Last year, the Center for Active Seniors, Inc. (CASI) & Great River Brewery teamed up to make the Owney Irish Red Ale to raise funds for CASI. Well, last year was such a hit we brewed it again! The reasoning behind this fundraiser is because since 2009, government funding to non-profit organizations that provide human services has been in steady decline, forcing these service organizations to change much of their funding strategies or face a reduction in their ability to provide critical services to their communities.  Competition amongst non-profits for the "donated" dollar is extreme:  How can an individual not-for profit make itself standout from the crowd to garner more support and exposure plus increase donor dollars?

That's when CASI & Great River Brewery came up with the Owney and" brewed" the prefect fundraising plan. Owney, an old Irish name for "elderly" is on shelves now at retail locations throughout the Quad Cities.  Proceeds from the sale of Owney Irish Red Ale will be used by CASI to fund services for seniors in the Quad City community.  There are two events schedule to celebrate this cause:

Owney Tapping:

March 1, 1-5 p.m. Great River Brewery  332 E 2nd St. Davenport

Golden Keg is at 1:00 p.m.

Food is at 2:00 p.m. provided by Senior Star

Owney Dinner:

March 3, 4:00-7:00 p.m. Kelly's Irish Pub & Grill  Davenport IA

$25.00 tickets: include corn beef, cabbage, roasted potatoes and two pints of Owney. Purchase tickets at CASI, Kelly's or Great River Brewery.

*Proceeds will benefit CASI to help local seniors* 

Stop in at any of these events to... Sit up, Take Notice & Raise your Pint to CASI!

Founded in 1973, CASI is a multi-service senior center providing a variety of social, educational, support and wellness programs and activities designed for adults over the age of 60 and their families/caregivers.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!

Urban Classic Home - Becky Curtis, owner. Unique home décor, artwork, lamps, furniture and accessories. Interior design services. 124 N. Cody Rd., LeClaire. 563-289-1221. Ribbon Cutting- March 7 - 4:30p.m.

Interiors by the Sewing Room - Window treatments, bedding, pillows for designers and residential clients in the QC for over 30 years. Residential interior design services. Style, quality and value. 818 15^th Ave, Moline, IL. 309-755-0045

CALENDAR

February 28^th - Tambi Rosendahl, Expressive Designs, Paula Sands Live 3pm - Featuring cancer survivors interested in hair extensions. 563-343-8599 or 563-370-9263 for more information.

February 28th - March 1st - Buffalo Bill Museum Fundraiser YOUNKER'S Community Days 2014 coupon books. Available at museum or online www.communitydayevent.com)

February 28^th - LeClaire Community Library - LEGO Club 3:30-4:30pm. Recommended for ages 7 & up.

February 28 - Masonic Center LeClaire - Chili Dinner 6:30 - 7:30p.m. Proceeds to BSA Venture Crew 212

Save the Date

March 1^st - Pub Rock Bingo!  Fund Raiser for Freedom Rock, Coming to LeClaire as the Chosen Site for Scottt County!! Hosted by Cody Tucker of B100! LeClaire Rec Center, 429 N. 3rd St. Doors open 6p.m., event starts 7p.m. Space is limited and tickets are going fast! Go to Facebook: Freedom Rock Tour - Scott County Iowa or http://www.pubrockbingo.com/product-category/non-profit-events/freedom-rock-tour-scott-county-iowa/ for tickets, more information.

March 1st-2nd - Women's Health & Lifestyle Fair - Help Cindy Bruhn, Tourism Manager, promote LeClaire! Tambi Rosendahl, Expressive Designs, will also have a booth!

March 3^rd - Penny Molumby, Style with PM Interiors, will be on Paula Sands Live! 3pm. Will talk about shade repair class, how to recycle to create exciting Spring Decor.

March 6^th - Dwellings Opens at New Location 414 N. Cody Rd.

March 7^th - Urban Classic Home - Ribbon Cutting 124 N. Cody Rd. - 4:30p.m.

March 7^th - Buffalo BIll Museum Grand Opening & Ribbon-Cutting 5 p.m. Celebrate museum's expansion. Open House (4-7pm) LeClaire Chamber of Commerce's Ribbon-Cutting 5pm.

March 7^th - First Friday in LeClaire - 5-8pm

March 8^th - Style with PM Interiors - Hunter Douglas Honeycomb Cellular Shade Repair Class Style with PM Interiors, 1293 Eagle Ridge Road, LeClaire, Iowa, 2:30-4:00pm.  Fee - $15.00. Class size is limited. Reservations call 563-289-2330.

March 11^th - Chamber Networking Lunch - Crane and Pelican noon.  Member, Brad Morrison of Riverbend Signworks, will speak about Branding.  Everyone Welcome!

March 8^th - LeClaire Recreation Family Night 4:00-6:30pm, $2 per person, 3 and under free. Concessions available. Open gym. Movie "ET" starts at 5 p.m. www.leclairereccenter.com

Mar 28^th - Masonic Center LeClaire - Dinner 6:30 - 7p.m. Menu tbd

FYI

August 10^th - LeClaire Community Night, Modern Woodman Ball Park. Game time 5:00pm, River Bandits/Beloit Snappers. Mayor Bob Scannell will throw first pitch! A night to celebrate businesses and folks of Leclaire. Awards or special on-field recognition can be done followed by short video on mega-tron highlighting special places and faces in LeClaire filmed the week before. Businesses or groups interested in participating may contact Amanda Henzen, Account Executive and Director of Merchandise 563.333.2729 amandah@riverbandits.com

Riverbend Signworks is excited to announce the release of the promised video update. The academy awards will NOT likely be calling us, but still....it's a FAMILY business! http://riverbendsignworks.com/videos/

Join Celebration Belle for our 2014 Cruising Season beginning April 2nd - October 31st. Make reservations online at www.celebrationbelle.com or call 1-800-297-0034

Visit the LeClaire Chamber of Commerce website www.leclairechamber.com and see us on Facebook!

PROPERTY LISTINGS

Commercial Space Available for Rent - 118 N. Cody Rd. Call 563-289-2525.

Commercial Property Available - 1295 and 1297 Eagle Ridge Road, LeClaire, Iowa. Please call: Mike Burke - Mel Foster Co. mburke@melforsterco.com, Mobile: 563-349-2705, Direct: 563-823-5272

Commercial Space for Rent - 204 Jones St. - Call 563-370-2386 for more information. Will show by appointment. Commercially zoned only. Lease with option to purchase.

Home for Rent - Single family home on the River - two bed, two bath (could be three bed, two bath). Newly remodeled throughout, new appliances. 2 car attached garage. 1405 Canal Shore Dr. $1300 month - Dock access is negotiable. Call 563-529-1346.

Park Run Apartments/Newbury Living complex - 1, 2, & 3 Bedrooms Available - 1701 Iowa Drive, LeClaire, Iowa 52753. 1 BR, 2 BR or 3 BR unit. Call (563) 289-5159 more information today!

First Presbyterian Church of LeClaire Meals for Seniors at the church every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 12 noon. Please call 563-289-3646 and make a reservation 2 days in advance.

LeClaire Events Coming Up!

April 4-5 - Girls Getaway Weekend

April 25 - Masonic Center LeClaire-Taco Bar 6:30-7:30 proceeds to BSA Venture Crew 212

May 2-3 - French Market Days

May 3-4 - LeClaire Community Library Book Sale

May 5 - Cinco de Mayo

June 6-7 - City Wide Garage Sales

August - Tug Fest

October - Witch's Walk

December - Christmas in LeClaire

ST. LOUIS (February 27, 2014) - Two billion dollars annually: Only a problem this large and costly could bring together private industry, universities from across the country and farmer-led organizations to provide farmers with answers.

That's how much University of Wisconsin researcher Vince Davis estimates herbicide-resistant weeds cost U.S. farmers each year.

To help fight this loss, the soy checkoff recently took the lead in creating the Take Action program to help farmers implement production practices on their farms that can manage herbicide-resistant weeds. Universities and herbicide providers have joined the effort, and all are promoting a unified approach to weed management.

"Diversification is the most important thing farmers can do to manage these weeds," says Davis. "This includes diversification of effective herbicide modes of action, diversified weed-management practices and also utilizing non-herbicide control options such as judicious tillage, cleaning equipment for weed seed and diversified crop rotations. Weeds develop resistance more quickly when production systems remain static."

Take Action recently launched a website, www.TakeActionOnWeeds.com, with interactive guides and other information on how to diversify weed management.

"What makes the Take Action program unique is the support from all the different organizations, private industry and universities," says Jim Call, United Soybean Board (USB) chairman and soybean farmer from Madison, Minn. "It really shows how big of an issue herbicide-resistant weeds are and how they impact all of agriculture."

In addition to the checkoff, other supporters of the Take Action program include Cotton Incorporated, the National Association of Wheat Growers, the National Corn Growers Association, the United Sorghum Checkoff, BASF, Bayer, DuPont, Dow, Monsanto, Syngenta and universities throughout the United States.

The 70 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy's customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.

For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit www.unitedsoybean.org
Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UnitedSoybeanBoard
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/unitedsoy
View our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSoybeanBoard

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"The U.S. Grains Council welcomes the announcement of an aggressive stewardship program for the release of Syngenta seed trait Agrisure Duracade to minimize the risk of export trade disruption. It is important for all sectors of the value chain -- individual farmers, technology providers, shippers and exporters alike -- to recognize the potentially significant international implications of their actions. The Council therefore urges producers who choose to plant Agrisure Duracade in 2014 to adhere carefully to their stewardship responsibilities in order to minimize the risk to U.S. export sales.

"Today's unfortunate reality is that biotechnology approval systems around the world are not synchronous. In addition, some countries still lack effective, trade-enabling policies regarding the low level presence (LLP) of unapproved biotech events in grain shipments. Inadvertent commingling is almost certain to occur in the high volume U.S. commodity handling system, and modern testing methods are likely to detect even trace levels of unapproved events. The presence of unapproved events in the export stream therefore carries a significant risk of major international trade disruptions. Given the increase in corn production in competitor countries and the ability of buyers to source anywhere in the world, leakage of unapproved events may even result in the closure of some major markets to U.S. corn exports for an indefinite period.

"The U.S. Grains Council represents a wide variety of members across the value chain committed to maintaining an open and fair grain trading system around the world. We recognize the desire of producers to deploy new technology as soon as it becomes available. We recognize also that continued technology development is essential to achieving global food security and creating new opportunities for producers and agribusinesses. We believe, finally, that countries lacking a functioning, science based regulatory system ought not to enjoy a de facto veto over U.S. technology deployment. At the same time, however, the risk of costly trade disruption is significant and should be taken seriously by the entire value chain.

"There is no easy solution to these conflicting goals. In the short term, we urge all stakeholders to weigh the consequences of their actions, recognize the international implications of planting and marketing decisions, and stringently adhere to their stewardship responsibilities. In the long run, we encourage all parties to join the Council in working for a resolution of the low-level presence and asynchronous approval issues, which is the solution ultimately needed to serve the common interests of producers, agribusinesses, and consumers around the world."

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The U.S. Grains Council is a private, non-profit partnership of farmers and agribusinesses committed to building and expanding international markets for U.S. barley, corn, grain sorghum and their products. The Council is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has nine international offices that oversee programs in more than 50 countries. Financial support from our private industry members, including state checkoffs, agribusinesses, state entities and others, triggers federal matching funds from the USDA resulting in a combined program value of more than $26.5 million.

The U.S. Grains Council does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation or marital/family status. Persons with disabilities, who require alternative means for communication of program information, should contact the U.S. Grains Council.