SLOWER & STEADIER SEEMS BETTER: Our Eastern Iowa corridor’s generally solid housing market doesn’t make big swings like the national market did before and during the nation’s Great Recession and our own flood recovery. That’s why the 9.7 percent jump in home prices nationwide in January compared to January of 2012 is misleading compared to Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, which continued their slower, steadier rises with January increases of 1.9 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively.

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TRANSFERS UP: The increasing number of transfer students from Iowa’s 15 community colleges enrolling at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University looks like a positive outcome of stepped-up recruiting and articulation agreements between the universities and the two-year schools. Students can complete four-year degrees in our state schools, and also can save money by first attending community colleges and ease the transition to a large college campus.

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SAVING ART: Cedar Rapids Visual Arts Commissioner Suzy McGrane-Hop, volunteering countless hours, led development of a detailed inventory of public art in the community, and helped appraise, restore, and display flood-damaged artwork.