Author Archives: Jeff

Sep 30

Wapello bypass at meeting stage again (now with 100% more exits!)

Posted on Monday, September 30, 2024, at 10:10 AM by Jeff

Tuesday night is going to have a rarity for highway construction plans nowadays, a formal meeting. An “updated preliminary design” for the US 61 Wapello bypass comes six years after the initial proposal. It includes a huge change. The new … Continue reading →

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Sep 24

License Plate Letters — OZZ

Posted on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

No, we’re not off to see the wizard. We’re off to read about the infamous bat incident. “When did Ozzy become an actor?” the band Bowling for Soup asked in the song “1985”, which was released in 2004, which means that … Continue reading →

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Sep 20

Civil War re-enactment at Clark’s Park this weekend

Posted on Friday, September 20, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

An event originally planned for last year as part of Traer’s sesquicentennial will be held this weekend. A re-enactment of the May 1864 Battle of the Wilderness will take place at T.F. Clark Park Friday through Sunday. An abbreviated schedule … Continue reading →

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Sep 18

Ed Wilson gave some love to Traer

Posted on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Yes, it happened during RVTV week, the Thursday before Iowa State beat Iowa. However, Nexstar holds all its newscasts hostage for two hours, forbidding streaming, so it was new to me. The prompt was a grandmother who lives in Traer. … Continue reading →

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Sep 16

Janesville’s north connection to 218 changing

Posted on Monday, September 16, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Starting today, according to an Iowa DOT press release, the intersection of US 218 and Maple Street on the north side of Janesville will be closed. A new road will be built alongside the railroad tracks heading north to a … Continue reading →

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Sep 12

Advice for the Class of 2025

Posted on Thursday, September 12, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I made the Iowa Capital Dispatch last week with my Substack piece from the previous week about being old obsolete washed-up 25 years removed from my senior year of high school.

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Sep 10

Big Boy in Belle Plaine

Posted on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at 10:01 AM by Jeff

I managed to scrape together a story about Big Boy’s travels while barely returning to work on time. (The train showed up late.)

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Sep 05

‘Big Boy’ train coming through eastern Iowa

Posted on Thursday, September 5, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The Union Pacific’s No. 4014, the “Big Boy” steam locomotive, is passing through Iowa on a “Heartland of America” tour. There are two remaining stops for public view, at Belle Plaine at noon today and Grand Mound at 11 AM … Continue reading →

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Sep 02

Walz not interested in Iowa’s vote

Posted on Monday, September 2, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I guess we’re really not a swing state any more if a major vice-presidential candidate is saying things like this: “For those not from Minnesota, just to be clear, there’s a lot of great state fairs in the country, this is the … Continue reading →

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Aug 29

Stop hitting bridges!

Posted on Thursday, August 29, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The Iowa Department of Transportation is having a special September letting. Contracts are accelerated rather than waiting until the normal date later in the month. Four of the lettings are in Bremer, Polk, Scott, and Story counties. All of them … Continue reading →

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