06 Jun 2012

North America's Lost Boys - What to Do?

By Rick Martin
As Adolescent Male Achievement Declines,
Author Says, 'Get Outside!'

There is bad news for boys in North America:they are being blown out of the water by girls in academic achievement, and psychologists say young men are becoming more socially awkward, making relationships with young women difficult.

Sidney Gale, a medical doctor and author of Unto the Breach (www.sidneygale.com), an outdoor adventures book for boys, is concerned about the following statistics:

• Boys are 30 percent more likely than girls to drop out or flunk out of school. In Canada, five boys drop out for every three girls.

• Boys are underperforming girls at every level, from elementary to grad school.

• Boys are less likely than girls to get bachelor's of arts (44% vs. 56%) and graduate degrees, (45% vs. 55%).

In addition, young men in college are increasingly socially inexperienced, which means they're less likely go to on dates or otherwise step out of their comfort zone,says Stanford University psychology professor Philip Zimbardo. In general, maleswere never as sophisticated as females in verbal and bodily communication, but it's gotten worse.

Excessive hours of solitary video-game play and internet use likely account for atrophied social skills, Zimbardo says.

"We need to get boys out of their solitary bedrooms and into the sun," Gale says. "It's also a good idea to get them reading something other than tweets, texts and the like. They have intellect, and we should encourage them to use it."

Gale offers ideas to help boys even the achievement and social gap:

• Camp: Summer is a perfect opportunity to consider varied activity for young boys. Gale, an avid seaman, says sailing camps encourage teamwork, physical activity and navigation skills.

• Read novels: Physical isolation has significant effects on one's mental state and will stymie social skills. While reading is an activity pursued alone, reading novels can be very therapeutic, he says. They take readers beyond their daily lives, illustrate the workings of human relationships and increase language skills. They can also teach social- and problem-solving skills.

• Get social - both boys and parents: Children pick up on parental behaviors. If Mom and Dad do nothing but work and vegetate at home, chances are good that boys are just doing the same. Leave the house, together, when you can. Recreational activities are ideal; however, simply shopping together is an easy way to get boys out. "Talk to them on the way to the store," Gale says. "It sounds simple, but we are so inundated with technology in every part of our daily lives that an in-person conversation should not be taken for granted."

Like anything worthwhile, a boy's development takes time and effort, he notes.

"The old idea of a boy was one who longed for adventure, like Tom Sawyer or the Hardy Boys," he says. "As with any of today's issues concerning children, parents need to be vigilant so they can lead their sons to a successful and socially active life."

About Sidney Gale

Sidney Gale is the penname for Ian Blumer, a physician who has published a number of non-fiction books. He has been a specialty doctor in the Toronto area since 1985. "Unto the Breach" is his first work of fiction.

06 Jun 2012

July 2012 at the Field Museum

By Rita Bellouze
06 Jun 2012

IOWA FARM BUREAU MEMBERS MOURN PASSING OF LEGENDARY FARM ADVOCATE MARK PEARSON

By Laurie Johns

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - June 4, 2012 - Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) members have lost a valued member of the family, as they mark the passing of longtime WHO Radio farm news announcer Mark Pearson.  Pearson, long appreciated by Iowa farmers as a tireless advocate of agriculture, was appreciated for his intelligence, his humor and his passion for farming and Iowa.

"Mark was so well-versed on the issues and people of Iowa and was so proud to be a Farm Bureau member, that it was like he was a member of the family," said IFBF President Craig Hill, a Milo crop and livestock farmer.  "Doing an interview with Mark was always like talking to an old friend and he had such quick wit that you never knew what we was going to say, but either way, he was going to make you smile," said Hill.

Pearson, 54, passed away early Sunday after suffering an apparent heart attack at his Madison County farm home.  "Our thoughts and prayers are with Mark's family.  He left this world too soon and there truly will be no one else like him.  He will be greatly missed," said Hill.

-30-

About Iowa Farm Bureau

The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation is a grassroots, statewide organization dedicated to enhancing the People, Progress and Pride of Iowa.  More than 153,000 families in Iowa are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve farm and rural prosperity.  For more information about Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit the online media room at www.iowafarmbureau.com.

06 Jun 2012

Governor Quinn Announces 150 New Jobs at Astellas' Headquarters for the Americas in Illinois

By Rick Martin
Japanese Pharmaceutical Company Expands in Glenview

GLENVIEW, Ill. - June 4, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today joined Astellas executives and more than 1,000 employees to open the company's new corporate headquarters for the Americas in Glenview. Astellas is investing about $140 million in Illinois as part of its expansion, which will create 150 new high-tech jobs. As part of his agenda to boost job growth across Illinois, the governor personally met with the corporation's leadership while on a trade mission last year to Japan and China.

"We are committed to establishing Illinois as a leading hub of life sciences, and our work is paying off," Governor Quinn said. "Illinois has some of the best research and intellectual capital in the world, and these assets help us attract and support the growth of high-potential companies like Astellas in Illinois."

The new headquarters includes two seven-story buildings totaling 446,000 square feet, an increase of more than 160,000 square feet, which makes it more than a third larger than the former Deerfield location. The buildings and site emphasize sustainability, and the complex is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification. The company's more than 1,000 employees recently relocated to the new headquarters, and the expansion includes the addition of 150 good paying, high-tech jobs.

"At Astellas, we measure success not only by bringing innovative pharmaceuticals to patients and physicians, but also by our commitment to the communities in which we work," said Masao Yoshida, President and CEO of Astellas Pharma US, Inc. "The new Astellas headquarters for the Americas is a symbol of the company's continued growth, and our close cooperation with the state of Illinois and Governor Quinn's office. The new buildings are a result of that collaboration and our confidence that Illinois is a good place to do business."

To bolster the company's $140 million investment in Illinois, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is providing a strategic investment package of approximately $4 million in Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) corporate income tax credits and Employer Training Investment Program (ETIP) job training funds. ETIP credits will help Astellas enhance the skills of its workforce while EDGE credits are based and contingent on job creation. If the company does not meet its job creation targets and commitments, they will no longer be eligible for the tax credits.

Under Governor Quinn's leadership, DCEO has worked diligently to identify and aggressively court companies like Astellas that are looking to relocate and/or expand their North American presence. Illinois ranks first in the Midwest as a destination for foreign investment and has already attracted 1,597 foreign firms with 6,416 locations, which employ 323,362 Illinois residents. The Governor will continue to build on this success by playing a key role in marketing Illinois' world-class attributes abroad and personally meeting with companies to recruit them to Illinois.

With $2.2 billion in annual sales for the Americas, Astellas' expansion will support Illinois' growing life sciences industry. Illinois' biopharmaceutical industry, which is supported by the state's highly-regarded federal labs and renowned research universities, directly employs more than 40,000 people and supports more than 112,000 indirect and induced jobs.

"Illinois has a wealth of research labs and universities to support Astellas as the Japanese drug-maker expands globally," said DCEO Acting Director David Vaught. "Astellas' new headquarters not only adds dozens of good-paying jobs in Illinois, but bolster's the region's influence in the life sciences field."

"I want to congratulate Astellas on their grand opening," said Congressman Robert Dold (IL-10). "It is great to see an innovative company right here in our community grow and work hard to produce products that will improve patient lives."

Astellas Pharma US, Inc., located in Glenview, Illinois, is a U.S. affiliate of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc. Astellas is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. For more information about Astellas Pharma US, Inc., please visit www.astellas.us.

Governor Quinn has been committed to growing Illinois' biosciences industry and was named BIO's 2011 Governor of the Year. For more information on why Illinois is the right place for any business, visit www.illinoisbiz.biz.

 

###

06 Jun 2012

Beer Exhibit at the GAHC

By Kelly Lao
Davenport, IA- The German American Heritage Center is proud to announce the grand opening of its newest exhibit "Suds!" on the brewing history of Davenport and German brewing tradtions. The opening celebration will be held at GAHC on Sunday June 10th at 2pm with a presentation on Prohibition in Iowa by St. Ambrose University's Father George McDaniel. Admission is $5 for Adults, $4 for Seniors, $3 for children 5-17, and free for members.

Our exhibit "Suds!" will feature the breweries that operated here and the taverns and saloons where settlers gathered for their favorite brands. The second largest private beer can collector in America lives in the Quad Cities (over 25,000 cans!) and is loaning us an impressive selection of historical cans to share with the community. Local brewery ephemera and historic images will take visitors through our local connections to the famous beverage!

A series of programs will feature our long and glorious local brewery legacy - the effect of Prohibition on the local brewery traditions - where the "State of Scott" defied both Iowa and federal authorities to keep brewing beer and to make it available to fans, the fame of Bucktown, where the beer flowed and the action followed, even a chemistry professor who can tell us why we like some types of beer better than others.

The exhibit runs through October 28th and is sponsored by Vanguard Distributing Corporation. Visit our website www.gahc.org for more information on this event and other upcoming events. Call 563-322-8844 or visit us at 712 W 2nd St. Davenport, IA.
06 Jun 2012

Quad City Symphony Orchestra announces new Concertmaster

By Jared Johnson
After a year-long search, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra is excited to announce their new Concertmaster. The new Concertmaster will be publicly introduced in the NorthPark Mall food court where the Concertmaster will say a few words and give a short performance.

"We were all enamored of the talent and vision this candidate brought to the table during the audition," said Jeff vom Saal, Executive Director of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra. "We know our new Concertmaster will be a great artistic asset to the community as well as to our organization, and we wanted the Concertmaster's first performance to be a very public event."

The press and the public are invited to witness this historic occasion.

PRESS CONFERENCE DETAILS:
June 5, 2012, at 11:00 a.m.
NorthPark Mall food court
320 West Kimberly Road
Davenport, IA
Presentation to include brief introduction, opportunity for questions, and a performance by the new Concertmaster
06 Jun 2012

It's a 1912 Girl's Life to be held at Brucemore

By Rick Martin

Event to feature activities from 100 years ago

Brucemore and Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois will host "It's a 1912 Girl's Life" on Monday, June 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Brucemore, 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids.

Find out what it was like to be a girl living in the year Girl Scouts was established, while discovering more about the history of the Brucemore estate. In 1912, the Douglas family, including daughters Margaret, Ellen, and Barbara, called the mansion home. While they lived there, they tripled the property size and added a carriage house, guesthouse, servants' duplex, greenhouse, bookbindery/squash court and playhouse. It became a wonderland for the Douglas children.

Bring lunch in a pail to eat on the Brucemore lawn, play 1912 games, create 1912 crafts, and explore the 26-acre estate.

Cost is $10 for registered Girl Scouts. The cost to join is $12. To register, visit www.GirlScoutsToday.org/calendar.

About Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois

Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls with 3.2 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois has 19,000 girl members and 4,500 adult members in 38 counties. To learn more, visit www.GirlScoutsToday.org.

About Brucemore

Brucemore is Iowa's only National Trust Historic Site. The 26-acre park-like estate in the heart of Cedar Rapids boasts a Queen Anne style mansion built between 1884 and 1886. Brucemore has been home to three prominent families who used the estate as a center for culture and the arts. The estate continues to be a hub for cultural, philanthropic, and educational activities. Each year thousands of visitors attend specialty tours, concerts, fine arts performances, children's programs, holiday celebrations, preservation events, and garden workshops on the estate. For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.
06 Jun 2012

GAHC Gifts for Papa

By Kelly Lao

$30               Perfekt für Papa!                $30

 

Dear GAHC Members and Friends,

We have the perfect present for your Papa! With Father's Day just around the corner we offer you five terrific items in a gift bag with colorful tissue - just add a kiss and you're all set! All these items are German made or from German based companies:

 

Father's Day Special

06 Jun 2012

Searching For Anne Frank - Letters from Iowa to Amsterdam

By Kelly Lao
German American Heritage Center
05 Jun 2012

Dr. Louis Katz to join Executive Leadership Team of America's Blood Centers

By Rick Martin

Oversight of scientific, medical, and regulatory initiatives to follow September retirement of Dr. Celso Bianco

Davenport, Iowa - Dr. Louis Katz has been appointed as the next Executive Vice President for America's Blood Centers (ABC). Dr. Katz currently serves as Executive Vice President, Medical Affairs for Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC) and has worked with the Davenport-based community blood center for more than 30 years. He will transition from his role at MVRBC to his new position with ABC following the September retirement of Dr. Celso Bianco, who has held the position since 2000.

The announcement was made to ABC's member blood centers in the U.S. and Canada last Friday. "It is a great tribute to the America's Blood Centers' membership that we have attracted two of the finest physicians in all of blood banking - first Celso, now Lou - to work with and represent us," said ABC's Chief Executive Officer Jim MacPherson. "With the complexity of blood safety issues, Celso was absolutely the right person for his time with us. We are lucky that as community blood centers are integrating more with their hospitals that he will be succeeded by such a distinguished clinician as Lou Katz."

In his new role, Dr. Katz will serve as ABC's Chief Medical Officer. He will also lead ABC's scientific, medical, technical, quality, and regulatory efforts and represent ABC and its member blood centers before governmental and regulatory agencies. Dr. Katz is no stranger to ABC, having served the organization in many leadership capacities, including president, chair of the Scientific, Medical, and Technical Committee, and as a spokesperson for several years.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Dr. Katz to cap his distinguished career by influencing policy in transfusion medicine at a national level," said Dave Green, Chief Executive Officer at MVRBC. Due to the nature of his new position, Dr. Katz will be based at MVRBC's headquarters in Davenport, although he will travel frequently to Washington D.C. and to blood centers throughout the country. "He will be very busy with his new responsibilities, but I'm glad to know Dr. Katz will be available to provide counsel to the MVRBC medical staff as we maintain continuity in our medical affairs programs," said Green.

Dr. Paul McLoone, Chief Medical Officer for Trinity Regional Health System and Chair of MVRBC's Board of Directors, said "it's no surprise" ABC would recruit Dr. Katz for a national leadership role. "Through his past service to ABC, his research, and most importantly his stewardship and development of our own community blood center, Lou has demonstrated unparalleled expertise and judgment in the field of transfusion medicine. We have been fortunate to work alongside a nationally recognized leader for all these years."

Dr. Katz' accomplishments and experience include : serving as a member and chair of the Food and Drug Administration Blood Products Advisory Committee, a member the AABB Transfusion Transmitted Diseases Committee, the Health and Human Services National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's XMRV Scientific Research Working Group, serving as Medical Director to the Scott  County, Iowa Health Department and founding Community Health Care, Inc.'s Regional Virology Center, a comprehensive Ryan White-funded AIDS clinic in Davenport, Iowa.

"To follow my good friend Dr. Bianco into this position is an honor, but also humbling. I wish him all the best in a retirement that we all know will be as engaged as ever in the important work we do," said Dr. Katz. "I intend to focus my efforts on service to the membership of America's Blood Centers specifically, and the blood community in general, while advocating for rational policy development and implementation. All thanks for this opportunity are due to my colleagues at Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, who are so good at what they do, that I have been free to spend a lot of time thinking about issues external to the blood center for more than 25 years."

About America's Blood Centers
Founded in 1962, America's Blood Centers is North America's largest network of community-based, independent blood programs. Recognized by the U.S. Congress for its critical work in patient care and disaster preparedness and response, the federation operates more than 600 blood donor centers providing half of the U.S., and a quarter of the Canadian blood supply.

These blood centers serve more than 150 million people and provide blood products and services to more than 3,500 hospitals and healthcare facilities across North America. America's Blood Centers' U.S. members are licensed and regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Canadian members are regulated by Health Canada. For more information, see www.americasblood.org.

About Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center
MVRBC is the exclusive provider of blood products and services to 85 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin, including all of the hospitals in the Quad Cities region. The Blood Center is based in Davenport, Iowa, where MVRBC's testing, processing and primary distribution center produces transfusable blood components from more than 200,000 whole blood and platelet apheresis donations each year. The Blood Center's service region extends from southwestern Wisconsin to St. Louis, Missouri and from Danville, Illinois to Albia, Iowa, an area with a population of more than 4-million residents.

The not-for-profit community blood center has regional administrative offices in central Illinois (Springfield, Ill., operating as Central Illinois Community Blood Center), eastern Illinois (Urbana, Ill., operating as Community Blood Services of Illinois); southeastern Iowa (Ottumwa, IA) and the St. Louis region (Maryland Heights, MO). From these locations, MVRBC collects blood at 17 fixed site donor centers and at more than 4,000 mobile blood drives held each year. Since its founding in 1974, MVRBC has collected more than 2.5-million units of blood from volunteer donors and has served millions of patients in the Midwest and beyond through national resource sharing programs. For more information, see www.bloodcenter.org.

-end-

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