Homers: What's going right

NAME FITS: Linn County supervisors' decision to name the county's renovated Administrative Office Building after Jean Oxley was an appropriate, bipartisan choice. The idea came from Brent Oleson, the only Republican on the board. Oxley, a staunch Democrat, was elected to the board in 1972 and served until 1996. She was the county's first woman elected to office and earned a reputation as a champion of the elderly, young and disabled.

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MAQUOKETA ON EXHIBIT: A few years ago, Maquoketa artist Rose Frantzen set out to paint portraits of all 6,000 of the city's residents. That proved to be an impossible task but she still managed to complete 180 over a year's time. Now, a dozen of those portraits are displayed at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

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LEGACY: Cornell College is on solid footing as President Les Garner leaves. Garner, who came to the liberal arts school in 1994, oversaw the launch of several academic initiatives, added faculty, built financial strength through increased fundraising and stabilized student enrollment around 1,200. In July, Garner will begin work as president of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation.