Coal Valley, IL - January 30, 2015 - Niabi Zoo announced today that it will be holding an all-new event on Friday, February 13. The event is titled Romance at the Zoo and will feature dinner, drinks, and an entertaining look at romance in the animal kingdom, as presented by Niabi Zoo's Curator of Conservation & Education, Jill Roderick. This Valentine's Day-related event is open to adults ages 21 and over and reservations are required.

Romance at the Zoo will provide attendees with an opportunity to learn more about the "wilder" side of the animal kingdom, such as how porcupines actually succeed in mating despite being covered in needle-sharp quills or the incredibly high number of times that lions get together during breeding season. "We are excited to provide adults with a new and fun way to experience Niabi Zoo," said Zoo Director Marc Heinzman, "while also teaching them about the amazing life of animals from around the world." Heinzman also added that Romance at the Zoo is sure to be the most unique Valentine's Day date in the Quad Cities.

Tickets for the event are $40 per person or $75 per couple. A full dinner and one free drink are included with the ticket price. Additional drinks will be available from a cash bar. Reservations are required and can be made by calling the Zoo at 309-799-3482 ext. 222. Romance at the Zoo takes place from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.

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Exhibit: Cylinder & Disc Music Boxes

Exhibit dates:  January 22 through March 22, 2015

Program: Cylinder & Disc Music Boxes by Brian Walter on Thursday, February 12 at 5:15 p.m.

The Laura Musser Mansion Small Gallery now features the second in its series of music box exhibits from the private collection of Brian Walter and the Art Center's permanent collection. This second series highlights the history and chronology of "Cylinder" & "Disc" music boxes from the 1870-1900 era.

A "Cylinder & Disc Music Box" program will be presented by Brian Walter, at 5:15 on Thursday, February 12, 2015.

The period of 1870 to 1890 was the height of production for cylinder music boxes. The cylinder music box provided live music without performers and the sound it produced was very much like a group of harpists or a hand bell choir. Extensively inlaid cases and multiple cylinders (which included 'shifting' and 'removable' cylinders) mark this era as the most technically challenging period for cylinder type manufacturing.

The development of the first interchangeable disc music boxes in 1886, made it even easier and less expensive to add tunes. These "Symphonion" boxes were originally made in Leipzig, Germany and were destined to become some of the greatest music boxes ever known. Even this innovative design which accepted individual tune discs (allowing one music box to play multiple tunes), could not save the cylinder music box companies, as many were forced out of business due to increased sales and aggressive marketing of the new disc music boxes.

Other music box makers caught on to the new disc technology and began building their own masterpieces: most notably "Polyphon" in Germany and "Regina" in the United States. By 1900, the "Gramophone" (or record player) had replaced disc music boxes, due to lower price and greater variety of music available.

EVENT DETAILS:

What: "Cylinder & Disc Music Boxes" Program

Who: Brian Walter

When: Thursday, February 12, 2014

Time: 5:15 PM

Where: The Muscatine Art Center's Music Room

Admission to this program is FREE.

Please contact Melanie Alexander, Director, with any questions or concerns at 563-263-8282 or by email at malexander@muscatineiowa.gov.

The Muscatine Art Center is located at 1314 Mulberry Avenue in Muscatine, Iowa. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursday evenings until 7:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated. Visit www.muscatineartcenter.org for more information about programs and events and to download a class brochure.

Concordia, Wis. (January 29, 2015) - Concordia University Wisconsin officials have released the Fall Honors List for the 2014-2015 academic year. To be eligible for the honor, students must achieve a minimum 3.50 GPA.

Among the area students named to the  list were:

Ian Wallace, Junior, Accounting, from Davenport, Iowa

Founded in 1881, Concordia University Wisconsin, 12800 North Lake Shore Drive, Mequon, offers over 70 undergraduate majors and is affiliated with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The school is located on 200 acres of Lake Michigan shoreline, only 15 minutes north of downtown Milwaukee.

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Hills Bank and Trust First to Include Mandarin Chinese on ATMs

(Iowa City) - Building upon its designation as an "International Welcoming City" last March, Iowa City officials and businesses continue to improve their offerings for immigrants and international students who now call Iowa City "home."

Kate Moreland, director of collaboration and community relations at the Iowa City Area Development Group, says an ICAD Group led task force has been working on projects aimed at improving communication with the international community.  "Translation is always an area of focus and we continue to work with local entities on how to better reach out to our international community and be more welcoming," said Moreland.  "This includes translating the Convention and Visitor Bureau's welcome guide into multiple languages and working with area banks to add Chinese to their ATMs."

Most recently, Hills Bank and Trust Company became the first area bank to offer Mandarin Chinese as an ATM language option.

"We have been long time supporters of the International Community and we were pleased to have been able to work with the Shazam network to incorporate multiple languages into our ATM network," said Marty Maiers, Senior Vice President and Director of Retail Banking for Hills Bank. "We updated the ATM in the lobby of our Old Capitol Town Center location in mid-December and will install Mandarin Chinese on other ATMs campus wide as part of software upgrades."

Suyun Ma, Global External Relations Coordinator for International Programs at the University of Iowa, sits on the International Relations task force at ICAD Group and says these accommodations help new, international students adapt to a new life during their not-so-easy transitional period.  "I have been in their shoes.  Immersed in a totally different culture and language, most new international students feel overwhelmed and even scared at some point," said Ma.  "I appreciate the importance of having this kind of convenience and assistance in local ATMs."

Ties will continue to strengthen between the public and private sector, the university, and the international community as more projects come online.

Tom Markus, City Manager for Iowa City, says the task force is looking next at improving housing and international relations.  "We've started communications with the university about how to improve temporary and permanent housing options for new international students who arrive on campus," said Markus.  "Also, there is initial discussion on developing an ambassador program to help students, visitors and new residents navigate our community and share in our culture."

"These basic resources serve as a gateway to our welcoming and diverse community, which is one of reasons that some international students choose to study at University of Iowa and fall in love with the city," added Ma.