14 Jul 2009

Winners of the 2009 Mississippi Valley Poetry Contest

By Administrator

2009 marks Midwest Writing Center's 36th-annual Mississippi Valley Poetry Contest. This year Max Molleston, longtime contest administrator, passed the reins to local poet Kristin Abraham, author of Little Red Riding Hood Missed the Bus. Kristin reconfigured the contest to contain just two categories: regional and national.

A total of 349 poems were entered - 165 for the national category and 184 for the regional. Out of these entries, 25 finalists were selected to be judged by our regional judge, former Quad Cities Poet Laureate Rebecca Wee, and 25 were sent to our national judge, May Swenson Award-winning poet F. Daniel Rzicznek. From these entries our judges each selected first-, second-, and third-place winners as well as honorable mentions. First-place winners received $200, second-place winners received $150, and third-place winners received $75. The first-place regional winner also receives the Max Molleston Award, created by local artist Dee Schricker. All of the poems that were selected as finalists will be printed in Off Channel, Midwest Writing Center's Mississippi Valley Poetry Contest anthology, due out before the end of summer 2009.

The Midwest Writing Center accepts entries for the Mississippi Valley Poetry Contest from January 1 through March 31 each year. More information is available online at MidwestWritingCenter.org.

A reception and reading will be held on Saturday, July 18, from 7 to 9 p.m. in our conference room at 225 East Second Street in Davenport -- the Bucktown Center for the Arts. All individuals who submitted poems to the contest are invited to read their work.

14 Jul 2009

Crossword Puzzle: July 14, 2009

By Administrator

crossword.graphicTo download a pdf of the puzzle, click here.

For the answers, click here.

For the answers to last week's puzzle, click here.

07 Jul 2009

Crossword Puzzle: July 7, 2009

By Administrator

crossword.graphicTo download a pdf of the puzzle, click here.

For the answers, click here.

For the answers to last week's puzzle, click here.

01 Jul 2009

Advocates Argue for Medical Marijuana

By Administrator

On June 20, the Marijuana Policy Project hosted a medical-marijuana forum at the Bettendorf Public Library. The event featured a screening of the documentary Waiting to Inhale as well as a discussion with patients who use medical marijuana and proponents of legalizing the drug for medical use. Video of the discussion follows.


Medical Marijuana Forum June 20, 2009; Bettendorf, Iowa from James Getman on Vimeo.

30 Jun 2009

Mike Schulz on WVIK's "Midwest Week"

By Administrator

The following is the Friday, June 26 broadcast of WVIK's "Midweek Week," with host Herb Trix discussing the area's summer-theatre season with the River Cities' Reader's Mike Schulz. "Midwest Week" can be heard weekly on WVIK 90.3 FM - Augustana Public Radio, Fridays at 6:50 p.m.

Friday, June 26: mp3

30 Jun 2009

Crossword Puzzle: June 30, 2009

By Administrator

crossword.graphic

To download a pdf of the puzzle, click here.

For the answers, click here.

For the answers to last week's puzzle, click here.

25 Jun 2009

Audio from Harkin "Listening Post on Health Reform"

By Administrator

On June 25, Alison Hart -- an aide to U.S. Senator Tom Harkin -- addressed health-care-reform issues in an open discussion with members of the public at Trinity at Terrace Park. Hart briefly spoke about current House and Senate legislation and then opened the floor for questions and comments regarding the current and future state of our nation's health care system.

mp3

24 Jun 2009

ALLIANCE TECHNOLOGIES DEBUTS CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICES

By Administrator

Innovative Platform Can Change the Landscape for How Businesses Receive IT Services

 

Des Moines, IA - (June 23, 2009) - Alliance Technologies, a Des Moines-based full-service information technology solutions firm,announced today the launch of cloud computing services to enable remote delivery and management of IT services related to data accessibility, storage, backup and disaster recovery.


Alliance Technologies has leveraged a newly opened data center in West Des Moines to house the cloud computing platform. Combining a state-of-the-art hosting facility with expertise in network management and server virtualization allows them to deliver services through a cloud infrastructure that can change the way businesses think about and receive their IT services. Although the data center is located in the Des Moines metro, Alliance Technologies' cloud computing services can be used by customers throughout Iowa and the Midwest.

 

One local Des Moines business has migrated their entire IT infrastructure to the Alliance Technologies cloud platform. This solution has enabled over 200 employees in 10 different office locations to essentially function as one. All workers now access, share and save all of their data and other computing resources directly from the Alliance cloud. Essential office technology, including software applications, server files and email are all accessible viatheir wide area network from Alliance's secure data center.With the hosted cloud infrastructure, the data center equipment, backups, heating, cooling and security are all provided 'as a service' by Alliance Technologies.

 

"One of the biggest business needs we've identified is centered around business continuity and disaster recovery," said Mike Lang, CEO of Alliance Technologies. "With flooding and tornadoes, Iowa has seen its share of natural disasters. Businesses have seen first-hand the impact that an unforeseen disaster can have on their operations. Our cloud can be used to create solutions for backup and disaster recovery so businesses do not have to worry about compromising their information or experiencing long periods of downtime. Businesses can remain up and running or we can get them back up quickly with almost no time or effort on their end. Cloud computing can also keep workers connected remotely as they can access files and applications anywhere via the Internet."

 

For more information about Alliance Technologies' new cloud computing services, please contact Jason Lamping at 515-245-7682, or visit:

http://www.alliancetechnologies.net/solutions/technology/cloud-computing



About Alliance Technologies
Alliance Technologies, Inc. is a full-service technology firm established in 1994 to provide businesses with solutions for network management, software development and licensing, Web development, IT staffing and IT management. By providing a broad range of services, Alliance offers an unrivaled suite of solutions to businesses within numerous industries.

www.alliancetechnologies.net

24 Jun 2009

Full Coverage of the 2009 IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival

By Administrator

(Here you'll find links to all the content in the official guide to the 2009 IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, along with previous coverage of this year's performers from the River Cities' Reader.)

Thursday, July 2

Bandshell (Performer Bios)

5 p.m.: Bob Dorr & the Blue Band (2001 interview, 2006 review)

7 p.m.: Peña Brothers Band

9 p.m.: Cobalt Blue

11 p.m.: Roy Rogers & the Delta Rhythm Kings (2009 interview)

Tent Stage (Performer Bios)

5 p.m.: Radoslav Lorkovic (2009 interview)

6:30 p.m.: Hawkeye Herman (2007 interview)

8:30 p.m.: Bo Ramsey (2008 interview)

10:30 p.m.: Saffire - the Uppity Blues Women (2001 interview)

Friday, July 3

Bandshell (Performer Bios)

2 p.m.: The Avey Brothers

4 p.m.: Ellis Kell Band

6 p.m.: Eugene "Hideaway" Bridges

8 p.m.: Ric E Bluez

10 p.m.: Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater (2008 interview)

Tent Stage (Performer Bios)

2 p.m.: T.J. Wheeler

4 p.m.: David "Honeyboy" Edwards

5:30 p.m.: Fiona Boyes (2009 interview)

7:30 p.m.: Dee Alexander (2009 interview)

9:30 p.m.: Sugar Pie DeSanto (2009 interview)

Free Workshops

1 p.m.: Saffire (2001 interview)

2:30 p.m.: Fiona Boyes (2009 interview)

4 p.m.: David Horwitz, Blues Photography

5:30 p.m.: David Berntson

BlueSKool

2:30 p.m.: Winter Blues Academy Kids

3:45 p.m.: David Berntson

5 p.m.: T.J. Wheeler

Saturday, July 4

Bandshell (Performer Bios)

2 p.m.: Steady Rollin' Band

4 p.m.: Robin Rogers (2009 interview)

6 p.m.: Craig Horton

8 p.m.: Larry McCray (2009 interview)

10 p.m.: Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers (2004 interview)

Tent Stage (Performer Bios)

2 p.m.: Marquise Knox

3:30 p.m.: Juke Joiunt Duo

5:30 p.m.: Kenny Brown

7:30 p.m.: Diunna Greenleaf

9:30 p.m.: Magic Slim & the Teardrops (2005 interview)

Free Workshops

1 p.m.: T.J. Wheeler

2:30 p.m.: Kenny Brown

4 p.m.: Hawkeye Herman (2007 interview)

5:30 p.m.: Radoslav Lorkovic (2009 interview)

BlueSKool

2:30 p.m.: Winter Blues Academy Kids

3:45 p.m.: T.J. Wheeler

5 p.m.: David Berntson

How to Buy Tickets

Advance tickets for the 2009 IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival are available at all IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union locations, the River Center/Adler Theatre Box Office, and through Ticketmaster. The price of an advance three-day pass for the fest is $30. Individual fest tickets at the gate will cost $5 on Thursday, July 2, and $15 on Friday, July 3, and Saturday, July 4.

IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union and Mississippi Valley Blues Society members can purchase individual advance fest tickets at a discounted rate of $12.50 each only at IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union locations.

Children 14 and under will be admitted free if accompanied by an adult with a ticket. Tickets are good for admission only on the day printed on the ticket.

24 Jun 2009

Blues Fest 2009: Friday, July 3, Tent Stage

By Administrator

T.J. WheelerT.J. Wheeler, 2 p.m.

Blues guitarist and educator T.J. Wheeler spent a week's Blues in the Schools residency in the Quad Cities during Black History Month this year; he conducted workshops at eight schools, one university, and one museum. The Mississippi Valley Blues Society education committee was so impressed with T.J.'s blues education abilities that he was invited back for the 25th-annual IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival. Besides performing on the tent stage and conducting a workshop at 1 p.m. on Saturday where he'll share "Back Stories of the Blues," T.J. will preside over a BlueSKool slot along with kids he will have taught at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Rock Island just a few days before the Fest.

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