• A $2.4-million grant from the State of Illinois will allow Western Illinois University to finish planning the expansion of its Quad Cities campus on property donated by Deere & Company along River Drive in Moline.
• The Iowa legislature has approved a $3-million package of benefits that provides home-buyer assistance and hardship grants to military veterans and their families. The legislation includes $2 million in additional funding for the Guard & Reserve Homebuyer Benefit program.
• Parents of premature and sick babies born at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport will be served by a new partnership between Genesis and the University of Iowa. Board-certified neonatologists from the faculty of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa Roy J.
• Stacey Houk, an art teacher at Eisenhower Elementary in Davenport, has been recognized for her creativity and success in the classroom as a Disney Teacher Award nominee. As the next step in the process, she is now submitting an application to be considered for Disney Teacher of the Year.
• The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) in its National Report Card on the State of Emergency Medicine gave Iowa an overall C-plus grade, ranking it 19th in the nation for its support of the state's emergency-medical-care system.
• Christopher J. Reich, director and CEO of the Putnam Museum & IMAX Theatre, has resigned to accept a position with the Institute of Museum & Library Sciences (IMLS) in Washington, D.C. Reich was appointed director of the Putnam in May of 1996, and under his tenure, the Putnam completed the V.
• Trinity's three campuses have been named recipients of an Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence award. The recognition - which comes from the Executive Council of the Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence, the office of Iowa Governor Thomas J.
• The new MMS Thermal Processing business in Davenport was awarded a $500,000 short-term float loan from the Iowa Economic Development Board and nearly $200,000 in tax benefits from the High Quality Jobs Creation program.
• Trinity Work Fitness opened its first Trinity MedXpress on Thursday, December 15, at the Hy-Vee store located at 2351 West Locust Street in Davenport. The clinic is the first of its kind in the area, not only treating a patient's symptoms, but also focusing on education and prevention with Hy-Vee's pharmacists and a registered dietitian.
• Danielle Spaete, a Science teacher at Pleasant Valley High School, is being rewarded for her classrom's innovative methods and strategies. Spaete has been named a state finalist for the 2005 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics & Science Teaching (PAEMST), the nation's highest honor for K-12 teachers in these fields.

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