Homers: What's going right

WEST SIDE, TOO: Securing federal funds toward Cedar Rapids flood protection advanced Thursday when an Army Corps of Engineers' review board endorsed a plan to protect the east side of the river. City officials are pleased but will lobby Congress to support a broader plan that also protects the west side, which the Corps says doesn't meet its strict cost-benefit ratio rules.

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SPORTS MILESTONES: Iowa City High, Iowa City Regina, Solon. All Johnson County high schools. And all of them winning their way to the state football championship games in classes 4A, 2A and 3A respectively - the first time that one county has qualified three teams for the title games. In Linn County, Mount Vernon volleyball coach Shirley Ryan retired Monday after the Mustangs won a second consecutive state title and built a 56-match winning streak. Ryan began the program in 1972, and totaled seven state qualifiers.

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TASTY WATER: Competing against Des Moines and five other cities among Iowa's largest, Cedar Rapids recently won the contest for best-tasting water. The Iowa Chapter of the American Water Works Association conducted the taste-testing contest. Kudos to our city's water plant staff.