A major milestone is a good occasion to step back and see what's been accomplished. Now in its 20th year, the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival has hosted more than 400 performers on its stages. Here's the complete list, not including this year's lineup.

Interviewing Clarence Fountain is a bit like asking a question of a Magic 8 Ball. The answers are short, glib, and often contradictory. Fountain, the leader and one of the original members of the Blind Boys of Alabama (which was formed in 1939), is feisty, and his responses don't do justice to his music.

A glance at the events slated for Grand Excursion 2004 can be more than a little overwhelming. The event's centerpiece is a six-boat flotilla that convenes in the Quad Cities on Saturday, June 26, and travels up the Mississippi, arriving at Minnesota-St.

In its effort to capitalize on available state money, the City of Davenport is working quickly to finalize its first phase of the joint Rock Island/Davenport River Vision implementation. But chasing that money - the city plans to ask for $15 million from Iowa's Vision Iowa and Community Attractions & Tourism (CAT) programs - means the city council probably won't be giving itself or the public much time to study the plan's details, including its financing or a riverfront casino hotel that became part of the discussion only at the tail end of the process.