31
Aug
2004
• On Friday, September 3, the new Iowa state quarter will be unveiled in Des Moines and Mount Pleasant. The Des Moines event will take place on the west steps of the State Capitol at 10 a.m. The quarter will make its debut at 3 p.m. in Mount Pleasant at the Old Thresher's Reunion. Children at the events will receive free quarters, and Iowans will be able to purchase Iowa Commemorative Quarter Sets for $5. The sets will include one quarter from the Denver Mint and one quarter from the Philadelphia Mint. The U.S. Mint also will offer a quarter exchange through which attendees can trade $10 bills for a roll of Iowa quarters. For more information about the Iowa-state-quarter launch or how to purchase an Iowa Commemorative Quarter, visit (http://www.iowaquarter.com).
• Nancy Landess, manager of the Iowa Department of Economic Development's Tourism Office, received the industry's highest honor recently when she was named 2004 State Tourism Director of the Year. Landess accepted the award in Boston, where the Travel Industry Association of America was hosting its annual conference for state tourism offices. Landess' peers selected her from among three finalists. The State Tourism Director of the Year Award is given based on success in several areas, including program development, trade and consumer response, and personal and professional skills. Landess has more than 25 years of experience in the Iowa Department of Economic Development, leading the Tourism Office since 1995. She is currently serving her second term as chair of the National Council of State Tourism Directors. Under her leadership, the economic impact of travel in Iowa has grown from $3.2 billion to $4.3 billion annually. Landess was also instrumental in the creation of Iowa's Welcome Center system, the Tourism Office's cooperative advertising opportunities, and the Vision Iowa program.
• Davenport's Levee Commission will hold a town-hall meeting on Tuesday, September 7, at 6:30 p.m. in the city-council chambers to discuss the city's River Vision plan.
• Davenport Community Schools (DCS) celebrated a recent ribbon-cutting for its museum. The all-volunteer staff of the DCS Museum recently moved from temporary quarters at J.B. Young school to a permanent location on the lower level of the Administrative Services Center at 1606 Brady Street. The Davenport Schools Museum features a diverse variety of archived documents, records, and photos as well as displays of almost 150 years of teaching resources, equipment/furniture, textbooks, student work, athletic activities, school uniforms, and more.
• A test burn was conducted in a grassy field at Nahant Marsh this spring for certification training of Davenport Public Works staff. As the restored wetland matures, spring burns will be conducted regularly to manage the native wetland prairie.
• Genesis has announced its intention to open and operate a local hospice-care facility pending the favorable outcome of a feasibility study on community financial support. The hospice-house project has been under consideration by the Genesis Health System Board of Directors since late 2003. For more than a dozen years, Genesis has provided "in home" hospice care to thousands of families in the Quad Cities and Clinton County through its Visiting Nurse Association hospice home-care staff. But the need for a free-standing facility to provide this same hospice care has been growing steadily. At this time, there is no hospice-care center in the region like the one under consideration at Genesis. The nearest similar facilities are located several hours away in Ames, Des Moines, Johnston, and Waterloo, Iowa, and Joliet, Illinois, making it difficult for Quad Cities families to stay close to their loved ones.
• Thousands of candidates and elected officials. Who works for you? Who is seeking your vote? Project Vote Smart, a citizen's organization, has developed a Voter's Self-Defense system to provide you with the necessary tools to self-govern effectively: abundant, accurate, unbiased, and relevant information. As a national library of factual information, Project Vote Smart covers your candidates and elected officials in five basic categories: biographical information, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances, and interest-group ratings. Take a look at (http://www.vote-smart.org) or call (888)868-3762.
• The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws reports that medicinal cannabis extracts significantly reduce spasticity and other symptoms compared to placebo in patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS), according to clinical trial data published in the August issue of the journal Multiple Sclerosis, Clinical & Laboratory Research. One hundred sixty patients participated in the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Multiple Scelrosis, Clinical & Laboratory Research is available online at (http://www.arnoldpublishers.com/journals/pages/mul_scl/).
• Nancy Landess, manager of the Iowa Department of Economic Development's Tourism Office, received the industry's highest honor recently when she was named 2004 State Tourism Director of the Year. Landess accepted the award in Boston, where the Travel Industry Association of America was hosting its annual conference for state tourism offices. Landess' peers selected her from among three finalists. The State Tourism Director of the Year Award is given based on success in several areas, including program development, trade and consumer response, and personal and professional skills. Landess has more than 25 years of experience in the Iowa Department of Economic Development, leading the Tourism Office since 1995. She is currently serving her second term as chair of the National Council of State Tourism Directors. Under her leadership, the economic impact of travel in Iowa has grown from $3.2 billion to $4.3 billion annually. Landess was also instrumental in the creation of Iowa's Welcome Center system, the Tourism Office's cooperative advertising opportunities, and the Vision Iowa program.
• Davenport's Levee Commission will hold a town-hall meeting on Tuesday, September 7, at 6:30 p.m. in the city-council chambers to discuss the city's River Vision plan.
• Davenport Community Schools (DCS) celebrated a recent ribbon-cutting for its museum. The all-volunteer staff of the DCS Museum recently moved from temporary quarters at J.B. Young school to a permanent location on the lower level of the Administrative Services Center at 1606 Brady Street. The Davenport Schools Museum features a diverse variety of archived documents, records, and photos as well as displays of almost 150 years of teaching resources, equipment/furniture, textbooks, student work, athletic activities, school uniforms, and more.
• A test burn was conducted in a grassy field at Nahant Marsh this spring for certification training of Davenport Public Works staff. As the restored wetland matures, spring burns will be conducted regularly to manage the native wetland prairie.
• Genesis has announced its intention to open and operate a local hospice-care facility pending the favorable outcome of a feasibility study on community financial support. The hospice-house project has been under consideration by the Genesis Health System Board of Directors since late 2003. For more than a dozen years, Genesis has provided "in home" hospice care to thousands of families in the Quad Cities and Clinton County through its Visiting Nurse Association hospice home-care staff. But the need for a free-standing facility to provide this same hospice care has been growing steadily. At this time, there is no hospice-care center in the region like the one under consideration at Genesis. The nearest similar facilities are located several hours away in Ames, Des Moines, Johnston, and Waterloo, Iowa, and Joliet, Illinois, making it difficult for Quad Cities families to stay close to their loved ones.
• Thousands of candidates and elected officials. Who works for you? Who is seeking your vote? Project Vote Smart, a citizen's organization, has developed a Voter's Self-Defense system to provide you with the necessary tools to self-govern effectively: abundant, accurate, unbiased, and relevant information. As a national library of factual information, Project Vote Smart covers your candidates and elected officials in five basic categories: biographical information, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances, and interest-group ratings. Take a look at (http://www.vote-smart.org) or call (888)868-3762.
• The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws reports that medicinal cannabis extracts significantly reduce spasticity and other symptoms compared to placebo in patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS), according to clinical trial data published in the August issue of the journal Multiple Sclerosis, Clinical & Laboratory Research. One hundred sixty patients participated in the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Multiple Scelrosis, Clinical & Laboratory Research is available online at (http://www.arnoldpublishers.com/journals/pages/mul_scl/).
