Author Archives: Jeff

Apr 18

Is ‘no’ acceptable input?

Posted on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

“The Iowa Department of Transportation is requesting your input on a for a proposed roundabout at the intersection of Iowa 3 and Iowa 143 near Marcus in Cherokee county,” says the press release, incorrectly not capitalizing “County” at the end. … Continue reading →

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Apr 16

Circumnavigation report Day 5

Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at 1:00 PM by Jeff

The lovely Loess Hills are the next part of my 2015 circumnavigation of Iowa.

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Apr 12

CR gets money to replace 8th Avenue Bridge

Posted on Friday, April 12, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Three years ago, when I wrote about Cedar Rapids wanting to replace the Eighth Avenue bridge, I cited a 2019 Gazette story that mentioned an estimated cost of around $30 million for the bridge and $50 million overall. Last week, … Continue reading →

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Apr 10

Southwest Mixmaster meeting this week

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

While much of the recent attention on interstate construction in Des Moines has been related to the northeast mixmaster, the southwest mixmaster isn’t being neglected. A meeting on April 11 in Des Moines will take another step forward in turning … Continue reading →

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Apr 08

An early RAGBRAI LI correction

Posted on Monday, April 8, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The RAGBRAI map and pass-through town list was not unveiled until April (a first) and on a weekday (another first). It ran in the Des Moines Register both online and in print on April 4 (and was off the website’s front … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous, Maps | Comments Off on An early RAGBRAI LI correction
Apr 05

North Tama, South Tama to share superintendents

Posted on Friday, April 5, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Due to their wide disparity in enrollment, the North Tama and South Tama school districts don’t interact much. That’s going to change a bit. The North Tama Telegraph reports that the two districts will be sharing a superintendent. South Tama’s … Continue reading →

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Apr 03

A TV show about road tripping in Iowa!

Posted on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

At the Iowa State Fair last year, Iowa Public Television Iowa PBS teased a “Road Trip Iowa” series coming in 2024. Well, it’s here! Sadly, I was not asked to be a consultant. The press release has one very important … Continue reading →

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on A TV show about road tripping in Iowa!
Apr 02

On the Lansing and Baltimore bridges

Posted on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

In my most recent Substack, I look into how the Lansing Black Hawk Bridge’s closure is a far different situation than the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge’s collapse. I wrote it because I expected there to be stories about national … Continue reading →

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Apr 01

Hills Elementary to close

Posted on Monday, April 1, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

It was pretty much guaranteed to happen as soon as it was announced: The Iowa City school district is shutting down Hills Elementary. Stories: Gazette, Daily Iowan, KCRG (autoplay), KWWL (video only), Iowa Starting Line has a copy of the packet … Continue reading →

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Mar 27

You’ve got to come back with me!

Posted on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

In which I, a “Back to the Future” trilogy superfan, get to geek out in Gladbrook over the newest addition to Matchstick Marvels.

Posted in Tama County | Comments Off on You’ve got to come back with me!