On Tuesday, December 22, from 2 - 4 p.m., celebrate the holidays at our "Holiday Party." Decorate cookies, create amazing crafts, and meet new friends. Take home all of your creations to give as presents!

On Tuesday, December 29, from 2 - 4 p.m., visit the Fairmount Branch for our first-ever "Snow a Thon!" Come in out of the snow and cold to enjoy hot cocoa and marshmallows while watching movies like "Frosty the Snowman" and making fun winter crafts.

Registration is not required for either event - the more the merrier! For more information, visit www.davenportlibrary.com

###

The Quad City Sports Center is proud to be hosting its 2009 Christmas for Kids Holiday Skate in conjunction with the Toys for Tots Toy Drive. From 2-4 pm on Saturday, December 12th you can join us during our public session and bring in a new, unwrapped toy to donate to Toys for Tots. The QCSC will be giving everyone who donates a toy a coupon good for 'buy one get one free' admission. Marines will be on hand during the public session to collect the toys, but you can always drop off a toy before then at the QCSC front desk. Join us as we collect toys to make Christmas special this year for area kids. This event is just one of a number of events the Quad City Sports Center will host in December and January.

December 13th is the Figure Skating Club of the Quad Cities annual Angels on Ice show. Tickets for the door can be purchased at the door.

January 9th is the Quad City Sports Centers 7th Annual Skate-A-Thon fundraiser. This event helps to support skating in the Quad Cities and is a fun day for everyone. Make sure you take some time to come skate with us that day.

A full schedule of events and programs can be found online at http://www.qcscskate.com

###

Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) announced today the city of Davenport will receive a $983,300 grant from the Department of Energy for energy efficiency and conservation projects.  This funding is from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, which provides grants for projects that reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency across the country.  The grant was awarded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"I'm pleased to announce more than $983,000 to help create jobs and move Iowa towards a stronger energy-efficient future," Braley said.  "During these tough economic times, grants like this will play a critical role in putting Iowans back to work, creating good-paying jobs that can't be outsourced and moving our country away from our addiction to foreign oil."

Activities eligible for EECBG funding include energy audits and building retrofits in the residential and commercial sector, the development and implementation of advanced building codes and inspections, and the creation of financial incentive programs for energy efficiency improvements.

For more information on Stimulus projects in the First District, please click here.

Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) announced today that he has secured over $11.5 million in funding for Iowa programs in the 2009 omnibus bill, which pass in the House by a vote of X-X. This bill provides funding for the entire US Government's operations during the 2010 fiscal year.

"The Iowa funding in this bill will help create jobs in Iowa and will directly benefit the people I represent," Braley said. "I'm pleased to have secured funding for these critical Iowa priorities. This funding will help expand access to healthcare, improve Iowa infrastructure, and save and create jobs throughout eastern Iowa."

A list of Braley-secured projects follows:

• $2 million for Iowa National Guard in Davenport. This project will fund additions and alterations to the Army Aviation Support Facility, providing space needed for all personnel to train to mission standard and to provide maintenance of the assigned aircraft to the facility.

• $2 million for the city of Parkersburg to improve the intersection of Highways 14 and 57.

• $1.6 million for projects at the University of Northern Iowa. This includes funding for National Institute for Early Math and Science Education, the Center on Literacy, Language and Disability Studies in Early Childhood Education, the National Ag-Based Lubricants Center and MyEntreNet, a national rural entrepreneurship development system.     

• $1 million for the I-74 Corridor Construction leading up to the I-74 bridge. This project extends from 53^rd Street in Davenport, Iowa to Avenue of the Cities in Moline, Illinois.      

• $681,800 for the design and construction of a transit maintenance garage in Davenport, as recommended by the 2002 transit study of the Iowa Quad Cities.   

• $600,000 for St. Ambrose University to construct a Center for Health Sciences Education. The money will also help equip the facility for occupation and physical therapy and nursing programs that will allow for interdisciplinary learning, research and clinical practice.

• $500,000 to complete the extension of the 10^th Avenue South Corridor in Waverly

• $500,000 to complete the "Rivers to the Sea" museum as part of the National Missisissippi River Museum and Aquarium for the Great Rivers Center in Dubuque. This is one of the top priorities of the City of Dubuque and the number one priority for the Envision 2010 process.

• $400,000 for Clarke College to transition to a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program, mandated by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing by 2015 for advanced practice nurses.

• $400,000 for Hawkeye Community College to develop and deliver training to additional instructors, to provide tuition assistance for qualified trainees, to procure training equipment and supplies and for staff development to train and certify through its program. 

• $400,000 for a Flight Training Device for the University of Dubuque's Aviation Degree program. This will ensure the pilots are provided with sufficient training on the most current technology available.

• $389,600 for Dubuque's Southwest Arterial. This will help fund the final design and development of final construction documents, complete property acquisition and to complete the archaeological and cultural resource mitigation work. 

• $340,900 for the Northeast Iowa Food Bank to construct a food warehouse and distribution center to house a regional Food Bank and its multi-county programming efforts. 

• $250,000 for the Iowa Dental Association's Dental Home Demonstration Project in Scott County.

• $200,000 for Loras College to strengthen student faculty research by upgrading and equipping the environmental microscopy and human physiology/anatomy research and teaching center in the school's science hall.

• $194,000 for Homeward, Inc. to expand a construction finance program that has provided low interest loans to communities to encourage development of new housing in rural communities.

# # #