Homers -- What's going right

MARKET CROWDS UP: Heading into Saturday's final event of the 2011 season, average attendance at the Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers Market was averaging about 13,000 patrons, up 50 percent from 2010, says the Cedar Rapids Downtown District, which coordinates the event from June through September.

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BETTER THAN EVER: Alliant Energy's total costs of 2008 flood recovery is expected to hit $300 million. The good news is that Cedar Rapids' core will benefit from two new substations. One, across from the Scottish Rite Temple, replaces four older ones and serves the north half of the downtown area. Next year, another new substation, this one on the former RESCAR site, will eliminate three other older versions on the south side. They'll bring a higher level of redundancy and reliability, the company says.

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TEEN DRIVERS: Iowa's stricter licensing requirements for young drivers, implemented in 1999, gets some credit for fewer fatalities and crashes involving young drivers. In 2010, there was just one fatality involving a 16-year-old driver compared to 20 in 2001, following a downward trend.