MOLINE, IL - WQPT, Quad Cities PBS, will air the new program, "Stop Bullying with Dr. Jennifer Caudle," at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 18.

"After our community conversations with our 'Achieve Quad Cities' project, we discovered that the top reason given for dropping out of school was bullying," said Interim General Manager, Jamie Lange.  "As a result of those talks, we felt the next logical step was to see what we could do as a station to convene the many anti-bullying programs in our area and highlight their services."

WQPT, in conjunction with nonprofits addressing bullying - known as CARE QC (Connecting Anti-Bullying Resources and Education) - has provided community conversations, television programming and a performance of "The Ugly Duckling" by Ballet Quad Cities.

A panel discussion, which was taped Feb. 21, was moderated by Dr. Jennifer Caudle, an anti-bullying expert and an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey- School of Osteopathic Medicine. The discussion featured panelists Angie Kendall, community education program manager, Child Abuse Council; Robin Peterson of Genesis Psychology Associates; Ellie Hoeper, a student and member of "Stomp Out Bullying" Drama Team; and Jerry Jones, a parent and the Chief Operating Officer for the United Way of the Quad City Area.

Jill Myers, associate professor of law enforcement and justice administration at Western Illinois University, has created an interactive survey for parents and children to take together for further discussion about the topic of bullying. The Cyber Safe Cyber Savvy Survey can be found at www.wqpt.org/stopbullying, along with other resources.

WQPT is a media service of Western Illinois University-Quad Cities located in Moline, IL.

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A growing number of governors, including many Republicans, are choosing to expand Medicaid in their states, taking advantage of the extremely generous terms in the Affordable Care Act.

Under the Affordable Care Act, if states expand Medicaid to everyone up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line, the federal government pays the full cost of those newly eligible beneficiaries for the first three years and no less than 90 percent of the costs after that.  That is a great deal for our state, or for any state - which is exactly why so many governors are signing on.

There is no question that Medicaid expansion is the right choice for Iowa.  It would provide coverage for tens of thousands of uninsured Iowans.  And the more than 60,000 Iowans currently covered by IowaCare would get much better benefits and improved access to doctors and hospitals.

One Iowan told me in a letter how Medicaid enabled her to receive many mental health and rehabilitative services for a disability, and that this helped her to go to school, obtain a degree, and rejoin the workforce.  Another Iowan told me that IowaCare is not sufficient because the program does not cover mental health services.

Iowa's hospitals and providers, which are eager to save untold millions in uncompensated care, are also encouraged by an expansion of Medicaid.

Expanding Medicaid is also the right choice for our state's fiscal health.  Under the expansion, independent analysts project that Iowa Medicaid spending would decrease by 2.6 percent, and state and local governments would save more than $530 million over the next decade.

No wonder so many governors are signing up for Medicaid expansion.  Gov. Rick Scott of Florida said, "While the federal government is committed to paying 100 percent of the cost, I cannot in good conscience deny Floridians that needed access to health care."  Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona argued that the savings to her state from expanding Medicaid would free up general-fund money for higher education.

Last November, Iowans voted to reelect President Obama and rejected the candidate who would have repealed the Affordable Care Act.  Since then, a growing number of governors have said that Medicaid expansion is not about "liberal" or "conservative," it's about common sense.

I could not agree more.  It's time to bring the full benefits of the Affordable Care Act to all Iowans.

For more information, please visit http://www.harkin.senate.gov/ or follow Senator Harkin on Facebook and Twitter.

A PDF version of this article is available by clicking here.

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The Thirty-seventh Annual Rock Island Fine Arts Exhibition, an annual juried competition co-sponsored by the Rock Island Art Guild and Augustana College, will be displayed at the Augustana College Art Museum through April 21, 2013. The competition was open to visual artists working in any media except video, and residing within a 150-mile radius of the Quad Cities. There were 100 participating artists. Juror Pamela Blotner quipped "It may be snowy and cold outside, but the Augustana College Art Museum radiates with color and energy. Inside the galleries one finds a 'patchwork quilt' of the Quad City area, its cityscapes, rivers, forest and farmlands." Blotner selected 50 art works from 41 artists for the final exhibition More than $3,500 in awards will be presented at the reception on Friday, April 5, at 5:40 p.m

The awards include :

First Prize ($1000): Pam Echeverria (Cedar Falls, IA), Qutang Gorge, acrylics

Second Prize ($500): Teresa Mesich (Rock Island, IL), Bird Circus, acrylic on canvas

Founder's Award ($300) for 2013 in Honor of Mr. and Mrs. G. Pierson (Pete) and Ruth Brauch:

Tom Voss (Bettendorf, IA), East by West, wood?black walnut and American chestnut

Sally MacMillan Watercolor Award ($500): Rosalie Waranius Vass (Batavia, IL), Spinning, opaque watercolor

Two-dimensional Entry Award in Memory of Bernice and Stanley Harris ($500): Peter Xiao (Rock Island, IL), Six Heads to be Hatted, oil on canvas with wood

Three-dimensional Freestanding Entry Award in Memory of Zeivel Harris ($500): Dean Kugler (Davenport, IA), Blind Control, resin

4 Honorable Mentions, Each $100:

Peter Van Ael (Montgomery, IL), Swimmingly, reduction woodcut montage

Richard Ankeney (Galesburg, IL), Lobster Buoys, digital photograph

Jane L. Koski (Rock Island, IL), "Stillness" on a Cool Summer Morning, watercolor

George Olson (Woodhull, IL), Prairie Study: White Vervain, watercolor

During the exhibition visitors can vote on the People's Choice and Children's Choice awards of $50 each. Hours for this exhibition are noon to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays, and Sundays in April excepting the Easter break of March 29-April 3.

The 2013 juror is San Francisco Bay Area artist and curator Pamela Blotner. Over the last 20 years, much of Blotner's work has been informed by her experiences as an Illustrator/Mission Specialist on missions for Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Human Rights Center at the University of California at Berkeley. Blotner is an adjunct professor at John F. Kennedy University and St. Mary's College, on the faculty of Pixar University at Pixar Animation Studios, a member of the Women Environmental Artists Directory, and an advisor to the board of Artist's Rescue Mission in Houston, Texas. She concludes "The artists in this exhibition draw upon their native surroundings, but they take us to worlds beyond our borders. And it is a wonderful journey."

Tuesday, I'm still hammering out the details, but we start the conversation with Guns, God, and Gays. That should bring my right-wing audience out of the woodwork.

Wednesday, Charlie Bruner, executive director of Iowa Family and Policy Center, and Anne Kinzel, former coordinator of Iowa Legislative Health Care Coverage Commission, discuss Medicaid and IowaCare. With the issue front and center at the Statehouse, and with Governor Branstad digging in his heels against expanding Medicaid, this is an important conversation. Check out Charlie's recent opinion piece here and Anne's here.

Thursday, State Rep Dan Kelley provides us our weekly inside look at the Iowa Statehouse. And Nakisha Phillips charts her journey through pregnancy with a doula and a midwife.

Friday, Aaron Todd discusses the tremendous progress made on revitalizing one of Des Moines most blighted corridors: Sixth Avenue. Also, Heather Ryan joins us for another weekly feature: "Ryan's Rants."

So, Monday-Friday, join the conversation online from 12:00-1:00 pm on the Fallon Forum website. Call-in at 244-0077 or toll free (855) 244-0077 and add your voice to the dialogue. If you miss a show, video and audio-only podcasts are available later in the day. Thanks!