Category Archives: Maps

Apr 26

Iowa border history, with a focus on the Iowa Great Lakes

Posted on Friday, April 26, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Arnold Garson of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative wrote a Substack post last week about how the Iowa Great Lakes almost didn’t figure in to the state of Iowa. His writeup touches on the paired-states issue before the Civil War (slave … Continue reading →

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Apr 08

An early RAGBRAI LI correction

Posted on Monday, April 8, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The RAGBRAI map and pass-through town list was not unveiled until April (a first) and on a weekday (another first). It ran in the Des Moines Register both online and in print on April 4 (and was off the website’s front … Continue reading →

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Jan 22

Tama County map meetings on three mornings

Posted on Monday, January 22, 2024, at 9:00 AM by Jeff

Notice for three public meetings regarding the proposed five-district map for the Tama County Supervisors will be this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday — all at 9:45 AM (UGH!). So this blog post is live at 9 and if you hurry … Continue reading →

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Dec 06

Cedar Rapids, Fairfax finally touch

Posted on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

(Delayed until I needed fillers. — Ed.) Despite annexations in the southwest quadrant of Cedar Rapids over the past half-decade, the city limits have never touched Fairfax. The right-of-way for Williams Boulevard (US 151) around the intersection with Stoney Point … Continue reading →

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Jun 01

2023 state map doesn’t have the blues, it has the teals

Posted on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Memorial Day weekend in odd years means the release of the new Iowa highway map. The 2023 map (extremely large PDF) was available online a week ago. But when I loaded it, things felt off. The shade of blue was … Continue reading →

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Apr 14

RAGBRAI L map notes and analysis

Posted on Friday, April 14, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

July 29, 2021: RAGBRAI riders enter Center Point. RAGBRAI was not held in 2020, so 2023 marks the 50th ride. (The plague ended a lot of continuous/consecutive records.) My analysis (with passing corrections) of the RAGBRAI L map is based … Continue reading →

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Mar 29

But what does Metropolis-style pizza look like?

Posted on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

My previous complaint about “Superman & Lois” had to do with my inability to suspend disbelief when Smallville’s football team played Metropolis in a day game that required an overnight hotel stay. Now, the show has established Smallville is within … Continue reading →

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Mar 20

RAGBRAI L: Count-up to 50

Posted on Monday, March 20, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

In a change from January, the RAGBRAI L route announced March 13 does not have a total of 50 communities. A RAGBRAI staffer posted online on March 15 that road construction and bridge issues have affected plans, and that the century … Continue reading →

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Feb 20

Township population list misaligns certain numbers

Posted on Monday, February 20, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

While working on the Tama County Board of Supervisors post back in October, I wondered if there was a comprehensive list of populations of Iowa areas by township. This agglomeration of information, including cities independent of townships, is a building … Continue reading →

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Jan 23

Re-countying Connecticut

Posted on Monday, January 23, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

October 12, 2017: The grave of Nathaniel Lyon is in Phoenixville, Connecticut, in the northeastern corner of the state. Lyon was killed at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in Missouri, southwest of Springfield, in 1861. The following year, the Iowa … Continue reading →

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