Category Archives: Iowa Miscellaneous

Dec 27

The Final Countdown: 3. Greenville

October 3, 2016: The remnants of a baseball diamond on the east end of Greenville, possibly just south of where the school was. I just missed Greenville, pop. 74, on my spring break 2003 trip, the one that I have … Continue reading

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Dec 22

KOKZ begins closing the circle

^ So mid-’90s it hurts. KOKZ-FM 105.7 in Waterloo switched to oldies in late 1996 or early 1997*. That was the station the school bus radio was turned to, and for quite a while there was a one-hit wonder practically … Continue reading

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Dec 21

The Final Countdown: 4. Archer

October 3, 2016: Archer, like MANY other hamlets in Iowa, owes its existence to the railroad, but the rails were pulled up when a Cherokee-Sioux Falls line was abandoned in the mid-1980s. Archer, pop. 131, is five miles from US 18 … Continue reading

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Dec 20

The Final Countdown: 4 1/2. Meriden

The trio of Meriden, Cleghorn, and Marcus were once served by individual spur routes from IA 5 (now IA 3) until the highway was moved closer to the railroad. Today, IA 143 is the only number that remains, because downtown … Continue reading

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Dec 14

The Final Countdown: 5. Varina

October 3, 2016: No big stone lions guarding this library. As I crossed IA 4 on US 20, I saw long green tubes on freshly churned dirt in the middle of a cornfield, and I realized I was entering Bakken … Continue reading

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Dec 13

The Final Countdown: 6. Duncombe

October 11, 2002: Mile marker 11 on IA 928 near the Highview elevator in Hamilton County shows a countdown to Fort Dodge, even though the Webster County segment was turned over almost right away. On old 20, you can be … Continue reading

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Dec 09

Visits to new Iowa cities in 2016

September 26, 2016: In March 2010, the Volga post office was “temporarily closed”. Now, there are these cluster boxes outside, which often signal the town’s post office is gone for good, but the letters are still on the building clear … Continue reading

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Dec 06

How many cities are on Iowa highways?

August 4, 2015: After IA 122/old US 18 was turned over, Rudd remained a city “on” the Iowa highway system because the four-lane is still within the city limits. I’ve sporadically mentioned my resolution to visit all 944 existing incorporated … Continue reading

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Nov 24

Raise the song of harvest home

October 3, 2016: County Road B40 east of Primghar. MidAmerican Energy has two wind farms in O’Brien County. Northwest Iowa has substantial capacity for wind energy generation.

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Nov 16

The last time the county voted for…

Donald Trump’s near-sweep of Iowa in the 2016 election is even more shocking when you take it into longer-term context. The only time in the past half-century that the Democratic candidate failed to win at least 10 counties in Iowa … Continue reading

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