May 14

An 11-day span

Posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2013, at 2:31 PM by Jeff

May3snow may14temp

Picture with the former:

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Addendum: It is really, really WEIRD to be driving and seeing snow on the ground while it is light out at 7 PM.

 

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on An 11-day span
May 14

KWWL checks in with Gladbrook’s mayor

Posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2013, at 12:53 AM by Jeff

But in Reinbeck, since that’s where Gladbrook-Reinbeck High School is. Keith Sash used to be a Tama County supervisor.

KWWL.com

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May 13

End/Begin 330 signs gone

Posted on Monday, May 13, 2013, at 11:25 AM by Jeff


December 2002: Eventually, a “North” was added here.

In the past week, the “End 330” sign and “Begin” marker that were at the IA 330/IA 117/US 65 intersection were removed, months after 330 was officially extended to Altoona. However, no other signs at the intersection changed, including the two pairs of “Jct 65/117” on southbound 330 and an “East 117” on northbound 65.

There has been no addition of “End 330” at I-80, though.

In a way, I was right. I thought that nothing would change at the intersection until spring, and last Friday there was still snow on the ground.

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on End/Begin 330 signs gone
May 10

You spin me right round, baby

Posted on Friday, May 10, 2013, at 11:19 AM by Jeff

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The IA 3/IA 187 intersection at Starmont High School in Fayette County is now a roundabout. It is the first in Iowa in a rural area.

Because of these big signs, in each direction after passing the roundabout is a distance sign to the next town.

Pictures of how the intersection used to look are on both the IA 187 and IA 154 pages.

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on You spin me right round, baby
May 09

Iowa’s BCS teams are twit-free

Posted on Thursday, May 9, 2013, at 10:36 AM by Jeff

Paul Rhoads has the sense to stay off Twitter.

Kirk Ferentz isn’t on either.

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Iowa’s BCS teams are twit-free
May 08

East Greene, South Central Calhoun mergers approved

Posted on Wednesday, May 8, 2013, at 1:15 PM by Jeff

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
May 10, 2010: Now that the school in Lytton is closed will the billboard come down too? Or should it stay up as a historical memento?

The special election Tuesday (most know for Warren County voting against a casino) included at least two school consolidation votes.

Jefferson-Scranton and East Greene will officially become Greene County in 2014. This is a smart name change. (Your move, Paton-Churdan.)

Rockwell City-Lytton and Southern Cal will complete the consolidation to South Central Calhoun in 2014. Both have been in whole-grade sharing for a while. Southern Cal won two football championships in a row in 2008-09, defeating North Tama and Mason City Newman in classic games. Lytton’s school building closed at the same time. The district occupies about 5/8 of Calhoun County.

SCC’s sports teams are known as the Titans. Oddly enough, not too far away, there is another recent pair of team-sharers that picked the name Titans and is ALSO purple, silver, and black — Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire. GTRA is moving to the Twin Lakes Conference; its old home, the Corn Belt Conference, has suffered a WAC-esque collapse as schools consolidate and switch affiliations.

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May 08

Why ISU needs to play Kentucky in football

Posted on Wednesday, May 8, 2013, at 10:43 AM by Jeff

It’s been a bit (maybe even a whole two months) since someone used “Iowa State” as a synonym for “bottom-feeder,” so here’s some offseason filler in the context of Bob Stoops vs. SEC-uber-alles “propaganda”:

But why should that make any difference to Stoops, really? No one — well, no one whose opinion matters, anyway — would argue that Kentucky is better than Oklahoma, or even that Kentucky’s better than, say, Iowa State.

I’d love a chance to settle that on the gridiron. (The basketball court, been there done that.)

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May 08

And now, the joke I forgot to make in November

Posted on Wednesday, May 8, 2013, at 12:43 AM by Jeff

Johnson County Justice Center vote fails again.

I didn’t even know Justice Center was up for retention.

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on And now, the joke I forgot to make in November
May 07

License Plate Letters — BEK

Posted on Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at 12:56 PM by Jeff

That’s where we are near the beginning of May.

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May 06

US 63 projects in Black Hawk County begin today

Posted on Monday, May 6, 2013, at 1:28 AM by Jeff

There are two separate projects that start today, both updating segments of US 63 that are 50 years old.

First, the route from Hudson to US 20 is closed and detoured to reconstruct Sergeant Road, which was brand new with 10 inches of concrete in 1962 and had asphalt added in 1982 and 2000. The plan revealed at a meeting last June showed no intention to reconstruct the freeway-inspired south end of IA 58 in Hudson, but that was added by the January meeting.

Second, north of downtown Waterloo, there is a project beginning that will result in 63 becoming a city four-lane that is slightly east of the present straight line between Parker Street and the railroad tracks and slightly west of the straight line north to Donald Street. The shift will result in the row of houses nearest the new road being taken out, plus a row of parking spaces at Allen Hospital, and right-of-way acquired almost up to the doorstep of Logan Middle School, which is presently vacant and will be demolished at some point.

KWWL did a story about the first project.

KWWL.com

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