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Davenport

Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk War stationed at nearby Fort Armstrong. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 99,685, making it Iowa's third-largest city. A 2011 estimate has the city's population at 100,298. As of 2012, the mayor of Davenport is Bill Gluba. Davenport is the largest of the Quad Cities. The Quad Cities also consists of neighboring Bettendorf and the Illinois cities of Moline, East Moline, and Rock Island and has a population of 379,690.

Located approximately half way between Chicago and Des Moines, Davenport is on the border of Iowa and Illinois. The city is prone to frequent flooding due to its location on the Mississippi River. There are two main universities: Saint Ambrose University and Palmer College of Chiropractic, which is where the first chiropractic adjustment took place. Several annual music festivals take place in Davenport, including the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, The Mississippi Valley Fair, and the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival. An internationally known 7-mile (11 km) foot race called the Bix 7 is run during the festival. The city has a Class A minor league baseball team, the Quad Cities River Bandits. Davenport has 27 parks and over 12 miles (19 km) of recreational paths for biking or walking.

Four interstates and two major United States Highways serve the city. Davenport has seen steady population growth since its incorporation, with an exception being the 1980s, when the population decreased due to job loss. Davenport has a declining crime rate and a low rate of unemployment, and was ranked as the most affordable metropolitan area in 2010 by Forbes. In 2007, Davenport, along with neighboring Rock Island, won the City Livability Award in the small-city category from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Notable natives of the city have included jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke and former National Football League running back Roger Craig.