Category Archives: Iowa Miscellaneous

Oct 04

Quincy-Dish dispute enters Week 6

I forgot to reset the retransmission-fee-dispute counter after finding out that Dish Network dropped multiple stations covering parts of Iowa from its system on Aug. 29. They are the Quincy Newspapers stations, including KWWL, KTIV, and KTTC along with their … Continue reading

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Sep 26

Town’s worth of housing coming to Bondurant

Earlier this month, the Bondurant city council approved plats for two developments that will add 240 homes, the Des Moines Register reported. The once-small suburb more than doubled in population between 2000 and 2010 to become Iowa’s 99th-largest city. In 2015, … Continue reading

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Sep 11

Johnston annexation puts it on the state highway system

The State of Iowa City Development Board meeting tomorrow includes an annexation by the city of Johnston. Based on a notice from earlier this year, Johnston is making plans to bring a portion of the IA 141 corridor under its control. … Continue reading

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Aug 22

Long-idle southeast Iowa pages get new photos

June 18, 2018: Old IA 79 remains labeled “DMC Hwy 79” but Des Moines County changed it to J20 — while not doing anything to Old US 34, which runs east from here. Middletown prettied up the intersection with a … Continue reading

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Aug 17

A State Fair scheduling snafu?

For years now, a hypnotist has performed on the Riley Stage in the evenings during the full week of the Iowa State Fair. I typically try to catch a show, because it is good clean fun. I don’t have any … Continue reading

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Jun 26

Photo for WQAD story looks familiar

A man, his wife, and their two children were all injured after he fell asleep while driving and crashed into another car in rural Fort Madison, Iowa shortly before 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 21st. https://t.co/zCZQ7ZatTT — WQAD (@wqad) June … Continue reading

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Jun 21

Hiawatha’s plan to conquer Toddville

Fourth in a series. In my previous posts regarding population, I cited the master’s thesis “Annexation in Iowa: an analysis of the Iowa annexation statutes” by Robin Renae Habeger (1997). That, along with some digging into more recent news, brings something to light: … Continue reading

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Jun 20

How long has Dallas County ruled Iowa’s growth charts?

Third in a series. The dam broke just after the 1990 census. West Des Moines had a small spot in Dallas County right before that — a portion tucked south of University Avenue that included the Des Moines Golf and … Continue reading

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Jun 19

1980s census estimates: A bloodbath in chart form

Second in a series. On a national level, the 1980s had plenty of positives after a bumpy early start. In Iowa, though, like the rest of the Farm Belt, those bumpy years were part of a precipitous fall that, arguably, … Continue reading

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Jun 18

The longer effects of Iowa’s rural population decline

First in a series. The Census Bureau released its 2017 county-level population estimates in April. It’s not a full decade, but it is seven data points, and the trend for rural counties may be even worse than it was. The … Continue reading

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