• Construction of the Putnam Museum's IMAX Theatre has been moving steadily forward since breaking ground in January. Over the past several months, work has focused on earthwork and concrete foundations. Drilled caissons, concrete footings, and walls that establish the initial "footprint" for the entire building have been completed.
Minor-league baseball has erupted into a major-league furor in the Quad Cities. On the one hand, Davenport Mayor Phil Yerington has complained about the composition of a task force appointed by Moline Mayor Stan Leach to explore ways to keep professional baseball here when the Quad City River Bandits pack up for Ohio in the next two years.
• The State of Iowa will lose $3.4 million in road-construction money from the federal government because it decided not to change a law requiring certain penalties for third-offense drunken drivers. Legislators didn't wanted to tinker with the law, concerned about possible amendments, including proposals to lower the level at which a person is legally intoxicated.
In its first year, the ArtStroll street-fair event in downtown Davenport drew an estimated 2,000 people. "That's pretty good for a first-year event," said Dean Schroeder, executive director of MidCoast Fine Arts.
At the inaugural ArtStroll, MidCoast Fine Arts and the River Cities' Reader gathered 110 visual artists and their supporters for a group portrait by area photographer Dennis Fretty. Now we're bringing the music community together for a picture at the site of the planned River Music History Center, coming even closer to the spirit of the famous 1958 photograph "A Great Day in Harlem.
• The State of Iowa will become one of the first states in the country to charge for nuclear shipments across state lines. A rule by the Iowa Department of Public Health would charge fees from $250 to $1,750 to ship radioactive materials across the state, depending on the type of material and whether it's shipped by highway or rail.
Tim Sievert's motivation for applying to the Quad City Arts Metro Arts program was pretty simple: "I was looking for a summer job," said the 18-year-old. That statement is a bit surprising, because it's easy to forget that these 75 teenagers playing music, dancing, painting, and writing and acting are getting paid; the Metro Arts spread in The District of Rock Island resembles a summer camp.
• The State of Iowa is one of 27 states participating in a lawsuit against Hoechst, a German pharmaceutical company, alleging that the company blocked a generic version of a heart medication from being put on the market.
• The number of candidates for Davenport Mayor has increased to five with announcements last week from Denise Hollonbeck and Charlie Brooke. Hollonbeck, who made her announcement in front of Davenport City Hall, served seven years on the Davenport School Board, including time as president.
• Saturday, June 30, will mark the end of LeClaire Ambulance Service. In December, the company, which has been in business for 36 years, had its license suspended for six months by the Iowa Department of Public Health after an incident in which the former ambulance-service director took 23 minutes to respond to a call.

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