Author Archives: Jeff

Apr 09

100th anniversary of Traer school fire

August 14, 2010: Cornerstone of Traer School built after the 1917 fire, now the core of the North Tama school, along the hallway connecting the original building and the elementary. One hundred years ago tonight, within a week of the … Continue reading

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Apr 07

US 30 Grand Junction overpass delayed

According to a short item in the Ogden Reporter, construction of a new US 30 overpass on the east side of Grand Junction has been delayed for at least a couple of weeks. The overpass is modern US 30 over … Continue reading

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Apr 06

Finally, a plan to six-lane I-35 to Ames

Next Tuesday in Huxley, the DOT will have a meeting about a project that’s at least 10 and probably 20 years overdue — upgrading I-35 to six lanes between Ankeny and Ames. This would be the first rural six-lane interstate … Continue reading

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Apr 05

HMS bond issue fails by seven votes

The third attempt at a bond issue in the HMS school district barely missed out on a supermajority, KIWA reports. There were 1518 votes cast, so 60 percent would be 911 votes in favor of the bond issue, and it … Continue reading

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Apr 04

Orange school demolished

Until 1964, Orange Township on the south side of Waterloo was its own school district. Even after a consolidation of Orange with Waterloo West and Waterloo East, Orange kept its high school until 1972 and even had a football team … Continue reading

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Apr 03

Atlas Obscura finds the Sullivan Line

Another article about the Honey War? Sure! For a shorter story and more geographic nitty-gritty, there is my page on the Sullivan Line, but my photos were taken when the grass wasn’t green. Also, I visited the marker in “the … Continue reading

Posted in Geography, Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Atlas Obscura finds the Sullivan Line
Apr 01

A story

April 7, 2016: The story you are about to read is a fib, but it’s short. The town of Floris is very small, 153 people, between Ottumwa and Bloomfield. One day the only person walking around was a man named … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on A story
Mar 31

A light at the end of the tunnel for I-29 in Sioux City

June 12, 2005: I-29 at the downtown exit in Sioux City, not too long before the state started a project to rebuild and expand the interstate through the city. The first photo with the news story linked below shows this … Continue reading

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Mar 30

Going into the I-74 toll bridge offices

The Quad-City Times‘ Barb Ickes got a chance to explore the “underbelly” of the I-74 toll plaza and offices that span a space over the Mississippi River joining the twin bridges. The photo gallery is definitely worth a look through. … Continue reading

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Mar 29

A county has topped its 1870 population peak

UPDATE 9/20/21: After the official 2020 census numbers came out … it didn’t. ======================== To dig into the 2016 county population estimates, let’s start with the map I made last year. The pattern hasn’t changed much: Every decade, the urban … Continue reading

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