Category Archives: Iowa Miscellaneous

Jan 24

Shopko closures hit small county seats

February 9, 2012: The Bloomfield Pamida is shown shortly after the announcement that the small-scale retailer’s merger with Shopko would result in the Pamida name disappearing. The smallest stores, like this one, were rebranded Shopko Hometown. The retailpocalypse is big, … Continue reading

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Jan 22

Last walk through Webster City Kmart

According to the June 18, 1981, Daily Freeman-Journal, “several hundred people” were waiting when the new K-mart opened its doors in Webster City. It was the most prominent big-box retailer to have a store in Hamilton County. Webster City already … Continue reading

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Jan 21

Ladora Bank Bistro cashes out

This century, the Ladora Savings Bank building has gone from dead to resurrected to waiting for a new inhabitant. The “jewel box” bank that was a victim of the Depression was vacant in 2004 when it caught the eye of … Continue reading

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Jan 16

How long was the term of Iowa’s shortest-serving governor?

Baby boomers in Iowa’s Class of 1969 were one of three groups of students, and the most recent, to have a political oddity: A senior year with three governors. Twice before, Iowa had had governors serving under 60 days: Warren … Continue reading

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Jan 15

If cats are outlawed, only outlaws will have cats

October 20, 2018: I didn’t think I’d get a blog post hook for this fast friend in Washta (who didn’t want to sit for a picture), but … kittykittykittykitty! From a KMA story about a Shenandoah man’s call for cat … Continue reading

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Jan 14

The 2019 Iowa House, by gender and area

When the new Iowa House convenes today, one party will have a majority of women while a woman from the other party leads the chamber. Let’s look at the map (basemap from Legislative Services Agency, although it was horizontally scaled … Continue reading

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Jan 04

Iowa counties among ‘most representative’

A study from Echelon Insights sought to find “typical counties” in the United States and two counties from Iowa rank in the top 20. The Midwest plus Pennsylvania ranked pretty high overall. The link has a map to play with. … Continue reading

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Jan 03

The slightly strange political career of Leo Elthon

There are three men who served as governor of Iowa for fewer than two months. One of them pinballed between state and local government after sitting in the big chair. According to the U of I’s Biographical Dictionary of Iowa: Leo … Continue reading

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Dec 24

A genealogist’s Christmas wish

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS Dear Santa: Don’t bring me new dishes; I don’t need a new kind of game. Genealogists have peculiar wishes; for Christmas I just want a surname. A new washing machine would be great, but it’s … Continue reading

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Dec 21

Utah edges Iowa in population, ahead of schedule

I said it was going to happen. I just thought it would take a little longer. According to census estimates, Utah has 5000 people more than Iowa. At the beginning of the 20th century, Iowa was the 10th-largest state in … Continue reading

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