Des Moines, (August 2, 2012) ?The Iowa Supreme Court today announced the calendar for its 2012-2013 adjudicative term, including special sessions to hear oral arguments in communities around the state. The court's adjudicative term is from September 2, 2012, to June 30, 2013.

The court will hear oral arguments in Ottumwa, Waterloo, Sioux City, and Dubuque. The sessions are scheduled for the evening for the convenience of members of the public who wish to attend.   Each of Iowa's two law schools will also host oral arguments with limited seating for the public, and there will be a special evening session in Des Moines for central Iowa residents who may not have been able to attend the court's regular morning and afternoon sessions in the past.

The court's special session schedule:

September 7, 2012	University of Iowa College of Law	9 a.m.
September 19, 2012	Ottumwa	7 p.m.
October 11, 2012	Waterloo	7 p.m.
February 19, 2013	Des Moines	7 p.m.
March 7, 2013	Drake University Law School	9 a.m.
March 12, 2013	Sioux City	7 p.m.
April 10, 2013	Dubuque	7 p.m.

The court will continue its regular schedule of oral arguments in Des Moines during the adjudicative term. All supreme court oral arguments are open to the public.

"After visiting several Iowa communities to hear oral arguments, we confirmed there is a real interest throughout the state in seeing the supreme court at work," Chief Justice Mark Cady said. "Iowans are very interested to hear about the role of the courts and see what we do as justices of the supreme court."

Between May, 2011, and April, 2012, the supreme court heard oral arguments in Cedar Rapids, Mason City, Carroll, Council Bluffs and Bettendorf. Coinciding with each visit, the justices met with high school government and American history classes. Justices of the supreme court visited 36 schools in 21 cities.

"We also plan to continue our school visits," Chief Justice Cady said. "My colleagues and I enjoy visiting with young people about our responsibilities on the supreme court, the Iowa court system, and to answer questions students may have about the judicial branch of government. The students always have excellent questions, and by meeting with them we hope to help explain the role of the courts within our constitutional democracy."

The court will continue its regular schedule of oral arguments in Des Moines during the adjudicative term. All supreme court oral arguments are open to the public.

The court's complete calendar for its 2012-2013 term is attached.

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Thank you for packing downtown with record crowds last weekend!  Bix events continue this week with the 41st Annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival at the RiverCenter/Adler Theatre and LeClaire Park!  Bands include : Wally's Warehouse Waifs, Allred's Classic Jazz Band, Dave Bennett Quartet, Jim Cullum's Jazz Band, Andy Schumm and The Flatland Gang, and many more.

 

The Quad City River Bandits are home this week at Modern Woodmen Park.   Tonight is another Thirst-Day Thursday, and tomorrow will feature fireworks as the Bandits wrap up a set against the Chiefs.  The defending Midwest League champs return home on Wednesday for the first of two replica Cardinals Championship ring giveaways!

 

A big congratulations is in order to Hotel Blackhawk for achieving AAA's Four Diamond Award!  Hotel Blackhawk is one of only three hotels in the state of Iowa to earn this esteemed designation and only a select group earns this honor nationwide.  Restoration St. Louis is hard at work renovating the Renwick Building, too.

 

Art Talk at the Figge Art Museum tonight features a lecture about The Challenges of Reaching Space.  Check out Wine & Art tonight as well during Thursdays at the Figge.  Youngsters are sure to enjoy Fridays at the Figge and make sure to sneak a peek at the museum tour and film series over the weekend.

 

Banshee takes the Redstone Room stage tonight at 8:00 p.m. at RME!  The Kansas City based metal band is touring again with their original bass player after the release of their fourth album.  RME's live lunch series this week includes Lars Rehnberg, Jake Donelson, and Brent Feuerbach.  Check out Open Mic Night and RME Guitar Circle, too.

 

Friday Live at 5 returns to the RME Courtyard this week!  Come wind down after a busy week downtown while listening to the L.T. Eckles Blues Band, a Des Moines and Newton based band with a rooted sense of blues, jazz, and funk.  Other RME shows this week include : MASQC, Rootless Experience, River Prairie Minstrels, Quad City Phoenix Festival, Firesale, and Blues Cafe.

 

Brian "Fox" Ellis will make another appearance at the German American Heritage Center as Wilhelm Grimm.  Ellis will perform selections from Grimm's Fairy Tales on Sunday afternoon.

Mark your calendar for River Roots Live August 17 & 18!  Better Than Ezra, Tonic, and Keller Williams with the Travelin' McCourys headline our awesome and eclectic 17 band lineup.  Of course, Ribfest BBQ will fill the park, too.  Stay tuned for more details!

See you downtown!

 

This Week's Events: August 2 - August 8

Thursday, August 2 $2,800 Bank It Blackjack Tournament Where: Rhythm City Casino Time: Registration 5 p.m. Tournament 6 p.m. Price: $20 entry fee Website Follow on Facebook and Twitter   Art Talk! "Physics 101: The Challenges of Reaching Space" Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 7:00 p.m. Price: Museum Admission ($7), or FREE with membership Website   Banshee Where: River Music Experience, Redstone Room Time: 8:00 p.m. Price: $10 Advance; $12 Day of Show Website   Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival Where: RiverCenter Time: 6:00 P.M. Price: $20 Website   Bix Porch Party Where: Davenport Public Library - Main Branch Time: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website   Brady Street Pub Lunch Specials & Happy Hour Where: Brady Street Pub Time: Lunch specials every weekday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Time: Happy Hour specials every weekday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Time: Sunday, drink specials all day Prices: See website Website Drop-In Hockey (Adult) Where: River's Edge Time: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Price: $10 Website   Kilkenny's Live Music Where: Kilkenny's Pub Time: 9 p.m. Price: FREE Website   Live Lunch with LoJo Russo Where: River Music Experience, Community Stage Time: Noon - 1:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website   MASQC Where: River Music Experience, Community Stage Time: 6:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website   River Bandits v. Peoria Chiefs - Thirst-Day Thursday Where: Modern Woodmen Park Time: 7:00 p.m. Price: $5 Website   River's Edge Monthly Turf & Ice Schedule Discover dozens of sporting events at River's Edge!  Follow the links below to see the complete ice and turf schedule for the month. Ice Schedule Turf Schedule Website   Thursdays at the Figge Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Price: Museum Admission ($7), or FREE with membership Website   Trivia Challenge - Win Gift Certificates! Where: Brady Street Pub Time: 8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website   Wine & Art Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Price: $15 Website   Friday, August 3   Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival Where: RiverCenter and Adler Theatre Time: Noon - 4:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Price: $20 single event, $35 day pass Website   Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival Where: LeClaire Park Time: 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website   Brewery Tours Where: Great River Brewery Time: 6:00 p.m, 7:00 p.m, and 8:00 p.m. Price: N/A Website   Cellarman's Series: Firkin Friday! Where: Great River Brewery Time: 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Price: N/A Website   Class: Fridays at the Figge Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Price: $45/members; $55/non-members Website   Friday Live at 5 Featuring L.T. Eckles Blues Band Sponsored by Genesis Health System Where: River Music Experience, RME Courtyard Time: 5:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website   Kilkenny's Live Music Where: Kilkenny's Pub Time: 9 p.m. Price: FREE Website   Live Lunch with Lars Rehnberg Where: River Music Experience, Community Stage Time: Noon - 1:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website   Public Skate Where: River's Edge Time: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Price: $5 and up Website   River Bandits v. Peoria Chiefs - Fireworks! Where: Modern Woodmen Park Time: 7:00 p.m. Price: $5 and Up Website   Rootless Experience Where: River Music Experience, Community Stage Time: 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website   The Whoozdads Where: Rhythm City Casino Time: 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website Follow on Facebook and Twitter   Saturday, August 4 $1 Deals Where: Rhythm City Casino Time: While hard beverages are served Price: $1 drink specials Website Follow on Facebook and Twitter   Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival Where: RiverCenter and Adler Theatre Time: Noon - 4:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Price: Adults - $20 single event, $35 all-day pass; Kids - $5 single event or $15 for a six-concert pass Website Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival Where: LeClaire Park Time: 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website Brewery Tours Where: Great River Brewery Time: Noon, 1:00 p.m, 2:00 p.m, and 3:00 p.m. Price: N/A Website Drop-In Hockey (Adult) Where: River's Edge Time: 4:15 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. Price: $10 Website Exhibition: David Plowden's Iowa Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 10:00 a.m. Price: Museum Admission ($7), or FREE with membership Website   Exhibition: Exploring NASA Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 10:00 a.m. Price: Museum Admission ($7), or FREE with membership Website   Exhibition: NASA | Art: 50 Years of Exploration Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 10:00 a.m. Price: Museum Admission ($7), or FREE with membership Website   Exhibition: Sculpting with Fiber Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 10:00 a.m. Price: Museum Admission ($7), or FREE with membership Website   Exhibition: Suds: History of Brewing Where: German American Heritage Center Time: 10:00 a.m. Price: Museum Admission ($5), or FREE with membership Website   Exhibition: University of Iowa Space Pioneers: 54 Years of Exploration Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 10:00 a.m. Price: Museum Admission ($7), or FREE with membership Website   Exhibition: Waxing Poetic: Exploring Expression in Art Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 10:00 a.m. Price: Museum Admission ($7), or FREE with membership Website   Family Event: Roving the Moon: Design Squad Challenge Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Price: $20/family of four Website   Family Gallery: Blast Off! Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 10:00 a.m. Price: Museum Admission ($7), or FREE with membership Website   Film Series: When We Left Earth - The NASA Missions Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 2:30 p.m. Price: Museum Admission ($7), or FREE with membership Website   Firesale CD Release Show with Bermuda Report Where: River Music Experience, Redstone Room Time: 9:00 p.m. Price: $5 Website   Freight House Farmers Market Where: Freight House Farmer's Market Time: 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website   Kilkenny's Live Music Where: Kilkenny's Pub Time: 9 p.m. Price: FREE Website   Live Lunch with Jake Donelson Where: River Music Experience, Community Stage Time: Noon - 1:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website   Midnight Multiplier Where: Rhythm City Casino Time: Midnight - 4:00 a.m. Price: FREE Website Follow on Facebook and Twitter   Museum Tour: NASA | ART: 50 Years of Exploration Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 1:30 p.m. Price: Museum Admission ($7), or FREE with membership Website   Public Skate Where: River's Edge Time: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Price: $5 and up Website   Quad City Phoenix Festival Where: River Music Experience Hall Time: 8:00 p.m. Price: $10 Website   RME Guitar Circle Where: River Music Experience, Community Stage Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website   River Prairie Minstrels Where: River Music Experience, Community Stage Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Price: FREE Website   Rock the Pit Where: Rhythm City Casino Time: 8:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website Follow on Facebook and Twitter   The Whoozdads Where: Rhythm City Casino Time: 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Price: FREE Website Follow on Facebook and Twitter   Sunday, August 5   $1 Deals Where: Rhythm City Casino Time: While hard beverages are served Price: $1 drink specials Website Follow on Facebook and Twitter $3,000 Sunday Shake Up Slot Tournament Where: Rhythm City Casino Time: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Price: FREE Website Follow on Facebook and Twitter   Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival Where: RiverCenter Time: Noon and 7:00 p.m. Price: Adults $20 and Kids $5; Adults $15 and Kids $5 Website   Drop-In Hockey (Adult) Where: River's Edge Time: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Price: $10 Website   Film Series: When We Left Earth - The NASA Missions Where: Figge Art Museum Time: 2:30 p.m. Price: Museum Admission ($7), or FREE with membership Website

COO Advocates Values-in-Action Courses for All Students

Barclays, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan - it seems every time we turn around, another financial giant is accused of lying, cheating and stealing.

It's not your imagination, says Rakesh Malhotra, a longtime COO who has worked in Asia, East Europe and United States and led cross-cultural diverse teams.

"White-collar crime convictions in the United States alone have increased 17.8 percent in the last five years alone," he says. "Last year, the Securities Exchange Commission filed a record 735 enforcement actions."

And it's not just hedge fund operators and money traders. White-collar crimes include identity theft, cheating on taxes, health-care fraud - crimes as readily committed by employees at the local big-box store as suits in penthouse offices.

"The problem is one of values," says Malhotra, author of Adventures of Tornado Kid: Whirling Back Home Towards Timeless Values (www.FiveGlobalValues.com). "I have worked in several countries, recruiting, hiring, training and retaining employees. I found that in every culture, the same core values play a key role in the success of both employees and the corporation.

"Unfortunately, they are not taught in school - not in grade school or in most business schools. While we would benefit from having values taught at all age levels, for now they are learned mostly from parents, mentors, inspiring teachers and others who shape young lives."

It's as important for the business to have what Malhotra has identified as five essential global values as it is for the employees, he says.

"The business has to show that these ethics are implemented and acted upon. Otherwise, the employee with values, the one instructed to, say, lie about a product, will feel secure about reporting such conduct without being fired."

What are these values and how can they be taught?

• Responsibility: There is nothing more fundamental to being an adult in our society than accountability. Parents can create cause-and-effect circumstances, such as letting a teen borrow the car provided they put gas in it. Breaking such a pact though, because of a bad grade in school, creates a mixed message. When children learn responsibility, they know that happiness comes from doing the right thing.

• Compassion: It's not just a term for being nice; compassion is a form of intelligence - an empathetic ability to see a situation through another's eyes and to feel what another person feels. When adults are compassionate, they reach out to help others because they can feel others' pain - and the relief and gratitude of help, sympathy or encouragement.

• Integrity: Integrity is the glue that holds together all of the values. When given an option to stray from our values, such as lying for the sake of convenience, integrity is there to hold us accountable.

• Peace: Our ability to manage conflicts amicably is a direct result of a peaceful mind and attitude. Those who value peace view anger, jealousy and hostility as the barriers to communication that they are. In all settings, business and domestic, conflicts will arise - it is inevitable. We must work through these peacefully if we are to move forward.

• Love: You must love what you do, passionately. Do your work and your organization in some way contribute to the welfare of people? That is the reason for your passion. With love, you contribute to the greater good and feel gratified.

About Rakesh Malhotra

Rakesh Malhotra has worked in, lived in or traveled to more than 40 countries. During this time, he studied human behavior in relation to core values as a means hire, promote and manage effectively. He has focused on what influences performance and what makes some employees perform at a higher level than others. Malhotra holds a master's in Public Administration and several diplomas in business education.

(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry Branstad, Lt. Governor Reynolds, Board of Regents President Craig Lang, Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Administrator Mark Schouten, and University of Iowa President Sally Mason today released the below statements upon the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) official response to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General report on the replacement decisions for the University of Iowa's Hancher Voxman Clapp and Art Building East facilities.  The official FEMA response to the OIG report reaffirms FEMA's commitment to moving forward with replacing these important facilities.

Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds issued the following joint statement:  "We are glad FEMA has stood by their previous commitments to the State and the University of Iowa.  Common sense seems to be gaining the upper hand in this Federal policy dispute.  We recently surpassed the four-year anniversary of the flooding event and the University's recovery from the 2008 floods cannot be delayed further.  We appreciate the Iowa congressional delegation's active involvement in this issue and FEMA leadership's openness to discuss our concerns regarding continued delays."

Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds continued:  "Today we wrote Secretary Napolitano asking for a final decision from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to end this Federal bureaucratic squabble soon and allow the University of Iowa to fully recover from the historic 2008 floods."

Board of Regents President Craig Lang stated the following:  "The Board of Regents thanks FEMA for reinforcing its commitment to flood recovery at the University of Iowa.  The Board greatly appreciates the contributions of Iowa's congressional delegation, the Governor's office and Iowa Homeland Security in reaffirming the critical nature of this funding for the University's recovery.  With the passage of four years since the devastating flooding on the UI campus, we must avoid further delays in the restoration of the Arts Campus, for our students and for the citizens of Iowa.  The process has been at intermission for too long.  It is time to proceed toward the last act."

University of Iowa President Sally Mason said:  "Speaking for the entire University, particularly our 31,000 students, we are very pleased with the forceful reaffirmation from FEMA's national leadership to replace Hancher, the School of Music and Art Building East.  We continue to be extremely grateful and thankful for the support of Governor Branstad, our congressional delegation, the Board of Regents and the Office of Iowa Homeland Security."

 

Mark Schouten, Administrator of the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division, stated the following: "We appreciate that FEMA leadership has reaffirmed previous decisions by FEMA Region VII to replace the Hancher Voxman Clapp and Art Building East facilities.  This brings the University of Iowa one step closer to moving forward on replacing these important facilities.  We stand ready to answer any questions from Secretary Napolitano and we stand firm in our belief that the FEMA interpretation is sound and the most cost-effective path forward. The Governor has discussed this matter with Administrator Fugate multiple times and the Lt. Governor recently visited the damaged facilities on the University of Iowa campus.  We are all appreciative of the bipartisan support from our congressional delegation on this issue.  It's high time for this issue to be resolved and for these buildings to be replaced."

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