BETTENDORF, IA - The Bettendorf Rotary and the Carl D. Schillig Memorial Fund have set Labor Day, Monday, September 5 as the date for the seventeenth annual Run with Carl Presented by Trinity Iowa Health Systems. The 5K run/walk and 1/2 and 1-mile fun runs for children 12 and under start and finish at the Bettendorf Life Center (2222 Middle Rd., Bettendorf) with an Awards Ceremony to follow at approximately 9:30 a.m. The course remains the same as in previous years. Entry fees are $20 for the 5K for no t-shirt and $25 for the 5K with a t-shirt. The youth entry fee for the ½ and 1-mile fun run is $10.

Runners in the 2010 Run with Carl attracted 1,300 runners and raised funds to support scholarships for local Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley graduates. This year, we hope to knock that number out of the park by registering 1,700 runners for the 17th year or the race. Participants may register online only at www.runwithcarl.com.

Carl Schillig was 15 years old when he was killed in a car-pedestrian accident in 1994. Carl was active in a variety of community, school and church activities. In commemoration of his life, the Run With Carl Walk/Run attracts participants to the challenging, but scenic, course following city streets, neighborhoods and the Bettendorf Recreation Path.

For more information about this year's run, visit the website at www.runwithcarl.com or find us on Facebook by searching for "Run with Carl.

Run with Carl is supported by the Bettendorf Rotary, Trinity Regional Health Systems and United Healthcare.

About the Bettendorf Rotary: The Bettendorf Rotary Club was chartered in 1957. The group meets every Wednesday at noon at Fortune Garden Restaurant (2211 South Kimberly Road, Bettendorf). They are an annual sponsor of Run with Carl.

About the Carl D. Schillig Memorial Fund, Inc.: The Carl D. Schillig Memorial Fund was established in 1995 by surviving members of Carl Shillig, who was killed at the age of 15 in a car-pedestrian accident. The fund provides a $4000 college scholarship to graduates of Pleasant Valley High School - which Carl attended - and Bettendorf High School graduates. With Carl's philanthropy as its inspiration, the nonprofit also distributes proceeds from the run to organizations in which Carl was active, including Bettendorf/Pleasant Valley Acquatics, Cornbelt Running Club, and Our Lady of Lourdes Church.

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• Were responsible for over 2,400 felony arrests;
• Dismantled 275 gangs;
• Seized over 8,200 illegal firearms;
• Seized nearly 20,000 kilograms of illicit drugs, like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.

In Iowa, COPS grants have funded over 770 police offers and sheriff deputies, and last year funded over 25 police officers on Iowa's streets. If the House budget were to be approved, 15 of these officers would lose their jobs.

During a recovering economy, crime does not stop and we should not abdicate government's responsibility to keep communities safe. Cuts to law enforcement will make streets less safe and the nation less secure. For FY11, Senator Harkin fought hard to keep the dangerous cuts in H.R. 1 from being enacted and he intends to do the same as the Senate considers FY12 budget proposals.

The measure now comes to the U.S. Senate for consideration.  

"This budget proposal is an unprecedented assault on middle class Americans who are already struggling to make ends meet," said Harkin.  "What is particularly egregious is the devastating impact these cuts would have on the safety of Iowa communities, which rely on federal assistance to keep law enforcement officials on the streets.  Iowans deserve to know that they can have the peace of mind that comes from residing in a safe community.  There is no question that the time has come for tough budget decisions, but the smart way to bring down the deficit is for Congress to pursue a balanced approach of major spending cuts and necessary revenue increases, not by indiscriminately cutting common sense law enforcement funds that keep our families and communities secure."

Harkin's full statement on the House budget proposal can be found here.

Rather than a pessimistic budget, which says America can't afford to maintain and rebuild the middle class, Senator Harkin believes we need a budget that creates a better future - one that creates jobs, keeps our promises to seniors, educates our children, and reduces the deficit with smart spending cuts and by asking millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share.

WASHINGTON - May 5, 2011 - Senator Chuck Grassley today said President Barack Obama has issued a major disaster declaration for Iowa, triggering the release of FEMA funds to help Iowa recover from the severe storms, tornadoes and straight-line winds that occurred on April 9-10, 2011.  Additional designations may be made at a later date after further evaluation.

"The damage caused by the storms and tornadoes warranted this designation and I'm glad the President addressed it quickly," Grassley said.  "These funds will help Iowans clean up the damage."

FEMA will provide assistance to Buena Vista, Cherokee, Ida, Monona, Pocahontas, and Sac counties through the Public Assistance program.  The Public Assistance program assists state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities.

All Iowa counties are also eligible to apply for assistance through the Hazard Mitigation Grant program.  The Hazard Mitigation Grant program assists state and local governments and certain private non-profit organizations for actions taken to prevent or reduce long-term risk to life and property from natural hazards.

Last week, Grassley sent a letter to Obama asking him to grant Governor Terry Branstad's request to declare Iowa a major disaster area as a result of the severe storms, tornadoes, and straight-line winds that occurred on April 9-10, 2011.

A copy of the text of Grassley's letter can be found by clicking here.

Washington -- May 5, 2011 - Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) are working to make it easier to receive quality health care in rural areas throughout our nation.  Today, the Senators introduced bipartisan legislation to allow physician assistants to serve Medicare hospice patients.

In some rural areas, physician assistants may be the only health care professional available.  Physician assistants can provide care to Medicare patients until the point when hospice care is needed, and patients must then find an alternative provider.  This can disrupt the continuity of care at a time when the Medicare patient is most vulnerable.

Grassley and Conrad introduced the Medicare Hospice Care Access Act of 2011, which would allow physician assistants to provide hospice care to their patients who elect Medicare's hospice benefit.  For individuals and families who rely on physician assistants as their principal health care professional, this legislation promises continuity of quality medical care when the Medicare beneficiaries and their families are most in need.

"It makes sense to allow patients to continue to see the same health care provider through hospice care," Grassley said.  "Patients benefit when they continue to see the health care professionals who know them.  This provision is especially important for rural areas, where physician assistants provide a lot of direct care, and where access to providers is always a challenge."

"We cannot apply a one-size-fits-all approach to health care in this country.  Physician assistants are a crucial part of the health care system in North Dakota and other rural areas.  They provide quality health care to our seniors and should be allowed to continue when the patient transitions to hospice care. This legislation will make this transition easier and allow physician assistants to continue to provide these patients with quality care throughout the process," Conrad said.

The physician assistants profession was created more than forty years ago in response to a shortage of primary care physicians. Today, more than 75,000 physician assistants provide high quality, cost-effective medical care.  It is estimated that in 2009 alone, nearly 300 million patient visits were made to physician assistants, according to the American Academy of Physician Assistants.  Medicare coverage was originally extended to physician assistants through the 1977 Rural Health Clinic Services Act, but the program has never been updated to allow physician assistants to deliver hospice care.

Grassley and Conrad are both on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over health care legislation.