02 Nov 2015

National FFA Organization Selects 2015-16 Officers

By Kristy Meyer

INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015/National FFA Organization) - Students from Arkansas, Tennessee, Ohio, Iowa, Georgia and Utah have been elected by delegates from throughout the United States to serve on the 2015-16 National FFA Officer team.

Taylor McNeel of Arkansas, an agricultural business major at Southern Arkansas University, was elected president. Nick Baker of Tennessee, an agricultural communications major at the University of Tennessee, will serve as secretary.

Sydney Snider of Ohio, an agricultural communications major at The Ohio State University, was elected eastern region vice president and Abrah Meyer of Iowa, an agricultural business major at Iowa State University, will serve as central region vice president.

Abbey Gretsch of Georgia, an agricultural communications major at the University of Georgia, was elected southern region vice president and Sarah Draper of Utah, an agricultural education major at Utah State University, will serve as western region vice president.

Each year at the National FFA Convention & Expo, six students are elected by delegates to represent the organization as National FFA officers. Delegates elect a president, secretary and vice presidents representing the central, southern, eastern and western regions of the country.

National officers commit to a year of service to the National FFA Organization. Each travels more than 100,000 national and international miles to interact with business and industry leaders, thousands of FFA members and teachers, corporate sponsors, government and education officials, state FFA leaders, the general public and more. The team will lead personal growth and leadership training conferences for FFA members throughout the country and help set policies that will guide the future of FFA and promote agricultural literacy.

The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 629,367 student members who belong to one of 7,757 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

# # #

02 Nov 2015

Governor Announces Appointment - 10/30/2015

By Catherine Kelly

CHICAGO - Governor Bruce Rauner has appointed Pamela McDonough to the Illinois Capital Development Board. She brings more than 30 years of experience in both the public and private sectors to the board.

McDonough is the President of the DeAngelo McDonough Construction Management Company. She has been with the construction management company since 2003. She also serves as President of McDonough Enterprises, Ltd., which is a business development company that performs technical assistance and association management for not-for-profits. Before this work, McDonough served as the first woman director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. Under her leadership Illinois ranked first in the nation for economic development in 2001 and 2002. She also served in many other state government leadership roles including serving as Deputy Director of the Capital Development Board from 1992 to 1995.

McDonough is an active member of the community. She sits on the Affirmative Action Advisory Board, the Federation of Women Contractors Board, the Women's Business Development Center Board and the Wilbur Wright College President's Advisory Committee.

McDonough earned her bachelor's degree from Northeastern Illinois University and earned a Master's in Public Administration from Sangamon State University. She lives in Chicago.
02 Nov 2015

Grassley Q&A: Rx Rip-Offs

By Grassley Press

Q: What can Congress do to address the high prices for prescription medicines?

A:  There's no doubt that the price of prescription medicines is a big concern for Iowans. This issue comes up repeatedly at my town meetings. It's not only a pocketbook issue that squeezes household budgets. It's a matter of affording life-saving access to medicine to treat cancer, or paying for prescription drugs that help improve the quality of life for family members suffering from chronic diseases, such as arthritis, diabetes and epilepsy, as an example. Thanks to innovation, research and development, modern medicine is performing medical miracles that are keeping patients healthier, stronger and living longer. By most every measure, from research and development to clinical trials and everything else that goes into bringing a drug to market, it requires significant investment and financial capital. Companies that have invested in costly and lengthy research and development to create the next modern miracle drugs should be able to reap the benefits of their investment in innovation. We also want to ensure that consumers have access to more choice and cheaper alternatives as soon as possible. My bipartisan Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act is a good place to start. It would fix an anti-competitive practice in which a brand name drug company pays a generic competitor to keep its products off the market. It's a business arrangement often referred to as "pay-for-delay."

Q: How do pay-for-delay deals work?

A: Consumers are paying artificially higher prices for certain drugs that are on the market. What's happening is brand name drug companies are paying certain generic drug companies to delay bringing their product to market. They are reaching patent settlement agreements that twist logic on its head. This pay-to-delay practice is anti-competitive and unlawful. A 2014 report from the Federal Trade Commission listed 29 potential pay-for-delay settlements that involved 21 brand name pharmaceutical products. The FTC reported the combined U.S. sales for these brand name drugs reached roughly $4.3 billion. When brand name pharmaceutical giants use anti-competitive "pay-for-delay" agreements to keep less expensive generics off the pharmacy store shelves, it prevents competition from putting downward pressure on retail drug prices. Ultimately, these sweetheart deals are keeping more affordable prescription drugs out of consumers' medicine cabinets. Pay-for-delay drives up out-of-pocket costs for sick patients. Such anti-competitive pay-offs are rip-offs to consumers and the taxpaying public.

Q: How would your bill fix this problem?

A: My bill would prevent brand name drug companies from subverting a 1984 federal law that was designed to foster market entry of generic drugs and preserve incentives for innovation in the pharmaceuticals industry. Consumers know that generic drugs generally cost less than brand name drugs. In fact, they can cost up to 90 percent less. And federal tax dollars pay an estimated 38.6 percent of prescription medicine in the United States through Medicare and Medicaid. The taxpaying public's share is expected to rise to 47 percent within the next decade. So when generic makers and brand name drug manufacturers enter financial agreements that provide a benefit to the generic company so long as it agrees to limit, delay or stay out of the market - consumers and taxpayers get the short end of the stick.  As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction of the nation's anti-trust and patent laws, I am keenly tuned in to our nation's historical embrace of patent protections to foster innovation, ownership and prosperity in America, as well as the need to be vigilant about abusive behavior that harms Americans. I am working to uphold and strengthen this legacy to help ensure the marketplace operates fair and square for consumers, innovators, entrepreneurs and taxpayers. Straightening out anti-competitive practices that are turning patent policy on its head is the right thing to do for the public good, from individual patients to the public health and the public purse.
02 Nov 2015

Budget deal is missed opportunity to address runaway spending, Grassley says

By Grassley Press

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa made the following comment on his vote against the budget deal approved by the Senate early this morning, October 30, 2015.

"Government shutdowns don't save money. They cost money, and they're best avoided.  Defaulting on the nation's debts is also something to avoid.  But this budget deal lifts the debt ceiling to enable new borrowing while missing opportunities to address long-term runaway spending and deficit problems. This bill will raise our already $18.1 trillion debt ceiling by hundreds of billions of dollars, without a single dollar of spending reduction in exchange.  It increases spending by $112 billion over the next two years, and pays for it with bad policy such as a $3 billion cut to crop insurance and raiding the crime victims fund and gimmicks such as oil sales and spectrum sales.  It undoes the bipartisan promise Congress made in 2011 to rein in runaway spending.  The lack of leadership from President Obama to take on the drivers of our long-term deficits and debt helped put us in this position.  This is a bad deal for America today, and it's even worse for our children and grandchildren.  This also was a bad deal on process.  The 144-page bill was put together behind closed doors, and members had just a couple days before voting on it.  This didn't give the Senate much of a chance as the deliberative body it's supposed to be."
02 Nov 2015

Red Cross encourages blood donations to help ensure a sufficient supply throughout the holidays

By Tracy Fox

(Oct. 30, 2015) - The American Red Cross encourages eligible donors to give blood to help ensure a sufficient blood supply throughout the holiday season.

A seasonal decline in donations often occurs from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day when donors get busy with family gatherings and travel. However, patients don't get a holiday vacation from needing lifesaving transfusions. In fact, every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood.

Lorie Alwes remembers her father being called often to give blood - even on holidays. He had type O negative blood, the universal blood type. "One time it was in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner and off he went without hesitation," she recalls. "He explained to us kids that his blood was used in emergency situations and could possibly save another life."

Years later, Alwes learned that she also has type O negative blood. She has since donated whenever needed and has encouraged her 17-year-old son to carry on the lifesaving family tradition that was so important to his grandfather.

Donors with all blood types are needed, and especially those with types O negative, B negative, A negative and AB. All those who come to donate Nov. 25-29 will get a Red Cross mixing spoon and celebrity chef recipe set, while supplies last.

To make an appointment to donate blood, people can download the Red Cross Blood Donor App from app stores, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Upcoming blood donation opportunities:

Carroll County, IL

Milledgeville

11/16/2015: 1 p.m. - 6 p.m., Milledgeville Men's Club, 204 S Main Ave

_______________

Henry County, IL

Woodhull

11/20/2015: 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., Woodhull Alwood High School, 301 East 5th

_______________

Lee County, IL

Dixon

11/17/2015: 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Borg Warner, 1350 Franklin Grove Rd.

Paw Paw

11/16/2015: 2 p.m. - 6 p.m., Paw Paw High School, 511 Chapman

_______________

Mercer County, IL

Aledo

11/17/2015: 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., VFW Hall, 106 SW 3rd Ave.

_______________

Whiteside County, IL

Fulton

11/24/2015: 8 a.m. - 1 p.m., Robert Fulton Community Center, 912 4th St.

Morrison

11/19/2015: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., United Methodist Church, 200 West Lincolnway

Rock Falls

11/18/2015: 2 p.m. - 6 p.m., Rock Falls Blood Donation Center, 112 W. Second St.

11/25/2015: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Rock Falls Blood Donation Center, 112 W. Second St.

How to donate blood

Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver's license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

Blood donors can now save time at their next donation by using RapidPass to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, prior to arriving at the blood drive. To get started and learn more, visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass and follow the instructions on the site.

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.


###
02 Nov 2015

$43 million gas station in Afghanistan, Defense Department obfuscation over soaring cost

By Grassley Press

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has prepared a report on a compressed natural gas filling station in Afghanistan that cost $43 million, many times more than it should have.   A similar station in Pakistan cost no more than $500,000 to construct.  SIGAR said the Defense Department is ill-prepared to explain the enormous cost over-run.  Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a long-time watcher of wasteful spending, made the following comment on the report.

"This is shocking in multiple ways. The cost of an unnecessary gas station in Afghanistan skyrocketed to a ridiculous height.  Now, the Department of Defense is blocking access to documents and personnel that would shed light on how the money was spent.  The inspector general's auditors have had access only to non-Defense Department documents.  In those documents, they couldn't find any audit trail to show how the original estimated cost escalated to the final $43 million cost.  Under the law, government employees are not authorized to spend tax dollars without proper documentation like contracts, invoices, receiving reports and payment vouchers.   If those documents don't exist, that's a huge problem.  The lack of accountability and transparency is disgraceful.    The Defense Department needs to come clean, drop the obfuscation, and hold people responsible for a colossal waste of tax dollars."
02 Nov 2015

Nov. 3 Frieze Lecture Considers a More Infamous Product of 1915

By Lisa Lockheart

Rock Island, IL: The Nov. 3 Frieze Lecture at the Rock Island Library will consider the events surrounding the Feb. 8, 1915 release of the controversial film Birth of a Nation.

 

Contemporary reaction included large crowds, widespread protests, and a campaign by the NAACP to ban the film. Augustana College professor of political science Dr. Christopher Whitt will discuss some of those events, and how racism in entertainment affects politics. The free lecture takes place at 2:00 pm at the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street, Rock Island.

The annual Frieze Lecture partnership features free public library talks by Augustana College professors (without tests or grades) and discussions afterward over coffee and cookies. The series is named after the decorative architectural frieze on the exterior of the Main Library.

All presentations begin at 2:00 pm, in the Rock Island Main Library Community Room, 401 19th Street. Additional presentations in this year's "1915: A Landmark Year" lecture series include a Nov. 10 talk by Farah Marklevits on the legacy of two 1915 poems: Robert Frost's Road Not Taken and TS Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, as well as a rescheduled lecture by Dr. Cecilia Vogel on Nov. 17 on Albert Einstein's 1915 Theory of Relativity.

Events are free and open to the public.  For more free programs, visit www.rockislandlibrary.org, call 309-732-READ or pick up a fall events brochure at the Rock Island Main Library, 30/31 or Southwest Branches.

###

02 Nov 2015

Coast Guard leaders from Arctic Nations sign historic joint statement

By Sarah M. Janaro

NEW LONDON, CT - A joint statement, officially establishing the Arctic Coast Guard Forum (ACGF), was signed today by leaders representing all eight coast guard agencies of the Arctic nations.

The Arctic Coast Guard Forum (ACGF) is an operationally-focused, consensus-based organization with the purpose of leveraging collective resources to foster safe, secure, and environmentally responsible maritime activity in the Arctic. Membership includes Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Russian Federation, and the United States.

"The United States is proud to join fellow Arctic nations at this inaugural Arctic Coast Guard Forum," said Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. "The Arctic is crucial to our shared security, and this declaration underscores our commitment to cooperating with our international partners as we navigate this challenging and changing region."

"Today's historic Arctic Coast Guard Forum represents a critical step forward in our collective efforts to promote safety, security and environmentally-responsible maritime activity in the Arctic," said U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft.  "As the ocean becomes more accessible to human activity, all Arctic nations have committed to enhancing maritime cooperation in this remote and challenging environment."

The signing ceremony marked the successful conclusion of a summit held at the United States Coast Guard Academy on October 28-30, 2015. The ACGF will reconvene for an Experts Meeting in spring 2016.

For more photos, please go to https://www.dvidshub.net/image/2258509/coast-guard-arctic-forum

Date: Oct 30, 2015

###

02 Nov 2015

Governor Takes Bill Action 10/30/2015

By Rick Martin

CHICAGO - Governor Bruce Rauner took action today on the following bill:

Bill No.: HB 3540

An Act Concerning Regulation

Action: Signed

Effective: Immediate

###
02 Nov 2015

L&D15 MARKS FIRST ANNIVERSARY WITH MEN'S FASHION PRESENTATION

By Rick Martin
L&D15 marks it's first year anniversary with a guy's night out on Saturday, November 14, starting at 7pm. The night will feature a fashion presentation from men's clothing designer Harmsen, music and hors d'ouvres.
"When we first opened a year ago, we led with fashion, and we want to continue to be known as a style-driven boutique for both women and men," states Lopeti Etu, co-founder at L&D15.
"Harmsen has been a gift to us, as they are both a locally owned company, and provide a level of personalized service to their clients," explains co-founder David Balluff.  "Being able to make an appointment and have yourself fitted for a fashion forward custom shirt is in keeping with our goal of being a new style of retail in the Quad Cities."
Harmsen is a locally owned label making high quality men's dress shirts and accessories. Their shirts, which are available off the rack or by custom order, are made from rich Egyptian and Italian cottons in a number of styles and patterns. In addition, Harmsen gives a percentage of their sales each year to charitable causes.
L&D15 is a new style of retail for the Quad Cities, featuring clothing, accessories and home wares for both men and women. In 2013, co-owners David Balluff and Lopeti Etu moved here from Brooklyn, NY with the idea of opening a store that would also serve as production space for Balluff's silkscreen t-shirt company, General Assembly, and Etu's millinery label. L&D15 also serves as an exclusive area outlet for New York clothing designers San & Soni, and celebrity jeweler Me & Ro, as well as a venue for local artists and craftspeople.
L&D15 will also be hosting one of it's occasional Saturday Night Social events on November 7th, from 7-10pm. The events give customers and friends an opportunity to sip, shop and mingle.
L&D15 is located at 520 W. 2nd Street, between Scott and Western, in downtown Davenport. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10am - 7pm, Sunday 12 - 5pm.
For more information, visit LandD15.com or Harmsen.co

Pages

more

Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts

On Stands Now

 

Tagged Content

    

Two Ways to Subscribe

1. Subscribe to free weekly e-mail content updates.

You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Real Astrology and RCR Crossword every week?) 

Subscribe!

* indicates required

2. Get 12 monthly issues mailed first class for $48

Get 12 issues mailed monthly for $48 per year.

Get the printed Reader edition mailed to you (or anyone you want) first-class for 12 months for $48.
$24 goes to postage and handling, $24 goes to keeping the doors open!

Click this link to Subscribe now.

 
 

Meetings Calendar

Kids Calendar

Eat & Drink Calendar