Aug 21

A Place for Heroes

Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2012, at 1:03 AM by Jeff

The small movie company that made films in Clutier in 2010 and Traer in 2011 has returned to Tama County, this time for a movie about veterans called A Place for Heroes. It takes place in the towns and has scenes from World War II and the present day.

Area newspapers published the press release in mid-June. The Waterloo Courier now has an article and video up since filming started.

Note: The Courier misspelled Norbert Caloud’s name in the article. He is a World War II veteran who still fits in his uniform. Here’s a picture of him from the presentation/variety show dedicating the Traer Opera House exhibit at the Traer Museum earlier this month.


World War II veteran Norbert Caloud of Clutier carries the flag for the Pledge of Allegiance at the Traer Museum, August 10, 2012. At microphone is Dr. Tom Wicks.

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Aug 20

We’re Number 110!

Posted on Monday, August 20, 2012, at 2:42 PM by Jeff

Based purely on end-of-season historical AP rankings since 1936, Iowa State is in a five-way tie for 110th out of 125. Iowa Pre-Flight is 84th. Of major-conference teams, only Vanderbilt and Wake Forest are anywhere near as low.

The last “point” was earned for being 25th at the end of 2000.

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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 enough to be a real fair.

1. Why would I need another yardstick?

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Aug 19

There was an announcement on slashed zeroes

Posted on Sunday, August 19, 2012, at 12:32 PM by Jeff

I apparently missed it.

Beginning Nov. 1, 2011, Iowa Prison Industries began manufacturing license plates with a new look for the zero. All license plates containing the numeric zero will now appear as a circle slash zero (AAAØØØ).

This change was implemented to make the alpha-numerics on license plates more easily identifiable for law enforcement and for license plate readers. Plates with the circle slash zero will not actually appear on vehicles until county treasurers have exhausted their existing plate inventories.

The Null Set Zero did not wait until the current alphanumerics were exhausted, however. It started appearing somewhere early in the YY’s.

It’s still very, very ugly.

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Aug 18

License Plate Countdown — ZWZ

Posted on Saturday, August 18, 2012, at 10:49 PM by Jeff

Only 72,000 combinations to go (3x24x1000, no U’s or V’s).

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Aug 17

Week Zero

Posted on Friday, August 17, 2012, at 7:00 PM by Jeff

The vagaries of the calendar this year, plus the continuation of an extra round of the playoffs, mean that high school football in Iowa starts way, way early this year.

That’s right: There are kids in school and football games going on during the State Fair. This is so, so wrong. The fair was moved up a week a while ago so this didn’t happen, yet here we are.

The announced closure of Malcolm Price Lab School (NU High) so late in the school year sent some teams scrambling, too. Central City and Dunkerton will play an 8-man game in the UNI-Dome tonight — the second half of a doubleheader.

North Tama, meanwhile, is reunited with former (and much much closer) North Iowa Cedar League teams in Class A District 4. The Redhawks play Nashua-Plainfield at Wartburg College in Waverly tomorrow night. The Cedar Rapids Gazette’s Jeff Linder has high expectations for NT.

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Aug 17

2012 school directions booklet

Posted on Friday, August 17, 2012, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

Just in time for the start of football season (stupid Week 0), I have finished making updates and corrections to the newest edition of the North Tama directory.

This booklet has maps for 50 different school districts, including high schools, junior highs, and athletic facilities. Directions are given from Traer, but the maps are useful to anyone who plays in these towns.

The PDF can be downloaded from this website.

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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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Aug 16

Crystal Lake runs out of students

Posted on Thursday, August 16, 2012, at 4:25 PM by Jeff

July 6, 2011: School was already out forever for WCLT

High school to zero in fifteen months. There aren’t enough kids to justify even a preschool.

“We all hoped we could go another year, but the numbers just weren’t there,” said Bruce Kluver, chairman of the Woden-Crystal Lake School Board.

Woden-Crystal Lake elementary students went to Forest City starting last August. In all likelihood they will be going there permanently after the merger vote next month.

(The juxtaposition of this post and the one below is entirely intentional.)

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Aug 16

Not the typical Iowa high school

Posted on Thursday, August 16, 2012, at 2:21 PM by Jeff

Waukee shows us what a district can do with an ever-growing tax base and a town population that is six times what it was in 1990 — not counting the other suburbs’ spillover. (Des Moines Register)

Meanwhile, Ankeny opened its ninth elementary.

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