U.S. Agriculture Secretary also Traveling to Jordan to Sign Food Assistance Agreement

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2015 - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will travel to Istanbul, Turkey, next week to meet his counterparts at the G20 Agriculture Ministers Meeting that will focus on food security.

"The G20 ministerial provides an important platform for agricultural leaders to discuss efforts to improve food security around the world," said Vilsack. "From the U.S. perspective, reducing post-harvest loss and food waste play a major role in this effort. We also believe that nations must acknowledge the important role that science plays in increasing crop production and the role that open, rules-based trade can play in growing economies and fostering food security in the face of a changing climate."

The Group of Twenty (G20) is a forum for supporting international economic cooperation and decision-making. It comprises 19 countries plus the European Union. G20 members represent around 85 percent of global gross domestic product, over 75 percent of global trade, and two-thirds of the world's population. Turkey is serving as the president of the G20 in 2015. The Agriculture Ministers Meeting runs from May 7 to May 8.

Port Byron, IL - May is Bike Month! To celebrate, Port Byron, IL and Sparta, WI will kick off the inaugural Will to Ben bicycle ride with a news conference at 3 p.m. Friday, May 8 in downtown Port Byron, IL at the Will Be Rollin' statue. Port Byron Mayor Kevin Klute, other Quad Cities dignitaries, and officials from Sparta WI will provide information on this unique ride to occur between two communities and two states October 3-9, 2015.

Local members of the Quad Cities Bicycle Club and fans of the penny farthing bicycles will also be on hand to kick-off the event. It is hoped that this will become one of the Midwest's premier
annual bike rides linking the two 30 foot penny-farthing bicycles. "When the bicyclists leave Port Byron they 'Will B. Rolling;' when they reach Sparta they've 'Ben Bikin.'"

Background:

The Village of Port Byron, IL, the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Blackhawk Waterways Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Sparta, WI Chamber of Commerce, and communities in between have partnered to create the inaugural "Will B. Rolling to Ben Bikin" bicycle tour to be held October 3-9, 2015. The tour covers portions of Northwestern Illinois and Southwestern Wisconsin at a time of year when fall colors should be at their peak and when Sparta's Fallfest is in full swing to offer riders festivities at the conclusion of the tour. The ride covers six days, averaging 10 hours per day.

In 1995, Sparta designed and manufactured a large fiberglass "man" dressed in Sparta colors (red and gold), sitting on a penny-farthing bike. The bike and rider were installed in the Information Area on the corner of Water and Highway 16, a prominent spot for viewing, and were named "Ben Bikin." The statue was manufactured by a local Sparta company called Fiberglass Animals Shapes & Trademarks (F.A.S.T.).

In 2013, the Port Byron Mayor visited Sparta to ride the famous Elroy-Sparta Trail and was impressed with the statue. F.A.S.T. was commissioned to build a replica to be called Will B. Rolling, and it was installed in 2013 in a prominent location in downtown Port Byron, adjacent to the Mississippi River and the Great River Trail. The mayors began to discuss the possibility of connecting the two towns with a bicycling event. The Sparta Area Chamber of Commerce began collaborating between the two cities and eventually contracted with Bicycle Illinois to coordinate the logistics of the event.

To register go to www.willtoben.com

Other Announcements:

Quad City Get Out And Trail (GOAT) Event

Bettendorf, Davenport, Moline, and Rock Island Parks and Recreation Departments invite the public to participate in their annual GOAT event! This "Get Out And Trail" event will be held on Saturday, May 9, 2015 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Enjoy the many trails in the Quad Cities with your family and friends. The majority of the routes are on separated trails along the Mississippi River and Duck Creek in Iowa and the Rock River in Illinois. Walk, jog, bike, or rollerblade as much or as little of the many trails as you want and in any direction, starting from any location.

Various hosts will be located throughout the loop from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with refreshments available. There will also be raffle tickets given out to anyone visiting any of the rest stops, so be sure to stop by as many as you can to help your chances of winning great prizes! This is a free event, and no registration is needed. Maps of the routes are available at the following locations:

Bettendorf Parks and Recreation at (563)344-4113 or http://www.bettendorf.org/parks

Davenport Parks and Recreation at (563)328-7275 or

http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com/parks

Moline Parks and Recreation at (309) 524-2424 or http://www.molineparks.com

Rock Island Parks and Recreation at (309) 732-7275 or http://www.rigov.com

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Washington, D.C. - The bipartisan, bicameral Iowa delegation, led by Congressman Dave Loebsack, today called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide any assistance they can under their statutory authority to help affected states combat the recent outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI H5N2), also known as bird flu. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the Members of Congress detailed the vested interest that the USDA has in containing and preventing the spread of this outbreak. As of today, Iowa has had eight confirmed cases and four probable cases of bird flu, affecting more than 10 million birds. Iowa is the nation's leading egg-producing state.

"Iowa leads the nation in egg production, producing approximately 16.5 billion eggs annually, and is ninth in turkey production. Within the past month, the HPAI H5N2 virus has impacted one-sixth of Iowa's 59.5 million egg laying chickens and over 100,000 turkeys," the Members of Congress wrote. "While there is no known risk of HPAI H5N2 transferring to humans, stopping the spread quickly is necessary to safeguard our country's poultry and egg producers and ensuring a stable domestic supply of these foods that are an integral part of healthy diets for millions of Americans. Our nation has a vested interest in containing and preventing the spread to other Iowa communities and states, and ensuring consumers are not adversely impacted by increasing egg and poultry prices."

In the letter, the members of the Iowa delegation called on USDA to:

·         Provide communities battling the avian influenza with all available assistance;

·         Provide Members of Congress with time-sensitive updates on new cases and requests for further resources to help turkey farmers and egg producers; and

·         Inform Congress of the economic impact that the poultry and egg reductions will have on producers and consumers.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

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MOUNT VERNON, IA (04/30/2015)(readMedia)-- More than 200 students received academic awards from Cornell College on April 23.

Rachel Henning of De Witt earned membership in Beta Beta Beta (Biology Honorary Society).

Aubrey Kohl of Bettendorf earned the Alice Gehant Absher Award, membership in Phi Alpha Delta (Pre-law Honrary Society).

Kaylin Voss of Davenport earned the John Branner Shackford Shakespeare Prize.

Each year Cornell College honors outstanding academic achievement with a variety of collegewide, interdepartmental, and departmental awards.

One of the 40 "Colleges That Change Lives," Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, is a national liberal arts college with a distinctive One Course At A Time curriculum. The One Course schedule provides students the chance to dive into their studies, focus more intensely on the disciplines of their choice, and learn authentically with the unique freedom to shed the confines of the traditional classroom to study off-campus, pursue research, or accept an internship -- all without missing out on other classes.

Cornell has been recognized by numerous publications for the value its education offers and for academic excellence. This year it was named of the 100 best values in liberal arts education by Kiplinger's, one of the "Best Value Schools" among national liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report, and one of the 100 Affordable Elite Colleges by Washington Monthly. Ninety-three percent of Cornell graduates earn their degrees in four years. In 2013 Cornell was named one of the 25 colleges with the best professors by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity.

For more information, visit www.cornellcollege.edu.