Author Archives: Jeff

Apr 03

A TV show about road tripping in Iowa!

At the Iowa State Fair last year, Iowa Public Television Iowa PBS teased a “Road Trip Iowa” series coming in 2024. Well, it’s here! Sadly, I was not asked to be a consultant. The press release has one very important … Continue reading

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Apr 02

On the Lansing and Baltimore bridges

In my most recent Substack, I look into how the Lansing Black Hawk Bridge’s closure is a far different situation than the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge’s collapse. I wrote it because I expected there to be stories about national … Continue reading

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Apr 01

Hills Elementary to close

It was pretty much guaranteed to happen as soon as it was announced: The Iowa City school district is shutting down Hills Elementary. Stories: Gazette, Daily Iowan, KCRG (autoplay), KWWL (video only), Iowa Starting Line has a copy of the packet … Continue reading

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Mar 27

You’ve got to come back with me!

In which I, a “Back to the Future” trilogy superfan, get to geek out in Gladbrook over the newest addition to Matchstick Marvels.

Posted in Tama County | Comments Off on You’ve got to come back with me!
Mar 25

Eating from the what now?

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)

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

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

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

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

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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