Author Archives: Jeff

May 14

The ghost of IA 402

Added to the DOT’s five-year plan last year, for work this year, is a resurfacing project for IA 21 from IA 8 to US 20. It’s your typical hot-mix asphalt, flaggers ahead, etc., but the December letting packet had a … Continue reading

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May 13

Everly will lose its school

“The Everly Cattlefeederettes won the sectional tournament at Hartley last week. Members of the squad are Jeanette Olson, Vicki Birchard, Cindy Fliss, Janet Scharnberg, Jo Scharnberg, Connie Selk, Lynda Nordstrom, Jan Scharnberg. Judi Walton, Jean Cadwallader, Linda Nath and Sua … Continue reading

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May 10

150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad

August 5, 2016: The restored Union Pacific depot in downtown Cheyenne WY has an inlaid map of the eastern portion of the Transcontinental Railroad. However, it marks Omaha as the terminus. A century and a half ago today, the United … Continue reading

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May 09

You don’t need a weatherman…

I’m pretty much obligated to repost this, right? Here is the 2008 presidential election by National Weather Service CWAs! I've also included a 2008 to 2016 margin change map and the original 2016 map again. Despite Obama's decisive win in … Continue reading

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May 08

Dubuque Southwest Arterial update

From the city of Dubuque on YouTube.

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May 07

‘Blackout’ Iowa license plate to be offered

The first time I saw it, I did a double-take. It was a black muscle car with two white stripes across the center from front to back. On the back, instead of the standard Iowa license plate, was a white-on-black … Continue reading

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May 06

Dad’s new toy

There’s another dependent in the family, and probably his early birthday present to himself. In fairness, this is only the second tractor of the gang that’s younger than I am, and the other isn’t by much. (Consider this, also, our … Continue reading

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May 04

The only opinion column that matters this week

Washington Post: James Holzhauer is a menace to ‘Jeopardy!’ (warning: autoplay video) States move to legalize sports betting and a professional sports gambler breaks Jeopardy. Probably just a coincidence. But he didn’t know about either Ben Sasse or the University of … Continue reading

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May 03

End of a TV era

My EyeTV programming subscription expired today — but it died the evening of Feb. 5. I was away, so I didn’t know it happened until I came back and found an empty screen where the TV listings were supposed to … Continue reading

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May 02

The most conflicting intersections

Four intersections between four-lane expressways and county roads have been singled out for extra warning signs this year. In the April DOT letting there’s a contract for “Intersection Conflict Warning Systems.” A diagram shows inclusion of cameras, turn detectors, and … Continue reading

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