LeTellier Engineering & Planning

If you or someone you know is looking to join a great team!

***ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE FILLED OUT ONLINE THROUGH OUR WEBSITE***

🔪KITCHEN POSITION🔪
Dash is looking to fill a Lead Line Cook position. We like the call the position the Egg Flipper Extraordinaire! Hours are 5:30a-2p Monday-Friday and 7:30a-12:30p Saturday, Sunday off, with another day off that is flexible. Best parts include getting to serve our amazing community, being a part of the Dash Fam, free coffee, never touching a frier again, & being off every evening! We can’t wait to expand our team!

Happy Engineers Week!

Cedar Rapids has another chance to do the right thing for this historic structure in an underserved neighborhood.

Historic Preservation Commission letter: Seek alternatives to demolishing Harrison Elementary Harrison Elementary School is shown in September 2023 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The historically significant building would be demolished under the School District's plans. (photo/Cindy Hadish) CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The Cedar Rapids Historic Preservation Commission, tasked with advising the city on pre...

A nice historic infrastructure preservation project here!

Stone Arch Bridge prepped for repairs: Project info and timeline The Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis will be closed for much of the next two years for repairs. Here’s a look at the preparation for that work and the expected timeline.

Today’s forecast: I can’t feel my face.

During the winter, bison develop thick, woolly coats that help protect them from freezing temperatures and harsh winds. It’s said that a bison's winter coat is so thick and provides insulation so effective that when snow accumulates on its coat, it will not melt from the heat of the bison's skin. Their skin also thickens in response to cold temperatures and fatty deposits appear to insulate the animal. Same.

No furry coat? Find tips to stay warm and safe at https://www.nps.gov/articles/winterweather.htm

Image: The cold never bothered this bison. A snow-covered bison sits in the snow at Yellowstone National Park. NPS/Jacob W. Frank

A bit of perspective…

The Horse Manure Problem of 1894
The 15 to 30 pounds of manure produced daily by each beast multiplied by the 150,000+ horses in New York city resulted in more than three million pounds of horse manure per day that somehow needed to be disposed of. That’s not to mention the daily 40,000 gallons of horse urine.
In other words, cities reeked. As Morris says, the “stench was omnipresent.” Here are some fun bits from his article:
Urban streets were minefields that needed to be navigated with the greatest care. “Crossing sweepers” stood on street corners; for a fee they would clear a path through the mire for pedestrians. Wet weather turned the streets into swamps and rivers of muck, but dry weather brought little improvement; the manure turned to dust, which was then whipped up by the wind, choking pedestrians and coating buildings. . . even when it had been removed from the streets the manure piled up faster than it could be disposed of . . . early in the century farmers were happy to pay good money for the manure, by the end of the 1800s stable owners had to pay to have it carted off. As a result of this glut . . . vacant lots in cities across America became piled high with manure; in New York these sometimes rose to forty and even sixty feet.
We need to remind ourselves that horse manure is an ideal breeding ground for flies, which spread disease. Morris reports that deadly outbreaks of typhoid and “infant diarrheal diseases can be traced to spikes in the fly population.”
Comparing fatalities associated with horse-related accidents in 1916 Chicago versus automobile accidents in 1997, he concludes that people were killed nearly seven times more often back in the good old days. The reasons for this are straightforward: . . horse-drawn vehicles have an engine with a mind of its own. The skittishness of horses added a dangerous level of unpredictability to nineteenth-century transportation. This was particularly true in a bustling urban environment, full of surprises that could shock and spook the animals. Horses often stampeded, but a more common danger came from horses kicking, biting, or trampling bystanders. Children were particularly at risk.
Falls, injuries, and maltreatment also took a toll on the horses themselves. Data cited by Morris indicates that, in 1880, more than 3 dozen dead horses were cleared from New York streets each day (nearly 15,000 a year).

Come on Cedar Rapids, you can do this!

We're down to the final week to collect petitions on the Harrison Elementary bond issue! It will take everyone's help to gather more than 7,500 signatures of Cedar Rapids School District voters by next Monday, July 31, to give you a voice on whether or not this solid school should be demolished. You can sign the petition at any of the following awesome businesses and we're gradually getting blank petitions to all of these locations, so you can pick up a blank sheet to gather signatures in your own neighborhood!

Our first short term rental project is mostly booked through July but we still have most dates in August available!

Historic Rapid City Home: Walk to Downtown! | Evolve Rent this vacation home in Rapid City, SD – Sleeps 8 guests • 2 Bedrooms • 3 Bathrooms • $243 avg/night • Read 1 reviews and view 26 photos! Make the most of your Rapid City retreat when you stay at this charming 2-bedroom, 3-bath home.

Reminder: If you live in the Cedar Rapids School District and haven't already signed this petition, please consider signing to ask the School Board to reconsider its decision to demolish the historic Harrison Elementary School. Once it's gone, nothing will bring back this architectural gem! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeNq6FkaIQa8npTBhky0lXHKPkNUHxgP8YOMTVEe31bzE6vQ/viewform

They don’t build anything like this anymore.

Even the side entrances of Harrison Elementary are stunning!

Happy Earth Day!

Mills Seed Company: Preserving the Past & Welcoming the Sustainable Future Every day, Iowans drive past 19-century storefronts and factories, square farmhouses, and the occasional one-room schoolhouse or chapel. To Terry Philips and Sandra Johnson, what we do with these centenarian structures speaks volumes about who we are as a society. “There is no building as green as...

So disappointed in City HPC and HyVee. The idea that City attorney would recommend board members not visit these sites is preposterous! And HyVee could easily have been more accommodating. This should have been an easy save. Missed opportunity!

Saving pieces of family history Save CR Heritage identified someone to move this home, at 248 18th St. NW, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but the owner decided against that option and it was demolished in April 2023. (photo/Cindy Hadish)…

This must have been something to see during its construction!

60 years ago today...

The first stainless steel leg of the Gateway Arch was placed, and St. Louisans got their first look at their new hometown icon!

Now we're cooking with gas! I always wondered where that came from...

What's Really Behind the Gas Stove Debate - GreenBuildingAdvisor An argument in favor of banning gas hook-ups for new houses based on indoor air quality and human health and safety.

Indeed it does!

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, bringing us six more weeks of winter! Here at Brucemore we think that is okay - the mansion looks beautiful in the snow ❄️❄️❄️

Historic New Bohemia building hits the market in Cedar Rapids The Matyk Building, constructed in 1893, is shown Jan. 17, 2023, on its prominent corner of New Bohemia in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo/Cindy Hadish) The closing of The Bohemian is opening up the historic Matyk Building for other potential uses on a highly visible corner of New Bohemia in Cedar Rapids...