• Iowa House leaders have announced that they will not continue efforts on compromise legislation to lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for drunken driving from .10 to .08 percent. Legislators had come up with and agreed on a three-tiered plan with increasing penalties for higher blood-alcohol limits.
• The Davenport Museum of Art last week unveiled the final design of the $30 million Figge Arts Center - slated to open in 2005 - and announced more than $3 million in new gifts. Architect David Chipperfield explained that the building is designed to have two "front doors" - one facing the river and one on Second Street, to encourage people to enter the facility.
• The Midwest Writing Center will be moving into the first floor of the Goldman Building in the Rock Island Arts & Entertainment District later this month. The office space, adjacent to the new MidCoast Fine Arts Gallery West, features a large front room, a main office, and the shared use of two conference rooms, a kitchenette, and restroom facilities.
• People will pay more to send mail via the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) starting June 30, as the Postal Rate Commission on Friday approved a hike that includes raising first-class mail rates from 34 to 37 cents. This is despite a highly critical report that, according to a March 15 Wall Street Journal article, the Postal Service is trying to keep hidden.
• The Bettendorf Park Board has decided to keep all of Splash Landing closed until 2003, resulting in a savings of $73,500. Water-clarity issues and structural problems forced the closing of the aquatic center following a $1.
• American Rivers, an environmental group that fought expansion of locks on the Mississippi River, has closed its field office in Iowa because of budget problems. The office was located in the Kahl Building in downtown Davenport for the past three years and was also was active in wetlands protection, floodwalls along the Mississippi River, and riverfront improvement.
• Recently retired veteran of the Davenport Police Department and lifelong Davenport resident Jim Van Fossen has announced that he is seeking the Republican nomination for Iowa House District 84. Van Fossen said his priorities will be education and balancing the state budget, and he will draw on his background as a police officer to ensure proper security measures are in place to keep Americans safe.
• MidCoast Fine Arts last week was recognized with the Arts Build Communities Award for Arts Organization representing the entire state of Iowa. The award was presented by the Iowa Arts Council as part of the 2002 Iowa Arts Awards at a ceremony on February 20 in Des Moines.
• Because of reductions in revenue streams such as the hotel/motel tax, local-option sales tax, and interest, the City of Bettendorf is contemplating a levy increase of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
• Supportive Housing for Single-Parent Families, a program offered by Humility of Mary Housing, Inc. (HMHI) to bring affordable housing and supportive services to single parents and their children, has received an Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award.

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