DES MOINES, IA (01/31/2011)(readMedia)-- There are thousands of things to love about the great Iowa State Fair, where "Nothing Compares!" From funnel cakes and Ferris wheels, food on a stick and free entertainment, to premier livestock events, art exhibits and the country's largest state fair food department, the Iowa State Fair has something for everyone. Again this year, Iowans can continue to show their love for the Fair on their tax returns and help the Fair continue the renovation and preservations of the historic Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Look for the State Fairgrounds Renovation Check Off on line 58b of Iowa Tax Form 1040 or on line 14 of Iowa Tax Form 1040A and check off $1 (or more!) to help preserve the historic Iowa State Fairgrounds. Your gift is either deducted from your refund or added to the amount due. Contributions to the Corndog Checkoff are fully tax-deductible.

"The Corndog Checkoff is a simple way for Iowans to show their love for the Iowa State Fair. Funds raised through this program are an important part of the effort to preserve this great institution for future generations," said Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation Executive Director John Putney.

Every dollar donated to the Checkoff is directly allocated to capital improvements. The Corndog Checkoff has raised nearly $1.6 million and has supplemented restoration projects from the Grandstand to Ye Old Mill. In addition, funds generated by the Checkoff have helped improve the campgrounds, parking areas, sidewalks and restrooms.

The Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation is a non-profi t 501(c)3 organization. Since its inception in 1993, the Foundation has generated over $80 million for renovations and improvements to the Iowa State Fairgrounds. For more information on the Corndog Tax Checkoff, please contact the Blue Ribbon Foundation at (800) 450-3732 or email bluerf@blueribbonfoundation.org.

ROCK ISLAND, IL (01/28/2011)(readMedia)-- From Feb. 18-25 the Augustana Choir will perform a variety of choral music in eight concerts throughout Illinois and northern Missouri. They will end with a ninth "home" concert on March 11 in Davenport, Iowa, for the Quad-City community.

The choir will begin its Homeland Tour in Galesburg, Ill., and then travel to Springfield, Ill.; Chesterfield, Mo.; Decatur, Ill.; Bloomington, Ill.; Naperville, Ill.; St. Charles, Ill.; Rockford, Ill.; and Davenport, Iowa.

Augustana Choir members from your area include :

Kaleigh Wall from Eldridge, Iowa, a sophomore at Augustana majoring in music.

Kjerstin Hurty from Moline, Ill., a sophomore at Augustana majoring in business and music.

Martha Ade from Moline, Ill., a junior at Augustana majoring in music and English.

Lauren Reid from Sherrard, Ill., a junior at Augustana majoring in business and communications.

Anita Cook from Davenport, Ill., a senior at Augustana majoring in studio art.

Calvin Vo from Moline, Ill., a sophomore at Augustana majoring in English and theatre.

Ricky Rector from Davenport, Iowa, a sophomore at Augustana majoring in communication sciences and disorders.

In honor of the 150th anniversary of Augustana College, the Homeland Tour takes the choir along the Mississippi and across the state of Illinois to recognize the college's relationship with its geographic home. Featured American composers are Eric William Barnum, Eric Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen, Stephen Paulus and Robert H. Young. The program also includes works by renowned 20th century international composers Damijan Mocnik, Krzysztof Penderecki and Carl Orff. This rich, eclectic program incorporates works that elicit the idea of community and home.

In addition, the tour program reflects some of the recent performance invitations the choir has received. Selections from Orff's Carmina Burana appear on the program because the Augustana Choir, under Dr. Jon Hurty's direction, has been asked to perform the work at New York's Carnegie Hall this May. Spirituals by composer/arranger Stacey Gibbs close the program. Gibbs asked the choir to record the selections on an upcoming CD of his works.

Hurty feels that tours offer "an opportunity to share the choral program and the talents of our students with an even broader community." Founded in 1931, the Augustana Choir, which tours both domestically and internationally, has performed in some of the world's most treasured places from New York's Alice Tully Hall to the grand Uppsala Cathedral in Sweden and the Great Wall of China.

Touring often is a highlight of a student's college experience. "Tour has been my favorite part of my four years at college," said senior Ryan Shershen. "It takes the cake over classes, parties, other organizations, etc. I have loved the traveling that we have done from Sweden to our nation's capitol. We sound great at every concert, and the best part is that we improve so much as a choir over tour...it is amazing to hear the difference between the home concert after tour and the fall concert at the beginning of the year."

The dates and locations for the Augustana Choir tour are as follows:

Feb. 18-First Lutheran Church, Galesburg, Ill.

Feb. 19-St. John's Lutheran Church, Springfield, Ill.

Feb. 20-Trinity Lutheran Church, Chesterfield, Mo.

Feb. 21-Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Decatur, Ill.

Feb. 22-St. John's Lutheran Church, Bloomington, Ill.

Feb. 23-Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Naperville, Ill.

Feb. 24-Bethlehem Lutheran Church, St. Charles, Ill.

Feb. 25-First Lutheran Church, Rockford, Ill.

March 11-St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, Iowa

About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college enrolls 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers more than 70 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 287 faculty members and has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1. Augustana continues to do what it has always done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, ever-changing world.

Four Events Help Answer Questions for Families of Returning Troops

SPRINGFIELD, IL (01/19/2011)(readMedia)-- The Illinois National Guard has made it a priority to help servicemembers when they return from a mobilization or deployment. While the Illinois National Guard continues to reach out to returning veterans with the "Tying the Yellow Ribbon" campaign, the program also focuses on families of troops who are deployed.

The Illinois Army National Guard will conduct four Reintegration Family Academies in February and March.

Although the free academy is open to any family that has a deployed servicemember in any branch of the military, the focus of these events is to reach out to families of Illinois National Guard members that have deployed or who are currently deployed. Approximately 1,000 members of the Illinois National Guard are deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Egypt.

The intent of the academy is to ensure families receive information and know the resources available to them while their Soldier is deployed.

"Reintegration is not just a program for Soldiers after a deployment. It's something his or her entire family must also undergo as everyone readjusts to changes that have happened during the course of the Soldier's deployment," said 2nd Lt. Justin Anweiler of Lincoln, reintegration program coordinator. "This is one way the Illinois National Guard is trying to help families of our deployed men and women who are sometimes fighting their own battles at home while their servicemember is fighting a war overseas."

Representatives from several different agencies will be available for family members. Some agencies attending include TRICARE (medical and dental insurance), Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Internal Revenue Service and Veteran's Health Administration. There will also be several workshops for families to attend providing guidance and information on issues like marriage after deployment, finances, challenges troops face reuniting with their children and using college education benefits. Counselors will also be available for private consultations.

Illinois National Guard Family Academies

Date Location Time

February 5 Blackhawk Community College; 6600 34th Ave., Moline 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.

February 27 Kaskaskia College; 2310 W. Fillmore, Vandalia 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.

March 12 Blackhawk Community College; 26230 Black Hawk Road, Galva 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.

March 13 Devry University; 18624 West Creek Drive, Tinley Park 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.

Become our Facebook Fan!

www.facebook.com/illinoisnationalguard

-30-

Nicholas Skaggs of Davenport, IA graduated from Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky, with a Bachelor of Arts degree during the 2010 Winter Commencement cermony.

 

Trent Carlson, Bachelor of Science, Business Economics and Kevan Kadavy, Bachelor of Science, Biomedical Sciences, both of Davenport, along with Matthew Noe, Bachelor of Science, Business Administration and Tara Vandygriff, Bachelor of Arts, Public Relations, both of Rock Island, were named to the Dean's List at Marquette University, Milwaukee, for the Fall 2010 term.  Also, Andrew Czachowski of Bettendorf has graduated from Marquette University with a Master of Arts degree in English.

 

Adam Ryan Eaker, School of Engineering & Computer Science; Blake Matthew Rauba, Hankamer School of Business, both of Moline, IL, were named to the Dean's Academic Honors List at Baylor University, Waco, TX.

 

The following local students have been named to the President's List at Drake University, Des Moines. This academic honor is achieved by earning a grade point average of 4.0 during the Fall 2010 semester at Drake.

Kelsey Berneking of Bettendorf, IA, Kelsey Brandt of Bettendorf, IA, Lauren Brandt of Bettendorf, IA, Amanda Cleppe of Bettendorf, IA, Jared Dammann of Bettendorf, IA, Caitlin Pryor of Bettendorf, IA, Abby Sheehan of Bettendorf, IA, Chelsea Rink of Davenport, IA, Erika Sevigny of Davenport, IA, Stephanie Merrick of Eldridge, IA, Jordan Porter of Eldridge, IA, James VanEchaute of Moline, IL, Claire Vandercar of Port Byron, IL, and Marshall Phares of Princeton, IA.

The following local students have been named to the Dean's List at Drake University. This academic honor is achieved by earning a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher during the Fall 2010 semester at Drake.

Caitlin Araujo of Bettendorf, IA, Stuart Bildner of Bettendorf, IA, Leah Christensen of Bettendorf, IA, Bret Larson of Bettendorf, IA, Erika Milas of Bettendorf, IA, Elizabeth Shoemaker of Bettendorf, IA, Kathryn Hamilton of Blue Grass, IA, Evan Clark of Davenport, IA, Scott Copeland of Davenport, IA, Alise Farrell of Davenport, IA, Luke Hansen of Davenport, IA, Eric Hartmann of Davenport, IA, Kristin Stopulos of Davenport, IA, Taylor Bender of Eldridge, IA, Karmen Rocker of Hillsdale, IL, Taylor Odegard of Le Claire, IA, Kayla Pearson of Milan, IL, Christine Hoegner of Moline, IL, Andrew Olson of Moline, IL, Hailey Shelton of Moline, IL, Ryan Hendricks of Rock Island, IL, and Sarah VanLandegen of Rock Island, IL.

 

The following area students graduated from Creighton University, Omaha, NE during the winter commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010.

Chris Cameron of Davenport earned a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.

Diane Ferry of Eldridge earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Adminsitration degree.

 

Tate Kapple, a resident of Parnell, Iowa, made the Dean's List for the fall 2010 semester at the University of Montana Western, Dillon, MT.

 

Dr. Nancy Erickson, vice president for academic affairs at Iowa Wesleyan College, Mount Pleasant, has announced the names of students who have qualified for the 2010 fall semester Dean's List. Local students achieving this honor are:

Brittany Kahler, a Senior majoring in Studio Art from Marengo, IA

Ayla Serrano, a Sophomore majoring in Life Science from Rock Island, IL

Sarah Voss, a Freshman majoring in Physical Education from Marengo, IA