Bettendorf city officials are threatening to go to court to try to maximize the length of the appointments the council can make to fill vacant elected positions in the city. For the Quad City Times article on the issue, CLICK HERE.

Admissions at the Bettendorf Isle of Capri Casino in March continued a decade long decline for the riverfront gambling operation, off more than 40 percent since 2001. Ten years ago, the riverboat drew 177,745 gamblers during March, providing the Isle with $9.2 million in revenues. Last month, the boat had 101,000 admissions and $6.7 million in revenue. The Isle's best March was 2000 when 183,640 gamblers visited the casino.

Fine particulate pollution in the vicinity of Garfield Elementary School, Muscatine, exceeds the air quality standards designed to protect public health, according to the 2007-2009 monitoring results released Tuesday (April 13) by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

A “Notice of Annual Meeting Of Shareholders,” aka proxy statement, is the bland accompaniment to large public corporations’ glossy annual reports. Especially when economic tides rise high, the latter are filled with impressive graphs and color photos of beaming faces in far flung places. The former are little more than ink on paper whatever the water level.

The Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc., announced plans Tuesday (April 6) to purchase the Vicksburg, Mississippi gambling casino and hotel from Bally Technologies, Inc. for $80 million cash.

The Pleasant Valley School Board is recommending a 5 percent increase in the district's property tax rate to help make up for a reduction in state funding.

At its March 22 meeting, the board approved a budget with an increase of 75 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation, which would bring the overall district tax levy to $14.7432 per $1,000 assessed valuation.

The union representing St. Louis Post-Dispatch employees has approved a new contract with Lee Enterprises which lowers wages 6 percent, provides three weeks of unpaid furloughs over the next three years, eliminates retiree medical coverage and freezes pension benefits.

Open Letter to Governor Culver,

According to the Wall Street Journal, MidAmerican Energy earned $1.7 billion for Berkshire Hathaway in 2008. And now the company wants state utility customers to pay $15 million to investigate the feasibility of building a nuclear power plant in Iowa.

Why the Iowa State Legislature approved such a backdoor rate increase is hard to understand, but it clearly has more to do with backroom lobbying than any real financial need on the utility's part.

The Bettendorf School District plans to increase property taxes 15 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation for the coming year, while Pleasant Valley school board members are looking at a property tax hike from 50 cents to $1 per $1,000 assessed valuation.

Both school boards also are looking at trimming expenses in the coming year as the districts seek to offset cuts in financial aid from the state.

The current property tax levy for Pleasant Valley schools is $13.99 per $1,000 assessed valuation, compared to Bettendorf's $14.85 per $1,000 assessed valuation.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources today (3/10) issued an air quality advisory for Clinton, Muscatine and Scott Counties because of elevated levels of fine particulate pollution.

A 24-hour reading of 35.5 micrograms per cubic meter was recorded Tuesday (3/9) in Davenport, and levels in the high 30's to mid 50's were expected as of noon today in the three counties.