Tickets for the Preview Party on Thursday, June 14, are $10 and include admittance, food, and live music. Tickets are for sale can be purchased at the door and at www.qcsymphony.com. Admittance on Friday and Saturday is free.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic announced today that Lawrence W. and Marilyn W. Matteson of Moline, Ill., have given $10 million to help launch the Mayo Clinic Proton Beam Therapy Program. With this gift, Mayo Clinic will also use matching gift funds to establish the Lawrence W. and Marilyn W. Matteson Fund in Cancer Research.

Mayo's Proton Beam Therapy Program will use the most advanced intensity-modulated technology known as pencil beam scanning, which few centers now use. Construction of the proton beam facilities in Rochester, Minn., and Phoenix, Ariz., are under way, and one of four gantries in the proton therapy facility being built in Rochester, Minn., will be named in their honor. The first treatment rooms will be available for patients in 2015 in Rochester, Minn., and in 2016 in Phoenix, Ariz.

Unlike conventional radiation therapy, which can damage healthy tissue while it destroys the tumor, proton therapy delivers nearly its entire dose within the tumor, sparing healthy tissue surrounding the cancer. This form of therapy is especially vital in sensitive areas such as the brain and lungs and is especially useful for treating children, who are at higher risk for radiation damage because their bones and tissues are still growing.

"Mr. Matteson is a grateful patient who has been very impressed with the care he received at Mayo Clinic," says Robert Foote, M.D., chair of the Mayo Clinic Department of Radiation Oncology in Rochester. "Mr. and Mrs. Matteson wanted a way to show their gratitude and chose to donate funds that will help us ease the burden cancer has on patients, especially young children."

"This gift is going to benefit children who are going through terrible cancers to not have the residual effects they would have with regular treatment," said Mrs. Matteson. "The side effects won't be something that follows them for the rest of their lives."

The Mattesons generously supported The Campaign for Mayo Clinic, a successful $1.3 billion fundraising initiative that concluded in 2009. Mr. Matteson and his son, Larry, of Burlington, Iowa, are the founders of L.W. Matteson, Inc., a marine construction and dredging company in Burlington. The company maintained one of the largest fleets of dredging and marine construction equipment on the Mississippi River. The company was sold in 2010. Mr. Matteson and his son maintain ownership of Matteson Marine, which operates switch boats on the Mississippi. Mrs. Matteson is retired from John Deere.

The Mayo Matching Gift Program recognizes that endowment of priority programs is critical for the future. In 2005 Mayo Clinic's Board of Trustees created a matching gift program to build and enhance specific endowments representing Mayo's highest research priorities. Mayo Clinic will match the annual spendable income from specific endowment gifts. Very few institutions of higher education are able and willing to match their benefactors philanthropic giving in this way.

WASHINGTON?Today, President Obama will announce investments to help rural small businesses expand and hire.  Home to some of the most diligent and self-reliant Americans, rural communities and our nation's agriculture industry are vital contributors to employment and exports from the United States.  Strong and secure rural communities are essential to creating an economy built to last that rewards hard work and responsibility?not outsourcing, loopholes, and risky financial deals. While the security of the middle class has been threatened by the irresponsible financial collapse and the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, rural Americans continue to come together to buckle down and make ends meet. The values that have helped hard-working, responsible families weather the storm continue to move our economy forward.  As a result, while there is still work to do, a new report released today details the progress that has been made in the agricultural economy.

"As we continue to fight our way back from the deepest economic crisis in generations and build an economy that lasts, rural America is helping to lead the charge," said President Obama. "On farms and ranches; in towns and communities across this country, rural Americans know that we are stronger as a people when everybody gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules.  Those are the values we need to return to, and as long as I'm President, my Administration will continue to give our rural communities the support and investment they need to show us the way."

Last August at the White House Rural Economic Forum, President Obama announced a new commitment to invest in rural businesses through the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, at no cost to tax payers.  Today, President Obama is announcing that more than $400 million has already been invested this fiscal year in these businesses through the Small Business Administration's SBIC program, and that nearly $2 billion in additional funding will be invested by the end of fiscal year 2016. These investments will continue to help finance, grow, expand, and modernize rural small business operations across the country.  The details of the locations, amounts and industries in which these dollars have been invested to date can be found HERE.

Additionally, the Council of Economic Advisers, the White House Rural Council and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are releasing a joint report today, which notes progress that has been made in the agricultural economy and details steps the Obama Administration has taken to help strengthen the farm economy and support jobs and growth in rural America. To read the full report, click HERE.

Highlights from the report include :

·Innovation: Innovation in U.S. agriculture has kept America's farms among the most productive in the world.  U.S. farm sector income reached a nominal record of $98.1 billion in 2011. Adjusting for general inflation, real farm income in 2011 recorded its 3rd highest level in the last 50 years.

·Exports: While many sectors of our economy are running trade deficits, American agriculture has enjoyed a trade surplus, with record levels of farm exports at $137.4 billion for fiscal year 2011. Yet, it is clear that still more can and should be done to boost agriculture exports. The President's National Export Initiative has opened new markets for U.S. agricultural products and services and contributed to a historic level of agricultural exports.  Once fully implemented, free trade agreements passed under this Administration with Korea, Panama, and Colombia are projected to boost U.S. agricultural exports by $2.3 billion per year.

·Clean Energy: The Administration has pursued polices that promote domestic energy alternatives like biofuels, bioenergy, and wind power to provide new opportunities for farmers, ranchers, and forest managers.  Pursuit of an all-of-the-above clean energy and energy efficiency strategy saved Americans a projected 6.5 billion kWh - enough energy to power over 590,000 homes for a year - and nearly doubled the amount of installed wind energy generation in the U.S. over the past three years from about 25,000 MW in 2008 to 47,000 MW in 2011.

·New Industries: The Administration has supported new industry diversification within the agricultural economy.  The retail value of the organic industry grew to $31.4 billion in 2011, up from $21.1 billion in 2008. The number of operations certified organic grew by 1,109 - or more than 6% - between 2009 and 2011.

·Community Investment: The rural economy has been strengthened by investments in over 6,250 new community facilities.  Additionally, over the last three years, 12,000 USDA grants and loans have been issued to assist over 50,000 rural small businesses.

DES MOINES, IA (06/11/2012)(readMedia)-- The Iowa State Fair Fabric and Threads Department is seeking fabric donations and volunteers for the fourth annual State Fair Sew-In. The free program offers Fairgoers a chance to try their hand at simple sewing and quilting while providing warm blankets to local children in need. "Nothing Compares" to the Iowa State Fair, set August 9-19.

Donations of two-yard cuts of fabric in juvenile prints and patterns are needed for quilt backings. In addition, cash donations are needed to help cover the costs of quilt batting and materials. All donations can be dropped off in the Competitive Events Department in the Administration Building on the Fairgrounds or mailed to the Iowa State Fair Competitive Events Department: P.O. Box 57130, Des Moines, IA 50317-0003. All donations should be labeled for the Sew-In project.

The Fair is also searching for sewing assistants to help Fairgoers make the simple strip quilts. Volunteers are asked to commit to four-hour shifts from noon to 4 p.m. or 1 to 5 p.m. A site supervisor will be on-hand to supply materials and help with machines. All volunteers will receive one parking and admission ticket to the Fair.

Volunteers at last year's State Fair Sew-In completed 298 quilts, which were donated to children at the Iowa Lutheran Hospital and to Angel Tree Camps, an organization that offers summer programming for children with a parent in the Iowa prison system. The sewers represented 50 Iowa counties, 13 states and 3 foreign countries. Since the Sew-In began in 2009, volunteers have created 724 quilts for children at the University of Iowa, Blank Pediatric Oncology Clinic and Lutheran Social Services of Iowa.

The Sew-In will be open daily during the Fair from noon to 5 p.m. in the south hallway of the William C. Knapp Varied Industries Building. Fairgoers are invited to stop in and try their hand at quilting basics (no experience necessary). Each participant will receive a commemorative pin for their efforts.

If you are interested in donating, volunteering, or receiving more information about the Sew-In, contact Sharon Meisenheimer by phone at 515/986-1145 or by email at rmeis@aol.com.

"Nothing Compares" to the 2012 Iowa State Fair, August 9-19. For more information, call 800/545-FAIR or visit iowastatefair.org.

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