Mayor Dennis E. Pauley will be presenting the "State of the City" address Monday, January 11, 2010 at noon at a joint Kiwanis-Rotary meeting being held at the Quad City Botanical Center, 2525 Fourth Avenue, Rock Island.

Copies of the speech will be available from Mayor Pauley at the meeting or may be picked up at the Mayor's Office at 1528 Third Avenue after 1:30 p.m. on January 11, 2010.  Copies may also be obtained electronically by contacting the Mayor's office after 1:30 p.m.

Culinary Class January 13th at 6:30

Johnny's Italian Steakhouse will host a culinary class on January 13th at 6:30pm. Participants will learn expert tips from top notch chefs and will be given an opportunity to sample Johnny's Stuffed Meatloaf...a signature dish to warm up to this month. In addition, a door prize, such as meal certificates, will be drawn at the conclusion of the class. The cooking class is $10 to the public and includes meatloaf samples and a glass of wine or non-alcoholic beverage.

For more information or to sign up, please call Johnny's Italian Steakhouse at 309.736.0100.

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The Rock Island Moose Family Center will hold a 100 year Birthday Celebration on Saturday, January 16, 2010.  Festivities will be ongoing throughout the day.  Local city officials, along with Moose officials, will be recognized at 3 p.m.

The public is cordially invited to stop by the Family Center during the Birthday Celebration for a tour and to learn more about the Moose fraternity and the Women of the Moose.

The Loyal Order of Moose, also know as the Family Fraternity, is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888.  The Rock Island Lodge was instituted January 18, 1910.  There are nearly 800,000 men in roughly 1,500 lodges in all 50 states plus Great Britian, Canada and Bermuda.

Along with other units of Moose International, the Loyal Order of Moose supports the operation of Mooseheart Child City and school, a one thousand acre community for children and teens located outside of Chicago; and Moosehaven, a 70 acre retirement village for its members near Jacksonville, Florida.  Additionally, Moose Lodges conduct approximately $50 million worth of community service (counting monetary donations and volunteer hours worked) annually.

Additionally, the Loyal Order of Moose conducts numerous sports and recreational programs in local lodges and Family Centers.

"We would really welcome seeing non-members come and join us at our celebration. We would enjoy the chance to show them our wonderful lodge and exactly what we have to offer them and their families," said Governor Ernie Weed.

Also, the Lodge is assembling a historical picture collection.  If any current or former Moose or Chapter members has any pictures they would llike to contribute, they may drop them off at the Lodge located at 4410 - 9th Street, Rock Island.  Birthday cards, either hand-made or purchased, will be greatly appreciated to help commemorate such a significant event.

For more information, please contact the Lodge at 309-793-1541.

ARRA grants will enable broadband mapping and planning

Des Moines, IA- Recently, Iowa received a match grant of approximately $2.2 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to support a comprehensive broadband mapping and planning initiative through the Connect Iowa program.

Connect Iowa (www.connectiowa.org) is a partnership between the Iowa Broadband Deployment Governance Board, the Iowa Utilities Board and Connected Nation to increase broadband Internet access throughout rural Iowa. The grant is comprised of $1.7 million for broadband data collection and mapping activities over a two-year period and almost $500,000 for broadband planning activities over a five-year period in Iowa, bringing the total grant award to approximately $2.2 million. The award provided through NTIA's State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program is a matching grant and part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The data collected from the Connect Iowa initiative will be displayed in the national broadband map, which will help inform policymakers and provide consumers with improved information on broadband Internet services available in the United States.

Robert Berntsen, Chair of the Iowa Utilities Board, noted the importance of the grant by stating, "The Iowa Broadband Map is the foundation upon which policy leaders and industry will build a plan to bring high-speed Internet access to the unserved and underserved parts of Iowa."

As part of the Connect Iowa initiative, Connected Nation will be implementing a brand new interactive mapping tool for viewing, analyzing and validating broadband data. Called BroadbandStat, the new interactive mapping platform is a multi-functional, user-friendly way for local leaders, policymakers, consumers and technology providers to devise a plan for the expansion and adoption of broadband. BroadbandStat was developed by Connected Nation in conjunction with ESRI, the world market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software.

BroadbandStat is unique because it allows a user to build and evaluate broadband expansion scenarios using a wealth of data, including education and population demographics, current broadband speeds and availability and research about the barriers to adoption. The tool also provides an instant feedback mechanism for consumers to validate broadband data electronically or via phone.

"We are pleased to be working with the Iowa Utilities Board and the Iowa Broadband Deployment Governance Board to help create a comprehensive broadband map in the state of Iowa," said Brian R. Mefford, Connected Nation's chief executive officer. "We applaud NTIA for working diligently to create a national broadband map and are honored to have been selected to help Iowa in its efforts to close the digital divide in the state."

As the organization that produced the nation's first accurate statewide broadband availability map in 2005, Connected Nation is a prominent voice for the nation's need for better broadband data. Connected Nation has worked closely with national leaders and provided numerous filings in support of a process for broadband data collection at the national level.

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