The Rock Island Armory demolition ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 9, at 2 p.m. at the 20th Street overlook (20th Street and the riverfront bike path).This is another significant step in the City of Rock Island's development of downtown's new riverfront park. The ceremony will be officiated by Mayor Mark Schwiebert. Valley Construction, the subcontractor for the Armory demolition, will swing the first wrecking ball. Souvenir postcards will be provided at the event, and the public is invited to attend. Armory history and more information will be provided at the event.
The 28th-annual Quad Cities Holocaust Remembrance, known as Yom HaShoah, will be held Sunday, April 26, at 7 p.m. at Temple Emanuel (12th and Mississippi streets in Davenport). The speaker for this year's community-wide commemoration will be Ralph Troll, professor emeritus at Augustana College, a U.S. Army veteran, and a childhood survivor of Nazi persecution during the Holocaust. Yom HaShoah, translated, means "Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust."
Iowa's economic competitiveness this year dropped from 23rd to 35th, according to a new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Illinois was 44th. To read more about the state-to-state comparisons, see the individual state analysis, and view the full report, visit ALEC.org.
More than $5.5 million will be coming to Iowa to support Head Start programs across the state. More than $2.5 million will be used for a cost-of-living adjustment, and more than $3 million will be used for quality improvement. The funding was included in the federal economic-recovery package.
The Community Foundation of the Great River Bend is seeking applications from high-school students interested in receiving financial assistance for college. Deadlines have been extended until April 15 for the August & Edna Zahatko Scholarship and the Kleinschmidt Scholarship. Applications and selection criteria can be found by visiting CFGRB.org.
The Rock Island Library now offers weekly walk-in computer classes every Wednesday: Basic Internet at 9 a.m. and Basic Word Processing at 11 a.m. Both are in the Main Library computer lab. For more information, visit RIPL.lib.il.us.
Piano Celebration, hosted by Piano for a Richer Life, will take place at NorthPark Mall on April 18 (from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and 19 (from noon to 5 p.m.). Last year more than 400 local celebrities, student pianists, and piano enthusiasts performed to support the Iowa City Ronald McDonald House. A conservatory grand piano will be placed outside of the Dillard's, Younkers, and JCPenny stores.
The Bettendorf Discovery Shop, 2397 Cumberland Square Drive, will host the 17th-annual cookbook and kitchenware event on Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11. Loretta from Tastefully Simple will be on-hand with an assortment of treats to sample and a catalog of items for purchase. A percentage of the purchase price of what is ordered will be donated to the American Cancer Society's Discovery Shop.
At 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 11, the Davenport Public Library's Fairmount Street location (3000 North Fairmount Street) will host a puppet show, crafts, cake, pictures, and fun to introduce "Libby the Library Dog." All attendees will receive a coloring book with Libby's story and a stadium cup. This event helps kick off National Library Week - a celebration of libraries and library workers. For more information about other upcoming events, visit DavenportLibrary.com.
Nearly $13.2 million from the federal economic-recovery package is coming to Iowa from the General Services Administration for federal building projects. This funding will be used to make energy-efficiency upgrades to three courthouses and federal buildings in Iowa. The Davenport U.S. Courthouse will receive $120,000.
