The City of Davenport will be holding a series of focus groups and community workshops to guide the design of its riverfront, including the expansion of LeClaire Park. A public kickoff will be held on Monday, March 26, at 6:30 p.m. This will be a 90-minute presentation held at the River Music Experience. The event will cover the project scope (including specific parcels), River Vision, the area's history, and the city's application for a state Community Attraction & Tourism grant. People are also welcome to provide their feedback at the Design Center (102 East Second Street), by phone (563-888-2252), or through the City's Web site (http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com).
The 2007 Black Hawk College Spring Symposium - "The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: Peace, Violence, & the Face of Hatred" - will be held on Tuesday, March 27, and Wednesday, March 28, in the auditorium (Building 1, Room 306) at the Quad Cities campus, 6600 34th Avenue in Moline. Admission is free. For more information, contact English Professor Erskine Carter at (309) 796-5435.
Iowa Governor Chet Culver has announced more than $60 million in funds from the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and the HOME Investment Partnership program that will enable the creation of 621 units of affordable housing in nine communities around Iowa. Developers who receive tax credits sell them to investors to generate equity for the housing developments. The tax credits provide a dollar-for-dollar reduction to the investors' federal tax liability on ordinary income. The Internal Revenue Service annually allocates $1.95 per person in credits to each state based on population. Iowa was eligible to distribute about $5.86 million in tax credits in 2007, but the actual awards exceed $58 million because the credits are committed annually for a 10-year period. The Iowa Finance Authority administers the program. In Davenport, RiverWalk Lofts at 420 River Drive received nearly $5.9 million for 42 units of family housing.
Tara Lange of Orion won the Provost Purchase Award and second place in the drawing category at Drake University's 36th Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition. Lange was one of 24 honored students who submitted works in the areas of drawing, graphic design, installation, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and video. The exhibition allows Drake students to display their exceptional work as selected by Peter Feldstein, an artist and retired professor of art at the University of Iowa. Feldstein chose 50 of 163 works submitted by 63 students. Thirty-two students were selected for the exhibition, and 24 were given awards, including the Provost Purchase Award. Drake Provost Ron Troyer bestowed the honors in a ceremony and reception in Drake's Anderson Gallery on Sunday, March 4.
Rebuilding Together Quad Cities has announced its spring workdays of April 28, May 5, and May 12. Twenty homes are scheduled to be repaired by a volunteer corps of between 150 and 200 people. Projects will include windows, doors, plumbing, electrical, drywall, home modifications, painting, general cleanup, and ramps for people with physical disabilities. Anyone interested in volunteering, applying for home repairs, or donating should contact Executive Director Rod Jennings at (563) 322-6534 or (reach-us@rebuildingtogetherquadcities.org). You do not need to be a skilled tradesman to participate; many projects require general handyman skills or merely an interest and willingness to help.
St. Ambrose University will host a special "Brown Bag" presentation, "GI Jane Meets GI Joe: How the First Female Soldiers Interacted with Enlisted Men," on Thursday, March 29, at noon in the Media Program room of the O'Keefe Library on the university campus. Senior journalism and history major Christine Mastalio will explore the experiences of some of the first female soldiers in the United States. The presentation is free and open to the public, and participants are welcome to bring their lunches. For more information, call (563) 333-6247.
The Quad City Health Initiative Wellness Champions will launch Moon Walk 2007 on March 30. Moon Walk 2007 will pit the Quad Cities against Peoria in a community race equivalent to two round trips to the moon. Quad Cities organizers hope to attract 10,000 walkers and accumulate more than 2 million miles this year. Registration for the Moon Walk is free. For more information or to join the efforts of the Quad City Health Initiative, call (563) 421-2826 or visit (http://www.qchealthinitiative.org).
QC Elite First Robotics competed against 37 teams from nine states at the Midwest regional earlier this month. QC Elite won honors in team spirit, safety, and control design, and ended up coming in second place in the actual robotics competition. You can find more information at (http://www.midwestfirst.org).
The Quad Cities community sculpture project, Mississippi Palette, will launch on Friday, March 23, with a kickoff and an appearance by nationally known environmentalist Chad Pregracke. The lead artists have submitted proposals and sketches of sculptures that will combine salvaged artifacts from the river with artistic expression. Twelve artists will lead teams of students to build artworks created from materials found in and around the river; the works will be placed on public display in and around the Quad Cities. Student artists from 12 area high schools will assist with collection and fabrication of the works. The kickoff will begin at the Scott County Recycling Center in Davenport and the Scott Area Landfill in Buffalo, Iowa, where artists and students will meet to tour the facility, hear a talk by Pregracke, and collect materials.
The application deadline is March 31 for the Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Award, a $5,000 scholarship program for Iowa juniors. Grades and test scores are not evaluated. Applicants propose a project they want to complete. Approximately 15 juniors are chosen in the spring. In the fall, the finalists make presentations about their completed projects at the Hoover Presidential Library & Museum in West Branch (near Iowa City). Each student receives a $750 stipend. Three are chosen to win $5,000 scholarships to be used at an accredited two- or four-year school anywhere in the nation. To request an application brochure, e-mail (scholarship@hooverassociation.org) or call (800) 828-0475. More information is available at (http://www.hooverassociation.org).
