ROCK ISLAND, IL (10/28/2010)(readMedia)-- The Augustana Choir will showcase pieces from diverse musical traditions at its annual fall concert on Friday, October 29, at 8 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public and will be held at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport (2136 Brady St.).

Choir members from your area include :

Carrie Duke from East Moline, IL. Duke is a sophomore majoring in accounting.

Halley Stearns from Sherrard, IL. Stearns is a sophomore majoring in anthropology.

Hannah Barney from Bettendorf, IA. Barney is a sophomore majoring in business administration advising.

Edwin Fonseca from Moline, IL. Fonseca is a junior majoring in international business and accounting.

Sheila Ahuja from Rock Island, IL. Ahuja is a first year majoring in liberal studies.

Rebecca Anderson from Moline, IL. Anderson is a sophomore majoring in liberal studies.

Gregory Donley from Silvis, IL. Donley is a first year majoring in liberal studies.

Darshan Hullon from Moline, IL. Hullon is a first year majoring in liberal studies.

Eryn Maccabee from Moline, IL. Maccabee is a first year majoring in liberal studies.

Katie Rea from Rock Island,, IL. Rea is a first year majoring in liberal studies.

The concert will open with two modern religious works: Damijan Mocnick's Latin hymn "Christus est natus" and Krzysztof Penderecki's a cappella piece "Song of Cherubim." The remainder of the choir's musical selections will be divided into three programmatic sections: Songs of the Night, selections from Mozart's Requiem, and American Music. The selections from Mozart's Requiem have been arranged by Augustana's Dr. Jon Hurty for organ and string chamber accompaniment. Other pieces from these programmatic sections include Eric Whitacre's "Sleep" and Undine Moore's arrangement of the spiritual "Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord."

The Augustana Choir is the college's premiere vocal ensemble. Since its establishment in 1931, the choir has sung at numerous prestigious venues across the nation and the world, including Carnegie Hall in New York and the Royal Palace in Stockholm. The choir also performs regularly in churches and concert halls throughout the Quad Cities.

Hurty, a music professor and department co-chair, directs the Augustana Choir. He received his doctorate in choral conducting and literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition to his responsibilities at Augustana, Hurty directs several community and church ensembles in the Quad Cities and serves as a guest conductor throughout the United States.

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.

Team Places Fifth out of 54

FORT BENNING, GA., (10/04/2010)(readMedia)-- Twelve Soldiers with the Illinois Army National Guard travelled to Fort Benning, Ga. with the goal of winning a title in their weight class at the All-Army Combatives Tournament Oct. 1 to 3.

There were 462 Active Duty, Army National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers and 54 teams competing to prove they are the Army's best at hand-to-hand combat. Overall, the Illinois Army National Guard team placed fifth out of 57 teams nationwide. The three-day competition tested Soldier's skills in close-quarters combat.

On Oct. 3, Sgt. Aoutneil Magny of Dalton, with the 708th Medical Company based in North Riverside won third place in the middleweight class title after a three-day battle on the mats.

Magny won his final fight in the third round by bringing his opponent into submission. The North Riverside Soldier has been training since he was 13 years old when he started wrestling. When Magny was 18, he expanded his fighting skills by adding kick boxing. Now, Magny trains under Torres Martial Arts Academy in Hammond, Ind.

"I was really excited walking into the ring," said Magny before his final fight. "I was even more excited once I won. I really can't wait to teach other Soldiers combatives and show them it does work."

Second Lt. Ivan Iotchkolovsky of River Grove with A Company, 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Regiment, took fourth place in the heavyweight division. Three other Soldiers also placed in their weight class; Sgt. Adam Therriault of Aurora, with A Company, 33rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion in Marseilles Training Center, placed eighth in Welter weight class, Staff Sgt. Nicolas Grant of Caseyville, with the 129th Regional Training Institute in Springfield, finished 12th in middleweight class and Maj. Jeffary Jiannoni of Petersburg, with the Joint Force Headquarters in Springfield placed 12th for cruiserweight class.

Fighters competed individually in brackets based on weight class while team points were awarded based on individual placement. The tournament was a modified double elimination and consisted of three rounds. The first round was standard rules, strictly ground fighting. The second round was intermediate rules which allowed open hand strikes to the head, punches to the body, knee strikes and kicks. The finals were advanced rules that allowed full contact; ground fighting, punches, kicks and knee strikes.

Third Reduction in Three Years

DES MOINES, IA (09/22/2010)(readMedia)-- State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald announced today that the College Savings Iowa 529 Plan has reduced expenses for plan participants by one third. The annual asset-based fee on the plan's entire lineup of investment options has been reduced from 0.50% to 0.34%. The reduction will become effective on October 15, 2010.

College Savings Iowa makes it simple by offering all of its thirteen investment options at the same affordable price. With no additional account fees, the plan's all-in 0.34% expense puts it among the most competitive 529 plans available to college savers nationwide.

"College Savings Iowa has grown to over $2.2 billion in assets due to its nationwide appeal," Fitzgerald stated. "That growth has given us the ability to continue to lower the expenses, which allows investors to keep more money working toward their college savings goals."

The plan has a history of lowering expenses; since 2007, a series of expense reductions have lowered the all-in costs of each of the plan's investment options from 0.62% to 0.34% today.

"We're pleased to help deliver savings to College Savings Iowa investors," said Vanguard Chairman and CEO Bill McNabb.

College Savings Iowa has continually received high marks from organizations rating 529 plans across the nation, including Savingforcollege.com and Morningstar, which each rate 529 plans across the nation. Additionally, HLN money expert Clark Howard recently named the 529 plan as one of the top three in the country.

College Savings Iowa is designed to provide families a tax-advantaged way to save money for their children's higher education. The plan lets anyone - parents, grandparents, friends and relatives - invest for college. Iowa taxpayers can deduct up to $2,811 in contributions per beneficiary account from their adjusted gross income in 2010.* Investors do not need to be a state resident and can withdraw their investment tax-free to pay for qualified higher education expenses including tuition, books, supplies and room and board at any eligible college, university, community college or accredited technical training school in the United States or abroad.** Participants in College Savings Iowa can also take advantage of Upromise®, which enables families to earn cash rewards from their everyday spending.*** For more information about College Savings Iowa, visit www.collegesavingsiowa.com or call 1-888-672-9116.

SPRINGFIELD, IL (09/17/2010)(readMedia)-- The New Madrid Seismic Zone was the subject of a three-day conference here in which movers and shakers from all over the country, and Central and South America, met to plan for the eventuality of a major earthquake.

More than 250 National Guard leaders from more than 30 states - including Illinois and the seven other states that would be most affected by a major earthquake along the infamous fault line that once moved the mighty Mississippi River in 1812-met Sept. 14 to 16 to discuss capabilities, shortfalls and response planning.

Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee are all members of the Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC), whose mission is the reduction of deaths, injuries, property damage and economic losses resulting from earthquakes in the central United States.

The workshop was held at the National Guard Bureau's Professional Education Center, on Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Ark., and included presentations by CUSEC, the National Emergency Management Association, the Arkansas Geological Survey, Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Southern and Northern Commands. Even America's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, offered a look at its planned disaster response efforts.

It is widely accepted that an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 or greater would quickly absorb the response capabilities of each of the directly-affected states. According to Brig. Gen. Steven P. Huber, Land Component Commander and Director of the Joint Staff for the Illinois National Guard, the main focus of the workshop was to proactively identify capabilities and gaps, and where the respective states could turn for help.

"I think the value is in getting to meet the people within the regions, specifically the folks around the impact area, and to do some coordinating," said Huber, a Chicago native. "We can talk about what we can bring to the table as well as what we feel we need. We would rather get to know these people and shake their hand here than at the scene of an incident."

Dr. Paul Stockton, the assistant secretary of defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs, was the keynote speaker on Tuesday, Sept. 14. Stockton gave a comprehensive presentation, centering on a unity of effort concept between the federal government, active duty military units, National Guard units, state governments and local emergency managers.

He led a discussion following his remarks, where he sought input from everyone in the room as to how best achieve unity of effort in the face of a catastrophe such as an earthquake in the center of the country.

According to CUSEC, there were no seismological measurements in 1812, but recent studies and contemporary reports suggest the magnitude of the largest of four earthquakes centering near New Madrid, Mo., was approximately 7.8. Fortunately, in 1812 the area was sparsely populated with few buildings and supporting infrastructure.

Today, the region is home to millions of people, including those in the cities of St. Louis, Mo., and Memphis, Tenn. Adding to the danger, most structures in the region were not built to withstand earthquake shaking, as they have been in more seismically active areas like California.

According to Scott Ausbrooks of the Arkansas Geological Survey, one of the greatest dangers lies in the phenomenon of liquefaction, which occurs when loose, sandy, water-saturated soils are strongly shaken. According to Ausbrooks, the soils lose their capacity to bear any weight and can flow like a liquid.

Ausbrooks and many other experts in the room agreed that an earthquake of such magnitude would knock out communication and nearly all of the bridges in the Mississippi River basin in the affected states. Scientists estimate that a magnitude 6.0 or larger earthquake is overdue in the region and could hit the Mississippi Valley at any time.

"All of the available resources, military and civilian, will be consumed quickly," explained Maj. Gen. William Wofford, the adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard. "We will be overwhelmed.

"The response needs are going to exceed all of the available military and civilian assets," said Wofford. "The affected states will need to look to other states to fulfill any shortfalls."

Emergency Management Assistance Compacts between the states were at the center of many discussions at the workshop.

"We have a number of handshake agreements, but we have a lot of work ahead of us," said Wofford. "We all came to the workshop to work and to plan, which is key, but it's a work in progress."

According to Wofford, the agreements hammered out this year will be reviewed next year, taking into account troop deployments and operations considerations in the responding states.

"The planning aspect is the real benefit of a workshop like this, and having the National Guard Bureau, the federal government, civilian agencies and supporting states here is invaluable," said Wofford. "We've communicated, we've coordinated and now we're cooperating."