In the name of security, Iowa-American Water Company has asked for and received a rate hike without going through the normal rate-case process - and without customers knowing what they're paying for. Between the terrorist attacks of September 11 and November, Iowa-American spent approximately $900,000 on security measures, according to K.
Now in their sixth year, the River Cities' Reader's Best of the Quad Cities awards have become an institution, and some of our winners are approaching that status, too. Biaggi's, for example, swept the major restaurant categories and ended up with five awards, in only its second year of operation.
Some Iowa legislators are targeting lenders who change outrageous fees and interest rates (typically higher than 12 percent annually). A handful of bills in the Iowa General Assembly have been or are about to be introduced, and some might have a decent chance of passage.
In its 20-year history, Mississippi Valley Neighborhood Housing Service stayed focused on a single east-Davenport neighborhood. When it was awarded Community Development Financial Institution status by the U.S. Treasury in August, its mission and target area grew to seven counties, extending north to Clinton and south to Keokuk and reaching across the river to Rock Island County.
Last year, the City of Davenport developed and submitted its Vision Iowa application to the state and received a $20 million grant for various components. This weekend, the public will get its first real opportunities to guide portions of the massive downtown-revitalization project.
While the process has not been as public as those to develop a concept for the River Music Center and to choose a firm for the skybridge, the city's effort to develop new plans for its property at 53rd Street and Eastern Avenue is moving forward.
Local business and political leaders fear that to gain a few thousandths of one percent of the state's budget, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is threatening the economic balance of the Quad Cities. As part of his budget proposal two weeks ago, Vilsack announced a tax-policy change that could hamper efforts to attract businesses and workers to the Iowa Quad Cities.
The ThinPrep 2000 System, which prepares the ThinPrep® Pap Test, is intended as a replacement for the 50 year old Pap smear, the most widely used cancer screening test. More than 100 million Pap tests are performed annually worldwide.
As an undergraduate in the mid-1980s at what was then Marycrest College, I was given the basic foundation of a liberal-arts education. I had learned logic, ethics, morals, and, on a good day, something about computers.
When the Iowa legislature convenes next week, it should expect a new round of lobbying from the state's grocers to repeal the state's "Bottle Bill" - the recycling/litter-control law that requires a five-cent deposit on containers for beer, soda, wine, and other beverages.

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