• The Bettendorf Public Library Information Center is ranked seventh nationwide in its community's population range, according to Hennen's American Public Library Ratings (HAPLR). A total of five Iowa libraries were included in the top 100, each in a different population category.
People who attend MidCoast Fine Arts' ninth-annual Great Mask Auction are used to people in strange outfits and wild hair - usually elements of attendees' costumes. But at this year's event on Saturday, October 19, Storm Design Team will feature avant-garde fashion and hairstyles in its runway show, a new addition to the MidCoast fundraiser.
• Archaeological excavation has begun at the Colonel George Davenport House, located on the north shore of the Arsenal Island and the oldest known residence in the Quad Cities area. Staff of the Archaeological Research Center of St.

Gridmo

The name of the work is Gridmo, and artist Tim Prentice says it represents what you think it means. If it doesn't inspire you, "it doesn't mean anything," said Prentice, a self-described "kinetic sculptor" from Connecticut.
• Three local television stations last week pulled ads placed on behalf of U.S. Representative Jim Nussle because of an inaccurate claim. The ads, placed by the National Republican Congressional Committee, target Nussle's opponent for Congress in the November election, Bettendorf Mayor Ann Hutchinson.
Think of a ship at sea aimlessly wandering because, after tossing the captain overboard, none of the crew knew how to work the rudder. This is analogous to Davenport's situation after firing City Administrator Jim Pierce in 2000.
Editor's note: This is the third in a series of articles on new developments in Quad Cities-area downtowns. LeClaire is a community that's trying to have it both ways, maintaining its quaint and historic character while fostering growth in its economy.
• The Scott County Family YMCA has announced that the Kresge Foundation has awarded $600,000 in a challenge grant toward the Y's $15.3-million community-wide facility-expansion and -improvement program. To receive the money, the Scott County Family Y must raise by December 1, 2003, the $1.
Imagine you're a candidate for political office. You receive something called the National Political Awareness Test. It covers a dozen or so topics, from abortion to government reform to the environment. You're given a handful of choices - usually no fewer than seven - to indicate your views on each issue.
• Redmond Jones II of Temple, Texas, is scheduled to start in mid-October as Davenport's affirmative-action officer and assistant to the city administrator. Jones will be the city's front-line person for equal-employment and affirmative-action programs and internal complaints of bias.

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