Dolls, tiny museums, and opera houses that no longer have operas but do have plays, are part of the third installment of the 2026 Clayton County Museum Crawl.
I was not compensated at the time of the posts, but a month later became the winner of $150 in gift certificates and Chamber of Commerce bucks as the winner of the drawing. (This assumes there was a drawing, and I was not the only one to complete the crawl.)
Cindy Hadish of Homegrown Iowan visited St. Joseph’s Parish in Chelsea, among others, as they prepared to have a final Mass. The Archdiocese of Dubuque is engaged in a restructuring process, and the reduction in services and realignment of pastorates took effect at the end of June.
Technically, these are not closure closures, as there will be Wednesday morning services, and the churches will be available for weddings and funerals. (That means that there’s still going to be maintenance costs involved.)
St. Paul’s in Traer, somehow (a miracle?), escaped full closure, although all the proposals ended Mass there. Traer was noted as having one of the longest distances to another parish. Masses there are held on Saturdays.
Instead of a story from this year’s RAGBRAI route, I did a photo gallery. (Time is not a luxury, alas.)
OK, I admit I should have made this particular headline a little more SEO-friendly. Also, although I donated it, it might not actually BE on display at the Iowa State Fair this year, and I feel part of that is my fault. I should’ve given a heads-up that I was going to run this column.
Here’s the second half of my six-museum marathon from one day in June.
Le Grand Reporter 4/13/23:
Herbert Hoover calls on relatives
LeGrand included in Iowa itinerary — Uncle Davis and Aunt Amelia warmly greeted
LeGrand entertained distinguished company Thursday afternoon and evening. Herbert Hoover, member of President Harding’s cabinet and one of the outstanding figures of the World War, dropped quietly into town about 4 p.m., having come direct from Ames where at 11 o’clock he addressed the student body. The evening before he was the principal speaker before the League of Women Voters in convention at Des Moines.
Mr. Hoover came to LeGrand to pay a visit to the homes of his aunt Amelia Hoover and uncle H.D. Hoover, and renew the acquaintance of other kindred in the neighborhood. It will be remembered that as a boy Mr. Hoover made his home for a time with his Uncle Allen and Aunt Amelia at West Branch and he has always shown the most tender regard for them. His Uncle Allen passed away a year ago. He has a son whom he named Allen.
Mr. Hoover was accompanied by his private secretary. They left for West Branch Friday morning.
The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum will have a renovation rededication today in West Branch.
(This was on the same front page as the “Notice to Bidders” for the school building in Le Grand that remains in use to this day.)
Waiting for a train on US 75 in Merrill is an experience one wants to have as little as possible. I endured it once last year. Now it’s going to be fixed.
The Iowa DOT has settled on a design that will relocate US 75 slightly to the east, with a bridge over new, slightly straightened railroad tracks. The second public meeting in four months on the subject will be held Aug. 7 in Merrill. While that may sound fast, in the overall six-step process, this is only the latter portion of Step 2. There hasn’t even been an environmental impact study yet.
This project is not in the five-year plan; reconstruction of 75 through Hinton is, in 2029. That means that without a big change in priorities or a big grant, the earliest construction could begin is late 2031 (fiscal 2032). Once the bridge is open, the railroad tracks can be relocated.
The concept mentions “reduced-conflict intersection” for this location. That’s not really true. What it really is, is a partial interchange at US 75 and old 75 (northbound exit, southbound entrance), with a turnaround for the other two traffic movements just to the south. Right now the south end is a Y intersection.
Also, in a surprise found a while back, the official city map of Merrill shows that old 75, 3rd and Main streets, is secret IA 470. We don’t know when or why this designation occurred.
Good news: US 20 will not be getting a roundabout in Holstein!
Bad news: Both intersections with US 59 are going to become J-turns!
The story from KTIV says that this was selected over the roundabout due to right-of-way issues. That is completely believable given the location of the truck stop.
These would be the fifth and sixth J-turn intersections in Iowa, following the existing one on US 20 near Fort Dodge, one proposed for US 30 at DeWitt, and two coming to US 75 southwest of Merrill
Now, if these are going to be inflicted on the drivers, the absolute least that can be done in return is restoring the expressway south of Holstein to a true four-lane, right? Right?
Here’s a story about a school district dissolving before formation of modern school districts was really a thing in Iowa.
Are we “quite” through with the Q’s in the Iowa license plate alphabet, after about a year, maybe a little less? It appears so.
The next thing to watch for is when the E’s, F’s, and G’s get replaced, which should be over the next year or so. At that time, the 1997 background will have been phased out completely.
