Scholarship application available for high school seniors interested in STEM degree

The Quad-City Engineering and Science Council, or QCESC, has released its 2016 scholarship application at www.qcesc.org . Applications must be mailed by January 22, 2016. The scholarships will be awarded at its 54th annual National Engineers Week banquet on February 25^th, 2016. This will be the 22nd year of awarding college scholarships to encourage high school students planning to major in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Last year 12 scholarships were awarded worth $20,500. Funding comes from QCESC member societies, industry, and regional universities.

The scholarships are awarded based on academics, extracurricular activities including work and community service, and leadership experience. The applicants' essays on career goals and why they are interested in the STEM field round out how these applications are evaluated. High school seniors from Carroll, Henry, Knox, Lee, Mercer, Rock Island, and Whiteside counties in Illinois; and Clinton, Louisa, Muscatine, and Scott counties in Iowa are eligible to apply.

The Quad City Engineering and Science Council (QCESC) is an umbrella organization representing 30 technical societies in the Quad City region with approximately 5,000 associated members. The QCESC is non-profit organized in 1963. Its mission is to Promote and support engineering, science, and technical professionals and associated societies in the Quad City Region and to also support and encourage students in the Quad City Region to study in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) related fields.

UPDATE:  - The Scott County Sheriff's Office says registered sex offender Ben Sanders will not make the move to Scott County. The Sheriff's office notified the Department of Human Resources today that he will not make the move. This move may still occur at a later date in which the Sex Offender Task Force will do another public notification. Sanders was set to move into the 1400 block of Bridge Avenue in Davenport later today.

On October 13th 2015 Ben Lee Sanders, aka: Todd Brown, Sandman Sanders, is required to register as a Sex Offender in Iowa. He will be residing in the City of Davenport.
Sanders was convicted in Scott County in 1966 for Rape: Iowa statute of 698.1.
Sander was also convicted of a second offense in 1987 in Scott County for Sexual Abuse 2nd degree: Iowa statute 709.3. In 2011 Sanders was placed in the custody of the Department of Human Services after being court committed as a sexually violent predator.
Sanders is classified as a Tier III offender and is subject to prohibited employment.
No action should be taken against Ben Sanders by the general public. However, any suspicious activity by him should be reported to your local law enforcement agency.
More information on Sanders can be obtained from the Iowa Sex Offender Registry at: http://www.iowasexoffender.com .

Loebsack's RURAL Act will provide necessary support for rural schools

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack announced today that he will be hosting a series of roundtables throughout Iowa to discuss his legislation, the Restructuring Underutilized Resources for Advancing Learning (RURAL) Act. Throughout the week, Loebsack will be making stops in Tipton, DeWitt, Eldridge, Washington, Knoxville, Oskaloosa, Eldon, Sigourney, Tiffin, Mt. Pleasant and West Liberty, among others. At each roundtable, Loebsack will be joined by school administrators, principals, teachers and other support staff. Media are invited to attend.

MONDAY, October 12

Tipton "Expanding Opportunities for Rural Students" Tour

Tipton High School

Library

400 E. 6th St.

10:00am

NOTE: All media must check in at the school's front office.

DeWitt "Expanding Opportunities for Rural Students" Tour

Central High School

519 E. 11th St.

Noon

NOTE: All media must check in at the school's front office.

Eldridge "Expanding Opportunities for Rural Students" Tour

North Scott High School

200 S. 1st St.

1:20pm

NOTE: All media must check in at the school's front office.

TUESDAY, October 13

Washington "Expanding Opportunities for Rural Students" Tour

Washington Community School District

404 West Main Street

10:00am

NOTE: All media must check in at the school's front office.

Columbus Junction "Expanding Opportunities for Rural Students" Tour

Columbus Community High School

1004 Colton Street

11:30am

NOTE: All media must check in at the school's front office.

Mediapolis "Expanding Opportunities for Rural Students" Tour

Mediapolis Community School District

821 North Northfield

1:30pm

NOTE: All media must check in at the school's front office.

About the RURAL Act

Rural schools have fewer financial resources than non-rural schools, which has resulted in teacher recruitment and retention challenges, digital learning barriers, and a lack of quality after-school programs. This legislation, which is comprised of four key components, is focused on supporting rural communities in order to ensure students attending rural schools are not forgotten. The RURAL Act has been endorsed by various organizations and associations such as the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

Des Moines - The Iowa Finance Authority today announced that a new Workforce Housing Loan Program is now available to communities with a need for additional rental housing as a result of local employment growth. The program has a total of $5 million available to provide financial assistance in the form of low-cost repayable loans to cities and counties.

"Jobs are moving into communities all throughout our state. These jobs are both attracting current Iowans to move within the state as well giving us the opportunity to welcome new Iowans," said Governor Terry Branstad. "This employment growth is in-turn creating the need for additional workforce housing and this program will allow communities to increase available housing stock to meet that demand."

"Iowa has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and ranks among the top places to raise a family," said Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds. "Affordable housing is at the core of thriving families and communities all across Iowa and the new Workforce Housing Loan Program will help to ensure our workforce has housing options in close proximity to their jobs."

The Workforce Housing Loan Program is available to all cities in Iowa on a competitive basis. Cities with populations of less than 50,000 that have shown an annual job growth during the last three years will be awarded additional points. Local contributing financial effort, employer investment in the proposed workforce housing project and designated Home Base Iowa or Iowa Great Places communities are also considerations in the competitive scoring process, among others.

"This program is a win-win for Iowa communities and their workforce," said Iowa Finance Authority Executive Director Dave Jamison. "The Iowa Finance Authority is proud to offer this program and work in partnership with Iowa communities to fulfill the need for additional workforce housing."

The maximum loan amount per project is the lesser of $1 million or $50,000 per assisted workforce housing rental unit. The loans will have a one percent interest rate with a maximum term of twenty years. Workforce housing units shall not be age restricted and will be limited to households earning 140 percent or less of the statewide median income as published by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Applications in the initial Workforce Housing Loan Program funding round are due to the Iowa Finance Authority by November 2, 2015. More information on the program is available at IowaFinanceAuthority.gov/WHLP.

The Iowa Legislature created the Iowa Finance Authority, the state's housing finance agency, in 1975 to undertake programs to assist in the attainment of housing for low-and moderate-income Iowans.

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