The first quarter financial results of Isle of Capri Casino, Inc. drew praise from stock analysts Wednesday (9/2), but its Bettendorf riverboat was noteworthy for just the opposite – falling revenues.

The Isle earned $3.1 million for the first quarter, or 8 cents per share, a turnaround from last year when the gambling firm lost 6 cents per share, or $2.3 million. The St. Louis-based firm also reported a significant increase in net revenues for the period, jumping nearly 5 percent to $260 million, compared to $249.5 million during the same period a year ago.

More than three dozen camels, sheep, llamas and cattle at the Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester, Iowa where found living in enclosures with mud so deep their legs sunk half to all the way down into the muck, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) May inspection report.

The revised downtown Bettendorf streets aren't yet complete, but gas station/convenience store developers are already moving to re-establish their presence along the busy State and Grant Street corridors.

The Scott County Family Y is seeking city approval for a 15,000-square-foot expansion of its Bettendorf facility at 3800 Tanglefoot Lane.

Owners of the troubled Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester, Iowa, now face new federal charges of inadequate veterinary care of their animals and "repeated failures to meet minimum standards for animal facilities and husbandry."

Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. plans to close its Natchez, Mississippi casino in October and sell the company's nearby hotel to the competing casino there.

Stock of Lee Enterprises – owner of 45 daily newspapers including the Quad City Times – fell nearly 20 percent after the company reported Thursday (8/6) that its third quarter operating income declined more than 13 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

A federal lawsuit seeking to remove endangered animals from the troubled Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester will proceed to trial in October after the judge denied a motion for summary judgement filed by animal welfare attorneys.

Chief Magistrate Judge Jon Stuart Scoles heard nearly an hour of oral arguments Thursday (8/6) before denying the motion and setting a pre-trail conference for Sept. 29. The bench trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 5 in U.S. District Court, Northern District, in Cedar Rapids.

Pleasant Valley and North Scott schools will share the cost and use of iWireless Center in Moline for their graduation ceremonies next year, joining Davenport schools in utilizing the much larger civic center to accommodate the crowds of family and friends at the commencements.

That leaves Bettendorf as the only school district on the Iowa side of the Quad Cities still using its gymnasium for graduation ceremonies.