Help For Flood Affected Farmers

USDA Ready To Help Farmers Affected By Flooding

A new TV feature is available on the USDA FTP site. 
YouTube: FSA Flooding
Video Podcast:FSA Flooding iTunes


*FTP DOWNLOAD INFORMATION AVAILABLE BELOW

FEATURE - HELP FOR FLOOD AFFECTED FARMERS

INTRO:  The U-S Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency is assessing what it can do to help farmers whose land and property was damaged by recent floods in the Midwest.  The USDA's Bob Ellison has more.  (1:34)

RECENT MIDWEST FLOODING COVERED A LOT OF FARM LAND AND DID SOME DAMAGE, BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WORSE HAD IT OCCURRED LATER IN THE SPRING. U-S DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FARM SERVICE AGENCY ADMINISTRATOR JUAN GARCIA SAYS DELAYED PLANTING LOOKS TO BE THE BIGGEST PROBLEM.

Juan Garcia, USDA Farm Service Agency  Administrator: We have had some reports on the damages. Fortunately, a lot of the crops had not been planted yet prior to the flooding occurring. So we're in good shape there. The problem is now that they have to wait until it dries up in order to be able to plant their corn and their soybeans.

STILL, GARCIA SAYS F-S-A IS ASSESSING DAMAGE IN FLOOD-STRICKEN AREAS TO DETERMINE WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR PRODUCERS.

Garcia: We have had at least one county in Missouri that has requested authorization for the Emergency Conservation Program, which is a program in which we offer cost sharing assistance to assist farmers to remove debris from their farmland, repair fences, also to repair conservation structures in the areas. One of our main missions is to provide a safety net for these producers. You never know what Mother Nature is going to do. If you take last year we had a tremendous drought in that area. A big difference from last year as to this year where we've had significant rainfall that has caused flooding.

GARCIA SAYS FLOOD-AFFECTED FARMERS SHOULD CONTACT THEIR LOCAL FARM SERVICE AGENCY OFFICE AND PROVIDE A REPORT.

Garcia: It is very important for us to get as many reports from producers as possible so that the office can do a good assessment as to what damage occurred in the area.

IN WASHINGTON D-C FOR THE U-S DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, I'M BOB ELLISON.

 

This new TV feature is available on the USDA FTP site.

FTP DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS: 
The host: ftp://ocbmtcmedia.download.akamai.com/23747/TV_Features/

User name: usdaftp

Password: 1qaz2wsx

Filename for TV Feature: FSA flooding feature

The new file is in QuickTime Movie (H.264 )

Please use this free ftp client if you have problems.

http://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type+client

Please email bob.ellison@usda.gov if you have problems or suggestions.

Also, the new TV feature can be seen on USDA's YouTube channel and as a video podcast.

Seven furlough days to be paired with holidays & weekends to ease impact

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is notifying the public today that it will close its offices nationwide on Friday, May 24th as a result of government-wide automatic spending cuts that took effect on March 1, 2013.  Absent any action to overcome these required reductions, the Department anticipates the need to close and suspend operations for an additional six days over the remainder of the current fiscal year.

The closures are expected on:

Ø  Friday, May 24th

Ø  Friday, June 14th

Ø  Friday, July 5th

Ø  Monday, July 22nd

Ø  Friday, August 2nd

Ø  Friday, August 16th

Ø  Friday, August 30th

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Spash Bash! 
Water Family Fun Night -kids in pool Friday, May 24, 6pm to 8pm

Kick off the summer with the Splash Bash! Enjoy half price admission to Annie Wittenmyer Family Aquatic Center. Water games will be played and door prizes will be given away! Parks and Recreation instructors and camp counselors will be offering a sample of our summer programs. Come enjoy a night of family water fun!

 

Annie Wittenmyer Aquatic Center

2828 Eastern Avenue, Davenport

 

 

Hershey Track & Field

Saturday, May 18
9am - 11am
Bettendorf High School
Hershey's Track & Field Program was created to provide fun learning experiences for children 9 to 14 years old. This event is FREE to the youth participants. Thanks to sponsorships that support youth physical fitness! Join us as we help kids discover their potential, make new friends, and gain newfound self confidence. Every child is a winner with the Hershey's Track & Field Games!
Tennis Block Party
Saturday, May 18
9am - 1pm
West High School
Let's make some "Racquet" for the 11th annual Tennis Block Party. Come join the neighborhood and have fun playing and learning the sport of tennis. This grand event is brought to you in partnership by Davenport Parks and Recreation, United Neighbors, Davenports Schools, BI-State and Missouri Valley bring you this community event. The event will be held on the West High School courts. Event will move indoors in case of rain
The Circus is coming to the River's Edge!  Piccadilly Circus May 23 Shows at 4:30pm & 7:30pm
clowns
Fun for the entire family in our indoor turf arena! Presented by Piccadilly Circus. Family fun at family prices! Get tickets online at:www.TheFunCircus.com or at the door on Show Day!
SPRINGFIELD, IL -A measure to increase educational opportunities for veterans in Illinois cosponsored by state Rep. Mike Smiddy (D-Hillsdale) passed out the Illinois House on Tuesday and now heads to the governor for further consideration.

"As a community, we should provide military personnel with the tools they need to encourage their success," said Smiddy. "This measure will help ensure our men and women in uniform are given every opportunity to succeed when they return from their service to our country. This is a positive step to encourage education and assist our proud servicemen and women."

House Bill 2353 allows veterans receiving benefits under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 to receive in-state tuition rates at Illinois' public universities and colleges. Certain veterans who served on active duty on or after September 11, 2011 are also eligible for in-state tuition under this bill.  

"This legislation was supported by our public universities because of its positive impact on veteran students and the entire state," Smiddy said. "Attracting quality, hardworking, and dedicated students to Illinois improves the quality of life for everyone. I was proud to cosponsor this bill and will continue supporting measures that encourage veterans to further their education here in Illinois."

For more information, contact Smiddy's office at RepSmiddy@gmail.com, (309) 848-9098, or toll free at (855) 243-4988.

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Iowa Supreme Court Opinions

May 17, 2013

Notice: The opinions posted on this site are slip opinions only. Under the Rules of Appellate Procedure a party has a limited number of days to request a rehearing after the filing of an opinion. Also, all slip opinions are subject to modification or correction by the court. Therefore, opinions on this site are not to be considered the final decisions of the court. The official published opinions of the Iowa Supreme Court are those published in the North Western Reporter published by West Group.

Opinions released before April 2006 and available in the archives are posted in Word format. Opinions released after April 2006 are posted to the website in PDF (Portable Document Format).   Note: To open a PDF you must have the free Acrobat Reader installed. PDF format preserves the original appearance of a document without requiring you to possess the software that created that document. For more information about PDF read: Using the Adobe Reader.

For your convenience, the Judicial Branch offers a free e-mail notification service for Supreme Court opinions, Court of Appeals opinions, press releases and orders. To subscribe, click here.

NOTE: Copies of these opinions may be obtained from the Clerk of the Supreme Court, Judicial Branch Building, 1111 East Court Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50319, for a fee of fifty cents per page.

No. 11-1630

JEREMIE J. COOKSEY vs. CARGILL MEAT SOLUTIONS CORPORATION

No. 12-0126

SHARON MOAD, Individually and as Personal Representative of the ESTATE OF DOUGLAS MOAD, and as Personal Representative on behalf of TRAVIS MOAD and HEATHER JOHNSON vs. DAKOTA TRUCK UNDERWRITERS, RISK ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, INC.

No. 12-0383

CHARTIS INSURANCE f/k/a AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP, INC. vs. IOWA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER

No. 12-0650

FARM BUREAU LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY vs. HOLMES MURPHY & ASSOCIATES, INC.

No. 12-1280

IOWA DENTAL ASSOCIATION vs. IOWA INSURANCE DIVISION and IOWA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER

 Candy Land

Grand Opening
Tuesday, May 28
1:30pm

This summer follow the rainbow path to find King Kandy and all his friends at Vander Veer Botanical Park! Begin at the Park Store and locate the characters using our backpacks. Discover plants with candy names and all the colors of the rainbow. Beware of Lord Licorice who wll try to distract you from your mission with the lagoon creatures! Find King Kandy and return to the park store for a surprise.  The Adventure is all yours!  Sign up for our Candy Land programs:

"Minty Concoctions"

Vander Veer Logo

"Gooey and Good"

"The Sweet Secrets of Modern Flavorings"

 

Theme available Memorial Day - Labor Day

 

Conservatory Store hours:

Tuesday - Sunday, 10:00am - 4:oopm. Closed on Monday.

 

Vander Veer Conservatory Friends of Vander Veer

214 W Central Park Ave

Davenport IA

563-326-7818

(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad today signed the following bills into law:

Senate File 432 -  An Act relating to the administration of the tax and related laws of the department of revenue, including administration of income taxes, sales and use and excise taxes, an environment protection charge, and property taxes, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions.

Senate File 433 - an Act relating to the requirements and administration of the targeted jobs withholding credit pilot project and including applicability provisions.

Senate File 436 - An Act relating to the historic preservation and cultural and entertainment district tax credit by modifying the definition of substantial rehabilitation, the qualifications for certain projects, and including effective date and applicability provisions.

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Thursday, May 16

WASHINGTON -- Senator Chuck Grassley is an original cosponsor of legislation introduced today to reform the military justice system and remove decisions about taking cases to special or general court martial out of the chain of command, giving discretion to military prosecutors except in uniquely military cases such as disobeying orders or going AWOL.

"This legislation responds to sexual violence inside the military and the fact that it's gone unaddressed both at risk to and hurting the reputation of the courageous and outstanding men and women who serve our nation in the armed forces," Grassley said.  "This reform would go a long way to seeing sexual assault crimes fully prosecuted in a timely way and in military courts."

The legislation - the Military Justice Improvement Act - is sponsored by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.  An identical bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Dan Benisheck of Michigan.

In addition to removing prosecution questions from the chain of command for certain crimes punishable by one year or more in confinement, the measure would:

  • Codify Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's proposed changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 60 so that the convening authority may not set aside a guilty finding or change a finding of guilty to a lesser included offense.  It also would alter Article 60 to require the convening authority to prepare a written justification for changes made to court martial sentences.
  • Provide offices of the military chiefs of staff with authority and discretion to establish courts, empanel juries, and choose judges to hear cases.

The proposal does not amend Article 15, so commanding officers still would be able to order non-judicial punishment for offenses not directed to trial by the prosecutors.

In a report of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office released last week by the Department of Defense, an estimated 26,000 cases of sexual assault or unwanted sexual contact occurred in fiscal year 2012, a 37 percent increase from fiscal year 2011.  Overall rates of reporting dropped from 13.5 percent in 2011 to 9.8 percent in 2012.  In 2011, victims reported 3,192 out of 19,000 incidents.  Victims reported 3,374 out of 26,000 incidents.  The number of perpetrators convicted of committing a sexual assault increased from 191 in 2011 to 238 in 2012.  The conviction rate dropped from one percent in 2011 to 0.9 percent in 2012.

The report also said that of the 3,374 total reports in 2012, 2,558 reports were unrestricted, which means they were actionable.  Of the unrestricted reports, 27 percent were for rape, 35 percent were for abusive and wrongful sexual contact, and 28 percent were for aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault.  Remaining cases were for aggravated sexual contact, nonconsensual sodomy, indecent assault, and attempts to commit those offenses.  The report said that across the military services, 74 percent of females and 60 percent of males perceived one or more barriers to reporting sexual assault.  Of victims who reported a sexual assault, 62 percent indicated they perceived some form of professional, social, and/or administrative retaliation.

In introducing the Senate bill today, Gillibrand said that a separate report, released last month by the Department of Defense, found that more than one in five female service members reported experiencing unwanted sexual conduct while serving in the military.  The findings came from responses to the Health-Related Behaviors Survey of Active Duty Military Personnel for 2011.

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Hauschild and Neely combine for 4 2/3 shutout innings to finish rubber match of awkward plays

GRAND CHUTE, Wis. (MAY 16, 2013) - The Quad Cities River Bandits only had a three-run fifth inning for their offensive output at Wisconsin Thursday afternoon, but left-hander Colton Cain, right-hander Mike Hauschild and right-hander John Neely combined to keep the home team to a single run in a 3-1 win in the deciding game of a three-game series at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

In a game with five errors, two unconventional double plays and other assorted oddities, the starting pitchers - Cain for Quad Cities and right-hander Austin Blaski (2-1) for Wisconsin began by matching each other with four scoreless innings. Quad Cities loaded the bases in the fourth inning on a walk, single and Blaski's first of two errors on bunt attempts. With the bases loaded and no outs, catcher Roberto Pena grounded to shortstop Orlando Arcia, who tagged out baserunner Jesse Wierzbicki going from second to third, and then tagged Miles Hamblin, who had only gone a short distance from third base. Quad Cities right fielder Ariel Ovando struck out swinging to end the inning still in a scoreless tie. The River Bandits (23-16) had their first quirky defensive play in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Timber Rattlers second baseman Chris McFarland grounded to second baseman Austin Elkins, who misfired over the head of Wierzbicki at first base, but Pena grabbed the carom from the first-base dugout screen and fired to Wierzbicki, who tagged out McFarland after he had turned toward second base.

In the fifth inning, Elkins drew a leadoff walk and moved to second base on a single by left fielder Jordan Scott. When center fielder Teoscar Hernandez put a bunt to the third-base side of the pitcher's mound, Blaski fielded the ball and threw it past third baseman Jose Sermo, which allowed Elkins to score and each runner to advance two bases. Shortstop Carlos Correa brought in Scott with a groundout, and Hamblin singled home Hernandez for a 3-0 advantage. Wisconsin answered in the fifth inning when Arcia hit a leadoff single against Cain, and left fielder Tyrone Taylor hit an RBI double to left-center field. After Cain retired right fielder Michael Reed on a groundout, manager Omar Lopez brought in Hauschild - the first second starter of a tandem to enter in the middle of an inning this season. Center fielder Mitch Haniger singled to put runners at first and third base before Hauschild induced an inning-ending double play, keeping it 3-1. Hauschild also escaped a second-and-third, one-out jam in the seventh by getting Reed to line out and Haniger to fly out.

Each team made the final out of its ninth inning by catching a baserunner going past third base. Right-hander Jono Armold induced a one-out ground ball by Hernandez that led to a force out at second, a late throw to first and a throw to get Ovando rounding third. Neely allowed two walks in the bottom half, before Haniger to hit a two-out grounder that caromed off third baseman Ryan Dineen into shallow left field, where Correa stopped it and threw to Dineen, who ran down Arcia and threw to Pena for the final out as Arcia left the basepath.

Thursday's victory also means The Captain's Table at 4801 River Drive in Moline will offer The Captain's Table Victory Discount on Friday, May 17. Anyone who mentions the River Bandits victory can receive a free appetizer or dessert with the purchase of two lunches or dinners with beverages on Friday, May 17. The River Bandits begin a four-game series with Beloit at 7 p.m. Friday, when Quad Cities left-hander Brian Holmes (3-2) and right-hander Jordan Jankowski (2-0) will face Snappers right-hander Seth Streich (3-2).

UP NEXT: The River Bandits begin their next home stand Friday, May 17, with Petrolpalooza Night - when berm tickets are 10 cents lower than the average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline at BP, and bleacher tickets are 10 cents below the price of a premium unleaded gallon. Friday will also feature a Fireworks show presented by Eastern Iowa Toyota Dealers, WLLR and WQAD. Single-game tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office at Modern Woodmen Park, by phone at 563-324-3000 and online at www.riverbandits.com. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $50. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.

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