May 15

Draft five-year plan is out

Posted on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, at 11:55 AM by Jeff

It’s a big file, because the highway program isn’t separated out like it used to be years ago.

I hope to have analysis this weekend.

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Draft five-year plan is out
May 14

An 11-day span

Posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2013, at 2:31 PM by Jeff

May3snow may14temp

Picture with the former:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Addendum: It is really, really WEIRD to be driving and seeing snow on the ground while it is light out at 7 PM.

 

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on An 11-day span
May 14

KWWL checks in with Gladbrook’s mayor

Posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2013, at 12:53 AM by Jeff

But in Reinbeck, since that’s where Gladbrook-Reinbeck High School is. Keith Sash used to be a Tama County supervisor.

KWWL.com

Posted in Tama County | Comments Off on KWWL checks in with Gladbrook’s mayor
May 13

End/Begin 330 signs gone

Posted on Monday, May 13, 2013, at 11:25 AM by Jeff


December 2002: Eventually, a “North” was added here.

In the past week, the “End 330” sign and “Begin” marker that were at the IA 330/IA 117/US 65 intersection were removed, months after 330 was officially extended to Altoona. However, no other signs at the intersection changed, including the two pairs of “Jct 65/117” on southbound 330 and an “East 117” on northbound 65.

There has been no addition of “End 330” at I-80, though.

In a way, I was right. I thought that nothing would change at the intersection until spring, and last Friday there was still snow on the ground.

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on End/Begin 330 signs gone
May 10

You spin me right round, baby

Posted on Friday, May 10, 2013, at 11:19 AM by Jeff

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The IA 3/IA 187 intersection at Starmont High School in Fayette County is now a roundabout. It is the first in Iowa in a rural area.

Because of these big signs, in each direction after passing the roundabout is a distance sign to the next town.

Pictures of how the intersection used to look are on both the IA 187 and IA 154 pages.

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on You spin me right round, baby
May 09

Iowa’s BCS teams are twit-free

Posted on Thursday, May 9, 2013, at 10:36 AM by Jeff

Paul Rhoads has the sense to stay off Twitter.

Kirk Ferentz isn’t on either.

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Iowa’s BCS teams are twit-free
May 08

East Greene, South Central Calhoun mergers approved

Posted on Wednesday, May 8, 2013, at 1:15 PM by Jeff

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
May 10, 2010: Now that the school in Lytton is closed will the billboard come down too? Or should it stay up as a historical memento?

The special election Tuesday (most know for Warren County voting against a casino) included at least two school consolidation votes.

Jefferson-Scranton and East Greene will officially become Greene County in 2014. This is a smart name change. (Your move, Paton-Churdan.)

Rockwell City-Lytton and Southern Cal will complete the consolidation to South Central Calhoun in 2014. Both have been in whole-grade sharing for a while. Southern Cal won two football championships in a row in 2008-09, defeating North Tama and Mason City Newman in classic games. Lytton’s school building closed at the same time. The district occupies about 5/8 of Calhoun County.

SCC’s sports teams are known as the Titans. Oddly enough, not too far away, there is another recent pair of team-sharers that picked the name Titans and is ALSO purple, silver, and black — Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire. GTRA is moving to the Twin Lakes Conference; its old home, the Corn Belt Conference, has suffered a WAC-esque collapse as schools consolidate and switch affiliations.

Posted in Schools | Comments Off on East Greene, South Central Calhoun mergers approved
May 08

Why ISU needs to play Kentucky in football

Posted on Wednesday, May 8, 2013, at 10:43 AM by Jeff

It’s been a bit (maybe even a whole two months) since someone used “Iowa State” as a synonym for “bottom-feeder,” so here’s some offseason filler in the context of Bob Stoops vs. SEC-uber-alles “propaganda”:

But why should that make any difference to Stoops, really? No one — well, no one whose opinion matters, anyway — would argue that Kentucky is better than Oklahoma, or even that Kentucky’s better than, say, Iowa State.

I’d love a chance to settle that on the gridiron. (The basketball court, been there done that.)

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Why ISU needs to play Kentucky in football
May 08

And now, the joke I forgot to make in November

Posted on Wednesday, May 8, 2013, at 12:43 AM by Jeff

Johnson County Justice Center vote fails again.

I didn’t even know Justice Center was up for retention.

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on And now, the joke I forgot to make in November
May 07

License Plate Letters — BEK

Posted on Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at 12:56 PM by Jeff

That’s where we are near the beginning of May.

Posted in License Plates | Comments Off on License Plate Letters — BEK