Davenport, Iowa (August 20, 2014) - Gilda's Club is excited to announce its 2nd Annual Bags & Brews event to be held on Saturday, September 6th from 3-7pm at Lindsay Park in the Village of East Davenport (2200 E 11th St).

Bags & Brews will feature local craft beer tasting, free food provided by Famous Dave's, music, raffles and more. Admission is a $20 donation to Gilda's Club.

Attendees also have the option to participate in the bags tournament for an additional $10 per person. Cash prizes will be awarded to 1st ($200), 2nd ($100) and 3rd ($50) place teams.

To register: visit www.bagsandbrews.com, call Paige at 563-326-7504 or stop by Gilda's Club at 1234 E. River Dr., Davenport Monday thru Friday.

All proceeds from the event benefit Gilda's Club Quad Cities. All sales are final.

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Ahead of Renewable Fuel Standard decision, Congressman urges Leadership to bring Ending Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act to House floor for a vote

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today wrote a letter to Speaker John Boehner urging House leadership to bring the Ending Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act of 2013 to the House floor for a vote. Braley previously announced his support for the legislation which would end tax breaks for the largest and most profitable oil companies, saving taxpayers roughly $40 billion over the next five years.

"The future of American energy is in domestic wind turbines and biofuels?and lies in places like Iowa's farmlands, not in Saudi oilfields," Braley said. "We need to be devoting our resources towards clean, homegrown energy, where Iowa has proven to be a global innovator."

The Ending Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act would end a host of tax breaks and loopholes currently used by the largest oil companies, that cost taxpayers billions of dollars annually. See a fact sheet of the bill's specific provisions online HERE.

"At a time when Congress is discussing budget cuts that affect middle class Americans, we do not need to be subsidizing some of the most profitable corporations in history," Braley's letter reads.

Braley has previously called on House leadership to repeal tax subsidies for big oil companies.

In 2011, Braley introduced the Clean Energy Jobs Act, which would have ended the tax breaks given to big oil, while using the savings to create jobs in Iowa, boost the renewable fuels industry and pay down the national deficit.

Braley's letter to Speaker Boehner can be found HERE.

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Davenport, IA - Bush Construction is proud to announce that it has been named as an Inc. 5000 company. This means that Bush Construction is one of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in America, according to Inc. magazine. The Davenport-based company is No. 1,049 on the list of 5,000. Companies are ranked according to their percentage of revenue growth over a four-year period.

"We are honored to be featured on this prestigious list," said A.J. Loss, President of Bush Construction. "Our inclusion on this list goes to show that in our country, a business can succeed and gain recognition by working hard and maintaining strong ethical standards. Our tagline states we are 'Building on a foundation of Integrity' and that is the basis of how we do business. We are true to our word and build relationships based on mutual respect."

Bush Construction is a design/builder, general contractor and professional manager of construction services. The company has worked on a wide range of commercial, industrial, government and educational projects in the Quad-Cities and throughout the Midwest. 

Inc. magazine is a monthly publication with a strong focus on growing companies. The New York City-based magazine publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in America. This list is known as the Inc. 500, and the Inc. 5000 is an expansion of that list, ranking the country's top 5000 fastest-growing private companies. 

For more information on Bush Construction, please call (563) 344-3791 or visit BushConstruct.com.

Critical error in three-run Kernels eighth drops Bandits for 15th time in 20 games

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (August 19, 2014) - The Cedar Rapids Kernels scored three runs in the eighth inning, helped by a critical error, to come back and win their season-best eighth in a row 5-3 over the Quad Cities River Bandits, who have now lost seven of eight and 15 of 20.

With Quad Cities ahead 3-2, River Bandits reliever Albert Minnis walked J.D. Williams to start the bottom of the eighth before fanning Zack Larson. An Engelb Vielma single put runners on first and second and then Tanner Vavra doubled down the right field line to bring in Williams and tie the game at three. With just one out and runners on second and third, Quad Cities brought the infield in. Minnis got a groundball off the bat of Jonatan Hinojosa right at Bandits second baseman Jose Fernandez, who threw low to the plate, with the ball getting by Quad Cities catcher Brett Booth and roll all the way to the backstop to score Vielma. Booth went to retrieve the ball as Vavra raced home, but Minnis was unable to handle his throw back to the plate as Cedar Rapids grabbed the 5-3 advantage. Fernandez was charged with an error as Minnis (2-2) gave up three runs, just one earned, in two innings to ultimately suffer the loss.

The River Bandits grabbed an early lead when Marc Wik drilled a solo home run, his fourth of the year, to straightaway center against Cedar Rapids starter Kohl Stewart in the first.

Quad Cities was able to add to their lead in the second. Booth doubled with one out and James Ramsay walked before Stewart left the game with an apparent injury. Kernels reliever Jared Wilson issued a wild pitch to advance the runners up to second and third, respectively, before striking out Dayne Parker. Another wild pitch then brought in Booth to make it 2-0 River Bandits.

Cedar Rapids answered with a Vielma RBI single in the bottom of the second.

After Fernandez doubled to lead off the third, Wik immediately singled him home to make it 3-1 Quad Cities. However, the River Bandits would not get another runner in scoring position.

The Kernels began chipping away when Vielma launched his first home run of the year, a solo shot, to left off of Quad Cities starter Blaine Sims to pull Cedar Rapids to within 3-2. Vielma went 4-for-4 with two RBIs while scoring the game's deciding run in the eighth. Sims earned a no-decision, scattering 11 hits over six innings while allowed two runs with a walk and five strikeouts. He stranded at least one Kernel in every single inning.

The winning pitcher was Mat Batts (2-0), who fired five scoreless innings of relief, giving up just two hits while fanning six. He retired the last 13 River Bandits to come to the plate.

Jake Reed worked a perfect ninth for his second save of the season. The Kernels right-hander has now worked 17.2 straight scoreless innings, the longest streak of any Cedar Rapids pitcher this year.

The win pushed the Kernels to a season-best seven games over .500 at 67-60, 35-21 in the second half while Quad Cities dropped to 61-65, 26-31. The River Bandits will try to salvage the three-game set by sending Chris Lee (6-6, 4.04 ERA) to the mound tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. against Cedar Rapids' Stephen Gonsalves (2-2, 1.57).

UP NEXT: The season's final homestand opens with MidAmerican Energy Day and Family Sunday presented by KWQC and B100 at 1:15 p.m. Aug. 24. Pregame autographs are at 12:30 p.m., Bark in the Park means dogs are welcome to the Modern Woodmen Berm, and Kids Run the Bases after the game. The River Bandits are then home through Aug. 29. Tickets are available at www.riverbandits.com.