TIPTON, Iowa - The jury of the 2013 Hardacre Film Festival has announced its award-winning films in six categories. The festival will take place Friday and Saturday, Aug. 2 and 3, at the Hardacre Theater, 112 E. 5th St. in Tipton.

"We're really excited to share such entertaining and innovative films with our audience," said Will Valet, festival director. "Some of these films premiered at the top film festivals in the world and are having their Iowa or Midwest premieres at Hardacre."

The 2013 award-winning films are:

Best Narrative Feature

WINNER–"Scrapper" tells the story of Hollis, whose drive in life is to collect scrap metal to pay for the care of his aging mother. That life is turned upside down when he meets Swan, a teenage runaway. Producer and co-writer Ed Dougherty will present the film at Hardacre Friday night, Aug. 2.

RUNNER-UP–"The Little Tin Man," a comedy-drama, features Iowa native Aaron Beelner as a little person looking to score a big role in a remake of "The Wizard of Oz." Beelner will present the film at Hardacre Saturday night, Aug. 3.

Best Documentary

WINNER–"William and the Windmill" profiles young Malawian William Kamkwamba, who builds a power-generating windmill from scrap parts, rescuing his family from famine and poverty and setting him on a life path he didn't expect.

RUNNER-UP–"The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne" tells how a poor African American woman from segregated 1930s America became one of the world's most notorious and successful jewel thieves. This documentary presents the unapologetic 81-year-old Doris Payne as her life of crime catches up to her.

Best Short Film

WINNER–In "Gun," directed by University of Iowa alum Spencer Gillis, a terrifying break-in prompts Roy to buy a handgun to protect his family, but the power he feels carrying the weapon leads down a path that may have tragic consequences. Producer Nicole Cosgrove will present the film at Hardacre Saturday night, Aug. 3.

RUNNER-UP–In "Paper People," the lives of a suicidal U.S. Marine, a single mother, and her precocious daughter collide with incendiary results.

Best Student Film

WINNER–In "Escaping the Island," a young man struggles with society's obsession with technology.

RUNNER-UP–In "Christian Dating 101," two young people revel in the social boundaries of Christian dating.

Best Animated Film

WINNER–In "Double Occupancy (Zweibettzimmer)," two old men share a hospital room in which the window is the only connection to the outside world, and thus, it becomes a highly demanded resource. This is a dark parable about the greed of man;an animated, psychologically intimate play about the power of imagination and illusion.

RUNNER-UP–"Animation Hotline" is a series of daily animations that use messages left on the Dusty Studio voicemail for content. The project was first seeded by giving out the phone number to a few poets and friends, but it eventually caught on with bloggers and as the phone number proliferated through the internet, the messages increased.

Best Iowa Film

WINNER –In "Bring Me a Dream," young Lynn disobeys her parents by not going to bed on time and Mr. Sandman decides that it's time to pay Lynn a little visit. Director Mikeal Burgin and star Kaylynn Burgin will present the film at Hardacre Friday night, Aug. 2.

Hardacre will also give an Audience Award, to be voted on by the audience and announced at the conclusion of the festival Saturday, Aug. 3.

Hardacre 2013 will be held Friday and Saturday, Aug. 2 and 3. Admission to any of Hardacre's programs, Friday Night, Saturday Day or Saturday Night, is $8 each. An all-festival pass can be purchased for $20. Films on Friday begin at 6 p.m. On Saturday, screenings will run all day from 9 a.m. through 11 p.m.

For a full schedule or more information about the Hardacre Film Festival, go to hardacrefilmfestival.com.

SPRINGFIELD, IL (07/28/2013)(readMedia)-- Six Illinois National Guard Soldiers graduated the South Dakota Army National Guard's Accelerated Officer Candidate School July 26 at Mount Rushmore, S.D.

"The Accelerated Officer Candidate School is a high paced, intense officer training course, which takes enlisted Soldiers and shapes them into the commissioned leaders of tomorrow's National Guard," said Col. Tom Weiss of Sherman, the commander of the 129th Regiment, Regional Training Institute (RTI) in Springfield, Ill. "Each of these Soldiers have proved themselves ready to be part of the next generation of leaders in the Illinois Army National Guard."

Officer Candidates Dustin Anderson of Preemption, Robert Boney of Columbia, Amanda Bruni of Troy, Jonathan Logemann of Chicago, Jonathan Miller of Chicago and Garrett Nevious of Marion were selected to attend the accelerated class in South Dakota through the Illinois National Guard's Pre-Officer Candidate School program at the 129th Regiment, Regional Training Institute (RTI) in Springfield, Ill.

The graduates were among 52 officer candidates from nearly 20 states and the U.S. territory of Guam hoping to earn a commission in the Army National Guard Officer Corps.

The six graduates will be among the 34 Illinois Army National Guard officer candidates from this year's accelerated and traditional OCS classes to become second lieutenants at the 129th RTI's officer commissioning ceremony to be held Aug. 25 at the Springfield High School in Springfield, Ill.

The accelerated OCS program is an eight-week fulltime training program where as the traditional OCS program is a one-weekend-a-month for 18 months program plus two, two-week long training sessions.

The Illinois National Guard's OCS program has commissioned nearly 140 officers since 2010.

Rio Ruiz hits seventh home run and drives in three runs for Quad Cities

BELOIT, Wis. (JULY 27, 2013) - Beloit Snappers catcher Nick Rickles went 5-for-5 with a double and home run, and four other Snappers had multi-hit games to contribute to the team's season-high 19 hits in an 8-6 victory over the visiting Quad Cities River Bandits at Pohlman Field Saturday night.

One night after allowing a season-low two hits in a 1-0 win at Burlington, the River Bandits (18-15 second half, 56-46 overall) gave up the most hits by an opponent since yielding a season-high 21 to Cedar Rapids on June 5. The Snappers (20-14, 63-41) had at least one hit in every inning at bat, and at least two hits in every inning but the first.

Quad Cities opened the scoring, however, against Snappers right-hander Andres Avila. Center fielder Teoscar Hernandez hit a leadoff single and scored on a one-out double by shortstop Carlos Correa, who later scored on a two-out RBI single by third baseman Rio Ruiz.

River Bandits right-hander Chris Devenski allowed the Snappers to tie the game with single runs in the third and fourth innings. Right fielder John Wooten hit a third-inning RBI fielder's choice, and Rickles tied the game with a home run leading off the fourth. Devenski stranded the go-ahead run at third base in the fourth and fifth innings. He finished five innings, allowing two earned runs on 10 hits.

Avila faced the minimum without a hit after a second-inning leadoff double by River Bandits right fielder Dan Gulbransen, on his way to five innings of work and a no-decision. Right-hander Kris Hall (4-1) started the sixth inning and gave up a two-out single by first baseman Jesse Wierzbicki and Ruiz's go-ahead two-run home run to right-center field.

With a 4-2 lead, right-hander Juri Perez started the bottom of the sixth inning by walking center fielder Brett Vertigan. Shipman hit a ground ball that second baseman Austin Elkins threw to second base for a forceout, and Correa's throw to first struck Vertigan, providing no possibility to get Shipman. Designated hitter Daniel Robertson doubled, and second baseman Christopher Bostick hit a sacrifice fly to right field for a 4-3 deficit. Third baseman Renato Nunez followed with a two-out, game-tying single, and doubles by Wooten and first baseman Matt Olson, as well as Rickles' RBI single that made it 7-4. Perez allowed five runs on five hits in two-thirds of an inning.

Quad Cities came within 7-6 in the seventh against Hall, who yielded RBI singles by left fielder Jordan Scott and Correa, although the former was thrown out trying to reach second base to become what would have been the tying run in scoring position. Shipman added an RBI single against right-hander Gera Sanchez for an 8-6 Snappers margin. Right-hander Tyler Vail allowed a lone ninth-inning single over the last two innings for his fourth save.

The River Bandits and Snappers will continue their series at 2:00 p.m. Sunday. Quad Cities left-hander Joe Bircher (1-1) is scheduled to face Beloit right-hander Deyvi Jimenez (2-0).

UP NEXT: Modern Woodmen Park is a nominee for the "Best Minor League Ballpark" in the 2013 10Best Readers' Choice Awards, and fans can vote once per day at 10Best.com until the winner is announced Aug. 14. The River Bandits return to Modern Woodmen Park Tuesday, July 30. 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.

ABOUT THE BANDITS: The River Bandits ownership is making one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 112 feet over the playing field, is planned for next spring, along with a carousel and other new games and attractions. This season, the team just unveiled a new 300-foot long dual zip line, a rock climbing wall, a Mediacom Frog Hopper, and a number of new bounce houses . The team also boasts a new major league affiliate, the Houston Astros, and fans can see the first team in Minor League Baseball history with back-to-back No. 1 overall draft picks - 2012 top pick Carlos Correa and 2013 top pick Mark Appel, as well as 2012 first-round draft choice Lance McCullers. With new rides, new attractions, new improvements, a new affiliate and future major league stars, the second half of this season is one every fan will not want to miss!

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Illinois Becomes 18th State to Move Democratic Process into 21st Century and Allow Online Voter Registration, One of Quinn's 2013 Priorities

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today signed legislation revising the Illinois Election Code to give residents the ability to register to vote online. First proposed by Governor Quinn during his 2013 State of the State address, Illinois is now the 18th state to allow online voter registration. Today's action is part of Governor Quinn's agenda to increase participation in our democracy and ensure that every voice is heard in Illinois.

"Democracy works best when as many voters as possible raise their voices at the ballot box," Governor Quinn said. "Online voter registration will encourage more people to fulfill their civic duty by making that first step of registering to vote easier and more accessible. This new law will boost registration rates, cut costs and move Illinois' democratic process into the 21st century."

The 17 states that currently offer online voter registration have realized its benefits which include higher voter registration rates - particularly among young people - and lower processing costs.

"Online voter registration is the biggest advancement in expanding the electorate since Motor Voter passed 20 years ago," Cook County Clerk David Orr said. "I've long supported online voter registration because it's a convenient, secure way for voters to get registered and start participating."

"Online voter registration brings Illinois' election process into the 21st century," House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) said. "Making it easier for people to exercise one of our most fundamental and significant rights - the right to vote - is good for democracy."

"This law will increase participation in our democracy," State Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) said. "But it will do more than that. It will also save the state money. Processing a paper registration costs 83 cents. Processing an online application costs 3 cents."

Online voter registration is part of House Bill 2418 - the "Omnibus Elections Bill" - which includes other provisions, such as:

·         Changing the hours for early voting on Sundays from 9:00 a.m. -  Noon, to Noon -  3:00 p.m., to enable broader participation;

·         Requiring the State Board of Elections to post precinct-by-precinct totals for all of the state's precincts, and,

·         Codifying that votes cast for a candidate who drops out before Election Day but remains on the ballot will not be counted.

States that offer online voter registration include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. Four more states - Delaware, New Mexico, New York and Ohio - have modified versions. Online voter registration is expected to be in place in Illinois by the 2014 General Election.

Earlier this month, Governor Quinn signed a law to allow 17-year olds who will turn 18 by the time of the general election to participate in that cycle's primary election. According to FairVote, 20 other states permit 17-year-olds to vote in the primary election.