• The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has announced a scholarship program for students who have lost a parent to breast cancer. The program will award five scholarships of up to $10,000 annually for up to four years toward the completion of a baccalaureate degree.
• The State of Iowa has announced that the Bettendorf Public Library Information Center has met the conditions for state accreditation. The library will receive an official certificate of accreditation that is valid until June 2006.
• After more than a decade of research and analysis, the Restructured Upper Mississippi River & Illinois Waterway System Navigation Study is nearing completion. Public participation now and at upcoming public meetings is key to developing a plan to ensure the Mississippi and Illinois rivers continue to be nationally treasured ecological resources, as well as effective transportation systems.
• Iowa Republican legislative leaders have filed a lawsuit against Governor Tom Vilsack, challenging his use of a line-item veto on economic-development legislation approved earlier this year. The lawsuit in Polk County District Court, which names House Majority Leader Christopher Rants and Senate Majority Leader Stewart Iverson as plaintiffs, stems from Vilsack's June 19 selective veto of income-tax cuts, changes in the worker's compensation system, and limits on some jury awards.
• The Davenport Parks & Recreation Department has announced the opening of its new Children's Wildlife Sensory Garden, located in Fejervary Park, three blocks west of Division Street. The Children's Wildlife Sensory Garden has taken two years to construct and is designed to serve all ages.
• The Davenport Police Department has been granted accredited status by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Incorporated (CALEA). The Davenport Police Department agreed to come into compliance with 443 standards set by CALEA, a process that generally takes two to three years to complete.
• According to a new report by the conservative watchdog group Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), Iowa has the 15th lowest cost of government among the 50 states, while Illinois has the 12th highest. The study, published in each of the past 11 years, is designed to show key policymakers and the public the cost of government at the local, state, and federal levels.
• Iowans can now buy breast-cancer-awareness license plates from their county treasurer's office. The plates bear an image of a pink ribbon and the words "Breast Cancer Awareness" and "Early Detection Saves Lives.
• John O'Donnell Stadium renovations have started. The first phase of the renovation includes the closing of Beiderbecke Drive from Gaines Street around the Peterson Pavilion in LeClaire Park. This will facilitate the construction of the earthen berm that will encircle the outfield and protect it and the facility from damage during a flood as well as create a grassy, park-like seating area.
• Seventeen percent, or nearly 336,000, of Iowa's licensed drivers are age 65 or older. Generations Area on Aging is one of five organizations around the nation that will soon test a new approach to older-driver safety - one that encourages communities to think more broadly about how America's growing elderly population should get around.

Pages