The Bettendorf School Board's facility committee will recommend that both Thomas Jefferson and Mark Twain Elementary Schools be closed and students combined into a new three-section building at a location yet to be determined, Board President Gordon Staley announced at Monday night's (12/18) meeting.

Rumors about the one-section Jefferson and two-section Twain elementary schools being combined into a new three-section building have swirled through the education community over the past two weeks.

An estimated 526,000 tons of nitrates were "exported" into Iowa rivers and streams in 2016, eventually flowing down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico and adding to the so-called "dead zone" where fish cannot survive.

According to the Annual Progress Report of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (NRS) group released last week (12/12), more than 29 pounds of nitrogen from each of Iowa's 35.75 million acres of crop land ended up in state waterways.

A $2-million plan to add a six-hole pitch-and-putt course and an 18-hole putting course to Bettendorf's Palmer Hills Golf Course is expected to get the green light Tuesday (12/19) at the city Park Board meeting.

At the same meeting, commissioners also are expected to approve a $1 hike in green fees that would increase annual revenues from green fees by $24,500 annually.

Back in 2007, Lee Enterprises, Inc. – owner of the Quad City Times and now the Dispatch/Argus – reported daily circulation of just over 1.6 million at its 51 newspapers. Today, that number is down to 788,000 at 47 newspapers, according to the company's latest annual report filed Friday (12/8).

Falling electric production from coal-fired power plants during 2016 helped lower state-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the second year in a row, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

A decade after animal welfare violations were initially documented and more than two years of legal proceedings, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revoked the license of Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester, Iowa, and fined owners Thomas and Pamela Sellner $10,000.

The USDA decision announced November 30 would appear to spell the end of operations at the troubled facility since the zoo must have a USDA license to continue to operate.

Editorial from Cedar Rapids Gazette. Used with permission.

We read news this week that water quality legislation may be placed on a fast track when lawmakers return to the Statehouse in January. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey wants it to happen. Gov. Kim Reynolds says she hopes “it’s the first bill I get to sign as governor of the state of Iowa.”

That sounds like good news. That is, until you dig into the details.

The power to appoint future police and fire chiefs in Bettendorf would switch from the mayor to the city administrator under an ordinance change expected to be approved by the city council this week.

The current city ordinance gives the mayor the power to appoint (with city council concurrence) those positions. The new ordinance, up for the first reading at Tuesday's (11/21) council meeting, would give the city administrator authority to appoint, with council approval, future fire and police chiefs.

Eldorado Resorts, Inc. – the new owner of Bettendorf's Isle of Capri Casino – reported (11/2) third quarter net income of $29.6 million, or 38 cents per share.

Eldorado Chairman and CEO Gary Carano told analyst during a conference call the company "could not be more pleased with our progress (integrating the Isle of Capri casino properties) to date."

While total revenues at the Reno-based firm fell 1 percent compared with the third quarter a year ago, operating income at the company's casinos was up more than 40 percent compared with the same three-month period in 2016.