The American Red Cross has an emergency need for blood and platelet donors to give now to address a severe winter blood shortage. Please make an appointment now to give blood or platelets using the Blood Donor App, by visiting redcrossblood.org or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS.

We are very proud of our own George Merkle, PE, who reached a donation total of 52 gallons today, and Dan Good, PE who is nearing 54 gallons!

Introduced by Eisenhower in the 1950s, the freeway system—90 percent of which was paid for by federal funding—may be the country’s greatest-ever gift to itself. While it generally follows standard procedures in terms of signage, routing, and numbering, there are points in the system where things get a little weird. andnbsp;(Via Atlas Obscura)

Harry McCune and his wife, Dee, are jumping head first into livestock production. Their first pig barn was finished in May 2016 and are now having an open house for the second barn.

“I wanted to find a way to diversity our farm and keep livestock in the state of Illinois,” says Harry McCune. “If we don’t keep the business here it will go elsewhere, and I want to keep the benefits of it local.”

 

The McCune’s now have two 2,400 head wean to finish barns that will contribute to the local economy through taxes and providing jobs. In addition, each barn will consume a large amount of local corn and soybeans and produce 5 million slices of bacon each. That’s 10 million slices of bacon per year being produced by two barns in Bureau County!

“My favorite part about raising pigs is watching them grow and progress through the different stages,” says McCune. He and his family are third/fourth generation farmers. Harry and Dee have two daughters, one of whom is employed in the ag industry, and a son-in-law. Harry’s parents were grain and livestock farmers and he and his brothers are continuing on that tradition.

Pig farmers are dedicated to preserving the environment and being good neighbors. Each day they work to leave the land better than it was before and provide a safe and healthy pork product to consumers.

“Open houses provide the opportunity for neighbors and community members to come in and tour the inside of a barn before pigs come in and ask any questions they might have,” says Morgan Booth, IPPA Director of Communications. “We partner with the Illinois Livestock Development Group on these events to help promote the positive story of the livestock industry in Illinois.”

Sponsors of the Open House include: Illinois Livestock Development Group, Illinois Pork Producers and the Pork Checkoff, Quality Ag, Inc., JBS Live Pork, LLC, Princeton Ready Mix, 1st Farm Credit Services, Maurer Stutz, J Mac Metals.

Over 100 neighbors, friends, and community members attended the McCune’s open house and enjoyed a delicious pork lunch prepared by the Bureau County Young Leaders.

Places Journal has an excellent article on an abandoned 200-acre hydraulic model of the Mississippi River Basin in in Vicksburg, Mississippi, that played a key role in helping the US Army Corps of Engineers harness this waterway.

Infrastructure makes modern civilization possible. Roads, power grids, sewage systems and water networks all underpin society as we know it, forming the basis of our built environment … at least when they work.

In theory, infrastructure is a bipartisan issue – everyone wants roads and bridges to be nice, safe and smooth. In practice, big infrastructure projects tend to go over budget and lack accountability. Arguably this is both a political and cultural issue: we as a nation need to become more invested in our infrastructure, financially and emotionally. Perhaps it is time to reclaim the term “public works” as a reminder to politicians and citizens alike that these projects are undertaken by and for the people. (via 99% Invisible)