Explore La Crosse is pleased to announce the first annual La Crosse Regional Tourism Expo and Hospitality Job Fair, a showcase for businesses, organizations, and individuals who attract visitors to the La Crosse area, Mississippi River Valley, and its surrounding communities. Taking place December 3rd in La Crosse Wisconsin, this event is a celebration of the area's dynamic and vital travel and tourism industry, which employs thousands and accounts for millions in economic impact, making it one of the region's largest industries. The Expo serves as a reminder of the crucial role tourism plays in our local economy and intends to bring area leaders, communities, and individuals together for a conversation on regional tourism and collaboration.

La Crosse Regional Tourism Expo and Hospitality Job Fair, will be held on Thursday, December 3, 2015 in the La Crosse Center 10am to 5pm. Participating area businesses will be showcasing their attractions, activities, and services to fellow stakeholders in the industry as well as to the community at large.

Explore La Crosse invites area travel and tourism-related businesses to participate and engage in this celebration, as well as to encourage employees, customers, and clientele to attend the Expo to converse, partner and learn more about what this region has to offer.

Businesses and individuals from the following counties are encouraged to exhibit: La Crosse (WI), Vernon (WI), Trempealeau (WI), Monroe (WI), Jackson (WI), Wabasha (MN), Winona (MN) , Houston (MN), Fillmore (MN), Winneshiek (IA), and Allamakee (IA).

Other events throughout the day include lightning talks, demos, raffles, food and refreshments from local restaurants, live entertainment, a new tourism ambassador program and more.

Admission is free but registration is required. Exhibitor space is available for $35.00 for job fair exhibitors and $50.00 for tourism & travel exhibitors and includes the opportunity to present or demo an experience, product, or service during the event.

For more information visit http://explorelacrosse.com/expo and download the event app for updates on exhibitors, schedule, and networking events during the expo

PORT BYRON, Ill. - State Rep. Mike Smiddy, D-Hillsdale, joined officials from AT&T Monday to recognize the Tri-County Opportunities Council, a Rock Falls-based community service provider, and present a grant that will help the organization continue working to expand access to job training, educational opportunities and assistance for working families.

"The Tri-County Opportunities Council provides thousands of local families with resources to help them make ends meet during difficult times, and I'm thankful AT&T values their contributions to our community as much as I do," Smiddy said. "The governor's budget veto has threatened a number of important services, but we're fortunate that dedicated organizations like The Tri-County Opportunities Council are continuing to put the needs of local families first. This award is in recognition of the important role they play in our community."

The Tri-County Opportunities Council provides a number of services to families in Whiteside County, Carroll County and the surrounding area, including job training, home energy assistance and scholarships. AT&T and Rep. Smiddy selected Tri-Counties for the Investing in Illinois Award and presented the group with a $2,000 grant to recognize and continue their important work on behalf of local families.

Nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year in Texas, Branson entertainer, Jeff Gordon, arrives in Coralville, Iowa, September 22nd, 2015 to perform one show only at Coralville Center for the Performing Arts.  With his wide range of talent and musical ability, Jeff spends his time crisscrossing the country between Texas, Florida and the midwest, performing his music.  Jeff also is a Nashville recording artist with a cd of his own original music that has been heard throughout the USA and Europe.

On September 22nd, Jeff will be performing one of his most requested variety shows.  The first half of the show is a celebration of music, and will include country (Conway Twitty, Marty Robbins  & Johnny Cash), 50/60's Rock & Roll (Buddy Holly & Roy Orbison), Elvis and even a bit of Louis Armstrong and Dean Martin.  The second half of the show is a high energy show, as Jeff portrays and impersonates the legendary Tom Jones.   Folks who have seen Tom Jones perform in person, have shared with Jeff that if they sit back and close their eyes, they would swear they were listening to Tom Jones. Enjoy some of Tom's greatest hits including "Delilah", "It's Not Unusual" and "She's A Lady".

You can find out more information about Jeff by visiting his websites at JeffGordonShows.com and ATomJonesImpersonator.com.  You can also see videos at www.youtube.com/c/Jeffgordonshowsentertainment and  www.youtube.com/c/AtomjonesimpersonatorJeffGordon

Doors open at 6:30 and the performance begins at 7 pm.  For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit CoralvilleArts.org or call 319-248-9370.

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(DES MOINES) - Gov. E. Terry Branstad today signed a proclamation directing a special election to be held on Nov. 3, 2015, for Iowa House District 5, following the resignation of Chuck Soderberg who recently announced his resignation after being named as the new executive vice president for the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives.

House District 5 is comprised of Plymouth and a portion of Woodbury counties. The district includes the communities of Akron, Hinton, Le Mars, Lawton, Moville, and Pierson.  A full district map can be found here.

Iowa Code 69.14 outlines the authority given to the governor to set a special election. The proclamation setting the date of the special election can be found here.

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A Summer of Giving for the Ascentra Credit Union Foundation

BETTENDORF - The Ascentra Credit Union Foundation gave a total of $17,000 to 37 different charities and organizations throughout the region this summer. These efforts stem from the credit union's encouragement of staff to volunteer and give back to the community.  The foundation committee wanted to support the causes that the volunteer board of directors and senior leadership are active with and elected to allow them to give out $1,000 to their efforts and causes.  In total 37 organizations were positively impacted including:

  • American Red Cross Muscatine -Louisa Branch, Muscatine
  • Associate Benevolent Society, Clinton
  • Bettendorf Fine Arts Patron, Bettendorf
  • Bettendorf Rotary Club, Bettendorf
  • Bettendorf Soccer Association, Bettendorf
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley, Davenport
  • Central Community Educational Foundation, Dewitt
  • Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities, Moline
  • Christ's Family Day Care, Davenport
  • Churches United of the Quad Cities, Bettendorf
  • City Center Ministry, Davenport
  • Clinton Humane Society, Clinton
  • Community Health Care, Inc., Davenport
  • Davenport Chordbusters, Davenport
  • First Christian Reformed Church, Fulton
  • Gold Coast & Hamburg Historic District Association, Davenport
  • Habitat for Humanity Clinton
  • Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities
  • Henry County Humane Society, Geneseo
  • Humane Society of Scott County, Davenport
  • ILOWA Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Geneseo
  • Iowa Quad Cities Rotary Club, Davenport
  • King's Harvest Pet Rescue, Davenport
  • Muscatine Arboretum Association, Muscatine
  • Quad Citians Affirming Diversity, Rock Island
  • Quad City Animal Welfare Center, Milan
  • Quad City Hockey Association, Davenport
  • Rick's House of Hope, Davenport
  • River Bend Food Bank, Davenport
  • Rock Island Music Association, Rock Island
  • Safe Path Survivor Resources of Family Resources, Moline
  • Scott County Family YMCA, Davenport
  • Sterling Schools Foundation, Sterling
  • The 180 Zone, Davenport
  • The Pregnancy Center, Clinton
  • Thurgood Marshall Learning Center, Rock Island
  • YouthHope, Moline

"Our leadership team and volunteer board of directors are very passionate supporters of many worthy causes in our region.  The financial support through the Ascentra Credit Union Foundation enables us to make an even more profound impact for these great organizations!" said Ascentra President and CEO Dale Owen.  said Ascentra President and CEO Dale Owen.

The Ascentra Credit Union Foundation was established in 2013 as the charitable arm of the credit union to honor the memory of the credit union's late President and CEO Paul Lensmeyer and to meet the charitable and educational objectives of the Board of Directors of Ascentra Credit Union.

The foundation's first fundraiser will be the inaugural Paul Lensmeyer Golf Outing taking place at the Rock Island Arsenal Golf Club, on Monday, Sept. 28th.  For more information about the mission of the foundation or the golf outing visit ascentra.org/foundation.

One of the Quad Cities' favorite restaurants will host an event celebrating its customers and its last weekend operating at the downtown Bettendorf location.

Ross' Restaurant will host a customer appreciation event this Saturday, September 19th from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the downtown location (430 14th Street in Bettendorf). Activities will include a live band from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with some classic music from times gone by, followed by a local DJ spinning tunes from all of the decades Ross' has been in business. Children can enjoy a bounce house, and Ross' will be bringing back our Chili eating contest from 1980 with hopes of crowning a new champion. Ross' is rolling back the clock on menu pricing on one of its signature sandwiches and will be serving Rossburgers for $.50, and a Rossburger, fries and a pop for $1.00.

The announcement was made today by Melissa Freidhof-Rodgers, manager and granddaughter of founder Harold Ross. "We are so excited about our new restaurant and can't wait to share it with our community. We wanted to have this last weekend be a celebration of our beloved customers, many who have been coming in for our 75-plus years of operation. Ross' wouldn't be here if it weren't for all of them, and we would like to thank our customers for their support. On the toughest days, they are what got us through; their smiles, hugs and words of encouragement were so appreciated.

Ross' last day of operation will be Tuesday, September 22nd, closing the downtown location at 3 p.m. The restaurant will be opening its new location at 2297 Falcon Ave. in Bettendorf on September 30th.

Quad Cities: Over 200 athletes from across North America, both men and women, arrive in the Quad Cities the first weekend in October to compete for the National Title at this year's North American Strongman National Championships.  This is the first time the North American Strongman National Championships have been held in the Quad Cities.  The event takes place at the RiverCenter in downtown Davenport, Iowa.

The public is invited to all competitions.  They are held in the RiverCenter's Great Hall on Friday, October 2 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, October 3 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.   Admission to the event is $7 per person or $5 when you bring a non-perishable food item which will be donated to the local food pantry.

In addition to the competitions, there will be plenty of other activities going on at the RiverCenter including door prizes, health screenings, health and fitness vendors, and a variety of fun activities for the kids.

The athletes will be competing not only to become North America's Strongest, but they are also vying for a spot at the World Championships, that will be held early spring at the Arnold Schwarzenegger sports festival in Ohio.  Strongman Corporation chose the Quad Cities for the event, due to the known factor of the Quad Cities being a great sporting town that support a variety of sporting events.

This is the first time the North American Strongman National Championships have been held in the Quad Cities.  The event was secured through the efforts of the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Spectators have the opportunity to see amazing athletes in action during a variety of competitions.  On October 2, three events take place on opening day.  The Log Clean and Press competition gives athletes 60-seconds to get in as many lifting reps without touching the ground.  This is followed by Conan's Carry Yoke Walk where athletes have 60-seconds to carry a yoke in front of their body for 60-feet.  The day concludes with the Farmers challenge in which competitors have 60-seconds to carry farm implements for a distance of 60-feet.

The competition concludes on Saturday with two final events, the Push Pull Medley and Sand Bag Carry.  During the Push Pull Medley, competitors do a one-arm giant dumbbell press over their head followed by a one-arm deadlift pull.  Athletes must go back and forth between the press and pull.  A successful rep is one complete press and one complete pull.  They are judged on how many they can complete in 60-seconds.  The Sand Bag Carry and Load Medley gives each athlete 75-seconds to load four sandbags onto a platform.  Each sandbag is placed about 60-feet from the platform.

Strongman Corporation (SC) is the sole sanctioning and governing body for the sport of professional and amateur strongman events in the U.S.  SC provides athletes with opportunities by promoting numerous professional strongman contests across the country yearly.  These contests include America's Strongest Man®, the Olympia Strongman Challenge, the U.S. Nationals and Pro-Am and Platinum-Plus series.  SC also works directly with individual promoters, international representatives and strongman federations, world-wide to ensure that American athletes have opportunities abroad as well.

SC has the largest amateur-to-professional strongman system in the world.  SC has developed relationships world-wide that allows young athletes the time to mature in the amateur ranks while having the opportunity to compete in SC sanctioned events and earn their professional status.  SC also fosters the growth of strongman in the international community by advising countries and regions as they develop amateur-to-professional systems of their own.  SC hosts the annual Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships which sees international and American amateur strongman competitors compete for the World Champion title and professional strongman status.

Strongman Corporation is the premier amateur and professional strongman corporation in the world. Their mission is to provide quality strongman contests for the public while ensuring fair treatment for the competitors.

Headquartered in Maryland Heights, Missouri, they have a number of training facilities all over the world for new and veteran athletes.  Strongman Corporation has over 200 contests per year that qualify athletes to compete in the National Championships.  From the National Championships, athletes qualify to compete at the World Championships in March at the Arnold Classic.  For more information, visit strongmancorporation.com

Sponsors for the competition include New Age Performance, SBD Apparel, KT Tape, and McDougal Chiropractic Services. SBD is a global sportswear brand, founded to design and produce market-leading performance products in conjunction with their team of elite athletes, coaches and health professionals.  SBD produces special sleeves worn on the arms during powerlifting, crossFit and Strongman competitions.  SBD will have a vendor booth at the competition and will be selling their product.

KT Tape is an elastic sports and fitness tape designed for muscle, ligament, and tendon pain relief and support. KT tape will be on hand to help assure athletes safety and working hand in hand with Dr. Todd McDougal to help keep athletes in the event.

New Age Performance will also have a booth at the competition.  New Age Performance is taking the sports and fitness world by storm because there is nothing available on the market that provides the instantaneous athletic enhancing benefits of their Mouthware products.  It doesn't matter if you're a pro athlete or just a health conscious consumer, New Age Performance can help enhance your performance by experiencing increased strength, balance, flexibility, oxygen uptake, range of motion and grind protection.  Their Mouthware is the number one choice to help improve performance.

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(DES MOINES) -Governor Branstad today appointed David M. Porter as judge to the District Court in the 5C Judicial District.  Porter was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Richard G. Blane.

Porter, 38, of Johnston, currently serves as an Assistant Polk County Attorney.  Previously he served as an Assistant County Attorney in Wapello County and served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Drake University School of Law and as a Certified Legal Instructor for the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.  Porter received his bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland in 2000 and his law degree from Drake University in 2004.

"David Porter's intellect and strong work ethic make him well-suited for the district court," Branstad noted.  He further stated, "Mr. Porter is a skilled and talented attorney who has shown leadership in the courtroom and in his community as well."

Porter serves as a mentor with ManUp Iowa which serves as a group mentoring agency that provide a host of resources that assist in young men leading healthy and successful lives.  He competed nationally in Moot Court and Mock Trial teams while in law school and undergraduate school, receiving multiple awards and accolades.  Additionally, he served as Vice President of the Black Law Student Association, a representative on the Student Bar Association and a member of the Blackstone Inn of Court.

District 5 consists of the following counties: Adair, Adams, Clarke, Dallas, Decatur, Guthrie, Jasper, Lucas, Madison, Marion, Polk, Ringgold, Taylor, Union, Warren and Wayne.

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DAVENPORT, IA - On September 14, 2015, Adrian Romal Lomas (Lomas), 43, of Davenport, Iowa, was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge James E. Gritzner to 240 months in prison on the charge of bank robbery, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Lomas was also ordered to serve three years supervised release following the imprisonment, to pay $3,375 in restitution, and to pay $100 to the Crime Victims Fund.

On Friday, June 6, 2014, Adrian Romal Lomas and a 15-year-old boy entered the federally insured Family Credit Union on Jersey Ridge Road in Davenport at about 2:45 p.m. and robbed it. Lomas was a wearing a dark T-shirt, gloves, sunglasses, a baseball-type cap, and a bandana over his face. He had placed an authentic-looking, imitation firearm in his waistband which he showed the teller before demanding all of the money she had. Lomas made contact with the teller as he reached across the teller's counter to withdraw some of the money. Lomas placed the money in a backpack that was carried, at first, by the juvenile and then by Lomas. Lomas and the juvenile fled the bank and ran to an awaiting vehicle driven by a third person. Lomas got away with $4,075.00.

Lomas was arrested on June 11, 2014, at a motel in Moline, Illinois.

Trial of the matter commenced on May 19, 2015 in the United States Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa, and the jury returned a guilty verdict on May 22, 2015.
This matter was investigated by the Davenport Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad today issued a proclamation of disaster emergency for two counties in response to recent severe weather.

The governor's proclamation allows state resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from the effects of severe storm systems that affected Guthrie and Hamilton counties beginning Aug. 28, 2015, and continuing. In addition, the proclamation also activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Program for Guthrie and Hamilton counties.

The Iowa Individual Assistance Program provides grants of up to $5,000 for households with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or a maximum annual income of $40,180, for a family of three. Grants are available for home or car repairs, replacement of clothing or food, and for the expense of temporary housing. Original receipts are required for those seeking reimbursement for actual expenses related to storm recovery. The grant application and instructions are available on the Iowa Department of Human Services website. Potential applicants have 45 days from the date of the proclamation to submit a claim.

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