City Circle Acting Company opens its 18th season with John Heimbuch's William Shakespeare's Land of the Dead on October 18-20.  Performances are October 16 and 17 at 7:30 pm  and October 18 at 2:00 pm.

Described by Director Patrick DuLaney as "a bizarre mashup of Shakespeare in Love and The Walking Dead," the play tells the tale of the 1599  zombie plague in Elizabethan London, just as Shakespeare is premiering his play, Henry V at the newly-constructed (and strong enough to keep out the "Afflicted") Globe Theatre. The play takes you backstage when Shakespeare and his company of players have just finished the opening night performance of Henry V. Before they can celebrate, they become aware of a plague in London that allows the "Afflicted" to rise from death.  The newly-constructed Globe is the safest place in town, so everybody who's anybody seeks shelter there and the characters must learn how to survive amongst both the undead and each other. " I'm so excited to bring Land of the Dead to this community," says Director DuLaney. "It's got everything?sword duels, wordplay, amazing makeup effects from Andrew Burlage, and an unbelievably great professional-grade cast. You won't want to miss this brand new, unique theatre experience."

Tickets are $12-$27 and can be purchased online at coralvillearts.org or by calling 319.248.9370 or in person at the CCPA box office at 1301 5th Street.  Tickets are also available at the Coralville Recreation Center at 1506 8th Street. The show is sponsored by Ken Krizan.

City Circle Acting Company is the resident theater company of the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts and Coralville's community theatre. Other shows in the 18th season include Oliver in December, Sweeney Todd in February, 1776 in May, and Kiss Me Kate in June.

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City Circle Acting Company is the community theater program of the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts. Since 1997, City Circle's mission has been the production of high quality dramatic, musical, and performing art pieces for the enjoyment of the public. The next City Circle production is Into the Woods (April 24-May 3).

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Owned and operated by the City of Coralville, the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts is dedicated to enriching the community and contributing to the vitality of Coralville by offering an accessible, affordable venue for a variety of performances, presentations, and public and private events. The 472 seat theater opened August 26, 2011 and has hosted performances from City Circle Acting Company, Orchestra Iowa, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Dan Knight, Lola Astanova, Lorie Line, Judy Carmichael, Jim McDonough, Nolte Academy of Dance, and many others. Coralville schools are also able to use the Center free of charge up to three times per year; 15 school events took place at the Center in the 2013-2014 school year. The Center was named 2012 Member of the Year by the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2015 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced nearly $3 million in grants to address critical issues affecting agriculturally-important plants and animals. The science developed from these grants will provide timely assistance and have an immediate impact for the agriculture community. The awards were made under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative's (AFRI) Critical Agricultural Research and Extension (CARE) program, and addresses priority areas of the 2014 Farm Bill.

"It is essential to promote partnerships between researchers, extension experts, and producers to ensure the success of American agriculture," said Sonny Ramaswamy, NIFA director. "The CARE program is centered on the swift identification of problems, creation of solutions, and prevention of interruptions or issues that impact farmers' ability to provide a safe and abundant food supply for our nation."

Fiscal year 2014 is the first year NIFA has made awards under the CARE program. Examples of what these grants will focus on include a project from the University of Georgia that is researching disease management practices for blueberries, particularly addressing the currently unknown life cycle time of the damaging Exobasidium leaf and fruit spot disease. An Extension project from Montana State University will be working directly with cattle producers to adopt sagebrush grazing techniques for their cattle that create a sustainable environment for the greater sage-grouse. Fiscal Year 2014 grants include :

• University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., $149,399
• University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., $149,580
• University of Georgia, Athens, Ga., $149,925
• University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, $149,884
• Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., $149,995
• Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., $149.988
• Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich., $149,655
• Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich., $149,899
• Montana State University, Bozeman, Mont., $149,924
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Neb., $148,203
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Neb., $148,209
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Neb., $150,000
• Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., $150,000
• North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C., $149,800
• Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa., $150,000
• South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D., $149,999
• University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, Tenn., $150,000
• University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt., $141,807
• Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., $149,837
• University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisc., $149,992

AFRI is NIFA's flagship competitive grants program and was established under the 2008 Farm Bill. The AFRI Foundational Program addresses six priority areas to continue building a foundation of knowledge in fundamental and applied food and agricultural sciences critical for solving current and future societal challenges. The six priority areas include : plant health and production and plant products; animal health and production and animal products; food safety, nutrition and health; renewable energy, natural resources and environment; agriculture systems and technology; and agriculture economics and rural communities.

NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education, and extension and seeks to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges. To learn more about NIFA's impact on agricultural science, visit nifa.usda.gov/impacts or follow us on Twitter: @usda_nifa #NIFAimpacts.

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Davenport, Iowa (October 9, 2015) - Edward S. Curtis: One Hundred Masterworks will be on view at the Figge Art Museum beginning Saturday in the third floor gallery. The exhibition features a selection of 100 images of the Native American people of the United States taken by renowned photographer Edward S. Curtis.

In 1900, Edward Curtis (born in 1868) set out on a monumental quest to make an unprecedented, comprehensive record of the North American Indian. He traveled to Alaska, the Southwest and the Great Plains in search of his subjects. Over the next 30 years he produced more than 40,000 photographs of Native peoples. The culmination of his project resulted in a 20-volume, 20 portfolio set of handmade books entitled: The North American Indian?one of the most ambitious publishing projects in American history.

With an approximate cost of $35 million in today's dollars, Curtis' effort involved more than 100 assistants, artisans, salespeople and support staff, and required the collaboration of an estimated 10,000 Native Americans who posed or otherwise assisted the photographer. The project bankrupted him and ruined his health, and he died in obscurity in 1952, but today his work is considered a masterpiece of photography and a priceless record of Native American culture.

Visitors to the One Hundred Masterworks exhibition will have the opportunity to view well-known and rare images of Native Americans that range from portraits, including notables such as Red Cloud, to traditional scenes and ceremonies. Included are platinum prints, goldtones, cyanotypes and the more common photogravures, drawn from the largest existing collection of Curtis' work. The photographs are increasingly prized for their artistic value and present a historical record of enormous and irreplaceable importance.

One Hundred Masterworks will be on display October 10, 2015-January 17, 2016 and is sponsored by The Hunt and Diane Harris Family Foundation.

The Edward S. Curtis: One Hundred Masterworks book by collector, curator and Curtis authority Christopher Cardozo will be available for purchase in the Museum Store.

COMPANION EVENTS:
Opening Reception 

Friday, October 9

5:30 p.m. Members' Reception

7 p.m. Curator Talk

Members are invited to partake in light appetizers in the lobby to celebrate the opening of the exhibition. All are welcome at 7 p.m. to listen to collector, curator and Curtis authority Christopher Cardozo speak.

Documentary Film

7 p.m. Thursday, November 5

Language Healers tells the story of Native peoples striving to revitalize their languages and explores the importance of Native languages and cultures to Alaskans.

Talk

7 p.m. Thursday, November 19

Jane Simonsen, PhD, will present her research on Native American visual culture as it relates to the exhibition.

Family Day

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Saturday, January 9, 2016

Docent-led Tours

1:30 p.m. Saturday, October 17

1:30 p.m. Sunday, October 18

Free with museum admission

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9 p.m. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members, and free to all on Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

The Amana Heritage Society will host a concert by The Davenport Zither Ensemble of the German American Heritage Center at the Homestead Church Museum, 4210 V Street,  on Sunday, October 11 at 2:00 PM.

The Davenport Zither Ensemble has been playing together for thirteen years.  Beginning with four zither players, under the able guidance and direction of Donald Ockelmann, the ensemble has had a simple mission statement: "To encourage and grow new zither players."  They have continued this mission with their zither-to-loan program and currently have ten zither players, making them the largest community zither group in the United States.

The ensemble practices every Saturday at the German American Heritage Center in Davenport, Iowa, where they also perform several concerts a year.  They enjoy coming to the Amana Colonies to share some German favorites as well as some American standards.

The concert is free and open to the public.  Free will donations will be accepted.  For further information contact the Amana Heritage Society at 319-622-3567or amanaheritage@southslope.net.