With a roadmap for redevelopment in place in the form of 2009’s Historic Millwork District Plan and an understanding that municipal investment in the aging infrastructure was essential to leveraging further investment in the buildings of the district, the City of Dubuque began to work toward funding the repair of streets, sidewalks, and the infrastructure underground.

CALL FOR MUSICIANS!  Dubuque Rock Veterans are looking for musicians that are interested in participating in ROCK N ROLL REWIND.  We are looking for players that are comfortable playing ROCK music from 1960 to 1985. The only required qualification is that you performed in the Dubuque Tri-State area during this period.  Proceeds from this event benefit Albrecht Acres.... a community of people who support those with special needs.  This is an incredible event that gives and gives and gives! 

HISTORIC MILLWORK DISTRICT: PART 1
by Mike Ironside
Anyone who attended the Voices From The Warehouse District art exhibit last September could not help but notice the new streetscape and some pretty major construction occurring just across the street in the Caradco Building. What is going on there? Well, in this series of articles, 365 will explore the redevelopment of the Caradco Building and the Historic Millwork District in which it is located. In this issue, we’ll begin by looking at a little of the history of the Millwork District, its unfortunate decline and how the Dubuque community came to re-imagine the area as an opportunity for redevelopment.

MILLWORK DISTRICT SERIES: PART 2
by Mike Ironside
After Warehouse District Revitalization became a top 10 community priority as identified in Envision 2010 announced in January of 2006, the City of Dubuque, property owners, and other stakeholders like Dubuque Main Street and Gronen Restoration began holding regular meetings toward developing a strategy for district redevelopment. At the same time, the Dubuque City Council set sustainability and the arts as some of the City’s top priorities – a challenge for any development plan, but ultimately in synch with a major redevelopment that would reuse existing structures in an urban neighborhood that had already witnessed the arts re-imagining uses for warehouse spaces. 

With the school year coming to an end, parents might be wondering what to do with the kids over that long summer vacation. Never fear! Here is 365’s list of fun summer classes, activities, camps, and entertainment opportunities to keep the kids active, learning, and having fun. Seriously, grab a snack, this is going to take a while!

I logged into my MySpace account today, for the purposes of this column. It was even sadder than I though. It felt like one of those stories you hear of wartime when people get up from the table and years later they find a laf eaten piece of toast still sitting on the table and a newspaper open next to it. It’s like everyone got up from MySpace in like two days and just left, but there are these sad people who either never got the message or are missing the appropriate human senses to note that they are the only ones still walking around in that world. It’s a zombie video game but there are no more zombies and you don’t know how to end the game so you just keep walking around the empty streets.

April 16-21 - Dubuque Main Street, in collaboration with many local businesses and organizations, will celebrate Architecture Days on April 16-21, featuring a schedule of free activities and events showcasing architecture in our city. Architecture Days is a week-long celebration inspired by National Architecture Week. The mission of Architecture Days is to heighten the recognition of architecture as art form and to explore the rich architectural landscape of Dubuque through programming for all ages. Architecture Days offers the community the opportunity to learn more about architecture and Dubuque history, celebrating our sense of place, its historic treasures, and the city’s growth through commitment to architectural re-use.

We’ve Found the Cause That Refreshes
by Christopher Kulovitz
I just got back from Los Angeles where I spent 4 days exploring how I can be “Happy.” No, It wasn’t a yoga position, a magic potion or a polarizing plunge into the Pacific from some cult philosophy with promises of instant peace, well-being, and hippy happiness. That would be medical marijuana. Instead, the journey I was on was about a bigger idea — a never-ending perception shift — from which I could glean some of its giddiness and return home to Dubuque to share and disseminate with the great folks of the tri-states. Just getting on a plane to warmer weather made me happy – but as I came to find out, the Happiness Factor has a much larger and longer-lasting shelf life. 

In three years of hosting the 365 Impact Awards, the event has really become quite the shindig. The overwhelming response to the first three 365 Impact Awards Shows was more than we at 365 had ever expected. In fact we still hear from our winners that receiving the Impact Award has helped them recruit members, grow their business, motivate their teams and for almost all of them that it just felt great to know that the community appreciates their hard work. First time attendees always comment that the can’t believe they have not been to the event before and can’t wait to do it again next year. Well friends, next year is here.

Are people interesting because they are famous or are they famous because they are interesting? I think the answer is both, but with a fairly large asterisk. Snookie might be interesting in the way that a train crash is interesting, but I doubt she will ever be impressively fascinating. I had an odd weekend to be sure. I planned to spend New Year’s Eve at a local party and then home with my lovely bride. Instead, I found myself dining in a private room at the Chop House in Des Moines on New Year’s Eve with actor Matthew Modine. These things just seem to happen to us. Click the title to read the rest of Bryce's latest inkubator.