By Stephen Elliottselliott@qconline.com

It was an unusual vaca-tion, one Moline residents Greg and Christine Hoegner won’t soon forget.

Mr. Hoegner, 28, and his sister, 22, traveled last month to Svalbard, an archipelago about 500 miles north of Nor-way, deep within the Arctic Circle.

The two began planning their trip six years ago af-ter reading “The Golden Compass” by British author Philip Pullman. Part of the action in the book, which has been made into a movie, takes place in Svalbard.

On June 12, the two trav-elled from Chicago to Cophen-hagen to Oslo to Longyear-byen, a town in the Svalbard. Then they boarded a Russian

research vessel owned by the Russian Academy of Science. The vessel doubles as a tour-ism charter.

“It was a real small group,” Mr. Hoegner said. “You really had a chance to get out there and explore.”

The two traveled with 63 other people.

“You stop at these places that hardly ever had human traffic on them except for maybe a few hunters or whal-ers.

“No one has ever lived there. In the world today, it’s hard to find places like that.” Accompanying their guide, “Dutch,” they travelled on Zodiac rafts, each holding about 15 people.

“They (the crew) help you get into the boat,” Mr. Hoegn-er said. “You sit on the edge

and take off out into the Arc-tic Ocean.”

Ms. Hoegner said the rafts are the best way to get around. All their equipment was waterproof. Tempera-

tures were around freezing, but there was plenty of light — the sun didn’t set for al-most 10 days.

BRIEFLY

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1 Police: Dead man, alleged shooter had drug-dealing relationship: Authorities believe a drug-dealing relationship that soured led to the shoot-

ing death of an 18-year-old man Wednesday evening. Rochester, Minn. Police Capt. Brian Winters this morning said three people are now in custody and are expected

to face murder-related charges in the death of Estavon Gonza-lez, a former Moline resident.

2 Man charged in accidental shooting of

10-year-old Moline boy: A Moline man has been charged with aggravated reck-less discharge of a firearm in connection

with a shooting Monday that wounded his 10-year-old son. Police said the shooting appeared to be accidental but Allen Vanmeenen, 51, was charged nevertheless.

3 Drunken driver allegedly assaulted police officer, Genesis staff member: A Davenport man injured in a Monday accident is accused of driving drunk

and attacking a police officer and a Genesis staffer. Mi-chael Lagrange, 48, 3209 W. 48th Place, is charged with operating while intoxicated, first offense; assault on a peace officer; and assault on a medical care provider.

4 Cordova police chief plans to leave post over dispute with mayor: Calling the village mayor a bully, Cordova Police Chief Rich Wallen said

Friday he would submit his resignation as chief before the day was out. Chief Wallen said he intends to stay on the force as a regular officer in the village of about 600 people 25 miles north of the Quad-Cities.

5 R.I. Hy-Vee reopens after firefighters burn off leaking propane: The Rock Island Hy-Vee reopened at about 3:15 p.m. Wednesday after

being closed for several hours because of a leaking propane tank. Assistant Rock Island fire chief Jim Fobert said the leak occurred just before 11:30 a.m. Wednes-day when someone was filling a 420-pound, waist-high propane tank used for grilling in front of the building.

6 Bar brawl brings no serious injuries: A Milan man was ticketed for battery after allegedly throwing a bottle at another man outside a

bar early Monday morning. Rock Island police Lt. Mark Poulos said Eric Jason Love, 42, 2811 W. 54th Ave. was arrested at about 12:03 a.m. outside Steve’s Old Time Tap, 223 17th St., Rock Island. Lt. Poulos said Mr. Love got into an argument with a 26-year-old man and threw a bottle at his head.

7 Pro golfer accused of possessing marijuana in Bettendorf hotel: Two days after being ar-rested in Bettendorf for marijuana possession,

a Jacksonville, Fla. man teed off in Thursday’s opening round of the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Silvis. Matthew King Every, 26, is charged with posses-sion of marijuana. Records state that police were called at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to the hallway outside room 5016 in the north tower of the Isle Casino hotel because of a very strong smell of marijuana

8 New 5th Ave. surprise: Basements under sidewalks lift project’s costs: Aldermen in Moline learned on Tuesday that the 5th Avenue

reconstruction project will likely cost more due to extra work needed for sidewalks that also serve as basement ceiling for five businesses. Public works director Mike Waldron told the Moline Committee of the Whole that basements in businesses between 14th to 15th streets, the stretch now under construction, extend under the street. “What we were not aware of is the sidewalk is the ceiling,” he said.

9 Three people arrested after shots fired in Daven-port: A Davenport police officer is on adminis-trative leave and three people are under arrest

after a robbery led to gunfire and a foot chase Tuesday.

10 Heat index hits 110; more heat and humidity on way for weekend: Wednesday’s heat in-dex of 110 was the worst since 2007, accord-

ing to the National Weather Service. NWS meteorologist Bill Nichols said Wednesday was expected to be the worst day of the summer, although “Wednesday and the next 10 days are the hottest of the year.” The chance of thunder-storms, some severe, continues through Thursday.

Joe Payne(309) 757-4948 • jpayne@qconline.com

EDITOR

Exploring the Arctic

Moline brother, sister take trip of a lifetime

Photos: Submitted / Greg HoegnerWalruses swim in the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean.

Greg and Christine Hoegner during the trip to Svalbard, an archi-pelago about 500 miles north of Norway, deep within the Arctic Circle.

Left: Birds circle overhead as tourists, riding in Zodiac rafts, see the sights of the Arctic shoreline.

Below: Greg Hoegner said he always has been fascinated by Polar Bears. During the trip, he was able to observe many of the bears in their natural habitat.

To view a slideshow of Greg and Christine Hoegner’s trip to the Arctic Circle, visit www.qconline.com/multimedia

See uArctic, C4

Illinois Lottery reports record sales The Illinois Lottery has reported more than $2.2 bil-

lion in sales for fiscal year 2010 — the highest single-year sales in the Lottery’s 36-year history.

Sales between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, were $2.209 billion, up 5.4 percent over Fiscal Year 2009, the previous record-breaking year. In Fiscal Year 2010, the Lot-tery transferred $625 million to the Common School Fund and more than $32 million to the new Capital Projects.

Instant games continued to lead the Lottery’s growth with the sale of cause-specific “specialty” games rais-ing more than $1.13 million for Illinois veteran groups, $850,000 for the battle against breast cancer, $1.02 million to improve the lives of people living with AIDS and $1.28 million to help create a world free of Multiple Sclerosis.

Illinois began offering Powerball, the popular multi-state jackpot game, on Jan. 31, 2010, It also added both Powerplay, part of Powerball, and Megaplier, part of Mega Millions, during the past fiscal year.

Approximate unaudited gross game sales were:uPick Three: $301 millionu Pick Four: $191 millionu Lotto: $111 millionu Little Lotto: $119 millionu Mega Millions: $221 millionu Megaplier: $848,077u Pick N Play: $1.5 millionu Raffle: $20 millionu Powerball: $43 millionu Power Play: $8.5 millionu Instants: $1.190 billion