Good morning, Davenport.

Great River SHRM honored local HR leaders at its HR Excellence Gala on Thursday, Oct.

1, at the Hotel Blackhawk, presenting awards to Rachel Fletcher, Denise Ward, Kayla Neville and others for leadership, innovation and service.

Joseph Goetz will become chief operating officer at Quad Cities International Airport, effective Nov.

1, in a leadership restructuring designed to improve coordination and support airport growth.

John Deere was named one of Interbrand’s Best Global Brands for 2026 today, ranking No. 88 with a brand value of $8.6 billion (the Moline-based company announced the recognition).

QC Arts' 41st Festival of Trees will run Nov.

21-29 at the RiverCenter in downtown Davenport, featuring designer displays, Gingerbread Village, the Petite Forest, a Festival Express Train, and local performances (mobile bidding available for displays). The Holiday Parade returns at 10 a.m. on Nov. 21 downtown with giant balloons, bands, and grand marshal Marcia Lense.

Mesabi Metallics plans a $15 billion integrated steel plant in Lee County that is expected to start producing steel in 2030 and could create 6,000 construction jobs and 1,750 permanent jobs.

Officials must present a workforce plan for housing, training, and transportation because the county alone can't fill those jobs.

Davenport Public Schools lost 532 students this fall, about 232 more than projected, costing the district roughly $4 million under the new 2% per-pupil funding law.

Enrollments were certified by Oct. 1 (Iowa will do another count in January).

The Quad Cities Leadership Academy will return in January 2027 under Melissa Pepper, founder of UnPause, to resume leadership training that previously reached hundreds of area professionals.

The program will teach habits like Pepper’s People List to help local managers improve team engagement and performance.