WIUM Local

The Fort Madison City Council created a special committee to hand out the city’s hotel/motel tax revenue to specific events or organizations.

The promotion of tourism, though, does not fall on the committee.  It is handled by Fort Madison Partners.

That organization is an umbrella group that includes the Chamber of Commerce, Main Street, the Southeast Iowa Regional Riverboat Commission, and Fort Madison Economic Development Corporation.

Macomb aldermen have been asked for several years to take action to improve the safety of the Grant Street and Maple Avenue intersection. They now appear ready to do so.

They will decide at their June 4, 2012 meeting whether the city should buy solar powered pedestrian crossing lights for that intersection and for West Adams Street, just east of Wigwam Hollow Road.

Bushnell will soon have a new dental practice to fill the office that has been vacant since the retirement of the city's only dentist, Dr. David Jameson.

Dr. Paige McCord came from Arizona. She expects to open her practice in mid-June.

The city initiated an active recruiting effort in March.  McCord says she heard about the opportunity at a high school reunion.

She will open a general dentistry practice and offer cosmetic dentistry. She has practiced for seven years.

McCord hopes many of Jameson's former patients will become part of her practice.

The  Illinois House is considering a 6% cut to state universities  in next year's budget. That's nearly double the reduction  in  the budget plan that passed the Senate last week.

The  dollar amount of the cuts would vary depending on the size of the  institution.

Western Illinois University would lose nearly $3.4 million.

The  proposal also slashes $15 million from scholarships for needy students through the Monetary Assistance Program, also known as MAP Grants.

The World of Wonder Park has provided outdoor fun for children in Carthage for nearly 20 years. It's started to show  its age. The board for the private park wants to give it a facelift.

Board Chair Natalie Cole says the park's wooden structures require a lot of maintenance and a lot of volunteers to provide it. There aren't enough people to do the work to keep up the park's appearance.

The Burlington School District is looking into a note left on multiple cars following the recent high school graduation ceremony.

It’s been reported that the note mentioned bullying, intimidation and miscommunication by teachers towards students at the high school.

The signature was from the “Graduating Class of 2012.”

Superintendent Jane Evans says similar concerns were recently raised by a student during a meeting of the School Improvement Advisory Committee.

She plans to meet with the high school administrative team about both incidents.