Three public hearings will be held this week on plans to establish passenger rail service between Chicago and Omaha, but you don't have to go the meetings in Chicago, Des Moines or Omaha to view the presentations and provide feedback.

The Iowa Department of Transportation has set up a project web site, chicagotoomaha.com, with the same public meeting information online, along with an online survey form for you to provide comments to planners on the regional rail service.

The legal tussle between the Iowa League of Cities and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over so-called sewage "bypass" regulations was argued last month before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis.

The three-judge panel took the case under advisement and is expected to issue its decision in the matter before the end of the year.

If you want to listen to the November 13 oral arguments in the case, CLICK ON THIS LINK.

The popular Bettendorf Public Library Information Center is planning a $550,000 "Refreshovation" to meet the changing needs of users, and the library's foundation is hoping to raise half of the money needed to pay for the renovation.

The library at 2950 Learning Campus Drive was last remodeled 15 years ago, and the renovation is needed to reflect the changing use of the facility, according to library officials.

The proposed master plan for the new Forest Grove Park -- expected to be approved at a joint meeting of the Bettendorf City Council and park board tonight (12/3) -- comes with an eye-popping estimated price tag of more than $23 million.

The city isn't expected to undertake any of the significant improvements for at least three years, but the master plan outlines an ambitious blueprint for development of the new 95-acre park, just south of I-80 and east of Middle Road.

MidAmerican Energy's second year of studying if a nuclear power plant is feasible for construction in Iowa included spending nearly $450,000 to analyze whether building a natural gas-fired generating station would be a better idea.

The utility, in the second of a three-year feasibility study of nuclear power, filed its spending report with the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) November 15 and the bills included the payment of $447,543 to NERA Economic Consulting, headquartered in New York City. NERA energy consultants have a lengthy record of testifying against U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air quality regulations and for Republican-backed energy policies.

Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. today (11/29) reported a $6.65 million loss for its second quarter, and company officials primarily blamed the decline on the poor performance of its gambling operations in Mississippi.

For the quarter ended Oct. 28, the Isle reported a loss of 17 cents per share, compared with a loss of 4 cents per share for the same period a year ago.

Orascom Hotels and Development – a sister company to the Egyptian firm that recently received $110 million in state tax incentives to build a fertilizer plant in southeast Iowa – was featured in Sunday's New York Times for its construction of a $1.92 billion exclusive Swiss resort for the world's wealthiest jet set.

Orascom Hotels and Development, part of Orascom Group, is building the five-star resort at Andermatt, Switzerland, and the first of five hotels will have a 4,500-square-foot penthouse that will rent for $43,000 a night, according to the Times article. Prices for villas in the development start at $1 million for a studio or one-bedroom of about 732 square feet, the Times reported.

Lee Enterprises - owner of the Quad City Times - reported Monday it lost $7.7 million in its fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, an improvement over the same period a year ago when the Davenport-based firm had an $8.8 million loss, or 20 cents per share.

For the company's fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Lee posted a $21.3 million loss (43 cents per share) compared with a loss of $147 million ($3.27 per share) for fiscal 2011.

The Iowa League of Cities will get its day in court next week to argue the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) revised municipal sewage treatment regulations without proper rule-making and has sought to avoid judicial review of "illegally revised regulatory requirements."

Attorneys for the league and the EPA will make their oral arguments before the three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in St. Louis Tuesday, November 13, more than a year after filing suit to challenge the EPA's regulation of so-call "bypass" sewage.

Get full detailed results of today's election direct from the source.

• For the latest local (Scott County) election results, click here for the Scott County Auditor's web site.
• For the latest Iowa election results, click here for the Iowa Secretary of State's web site.