Category Archives: Iowa Miscellaneous

Apr 28

Really delayed spring cleaning

OK, so some of the info from this month-old post is outdated, but the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative additions list is important, and it’s another picture from Pi Day in Springville. (Me? A procrastinating mess? Never.)

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Really delayed spring cleaning
Apr 21

Swan to disincorporate

September 30, 2014: Swan, in far northwest Marion County, was bypassed by the state highway system when what today is IA 5 was realigned in 1928. The IA 316 bridge over the Des Moines River at Runnells was decades in … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Swan to disincorporate
Apr 14

Pi Day, delayed

Pie is always in season, not just March 14! Pi Day in Springville is a local holiday.

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Pi Day, delayed
Apr 14

Colona-oscopy

In Sunday’s print Des Moines Register, on the “Around the State” page, there was this curious item: In a page that is about stories from the state of Iowa, the Register ran a brief from a city in ILLINOIS — … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Colona-oscopy
Apr 01

Windsor Heights got a Casey’s

You might think that news about a Des Moines suburb getting another gas station isn’t too notable, but in this case, I found something. Land was cleared last fall for a Casey’s at the northeast corner of University Avenue and … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Windsor Heights got a Casey’s
Feb 24

Watching TV is so hard nowadays

About a month ago, Mediacom shut off its unencrypted cable signal. That means my favorite way to watch TV — on the computer — couldn’t work with cable anymore. Ironically, even as I write this now, the signal to my … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Watching TV is so hard nowadays
Feb 17

Headline goes here

January 8, 1883, was the last Monday that residents of Cedar Rapids didn’t have a hard-copy newspaper sold at stores or delivered to their doorsteps. Until today. Tuesday will be 600 days since I lost my job there.

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Headline goes here
Feb 14

Remember January?

Like I said, and say at the opening of the short-takes piece below, it’s been … yeah.

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Remember January?
Jan 30

Meteorologists staying on at KWWL

When news of what Allen Media was planning to do to local weather desks across the nation got out, the reactions were all the same, and all bad. Even though the move had not been announced publicly, the rumble was … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Meteorologists staying on at KWWL
Jan 23

Noting correction to 2023 news graphic

I’m not going to redo my graphic from 2023 about newspaper frequency, but since the information that one line is inaccurate has come to light, I need to acknowledge it. In May 2022, the Ames Tribune announced that at the … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Noting correction to 2023 news graphic