Category Archives: Iowa Miscellaneous

Oct 19

Spanning the state

Posted on Friday, October 19, 2012, at 1:02 PM by Jeff

Numbers to know (Cedar Rapids Gazette): The Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inventory counts 24,799 Iowa spans. Of the total, 5,358 are considered structurally deficient, and another 1,320 functionally obsolete. Iowa has more bridges than California.

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Oct 13

A plea for sanity on HD news graphics

Posted on Saturday, October 13, 2012, at 10:23 PM by Jeff

The background behind the anchors or the text does NOT have to move. The images do NOT have to rotate. Chyrons/text elements do NOT need a lens flare around the borders, much less a moving one. KWWL, you did it … Continue reading →

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Oct 03

They call it progress

Posted on Wednesday, October 3, 2012, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

“My father had a farm in eastern Dallas County…” — “Progress,” Robert John Ford (from the musical “Utopia”) The sight last week was so incongruous I couldn’t pass it up. Three bins, one tractor, one cornfield, just like so many other … Continue reading →

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Sep 28

In which I learn I cannot be president of France

Posted on Friday, September 28, 2012, at 10:22 AM by Jeff

Since Iowa was part of the Louisiana Purchase, I was eligible for it until recently, although I still would have needed to learn French. Now I shall go away before being taunted a second time.

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Sep 20

2012 Iowa map errors

Posted on Thursday, September 20, 2012, at 12:00 PM by Jeff

This is a refresher on an old task of mine: Proofreading the official state highway map. I skipped two years partly because so many corrections had been made. The entire list is after the jump.

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Sep 18

Why the Des Moines beltway can’t be an interstate (yet)

Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2012, at 11:17 AM by Jeff

There’s another article out about studying an interstate upgrade for the US 65/IA 5 Des Moines beltway. There is more to an interstate designation than just signage. There are also rules about slow-moving vehicles and minimum speed limits. Right now, … Continue reading →

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Sep 03

Hurricane Isaac followup

Posted on Monday, September 3, 2012, at 12:24 AM by Jeff

The remnants of Hurricane Isaac, which by Saturday was nothing more than a spinning low-pressure system, reached state parks in far southeastern Iowa and soaked the Old Threshers Reunion in Mount Pleasant.

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Aug 31

Hurricanes in Iowa

Posted on Friday, August 31, 2012, at 5:33 PM by Jeff

The National Weather Service in Des Moines recently included a series in its newsletters about hurricanes whose official track went through Iowa. There have been three: The Galveston hurricane of 1900, which made it all the way to Central Iowa … Continue reading →

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Aug 19

Five things NOT heard at the 2012 Iowa State Fair

Posted on Sunday, August 19, 2012, at 6:25 PM by Jeff

5. This is Mark Pearson on “The Big Show” from the WHO Crystal Studios… (He will be missed.) 4. Wasn’t this more expensive last year? 3. You know what the Cattle Barn needs? More belt buckles. 2. It’s not hot … Continue reading →

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Aug 17

Sinclair stations staying on Dish

Posted on Friday, August 17, 2012, at 12:34 AM by Jeff

Good news for viewers of channel 2, 17, and 28.

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