Author Archives: Jeff

Jul 26

Anchors, away

July 9, 2017: The Sears store in Peru, Illinois, will close before the end of the year. Peru, Illinois — I needed a pit stop, Wi-Fi, and food, in that approximate order. Peru Mall, the only major shopping center on … Continue reading

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Jul 25

St. Ansgar school building preserved, for now

In contradiction of a Mitchell County Press-News story that I blogged about 11 months ago, the St. Ansgar school board reversed its decision to sell its 1928 school building to the city development council. A nonprofit group formed a counterproposal … Continue reading

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Jul 24

A flash of time circuits

I’m going to geek out for a moment about the Ready Player One trailer released last weekend. Specifically, I’m looking at the “Back to the Future” trilogy reference dropping in at the 1:42 mark. (Ready Player One is a book, … Continue reading

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Jul 21

Lincoln Highway routes in Belle Plaine, Part 2

July 7, 2013: Preston’s Station in Belle Plaine as it appeared in the centennial year of the Lincoln Highway’s creation. In 1924, the Lincoln Highway through Belle Plaine had almost nothing in common with what we think of as the … Continue reading

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Lincoln Highway routes in Belle Plaine, Part 2
Jul 20

Lincoln Highway routes in Belle Plaine, Part 1

July 7, 2013: Downtown Belle Plaine is a block south of today’s  signed Lincoln Highway route. Main Street, formerly 12th Street, is now one-way eastbound. It’s time to refine the history of the Lincoln Highway in Belle Plaine, and along … Continue reading

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Jul 18

The Peosta not-quite-freeway

The future Southwest Arterial and Swiss Valley Road interchanges planned on US 20 southwest of Dubuque will cut down, but not eliminate, at-grade intersections between the west side of Dubuque and Peosta. There was a public meeting last month on … Continue reading

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on The Peosta not-quite-freeway
Jul 17

The end of AEA 267, and the mystery of AEA 8

Thirteen months after I put Area Education Agency 267 on my “worst names in Iowa” list, something has been done about it. As of July 1, the agency — made up of the former AEAs based in Clear Lake (2), Marshalltown (6), … Continue reading

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Jul 14

Winless streak tables updated, now with more Rutgers

In my annual update for Iowa State’s record of football futility against Oklahoma, I realized Rutgers’ existence is a factor that can’t be ignored anymore. Specifically, Rutgers hasn’t beaten Penn State in New Jersey in a long time, dating back … Continue reading

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Winless streak tables updated, now with more Rutgers
Jul 13

Goodbye to Raider Country

Last week the Ames Tribune went to the Collins-Maxwell/Baxter area and wrote about the end of their sports sharing program. The story focuses on the athletics, which came to a surprise abrupt end when the top-ranked CMB softball team lost … Continue reading

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Jul 11

Quietly, finally, 2017 Iowa state map released

During or shortly after the holiday weekend, the Iowa DOT put the 2017-18 highway map online. As I suspected, judging by the press release put out Monday, the ascension of Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds to the top job held the … Continue reading

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