State legislators will be making important decisions about the future of energy in Illinois this year.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently made history by announcing that for the first time, it will require carbon to be treated as a pollutant.  This gives Illinois the chance to move towards a cleaner, more reliable, and affordable energy economy while creating thousands of jobs.  There are several proposals in Springfield that address energy issues that are under consideration this year and next.

Experts from several environmental organizations will give information on the Clean Power Plan and on the proposed Illinois Clean Jobs bill.  Representative Mike Smiddy will attend and provide his insight into overall energy issues in Springfield.

RSVP at ilenviro.org/qcforum or iec@ilenviro.org.  Call 217-544-5954 with any questions you may have.

The route goes from the middle school right down to the Will B. Biking statue, the "ceremonial" start of the ride at 8 a.m.

The inaugural "Will B. Rolling to Ben Bikin'" bicycle tour is October 3-9, 2015.  The tour covers portions of Northwestern Illinois and Southwestern Wisconsin and the Sparta's Fallfest is in full swing to offer riders festivities at the conclusion of the tour.  Director of Wisconsin Tourism David Spiegelberg and Sparta Chamber of Commerce Director Tim Hyma plan to be at the start in Port Byron on Sunday.  for more information, visit www.willtoben.com

In 1995, Sparta designed and manufactured a large fiberglass "man" dressed in Sparta colors (red and gold), sitting on a penny-farthing bicycle and was named "Ben Bikin."  Former Port Byron Mayor Larry Bay was impressed with the statue and commissioned a replica to be called Will B. Rolling for his town.  Bay then gifted the statue to the village in 2013.

Itinerary

Savanna - Main lodging site: First United Methodist Church, 2100 Chicago Ave.

Platteville - Main lodging site: Platteville School District Professional Learning Center, 155 W. Lewis St.

Richland Center - Main lodging site: UW Richland Center Roadrunner Gymnasium, 1200 US Hwy. 14

Reedsburg - Main lodging site: Lions-Jaycees Building, 1403 Viking Dr.

Elroy - Main lodging site: United Methodist Church, 125 Royall Ave.

Sparta - Main lodging site: Sparta Barney Family Community Center, 1000 E. Montgomery St.

Contact: Rob Layton, Director, Bicycle Illinois, 312-342-5514 cell

Quad Cities: Over 200 athletes from across North America, both men and women, arrive in the Quad Cities the first weekend in October to compete for the National Title at this year's North American Strongman National Championships.  This is the first time the North American Strongman National Championships have been held in the Quad Cities.  The event takes place at the RiverCenter in downtown Davenport, Iowa.

The public is invited to all competitions.  They are held in the RiverCenter's Great Hall on Friday, October 2 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, October 3 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.   Admission to the event is $7 per person or $5 when you bring a non-perishable food item which will be donated to the local food pantry.

In addition to the competitions, there will be plenty of other activities going on at the RiverCenter including door prizes, health screenings, health and fitness vendors, and a variety of fun activities for the kids.

The athletes will be competing not only to become North America's Strongest, but they are also vying for a spot at the World Championships, that will be held early spring at the Arnold Schwarzenegger sports festival in Ohio.  Strongman Corporation chose the Quad Cities for the event, due to the known factor of the Quad Cities being a great sporting town that support a variety of sporting events.

This is the first time the North American Strongman National Championships have been held in the Quad Cities.  The event was secured through the efforts of the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Spectators have the opportunity to see amazing athletes in action during a variety of competitions.  On October 2, three events take place on opening day.  The Log Clean and Press competition gives athletes 60-seconds to get in as many lifting reps without touching the ground.  This is followed by Conan's Carry Yoke Walk where athletes have 60-seconds to carry a yoke in front of their body for 60-feet.  The day concludes with the Farmers challenge in which competitors have 60-seconds to carry farm implements for a distance of 60-feet.

The competition concludes on Saturday with two final events, the Push Pull Medley and Sand Bag Carry.  During the Push Pull Medley, competitors do a one-arm giant dumbbell press over their head followed by a one-arm deadlift pull.  Athletes must go back and forth between the press and pull.  A successful rep is one complete press and one complete pull.  They are judged on how many they can complete in 60-seconds.  The Sand Bag Carry and Load Medley gives each athlete 75-seconds to load four sandbags onto a platform.  Each sandbag is placed about 60-feet from the platform.

Strongman Corporation (SC) is the sole sanctioning and governing body for the sport of professional and amateur strongman events in the U.S.  SC provides athletes with opportunities by promoting numerous professional strongman contests across the country yearly.  These contests include America's Strongest Man®, the Olympia Strongman Challenge, the U.S. Nationals and Pro-Am and Platinum-Plus series.  SC also works directly with individual promoters, international representatives and strongman federations, world-wide to ensure that American athletes have opportunities abroad as well.

SC has the largest amateur-to-professional strongman system in the world.  SC has developed relationships world-wide that allows young athletes the time to mature in the amateur ranks while having the opportunity to compete in SC sanctioned events and earn their professional status.  SC also fosters the growth of strongman in the international community by advising countries and regions as they develop amateur-to-professional systems of their own.  SC hosts the annual Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships which sees international and American amateur strongman competitors compete for the World Champion title and professional strongman status.

Strongman Corporation is the premier amateur and professional strongman corporation in the world. Their mission is to provide quality strongman contests for the public while ensuring fair treatment for the competitors.

Headquartered in Maryland Heights, Missouri, they have a number of training facilities all over the world for new and veteran athletes.  Strongman Corporation has over 200 contests per year that qualify athletes to compete in the National Championships.  From the National Championships, athletes qualify to compete at the World Championships in March at the Arnold Classic.  For more information, visit strongmancorporation.com

Sponsors for the competition include New Age Performance, SBD Apparel, KT Tape, and McDougal Chiropractic Services. SBD is a global sportswear brand, founded to design and produce market-leading performance products in conjunction with their team of elite athletes, coaches and health professionals.  SBD produces special sleeves worn on the arms during powerlifting, crossFit and Strongman competitions.  SBD will have a vendor booth at the competition and will be selling their product.

KT Tape is an elastic sports and fitness tape designed for muscle, ligament, and tendon pain relief and support. KT tape will be on hand to help assure athletes safety and working hand in hand with Dr. Todd McDougal to help keep athletes in the event.

New Age Performance will also have a booth at the competition.  New Age Performance is taking the sports and fitness world by storm because there is nothing available on the market that provides the instantaneous athletic enhancing benefits of their Mouthware products.  It doesn't matter if you're a pro athlete or just a health conscious consumer, New Age Performance can help enhance your performance by experiencing increased strength, balance, flexibility, oxygen uptake, range of motion and grind protection.  Their Mouthware is the number one choice to help improve performance.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

America Queen passengers will be disembarking for the day on a hop-on/hop-off shuttle that makes stops in downtown Davenport, Village of East Davenport, downtown Moline, and the Quad City Botanical Center.

The largest steamboat ever built, the grand American Queen has modern amenities, with all the opulence of the American Victorian era. Combining the best of the old and the new, this beautiful lady of the river epitomizes the grace and grandeur that has made river cruising a cherished American tradition for more than two centuries.  For more information about the American Queen, visit their website at www.americanqueensteamboatcompany.com.

PUBLIC TOURS OF THE BOAT WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE.  The docking of the boat provides a great opportunity to take pictures and view its beautiful architecture.

The schedule of the boat can change without notice.