Homers

MAILING IT IN:

Absentee voting requests have nearly doubled since the 2010 elections. Nearly 58,000 Democrats have requested absentee ballots, up from 34,318 four years ago. Republicans have made 31,099 requests, up from 12,710 in 2010. And those registered with no party have requested 23,043 ballots, up from 9,664. Overall, 112,178 requests have been made this year. In 2010, there were 56,725 requests.

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RETURNED:

A rare Grant Wood sketchbook from 1929 has returned to the Figge Art Museum in Davenport after going missing about 50 years ago. The tiny book of drawings for the large stained-glass window in the Cedar Rapids Veterans Memorial Building was most likely stolen during a 1966 open house. It was discovered a part of a 2013 Chicago auction, where it was expected to sell for about $50,000. The Davenport museum plans to digitize the pages and make them available via the Internet.

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DESERVED RECOGNITION:

An advocacy group that typically focuses on gender equity in politics took time this week to honor Christine Grant, the first women's athletic director at the University of Iowa. Women in sports, the organization said, can face the same types of barriers as women in politics. Grantis a champion for Title IX, and for women's equality in all aspects of life.

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