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Around 4:30 p.m. on Monday, September 26, 1881, “a terrific explosion of giant powder at the Chicago & Rock Island depot,” shook the city of Council Bluffs, as reported in the September 28, 1881 issue of the Avoca Herald. The reference to ‘giant powder’ is essentially dynamite.

Cochran Park gets its name from former Council Bluffs mayor Addison Cochran. A colonel and veteran of the Mexican-American War, Cochran settled in Council Bluffs around 1852 and immediately engaged in the real estate business.

Maybe you’ve heard the joke that your parents or grandparents had to walk uphill both ways to get to school. Well for students of Council Bluffs High School in the late 1800s, there may have been some truth to this. Built in 1870, Council Bluffs High School was the first high school in the city.

Council Bluffs native Alfred Clemens started building his own sports car in 1956. Clemens worked on the project in his free time while operating his own business called Clemens Grinding Company.

This is the sixth and final part of a series focused on various company logos found in the August 21, 1958 issue of the Daily Nonpareil. A brief history of each business is included. The text from the original article read:

This is part five of a series focused on various company logos found in the August 21, 1958 issue of the Daily Nonpareil. A brief history of each business is included. The text from the original article read:

This is part four of a series focused on various company logos found in the August 21, 1958 issue of the Daily Nonpareil. A brief history of each business is included. The text from the original article read:

This is part three of a series focused on various company logos found in the August 21, 1958 issue of the Daily Nonpareil. A brief history of each business is included. The text from the original article read:

This is part two of a series focused on various company logos found in the August 21, 1958 issue of the Daily Nonpareil. A brief history of each business is included. The text from the original article read:

This is part one of a series focused on various company logos found in the August 21, 1958 issue of the Daily Nonpareil. A brief history of each business is included. The text from the original article read:

John Dohany came to Council Bluffs in 1856 and soon after arriving, opened a livery stable on Bryant Street, a half block north of West Broadway. As the proprietor of this business, he would provide accommodations and care for people’s horses.

The Carnegie style building of the Council Bluffs Public Library was feeling the strain of becoming a modern library.  Bond measures for a new library failed to pass in 1980 and 1991.  In 1994 it was time to try again.

For over 140 years, the Council Bluffs Public Library has served our community.

In 1825 Nathan Ranney sent a letter to his brother Nathaniel detailing what he had been up to in the past 10 years.  The unique thing about this letter is that it was sent from "The Council Bluffs."

If you're a fan of the library's Throwback Thursdays, you're a fan of Jack Kennedy.