After successfully putting together a welcome home parade for Iraq vets on Saturday, organizers started on their next challenge of raising $7 million for veterans' organizations including The Mission Continues by Sunday.

Follow along with the group's progress on Twitter @Thanktheheroes or on its new Facebook page.

Also, check out footage from the parade that appeared on the Rachel Maddow show Jan. 30. Both Major Rick Radford and Craig Schneider, who work for the St. Charles School District and were key organizers of the events, were interviewed. 

The rest of the week is looking nice. Temperatures are expected to be in the 50s for the rest of the week. Here's how it breaks down with high temperatures: Wednesday 58, Thursday 59, Friday 52 with a 50 percent chance of rain.

Now onto news from the neighborhood, which yesterday happened to be about animals.

• Fox 2 had a story about Blues Captain David Backes who flew to Texas on Saturday to pick up three stray dogs from Corridor Rescue. Backes and his wife Kelly are involved with Five Acres Animal Shelter in St. Charles. Kelly is a board member. Check out photos of the dogs on the Animal Shelter's Facebook page.

• KMOV has a story about a group of people who came together to rescue a cat stuck in a tree in St. Charles near the Blanchette boat ramp. Allen's Tree Service and Bauer Trees teamed together to rescue the cat.

• Stltoday.com has a story about the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity deciding to stop offering grants to affiliates of Planned Parenthood.

• The Missouri Department of Conservation is hosting a photo contest from Feb. 1 to May 15 of photos of Missouri's wildlife, fish, forests and recreation. For more information about submitting photos, check out this website.

• Have you been up to the new Audubon Center at Riverlands near West Alton? The St. Charles County Cable channel has a video feature on the center which has lots to offer those who like to see birds.

• Did you know you can rate your favorite businesses in St. Charles on Patch? Leave the business owners feedback and tell other residents which are the places to visit and which are the places to avoid. Right now, Applebee's has five stars, as does Grandma's Cookies. Shogun has three stars. Be the first to review El Maguey Mexican Restaurant, St. Elizabeth/St. Robert Regional School or Fleet Feet Sports.