Category Archives: Iowa Miscellaneous

The Union Pacific’s No. 4014, the “Big Boy” steam locomotive, is passing through Iowa on a “Heartland of America” tour. There are two remaining stops for public view, at Belle Plaine at noon today and Grand Mound at 11 AM … Continue reading →

I guess we’re really not a swing state any more if a major vice-presidential candidate is saying things like this: “For those not from Minnesota, just to be clear, there’s a lot of great state fairs in the country, this is the … Continue reading →

I had an idea fall into my lap, and I didn’t take it. Also, it rained that Monday, the first time it’s rained on me at the fair since 2015. However, I had a good second idea, and that’s what … Continue reading →

In what appears to be a long-delayed follow-up from a request entered in 2021, KCRG is changing its antenna signal. However, the station is remaining branded as Channel 9 and this only affects antenna users. According to the station’s website, … Continue reading →

The Lighthouse Inn supper club on Mount Vernon Road east of Cedar Rapids, a Lincoln Highway landmark, burned to the ground on Wednesday. Stories: Gazette, KCRG.

I went to Greenfield last week to write about that town being on RAGBRAI so soon after a tornado hit the town. (I also may or may not have sprained my ankle in Orient, but that’s a different story.)

It’s a short story, but a notable one. Crescenti’s food stand won’t be at the Iowa State Fair for the first time in four decades. The five-paragraph, two-subhead story in the Des Moines Register says the owner is hanging it … Continue reading →

Via a KTIV story I learned of a 15-minute documentary about funeral directors who responded to the crash of United Flight 232 in Sioux City in 1989. It’s worth a watch. Last week was the 35th anniversary of the crash. … Continue reading →