WHAT: Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day Concert

WHEN: Friday, November 30: 6 & 8:30 p.m.

WHERE: Putnam Museum's National Geographic Giant Screen Theater
COST: $11/Adults; $10/Senior/Student/Military; $8/Youth

DAVENPORT -On December 10, 2007,  Led Zeppelin took the stage at London's O2 Arena to headline a tribute concert for dear friend and Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. What followed was a two-hour-plus tour de force of the band's signature blues-infused rock 'n' roll that instantly became part of the legend of Led Zeppelin. Founding members John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were joined by Jason Bonham, the son of their late drummer John Bonham, to perform 16 songs from their celebrated catalog including landmark tracks "Whole Lotta Love," "Rock And Roll," "Kashmir," and "Stairway To Heaven."

Although 20 million people applied for tickets, the band's first headline show in 27 years was seen only by the 18,000 ticket holders who were fortunate enough to have secured seats through the worldwide lottery.

Led Zeppelin has also been selected as one of the recipients of the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors. The band is set to receive the Honors at the annual gala on December 2 in Washington, DC.

For additional information regarding Celebration Day, please contact Jason Elzy in Warner Music's Media Relations Department at 818-238-6220 or jason.elzy@rhino.com.

LED ZEPPELIN: Celebration Day

Track Listing:

1. Good Times Bad Times

2. Ramble On

3. Black Dog

4. In My Time Of Dying

5. For Your Life

6. Trampled Under Foot

7. Nobody's Fault But Mine

8. No Quarter

9. Since I've Been Loving You

10. Dazed And Confused

11. Stairway To Heaven

12. The Song Remains The Same

13. Misty Mountain Hop

14. Kashmir

15. Whole Lotta Love

16. Rock And Roll

 

It's no wonder that aquaculture is catching on, considering the growing global population, increasing individual incomes and stronger awareness of the health benefits of seafood. In fact, aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing sectors in global animal agriculture. The farmer-leaders of the United Soybean Board (USB) and the soy checkoff are hooked on these prospective customers of U.S. soy.


Watch the video to hear from checkoff farmer-leader Sharon Covert, soybean farmer from Tiskilwa, Ill., about USB's work to develop the global aquaculture market for U.S. soybean farmers.

Watch this video to learn more.
WASHINGTON - Legislation to provide a much needed update to the Whistleblower Protection Act has passed the Senate and is now expected to be signed into law by the President.

Grassley said that whistleblowers are being denied the protections they should have under the law because of decisions of the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and a general anti-whistleblower sentiment found in executive branch agencies.

Grassley co-authored the 1989 Whistleblower Protection Act with Senator Carl Levin of Michigan.  The law provides protection for federal employees who expose waste, fraud and abuse in federal agencies.  Grassley introduced the update, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, with Senators Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Susan Collins of Maine and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.

"This much needed update helps whistleblowers who risk their careers by sticking their necks out to simply tell the truth.  The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act is an important step forward, but improvements are still needed to ensure that intelligence community whistleblowers receive the protection they deserve for uncovering fraud deep within the bureaucracy," Grassley said.

A long-time advocate for whistleblowers, Grassley has stood up against the heavy hand of the bureaucracy - regardless of whether Republicans or Democrats were in charge -- for individual whistleblowers from the Pentagon, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the IRS, the Interior Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In addition to co-authoring the 1989 whistleblower law, Grassley also authored the 1986 update of the False Claims Act to include qui tam provisions that empower private citizens, who had information about fraudulent activity by government contractors, to bring wrongdoing forward and sue in the name of the government.  To date, these whistleblower provisions have recovered more than $30 billion for taxpayers that otherwise would be lost to fraud.

In 2009, Grassley and Senator Patrick Leahy won passage of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act which made the most significant improvements to the False Claims Act since 1986.  The law restores the scope and applicability of the False Claims Act where it had been limited by court decisions.  This effort also revised criminal laws to help prosecute mortgage fraud, securities fraud, and complex financial crimes that led to the 2008 financial crisis.

In addition, Grassley authored the 2006 overhaul of the IRS whistleblower program to fight major tax fraud.  The IRS recently paid out its largest award ever, but has acknowledged, after scrutiny from Grassley, that the agency must be more timely and responsive in processing whistleblower claims.

Once signed into law, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 will:

·         clarify that any disclosure of gross waste or mismanagement, fraud, abuse, or illegal activity may be protected, but not disagreements over legitimate policy decisions;

·         suspend the sole jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals over federal employee whistleblower cases for two years;

·         extend Whistleblower Protection Act coverage and other non-discrimination and anti-retaliatory laws to all employees of the Transportation Security Administration;

·         clarify that whistleblowers may disclose evidence of censorship of scientific or technical information under the same standards that apply to disclosures of other kinds of waste, fraud, and abuse;

·         codify the anti-gag provision, which Grassley originally got passed, that has been part of every Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill since 1988;

·         establish Whistleblower Protection Ombudsmen to educate agency personnel about whistleblower rights; and

·         provide the Office of Special Counsel with the independent right to file "friend of the court" briefs, or amicus briefs, with federal courts.

 

 

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Upcoming Performances

The Nutcracker

December  1 & 2, 2012

Paramount Theatre Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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December 8 & 9, 2012

Adler Theater Davenport, IA

TICKETS ON SALE

for the Davenport performances in person at the Adler Theatre Box Office

or online at

ticketmaster.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001Ti1yZKM6Cbz7QE8DOmT83R1QUCKQdOPLe3pD-Ph9dRrGYYFnhpVHKC_cL0qf_3_opOSZLjCShjYH_kBbzeOcusRZvp6aHDQbAmDGiG9D5_WTMxJWlkpahMhp_BEY7w_c8RAf3yMCAbPAyePzxUk5wZkj7EFszu1fQ0ogqYwTo5U=]

Join us after the Saturday evening December 8th 7:30pm performance for a special
reception to meet the dancers in the lobby of Hotel Blackhawk - light food will
be served compliments of Hotel Blackhawk

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Love Stories

Saturday,

February 16th

1:00pm & 7:30pm

Scottish Rite Cathedral Moline, IL

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Cinderella
Saturday, April 20th

1:00pm & 7:30pm

Adler Theater Davenport, IA

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Ballet Under the Stars

FREE PERFORMANCE

Our Gift to the Community

Friday, June 7th

Saturday, June 8th

Sunday, June 9th

Lincoln Park Theater

Rock Island, IL
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Dec. 8 @ 1:00 PM
Iowa State University Extension is offering business and farm succession workshops to help business and farm families begin those conversations and start putting transition plans on paper. Gene Mohling, ISU Extension Regional Director, says the Business and Farm Succession Workshops are a result of needs expressed by residents in SE Iowa.

"I hear people express concerns about the future, about whether a spouse will be OK with their goals and about parents or children not knowing what the other plans to do - or when," said Mohling. "As I listen, I hear that the situations involve the whole family - men and women and more than one generation. That is why we are bringing Iowa State University transitioning experts to SE Iowa."

The workshops are planned as a multi-generational event for exiting owners and spouse, and succeeding owners and spouse. The two session workshops will be held on consecutive days to allow for the initiation of conversations and written plans. David Baker and John R. Baker, Beginning Farmer Center Administrator and Attorney at Law, will present the workshops. Workshops are scheduled for Dec. 14-15 at the Washington County Extension Office

Over the two days, participants will review the retirement plan concept and receive information on transfer plans, estate plans and a process for creating a family statement of intention. Family groups will be given time to write a statement of intent and vision of the future. "Families will go home with a blueprint to the future - knowing what they need to do, who they need to talk to, and understanding that the plan may need to be adjusted along the way."

Pre-registration can be made by contacting the Washington County Extension Office at 319-653-4811 or email Nancy Adrian at nadrian@iastate.edu. This program is sponsored in part by Farm Credit Services.

For more information about the workshop contact the hosting county offices. Additional information about the Beginning Farmer Center is available online at www.extension.iastate.edu/bfc/ , by e-mailing bfc@iastate.edu, or calling 877-BFC-1999. The Beginning Farmer Center is backed by 20 years of research and experience helping farmers with transition plans.

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Maggie Brown Returns to the Quad Cities for Blues in the Schools November 26-30

Chicago singer and educator Maggie Brown will be the MVBS Blues in the Schools artist-in residence in Quad City area schools during the week of November 26-30. She will also appear at four open-to-the-public performances:

  • Monday Nov. 26, 6:30 p.m.–Davenport Public Library Eastern Ave. Branch, 6000 Eastern Ave., Davenport
  • Wednesday Nov. 28, 10:00-11:00 a.m.–CASI, 1035 W. Kimberly, Davenport
  • Thursday Nov. 29, 7:00-9:00 p.m.–River Music Experience Café , 2nd and Main, Davenport
  • Friday Nov. 30, 6:00-7:00 p.m.–Bucktown Center for the Arts, Studio 56 at suite 201-B, 225 E. 2nd Street, Davenport

The MVBS Education Committee was introduced to Maggie Brown originally when Nate Lawrence brought her to Davenport for the Polyrhythms Third Sunday Jazz program at the River Music Experience.  We were so impressed with her performance that we asked Maggie to come back to conduct three days of workshops for kids the week of the 2012 BluesFest, and then to bring those kids and her talent to BlueSKool at the festival.

Maggie Brown is a tremendously talented singer and performer using her gift to not only entertain, but educate as well. Maggie is the daughter of the late Oscar Brown, Jr. a world renowned composer, social activist, and legendary giant of the jazz music scene. Mr. Brown passed on his artistic integrity to his daughter, who now uses her own voice to create images that excite and inspire. For 20 years, Maggie has nationally toured her one-woman show, "LEGACY: Our Wealth of Music," which follows the history and evolution of African American music and covers a wide range of musical forms.

Mother of three young boys, Maggie sees the need to work through the arts to make an impact on young lives. Her message fosters care and respect for words, music, history and life. Maggie describes what she does as "edutainment."  She calls on all of her talents to demonstrate how black people courageously and virtuously responded to the horrors of slavery, segregation and disenfranchisement by creating inspiring and thriving art forms which have become part of our American cultural heritage.

Maggie is called upon by various arts organizations and schools to serve as artist-in-residence.  Maggie enjoys using those classroom opportunities to engage young minds with poetry and songs that help them recognize and hopefully value their place in the world. Tracing the history of African-American creativity, Maggie examines the roots of black musical culture and its greatest flowerings, from African chant to early ragtime, from blues to jazz.

Major funding for Maggie Brown`s Blues in the Schools residency comes from the Riverboat Development Authority.  Thanks also to our sponsors The Iowa Arts Council, The Moline Foundation, Alcoa, The Lodge, River Music Experience, and KALA radio.

Working for Iowa puts Grassley on list with 23 others in Senate history

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley has cast his 11,000 Senate vote.  Only 23 senators in history have cast more votes than Grassley.

In addition, no senator serving today has gone as long as Grassley has without missing a vote.  Grassley has cast 6,473 consecutive votes.

"Not missing votes is a way to demonstrate respect for the public trust I hold in representing Iowans and to do the job I'm elected to do," Grassley said.  "When the Senate's in session, I'm in Washington voting, and when the Senate is out of session, I'm in Iowa holding meetings with constituents."

Click here for comments made this afternoon by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa.  Grassley's 11,000th vote was last evening.

Since Grassley was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980, he has held at least one official meeting in every one of Iowa's 99 counties every year.  He calls the process of representative government a two-way street.  "I have a responsibility to go to Iowans to ask for their views and answer their questions, and they have a responsibility to let me know what they think.  I want to foster that process, and going to every county every year is a way to do so."

In the Senate, Grassley is the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.  He is a senior member and former Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Finance.  He serves on the Agriculture and Budget committees and co-chairs the Caucus on International Narcotics Control.

Grassley is committed to congressional oversight of the executive branch of government.  His efforts have been recognized by whistleblower advocacy and government reform groups and journalist organizations for protecting press freedom and the First Amendment.  He fights for transparency in government and wherever tax dollars flow.

Grassley's legislative record of achievement includes expansive tax relief and reform, approval of international trade agreements, renewable energy and conservation incentives, farm program reforms, rural health care fairness, Medicare modernization, adoption and foster care incentives, access to health care for children with disabilities, updates to patent and trademark laws, expanded consumer access to generic drugs, measures to fight fraud against taxpayers, whistleblower protections, pension program reforms, bankruptcy reform, and making certain that members of Congress live under civil rights, labor and health care laws passed for the rest of the country.

Grassley is the eighth most senior member of the U.S. Senate and the fourth most senior Republican senator.

Other senators currently serving who have cast more than 11,000 votes are Senators Max Baucus of Montana, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Carl Levin of Michigan, and Richard Lugar of Indiana.

Since 1789, there have been nearly 2,000 members of the U.S. Senate.  The last vote Grassley missed was in July 1993, when he accompanied President Bill Clinton to Iowa to inspect flood damage.

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Paul Kramer Placed Innocent Homeowners, Including an Iraqi Refugee, at Risk of Foreclosure by Failing to Pay Off Prior Mortgages When the Homeowners Bought or Refinanced Their Properties Through His Brokerage and Closing Companies.

DES MOINES, IA - Paul Kramer, age 42, of Granger, Iowa, was found guilty today by a federal jury of 18 counts of wire fraud and bank fraud in connection with multi-million dollar mortgage fraud schemes that resulted in innocent homeowners, including a refugee from Iraq and his family, nearly losing their homes to foreclosure. Kramer is the former President of the Iowa Association of Mortgage Brokers and owned a mortgage brokerage, Kramer Mortgage Company, and closing company, Iowa Closing & Escrow, at the time of the fraud. The jury did not acquit Kramer on any counts.

The same jury convicted Lane Anderson, age 38, of Altoona, Iowa, of two counts of conspiring with Kramer to commit bank and wire fraud. The wire fraud conspiracy involved Kramer and Anderson working together to obtain nearly $1.5 million in mortgage loans using the name and credit score of a contractor who did not actually qualify for the loans and who, in fact, had earned only about $2,000 per month the year prior to the loans. Anderson was not acquitted on any counts.

Trial evidence established that Anderson opened a development company in 2006 that planned to purchase, renovate, and re-sell homes. Kramer provided short-term loans to Anderson's company to purchase the homes and pay for the renovation work. However, by late 2006, Anderson's company was unable to find buyers for the homes and thus unable to repay the loans from Kramer. Anderson and Kramer therefore had one of Anderson's business partners, a contractor, take out 13 long-term mortgage loans in his name from 8 different lenders totaling nearly $1.5 million. The loan applications for the 13 homes contained false statements regarding the contractor's income, assets, liabilities, source of down payment, source of income, and other matters. Anderson and Kramer obtained the loans in rapid succession and used many different lenders so that no single lender would be aware of all the other loans being taken out at the same time. Kramer then had his closing company close the loans despite false notarizations and false closing documents.

Trial evidence further established that in April 2007 Anderson and Kramer began a check-kiting conspiracy in which they would trade checks of up to $75,000 from accounts that had less than $10,000 in real funds. One of the accounts had only $20.17 in it at the time a $75,000 check was written. However, by circling checks among numerous different accounts, Anderson and Kramer were able to falsely inflate the balances of the accounts, thus allowing checks from Kramer to third-parties to clear. In May 2007, a West Bank security officer noticed the check activity and closed Anderson's account.

Following the closing of Anderson's bank account, Kramer began to take funds from the Trust Account of the closing company he owned, Iowa Closing & Escrow, to use for business expenses of his mortgage brokerage, Kramer Mortgage Company. The funds in the Trust Account belonged to lenders and homeowners and should have been used to pay off mortgages in connection with real estate transactions. However, on numerous occasions from 2007 to 2009, Kramer transferred money to his brokerage from the Trust Account, sometimes in amounts of more than $250,000 in a single month.

At first, Kramer repaid the amounts he took out of the Trust Account relatively quickly.

Over time, however, the repayments became less frequent and thus a large deficit developed in the Trust Account. This put unwitting homeowners who used Kramer's closing company at risk of having old mortgages on their properties not paid off.

Kramer tried to fill the deficit in the Trust Account with mortgage payoff money he was supposed to give to US Bank in connection with a line of credit. Those actions created a new set of problems, however, as the mortgage payoffs related to homes on which US Bank held liens.

By putting money into the Trust Account instead of paying off US Bank, Kramer put the families who owned those homes at risk of foreclosure from US Bank.

Kramer's scheme culminated in September 2009 when Mohamed Rheem used Kramer's closing company for the closing of his purchase of a home in West Des Moines. Rheem and his family lived in Baghdad, Iraq, until 2008 but left the country because of violence and threats from insurgents who were angry that Rheem had assisted the United States Army. The family arrived in Iowa in March 2008 as refugees, and Rheem quickly found employment with a dry cleaning company. Over the next year-and-a-half, he saved enough money to make a down payment on the purchase of the home - the first and only house he has ever purchased in the United States.

Kramer's closing company was used to close Rheem's purchase of the house. Due to the shortfall in the Trust Account, however, Kramer used the proceeds of Rheem's new mortgage loan to pay off other mortgages that should have been paid off earlier in connection with other closings. The old mortgage on Rheem's home was ultimately never paid off, resulting in Rheem spending approximately two years in foreclosure proceedings.

Kramer paid himself large sums of money from his brokerage throughout the year 2009,  including a $50,000 payment to himself the day before the Rheem closing. In total, Kramer misapplied millions of dollars in mortgage payoffs over the course of the scheme and his actions resulted in at least five families not having clean title to their homes.

Kramer and Anderson will be sentenced in March 2013. Each count of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit bank fraud is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 30 years and a fine of up to $1 million. In addition, Kramer and Anderson will have to make restitution to the victims of their crimes.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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PALATINE - Lt. Governor Sheila Simon will challenge Harper College students on Thursday to sign an online pledge not to text and drive. Simon, the governor's point person on education reform, is visiting community colleges across the state this fall to urge commuter students to practice safe texting.

AT&T's "It Can Wait" campaign aims to educate drivers on the dangers of texting while driving. Nationwide, drivers are 23 times more likely to get in an accident if they text while driving. In the first half of 2011 in Illinois, cell phone distractions were the cause of more than 500 crashes. Simon took the "It Can Wait" pledge in September.

"Texting is one of the leading causes of distracted driving, an epidemic that causes far too many accidents and deaths on our roadways," Simon said. "There is no text message important enough to risk your life - it can wait."


[DUBUQUE, IA] Nash Gallery will host an opening reception for artist Edward Obermueller's new collection entitled HORIZONS on Friday, December 7 from 7-9 p.m., 489 West Fourth Street in Cable Car Square. The exhibit features impressionist landscapes and cityscapes with many local scenes, as well as a brand new series of "horizons" or abstracted landscapes. "I am drawn to
the deep horizon," Obermueller says, "The looking outward toward possibilities, the play of light, depth, and color, and the spiritual meaning these can bring. I love placing architectural and figural forms into a landscape and exploring how the geometric lines and organic lines and shapes interact with each other."

Nash Gallery gives the Dubuque County Fine Arts Society a meaningful presence in downtown Dubuque's cultural district and serves as a creative hub for the organization and its affiliates. The gallery's programming supports the mission of DCFAS to encourage, promote, and present local and regional arts by providing an exhibition space and network for emerging and
pioneering artists.

The artist will offer a gallery talk at 8 p.m. during the opening reception. HORIZONS will be on exhibition through February 8, 2013 with weekend gallery hours on Saturdays 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and Sundays from 11-3 p.m. and by appointment. For more details visit www.dcfas.org.

This exhibit is made possible in part by funding from Art Gumbo Dubuque.

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