DES MOINES, IOWA (May 13, 2020) — Small business optimism took another dive in April, falling 5.5 points to 90.9, with owners expressing certainty the economy will weaken in the near-term, but expecting it to improve over the next six months. The Optimism Index has fallen 13.6 points over the last two months, with nine of 10 Index components declining in April and one improving.

DAVENPORT, IOWA (May 13, 2020) — Due to interest in QC Life in The New Normal Writing Project, we’ve added another round of entries — June 30 is the deadline for Phase Two. You may submit pieces even if you’ve already participated in Phase One.

As before, send us your diary entries, essays, or poems to tell us what it's like in your home and your hometown.

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA (May 13, 2020) — Fawn Schultz of Geneseo, Illinois, was recently initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Schultz was initiated at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

PEORIA, ILLINOIS (May 13, 2020) — Beginning with students applying for fall 2021 enrollment at Bradley University, undergraduate applicants will no longer be required to submit standardized test scores, ACT or SAT, for admission. This decision is a result of a year-long study spent evaluating the accuracy of standardized-test scores in predicting success at Bradley.