Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack announced today that he will be hosting a telephone town hall to continue his conversation about gun safety, school safety and mental health care.  This call will build on the previous meetings and roundtables Loebsack has hosted across the Second District.  The call will be held WEDNESDAY, February 13^th at 6:00pm CST.  Details for the public to sign up are below.

"In the wake of this tragedy, I called for a national conversation to begin about how to address the troubling frequency with which lives have been cut short by senseless violence," said Loebsack.  "This conversation needed to start at home, which is why I hosted a series of meetings and roundtables with folks from across the state. I talked with sheriffs and police chiefs; I sat down with teachers, administrators and school officials; and I heard directly from mental health experts.  Now I want to hear from you.  Your input and insight are important to me."

Tele-Town Hall on Community Safety

Wednesday, February 13^th

6:00pm CST

Illinois Clean Water Initiative Will Invest $250 Million to Update Wastewater Treatment, Reduce Flooding and Clean Up Chicago Area Waterways

CHICAGO - February 11, 2013. Governor Pat Quinn today awarded a $250 million low-interest loan to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) to move forward with crucial projects to update the region's water infrastructure, clean up area rivers and improve public health. Financed through the governor's Illinois Clean Water Initiative (ICWI), the projects will create 2,000 construction-related jobs and support an additional 8,000 jobs in local communities.

In October 2012, Governor Quinn launched the $1 billion Clean Water Initiative to help local governments overhaul aging drinking water and wastewater treatment plants and pipelines. The Illinois Clean Water Initiative, which does not use any new state tax dollars, will create an estimated 28,500 jobs across Illinois.

"Today we are taking a big step forward to clean up Chicago area waterways and create thousands of good jobs," Governor Quinn said. "We are committed to making Illinois a national leader in clean water, which will lay the foundation for a stronger economy for generations to come."

Governor Quinn was joined for today's announcement at the MWRD's Calumet pumping station by MWRD Board President Kathleen Therese Meany, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) Director John Kim, Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) Executive Director Chris Meister, and local labor leaders.

Among the first projects to be financed through the ICWI is a major upgrade to an MWRD pumping station that is part of the multi-billion dollar Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP). The ICWI will finance disinfection equipment to treat out-flowing water at the MWRD's Calumet facility and O'Brien Water Reclamation Plant in Skokie. The ICWI will provide financing for other projects to prevent flooding and reduce pollution using sustainable management technology to capture phosphorus and nitrogen.

"The nutrient removal projects are aimed at resource recovery with a return on investment for our taxpayers," MWRD Board President Kathleen Therese Meany said. "These processes are on the cutting edge of treatment technology and will transform the wastewater industry into a resource recovery enterprise."

The Calumet MWRD facility was constructed in 1985 as part of TARP to pump combined sewer overflows captured in the deep tunnel system into a main for transfer and treatment. About $35 million in low-interest ICWI financing will be used to reconstruct two pump rooms, each with a capacity of 150 million gallons per day, using state-of-the-art pumping equipment to divert storm water and combined sewer overflows for treatment rather than allow it to go directly into waterways.

"Illinois EPA has had a long working relationship with the MWRD, including previously administering $465 million in low-interest loans for TARP," IEPA Director John Kim said. "Governor Quinn's Clean Water Initiative will accelerate these continued MWRD improvements that will result in great returns for the environment and economy of Northeast Illinois."

"We're putting thousands of unionized building trades workers back to work, cutting the cost to local governments of financing clean water projects and ensuring safe drinking water for consumers, IFA Executive Director Chris Meister said. "It's win-win-win."

MWRD projects will put to work thousands of tradesmen, including Carpenters, Cement Masons, Electricians, Iron Workers, Laborers, Machinists, Material Testers, plumbers, Pipefitters, Operating Engineers, Painters and Truck Drivers.

"The jobs created by the Clean Water Initiative are good-paying jobs, since a prevailing wage requirement is part of each project," James F. Coyne, business manager of Plumbers Local 130 said. "For our region to thrive we need a modern, well-built water infrastructure, and this partnership will help MWRD achieve that."

The MWRD operates one of the world's largest wastewater collection and treatment systems, handling sewage for more than 5.25 million residents, thousands of businesses and industries in Chicago and 125 suburban communities spread across 883 square miles. The MWRD has 554 miles of intercepting sewers and force mains and more than 10,000 local sewer system connections, as well as seven treatment plants and 23 pumping stations able to treat more than two billion gallons per day.

Governor Quinn proposed the ICWI in his 2012 State of the State Address, and directed the IEPA and IFA to expand the State Revolving Fund from $300 million to $1 billion annually. The Initiative is funded with annual federal grants, funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and additional principal and interest from loan repayments. No new state tax dollars are used. Needed equity is provided by the existing loan portfolio and future federal capitalization dollars.

Governor Quinn has already awarded $4.8 million to Pekin, Illinois to upgrade its wastewater treatment facility and $15 million to Chicago to replace seven miles of drinking water pipes, some of which are a century old. Since 1989, IEPA has lent $4.3 billion to 472 communities; there has never been a single defaulted loan during the program's history.

Future MWRD projects that will be financed with CWI low-interest loans include :

? $117 million for disinfection facilities at the Calumet and O'Brien Water Reclamation Plants to meet proposed fecal coliform standards. Chlorination will be used at the Calumet plant to kill bacteria before wastewater is released into the Little Calumet River. Ultraviolet lamps will be used for disinfection at the O'Brien plant to kill bacteria before wastewater is released into the North Shore Channel just north of the Chicago River. The deal will allow the O'Brien project to proceed a year sooner than anticipated.

? $30 million for a Wet Weather Treatment Facility at the Lemont Water Reclamation Plant to better manage storm water.

? $18 million for replacement of the O'Brien Sludge Pipeline, an 18-mile pipe which carries sludge from the O'Brien facility in Skokie to the Stickney facility for treatment and disposal. Built in the 1960s, it has developed a number of breaks resulting in sludge leakage. This project will replace pipeline in Skokie, Lincolnwood and Chicago, with construction expected this summer.

? $15 million for a phosphorus recovery system at the Stickney Water Reclamation plant, with the loan allowing MWRD to push ahead with this sustainable resource management project a year ahead of schedule. It will recover phosphorus that would otherwise be discharged into waterways and convert it into a form that can be sold to the fertilizer industry, offsetting treatment costs and avoiding the environmental impact of rock mining this product.

? $10.6 million for rehabilitation of the 95-year old Des Plaines River Interceptor Sewer 1 that serves the Villages of Westchester, Broadview, Bellwood, Berkeley, Hillside, Maywood, Melrose Park, River Forest and Forest Park. The aging sewer has cracks and infiltration that will be sealed with a new sewer liner.

? $10 million for a state-of-the-art advanced biological process at the Egan Wastewater Reclamation Plant in Schaumburg to remove nitrogen from pollutants while cutting energy usage by 40 percent to treat this flow.

? $9.1 million to rehabilitate mechanical and electrical components of the TARP tunnel systems to improve safety, prevent flooding and maintain functionality for another 30 years.

? $5.6 million to reduce nuisance odors from the corroded Upper Des Plaines Intercepting Sewer. Construction is expected in June.

To learn more about the Illinois Clean Water Initiative, visit CleanWater.Illinois.gov.

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(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad will speak and sign a proclamation celebrating February as Black History Month in Iowa at a ceremony Thursday, February 14, 2013, at noon.

The following event is open to the public:

Thursday, February 14, 2013 

Noon Gov. Branstad signs a proclamation celebrating February as Black History Month in Iowa

State Capitol

1^st Floor Rotunda

Des Moines, IA

Since Valentine's Day falls on Thursday, a school night, local businesses that cater to the family are especially feeling the love this year.  Papa Murphy's, (the fifth largest pizza chain in the nation) is swamped with cheesy Valentine's orders for their HeartBaker™ - a pizza in the form of a heart. In fact, V-Day is a heart stopper for sure - one of the busiest pizza days of the year!  We'd love to have you come out to a Papa Murphy's in our area this week to show how we make the HeartBaker™ - a perfect gift for the entire family!

You could cover this as part of a bigger story on how local businesses are swamped with V-Day orders - (businesses like Papa Murphy's, florists, card shops, candy stores, jewelry shops).

Papa Murphy's Difference:

Papa Murphy's is so successful on Valentine's Day because the company capitalizes on the new trend of staying home with the family on Valentine's Day - especially when it falls on a school night.  In a recent survey, 90% of women with children say they're happy to  spend V-Day at home with the kids.  62% say the high prices and big crowds deter them from going out on Valentine's Day. At Papa Murphy's, you pick your own fresh ingredients and take the HeartBaker™ home to bake in your own oven - vs. - going out or waiting for the pizza boy with a cold delivery. Papa Murphy's brings families together through food, people and love. 

CUPID WANTS YOUR DOUGH (Crazy Facts about Valentine's Day Spending)

Did you know On Valentine's Day  -

• Spending is expected to reach more than $17 billion nationwide
• 141 million cards are exchanged worldwide - (second to only Christmas in card sales)
• The average consumer will spend $126
• Men spend double what women spend - $168 compared to $85
• 85% of women prefer quality time with their significant other instead of a gift
• 52% of women say they feel guilty if their significant other spends too much on a V- Day gift
• Half of women say they would end the relationship if their significant other forgot V-Day
• 198 million roses bought on V-Day  (mostly red)
• Folks will spend $1.7 billion on followers - 73% bought by men, 27% by women
• 8 billion candy hearts will be produced - enough to be laid out from Rome, Italy to Valentine, Arizona - 20 times and back again
• 11% of Americans will get engaged on V-Day

So don't be a heart breaker!! Come out and show how we make the HEARTBAKER! I've enclosed a press release with OTHER heart-shaped VALENTINE'S gift ideas and would love to help you tell this story.