Free, at-home program promotes health, exercise and nutrition for children and families

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (June 2, 2015) ? Even though school is out and kids no longer have their routine physical education classes, parents can keep them active this summer with the newly launched Hy-Vee KidsFit website. Hy-Vee, Inc. designed this free, online program to help kids and families make health, exercise and nutrition priorities in their everyday lives.

Hy-Vee KidsFit is an interactive health and wellness website for children, teens and families that offers a free, online personal trainer. The workouts and activities featured on KidsFit require no equipment or gym memberships, making it accessible to children and teens of all skill levels. The website ? www.hy-veekidsfit.com ? also features fun workout videos, nutrition blogs written by Hy-Vee dietitians and health lessons.

"At Hy-Vee, we want to make it easier for kids and families to make healthier choices. With its easy, fun format, Hy-Vee KidsFit inspires families to establish good fitness and nutritional habits in their daily lives," said Andy McCann, executive vice president and chief health officer at Hy-Vee.

"We know that not every child has the access or interest to play organized sports. We hope a broad range of kids can use the free KidsFit tools to stay active and healthy. Even children who participate in sports can benefit from having equipment-free workouts and tutorials on their computers or phones," McCann added.

The program was developed by certified personal trainer Daira Driftmier, who also serves as the online fitness coach on KidsFit.

"I am excited to help children and families learn more about health, exercise and nutrition," Driftmier said. "My goal is to inspire the next generation to commit to making healthy choices. I want kids to see that fitness is fun and show them how to make it part of their daily routine so they can be healthy for life."

As part of KidsFit, children ages 7-17 and their families can sign up for the 5-Week Challenge, which provides kids with a structure to take control of their personal health and fitness. Participants will earn virtual trophies and badges to help monitor their progress during the 5-Week Challenge, and they will be encouraged to stick to their goals through Driftmier's videos.

Hy-Vee KidsFit was recently introduced at the Exercising Your Character event in Des Moines, Iowa, which teaches fourth- and fifth-grade students about physical fitness, goal setting and character development. To celebrate the announcement, more than 7,300 children from 82 Iowa schools attempted to break the Guinness World Record for most individuals performing jumping jacks simultaneously.

For more information, visit www.hy-veekidsfit.com, or follow Hy-Vee KidsFit on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hyveekidsfit.

(Le Claire, Iowa - May 28, 2015)   Mike Wolfe, creator and star of HISTORY's® series "American Pickers" and  proprietor of landmark Antique Archaeology, is hosting Iowa's first KID PICKER FLEA MARKET on Saturday, June 13, 10am to 4pm at the Le Claire Levee.  The event, designed by Wolfe to continue to encourage kids to collect, learn about, buy and sell their picks, is open to vendors ages 7 to 13 and to shoppers of all ages, and will be filmed by the "American Pickers" television crew for a Season 7 episode of the network's hit show.

Kid Pickers and their families, along with the general public, are invited to the Levee, just steps away from downtown Le Claire and the original Antique Archaeology store, to share and shop.  There will be live music throughout the day, and the opportunity to see Wolfe, along with co-stars Frank Fritz and Danielle Colby as they meet and talk with the young Pickers.

The Twilight, a Mississippi riverboat, will be hosting the Kid Pickers on a sunset cruise at the end of the day.  Tickets are also available for friends and families.

Wolfe, who wrote (with co-author Lily Sprengelmeyer) the popular KID PICKERS: HOW TO TURN JUNK INTO TREASURE (Feiwell & Friends), was born and raised in Le Claire and the Quad Cities.

Davenport to Read and Celebrate The Great Gatsby During The Big Read

June 2, 2015– The Davenport Public Library is a recipient of a grant of $10,000 to host The Big Read in Davenport. A program of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Big Read broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Managed by Arts Midwest, this initiative offers grants to support innovative community reading programs designed around a single book. The Davenport Public Library is one of 75 nonprofit organizations to receive a grant to host a Big Read project between September 2015 and June 2016. The Big Read in Davenport will focus on The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and activities will take place during October 2015.

NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, "The Big Read is a powerful example of how the arts can bring communities together and help us to connect with one another. These 75 organizations are creating valuable opportunities for their communities to share wonderful stories and characters and to have meaningful conversations."

The Big Read provides communities nationwide with the opportunity to read, discuss, and celebrate one of 37 selections from U.S. and world literature. The 75 selected organizations will receive Big Read grants to promote and carry out community-based reading programs. The NEA has also developed high-quality, free-of-charge educational materials to supplement each title, including reader's guides, teacher's guides, and audio programming, all of which are available to the public on neabigread.org.

Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America's rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. For more information, visit arts.gov.

Arts Midwest promotes creativity, nurtures cultural leadership, and engages people in meaningful arts experiences, bringing vitality to Midwest communities and enriching people's lives. Based in Minneapolis, Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest's history spans more than 25 years. For more information, please visit artsmidwest.org.