16 Jan 2001

Why You Should Be Burning Up About Natural-Gas Prices

By Jeff Ignatius
MidAmerican Energy drew a bull's eye on its back, scheduling a series of forums throughout Iowa allowing customers to vent about the high price of heating their homes this winter. The company tried to shift blame to natural-gas producers and traders, but they still got plenty of customer rage.
09 Jan 2001

Illinois Lawmakers Will Be All over the Map - with Little to Show for It

By Jeff Ignatius

Two major issues will dominate discussion in the Illinois General Assembly this year, but one will probably knock the other out of the picture for a few years. Uncertainty surrounding re-drawing Illinois' state and federal legislative districts will probably scare the General Assembly away from passing bills of much significance or controversy, said State Senator Denny Jacobs (D-Moline).

02 Jan 2001

Harmony Riley Pulls Off Nifty Trick

By Jeff Ignatius
If you're a member of a young rock-and-roll band, that first show supporting somebody big can be nerve-wracking. So imagine being Miles and Daxx Nielsen of Harmony Riley on January 12, opening for the first time with Cheap Trick and ... dad? Yes, Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen's two sons will be setting the table for him on eight East Coast dates in January.
26 Dec 2000

State Gives Taxpayers Some Rights

By Jeff Ignatius
Starting next week, some taxpayers in Illinois are actually going to have some rights with their municipalities. On January 1, home-rule municipalities in the state will be required to have a Local Taxpayers Bill of Rights ordinance on the books because of state legislation passed earlier this year.
26 Dec 2000

Year Yields a Few Breakthroughs, Plenty of Well-Crafted Music

By Jeff Ignatius
Thom Yorke is clearly the king of 2000. Looking over my list of favorite albums of 2000, I notice that the vocalist shows up three times: leading Radiohead through Kid A (obviously) but also doing duets on albums by Björk and PJ Harvey.
19 Dec 2000

Predatory Lending Under Attack on Multiple Fronts

By Jeff Ignatius
Efforts to prevent lenders from exploiting people with spotty credit histories are gaining momentum on a national level, as well as in Illinois and Iowa. Last week, the Federal Reserve Board agreed to tighter regulations on "predatory lending," in which financial institutions use a combination of high interest rates and unusual terms to make it difficult for borrowers to build equity in their homes.
19 Dec 2000

Gold Waiting to Be Mined

By Jeff Ignatius
As misnomers go, Wicked Liz & The Bellyswirls is a doozy. First of all, there’s very little wicked about the vocal work of Wicked Liz, who goes by Liz Townsend when not on stage. She can growl in a most unmenacing way, but her voice generally runs from pop sweet to hearty.
12 Dec 2000

Expert from Afar

By Jeff Ignatius
Clad in his signature bow tie, standing before approximately 150 members of Daven-portOne at a breakfast last week, Brian Vandewalle sketched out his vision for revitalizing downtown Davenport. The presentation included a slide show and plenty of colorful buzzwords, from the "golden rectangle" to "economic constellations" to "the silicon prairie.
12 Dec 2000

Current and Recent Vandewalle & Associates Projects in the Quad Cities

By Jeff Ignatius
Moline: Renew Moline currently has three contracts with Vandewalle & Associates. The first, worth $35,000, is an update of the Moline Center Plan, which is expected to be finished by late winter. The second, also worth $35,000, is for implementation of the Moline Center Plan.
05 Dec 2000

Building on the Foundation of 300 Issues

By Jeff Ignatius
One of the interesting things about alternative weekly papers is that, no matter how old they get, they still carry the spirits, interests, and concerns of their founders. The River Cities' Reader celebrates its 300th issue this week, and although I've only been around for 20 or so issues, it's evident that the paper is an accurate reflection of Publisher Todd McGreevy and Editor Kathleen McCarthy, who started it more than seven years ago.

Pages

Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts

On Stands Now

 

Tagged Content

Two Ways to Subscribe

1. Subscribe to free weekly e-mail content updates.

You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Amy Alkon Advice Goddess, Real Astrology, Red Meat cartoon and RCR Crossword every week?) 

* indicates required

View previous campaigns.

2. Get 12 monthly issues mailed first class for $48

Get 12 issues mailed monthly for $48 per year.

Get the printed Reader edition mailed to you (or anyone you want) first-class for 12 months for $48.
$24 goes to postage and handling, $24 goes to keeping the doors open!

Click this link to Subscribe now.