Piano Celebration, hosted by Piano for a Richer Life, raised more than $31,000 for the Ronald McDonald House. This year, more than 400 local celebrities, student pianists, and piano enthusiasts performed at NorthPark Mall in Davenport on three Yamaha Conservatory grand pianos with a dual purpose: to raise funds to support the local Ronald McDonald House and to emphasize that piano study enhances brain development. Iowa City Ronald McDonald House serves the families of thousands of children suffering from critical conditions. The event took place on Saturday, April 19, and Sunday, April 20.

Amtrak has released a study on behalf of the Iowa Department of Transportation concerning the feasibility of passenger-rail service from the Quad Cities to Iowa City on a route originating from Chicago. Annual ridership on the full route is estimated at approximately 187,000 passengers, based on two daily round trips and track improvements being made to allow maximum speeds of 79 miles per hour. The states of Iowa and Illinois would share the capital-investment costs, and the estimated annual Amtrak operating-contract expense of roughly $6 million. The estimated cost to upgrade the railroad infrastructure in this example is $54.9 million. Reports and maps concerning this study are available at (http://www.iowadot.gov/amtrakstudy/).

The Mississippi Valley Growers' Association (MVGA) built successful markets over 15 years in Davenport and Bettendorf, with six Iowa Farmers' Market Improvement Competition awards from the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, the Iowa Department of Agriculture, and the Iowa Farmers' Market Association. The River City Market Association (RCMA) formed 11 years ago. The MVGA and the RCMA have negotiated leases from the city together since 2002. This was confirmed by Charlie Heston, Levee Improvement Commission, at the March 12 meeting. In 2007, we formed a joint board and have shared expenses for patrol officers. We worked diligently to develop a plot map that the patrol officers thought would provide the safest traffic flow for customers. This plot map was submitted to Charlie Heston and leases prepaid in December for the upcoming year.

Dale Haake of Davenport is the fourth Quad City Poet Laureate, joining former laureates Dick Stahl, Rebecca Wee, and Kathleen Lawless Cox. The new Quad City Poet Laureate will officially begin his two-year term on Wednesday, April 16, at 7 p.m. at the Quad City Arts Center, 1715 Second Avenue in Rock Island. There, Haake will be formally introduced to the public and will give a reading of his work. The event is free and open to the public, and will be happening in conjunction with National Poetry Month.