For anyone who has spent time working to ensure that their garden or yard or home landscaping looked not only presentable but beautfiul, certain questions routinely pop up: When should I plant seeds for my flower bed, and is that the best time to plant seeds for my vegetable garden, too? How do I remove that tree stump from my backyard without removing my leg in the process? What's the deal with those damned weeds growing back in the same place year after year, and how do I make them stop? Answers to these and other outdoor questions will finally come via this weekend's Two State Forestry Conference & Expo.

•The Great American Thing (September 17 through January 1): Through film clips, postcards, advertisements, vintage photography, period furniture, and approximately 130 works of art, the Figge Art Museum examines the first generation of American artists, exploring their process of finding an authentic voice for American art.

When budget cuts hit Rock Island Clean & Beautiful, the organization did something unusual: It engaged the artistic community for a public-art project. Sure, the 20 artistic catfish that have been gracing various sites in the Quad Cities are a fundraiser, but they're also part of a larger vision to make the Quad Cities a more visually appealing place.

Progress on a new Western Illinois University campus on the Moline riverfront is at a standstill until officials can obtain the funding needed to do the initial architectural and engineering design required before construction can begin.