THIS PAST WEEKEND, THE WEATHER WASN'T BAD. WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR SOME 50/60 DEGREE DAYS NOW AND THEN, BUT NONE IN THE FORECAST THIS WEEK.
RAIN IS FORECAST FOR TONIGHT AND TOMORROW.

THE MAQUOKETA VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT ANNUAL BANQUET WAS HELD THIS PAST SATURDAY NIGHT. IT WAS ORGINALLY SCHEDULED ON JANUARY 19TH, WHEN THE DOWNTOWN FIRE OCCURRED. FIRE CHIEF MARK BECK LISTED THE STATISTICS FOR 2007. THE DEPARTMENT ANSWERED 107 FIRE CALLS AND 33 RESCUE CALLS, WITH 12 MEN AVERGING A CALL. THEY SPENT 42 MINUTES AVERAGE PER CALL, WHICH RESULTED IN 1,588 MAN HOURS. THE AVERAGE AGE
FOR A MAQUOKETA FIREMAN IS 39 AND AN AVERAGE OF 12 YEARS OF SERVICE.
THERE ARE 8 BUSINESS PLACES SET UP WITH A KNOX BOX SYSTEM AND 8 MORE ARE INTERESTED. KNOX BOX IS AN ELEXTRONIC ENTRANCE SYSTEM FOR BUSINESSES.
HE SAID THE NEW FIRE STATION IS NEARLY COMPLETE AND THEY HOPE TO BE IN BY THE END OF THE MONTH. A CORNERSTONE SETTING CEREMONY HAS BEEN SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 12TH. DURING THE EVENING, DOUG GONNER WAS RECOGNIZED FOR 25 YEARS OF SERVICE AND GIVEN A WATCH. HE ALSO WAS GIVEN THE LEO CLASEN AWARD WHICH WAS VOTED ON BY FIREMEN. GONNER SAID HIS FATHER MILTON GOT HIM STARTED IN FIREFIGHTING ON THE SPRINGBROOK DEPARTMENT. HIS SON BRIAN IS ALSO ON THE MAQUOKETA DEPARTMENT.
ALSO RECEIVING AWARDS WERE BOB LANE, JR. FOR 20 YEARS OF SERVICE AND JIM GREEN AND MARTY BALLIU FOR 10 YEARS OF SERVICE.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING TONIGHT. ONE OF THE AGENDA ITEMS....TALKING ABOUT STOCK CAR RACING THIS SUMMER IN MAQUOKETA. THE NOISE ISSUE ALWAYS GETS SOME DISCUSSION.

I HAVE A CORRECTION ON A STORY HERE LAST WEEK. THE CITY COUNCIL LAST WEEK PURCHASED THE FORMER B-CAP PROPERTY OUT BY THE MAQUOKETA
AIRPORT. PURCHASE PRICE FOR THE TWO HANGAR BUILDINGS AND JUST OVER 3 1/2 ACRES OF LAND, $118,500. THE FAA WILL PAY 95 PERCENT OF THE COST.
MY STORY HERE LAST WEEK SAID THE PROPERTY HAD GONE BACK TO A BANK FROM THE ORIGINAL OWNERS. THAT WAS NOT CORRECT. THE ORIGINAL OWNERS RAN THE VERY SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS FOR OVER 20 YEARS AND THEN SOLD IT IN 2000.
THE BANK GOT IT BACK FROM THE SECOND OWNER. I REMEMBER IN THOSE EARLY YEARS, HEARING ABOUT PLANES THAT CAME IN FROM ALL OVER THE AREA TO BE PAINTED, INCLUDING FROM OTHER STATES. IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME RIGHT, EVEN THE IOWA GOVERNOR'S PLANE WAS PAINTED BY THE FIRM. THE OWNER
OF B-CAP AND AN EXPERT PAINTER WAS DICK BLOCK. MY LONGTIME FRIENDS LARRY HAGER AND FRANK GOODENOW ALSO PUT FINISHING TOUCHES ON THE PLANES, LARRY THE SIGN PAINTER AND FRANK DOING UPHOLSTERY WORK. DICK AND HIS WIFE STILL OWN A HOME IN DELMAR BUT DO A LOT OF TRAVELING (ALMOST FULLTIME) IN THEIR RV. THEIR DAUGHTER KATHLEEN LIVES IN SACRAMENTO (MET HER HUSBAND THERE) AND THE BLOCKS HAVE TWO SONS...CURT LIVES IN MINNESOTA AND ROY LIVES IN THE QUAD-CITIES.

ADAM HEPKER'S BASEKTBALL TEAM IS IN THE FINAL FOUR IN THE NAIA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT AT BRANSON. SATURDAY NIGHT THEY BEAT COLLEGE OF THE OZARKS, 70 TO 58 AND THEY PLAY OREGON TECH AT 8 TONIGHT. THIS IS THE 3RD STRAIGHT YEAR THE MID-AMERICA NAZARENE PIONEERS ARE IN THE FINAL
FOUR. IF THEY WIN TONIGHT, THE PLAY IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME TOMORROW NIGHT.

IT IS RAINING A LITTLE RIGHT NOW IN MAQUOKETA, AS THE KMAQ BINGO SHOW
IS ON-THE-AIR. BOB BRUNO IS CALLING OUT THE NUMBERS.

ST. LOUIS CARDINAL POCKET SCHEDULES HAVE ARRIVED FOR YOU CARDINAL FANS.
GET ONE FREE HERE AT KMAQ. IN THE OCTOBER SPACE, WRITE-IN...WORLD SERIES
IN ST. LOUIS. I'LL SEE MY FIRST GAME, APRIL 16TH.

HAVE A GOOD WEEK.

DENNIS VOY