Author Archives: Jeff

Dec 11

When ‘Tama Jim’ honored Ulysses S. Grant (2)

Posted on Friday, December 11, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Spring 1885 was approaching, and Iowa’s 5th Congressional District election of 1882 was still in dispute. Republican James Wilson had been declared the winner, but Democrat Benjamin Frederick was still fighting for it, and won the seat outright in November … Continue reading →

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Dec 09

‘Tama Jim’ and his second stint in Congress (1)

Posted on Wednesday, December 9, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

This is what Iowa’s 11(!) congressional districts looked like for the elections of 1882 and 1884. The 5th District is in orange. A mid-decade redraw after a special census in 1885 created a new map that would be used through … Continue reading →

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Dec 07

Iowa’s four closest U.S. House elections in a century

Posted on Monday, December 7, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

A Quad-City Times story interviewed the curator for the State Historical Society of Iowa about the closest congressional races in Iowa’s past. He limited himself to about the past century, starting with a 1916 election where the Republican won by … Continue reading →

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Dec 04

Some weird plans for US 69 in Des Moines

Posted on Friday, December 4, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

US 69, aka East 14th Street in Des Moines, likely has more stoplights between IA 5 and I-35/80 than it does in the rest of the state combined. The DOT wants to rebuild many intersections on the route, and the … Continue reading →

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Dec 02

The quickest, dirtiest reverse brackets I can make

Posted on Wednesday, December 2, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I said I wasn’t going to do this. Furthermore, I said I wasn’t going to go all out on it. Perfectionist me begs to differ. That’s right, the reverse football playoff brackets are back, in a manner of speaking. Once … Continue reading →

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Nov 30

Iowa State’s Man in Black

Posted on Monday, November 30, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Well, this explains some things (Yahoo): Cyclone tight end Chase Allen jokes about Campbell’s penchant for all-black outfits – “He’s Johnny Cash.” Campbell wears the same black hoodie so often that senior defensive back Greg Eisworth will ask: “Do you … Continue reading →

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Nov 25

400th anniversary of the Mayflower Compact

Posted on Wednesday, November 25, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

My header image for the past few weeks has been the Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown, Massachusetts, at the tip of Cape Cod, which would seem an odd choice for a website focused on roads and Iowa. There’s a reason. The … Continue reading →

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Nov 24

Christmas is not saved (in the temporal sense)

Posted on Tuesday, November 24, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

A more weighty matter than yesterday… The Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church has banned in-person worship until January 10. No candles for Advent (which starts Sunday). No Christmas caroling. No children’s Christmas program. No Christmas Eve candlelight service. No Epiphany. Now, … Continue reading →

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Nov 23

Christmas is saved (temporarily)

Posted on Monday, November 23, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

After the news that Apple was going to be the exclusive streaming home of Peanuts specials, including those that had aired on broadcast TV for decades, there was a backlash, here included. Apple listened, at least a little. “A Charlie … Continue reading →

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Nov 20

All-State, No-State

Posted on Friday, November 20, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Right now, Iowa’s best high school singers and musicians are supposed to be at Hilton Coliseum for All-State. A month ago they found out they would not be. The All-State honor was bestowed as if they would have performed, including … Continue reading →

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