A new coffee shop will open in early January at the Davenport Public Library's Fairmount Street location (3000 North Fairmount Street). Cams Coffee Shop is the new coffee vendor at the library, featuring Seattle's Best Coffee. Also featured at the shop will be fresh cinnamon rolls and cookies, Italian sodas, and other drinks. The shop will open Monday through Saturday at 7 a.m. and will close at the same time as the library. For library hours, visit DavenportLibrary.com.
A new report by George Mason University's United States Elections Project shows that Iowa's voter turnout was fifth-highest in the nation in the 2008 general election. Only Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine, and New Hampshire ranked higher. Iowa's turnout rate was 69.7 percent, based on votes for the highest office and statistics on the voting-eligible population, the George Mason study found. Illinois was 29th, with 62.7 percent. For more information on the new report, visit http://elections.gmu.edu.
The Davenport Municipal Airport will receive $80,750 from the Federal Aviation Administration to update the Airport Master Plan.
St. Ambrose's KALA-FM is the only public-radio station in the area to carry The World. "This is the one program we definitely wanted," said Professor of Communications Kenneth Colwell, who helps run the station with Operations Manager David Baker. "It has a global focus, with news coming from the British Broadcasting Company. Best of all, Ambrose alum Franc Contreras is a regular contributor to the show." KALA-FM, which can be heard at 88.5 or 105.5 FM in the Quad Cities, will carry other Public Radio International programs such as The Takeaway (a new national morning news program hosted by John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji) and The Tavis Smiley Show.
Girl Scouts is offering $10, one-year gift memberships this holiday shopping season. Gift certificates are available at the Rock Island offices of Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa & Western Illinois and may be purchased by calling (800) 798-0833. For more information, visit GSEIWI.org.
WQPT, the Quad Cities PBS station, is offering a broadcast scholarship to students pursuing a career in broadcasting. This annual award can be applied to tuition, books, and fees. Interested students may request an application by calling (309) 796-2424 or visiting WQPT.org. Applications must be postmarked by February 20.
Created by the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce and The Women's Connection, the Athena Business Women's Awards were established in 2006 to honor women who have made outstanding contributions to the Quad Cities business community. Nomination forms for the 2009 awards can be downloaded at ChamberLink.org/IQCCC/BroadcastEmails/AthenaApplication-2009.pdf. The deadline for nominations is January 23.
Complete Quad Cities weather information can be found at Weather.gov/quadcities. The feed from the Doppler radar at the Davenport airport, storm tracks, warnings, satellite images, and more can be seen in an easy-to-understand format.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency is releasing grant guidance and making allocations of funds totaling $755,987 to Iowa through the Fiscal Year 2009 Driver's License Security Grant Program (formerly known as the REAL ID Grant Program).
Metro, the mass transit system of the Illinois Quad Cities, reported a 9.4-percent increase from last year in use of its bus system for the 2008 fiscal year (December 1, 2007, to November 30, 2008). Ridership is up almost 20 percent from 2006. Metro provided 2.6 million rides on its fixed bus routes in the Illinois Quad Cities during the 2008 fiscal year. The launch of a green campaign and micro site - GoGreenMetro.com - also reiterated the environmental impact that riders have by taking the Metro. Half of Metro's buses run on compressed natural gas, which reduces exhaust pollutants 70 to 85 percent. For more information, visit the main Metro Web page at QCMetroLINK.com.
