Category Archives: Iowa Miscellaneous

Jul 21

Oxymoron of the week

Posted on Monday, July 21, 2014, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

“RAGBRAI Nutrition”.

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Jul 19

25th anniversary of United 232 crash

Posted on Saturday, July 19, 2014, at 2:25 PM by Jeff

On July 19, 1989, one of the nation’s worst aviation disasters — and one of the best under-the-circumstances success stories of heroism and emergency response — happened in Sioux City. The Argus Leader and AP have stories on the anniversary … Continue reading →

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Jul 17

Spirit Lake, Okoboji part of RAGBRAI “Okoboji” stop

Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2014, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The official route announcement in January was for the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa to stop in “Okoboji,” but the maps only show the route following A34 through Milford. It was the Iowa Great Lakes area as a … Continue reading →

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Jul 06

Well, at least the drought’s over

Posted on Sunday, July 6, 2014, at 1:29 PM by Jeff

Field near Wolf Creek near Traer on Wednesday. The water went down substantially Thursday and Friday. Related news story.

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Jun 21

My column on Manilla, and school closings in general

Posted on Saturday, June 21, 2014, at 10:44 AM by Jeff

Published in The Des Moines Register today.

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Jun 19

Hoover presidential coin released

Posted on Thursday, June 19, 2014, at 3:31 PM by Jeff

The first president born west of the Mississippi River and the only one born in Iowa takes his turn in the Mint’s release cycle.

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Jun 13

Standardization, or genericization, of Iowa interstate signs near completion

Posted on Friday, June 13, 2014, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Over the past five years, guide signs at Iowa’s interstate interchanges have been revamped with an eye for modern-day driving needs. The last major stretches of interstate will be switching over this summer, and the style will spread to other … Continue reading →

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Jun 12

Polk County ‘island’ may go to Johnston

Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2014, at 4:00 PM by Jeff

 (from the Des Moines inset) I like clean maps, so this is something that is nice to see. There’s a little spot of Polk County between Johnston and Urbandale that both cities somehow overlooked during their torrid growth. It’s inconvenient … Continue reading →

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Jun 12

Hatch ad’s attention to detail

Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2014, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

In Democratic candidate Jack Hatch’s new campaign ad, he is reading a “newspaper” that says “Branstad seeking 24YRS as Gov” with a big picture of Branstad underneath. (The headline does not mention those would be non-consecutive “YRS”.) The prop is … Continue reading →

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May 31

Court ruling on San Marnan Drive

Posted on Saturday, May 31, 2014, at 1:28 AM by Jeff

The Iowa Supreme Court has put Waterloo in an interesting pickle. The Waterloo Courier (long article) and KWWL (short) both have stories. (Yes, that is former Rep. Dave Nagle as the plaintiffs’ lawyer.) The court ruled that the city was wrong … Continue reading →

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