Iowa Public Radio (IPR) has announced the creation of a statewide news and information programming service as the culmination of a listener-driven process. The network, which was created in 2005 to align the stations of the WOI Radio Group in Ames, KUNI/KHKE in Cedar Falls-Waterloo, and KSUI/WSUI in Iowa City, is continuing its evolution as a statewide radio service for Iowans, with listener feedback as a critical component. For the past several months, Iowa Public Radio has sought input and feedback from Iowans as part of a "listening project." The information derived from these sessions provided the basis for a shared vision for public radio as IPR looks for ways to best serve all Iowans. The statewide news and information programming service will kick off January 1. Listeners in Iowa will hear new programs, including The Diane Rehm Show, and Iowa hosts for popular NPR programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered will be consistent across the state. Several locally produced programs, once limited to one station's coverage area, will now be available across the network. A full schedule of the news and information service is available at (http://www.iowapublicradio.org). Enhanced classical- and alternative-music programming are currently in development and will be released in mid-2007.
The Citizens to Preserve Black Hawk Park Foundation will sponsor "Shopping Is for the Birds" from 9 to 11 a.m. on Friday, November 24, as an alternative to joining the flocks of people at stores on the busiest shopping day of the year - the day after Thanksgiving. The program is free, and the public is invited. Meet at Singing Bird Nature Center in Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island. (Turn north off Black Hawk Road onto 15th Street.) Site naturalist Chuck Wester will present a program on winter birds in the area. Participants will make a simple bird feeder to take home and view birds at the feeding station. Refreshments will be served. For more information, call (309) 788-9536.
Artist
and author Faith Ringgold will be making numerous community
appearances next week. On
the evening of November 28, Ringgold will be at the Lincoln Academy
of the Integrated Arts Gala, which shows work done by the students.
Student docents will also be there to discuss their work with parents
and community members who attend. Ringgold will give a talk
explaining her artwork and her books. The school is located at 318
East Seventh Street in Davenport. The following day Ringgold will
conduct three mini-assemblies with children on different grade
levels. Later Ringgold will give a teacher workshop at the Figge and
a lecture in the auditorium for community groups. Racism, censorship,
and sexism are threads in her discussions, as well as cultural
knowledge, celebration, and the encouragement of young people.
Ringgold began her artistic career more than 35 years ago as a
painter. Today, she is best known for her painted story quilts -
art that combines painting, quilted fabric, and storytelling. She has
exhibited in major museums in the United States, Europe, South
America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Her first book, Tar
Beach, was a Caldecott
Honor Book and winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for
Illustration, among numerous other honors. She has written and
illustrated 11 children's books.
The board of directors of the Riverboat Development Authority (RDA) last week announced grant awards of nearly $1.5 million. The awards went to 69 community and civic organizations. Since 1991, the RDA has distributed more than $41 million to more than 450 community and public organizations in two counties and 21 cities. The grants include $2,000 each to the City of Eldridge for park signs and the World Community Institute for its lecture series, and $125,000 to the City of Davenport for its sky bridge. In total, the City of Davenport received $282,000 for various departments and projects. For a complete list of awards, visit (http://www.riverboatauthority.com).
Bettendorf, Davenport West, Davenport Central, North Scott, and Pleasant Valley high schools were first-place winners of Rotary International/Mississippi Athletic Conference sportsmanship awards for 2005-6 that were presented on November 15 at the fall meeting of conference athletic directors and coaches at Bettendorf High School. Bettendorf won first for girls' soccer and swept the awards for overall boys' and girls' sports. Davenport West took first-place honors for boys' basketball; North Scott for boys' soccer; Davenport Central for softball; and Pleasant Valley for baseball. Bettendorf's rating in four girls' sports was 1.12, and in five boys' sports was 1.44. Sportsmanship is rated by game officials on the conduct of coaches, players, and fans on a one-to-five scale, with "one" representing "outstanding." The awards are sponsored by seven Rotary clubs serving all the communities of the Mississippi Athletic Conference: Bettendorf, Burlington, Clinton, Davenport, Iowa Quad Cities, Muscatine, and North Scott.
Quad City Executive Toastmasters has launched a new Web site: (http://quadcitiesexec.freetoasthost.us). The new site includes membership information, club news, directions to regular meetings, answers to frequently asked questions, and more. The Quad City Executive Toastmasters meet at noon every Thursday (except holidays) for one hour at Shenanigan's Irish Pub, 303 West Third Street in Davenport. Visitors are always welcome. Toastmasters International is the leading movement devoted to making effective oral communication a worldwide reality. Each Toastmasters meeting gives everyone an opportunity to practice conducting meetings, giving speeches, and offering constructive evaluation.
