Several weeks ago, I wrote about two locally owned businesses that I recently discovered. This week I want to talk about three locally and woman-owned enterprises that I have been doing business with for many years, and make for good ideas for Valentine's Day or any occasion.

Man to Man

"Grandpa, can you help me? Dad's playing golf and Mom's at kickboxing." "Go ahead, shoot. Did I ever tell you about the time I met Wilt the Stilt?" "It's not about sports." "Car running okay? The internal-combustion engine is the most infuriating thing known to man, and I do mean man.
As the Enron travesty unfolds, promising to be the most diabolical and heinous corporate scandal in America's history, perhaps citizens are beginning to awaken to the corporate terror being perpetrated upon us (is it any less terrifying to have your life's savings, the resources you planned to live out your life with, wiped out by the very people you believed were protecting it?).
The Iowa legislature is considering new legislation to curb the predatory practices associated with contract home sales. There is also legislation pending to undo the damage perpetrated on Iowans in 1996, when the legislature passed a law permitting "pay day loans" that allow usury interest rates, or "fees" as they are called, to be charged to consumers who utilize the service.
It was almost like the old movie cliché: the packed public meeting at which angry and emotional townspeople give passionate, eloquent speeches that convince the council to Do the Right Thing. But Monday's meeting of the Davenport school board didn't end with a dramatic tie-breaking vote and the cheers of hundreds of people.
Good morning, your honor. I represent the plaintiff in this matter, Becky Lynn Gritzke." "Very well. Proceed." "Your honor, as you may have read in the papers, we are suing the producers of Girls Gone Wild.

In the past month, I have found two sources of simple but enormous pleasure, where I feel welcome and pampered as a patron. The first was my discovery of a small Conoco service station at the corner of 2nd and Warren streets in downtown Davenport, just a block west of the Centennial Bridge.

Gas and Oil

"Good morning, The White House." "Yeah, it's Ken Lay from Enron. Lemme talk to the president." "Who?" "Kenneth Lay. L-A-Y. I'm on a pay phone, sweetie. Chop-chop." "I'm sorry.
In a startling election-year power shift last week, Illinois legislators - particularly Democrats in the Illinois House of Representatives - broke ranks with legislative leaders and reclaimed some authority over the troubled state budget.
The 2002 Iowa Legislative Session began Monday, January 14, in the midst of serious budget constraints. Both income- and sales-tax revenues are lower than expected, flatlining growth for the state and jeopardizing such line items as education, Medicaid, and affordable health care, to name a few.

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