At first glance, you wouldn't guess that the guys in Rude Punch are ambassadors for reggae rock in the Quad Cities. Often sporting T-shirts, jeans, and baseball caps, the three band members look like typical white, early-20s college kids.

The trio - singer/guitarist Brady Jager, bassist Robb Laake, and drummer Adam Tucker - has been working this fall on its debut album and is gearing up for shows in Iowa City and in the Quad Cities over the next two months. And while the young band is at stylistic odds with most of its peers in this area, it is hell-bent on bringing its brand of Jamaican-flavored jingles to the masses.

Project Vote Smart has given voters in Iowa and Illinois a new tool to scrutinize their state legislators. The State Key Votes Program is a new addition to Project Vote Smart's Web site that will provide the voting records of each member of the state legislature in all 50 states on key issues.

Modeled after Project Vote Smart's compendium of congressional voting records, the State Key Vote Program will allow citizens to monitor their state representatives on issues selected by Project Vote Smart researchers, who reviewed local newspapers, state legislative journals, and initiatives proposed by citizen groups and special-interest groups.