Homers -- What's going right

WELCOME BACK: One group at a time, soldiers from the Iowa National Guard's largest deployment since World War II are coming home. Last week, ceremonies in Cedar Rapids, Johnston, Boone and Cedar Falls welcomed several hundred of the 2,800 deployed to Afghanistan last year.

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CLEANER RIVER: About 400 volunteers worked last week to clean up junk and debris from the Turkey River banks as part of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' annual AWARE program. Thanks!

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FIRST IN IOWA: University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics on July 6 provided an artificial heart to a transplant patient for the first time in this state. It serves as a bridge until a donor heart becomes available. The UI is the 17th U.S. hospital to be certified for the procedure. Worldwide, about 900 patients have received the device.

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NO. 11: Forbes ranked Cedar Rapids 11th on its annual list of best places for businesses and careers among the nation's 200 largest metro areas.

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RECORD: The 2011 Linn County Fair in Central City set a new attendance record, estimated at 34,000.