The German American Heritage Center, announced the appointment of Angela Hunt as the Center's new director. Ms. Hunt began her position March 16, 2009. She succeeds John Blong, who retired as acting director after five years of service to the Center.

Ms. Hunt is a resident of Bettendorf, Iowa and has lived in the Quad Cities area since 2000. She has worked at Niabi Zoo, Girl Scouts, Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House in the areas of program management, volunteer coordination, fundraising, marketing and public relations. Ms. Hunt also has also worked as a nonprofit consultant. Ms. Hunt has worked on projects as a volunteer for area organizations including the Bistate Literacy Council, The Garden Growers, Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging, Directors of Volunteers in Agencies, and the United Way. She serves as Communications Director for Public Relations Network of the Quad Cities board.

"I am absolutely thrilled to join the German American Heritage Center (GAHC) team especially at this time when the museum is undergoing new and exciting expansions of the exhibits and outreach, " said Ms. Hunt.

As director of the German American Heritage Center, Ms. Hunt will be responsible for directing staff, volunteers, programs, fund raising and the yearly operations.

About the German American Heritage Center

Founded in 1994 as a non-profit corporation, the German American Heritage Center (GAHC) seeks to preserve and enrich for present and future generations knowledge of the German immigrant experience and its impact on the American culture. Today, the Center stands at a crossroads for the generations. The Center is a place where brick and mortar and a living culture are merged to provide experiences to perpetuate the immigrant values and work ethic for our current generations.

Location: 712 West 2nd Street, Davenport, IA 52802

Hours: 1:00-4:00 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, with extended hours by appointment only

Admission: Adults $3; Seniors (+60) $2; Children (6-18) $1; Under 5 free

Access: The German American Heritage Center is wheelchair accessible.

For more information please call (563) 322-8844.

Iowa Public Radio station 90.9 FM is back to full power after experiencing a major transmission line failure Saturday, February 7. Due to the extensive damage to 90.9 FM which serves eastern Iowa repeater stations receiving their signal from 90.9 FM, including 89.7 FM and 98.7 FM in Dubuque, 94.5 FM and 102.1 FM in the Quad Cities, and 88.9 FM and 101.7 FM serving Des Moines, were also affected. 90.9 FM returned to low power on February 17, restoring service to much of eastern Iowa and to repeaters in Dubuque and Des Moines.

The transmission line that extends the length of the 2,000 foot tower west of Walker failed about 1,000 feet above the ground, according to Wayne Jarvis, IPR director of network operations. Last summer, the original thirty year old transmission line was replaced and the February failure in the new line appeared to be due to design and manufacturing issues in the new line components. The manufacturer cooperated with IPR to correct this massive failure.

Before returning to normal power, all one hundred of the transmission line's seventeen foot sections had to be disassembled, replaced or cleaned and inspected. Most sections had to be cleaned on the ground and then reassembled on the tower. High winds, snow and freezing rain had limited work to one or two days a week delaying the return to full power.

A tower crew restored the signal to low power on February 17 through an auxiliary antenna, followed by periods off the air for transmission line repair. After line reassembly, nitrogen was run through the antenna to remove any moisture that had built up during the repair period. Then the entire line and antenna were electronically swept to detect any faults. The crew finished repair and final testing on Tuesday, March 17, returning 90.9 to full power.

Iowa Public Radio informs, enriches and engages Iowans through radio programming and other media. Iowa Public Radio includes the WOI Radio Group (Iowa State University, Ames), KUNI-KHKE (University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls), and KSUI-WSUI (University of Iowa, Iowa City).

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Sister Helen Prejean will be the keynote speaker for Churches United's Delegate Assembly to be held on Thursday, March 26^th at 7:00pm.  Asbury United Methodist Church in Bettendorf (18^th & Mississippi Streets) will be hosting this Assembly.

Each year Churches United holds this annual meeting for its 136 member churches.  Although part of the annual meeting is for its members, the public is welcome to come and hear Sister Helen that evening.

Sister Helen Prejean, is most noted for her work with those on death row and wrote a Pultizer Prize winning book which was made into the award winning movie " Dead Man Walking" starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn.

Sister Helen resides in New Orleans, Louisiana and earned her M.A. in Religious Education from St. Paul's University in Ottawa, Canada. She has been the Religious Education Director at St. Frances Cabrini Parish in New Orleans and the Formation Director for her religious community as well as teaching both junior and senior high school students.

Both of Sister Helen Prejean's books (Dead Man Walking and Death of Innocents - each $15 or both for $25) will be available for sale following the Delegate Assembly.  Sister Helen will be on hand to autograph her books.  Proceeds from the book sales go to the Moratorium Campaign.  Petitions will also be available for those who wish to add their name to this effort to call an end to the death penalty.    Also available will be a few copies of "Dead Man Walking" autographed by Susan Sarandan, Tim Robbins and Sister Helen Prejean at a cost of $100.

Sister Helen is an articulate and eloquent speaker whosurely will move you!

For more information, please contact Churches United at 309-786-6494.

German language classes will be conducted at the German American Heritage Center on Tuesday nights from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. starting April 7^th through June 9, 2009.

Instructor Kathlyn Hofmann has twenty-seven years of experience teaching beginning-AP levels in the German language within Germany for the Department of Defense Education Activity.

This class will concentrate on commonly used words and phrases and their correct pronunciation.  A conversational approach to teaching will be used with some explanation of basic grammar. Handouts will be made available. Students do not need to purchase a book.  This class is meant for those who know no German or who want to brush up on the basics. Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to pronounce the alphabet and sound out word combinations, read and speak simple phrases, and be able to understand and speak simple sentences. Topics may vary depending on the interest and make-up of the group but will include greetings, introductions & useful expressions;  talking about your family and yourself; numbers, telling time, money, the calendar and weather;  food likes and dislikes; travel, hotels, shopping; going to the doctor. No prerequisite.

Cost for the class is $50 GAHC members; $60 non-members. Deadline for reservations is April 3, 2009.

To make reservations, call the German American Heritage Center at (563) 322-8844 or send reservations to German American Heritage Center, 712 West Second Street, Davenport, IA 52802. You can also email your reservations to director@gahc.org