Category Archives: Iowa Miscellaneous

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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Dec 10

Warren County Courthouse: Everything must go

Everything not nailed down, and some things that are, at the Warren County Courthouse in Indianola will be auctioned off Dec. 14. (Link: KNIA/KRLS, but tipped off on WHO.) The 1939 courthouse will be replaced next year. Warren County is … Continue reading

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Dec 06

Casey’s popping up in more Iowa towns

May 7, 2018: Just inside the city limits of Lone Tree is a brand new Casey’s. This photo was taken for my IA 405 page. Iowa’s homegrown gas station chain, Casey’s, is marking its 50th anniversary this year. In the … Continue reading

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Nov 13

Fleet Farm Fleet

Blain’s Farm & Fleet was one of the first retail developments at the corner of IA 58 and Viking Road, opening in 1999. Beside it sprung up a Wal-Mart. Then, about a decade or so ago, the retail boom there … Continue reading

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