^Looking south from the north end at US Route 20, September 2019.

Iowa Route 471 is a relatively new route designation, applied in 2015 to a former section of US Route 71 in near-northwest Iowa.  Iowa Route 471's short north-south path sits in Early and Sac Counties.  As US Route 71 heads south from Storm Lake, it's looking for a way to jog to the east, so it can continue south toward Carroll.  Beforehand, US Route 71 continued south past US Route 20, joining Iowa Route 175 east to the more easterly alignment continuing south.  In 2015, the route of US Route 71 was changed, so that it now joins US Route 20 east instead of joining Iowa Route 175, which lies farther south.  US Route 71's new eastern position has it running right along Sac City.  The old western position is now occupied by Iowa Route 471.  The northern end of Iowa Route 471 is in the tiny town of Early at US Route 20, where US Route 71 comes from the north to join US Route 20 east. The southern end is at Iowa Route 175 east of Odebolt. Iowa Route 471 has the highest number of any signed state route in Iowa, and it has the highest number ever used to mark an Iowa state highway outside of the 900's.

My photo of Iowa Route 471 shows the northbound reassurance marker at the route's southern end.  The sign shows traffic turning off of Iowa Route 175 that they have made the right choice, if they were seeking to head north on Iowa Route 471.  This photo was taken in September 2019, as part of my trip across northern Iowa.
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