· Archaeological excavation has begun at the Colonel George Davenport House, located on the north shore of the Arsenal Island and the oldest known residence in the Quad Cities area. Staff of the Archaeological Research Center of St. Louis will be conducting archaeological investigations through October in an effort to identify subsurface remains of the east wing of the Davenport House and to search for evidence of a nearby outbuilding. The badly deteriorated east wing was demolished sometime around 1906. While period documents confirm that the standing center portion of the house was erected in 1833, the exact date for the east wing is unknown. Excavations will aid in establishing the building sequence on the property and in determining details of east-wing construction methods. Staff will be available to explain to the public what is being found, to talk about how the excavations are being performed, and to show artifacts that might be found.
· Former River Center/Adler Theatre Director Michael Hartman was arrested last week and charged with theft in the first degree. Hartman is accused of embezzling $15,731 during his tenure at the facility. The charges follow a four-month investigation by the Davenport Police Department and the arrest during the summer of former River Center/Adler Theatre Finance Director Ryan Brudger, who was charged with theft. Both officials resigned in May. The facility, which is owned by the city and run by Compass Facility Management of Cedar Rapids, is under a new management agreement following the discovery of the missing funds, and the city and Compass are working to implement new financial controls. Compass has given the city more than $24,000 in restitution for fund irregularities and also paid more than $40,000 for a recent outside audit.
· CNN and Money magazine recently named Iowa State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald's College Savings Iowa among the top four college-savings plans in the nation. The CNN/Money article cites Iowa's low-cost, age-based investment portfolio among the important features of Iowa's plan. Additionally, the article emphasizes Iowa participants' tax deduction of up to $2,180 per account on their contributions. College Savings Iowa lets anyone - parents, grandparents, relatives, and friends - invest for college on behalf of a child. The article also named Bright Start Savings the best program in Illinois. To see the CNN/Money article, visit (http://money.cnn.com/2002/08/16/pf/college/q_529_1/best_529s.html). For more information on College Savings Iowa, visit (http://www.collegesavingsiowa.com) or call (888)672-9116. For more information about Bright Start Savings, visit (http://www.brightstartsavings.com) or call (877)432-8777.
· Ann Hutchinson, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Iowa's First District, last week released a report showing that the cost of certain prescription drugs in her district is typically twice that in countries such as Canada, Great Britain, and Japan. The report, based on a study by the Minority Staff of the House Government Reform Committee, compares the prices of popular drugs for senior citizens. In a release accompanying the report, Hutchinson pledged her support to the Prescription Drug Fairness for Seniors Act, which "would allow pharmacists who serve Medicare patients to purchase prescription drugs at the low 'average foreign price.'" Representative Jim Nussle, Hutchinson's opponent, supported the Prescription Drug Modernization Act, which has passed the House of Representatives and is a more comprehensive Medicare-reform package. Supporters of the bill Hutchinson favors argue that it's a stopgap measure until Congress enacts meaningful prescription-drug coverage for Medicare. Nick Ryan, Nussle's campaign manager, responded, "It's a bill that was introduced in 2001 and hasn't gone anywhere."
· According to a report released by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, 1.7 million anglers and 553,000 hunters spent $1.8 billion in Iowa and Illinois last year in pursuit of their pastimes, supporting 33,000 jobs in the two states. On the national level, 38 million sportsmen aged 16 and older spent a total of more than $70 billion in 2001. (That would rank hunters and anglers number 11 on the Fortune 500 if they formed a corporation with that money.) The report, "The American Sportsman: Take a Closer Look," uses the results from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting & Wildlife-Associated Recreation and compares hunters' and anglers' impact on the economy with other industries. "The American Sportsman: Take a Closer Look," with national statistics and an interactive map of state-specific information, is available on the Web at (http://www.sportsmenslink.org).
· For the third time in five months, the Iowa Finance Authority has lowered the interest rate for the state's FirstHome affordable-home project, achieving the lowest rate in the program's history. The new rate is 5.75 percent for a 25- or 30-year term. FirstHome is a public-private partnership administered by the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA). The IFA issues tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds to fund the program, which determines and sets the lowest possible rate at which money can be loaned for affordable mortgages. The mortgage loans are provided to qualified homebuyers across the state through more than 300 participating lenders. For more information, including a list of participating lenders, look at the IFA's web site at (http://www.ifahome.com) or call (800)432-7230.
· Ten free trees will be given to each person who joins The National Arbor Day Foundation during October. The free trees are part of the not-for-profit foundation's Trees for America campaign. The trees, two Sugar Maples, a Scarlet Oak, a Sweetgum, a Red Oak, a Silver Maple, a White Dogwood, a Washington Hawthorn, and two Red Maples, will be shipped postpaid at the right time for planting. The six- to 12-inch trees are guaranteed to grow and will be replaced free-of-charge if they don't. To receive the free trees, send a $10 membership contribution to Autumn Classic Trees; National Arbor Day Foundation; 100 Arbor Avenue; Nebraska City, NE 68410 by October 31. For more information on the National Arbor Day Foundation, look on the Web at (http://www.arborday.org).
· The Fully Informed Jury movement argues that a jury has the right and responsibility to judge not only the accused but the law itself. (For more information, look at [http://www.fija.org].) South Dakota has an initiative on the ballot called Amendment A that would allow defendants to argue the merit and application of criminal and sentencing laws. You can see the progress for yourself at the Web site devoted to passing Amendment A: (http://www.commonsensejustice.us).
· Former River Center/Adler Theatre Director Michael Hartman was arrested last week and charged with theft in the first degree. Hartman is accused of embezzling $15,731 during his tenure at the facility. The charges follow a four-month investigation by the Davenport Police Department and the arrest during the summer of former River Center/Adler Theatre Finance Director Ryan Brudger, who was charged with theft. Both officials resigned in May. The facility, which is owned by the city and run by Compass Facility Management of Cedar Rapids, is under a new management agreement following the discovery of the missing funds, and the city and Compass are working to implement new financial controls. Compass has given the city more than $24,000 in restitution for fund irregularities and also paid more than $40,000 for a recent outside audit.
· CNN and Money magazine recently named Iowa State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald's College Savings Iowa among the top four college-savings plans in the nation. The CNN/Money article cites Iowa's low-cost, age-based investment portfolio among the important features of Iowa's plan. Additionally, the article emphasizes Iowa participants' tax deduction of up to $2,180 per account on their contributions. College Savings Iowa lets anyone - parents, grandparents, relatives, and friends - invest for college on behalf of a child. The article also named Bright Start Savings the best program in Illinois. To see the CNN/Money article, visit (http://money.cnn.com/2002/08/16/pf/college/q_529_1/best_529s.html). For more information on College Savings Iowa, visit (http://www.collegesavingsiowa.com) or call (888)672-9116. For more information about Bright Start Savings, visit (http://www.brightstartsavings.com) or call (877)432-8777.
· Ann Hutchinson, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Iowa's First District, last week released a report showing that the cost of certain prescription drugs in her district is typically twice that in countries such as Canada, Great Britain, and Japan. The report, based on a study by the Minority Staff of the House Government Reform Committee, compares the prices of popular drugs for senior citizens. In a release accompanying the report, Hutchinson pledged her support to the Prescription Drug Fairness for Seniors Act, which "would allow pharmacists who serve Medicare patients to purchase prescription drugs at the low 'average foreign price.'" Representative Jim Nussle, Hutchinson's opponent, supported the Prescription Drug Modernization Act, which has passed the House of Representatives and is a more comprehensive Medicare-reform package. Supporters of the bill Hutchinson favors argue that it's a stopgap measure until Congress enacts meaningful prescription-drug coverage for Medicare. Nick Ryan, Nussle's campaign manager, responded, "It's a bill that was introduced in 2001 and hasn't gone anywhere."
· According to a report released by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, 1.7 million anglers and 553,000 hunters spent $1.8 billion in Iowa and Illinois last year in pursuit of their pastimes, supporting 33,000 jobs in the two states. On the national level, 38 million sportsmen aged 16 and older spent a total of more than $70 billion in 2001. (That would rank hunters and anglers number 11 on the Fortune 500 if they formed a corporation with that money.) The report, "The American Sportsman: Take a Closer Look," uses the results from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting & Wildlife-Associated Recreation and compares hunters' and anglers' impact on the economy with other industries. "The American Sportsman: Take a Closer Look," with national statistics and an interactive map of state-specific information, is available on the Web at (http://www.sportsmenslink.org).
· For the third time in five months, the Iowa Finance Authority has lowered the interest rate for the state's FirstHome affordable-home project, achieving the lowest rate in the program's history. The new rate is 5.75 percent for a 25- or 30-year term. FirstHome is a public-private partnership administered by the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA). The IFA issues tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds to fund the program, which determines and sets the lowest possible rate at which money can be loaned for affordable mortgages. The mortgage loans are provided to qualified homebuyers across the state through more than 300 participating lenders. For more information, including a list of participating lenders, look at the IFA's web site at (http://www.ifahome.com) or call (800)432-7230.
· Ten free trees will be given to each person who joins The National Arbor Day Foundation during October. The free trees are part of the not-for-profit foundation's Trees for America campaign. The trees, two Sugar Maples, a Scarlet Oak, a Sweetgum, a Red Oak, a Silver Maple, a White Dogwood, a Washington Hawthorn, and two Red Maples, will be shipped postpaid at the right time for planting. The six- to 12-inch trees are guaranteed to grow and will be replaced free-of-charge if they don't. To receive the free trees, send a $10 membership contribution to Autumn Classic Trees; National Arbor Day Foundation; 100 Arbor Avenue; Nebraska City, NE 68410 by October 31. For more information on the National Arbor Day Foundation, look on the Web at (http://www.arborday.org).
· The Fully Informed Jury movement argues that a jury has the right and responsibility to judge not only the accused but the law itself. (For more information, look at [http://www.fija.org].) South Dakota has an initiative on the ballot called Amendment A that would allow defendants to argue the merit and application of criminal and sentencing laws. You can see the progress for yourself at the Web site devoted to passing Amendment A: (http://www.commonsensejustice.us).
