Category Archives: Iowa Miscellaneous

Sep 02

Walz not interested in Iowa’s vote

I guess we’re really not a swing state any more if a major vice-presidential candidate is saying things like this: “For those not from Minnesota, just to be clear, there’s a lot of great state fairs in the country, this is the … Continue reading

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Aug 27

My Iowa State Fair column for 2024

I had an idea fall into my lap, and I didn’t take it. Also, it rained that Monday, the first time it’s rained on me at the fair since 2015. However, I had a good second idea, and that’s what … Continue reading

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Aug 19

What’s the frequency, Jim and Beth?

In what appears to be a long-delayed follow-up from a request entered in 2021, KCRG is changing its antenna signal. However, the station is remaining branded as Channel 9 and this only affects antenna users. According to the station’s website, … Continue reading

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Aug 15

Lighthouse Inn supper club burns down

The Lighthouse Inn supper club on Mount Vernon Road east of Cedar Rapids, a Lincoln Highway landmark, burned to the ground on Wednesday. Stories: Gazette, KCRG.

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Jul 31

Greenfield riding to recovery

I went to Greenfield last week to write about that town being on RAGBRAI so soon after a tornado hit the town. (I also may or may not have sprained my ankle in Orient, but that’s a different story.)

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Jul 25

Best refills at the fair, gone

It’s a short story, but a notable one. Crescenti’s food stand won’t be at the Iowa State Fair for the first time in four decades. The five-paragraph, two-subhead story in the Des Moines Register says the owner is hanging it … Continue reading

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Jul 23

Koality control

This clip is from the RAGBRAI support vehicle map for today. /stares //STARES Does Gannett not have proofreaders for anything anymore? (This is a rhetorical question. — Ed.) And what map service were those support vehicle route directions copied from, … Continue reading

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Jul 22

‘The Funeral Directors Of Flight 232’

Via a KTIV story I learned of a 15-minute documentary about funeral directors who responded to the crash of United Flight 232 in Sioux City in 1989. It’s worth a watch. Last week was the 35th anniversary of the crash. … Continue reading

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Jul 18

RAGBRAI LI and picking routes

I did my annual look at RAGBRAI on my Substack site. This year, I concentrated more on the issue of mapping out routes in southern Iowa. The plain fact is, there are fewer options to choose from.

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Jul 12

60th anniversary of Walcott truck stop

The location now known as the Iowa 80 Truckstop, or the “World’s Largest Truckstop”, opened at the Walcott exit on I-80 six decades ago. It is also the 45th anniversary of the Truckers Jamboree there. Stories: Quad-City Times via Cedar … Continue reading

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