Author Archives: Jeff

Mar 25

Eating from the what now?

Posted on Monday, March 25, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Deep in the March 19 Associated Press story “Pedal coast-to-coast without using a road? New program helps connect trails across the US,” we find this: “Without the infrastructure bill, we wouldn’t be having these conversations,” Paprocki said. “We’d be fighting … Continue reading →

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Mar 23

Rodney Dangerfield, call your office (again) (again)

Posted on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The Dish Network listing for Thursday’s ISU men’s NCAA tournament game forgot that Caitlin Clark isn’t playing in it. Maybe we can’t blame them, given the complete saturation. Notice it never happens the other way around. (h/t my parents) PS: … Continue reading →

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Mar 21

Southern Iowa US 63 corridor study online

Posted on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at 10:05 AM by Jeff

A “Draft Vision Document” for US 63 from Ottumwa to the Missouri state line is open for comment at the DOT website. It summarizes findings from meetings last year. Much like the study of US 63 in Tama and Poweshiek … Continue reading →

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Mar 19

Boomers, Boomers, Boomers

Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

In my latest column, I look with dismay at yet another presidential election matchup between candidates born in the 1940s. The only one since 1992 that didn’t include at least one was 2008 (McCain, a Silent, vs. Obama, a young … Continue reading →

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Mar 14

Hamburg intersection to become 4-way stop

Posted on Thursday, March 14, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

October 2, 2015: On southbound US 275 at IA 333 in Hamburg, you can see “Traffic from left does not stop” in yellow under the stop sign. Hamburg’s key highway intersection is getting a change. The intersection of US 275 … Continue reading →

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Mar 12

Iowa schools timeline: Clay and Buena Vista

Posted on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Because I was out of ideas and had to blow one of my “evergreens” wanted to give Substack readers a taste of my school research, my most recent post is a compilation of dates for schools in Buena Vista and … Continue reading →

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Mar 07

License Plate Letters — OBE

Posted on Thursday, March 7, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

There is confirmation via reader e-mail and personal observation that license plates have entered the O’s. This did not happen with the 1997 series, which skipped from N to P. It did, however, happen with the 1986 series, which began … Continue reading →

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Mar 05

More about College Township

Posted on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

In early 2021 I wrote about “Western College” in southern Linn County and how that connected to the short-lived Leander Clark College in Toledo. Now the Gazette’s “Curious Iowa” series has a feature on College Township with more history about … Continue reading →

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Mar 01

Hills could lose its school

Posted on Friday, March 1, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The school building in Hills was constructed in 1965, just before the town was attached to the Iowa City school district. Six decades later, that school is in danger of closing. Iowa City has put Hills Elementary on the chopping … Continue reading →

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Feb 28

Lansing bridge closed for at least two months

Posted on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The replacement of the Black Hawk Bridge at Lansing just got underway in November, but it does not appear it will be in time for a seamless transition. The current bridge was shut down Sunday after “unexpected movement” and it … Continue reading →

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