Iowa City, IA -Some ideas sound crazy, others really are...creating a homemade medical device, falling in love with a Barbie doll, channeling direct orders from God, moving to a far away city to chase a dream.

Walking the Wire, Riverside Theatre's annual festival of original work from playwrights across North America, will bring to the stage a wide variety of potentially implausible scenarios as part of this year's theme, This Will Never Work.

This year's Walking the Wire is directed by Riverside Theatre Artistic Director Jody Hovland. The show is sponsored by Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT).

"Walking the Wire has all the theatricality of an aerial act - a single performer telling a story in a single spot of light. And this year's theme insures plenty of daring twists and turns as well," Hovland said.

With over 100 submissions from across the U.S. and beyond, the dozen monologues reflect a diverse range of original work from playwrights both near and far.

The 12 playwrights whose work will be presented are: Brent Boyd (North Hollywood, CA); Dave Carley (Toronto, ON); Ron Clark (Iowa City); Mark Harvey Levine (Pasadena, CA); Deborah Magid (Cleveland Heights, OH); Gordon Mennenga (Iowa City); Mike Moran (Mount Vernon); Amanda Petefish-Schrag (Maryville, MO); Gwendolyn Rice (Madison, WI); Janet Schlapkohl (Iowa City); Jen Silverman (Astoria, NY); and Amy White (Mount Vernon).

Three area writers, Clark, Moran and Schlapkohl, will perform their own work, with an additional cast of actors including Tim Budd, David Busch, Fannie Hungerford, Katherine Smith and Jessica Wilson. 

Walking the Wire runs March 2-11. Showtimes are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $28 for adults, $25 for 60 and over/30 and under, $15 for youth (18 and under). $15 student rush tickets are available 20 minutes before curtain on a first come, first served basis for any remaining seats. Tickets can be purchased online at www.riversidetheatre.org, by phone at (319) 338-7672 or at the Riverside Theatre Box Office. The Box Office is located at 213 N. Gilbert St, Iowa City. Box Office Hours are: 12 - 4 p.m. Monday - Friday, and one hour before performances.

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Performance Schedule

Friday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 4 at 2 p.m.

Thursday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 11 at 2 p.m.

For a religion many Americans still describe as "cultish" and "secretive," the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has gained a lot of mainstream clout in the past couple of years.

On Broadway, the irreverent musical satire "The Book of Mormon" was the hands-down favorite of 2011, winning nine Tony Awards. On television, "Big Love," a fictional HBO series about a Mormon polygamist, enjoyed a five-year run ending last March. And on the GOP presidential campaign trail, front-runner Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are both Mormons with deep roots in the 181-year-old church.

Los Angeles attorney Robert P. DesJardins studied the religion and its history for his newest novel, Land of the Saints (http://robertpdesjardins.authorsxpress.com/). He found a history that provided him not only with plenty of mystery and intrigue for his fiction, but also gave him insights into the religion's role in contemporary America.

Did you know?

• Former governors Romney and Huntsman share a common ancestor: Parley Pratt. An original apostle of the church founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith, Pratt was Romney's great-great grandfather and Huntsman's great-great-great grandfather, DesJardins says. Pratt was said to have had 12 wives in the years before polygamy was banned by the church in 1890. (Current members practicing plural marriage are excommunicated.) Pratt was killed in 1857 by the estranged husband of a woman with whom he'd become involved.

• Romney and Huntsman are not the first church members to run for president. Joseph Smith, who founded the church in 1830, began his run for president on Jan. 29, 1844. It ended with his assassination five months later on June 27.

• Contrary to popular belief, the church's growth has slowed dramatically since 1999. From 1974 to 1994, it was said to be the fastest-growing American-made religion, but the numbers started dropping in 1999, DesJardins says. There are now about 14 million Mormons worldwide and they comprise just 2 percent of the U.S. population, which is interesting, DesJardins notes, since they comprise 28 percent of the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.

• One issue that surfaces in heavily evangelical Christian states such as Iowa and South Carolina is whether Mormons are Christians. "Mormons believe in God the father, Jesus the son and the Holy Ghost. They believe in Jesus as our savior and Messiah," DesJardins says. "So how why would anyone say they're not Christians? The difference is, they do not believe the three gods are one. And they believe in human deification - that humans can become gods. Those are two fundamental reasons why some Christians say Mormons do not share their faith."

• The Latter-day Saints is well-known as the keeper of the largest genealogical library in the world, with more than 2.4 million rolls of records on microfilm, and a database with names of 600 million dear departed. Why all the data on non-church members? Mormons can assure ancestors are together for all eternity through baptism of the dead; living church members stand inn as proxies.

The church has long been regarded with suspicion, and even outright violence. Despite its growing prominence in American culture, those attitudes still prevail, DesJardins says.

"The church itself hired two ad agencies in 2009 to research public perception and was disappointed to find Americans still describe it as 'cultish,' 'secretive' and 'sexist,''' DesJardins says. "It set about to change that with a multi-million-dollar TV, billboard and Internet campaign in 2010."

The campaign expanded in 2011.

DesJardins expects it will do little to help a religion that still idolizes its authoritarian founder, carefully guards secrets and ceremonies, and reserves positions of power within the church for men.

About Robert P. DesJardins

A successful Los Angeles lawyer for more than 35 years, DesJardins is now a lecturer, private judge and judge pro tempore for the California Superior Court - in addition to being a novelist. In Land of the Saints, his third book, his main character is an attorney who finds himself drawn into the mysterious and dangerous world of Mormon spirituality after a friend is charged with murder. DesJardins is also the author of "The Mistral and A Darker Shade of Orange."

Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry

Hearing on Energy and Economic Growth for Rural America

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

I appreciate the Chairwoman setting this hearing today.  The rural development and energy programs administered by the Department of Agriculture are important to rural America and Iowa.

Rural utility programs help provide vital infrastructure and services for rural Iowans.  In addition, we have some very important rural water programs that give assistance to communities for access to safe and affordable drinking water.  And, there are wastewater programs that help small communities deal with requirements placed upon them by the Clean Water Act.

People all too often forget the people in rural America are largely responsible for producing this nation's food.  Rural Development programs help preserve the way of life in these small communities so young people who grow up and live in these communities can become the next generation responsible for feeding this nation.

I appreciate the Secretary's comments regarding the importance of the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).  The REAP program has helped expand market access for renewable fuels as this country continues to look for ways to reduce dependence on foreign oil.

In addition, the topic of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program has been discussed in today's hearing.  The Secretary and I discussed the BCAP program a couple weeks ago, and I appreciated him taking the time to discuss some of my concerns.  I trust the Department of Agriculture is continuing to do what it can to resolve the concerns I raised, and I thank the Secretary for his attention to the matter.

In the Secretary's prepared comments, he noted there is an opportunity for Congress to streamline some of the farm bill programs.  It never ceases to amaze me how many programs USDA has to administer.  While most of them serve a very good purpose, we have a responsibility to cut redundancies and inefficiencies and bring common sense and thoughtfulness to some of the programs. I am confident this committee is up for this task.

One example where we may need to focus more attention is the Broadband Initiatives Program under the Rural Utility Service created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  There is a need for rural America to be wired so broadband can be made available.  We need to focus more on unserved areas and be very careful about allowing taxpayer loans to be disbursed to underserved areas where there is already a network funded with private capital.

I and many others are concerned with the funding of duplicative broadband networks and the costs this incurs. I have learned the Rural Utility Service is looking at revising the Broadband Initiatives Program financial models to reflect the changes in the Federal Communication Commission's 2011 Universal Service Fund Reform Order.  Perhaps this is an opportunity for the Rural Utility Service to revive its approach regarding loans to areas where private providers are already offering broadband service.  I hope this leads to helpful steps to ensure the Broadband Initiatives Program keeps to the original goal of bringing broadband to unserved rural America.

DES MOINES, Iowa - A Davenport man won the first top prize of $10,000 playing the lottery's "PAC-MAN™" instant-scratch game.

Frank Reyes claimed his prize Monday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids. He purchased his winning ticket at Casey's, 222 Front St. in Buffalo.

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Twelve top prizes of $10,000 are still up for grabs in PAC-MAN™, as well as 880 prizes of $100.

Players can enter eligible non-winning scratch tickets online to earn "Points For Prizes™" points. The point value will be revealed to the player on the website upon successful submission of each eligible valid ticket. There is a limit of 30 ticket entries per day. To participate in Points For Prizes™, a player must register for a free account at ialottery.com. Registration is a one-time process. Merchandise that can be ordered by using points will be listed on the website in the Points For Prizes™ online store. Players can choose from items in categories such as apparel, automotive, jewelry, sporting, tools and more.

Since the lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.8 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.3 billion for the state programs that benefit all Iowans.

Today, lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for veterans, help for a variety of significant projects through the state General Fund, and backing for the Vision Iowa program, which was implemented to create tourism destinations and community attractions in the state and build and repair schools.

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