DES MOINES - As President Obama gears up to officially accept his presidential nomination at the 46^th Democratic National Convention, he will kick-off the "Road to Charlotte" tour with grassroots events in Des Moines and Sioux City, Iowa.

 

On the "Road to Charlotte" tour, the President will continue to lay out what's at stake for the middle class in this election - the choice between continuing to move forward to an economy built to last that's grounded in a strong middle class, and going back to the same "top-down" economic policies of the last decade that crashed our economy and punished the middle class.

 

Throughout this tour, the President will highlight "American Heroes" -people who exemplify the importance of this choice and understand why our economy needs to be built from the middle out, not the top down.

 

Members of the media interested in covering the President's events in Des Moines and Sioux City, IA must RSVP for EACH STOP by 9:00 AM EDT/ 8: 00 AM CDT Friday, August 31. No late submissions will be considered.

 

SCHEDULE AND LOGISTICAL INFORMATION FOR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1^ST:

 

Grassroots Event with President Obama in Des Moines, Iowa

 

Estimated Event Time: 1:20 PM CDT

 

Where: Living History Farms

11121 Hickman Road

Urbandale, IA 50322

 

To cover the Des Moines, IA stop, RSVP HERE.

Logistical Information for Des Moines, IA:

Media Coverage: The event is open to pre-credentialed media.

 

Live Truck Parking: Live trucks should enter the Living History Farms property off Hickman Street onto 111^th Street near the Girls Scouts of Greater Iowa building. Trucks will be directed from that point. (Live trucks must be on site and cabled-in to the event area by 6:00 AM CDT.  Trucks will be subject to security screening and will not be accessible between 6:30 AM  - 10:00 AM CDT during the security sweeps).

 

Media Pre-set: 5:30 AM - 6:30 AM CDT (All media with equipment must pre-set equipment on site.  Live trucks MUST cable-in during this time. Media will not have access to their equipment during the security sweeps from 6:30 AM - 10:00 AM CDT)

 

USSS Security Sweep: 6:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.CDT (No access to equipment at this time)

 

General Media Parking: General Media parking is located inside the Living History Farms property; directed on-site. Media vehicles should enter the Living History Farms property off Hickman Street onto 111^th Street near the Girls Scouts of Greater Iowa building.

NOTE: All media vehicles will be swept by security prior to entering the media parking lot. Please allow extra time for the vehicle sweeps. A printable media parking guide will be provided with the confirmation email.

 

Media Check-in: Adjacent to the media parking lot; directed on-site.

 

Media Access time: 10:00 AM. CDT

 

Final Media Access: 12:30 PM CDT

 

Cable Run: 700 feet

 

Throw: 60 feet

 

Limited workspace and power are available. Wireless Internet is NOT available.

 

Contact for media and logistical purposes only: Randy Paris, 412-877-6729, randyjohnparis@gmail.com.

 

To cover the Des Moines, IA stop, RSVP HERE.

Grassroots Event with President Obama in Sioux City, Iowa

Estimated Event Time: 6:30PM CDT

Where: Morningside College

Hilker Campus Mall (Quad between Charles City College Hall and Lewis Hall)

1501 Morningside Ave.

Sioux City, Iowa 51106

To cover the Sioux City, IA stop, RSVP HERE.

Logistical Information for Sioux City, Iowa

Live Truck Parking: Grace Church parking lot.  Trucks will be directed to their parking spaces once on site.  Grace Church parking lot can be accessed off Garretson Ave. Media is advised to take Transit Ave and to then head east on Garretson Ave. The Grace Church parking lot will be on the left before Morningside Ave.  (Live trucks must be on site and cabled-in to the event area by 1:30 PM CDT.  Trucks will be subject to security screening and will not be accessible between 1:30 PM and 4:30 PM.)

Media Pre-Set time: 12:30-1:30PM CDT    (Pre-set is designed for live trucks to get positioned and run their cables to the press riser for live transmissions as well as any other media who need to drop off large equipment.   Media not requiring this set-up can arrive during media access/check-in between 4:30-5:30PM CDT).

USSS Sweep: 1:30-4:30PM CDT (No access to equipment at this time)

General Media Parking: The Grace Church parking lot will be designated for general media parking. Media parking will be available on a first-come, first serve basis. Grace Church parking lot can be accessed off Garretson Ave. Media is advised to take Transit Ave and to then head east on Garretson Ave. The Grace Church parking lot will be on the left before Morningside Ave.

Media Entrance: Media entrance and check-in will be through the north-west corner of the Grace Church parking lot.

Media Access/Check in Time: 4:30PM CDT

Final Media Access Time: 5:30PM CDT  (Media arriving after 5:30 pm will not be able to access the event)

Throw: 55 feet

Cable Run: 500 feet

Limited power and workspace will be available.

Contact for logistical and planning purposes (media only): Noreen Kassam, (505) 934-6300 or noreen.a.kassam@gmail.com

To cover the Sioux City, IA stop, RSVP HERE.

 

Members of the media interested in covering the President's events in Des Moines and Sioux City, IA must RSVP for EACH STOP by 9:00 AM EDT/ 8: 00 AM CDT Friday, August 31. No late submissions will be considered.

 

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WATERLOO, IA -- Today, Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) will join Jan Laue, Iowa President of the Alliance for Retired Americans, and local retirees at a press event in Cedar Rapids where he will sign a petition opposing the Paul Ryan-Ben Lange plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program.  Ben Lange has embraced this plan to end Medicare as we know it and turn Medicare into a voucher program.

Braley and Laue will speak, then Braley will sign the petition.  The Alliance for Retired Americans has over 35,000 members in Iowa.


WHAT:      Press Event on Ryan-Lange Medicare Plan

WHO:        Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01)
Jan Laue, Iowa President, Alliance for Retired Americans 

WHEN:     TODAY, Wednesday August 29th, 2012
1:00pm 

WHERE:   Mays Island Memorial Plaza
51 2nd Ave.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
(across from Veterans Memorial Building)

August 28, 2012

Rock Island, Illinois - With the current school year underway Johannes Bus Service, Inc. (JBS) would like to remind everyone to be watching out for the yellow bus and the children that are ever present when a school bus is around. "A study done by the U.S. Department of Transportation states that children are safer riding the school bus to and from school than being driven in a  car by an adult", says Stephanie Johannes-Thomer, JBS Marketing Director. "But, that doesn't mean we should relax when we see a yellow school bus approaching; here are some quick and easy lessons to remember when around a school bus."

Never pass a school bus on the right side, not only is it illegal, but it is extremely dangerous; students exit from the right and buses are not always able to move over to the curb.

Yellow means caution and SLOW DOWN; when you see a bus turn on their yellow flashers it means they will be stopping very soon to pick up or drop off a child, so be on ALERT.

Red means STOP; when the red flashers come and the stop arm comes out, a child will be entering or exiting the bus. And as a driver of a car, you need to be alert as to where that child is going. If a child is going to cross, they normally do so immediately after exiting, BUT please be aware where that child is at all times. You never know when a child is going to dart back out into  traffic. And a friendly reminder to those who try to pass while the red flashers are on and the stop arm is out; it is ILLEGAL and you could be ticketed, even if a police officer isn't present. Let's try to reduce those numbers and keep our children safe from harm.

Railroad crossings are also tricky; school buses MUST also stop and open their door to look and listen for on coming trains. Please pay attention so as not to rear end a bus that is stopped at the tracks.

The Danger Zone should be something all children and adults know, if you are within 10 giant steps of the school bus, the driver can not see you. So, it is important all children know this.

In general just be aware of school bus routes in your area; be patient when driving during the morning and afternoon hours when buses are running their routes. Most routes in the Rock Island/Milan and Moline areas are door to door, so there are a lot of stops that are taking place. And for our outlying areas in Mercer County, please be aware of school bus stops along the highways! We do have many of those stops as well. Just know when you see YELLOW (the school bus) slow down!

Other important items:

• National School Bus Safety Week is: October 22-26, 2012 hosted by National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT), National School Transportation Association (NSTA), National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) and the American School Bus Council

• February is "Love the Bus" Month - a month dedicated to raise awareness and appreciation for the hundreds of thousands of school bus drivers who safely transport children to school and from school sponsored by the American School Bus Council www.lovethebus.com

• School Bus Safety Coloring Pages - click on the Bus Safety Tab  www.johannesbus.com

If you have been dreaming about participating in our  Enchanting Germany Rhine Cruise, August 18-25, 2013 be sure to wake up in time to register for the $500 per passenger discount, which expires on September 1st, 2012  -just days away!  You may register later, but you will lose out on this terrific travel bargain if you delay.