Author Archives: Jeff

Dec 06

Will Douglas Avenue get the three-lane treatment?

Posted on Friday, December 6, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

US 6 through the Des Moines metro area, and especially from Merle Hay Road to Altoona, can be a slog. But it remains an important corridor through Des Moines’ neglected north side. Unfortunately, the proposed solution for redevelopment of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction | Comments Off on Will Douglas Avenue get the three-lane treatment?
Dec 05

End of an era for Iowa Public Television

Posted on Thursday, December 5, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

(You can stop watching the above at the 1:50 mark.) Just after marking its 50th anniversary of serving Iowans, the “Iowa Public Television” name is going away. According to the December issue of Advance magazine, when the new year starts … Continue reading →

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Dec 04

North Winn memorabilia given to Minnesota school district

Posted on Wednesday, December 4, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

July 25, 2016 If Laura Ingalls had lived in Burr Oak, Iowa, 130 years after she did, she would have been a student at North Winneshiek Elementary School. Unless, that is, being three miles from the Minnesota border, she went … Continue reading →

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Dec 03

Traer clinic undergoes rebranding

Posted on Tuesday, December 3, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

First, the good news: Traer still has a doctor’s office. It’s still in the building from 1976 that I can still walk through in my mind. But on October 25, all remaining traces of the independent practice once called North … Continue reading →

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Dec 02

The fallen and the rising

Posted on Monday, December 2, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Towns that lost their only school building that I am aware of, 2010-19: Lineville, Stockport, Lost Nation, Menlo, Arcadia, Vail, Cincinnati, Crystal Lake, Lohrville, Mystic, Ringsted, Rippey, Ute, Denmark, Battle Creek, Hawkeye, Sabula, Titonka, Coggon, Walker, Boxholm, Clearfield, Dows, Elma, … Continue reading →

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Nov 29

Matt Campbell’s Gundy Mitzvah

Posted on Friday, November 29, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The Mike Gundy Bar Mitzvah, for those unaware of the term, is when a football coach becomes a man. (It can also be applied more broadly to well-humored male-identifying individuals.) Today, a day before Iowa State plays in the Little … Continue reading →

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Nov 27

Combined, complete football playoff brackets for 2019

Posted on Wednesday, November 27, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I shouldn’t have to do this. I don’t really have to do this. And yet, I do. This is, once again, my way of expressing extreme brow-furrowing at the IHSAA for being strange in how it goes about publishing finalized … Continue reading →

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Nov 26

The end of a country lane

Posted on Tuesday, November 26, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Shenandoah Valley News Today columnist Evelyn Birkby is hanging up her keyboard after more than 3600 columns. My Up a Country Lane column has been published in this newspaper every week without fail since 1949. Now I’ve reached a point in … Continue reading →

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Nov 25

MVL bypass opened this weekend

Posted on Monday, November 25, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

US 30 is now four lanes around Mount Vernon and Lisbon, completing a bypass that goes just to the south of those towns. The official opening was Friday — a classic right-before-Thanksgiving completion. The bypass extends the continuous four-lane from … Continue reading →

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Nov 22

Iowa high school football championship preview

Posted on Friday, November 22, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING VALLEY DOWLING (etc.) I believe that the move to reseed brackets in the semifinals is beneficial overall, even if it takes out “east vs. west” championships. … Continue reading →

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