• Despite crummy weather, more than 200 people showed up to help mark the "ground staking" for new Trinity North Campus in Bettendorf. Civic leaders and hospital employees, doctors, and auxiliary members used ceremonial mallets to drive in stakes along a symbolic perimeter for the 58,000-square-foot hospital off Utica Ridge Road.
• Revitalize & Develop East Moline (REDEEM) and the City of Moline formally cut the ribbon for the Beacon Harbor Parkway and broke ground for the condominiums soon to be under construction in The Quarter, East Moline's riverfront development.
Stephen Page is talking about the men who run the United States government, and he's getting irritated. His point is that men are exactly the wrong people to be leading a country through such a difficult time. "I think men are hopeless," he says.
• The U.S. House and U.S. Senate are working to reach agreement on conflicting provisions of two anti-terrorism bills: The USA Act, passed by the Senate on Thursday (by a 96-1 vote), and The PATRIOT Act, passed by the House on Friday (337-79).
Concert promoters prefer venues that are willing to help market a show, or waive certain costs. These arenas are known to be "cooperative." But there's something else that's more important. "You have to be able to sell tickets," said Jade Nielsen, who runs Jade Productions in Bismarck, North Dakota.
• A mere one in six registered voters in Davenport bothered to cast ballots in last week's municipal primary election. Of the 64,361 registered Davenport voters, only 10,793 voted. This means that the 17 percent who voted determined which candidates moved on to the general election in the mayor and aldermanic races, thus determining the course city government will take.

Yes or No?

Pass or fail, the struggle over the county's $5 million contribution to Davenport's River Renaissance project has had one positive byproduct: DavenportOne has been forced to stretch, reaching out to many different populations in the community with which it has frequently disagreed.
• You can invest in projects such as River Renaissance by purchasing Vision Iowa bonds to help finance state contributions of at least $190 million to projects designed to increase entertainment and cultural activities as well as tourism in the state.
"Stability" is one word that could describe the situation at Quad City Arts through the years. Holly Richard was involved in the award-winning Visiting Artist program for more than 20 years, and Lloyd Schoeneman had been a seminal part of the organization since 1978.
W hen discussing the planned Quad City Arts literary magazine Buffalo Carp, the person in charge talks about the area's rich literary culture, but this fish is also looking for a bigger pond. "It seems that someplace this literary should have something like this," said Leslie Thompson, Quad City Arts administrator for advancement & literary arts.

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