … Continue reading →

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Jun 07

Captain Kirk’s birthplace moved

Posted on Monday, June 7, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk, the most famous Iowan who hasn’t been born yet, isn’t where it used to be. Or not where it was supposed to will have been. (“I hate temporal mechanics,” said the Miles O’Briens. Mileses … Continue reading →

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May 25

Casualties along the Tenderloin Trail

Posted on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

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 →

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May 14

790,150: Not officially a magic number, but a curious one

Posted on Friday, May 14, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

We have a lot of census-related numbers floating around right now, and each makes one piece of a puzzle, but it will be hard to put them all together until the granular data comes out later this year. Here’s what … Continue reading →

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May 07

KSO: A saga in three paragraphs

Posted on Friday, May 7, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

KSO, Iowa’s other three-letter AM station starting with a K, debuted Nov. 2, 1925. The Berry Seed Co. of Clarinda had specifically applied for the letters: “Keep Serving Others.” The following articles are from the Clarinda Journal in 1932, which … Continue reading →

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May 05

License Plate Letters — KMA

Posted on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

KMA 960 AM is one of Iowa’s oldest radio stations. Its call letters, chosen specifically by the May Seed & Nursery Co., mean “Keep Millions Advised.” The May family owned the station from its beginning in 1925 until 2019. Here … Continue reading →

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Apr 20

Porker up

Posted on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The principal at Duncombe Elementary in Fort Dodge (not Duncombe) kissed a pig to make good on a student fundraiser promise. It wasn’t a piglet, either. Come for the fourth-grader’s shocked face, stay for the pigs doing…what pigs do. From the … 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 →

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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 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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