October 3, 2011 - Iowa City, IA

An Irish orphan yearns to escape small-town life...by becoming a star.

Riverside Theatre, Iowa City's resident professional theatre company will present The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh, October 28 through November 13. Ron Clark, Riverside's Resident Artist and Production Manager, directs. The Cripple of Inishmaan is a co-production with Cornell College.

In this wickedly hilarious Irish comedy, set in 1934 on the remote island of Inishmaan, Crippled Billy dreams of a world away from his adopted aunts, their tiny village store, and their nosy fellow villagers. When he hears that a Hollywood film crew is working nearby, Billy hatches a plot to land a part. What follows is a tale of adventure, loss and redemption.

"Cripple explores the widely held stereotypes about the simple joys of small-town life, and fills the stage with the dark humor that is essential for its characters to survive," Clark said. 

In its thirty-one year history, Riverside Theatre has produced a number of Irish dramas including Stones in His Pockets and Dancing at Lughnasa.  Additionally, the company has produced two other McDonagh plays: The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Lonesome West.

"Audiences have raved about the work and thoroughly enjoyed the fine storytelling of these Irish plays.  The colorful and exuberant language and the carefully drawn characters are immensely appealing," Clark said.

The playwright, Martin McDonagh, is generally revered as one of the great contemporary voices of the Irish theatre. McDonagh is the first playwright since Shakespeare to have four professionally produced plays running simultaneously on London stages.

The Cripple of Inishmaan is the ninth collaboration between Riverside Theatre and Cornell College since 1996.

"The Cripple of Inishmaan is also a perfect fit for a co-production with Cornell College, where I have been an artist-in-residence for twenty-five years.  The roles break down very nicely to allow lots of great work for the student-actors while allowing Riverside to employ some of its best resident actors to play the more mature roles," said Clark.

The Cripple of Inishmaan features Riverside Theatre favorites Tim Budd and Kristy Hartsgrove, who were last seen in All My Sons as Dr. Jim Bayliss and Sue Bayliss.

The role of Crippled Billy will be played by Osean Perez, a senior at Cornell. This is Perez's first appearance at Riverside. Returning to Riverside will be Alec Hynes in the role of Babbybobby. Hynes is a junior at Cornell, who was last seen at Riverside as Eglamour in The Two Gentlemen of Verona at this summer's Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival and has previously appeared on Gilbert Street in the last co-production as Peter Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank.

The Cripple of Inishmaan also features scenic design by Christopher Domanski, lighting design by John Wilson, costume design by Jenny Nutting Kelchen, and sound design by Clark.

All music in the production is courtesy of The Beggarmen, one of the region's best Irish music ensembles. The Beggarmen will perform in concert at Riverside Theatre on Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the concert are $20 with all proceeds benefiting Riverside.

Tickets for The Cripple of Inishmaan range from $15-$28 with a $15 student rush available 20 minutes before the performance. Tickets may be ordered through the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 213 N. Gilbert St., (319) 338-7672 or online at www.riversidetheatre.org.

The Cripple of Inishmaan contains adult language.

This production is supported in part by a grant from the Iowa Arts Council.

Moline, IL...State Representative Rich Morthland's (R-Cordova) House Resolution 328 directed the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability to conduct an objective, non-political examination of the State's policy of charging "ad valorem" Illinois sales taxes on motor fuel. This report revealed various factors contributing to the price of gas sold in Illinois.

"Our gasoline sales tax of 6.25% makes Illinois the 3rd highest total tax on fuel in the nation," Morthland said. "This tax has a compounding effect as it increases when gas prices increase. This contributes to flight to Iowa and other states that don't have such a punitive tax structure." Morthland continued, "When we buy our gas in Iowa, it's not uncommon to pick a few groceries or other items there." 

The COGFA report speculates that this tax structure has a negative on business in Illinois.

"It's nice to have the income, but it's not necessarily a good dollar in if it's hurting our state and derailing Illinois jobs by pushing sales across state borders," Morthland said. "I am working on a form of tax relief for border communities in Illinois to restore our competitive edge."

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IOWA FARM BUREAU STUDY ESTIMATES MISSOURI RIVER FLOODING TO CAUSE $207 MILLION IN CROP AND ECONOMIC LOSSES

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - Oct. 3, 2011 - This year's devastating flooding on the Missouri River caused an estimated $207 million in lost crop sales and related economic activity in six western Iowa counties that border the river, according to a new study commissioned by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF).

The flooding began in late June when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened up a series of dams in the Dakotas to release water caused by heavy snows and record rains. Farmers are finally seeing the floodwaters recede and assessing the damage which includes severely damaged roads and the destruction of several hundred thousand acres of corn and soybean fields.

The study focused on Fremont, Pottawattamie, Mills, Woodbury, Harrison and Monona counties and analyzed the direct and indirect economic impacts from crop losses from flooded fields, said Dave Miller, IFBF director of research and commodity services. The study also factored in the impact of lost wages as the income of the lost crops won't circulate in the western Iowa communities.

"This study shows the repercussions of the lost cropland and economic activity in these counties," added Miller. "On a business level, farmers won't be purchasing machines or inputs such as fertilizer for land. But there is also a household effect with reduced expenditures in those counties."

For the farmers in the six-county region, the flooding cost $46.1 million in net income compared to pre-flood estimates.  That total included losses on flooded acres that can't be harvested, as well as yield losses from affected crops that were within a mile of the flooded area. The study also factored in the cost of seed, fertilizer and other inputs that farmers had already invested in their 2011 corn and soybeans before the fields were damaged or wiped out by flooding.

The study also accounted for potential crop insurance indemnity payments that farmers will receive because their crops were destroyed, as well as payments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Revenue Assistance payments (SURE) program, which provides financial assistance for crop production and or quality losses due to a natural disaster.

Fremont County suffered the highest losses, at an estimated $52.2 million; with $43.9 million in direct crop income loss and $8.3 million indirect losses from the damaged fields. Harrison County suffered $36.7 million in crop and other economic losses, and Monona County lost $32.3 million.

Losses in the remaining Missouri River counties were: Pottawattamie at $31.2 million; Mills at $22.2 million and Woodbury at $14.7 million.

Miller emphasized that the study measured losses of economic activity from lost crop sales and didn't factor in losses to personal property, or the steep cost of rebuilding roads, levees and other infrastructure damaged or destroyed by the months of flooding.

"This is really just the tip of the iceberg on economic losses from the flooding," Miller said. "But we hope this study will provide valuable information to help farmers, community leaders and lawmakers as they rebuild the region and push for policies to prevent or minimize flooding in the future."

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DES MOINES, Iowa, October 3, 2011 - In the fall of 2010, Iowa faced its largest deployment since World War II, with over 2,800 soldiers deployed. Imagine being separated from your spouse and family for months or years, and then returning after so much time has passed and readjusting. For the men and women in our military in Iowa, these difficulties are a reality.

In response to this large deployment and the return of many of our troops, America's Family Coaches is hosting a Military Marriage Conference October 7-8 at the Sheraton West Des Moines Hotel. Military personnel are invited to bring their husband or wife to the event where they will be pampered with a one-night hotel stay, meals, marriage resources, entertainment by a comedian and marriage teaching sessions by Dr. Gary & Barb Rosberg.

Internationally known marriage experts Dr. Gary & Barb Rosberg and their non-profit organization, America's Family Coaches, have created a pipeline of resources to strengthen military marriages before, during and after deployment. Through a network of military chaplains in 17 states, the Rosbergs are providing resources offering ongoing hope, encouragement and support to deployed soldiers as well as their families at home.

Over the past few years, generous donors have provided more than 16,000 free resources for military families. The impact of these resources has been so significant that chaplains have specifically identified and requested resources for more people nationally, as sponsorships become available.

Military couples can register for the event and learn more at www.TheGreatMarriageExperience.com. Major sponsors are still needed to underwrite this event so couples can attend for only $20. To make a donation, visit the website or call 515.334.7482 ext. 7006.