On Friday night, St. Ambrose University's Galvin Fine Arts Center will host a don't-miss triple bill of roots music, when Greg Brown, Lucy Kaplansky, and Bo Ramsey play together. All will perform separate sets of their own material, and then they'll share the stage for a finale.
Tom Wheeler has only been with the Iowa Film Office for a little more than three weeks, but already he has a big agenda. He envisions a fund or trust, probably a private-public partnership, that could be used to subsidize production costs for motion pictures shot or made in Iowa.
Last week, mediated talks broke down between John Lewis Community Services and the Taylor Heights Neighborhood Coalition regarding the planned Cobblestone Terrace affordable-housing development in central Davenport.
On December 18, Bettendorf Mayor-Elect Mike Freemire eloquently defended the new fee system for garbage collection that the city council had passed two days earlier. On December 26, he backtracked, making a motion and voting for a measure that essentially rescinded that earlier decision.
Kwanzaa is often viewed as an African-American response to Christmas and Hanukkah, and in some ways it is. The celebration is based on seven principles for living, and these provide a balance to the rampant consumerism in this holiday season.
The fledgling club Quad City Live got a big push in October, when the annual Pigstock metalfest was held in its parking lot (in the Freight House complex off River Drive in Davenport). But that boost wouldn't do much if the club didn't continue to bring in interesting acts.
Connie Gibbons' office at DavenportOne is small to begin with, but it's positively cramped now, with boards and papers showing layouts, logos, and artist renderings of the River Music Experience, set to open June 11 next year across the street, in the Redstone building on Second Street between Main and Brady in downtown Davenport.
After a year in operation, the Quad Cities-based Future Appletree label has an impressive résumé: four sparkling releases and a stable of reliable acts with an experimental-indie-pop flavor. It's clear even at this early stage that there's a distinct Future Appletree sound, which is evidenced by the new Soundtracks for Kisses, Trips, & Fits: A Future Appletree Compilation.
The most obvious signs of Davenport's arts renaissance can be seen with the construction of the new Figge Art Museum and the renovation of the Redstone building for the River Music Experience. But two other projects now in the works could have an even greater impact on the Quad Cities' artistic community.
Iowa's massive economic-development boost is starting to look a lot more modest. The Iowa Values Fund was originally pitched as a $500-million state investment focusing on three core areas: life sciences, information solutions, and advanced manufacturing.

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