Cosmic Journey

Jordan Middle School students got a chance to explore the final frontier from the safety of the gym last week. The school hosted the Minnesota Planetarium Exloradome portable planetarium. The program – housed in an inflatable dome in which students laid on the floor and gazed at projected video on the ceiling – allowed students to visit almost anywhere they wanted within our solar system. They also had a chance to see most of the known universe when the projected video brought them outside the solar system and outside the Milky Way galaxy.

On a kayaking trip from Helena Township, through Sand Creek Township, into Jordan on Sand Creek, a few guys found out that with a little ingenuity, you can surf the local creek. These guys are lucky to have not broken their necks, they said.

They also said it's easier than it looks.

As expected, the lobbying effort waged by the city of Jordan at the State Capitol failed this year.

Here is a look at some of the numbers involved in the May 1 motorcycle accident that killed Jordan’s Walter L. Cobb:

2
fatal accidents along the Union Pacific track in Jordan in the past three years

3,300
feet, approximately, between the train crossing at which Cobb died and the crossing at which Scott Fahrenkamp died on Jan. 12, 2006

A press release from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, released following last week's fatal motorcycle accident in Jordan:

Public safety officials are encouraging all motorcyclists, even experienced riders, to tune up their riding skills just as they tune up their bikes for the riding season. Four motorcyclist fatalities this year underscore the need for proper safety training so riders learn – or relearn – how to control their bikes in an emergency.

Seventy years ago, post office workers in Jordan used a postmark depicting the city's location within an outline of the United States. The postmark was used for one week -- National Air Mail Week.

For more information, read the Looking Back column in the May 8 issue of the Jordan Independent. Read it online in the Print Edition section, or subscribe by going to www.jordannews.com/subscribe.

At the increasingly dangerous intersection of Creek Lane and Highway 282, one option the Jordan City Council has considered is a roundabout.

The council authorized spending up to $7,500 to complete turning movement counts, analyze data, and prepare a presentation to be given during an eventual public meeting.

Here's what's been going on in and around New Prague lately, according to the New Prague Times:

- A proposal for the final plat and an 8-foot-by-12-foot addition to the Knights of Columbus Hall in New Prague passed with city council approval, despite opposition from city staff. 

- The New Prague school district's proposed budget shows just shy of $30 million in expenditures.

A Jordan man died Thursday when the motorcycle he was driving was hit by a train near the intersection of County Road 9 and Highway 169 in Jordan.

Walter L. Cobb, 36, was traveling along County Road 9 toward Jordan at about 3:30 p.m. while the train was traveling south toward Belle Plaine. Cobb was pronounced dead on the scene. He was not wearing a helmet, according to the Minnesota State Patrol, who wrote the report on the accident.