Jan 20

Mile of old US 65 turned over

Posted on Monday, January 20, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The only interesting development from last week’s Transportation Commission meeting was a transfer of jurisdiction. The segment in question is a mile or so of US 65 that was left behind when the interchange in Jasper County was built. You can see it in the center of the above map.

This road has been in its current state for just over a year, but based on the above and its entry in the meeting agenda it doesn’t appear to have been given any secret number in that time.

(BTW, I do have photos of the interchange for a new page. I just haven’t done anything with them yet.)

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Mile of old US 65 turned over
Jan 17

On bubbles, or possibly rocks

Posted on Friday, January 17, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Am I living in one or are they living under one? From Wednesday.

If that doesn’t work, check this version from Mediaite, which points out the show was taped sometime in October, i.e. not half an hour before the congressman in question was in the group walking across the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. And I admit that I didn’t land some clues about 2019 stuff that showed up in the prime-time tournament. But still, really?

Since it was a category about the House, contestants were not asked about the president pro tem of the Senate, Chuck Grassley, who has had quite an eventful week.

(Also, I am very glad Ken beat James.)

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on On bubbles, or possibly rocks
Jan 16

The passing of an age, a couple ages ago

Posted on Thursday, January 16, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

“That the ranks of Civil War veterans are being thinned more rapidly as the years pass is indicated by the mortality figures at the Iowa Soldiers’ Home for the year 1919. The heaviest death rate ever known in the institution was recorded during the year just closed, when ‘taps’ was sounded 155 times, or an average of more than twice a week. Compared to the preceding year, when 137 died, the increase seems large, but when it is taken into consideration that there is scarcely a Civil War veteran now in the Home who is less than seventy-five years of age the death rate is not so notable.”
— Traer Star-Clipper, January 16, 1920

In 2020, our youngest remaining World War II veterans are entering their mid-90s. According to a statistic from the VA published at the National World War II Museum’s website, there are fewer than 400,000 WWII vets alive today, 5000 in Iowa.

Posted in Tama County | Comments Off on The passing of an age, a couple ages ago
Jan 15

Photo 37,000

Posted on Wednesday, January 15, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff


June 21, 2018

US 8 is almost exclusively confined to Wisconsin. It used to run to downtown Minneapolis but currently ends at I-35 on the fringes of the Twin Cities metro area. It barely gets into Michigan, where it ends at US 2 in Norway.

I traveled US 8 end-to-end in less than a day, including an overnight in Rhinelander in the middle of Wisconsin’s Northwoods.

Posted in Sequences | Comments Off on Photo 37,000
Jan 14

An exhortation to be there

Posted on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

South Tama sports are not in a great place right now. Multiple teams have long losing streaks. In the past decade or so the school has bounced from the WaMaC to the Little Hawkeye Conference to the NICL and back to the WaMaC.

In the face of this, Allison Graham, the sports editor of the Tama-Toledo newspapers, has some things to say that are good things to hear not just for South Tama, but for everyone connected to rural school districts. There’s a lot of wisdom about community cohesion in her piece — her first column, picking up from what her dad did before her.

WE HAVE TO SHOW UP. When times are tough (and they are tough) we have to be there. Be present. Even if your kid says I don’t want you to come. That’s a mistake. I know I’m not a parent so I don’t know what it’s like, but I remember being a student here at South Tama and can tell you first hand how much of a difference it makes to have someone you love waiting for you in the hallway outside of a gym or auditorium to celebrate an accomplishment or help pick up the pieces after a defeat. …

To those community members who may no longer be tied to South Tama activities with a young family member still in school; I would also encourage you to consider showing up and showing out for our students in person as we all do on paper in the taxes we pay each month. In rural communities like ours, the school system is a vital organ in the body of the community.

Posted in Sports, Tama County | Comments Off on An exhortation to be there
Jan 13

A historic note, slightly appended, or upended

Posted on Monday, January 13, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

After the 2018 midterms I wrote:

So, barring surprises, in 2020 Iowa will have Republican women in three top positions — Reynolds, Ernst, and Speaker of the House Linda Upmeyer — and Democratic women in two more, Axne and Finkenauer.

Well, guess what, there was a surprise. Linda Upmeyer stepped down as speaker, and the fill-in (not official until the Legislature reconvenes) is Pat Grassley, Chuck’s grandson. So, instead of having women top Iowa’s executive and half of the legislative branch, it’s one of three, while Ernst is the most prominent Republican up for election this year.

Ten years ago, political blogger John Deeth speculated that Chuck would want to hand off his U.S. Senate seat to Pat in 2016. That didn’t happen, but Speaker of the House would be a nice resume line for 2022, wouldn’t it?

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on A historic note, slightly appended, or upended
Jan 10

Amy Klobuchar’s in a very exclusive club of very intelligent, learned people

Posted on Friday, January 10, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

(May not work in older browsers. Sorry.)

“Have any of the other candidates do that?” she asks. No, but that’s only because I’m not running.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Amy Klobuchar’s in a very exclusive club of very intelligent, learned people
Jan 09

Sioux City defers Riverside Boulevard three-lane proposal

Posted on Thursday, January 9, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The three-lane bug has struck again, this time in Sioux City, on the southernmost part of IA 12 from Military Road to I-29.

The Sioux City Council, at a meeting earlier this week, postponed any action until the end of the month (story with un-embeddable video: KTIV) (story with audio: KWIT radio). This appears to be tied to a reconstruction of the highway, aka Riverside Boulevard, but based on the interview in the story, the road is going to be rebuilt anyway and “it’s just a matter of where the paint lines go.”

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Sioux City defers Riverside Boulevard three-lane proposal
Jan 08

Hardin County Courthouse closes the front door

Posted on Wednesday, January 8, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff


April 4, 2006: This view of the stately Hardin County Courthouse in Eldora now needs a notice at the top of the steps: Please use side door.

The Iowa Falls Times-Citizen (two paragraphs, anyway) and KLMJ/KQCR Radio report that starting last week, there is only one entrance to the 127-year-old courthouse. Everyone has to go to an east entrance that, as shown in this frame from Google Street View, didn’t exist five years ago. The T-C leaves open the possibility of a future metal detector.

As in all such cases, metaphors about architecture, government openness, and security are left as exercises for the reader.

UPDATE 1/13: Fixed/updated radio link.

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Hardin County Courthouse closes the front door
Jan 07

A Reinbeck lawyer writes about rural life

Posted on Tuesday, January 7, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Or possibly the Reinbeck lawyer, Abby Wessel, wrote for the November 2019 issue of the Iowa Lawyer magazine:

Reinbeck is a small but prosperous town situated upon what is arguably the best farmland in the state. Mike offered me a position and I accepted. Although the starting pay was low compared to my other more urban options, and I, like many, had the looming cloud of student debt, something about the decision felt “right.” And I will never be more thankful to someone for giving a chance to a girl who had to Google where the town was located.

It’s a nice little read.

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on A Reinbeck lawyer writes about rural life