Council Bluffs Archives

Missouri River, Chamberlain, South Dakota

June 19, 2018August 6, 2015 by Tom Bartel

Growing up in Council Bluffs, Iowa, as I did, you become acutely aware of two things: the Missouri River and the history of Lewis and Clark. As any Council Bluffs … Read more

Sometimes You Have to Go Home

August 9, 2015December 9, 2011 by Tom Bartel

I grew up in Council Bluffs, Iowa. According to my grandfather, Council Bluffs was, “the only town that ever hurt Chicago.” I’ve given his pronouncement a lot of thought over the years and I’ve still never quite figured out what it meant.

Maybe it was because Council Bluffs made fun of Chicago on the playground when they were kids. Or maybe it was because someone from CB wrote a letter once to someone in Chicago saying that having broad shoulders and being hog butcher to the world wasn’t really that great. Especially when Carl Sandburg went on to mention that it was also the city of skanky whores and slimy gangsters.