Myron Scheibe, board of trustees chairperson for Davenport's Putnam Museum & IMAX Theatre, last week announced the selection of Kim Findlay as the venue's new president and chief executive officer. Findlay spent 14 years working for the United Way of the Quad Cities Area, serving as president from 1995 to 2004, and currently serves on the board of directors for Quad City Arts and the executive committee for the American Heart Association's Heart Walk. Interim CEO Mark Bawden will stay on as the Putnam's development director. Scheibe also revealed that the Putnam had secured the finances to pay off its $3.65 million in remaining debt, in large part through Bawden's fundraising efforts, and announced the kickoff of the museum's forthcoming endowment campaign to offset operational costs and keep the Putnam "a debt-free institution." For information on current and upcoming Putnam events, visit (http://www.putnam.org ). - Mike Schulz
The ninth-annual St. Ambrose University Social Justice Conference, "Domestic Violence: A Multi-Disciplinary Community Response," will take place on Wednesday, May 9, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the ballroom of the Rogalski Center at the corner of Ripley and Lombard streets in Davenport. Presented by the St. Ambrose University School of Social Work, the conference includes a continental breakfast and lunch and is intended for social workers, social-service providers, attorneys, criminal-justice personnel, clergy, health-service professionals, and all other interested parties, including the public. The cost for the conference is $20. Continuing-education units are available to Iowa and Illinois licensed social workers. For more information, contact Kathy Riepe at (563) 333-6495 or (RiepeKathleenS@sau.edu). To register, contact Kim Rapp at (563) 441-9950.
In the waning days of the legislative session, the Iowa House of Representatives did not bring up for a vote the "Fair Share" bill that would have allowed fees to be charged to nonunion governmental employees who work under a union contract. (See "The Fight Over 'Fair Share,'" Reader issue #630, April 25-May 1, 2007.) Organized labor argued that the legislation, Senate File 413, would have allowed unions to collect fees for services they are required under federal law to perform for nonunion members. Business interests said that the bill was merely a measure for unions to fatten their coffers and would undermine the state's longstanding "right to work" law. They further argued that Senate File 413 would damage the state's business climate. The bill, which passed the Senate, is still eligible for consideration next year.
Each year the Prime Time Awards recognize the accomplishments and contributions of outstanding older workers. This recognition highlights the value of the older worker in today's workplace and showcases those who have made a difference. Nominations may be made online at (http://www.experienceworks.org). Nomination forms are also available by calling (800) 782-7519. Nominees or applicants must be at least 65 years of age, a resident of the state that they are being nominated to represent, currently employed, and working at least 20 hours each week for pay.
The 2007 Iowa General Assembly passed a bill (House File 611) requiring all Iowa schools to provide age-appropriate, medically accurate, research-based information in their human-growth and -development curricula. The bill was supported by Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa. Although the teen birth rate in Iowa declined 26 percent between 1991 and 2004, a new analysis from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy claims that Iowa's lack of investment in science-based strategies for teen-pregnancy prevention programs resulted in more than 53,600 births to Iowa teens, costing taxpayers more than $82 million in 2004 in services to these young families.
On Thursday, May 3, the American Cancer Society and the Smoke-Free Illinois Campaign will gather volunteers and staff from across Illinois in the state capitol to urge the Illinois House of Representatives to pass the Smoke-Free Illinois Act (Senate Bill 500). The American Cancer Society-led campaign resulted in the legislation passing the Illinois Senate with 34 "yes" votes. The House is expected to vote on the bill this week. If it receives 60 or more votes, the governor's signature would make it Illinois law. The bill would prohibit smoking in public places, places of employment, and governmental vehicles.
WQAD-TV President and General Manager Marion Meginnis last week announced her retirement from NewsChannel 8. She joined WQAD in 1997, and her last day at the station will be May 11. During her tenure, the station became the first television station in the market to make the transition to digital broadcasting, was the only station to win a national Edward R. Murrow award for its Web site (http://www.wqad.com), and is still the only station offering Quad Cities viewers local news via satellite through its mobile newsroom.
Mother's Day weekend will once again include the Figge Art Museum and the Beaux Arts Fair. The museum, at 225 West Second Street in Davenport, will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, May 12 and 13. The annual Beaux Arts Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 13, with vendors on Second Street between Brady and Iowa streets as well as on Pershing between River Drive and Third Street.
