March 13, 1974: A group of Eldridge residents said they planned to fight the U.S. Department of Transportation’s plan to abandon the Milwaukee Railroad spur from Bettendorf to Mount Joy and Eldridge. “The economic impact of its loss could be very serious,” wrote the North Scott Industrial Development Board. The Milwaukee Railroad said it also planned to fight the DOT on the matter. more

I’m working on a story for next month. And it’s kind of an unbelievable story, although what I’m about to tell you might seem unremarkable. So you’ll just have to trust me for now. But I did want you to meet two characters. more

In 1975, Eldridge City Council members, recognizing that their meetings which sometimes lasted until 11:30 at night were way too long, made a decision to offload discussion of utility details by creating a separate utility board. The town was a third of its current population then, but growing rapidly. more

March 21, 1984: The arrest count rose to 12, as Eldridge police continued to work through a drug investigation at North Scott High School. One adult and three students were charged with selling drugs, and eight students were charged with possession of a controlled substance. Police chief Gil Hansen said more arrests were likely after students returned from spring break. He added more than $500 worth of marijuana and amphetamines had also been confiscated. more

As you can see by the rundown of bills still alive in the Legislature in this week's NSP, there is no shortage of issues to engage. You might not like what I have to say about several of those anyway.  more

March 27, 1974: The North Scott School Board reviewed bids for the construction of a new junior high building. The low bids totaled $1.9 million for the 88,000 square foot building. Superintendent Melvin Heiler said the bids were higher than he would have liked, but there had been price fluctuations and concern over materials shortages in the months leading up to the bidding process. more

The Eldridge-North Scott Chamber of Commerce is what it is – a force for bringing people together and creating community – largely because of the efforts of Carolyn Scheibe who served as executive director for 15 years, retiring in 2016. Sadly, Carolyn died March 22 at age 70 after an extended illness. more

Rules are racing. more

April 3., 1974: The Donahue American Legion Post No. 532 honored Vietnam veterans with a ham supper. Veterans in attendance included Merle Wiese, Dale DeCock, David Thode, Richard DeCock, Allen Schnoor, Dennis DeCock, Kenneth Glover, Darrell Thode, Arnold Adams, Gerald Murphy and Ronnie Madden. more

I have worked with many employees at the Eldridge post office in my 53 years at The NSP, but no one cared more about service than Lisa Williams, 57, who died all too soon on March 26. She saw many changes in her 25 years behind the counter and sorting mail before she suddenly was not there in 2021, taking a medical retirement. No offense to others who have worked there since, but it hasn't been the same.  more

April 14, 1999: Mel Foster Co. purchased 100 acres over four tracts of prime development land, known as the Muhs property, for $1.6 million. A fifth tract of land, containing a farmhouse and outbuildings, was purchased for $316,000 by Norman and Lois Muhs. The property was located west of Mel Foster’s Townsend Farms addition. The North Scott School District said it was interested in purchasing 20 acres for new athletic field and a possible new elementary school, and the city of Eldridge was also interested in five to seven acres for a new park. more

When I was sitting court-side at Vibrant Arena March 15 before the UNI women's game tipped off in the Missouri Valley Tournament, I watched the three-member officiating crew – all women – go through their pre-game warmups and made a mental note of how seriously they were taking their responsibilities. more

April 18, 1984: Doug Otto was hired as the fourth superintendent in North Scott’s history. Otto was currently serving as the superintendent at Rockridge, Ill., and would replace Robert “Bear” Stevens, who was taking a position as superintendent in Glenbard, Ill. more

The images are grim, and the April 10 first-person report from the Amnesty International fieldworker inside Gaza is sickening: more

Lancer Productions’ presentation of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” opens this weekend, and I have much to report. more

April 24, 1974: North Scott teachers were preparing to enter contract negotiations with the district and asked for a $1,000 pay increase, to $8,400 for the 1974-75 school year. Jack Dudley of the North Scott Education Association said the district had not kept pace with the cost of living. Dudley said the average teacher was paid $10,290 in the last school year, which worked out to about $4.82 per hour, assuming a teacher only worked eight hours per day during the nine-month contract period. Starting sweepers at Caterpillar earned $4.95 per hour. more

Thank you to readers who said they appreciated last week's "Impressions" which explained the difficult choices in the Israeli-Hamas War – thanks largely to the teaching pastor, the Rev. Peter Pettit, of St. Paul Lutheran. One reader wrote, "Thanks for your explanation of the Israel/Hamas war. I didn't understand what was going on, but your article helped me to grasp the problem." more