The Davenport School District is participating in a national program designed to get more high school students to apply for financial aid. Learning Support Specialist, Ellen Riley, says currently only about 30 per cent of seniors in Davenport fill out "the fafsa," which stands for the "free application for federal student aid." But she calls it "the gate-way to get financial aid to go beyond high school.

"Students who complete the FAFSA are 90 % more likely to attend some sort of post secondardy schooling after high school."

Trinity Regional Health System plans to add on to its hospital in Rock Island. The goal is to increase the size of its emergency room and the heart center, plus make mental health services more accessible. This morning, doctors, nurses, administrators, and other employees announced the 61 million dollar project, which still needs state approval.

Cardiologist Sanjeev Puri says both the heart center and E-R have run out of space. Currently, Trinity's west campus has three cardiac catheterization labs that are in use 80 to 90 percent of the time.

A new program to connect parents with their children's schools begins next month in the Illinois Quad Cities. With money from the state, Casa Guanojuato in Moline is organizing the "Parent Mentor Program for Early Childhood Learning" based on an 18-year old program in Chicago.

Davenport aldermen have started working on next year's budget. The past two Saturday's, the city council discussed the proposed budget and capital improvement program for 2014.

Brandon Wright, Interim Finance Director, says under the budget plan, the property tax rate would stay the same as this year, at $16.78 per $1,000 taxable value. But the proposal calls for a 1.6% increase in the general fund, compared to this year. "Public safety pension costs continue to rise. That's for police and fire personnel."

Financially and otherwise, 2012 was a good year for Moline. That was the message today from Mayor Don Welvaert during his annual state of the city address to members of the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs.

"Unlike the past five years, the 2013 budget began with a deficit of less than one million dollars; the first time since 2007. Sales tax, income tax, hotel-motel tax, and other revenue sources improved in 2012 as the economy began to recover."

Nine months after it began, construction on the new Center for Student Life at Augustana College is on schedule. Project manager Jay Wagner, from Russell Construction, says the project is 55 to 60 per cent complete, and will be finished by August, in time for the new school year.
He says re-modeling of the Tredway Library is nearly completed, but for the addition on the west side of the building, so far just the foundation is done, and much of the structural steel is up.

Rock Island County is stuck with a "completely antiquated and dilapidated" courthouse. That's according to Jeffery O'Connor, Chief Judge of Illinois' 14th Judicial Circuit. After hearing from him Tuesday night, the county board approved a referendum that might pave the way for building a new courthouse.

O'Connor says technically the question is whether the public building commission's authority should include other buildings besides the jail. Illinois law allows counties to create building commissions, but it's the county board that makes policy decisions.

For the second consecutive year, the Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign in the Quad Cities has surpassed its goal. Development Director Holly Nomura says their goal was 725,000 dollars, but they raised more than 740,000.

Local opponents of fluoridated water have brought in an expert to help them organize in the Quad Cities. Doctor Paul Connett will speak tonight and tomorrow night - he's a retired professor of chemistry and environmental toxicology, and co-author of the 2010 book, "The Case Against Fluoride."

A vigil to remember the victims, and support survivors, of the Connecticut school shootings will be held tonight in the Quad Cities. It's sponsored by ten local Rotary clubs. One of the organizers is Glenn Kass, from the Bettendorf Rotary.

"With it being one month to the day since the events in Newtown, this is a chance to reflect, and realize it could have happened to any of us. And certainly we want to remembers those folks."