Davenport, IA-Quad City Symphony Orchestra is proud to announce the appointment of Benjamin Klemme as its new Assistant Conductor, Community Engagement Coordinator and Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles Music Director. This newly created position will serve as the QCSYEs' artistic liaison with community groups and educational institutions and will work to further the mission of the QCSO and QCSYEs. "The QCSO Board of Trustees Education Committee is very pleased to welcome Benjamin Klemme as our Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles Music Director and Community Engagement Coordinator. Ben is uniquely qualified to fulfill these duties. He is a native of the Quad Cities, a graduate of the Quad Cities Youth Orchestra, and, in addition to his excellent conducting skills, he has very valuable experience collaborating with educational systems to provide students with the best musical experience possible," said Education Committee Chair Jacqueline O'Donnell. "We know Ben will move our education programs up to a new level and we look forward to working with him."

Benjamin Klemme has his Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Minnesota where he conducts the University's Campus Orchestras and is an Assistant Conductor of the Opera Theatre. He also serves the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies as Concert Orchestra Conductor and MacPhail Center for Music as Chamber Orchestra Conductor. Klemme's previous conducting posts include Assistant Conductor of the National Repertory Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and Music Director of the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association. He has guest conducted the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music New Music Ensemble, Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival, Oskaloosa Chamber Music Festival, and the University of Minnesota Summer Orchestra. Klemme received his Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music and his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Northern Iowa. His principal conducting teachers include Mark Russell Smith, Carl Topilow, Louis Lane, Rebecca Burkhardt and Ronald Johnson.

Dedicated to finding innovative ways to employ his commitment to music education, Benjamin Klemme actively works to develop partnerships with schools and performers in his community to go beyond his work on the podium. In New Mexico, he helped bring classical music to life for young people through his work with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival's "Music In Our Schools" program, and was the founding music department chair at New Mexico School for the Arts; in Ohio he conducted the Scordatura Chamber Orchestra-a Cleveland-based ensemble designed to achieve classroom learning objectives in language arts, math, science, and social studies through the creative presentation of parallel classical music principles; in Iowa he served as the associate conductor of the Northern Iowa Youth Orchestra.

Klemme is a former Quad City resident and was himself a member of the Quad City Symphony Youth Orchestra. Klemme returns to the Quad Cities from the Twin Cities with his wife, violinist Deborah Coltvet Klemme, and two sons.

The Quad City Symphony Orchestra is also proud to announce Stephen D. Mohr as its new Director of Development. Mr. Mohr most recently served as Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at the Figge Art Museum. He is also on the Board of the Association of Professional Fundraisers where he holds the office of Treasurer and also writes regularly for their quarterly newsletter. Mr. Mohr is taking the place of Paul Plagenz who recently accepted a position as Director of Development for the Western Illinois University-Quad Cities campus.

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Governor Quinn Announces $100 Million for Local Transportation Improvements Across Illinois

Illinois Jobs Now! Investments Include $3.2Million for Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Rock Island, Warren and Whiteside Counties to Address Critical Needs Following Historic Winter

CHICAGO - As the spring thaw begins, Governor Pat Quinn today announced $100 million from the Illinois Jobs Now! construction program to repair municipal and township infrastructure throughout the state. The funding will help communities throughout Illinois combat potholes and make other critical infrastructure repairs following the historic winter weather Illinois faced. Today's announcement is part of the Governor's agenda to create jobs and build a 21st century infrastructure that will drive Illinois' economy forward.

"The extreme and historic winter has left many roads in rough shape," Governor Quinn said. "This investment will help local communities repair the damage done by Mother Nature and improve the quality of life for residents and businesses."

Today's announcement includes approximately $3.2 million for local governments in Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Rock Island, Warren and Whiteside Counties. The funding is the last of a series of annual transportation investments that municipalities have received through Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! program since 2010. In his fiscal year 2015 budget address, the Governor proposed a bipartisan working group to develop a new capital spending plan for the next five years.

The projects will be selected and managed locally, with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) providing oversight.

"This capital funding for local transportation projects shows our continued dedication to supporting local governments," IDOT Secretary Ann Schneider said. "These local projects will improve the quality of life for residents, stimulate the economy and address immediate infrastructure needs."

In addition to the Illinois Jobs Now! funds announced today, local governments in the counties listed above will receive more than $18.4 million in Motor Fuel Tax funds this year.

Late last week two bond rating agencies released their reviews of Illinois' finances ahead of the upcoming sale of $250 million in General Obligation bonds that will finance roads, bridges and schools around the state. While they say the state still has work to do, they note the hard work the state has done to cut costs, pay down old bills and pass a comprehensive pension reform plan. Both agencies agreed that the Governor's proposed budget would bring long-term fiscal stability to Illinois.

According to Fitch Ratings, "The governor's recommended budget for the coming fiscal year would ... provide a basis for the state to achieve fiscal balance."

For a list of the local governments receiving funding through today's announcement, please visit dot.il.gov.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (630 - 7th Avenue, Rock Island) will host a three part screening and discussion of the 2013 American Experience documentary The Abolitionists.  The center's Director, Reverend Dwight Ford will lead the discussions on three consecutive Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m.: Part 1 on April 15th, Part 2 on April 22nd, and Part 3 on April 29th.  This documentary is one of four films featured in the Created Equal: America's Civil Rights Struggle film series. These events are free and no registration is required.

The Abolitionists vividly brings to life the struggles of the men and women who led the battle to end slavery. Through innovative use of reenactments, this three episode series puts a face on the anti-slavery movement?or rather, five faces: William Lloyd Garrison, impassioned New England newspaper editor; Frederick Douglass, former slave, author, and activist; Angelina Grimké, daughter of a rich South Carolina slaveholder; Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the enormously influential Uncle Tom's Cabin; and John Brown, ultimately executed for his armed seizure of the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. The film's release in 2013 also marked the 150th anniversary year of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Reverend Dwight Ford has served as Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center since 2012.  He has a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in business management from Western Illinois University.  He also served in the United States Marine Corps from 1989 to 1994, serving in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, and received several medals during his service.  He grew up in Rock Island and has been a featured speaker at the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Service and Awards Celebration.

Created Equal is presented as part of the six-week series Created Equal and Changing America, which explores our nation's civil rights history through film, exhibition, and presentations.  More information can be found online at molinelibrary.com/createdequal, by visiting the library at 3210 - 41st Street, or by calling 309-524-2470.

Created Equal: America's Civil Rights Struggle is made possible through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Changing America is presented by the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Museum of American History in collaboration with the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The traveling exhibition is made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

Local support for Created Equal and Changing America has been provided by Friends of the Moline Public Library, WQPT, and The Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus/QCOnline.