Highlights from 2013

In 2013 this blog had over 250 posts. What were the highlights?

There were a number of new businesses that opened, including Tractor Supply (also here), Family Auto Sales, Bently's, eMbers (also here), Farm Credit (also here and here and several other places), Lending Hand, Louck Family Medicine, Bub's BBQ, Dales Steak House (also here and here), Home Sweet Home (and here), the Pig Adventure, R&R Auto Repair, 24/7 Fitness (and here), Mid-State Bolt and Nut Company, Kids Corner/Unique Things (and here), and Rensselaer Upholstery. I probably missed a few.

There were also businesses that closed, such as the JC Penney Catalog Store, the gas station next to Jordan's Floral, Elk Investments, Home Town Bargains, Bazz's Eat-N-Sip, Ricos Restaurant and Dr. Pellicore's medical practice, the This and That store and Novedades Maru, and Unique Threads. Businesses often close quietly, so there were undoubtedly closings that went unnoticed.

The old Monnett grade school was torn down, as were the old Boy Scout cabin in Iroquois Park and the old Strip Joint by Bicentennial Park.

The big construction project in 2013 was the Amtrak depot, which I posted on frequently. (See here, here, here, here and here.) The Bowstring bridge was put in place in 2012, but the dedication did not take place until May. Throughout the year there was progress on electrical substations at the power plant and on Melville, but there was not a lot to see.


There was more renovation than construction, including that of Steinke's Funeral Home (and here and here), the high school gymnasium floor (and here and here), new school administration offices, Walmart (and here), McDonalds by the Interstate (and here with mention of Dairy Queen), the SJC chapel, Riverside BP (and here and here), the McKinley Street railroad crossing, the bridge in Weston Cemetery that was demolished and replaced, the Water Treatment Plant, and the reorganization of the Jasper County Youth Center.

The weather made its way into occasional posts, including what was probably the most viewed post of the year.

There was much more, but not everything can be a highlight.