Author Archives: Jeff

Jun 22

Lincoln Highway: Marshalltown, Iowa

Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

March 26, 2010: Closeup of the clock tower at the Marshall County Courthouse. The Lincoln Highway’s original route through Marshall County went right through Marshalltown. It wasn’t relocated onto a straightaway until the end of 1947. The route through the … Continue reading →

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Jun 21

Lincoln Highway: Jefferson, Iowa

Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

May 15, 2011: The Greene County Courthouse, as seen from the Lincoln Highway (above) and looking east on the Lincoln Highway from the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower (below). Half a century plus one year after the Mahanay Memorial bell tower … Continue reading →

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Jun 20

Lincoln Highway: Williamstown, Ohio

Posted on Tuesday, June 20, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

October 3, 2013: Intersection of the Lincoln Highway and US 68, Williamstown, Ohio. A significant stretch of the Lincoln Highway in Ohio was signed as US 30 as recently as the beginning of the 21st Century. The highway was upgraded … Continue reading →

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Jun 19

The Lincoln Highway, as previously seen here

Posted on Monday, June 19, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

July 6, 2013: Youngville Station at the intersection of US 30/218 in Benton County. Over multiple days, I traveled the then-newly-signed Lincoln Highway Historic Byway across Iowa for its 100th birthday. Since this week is the Lincoln Highway Association’s annual … Continue reading →

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Jun 16

Bonus: E is for Elma

Posted on Friday, June 16, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

August 4, 2015: Some of the windows at Elma Elementary aren’t “windows” at all; they have classical artwork and inspirational quotes on them (detailed below). A decade ago, the Howard-Winneshiek school district was the second-largest in the state by area … Continue reading →

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Jun 15

Dysart legalizes chickens

Posted on Thursday, June 15, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

By votes of 4-0, 3-2, and 3-2, the Dysart City Council passed three readings of an ordinance allowing residents to keep chickens inside city limits. Because when chickens are outlawed, only outlaws will have chickens. Now, will this get hipsters to … Continue reading →

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Jun 14

I-380 construction will split travel lanes

Posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

While traveling in Kentucky last year, I encountered a road construction phenomenon I haven’t seen often, if at all. While a rural interstate was being expanded to three lanes in each direction, an on-site detour had one lane of traffic … Continue reading →

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Jun 13

The end of the Marathon to Marathon

Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

July 23, 2009: Welcome sign for Marathon at the south end of former IA 390. The Marathon to Marathon has become the latest casualty of an aging and depopulating rural Iowa. The last race was last weekend. While it may … Continue reading →

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Jun 12

A significant reduction of Des Moines’ one-ways

Posted on Monday, June 12, 2017, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Des Moines is out to remake its nearly 65-year-old system of downtown streets, the Register reports. It’s a combination of doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, and doing the wrong thing for stupid reasons. One-way streets are the second-worst … Continue reading →

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Jun 10

The most accurate headline of the year

Posted on Saturday, June 10, 2017, at 10:20 AM by Jeff

“You can never have too many kolaches”. It may be a seasonal article, but consider the alternative…

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