DES MOINES, IA - The Des Moines Area Sports Commission has landed two more cycles of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic Games, both 2018 and 2023. The Games is a $1.5 million event run by the Des Moines Area Sports Commission staff, generating $47 million in economic impact for the Greater Des Moines economy. This announcement comes amid preparation for the 48th annual event in Des Moines?July 22 - August 2, 2014.

"Our hard work leading up to 2014 is paying off. The AAU governing body recognizes the strength of our community support, excellent venues and understanding of youth sports. Des Moines continues to deliver as a sports destination," says Katie Fencl, Director of Sports with the Des Moines Area Sports Commission, a division of the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau. Fencl is also Director of the 2014 AAU Junior Olympic Games in Des Moines.

"We're honored to host the AAU Junior Olympic Games not only this year?but looking ahead to coming years as well," says Greg Edwards, President and CEO with the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau and Des Moines Area Sports Commission.

2014 by the Numbers:

·         40,000 visitors to Central Iowa

·         30,000 hotel room nights for Greater Des Moines

·         14,000 athletes expected; ages 3 to 22 years old

·         2,600 volunteers

·         2,000 coaches

·         20 sports represented

·         5 Greater Des Moines venues; primarily the Iowa Events Center & Drake Stadium

·         3 times Greater Des Moines has previously hosted: 1995, 2004 & 2009

·         1 Honorary Chair of the 2014 AAU Junior Olympic Games: Suzie Glazer Burt

Mark your calendars! The Games will catch Des Moines July 25 - August 4, 2018 and July 26 - August 5, 2023.

How to Get Involved with the 2014 Event:

·         For media credential requests, CLICK HERE. Deadline is Saturday, July 19.

·         For volunteer opportunities, CLICK HERE. Shifts are available in four to six hour increments.

·         For a full schedule of events and ticket information, visit catchdesmoines.com/AAUJO.

About the Amateur Athletic Union

Founded in 1888, the Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest multi-sport, not-for-profit, volunteer organizations in the United States. It is dedicated to the development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs for youth and adults. The AAU Junior Olympic Games are the largest national multi-sport event for amateur youth conducted in the United States.

Fort Wayne wins, 9-2, to send Quad Cities to fourth straight loss for first time in the second half

DAVENPORT, Iowa (July 16, 2014) - Dustin Peterson singled home the first of four first-inning runs for Fort Wayne Wednesday night, and the third baseman added a home run as one of five TinCaps to collect multi-hit games in the visitors' 9-2 victory over the Quad Cities River Bandits in front of a season-high 7,140 at Modern Woodmen Park.

TinCaps shortstop Trea Tuner began his two-hit night by leading off the game with a double down the right-field line against right-hander Adrian Houser (4-4). Peterson followed with a single to center field and went to second base on a single by first baseman Fernando Perez, who also had two hits in the game. Right fielder Franmil Reyes grounded out to third base for the game's first out, and designated hitter Jake Bauers singled through the right side to drive in Peterson. Catcher Ryan Miller then doubled to left field, scoring Perez for a 3-0 lead, but a relay by left fielder Marc Wik and shortstop Thomas Lindauer to catcher Brian Holberton caught Bauers at home plate for the second out. Center fielder Ronnie Richardson doubled in Miller for a 4-0 TinCaps lead in a six-hit, eight-batter inning.

Left-hander Max Fried set down the first four batters in his Midwest League season debut for Fort Wayne (8-17 second half, 38-56 overall). He allowed back-to-back singles by River Bandits first baseman Chase McDonald and catcher Brian Holberton but got second baseman Jose Fernandez to line to second baseman Josh VanMeter for an inning-ending double play.

Houser did not allow a hit in the second or third innings, but in the fourth inning, he walked the first two batters - Richardson and left fielder Henry Charles. After a strikeout, Turner drove an RBI double to left field, ending Houser's day after allowing seven hits and three walks in 3 1/3 innings. Houser became the fourth straight Quad Cities starter to last no more than four innings and give up at least six runs when Peterson hit a sacrifice fly against right-hander Aaron Vaughn to extend the TinCaps lead to 6-0.

Quad Cities (12-13, 47-47) reached the scoreboard in the fourth inning, when Wik hit a leadoff double and scored when third baseman J.D. Davis doubled to left-center field for the only hit of his Midwest League debut. Designated hitter Ronnie Mitchell walked, but McDonald lined to Turner for a double play. Holberton singled to put runners at first and second bases with two outs, and Fried was removed after allowing one earned run on five hits and a walk with one strikeout in 3 2/3 innings. Left-hander Payton Baskette (4-4) entered to get Fernandez to fly out to center field. Baskette scattered three hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings, getting help from the TinCaps' third double play, into which Holberton hit after Mitchell doubled and McDonald singled to start the sixth inning.

The score remained 6-1 as Vaughn retired all five batters he faced in his Midwest League debut. River Bandits right-hander Kevin Comer then retired five straight before Perez hit a two-out single in the seventh inning, and Reyes reached on an error by Lindauer. Bauers and Miller hit consecutive RBI singles to extend their team's lead to 8-1. The River Bandits managed another run in the eighth inning off right-hander Jorge Guzman, as McDonald walked with two outs and scored on Holberton's RBI double. Peterson answered with a one-out home run in the ninth inning to restore the seven-run lead against Comer, who was charged with three runs - one earned - on four hits with a season-high five strikeouts in three innings.

Construction Projects Will Put Hundreds to Work as Illinois' Unemployment Rate Drops to its Lowest Point Since October 2008

CHICAGO - As Illinois' unemployment rate fell to its lowest point since October 2008, Governor Pat Quinn today announced Employ Illinois, an expansion of his efforts to provide diverse residents with training for jobs in the construction industry. Offered through the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Illinois Tollway, Employ Illinois links job seekers with training and also increases the incentive paid to contractors from $10 to $15 an hour for each program graduate they put to work. Today's announcement is part of Governor Quinn's agenda to create jobs and help drive Illinois' economy forward.

"Putting people back to work is my number one priority," Governor Quinn said. "There are more people working now than when I took office and today's good news shows we are headed in the right direction. While we have more work to do, Employ Illinois will help give more of our hardworking residents the opportunity for hands-on training and job experience at a decent wage. Illinois is making a comeback and this program will help ensure our workers have what it takes to get the job done."

Preliminary data, released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Illinois Department of Employment Security, shows Illinois' rate has dropped to 7.1 percent, the lowest since October 2008 - months before Governor Quinn took office. The drop in the unemployment rate from March to June is the sharpest three-month decline ever recorded in Illinois.

Governor Quinn has directed IDOT and the Tollway to apply the Employ Illinois incentive on as many eligible projects as possible. Employ Illinois workers will take part in many of the projects funded by a new $1 billion road construction initiative that begins in August.

Under Employ Illinois, participants will develop the pre-apprenticeship skills they need to work on construction sites and begin the process of becoming journeymen and journeywomen in the construction trades. Since the $10 per hour hiring incentive took effect, trainees have participated in 269 contracts statewide, resulting in 9,172 hours in on-the-job training that was reimbursed by the state.

"The Tollway's Move Illinois Program is the largest in our agency's history and the largest of any toll road agency in the nation," Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur said. "Employ Illinois will bridge the gap between these established training programs and the job opportunities that exist on a variety of roadway construction projects throughout Illinois."

"Employ Illinois is about investing in people as we invest in our roads and bridges," Acting IDOT Secretary Erica Borggren said. "Through this program, we will provide aspiring workers the help they need to develop marketable skills in the transportation trades."

The $15 per hour incentive will be paid by the state to contractors that hire Employ Illinois graduates. On IDOT projects, the agency funds the incentive paid to contractors. The Illinois Tollway will fund the incentives paid to contractors that hire Employ Illinois graduates on Tollway projects.

Ongoing projects already utilizing the new $15 per hour incentive include the Circle Interchange in Chicago, Roosevelt Road in Broadview, West Lake Avenue in Glenview, the Grand Avenue bridge in Gurnee, the U.S. 34 and Canadian National Railway separation project in Aurora and the Richton Road and I-57/Stuenkel Road projects in Will County.

Employ Illinois workers will participate in many of the major northeastern Illinois construction projects this season, part of the $1.1 billion capital bill passed by the Illinois General Assembly this spring, including:

·         $48 million reconstruction of the I-55 bridges approaching Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.

·         $86 million project to rebuild and repair the bridges at I-55 and Illinois 171 in the southwest suburbs.

·         $44.5 million project to add lanes to U.S. 14 in Crystal Lake.

·         $32.7 million reconstruction of the I-55 and Weber Road interchange in Romeoville.

·         $16.1 million reconstruction of the U.S. 41 and Illinois 132 interchange in Gurnee.

Other projects statewide that could include Employ Illinois workers are:

·         $22.4 million resurfacing and bridge repairs to I-64 in Washington County.

·         $21 million resurfacing of I-57 in Williamson County.

·         $13.6 million resurfacing and bridge replacement on I-57 in Iroquois County.

·         $8.6 million resurfacing and safety improvements on I-74 in Champaign County.

·         $30 million resurfacing on I-70 in Fayette and Effingham counties.

·         $26 million resurfacing of 31 miles of I-39/U.S. 51 in Winnebago and Ogle counties.

At Governor Quinn's direction, construction projects have exceeded goals for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation. Over the past five years, the Tollway has spent nearly $586 million, or 25 percent of its $2.4 billion contracts awarded, with firms owned by minorities or women. Minority workers on Tollway projects have seen their hours quadruple between 2011 and 2013.

The Illinois Jobs Now!-funded $425 million rehabilitation of the Dan Ryan Branch of the Red Line project included 29 percent DBE participation for the track work component and 40 percent for the station work, with more than $56.4 million in construction work awarded to African-American contractors. The $695 million Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge project in the Metro East featured 24 percent minority workforce participation on the Illinois-funded part of the project, nearly 10 percent higher than the goal set by the Federal Highway Administration and a record for construction projects in the Metro East area.

During the past five years, the state's road-building agencies under Governor Quinn have spent more than $4.2 billion with DBE firms, of which nearly $280 million went to African-American owned firms. This is the largest five-year total in the state's history. IDOT has seen DBE participation jump from $186 million, or 11.8 percent of all IDOT project spending in 2008, to $353 million and 16 percent in 2013.

Offerings through Employ Illinois include IDOT's Highway Construction Careers Training program (HCCTP), Tollway's Transportation Construction Apprenticeship Readiness Training program (TCART) and the Earned Credit Program (ECP), also through the Tollway. For more information about Employ Illinois, visit www.Illinois.gov/employ.