Category Archives: Uncategorized

Rather than look ahead as I did in previous year-opening Substack pieces, I looked back. This is a compilation of dollar figures, percentages, and other numbers that caught my eye over the course of 2025.

*at least until they completely run out This column also includes a year roundup of my best work.

Here’s something that you might not notice unless it’s directly pointed out: Gannett newspapers nationwide, including the Des Moines Register, Iowa City Press-Citizen, and Ames Tribune, have changed how dates are written in their stories. This has been going on … Continue reading →

I think the loss of Looney Tunes in the Saturday morning lineup 25 years ago (!) was the beginning of the end of Americans’ shared culture.

The Latin phrase per se means “by itself” or “in itself.” Many many years ago in the English language, the alphabet ended with “&.” As Merriam-Webster says: “When the 27th quasi-letter & was referred to it was called & per … Continue reading →

A longtime Traer business is celebrating 20 years at its “new” location on the east edge of town. AWE moved from the auto shop addition at the north-side gas station to the Vokoun Co. site in 2005. The business is … Continue reading →

There’s going to be something big moving on the highways in Washington County today and tomorrow. (Too bad I already have something in the works for Substack this week.)

The Westside Maid-Rite, Cedar Rapids’ oldest restaurant in the same location (1935), closed Jan. 15. I wrote about it on my Substack. It was the feature image in the second new “Flipside” story roundup from the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative that will … Continue reading →

There’s only about a 25-mile segment of US 151 in Iowa that isn’t four lanes, but that segment has raised concerns about its safety. There are no turn lanes, and sometimes the line of sight isn’t great. One possibility is … Continue reading →

The North Tama Redhawks swept Belle Plaine in a regional semifinal volleyball match Monday. Wednesday’s game to go to state will be against River Valley of Correctionville at Webster City. To prevent four ranked Iowa Star Conference teams from devouring … Continue reading →