Category Archives: Iowa Miscellaneous

Jan 08

Hardin County Courthouse closes the front door

Posted on Wednesday, January 8, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

April 4, 2006: This view of the stately Hardin County Courthouse in Eldora now needs a notice at the top of the steps: Please use side door. The Iowa Falls Times-Citizen (two paragraphs, anyway) and KLMJ/KQCR Radio report that starting last … Continue reading →

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Jan 07

A Reinbeck lawyer writes about rural life

Posted on Tuesday, January 7, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Or possibly the Reinbeck lawyer, Abby Wessel, wrote for the November 2019 issue of the Iowa Lawyer magazine: Reinbeck is a small but prosperous town situated upon what is arguably the best farmland in the state. Mike offered me a … Continue reading →

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Jan 03

TV station coverage maps updated for the new decade

Posted on Friday, January 3, 2020, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Let’s say you are a presidential candidate. (Odds are you might be.) And let’s say you want to run the same ad at least twice every half-hour*. Since you’re mostly likely in that group with a percentage smaller than the … Continue reading →

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Dec 30

The decade in Iowa roads: Four-lane completions with a WTF cherry on top

Posted on Monday, December 30, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

November 4, 2019: From the Lincoln Highway in 2011 to the Jefferson Highway in 2019, Iowa’s scenic and historic byways received a more uniform, more visible signing scheme in the 2010s. Since the Second Great Decommissioning and completion of four-lane … Continue reading →

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Dec 23

Casey’s pushes pizza into the smart phone era

Posted on Monday, December 23, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

October 22, 2013: There’s a Casey’s in Casey, Illinois (seen here). There is not a Casey’s in Casey, Iowa. Casey’s hangs its convenience store hat on two major things: Serving rural Americans and making great pizza. In many places, maybe … Continue reading →

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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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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 14

Yes, we have no information

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The visitor information booth that was visible coming into the Iowa State University campus from the south on Elwood Drive University Boulevard has been demolished, according to this short blurb on the ISU website. But the growth of mobile-friendly websites … Continue reading →

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Nov 11

Iowa’s last two Kmarts will close

Posted on Monday, November 11, 2019, at 10:15 AM by Jeff

Weeks ago, USA Today reported that more Sears and Kmart stores would be closing in the future, but did not have information about which ones. Now we know that whatever’s left of the shambles of Sears/Kmart won’t include Iowa. KCHA … Continue reading →

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Nov 07

IA 333: The hot-potato highway

Posted on Thursday, November 7, 2019, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

October 2, 2015: The beginning of IA 333 as seen from an I-29 offramp. The entire route, along with the town of Hamburg, was underwater in the spring of 2019. The Great Decommissioning of 1980 was the end result of … Continue reading →

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