Author Archives: Jeff

Jun 19

More Iowa papers reducing print days

Posted on Monday, June 19, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

May 21, 2023: The fifth-to-last Sunday Mason City Globe Gazette carries an editor’s note about the paper eliminating three of its six print publication days. I bought this at the Lake Mills Casey’s for $4. Four of Iowa’s 11 newspapers that … Continue reading →

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Jun 16

Central command

Posted on Friday, June 16, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Let’s go rollin’ on the Turkey and Wapsipinicon rivers. Due to it name(s), the reorganization history of the school district headquartered in Elkader was elusive. First, Elkader and Littleport voted to form the Consolidated Center School District (Clayton County Register, … Continue reading →

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Jun 14

Mid-century Corridor school history

Posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Information on schools in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area covers enough time and space that it was best to pull them out into their own post. Dates are from Cedar Rapids Gazette articles. Toddville merged with Alburnett in 1954 (1/24/54), … Continue reading →

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Jun 12

Strike up the band, strike out the band law

Posted on Monday, June 12, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Clarinda votes for bands. Authorizes two mill tax to pay for all. Clarinda, Iowa, March 28, 1921, voted almost two to one a two mill tax for the support of its bands of music. The tax will be available for … Continue reading →

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Jun 09

3 Tama County churches in United Methodist schism

Posted on Friday, June 9, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

More than 80 United Methodist churches in Iowa are ending their affiliation with the denomination. (Stories: Register, Gazette) The action is part of a slow-motion schism over gay rights that the COVID pandemic has made extra messy. The Garwin, Geneseo, … Continue reading →

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Jun 07

Jefferson Highway notes in Decatur County

Posted on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

This 1918 construction document for “Inter County Highway” shows the plan for a truss bridge south of Leon. Note the intricate illustration for the river. The 2023 Jefferson Highway conference starts today in Mason City. The Jefferson Highway, also known … Continue reading →

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Jun 05

Last bell at Crescent Elementary

Posted on Monday, June 5, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

October 15, 2021: “Crescent Elementary School is the heart of the community,” the Council Bluffs district says on a webpage that probably won’t exist by this time next year. Crescent Elementary had its final day May 25. The student population … Continue reading →

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Jun 01

2023 state map doesn’t have the blues, it has the teals

Posted on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Memorial Day weekend in odd years means the release of the new Iowa highway map. The 2023 map (extremely large PDF) was available online a week ago. But when I loaded it, things felt off. The shade of blue was … Continue reading →

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May 30

Ring the bells for Traer’s Big Birthday Bash

Posted on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The original plan for June 3 was to have a kickoff for Traer’s sesquicentennial celebration that would culminate with the Winding Stairs Festival in August. Instead, the Big Birthday Bash got really big. Here’s a full schedule of events (via … Continue reading →

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May 26

License Plate Letters — NBC, NGP

Posted on Friday, May 26, 2023, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

It’s probably hard to see, but at the beginning of the year, NBC TV tweaked its classic Peacock logo. Trade publication NewscastStudio has an explanation with before-and-after GIFs. Overall, 2023 is the 70th anniversary of eight TV stations that at … Continue reading →

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