• At its annual meeting last week, the Quad City Development Group launched a new marketing campaign and theme for the Quad Cities. The "Engineered for Success" regional theme is meant to "attract high-wage, high-value business investments," according to a press release.
• Bridgepoint Education, a higher-education company based in Poway, California, has announced that it is acquiring The Franciscan University of the Prairies of Clinton, Iowa. The agreement, which is expected to close by mid-March, has been approved by the university's board of trustees and Bridgepoint's board of directors.
• Work will begin soon on the Rock Island side of the Sylvan Slough Trailhead. Instead of the traditional "dig and haul" cleanup method of excavating contaminated soil and depositing it in a hazardous-waste landfill, the City of Rock Island has hired EnviroNET Inc.
• Officials from the Davenport Community Schools will hold a series of "State of Our Schools" sessions in the upcoming weeks to provide information on the district's new Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (or CSIP) and the district's current advocacy positions for this year's legislative session.
• The Davenport Community Schools Board has extended an employment offer to Bernard Oliver, one of four finalist candidates for the superintendent position. According to President Patt Zamora, the board last week entered negotiations with Dr.
• The Davenport Fire Department will receive $227,629 in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to increase the effectiveness of fire prevention and to support firefighter safety. Specifically, these grants help Iowa communities fund firefighting equipment, firefighter-health and -safety programs, enhancements to emergency-medical-service programs, and fire-prevention and -safety programs.
• The Iowa Department of Transportation reports that Iowans have achieved a major milestone in highway safety, with preliminary data indicating 380 fatalities occurring in 2004. This is the lowest number of fatalities since 1945.
• The Putnam Museum & IMAX Theatre will receive $4,000 in grant funding from Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area to design and install a new interactive program in the museum's Black Earth/Big River exhibit hall.
• The Quad City International Airport has announced that 2004 set a new annual enplanement record of 442,737 passengers, an increase of 34,968 passengers over 2003. December 2004 was the 11th month in a row with a new monthly enplanement record.
• The Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau is encouraging people to take advantage of events, attractions, restaurants, stores, and hotels/motels in the Quad Cities area. The agency has scheduled the "Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard" promotion for the weekend of January 14 to 17, asking residents to take a mini-vacation in the Quad Cities.

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