Register for a chance to win a $5,290 College Savings Iowa account

DES MOINES, IA (09/02/2014)(readMedia)-- State Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald has announced that Iowa is joining forces with states across the nation in declaring September as College Savings Month. During College Savings Month, families are encouraged to explore the benefits of saving through a 529 plan, such as College Savings Iowa. "College Savings Iowa provides families with an affordable, tax-advantaged way to save for future college expenses," Fitzgerald said. "With as little as $25, you can start saving for a loved one's future education. Iowa allows Iowa taxpayers to deduct contributions up to $3,045 per account from their 2014 state income taxes.*"

"As a way to raise awareness among families about saving for higher education, the plan will be awarding a $5,290 College Savings Iowa account this fall," added Fitzgerald. "I encourage all Iowans with young children to register today for a chance to win and jump-start their children's college savings." For more information about the giveaway and to register, visit collegesavingsiowa.com.

. For more information about future giveaways and events, find College Savings Iowa on Facebook and Twitter (@Iowa529Plan).

*Adjusted annually for inflation. If withdrawals are not qualified, the deductions must be added back to Iowa taxable income.

**The Earnings portion of nonqualified withdrawals may be subject to federal income tax and a 10% federal penalty tax, as well as state and local income taxes. The availability of tax or other benefits may be contingent on meeting other requirements.

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Investment returns are not guaranteed and you could lose money by investing in the plan. Participants assume all investment risks as well as the responsibility for any federal and state tax consequences. If you are not an Iowa taxpayer, consider before investing whether your or the designated beneficiary's home state offers any state tax or other benefits that are only available for investments in such state's qualified tuition program.

For more information about the College Savings Iowa 529 Plan, call 1-888-672-9116, or visit collegesavingsiowa.com to obtain a Program Description. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information are included in the Program Description; read and consider it carefully before investing. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor.

College Savings Iowa is an Iowa trust sponsored by the Iowa State Treasurer's Office. The Treasurer of the State of Iowa sponsors and is responsible for overseeing the administration of the College Savings Iowa 529 Plan. The Vanguard Group, Inc., serves as Investment Manager and Vanguard Marketing Corporation, an affiliate of The Vanguard Group, Inc., assists the Treasurer with marketing and distributing the Plan. Upromise Investment Advisors, LLC, provides records administration services. The Plan's portfolios, although they invest in Vanguard mutual funds, are not mutual funds.

November 25, 2014 - 7:00 pm

iWireless Center

On Sale Friday, September 5 at Noon

Ticket prices are $35.00, $49.50, and $65.00. Tickets go on sale Friday, September 5 at Noon and are available at the iWireless Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 800-745-3000, and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Brought to you by Live Nation.

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Funding Will Improve Capacity, Safety on Joliet-Dwight Segment

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today announced a $102 million investment from the Illinois Jobs Now! capital program to improve system performance and reliability on a key segment of the Chicago-to-St. Louis high-speed rail line. The investment will allow the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Union Pacific Railroad to move forward with construction of a new bridge over the Kankakee River near Wilmington, as well as other safety and capacity enhancements along the busy corridor between Joliet and Dwight. Today's announcement is part of Governor Quinn's agenda to create jobs and build a 21st century infrastructure that will drive Illinois' economy forward.

"This investment is going to put people to work and take us one step closer to completing the high-speed rail connection between Chicago and St. Louis," Governor Quinn said. "None of this work on the Chicago-St. Louis high-speed line would be possible without the outstanding cooperation of the Union-Pacific Railroad. Investing in our Chicago-St.Louis line today will pay dividends to Illinois residents for years to come."

The $102 million investment will build a second set of tracks between Mazonia and Elwood, including the new Kankakee River bridge to accommodate the increased capacity. The work, which will be performed by the Union Pacific Railroad and overseen by IDOT, will take place in 2016 and 2017. The $102 million investment, part of the $550 million the governor identified in Illinois Jobs Now! to improve passenger rail service across the state, will create or support 918 construction jobs.

Once completed, the improvements will eliminate about five minutes in travel time immediately and put the final upgrades in place between Joliet and Dwight in anticipation of the eventual double-tracking of the remainder of the Chicago-St. Louis corridor. This double-tracking will then allow more daily round-trips at increased 110-mph speeds.

"We value the public-private partnership between IDOT's Bureau of Railroads, the Federal Railroad Administration and Union Pacific Railroad in making the rail corridor between Chicago and St. Louis the premier high-speed passenger corridor in the county,"  Union Pacific Railroad's Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs Wes Lujan said.

Today's announcement pushes the state's total commitment to the Chicago-St. Louis route to $358.8 million, with the remainder of the $1.7 billion project federally funded. Trains currently travel at 110 mph between Dwight and Pontiac. By the end of 2015, the trip between Chicago and St. Louis will be reduced to 5 hours from the current 5½ hours. When all of the improvements are finished in 2017, the trip will have been reduced even further to 4½ hours.

For more information on the high-speed rail project, visit www.idothsr.org.

Davis got the scoring started by launching a 2-2 pitch from Burlington (29-31 second half, 67-71 overall) starter Daniel Hurtado over the right-field wall for his sixth home run of the season to put Quad Cities (35-34, 70-68) up 1-0.

Chase McDonald followed Davis' act with a solo home run, his team-best 16th of the year, to lead off the top of the fourth, making it 2-0.

Ranyelmy Mendoza's solo shot in the bottom of the fifth cut the Bandits' lead to 2-1, but Hurtado (2-4), who gave up five runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in six innings to take the loss, got himself into more trouble with the longball in the sixth. He walked McDonald with two outs and nobody on before yielding a single to A.J. Reed. Davis then clubbed his second dinger of the game to give Quad Cities the 5-1 advantage. Davis finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs, while also walking and swiping his fourth base of the season.

Burlington was able to get back in the game in the bottom of the seventh when Trevor Gretzky hit his third homer of the season, a three-run shot to draw the Bees to within 5-4. But the Bandits were able to answer immediately, with back-to-back doubles by Marc Wik and Ryan Bottger in the top of the eighth scoring a run, and Bottger coming home on a McDonald sacrifice fly to the wall in left-center, giving Quad Cities a 7-4 cushion.

In the top of the ninth, Bobby Boyd hit his first career triple to drive in Lindauer. He then came into score on Dayne Parker's sacrifice fly to left to put Quad Cities ahead 9-4.

Troy Scribner (1-2) earned the victory, going three innings in relief of Chris Lee, who tossed four scoreless frames. Scribner gave up four runs, one earned, on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

The River Bandits and Bees combined to hit five home runs in the game, the most between Quad Cities and an opponent this season.

Quad Cities will wrap up the regular season tomorrow at 2 p.m. in Burlington. Michael Feliz (8-5, 3.87 ERA) is scheduled to make the start for the River Bandits against Burlington's Alex Blackford (1-4, 2.63).

UP NEXT: The final River Bandits games will be live online at riverbandits.com and TuneIn Radio. On Labor Day, the ballpark will open with free admission at 4 p.m. for the Red, White and Boom Fireworks show scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

ABOUT THE BANDITS: Having just been named Ballpark Digest's winner of Best Ballpark Improvement in America under $1 million, the River Bandits ownership recently made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 105 feet over the playing field, opened May 24, Space Camp opened June 20; the new Drop-N-Twist debuted in July; and the newly expanded 300-foot long zip line also reopened. In 2013, the team unveiled a new 220-foot long dual zip line, a rock climbing wall, and a number of new bounce houses. Last season, the team's major league affiliate, the Houston Astros, saw all six of its affiliates reach the playoffs - the first time in a decade any MLB team can claim such success. The River Bandits were one of three affiliates to reach the championship round and one of two to win their league championship.