WEST BRANCH, IOWA– Homeowners or anyone interested in learning about pruning trees and shrubs can join arborist Ed Rinderspacher and the staff of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site for an Arbor Day presentation on Friday, April 27. Arbor Day is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees.

The program is free and begins at 2:00 p.m. at the visitor center. It will last about one hour and may involve about a half-mile of walking to different plantings around the park. Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. In the case of inclement weather, please call (319) 643-2541 before attending. 

Ed Rinderspacher is the owner and operator of Rindy Tree and Turf Care, Inc. and a West Branch, Iowa  arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). Mr. Rinderspacher will provide a one-hour, hands-on tree pruning demonstration of cuts and techniques for small, young, newly planted trees.   "There are about a thousand trees in this 187-acre national park," said Pete Swisher, superintendent of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. "We hope our visitors can see examples of the careful work we do to maintain the landscape commemorating Herbert Hoover's life."

April 21 through 29 is National Park Week, the annual week for celebration and recognition of your National Parks. Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum are in West Branch, Iowa at exit 254 off I-80. Both are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. Parking is limited so please allow extra time to find a parking space. For more information go online at www.nps.gov/heho or call (319) 643-2541.


Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
110 Parkside Drive
PO Box 607
West Branch, Iowa   52358

319 643-2541 phone
319 643-7864 fax
www.nps.gov/heho

Baby boomers stand to inherit $10 trillion in the next few years and women will get the bulk of it, according to a Cornell University study, because they outlive men an average of seven years.

"Women already control 60 percent of the nation's personal wealth - they outnumber men and they are traditionally the shoppers," says financial expert Scott T. Schultz, author of Scott Schultz's Guide to Closed-End Funds (www.closedendfundguru.com).

"It's sad that, despite the fact that nearly a third make more money than their husbands and they're starting businesses at twice the rate men are, 38 percent of women ages 30 to 55 worry they'll eventually live in poverty because they can't adequately save for retirement," he says.

With the first of the boomers hitting 65 this year, the nation will see an even greater number of retirement-aged women holding the country's purse strings.

"Many will inherit money and property from their parents and/or their husbands, and many will live another 30 to 40 years," Schultz says, citing the Cornell study. "They'll need to invest their money to ensure they have enough to avoid that impoverished retirement they fear, but they - and the nation - have lost confidence in the stock market; April 2011 saw the lowest number of investors since 1999."

What brokers don't tell clients about, he says, is closed-end funds. Schultz, ranked the No. 1 Separate Account Money Manager for three consecutive years by USA Today, says he earned that national honor by relying almost solely on these limited-issue stocks. Because they're available only in finite numbers and because watchful brokers can find them "on sale," they're a better bet as an investment for those who are willing to sit on them awhile.

Why is the American public so in the dark about closed-end funds? Noting his book is the first written on the topic in more than 20 years, Schultz says there are a few reasons:

• Brokers can't generate a lot of commissions from them. Brokers move open-ended funds quickly because they earn a commission with each transaction. It's easy money for them, Schultz says. Closed-end funds require a longer term investment strategy, so brokers who want to get rich quick won't use them.

• They require more effort from the broker, who has to work to find the "sales." One advantage of closed-end funds is that they can sometimes be purchased at a discount, so the investor starts off ahead of open-end investors who are paying full price for stocks, Schultz says. Even if the fund never gets back up to its full value, any increase at all is a gain. But the broker has to be willing to work to find the good investments with good discounts. And then he or she has to be willing to sit on them.

• Closed-end funds are boring! For a lot of brokers, it's just plain fun to trade stocks in products and initiatives with an exciting ring to them, whether it's Facebook or a treasure-hunting ship. These brokers are constantly trading stocks - and generating transaction feeds, lawyer fees and underwriting fees every time - because that's what they like to do. Closed-end funds require thoughtful, sometimes tedious research before buying, and then the patience of a saint as both the broker and the investor wait for the bid price to increase.

About Scott T. Schultz

Scott T. Schultz began his career in 1983 at E.F. Hutton and was ranked the nation's No. 1 Separate Account Money Manager by USA Today for three consecutive years using GIPS verified/audited performance numbers supplied by Morningstar, Inc. Schultz was a GOP nominee for U.S. Congress in 1988, and met with Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush at the White House. He graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in journalism.

Tax Preparation Assistance Program Helps Working Families File on Time

CHICAGO - April 10, 2012. One week away from the April 17 tax filing deadline, Governor Pat Quinn today urged working families to learn about tax relief available to them in Illinois and get the assistance they need to file their taxes. The governor continued his drive to get the word out about Illinois' EITC at Harold Washington College, which serves as a tax assistance center organized by the Center for Economic Progress (CEP). CEP President and CEO David Marzahl joined the governor and representatives from Walmart, who also announced a major donation to CEP to provide free financial services to working families.

""Too many families do not receive the tax relief they deserve simply because they don't have the information and means to access it," Governor Quinn said. "We want our working families to know about the Center for Economic Progress and Illinois' Earned Income Tax Credit, which will support economic growth and help them keep more of what they earn."

Earlier this year, Governor Quinn championed and signed a tax relief law to help working families across the state and grow the Illinois economy. The Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit law doubles the state's Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) over two years, saving low-income workers an extra $105 million per year and helping almost a million families who filed it. The new law also benefits all Illinois taxpayers by raising the value of the personal exemption and indexing it to inflation.

To benefit from Illinois' EITC, also known as the Earned Income Credit (EIC), taxpayers must include it on their tax returns. While more than 2.5 million state residents benefited from the Illinois EITC in 2010, many people who are eligible for the state's EITC don't file for it. The not-for-profit CEP estimates that between 10 and 20 percent of eligible taxpayers did not file for EITC last year. At the event, representatives from Walmart announced a $50,000 donation to CEP to provide more free tax preparation and other financial services to low-income working families.

"At the Center for Economic Progress, it's our mission to continue providing important tax and financial services to hard-working, low-income families in Illinois," said Dan Nielsen, Chairman of the Board of Directors at the CEP. "That's a mission made possible because of the investments of companies like Walmart and the ongoing support of Governor Quinn."

"Giving back to the communities where our Illinois associates live and work is part of our commitment at Walmart. We know we can make the greatest impact on our communities through the support of causes right here in our own backyard," said Walmart Vice President and Regional General Manager Karisa Sprague. "We are pleased to support the Center for Economic Progress and the work they do in assisting low income working families. The free financial assistance they provide to families is an invaluable service."

The CEP Tax Counseling Project provides free tax preparation assistance at tax assistance centers across the state. Their services are provided free of charge to families making less than $50,000 annually and to individuals with yearly incomes under $25,000. More than 28,000 Illinois taxpayers filed returns through the program in the 2010 tax season, with more than $50 million in state and federal tax refunds returned to clients.

For more information on the Tax Counseling Project, contact the Center for Economic Progress in Chicago at 312-630-0273, or its toll-free statewide number 888-827-8511 or visit its website www.economicprogress.org. For information on the Tax Assistance Program call 312-409-1555 or 312-409-4318 (Spanish). Details are also available on the IDHS website at www.dhs.state.il.us and the Department of Revenue website at www.revenue.state.il.us. Information about filing federal taxes online can be found at www.irs.gov.

About the new Illinois EITC Law:

The new law marked the largest increase in Illinois' EITC since its inception in 2000, by phasing in a 5 percent increase over two years. The law boosts the state's EITC from its current level at 5 percent of federal EITC, to 7.5 percent in tax year 2012 and 10 percent of federal EITC in tax year 2013. More than 2.5 million state residents benefited from the Illinois EITC in 2010.

Under the new law, a single mother with one child, earning minimum wage ($12,800 a year), will save $154 on her taxes. A married couple with three children earning $30,000 a year will save $199 on their taxes this year.

Uniquely pro-growth and pro-family, the EITC is available only to those with earned income and provides incentive to work as well as much-needed tax relief to the lowest-income families. EITC also boosts local economies through increased consumer demand. A 2006 Brookings Institution study found that every dollar a family saves through this tax credit translates into $1.58 of activity in local economies.

The law also improves the value of the standard personal exemption for all taxpayers in Illinois and ties its continued growth to the rate of inflation. The personal exemption will increase by $50 (to $2,050) in tax year 2012, and the value of the exemption will be indexed to the cost of living adjustment each tax year thereafter. The personal exemption change benefits all taxpayers, regardless of income.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the Davenport Public Library is pleased to present "The Titanic: 100 Years Later," Thursday, April 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Fairmount Branch (3000 N. Fairmount Street). At this event, former Research Specialist Liza Gilbert will discuss the famous and not-so-famous individuals on the ship, the luxuries on board, and the list of mistakes that led to the horrific disaster.  Visit the library's PR blog at http://blogs.davenportlibrary.com/pr/ for interesting facts about the Titanic!

Adults, teens, and seniors are invited to this FREE and informative program. For more information call (563) 326-7832 or visit www.davenportlibrary.com.