It’s been a little more than month since the IBM in Dubuque announcement was made, so I thought I’d do a quick-link round-up of a tiny portion of the continuing coverage of the project.  Even yours truly has been mentioned for my personal coverage, especially the multiple posts I made to River Banks to Corn Fields on the day the project was announced.

THOnline article with the sidebar mention of RBtoCF.com here.

The incentive package that helped being IBM to Dubuque has certainly had it’s share of scrutiny, including within the article I linked above.  Here are some other reactions as well as a loose timeline of the process to cement the arrival of IBM to Dubuque.

Des Moines Register IBM Incentive Details – January 16th, 2009

THOnline.com IBM Incentives Approved – February 20th, 2009 (including some key numbers in sidebar)

THOnline Roshek Building Renovations on Fast Track – February 24, 2009

Rockford, Illinois views the Dubuque – IBM model as path to similar success February 14, 2009

IBM, as well as Dubuque and other Iowa representatives are fanning out to all the area colleges, large and small, holding  job fairs.  Computer World reported the mass number of applications pouring in as well:

DMRegister.com  IBM Center Provides Welcome Jobs – February 20th, 2009

Computer World Reports that Applications are Pouring In

EmploymentCrossing.com even has a video short on YouTube about the IBM Service Center here:

Then, finally, there’s this gem from our good friends in Wisconsin (Go Hawks!). Neil Heinen, in an editorial for WISC Channel 3000 states “We’re talking Madison vs. Dubuque! We’ve been competing with Raleigh-Durham, Boston, Denver and Silicon Valley? Or so we thought. IBM could have located here and chose Dubuque? That’s just not right.”

Well, at least you have Capitol Brewery, Mr. Heinen.

I found really cool, though mostly useless, Twitter tool on Derek Bough’s Coffee to Car Payments blog.  You can create a mosaic of your friends and/or followers on Twitter at TwitterMosaic.com.  The following are all the super folks that I personally follow on Twitter and get some great daily updates, news, insights, etc. from.   

Granted, the vast majority of the folks I follow are other Realtors from across the USA, but there are quite a number of local Dubuque folks, as well as other Iowa friends, too. Unfortunately, there’s a limit to the number of profile pics the system can display, in all I’ve got 244 of the 944 folks I follow on Twitter here.  See if you know anybody and follow them if you don’t already:

If you have any questions about Twitter and how it’s helped me become, not only a better informed real estate agent, but also help me make great connections in our local community, shoot me an e-mail or simply visit me at my Twitter Page Here or click my Twitter pic here:

The Iowa Workforce Development office in Dubuque is sponsoring athe Dubuque Apprenticeship Job Fair on Wednesday, February 18th at at 680 Main St. 2nd floor, from 10-2 p.m (Veterans only from 10-Noon).  Refreshments will be served.

Representatives from the following building trades will attend: area Armed Forces recruiters, carpenters cement masons, electricians, HVAC, insulators, millwrights, pipe fitters, plumbers and sheet metal. Additional trades may be added to the list until the day of the event.

Complete Details Here (IWD Press Release)

After finding the Encyclopedia Dubuque this morning ( kudos to the Dubuquer for link), I was following link after link in several other Dubuque area blogs.  I found an interesting volunteer program, known as DuRide “that provides a safe and personalized transportation option for seniors who are unable or do not want to drive any longer”.  It is available throughout Dubuque, Asbury and East Dubuque. 

DuRide is a non-profit organization and is administered locally.  Seniors, according to DuRide’s website, can use the service  for these and other trips:

• Appointments and errands
• Grocery store and meals out
• Church services
• Visiting friends and relatives
• Taking a class
• Recreational activities – movies, concerts, plays, casino, exercise

There is a fee schedule for trips ($3 for zero to five miles, $4 for five to eight miles, and $5 for eight to eleven miles) plus an annual administrative cost of $40.  Use the service just a few times a year and you could easily beat the cost of a taxi over that same time period.

DuRide is looking for volunteer drivers.  There will be a pair of informational meetings with orientation on February 11th at the Dubuque Red Cross (2400 Asbury Road).  Session One is at 3:30 and Session Two is at 5:30. 

Give it a shot, help our Dubuque community seniors get around town to enjoy the same great things we all take for granted.

Encyclopedia Dubuque is one of those Internet gems you happen to stumble upon now and then.  I don’t know how I’d not found this prior to today, but here’s a really cool site which I’ll be adding to my blog roll on the sidebar to the right of this web page.  It an wiki-style online encyclopedia specific to the Dubuque area. 

 Encyclopedia Dubuque

 It’s not all that extra fancy, but it’s a great quick resouce for Dubuque information. If you wanted to look up information about Union Park, The William M. Black, Dubuque Greyhound Park, or any of hundreds of Dubuque-specific entries, they’re in there.

You have no excuses if you’re moping around the house this weekend, complaining about nothing to do.  Four big events in the Tri-State area should be able to find something for you to do.

First up is the TH’s Annual Big Boy Toy Show at the Grand River Center from 10am to 6pm on Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sunday.  Iowa Hawkeye football players Shonn Greene, Matt Kroul, and Brandon Myers as well as Wisconsin Badger players Mike Newkirk and Chris Pressley will be there Sunday to sign autographs.  Superstar fisherman Babe Winkelman will appear on Saturday.  Throughout the event there will be RV’s, ATV’s, Fishing Boats, Big Screen TV’s, Sports Memorabilia, Food, and for many guys, most importantly Beer! 

Get you testosterone fix on, head to the Big Boy Toy Show – see you there!

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The 2009 Winter Iowa Games kick-off with an grand opening ceremony at the Five Flags Center at 7pm Friday night.  A weekend full of events includes Basketball, Broomball, Ice Hockey, and Volleyball.  This year’s theme is Shoot For The Gold.

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Ice Fest 2009concludes three weekends of snow and Ice activities at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium.  This weekend’s event include snow and ice harvesting, winter programs, and live animals.  The Dubuque Fire Department will have open-water rescue demonstrations.  There will be a chili Cook-Off at Noon on Saturday and KWWL’s Jeff Kennedy will be hosting a winter workshop.

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Last up, Bald Eagle Days in Potosi will be held from 8am to Noon both Saturday and Sunday at the Wildlife Observation Deck at Cassville’s Riverside Park.  Winter is an excellent time to observe our nation’s official bird in it’s natural habitat along and about the great Mississippi River.

As with any post, your comments and questions are encouraged…

Congrats to the Dubuque Colts Drum & Bugle Corpsfor their very successful trip to Washington D.C. for thier participation in Barak Obama’s Inauguration Day Parade.

See Video of the The Colts from KCRG-TV here

Updates: Both Lauren Squires of KWWL and Katie Wiedenmann of KCRG are blogging the events in Washington D.C. and have specific reports on the Colts:

Lauren’s Blog Posts here

Katie’s (KCRG) Blog Posts here

As with any post, your comments and questions are encouraged…

Finally, Twitter is catching on strong in Iowa and hopefully will grow in Dubuque as well.  Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.  KCRG-TV ran a report on Twitter and what it is and how people in Iowa are using it. 

See KCRG-TV Video Report Here

I’ve been Twittering for about six months, more strongly so in the last three.  My Twitter ID is @robcook.  I found a short YouTube video that shows what Twitter is in plain English 

Register at www.Twitter.com, complete your profile, including your bio and location and start Tweeting – you’ll not regret it!