DES MOINES, Iowa (February 28, 2014) - This March for National Nutrition Month®, the Iowa Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics encourages Iowans to Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right. Registered dietitians and registered dietitian nutritionists, the food and nutrition experts, are providing tips for National Nutrition Month® to help Iowans learn how to combine taste and nutritionfor healthy, delicious meals.

Even though many individuals are becoming much more health conscious, the majority select food based solely on taste. Consumer research confirms that taste tops nutrition as the main reason why one food is purchased over another. While social, emotional and health factors also play a role, the foods people enjoy are likely the ones they eat most.

The Academy encourages Iowans to explore new foods and flavors, keeping taste and nutrition on your plate at every meal. There is a whole world of tasty and nutritious foods available that are just waiting to be discovered.

Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right Tips

- Explore New Foods and Flavors - Add more nutrition and eating pleasure by expanding your range of food choices. When shopping, make a point of selecting a fruit, vegetable or whole grain that's new to you or your family. Choose a restaurant that features ethnic foods or find new flavors at community food festivals. Try different versions of familiar foods like blue potatoes, red leaf lettuce or basmati rice.

- Get Cooking - Cooking at home can be healthy, rewarding and cost-effective. Resolve to learn some cooking and kitchen basics, like how to dice an onion or how to store herbs and spices. The collection of How do I... videos at http://www.eatright.org/howdoi will get you started.

- Banish Brown Bag Boredom - Whether it's a brown bag lunch for work or school, make it a healthy lunch packed with nutrition. Prevent brown bag boredom with these healthy lunch ideas. They're easy to fix the night before and ready to go in the morning. Try whole-wheat couscous with chick peas or black beans; whole-wheat tortilla filled with chicken, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes; baked potato topped with broccoli, low-fat cheddar cheese and salsa; or spinach salad with sliced pear, red onion and low-fat feta cheese.

- Myths vs. Truths - Don't believe all the myths out there. It's important to make informed food choices and develop sound eating habits. Learn more about common myths vs. truths at http://eatrightiowa.org to find accurate information to support your healthy lifestyle.

- Dine Out without Ditching Your Goals - You can dine at a restaurant and stick to your healthy eating plan! The key is to plan ahead, ask questions and choose foods carefully. Think about nutritious items you can add to your plate?fruits, veggies, lean meat, poultry or fish?and look for grilled, baked, broiled or steamed items. See "Healthy Eating on the Run" at http://www.eatright.org/nutritiontipsheets.

- Consult RDs and RDNs - Registered dietitians and registered dietitian nutritionists can help you by providing sound, easy-to-follow personalized nutrition advice and put you on the path to losing weight, eating well and reducing your risk of chronic disease. Find RDs and RDNs near you at http://www.eatright.org/programs/rdfinder.

The Iowa Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics will also celebrate Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day on Wednesday, March 12 to increase awareness of registered dietitians and registered dietitian nutritionists as the indispensable providers of food and nutrition services. Learn more about the Iowa Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at http://eatrightiowa.org.

About the Iowa Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics

The Iowa Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics (IAND) is the state's largest organization of food andnutrition professionals representing more than 800 licensed registered dietitians and registered dietitian nutritionists. The non-profit works to advance the profession of dietetics and is committed to improving the nutrition, health and well-being of all Iowans.

About Registered Dietitians and Registered Dietitian Nutritionists

Registered dietitians and registered dietitian nutritionists are food and nutrition experts who are highly educated professionals with a minimum of a bachelor's degree. They translate the science ofnutrition into practical solutions to help individuals make unique, positive lifestyle changes. They work throughout the community in hospitals, schools, public health clinics, nursing homes, fitness centers, food management, food industry, universities, research and private practice.

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Three Congregations Celebrating 175th Year in the City

Eight churches, three celebrating 175 years of service to the community, will join together for the second annual Altar Crawl Sunday, May 4th, opening their doors to visitors for free tours and special events. Hours are 1-5PM. Participating churches include : Bethel A.M.E., First Baptist, First Christian, First Presbyterian, Sacred Heart Cathedral, St. John's United Methodist, St. Paul's Lutheran and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

May is designated as Preservation Month by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. All of these churches are home to some of Davenport's earliest communities of faith, tracing their roots to the city's beginnings. Six of the eight participating churches worship in structures individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, designed by master architects from Davenport, Chicago and New York. In 2014, First Baptist, First Christian, and First Presbyterian are celebrating the 175th anniversary of the founding of their congregations.

Not content to rest on their historic foundations, these congregations continue to give back by hosting many social programs. All are members of P.U.N.C.H. (People Uniting Neighbors and Churches) which, along with Hilltop Campus Village is sponsoring the event. "Our hilltop churches have worked hard to develop a unique partnership with each other through P.U.N.C.H. and with Hilltop Campus Village to benefit the people we serve," said Ralph Kelly, President of P.U.N.C.H. "The Altar Crawl is an example of that collaboration and a unique opportunity for visitors to enjoy the beautiful legacy of those who came before us."

On May 4th, participating churches will provide a variety of activities, from behind-the-scenes tours to special concerts and pageants. Visitors may begin their tour at any participating church, A tour brochure with map and more information will be available at all locations or can be downloaded at the Hilltop Campus Village website beginning May 1st.

What: The Hilltop Campus Village Altar Crawl.
When: Sunday, May 4th, 2014, 1-5PM.
Where: Eight participating churches in and around the boundaries of Hilltop Campus Village, Davenport, Iowa.
Tickets: No tickets required, free to the public.
Parking: In church lots and surrounding streets.

Harmon: Fair Tax represents "third way" as alternative to current choice between antiquated, regressive flat tax and draconian cuts to vital investments and services

*** NOTE: Complete rate chart and example tax cut levels at bottom ***

Springfield, IL - Today, Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) announced a complementary proposal to the Fair Tax Act he introduced in 2013, announcing a Fair Tax rate structure that would provide a tax relief for 94% of Illinoisans, including everyone making up to $200,000. The proposal would replace Illinois' antiquated, regressive flat tax with rates that offer tax cuts to the overwhelming majority, while maintaining adequate revenue to protect vital investments in education, health and human services, and public safety.

"The choice we have is to extend the flat tax or to cut 13,400 teachers from the classroom, to take 95,000 kids off of early childhood education, to say 'no' to 30,000 college students wishing to get a MAP grant, to close 11 prisons and release 15,000 prisoners, to lay off 3,000 corrections officers, to cut the state police by 30%," said Sen. Harmon. "This is a third way. This is a way to provide the services people need and to do so in a way that provides tax relief for 94% of Illinois families."

Under the proposed rate structure, with lower rates for lower incomes and higher rates for higher incomes, the median Illinois taxpayer earning $55,137 annually would receive a tax cut of $303.

Harmon urged his colleagues in both houses of the legislature to support the pending Fair Tax Act by May 4^th so that it may be referred to Illinois voters on the upcoming November ballot. "I trust the people of Illinois," Harmon said when asked about out-of-state special interests running false and misleading attack ads against the Fair Tax.

Polling shows that 77% of voters support a Fair Tax, with lower rates for lower incomes and higher rates for higher incomes. Since its introduction in 2013, a large and growing statewide coalition has grown in favor of a Fair Tax, putting it at the top of the legislative agenda as Springfield considers budget options for FY2015.

Illinois Fair Tax Proposed Rates By Bracket
1st Bracket	$0-$12,500	2.9%
2nd Bracket	$12,500-$180,000	4.9%
3rd Bracket	$180,000 & Above	6.9%

 

 

 

 

Plan Includes Expanding Use of Electronic Poll Books & Updating Voter Registration Database
CLINTON, Iowa - Today, at an event in Clinton, Iowa, Secretary of State candidate Brad Anderson announced his plan to end the wasteful criminal investigations in the Secretary of State's office attempting to prove the existence of voter fraud in Iowa.  In addition, Anderson announces his commitment to preventing potential voter fraud before it happens by committing to expand the use of electronic poll books to all 99 counties.

"There is a clear choice in the race for Secretary of State - continuing the Matt Schultz agenda of wasteful investigations and voter intimidation, or turning the page and finding ways to modernize the office and encourage more Iowans to participate in our elections," said Anderson.  "I believe our state's reputation for clean and fair elections has been put at risk because our Secretary of State has spent his entire term in office trying to prove Iowans are cheaters.  It's time to turn the page on these fruitless investigations and get back to encouraging Iowans to get out there and vote."

Since Schultz took office, millions of votes have been cast and hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars have been spent trying to prove voter fraud exists in Iowa.  Despite years of investigations, only six Iowans have pled guilty to election misconduct, "with most involving voters who said they didn't know they were ineligible or that their actions represented election misconduct," according to the Des Moines Register.

On March 20th a Lee County jury acquitted a former Iowa drug offender and mother of three young children who was charged with voter fraud as a result of Schultz's investigation and faced up to 15 years in prison.  Without dissention, the jury ruled the mother had simply made "a mistake" by registering to vote because, as the jury foreman said, "she thought she had her rights restored."

ANDERSON PLAN TO END INVESTIGATIONS AND MODERNIZE ELECTIONS:
In February Schultz said he expects to spend $240,000 in federal Help America Vote Act funding on the criminal voter fraud investigation.  He also requested an additional $140,000 in state funding for the upcoming fiscal year to continue his fraud investigation.

Our tax dollars must be used more effectively. Anderson believes it is time to take the office in a different direction:

STEP #1: Immediate end to hiring criminal investigator.

• Upon taking office, Anderson will put an immediate end to the Matt Schultz practice of wasting either federal or state taxpayer dollars to hire criminal investigators in the Secretary of State's office.

STEP #2: Expand use of electronic pollbooks.

• Anderson commits to working with local election officials and investing in measures that are proven to prevent potential voter fraud such as electronic pollbooks.  By expanding the use of electronic pollbooks in all 99 counties, Iowans who choose to vote at the polls on election day could check-in electronically and the local poll worker will let them know immediately if they are eligible to vote and at the correct polling location.

STEP #3: Update voter registration rolls.

• Anderson will invest in updating voter registration database to ensure eligible Iowa voters are no longer prevented from casting a vote, as was the case recently in Cerro Gordo county when three voters had their votes thrown out because their names mistakenly appeared on a Secretary of State list of ineligible voters.

"Modernizing the office and detecting fraud before it happens will strengthen the integrity of our elections without disenfranchising a single, eligible Iowa voter," said Anderson.  "This is common sense, but to move forward we need a Secretary of State who cares more about governing than pushing some political agenda to suppress votes."

In December 2012, Anderson unveiled his plan to make Iowa number one in the nation in voter turnout through implementing such measures as online voter registration and allowing Iowans to sign-up for permanent absentee ballots.