MOLINE, ILLINOIS - WQPT is proud to announce the winners of the 15th Annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. 282 children entered the contest and WQPT picked sixteen local winners (first, second, third and honorable mention) from kindergarten through third grade. Participants chose fact or fiction, prose or poetry.

Requirements included: original, single-authored stories with K - 1 students writing a minimum of 50 words and maximum of 200... and Grades 2 -3 writing a minimum of 100 words and maximum of 350. Each age group had to illustrate a minimum of 5 drawings.

Ten local readers, many retired teachers, picked their favorite stories which were then judged by five representatives from the sponsoring organizations. They selected the 16 local winners. "The judges had a difficult task picking the finalists because so many of the stories were fun and imaginative. The winning stories combined thoughtful storytelling with strong visuals to match," said WQPT Educational Outreach Director, Ana Kehoe. Sponsors for the contest were Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House, Family Museum, Figge Art Museum and WQPT, Quad Cities PBS.

Local winners will receive their awards at a ceremony on May 17th at 3:00 p.m. at the Deere-Wiman House. The winning stories will be on display at the Butterworth Center in Moline, May 17 - 29, at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, June 1 - June 19 and at the Family Museum in Bettendorf, June 22 -July 6. First place winners will compete for prizes in the national Reading Rainbow competition. The winners will be announced in July. Last year Jayda Brunkan from Eldridge was a national third place winner.

WQPT is the local public television station located in Moline, Illinois on the campus of Black Hawk College.

READING RAINBOW WINNERS 2009

KINDERGARTEN

?First Place

Baylor Verbrugge, Edward White Elementary, Eldridge.

?Second Place

Ilese Rodeffer, Avon Elementary, Avon, IL.

?Third Place

Stephanie Ruiz, Longfellow School, Rock Island.

?Honorable Mention

Qy Burke, Homeschooled, Bettendorf.

FIRST GRADE

?First Place

Jayda Brunkan, Edward White Elementary, Eldridge.

?Second Place

Abby Devinney, Temple Christian School, Moline.

?Third Place

Ellie Huh, Rivermont Collegiate, Bettendorf.

?Honorable Mention

Blake Hasson, Alwood Elementary, Alpha, IL.

SECOND GRADE

?First Place

Grace Gugelmeyer, Longfellow School, Rock Island.

?Second Place

Mabel Losey, Alwood Elementary, Alpha, IL.

?Third Place

Nicholas Epplin, Winola Elementary, Viola, IL.

?Honorable Mention

Eunice Yoon, Prophetstown Elementary, Prophetstown, IL.

THIRD GRADE

?First Place

Giavanna Mariani, Pleasant View School, Bettendorf.

?Second Place

Olivia Nelson, Cody Elementary, LeClaire.

?Third Place

Wyatt Mohr, Mediapolis Community School, Mediapolis, IA.

?Honorable Mention

Katherine Moore, Earl Hanson Elementary, Rock Island.

Davenport, IA - The Quad City Symphony Orchestra and Youth Symphony Orchestra have been awarded a week-long residency by world-famous violinist Midori in the spring of 2011. The Orchestra Residencies Program was created by Midori to support American youth orchestras. The Orchestra Residencies Program is a collaborative project providing meaningful musical experiences for the next generation of classical musicians.

Over a period of five to seven days, Midori will participate in a wide range of activities tailored by the QCSO to optimize local involvement of the youth orchestra, including concerts with both the Quad City Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra. Such activities include master classes and performance workshops, arts advocacy visits to local legislators, meals with Q&A sessions, and a discussion group with the staffs of both orchestras.

Violinist Midori maintains a blend of worldwide performances, expanding commitment to community engagement, devotion to her various roles at the prestigious University of Southern California, and enthusiastic exploration of new territory that fans, students, and media alike have come to expect from this brilliant and multi-faceted artist. Midori founded Midori & Friends in 1992 in response to serious cutbacks in music education in New York City schools; over the last 16 years, over 150,000 children have benefitted from this program. Midori has also founded a similar organization in Japan, Music Sharing. Music Sharing concentrates on music education for young people with a special focus on both Western classical music and traditional Japanese music, including instrument instruction for the disabled.

2004-05 marked the inauguration of Midori's Orchestra Residencies Program, which will bring Midori to the Quad Cities in 2011. Through this program Midori coaches young musicians, appears at benefits and subscription series concerts and works with both orchestras to raise arts awareness within the community. Orchestra Residencies Programs have been conducted in Alaska (Fairbanks and Anchorage), Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont, Montana, South Dakota, North Carolina, and Des Moines, Iowa.

Midori was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1971 and began studying the violin with her mother, Setsu Goto, at a very early age. In 1982, when Zubin Mehta first heard her play, he was so impressed that he invited her to be a surprise guest soloist for the New York Philharmonic's traditional New Year's Eve concert, on which occasion she received a standing ovation and the impetus to begin a major career.

Midori made her first recording at the age of 14 for Philips - she played music of Bach and Vivaldi with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Pinchas Zukerman. She now records exclusively for Sony BMG, which issued two Midori releases in 2008 - an album joining sonatas of J. S. Bach (Unaccompanied No.2 in A minor) and Bartók (No.1 in C-sharp minor, with pianist Robert McDonald); and a 2-CD compilation of catalogue material, Essential Midori.

In 2004, Midori joined the ranks of published authors with the release in Germany of a memoir titled Einfach Midori (Simply Midori), for the publisher Henschel Verlag. In 2007 Midori was designated an official U.N. Messenger of Peace by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who cited her community engagement work as a model of exemplary commitment to worldwide goals shared by the U.N.

Midori lives in Los Angeles. In 2000, she received her bachelor's degree in Psychology and Gender Studies at the Gallatin School of New York University, graduating magna cum laude, and in 2005 received her Master's degree in Psychology. Away from school and the concert hall, Midori enjoys reading, writing and attending the theater. Her violin is the 1734 Guarnerius del Gesu "ex-Huberman", which is on lifetime loan to her from the Hayashibara Foundation. She uses three bows, two by Dominique Peccatte and the third by François Peccatte.

MOLINE, ILLINOIS - WQPT, Quad Cities PBS is once again bringing "Guy and Ralna" to Centennial Hall on the campus at Augustana in Rock Island Illinois. The concert is scheduled for May 3, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. Guy and Ralna, the most popular singing duo from "The Lawrence Welk Show," will sing big band, inspirational, country, pop and patriotic music in an 80 minute show titled "A Salute to Veterans" backed by an eleven piece orchestra.

Tickets are $25 each for members of WQPT and Plus 60. Non-members can purchase their tickets for $35 each. For ticket reservations or information call WQPT at 309-796-2424, on line at www.wqpt.org or contact the Centennial Hall Box Office at 309-794-7306.

"Guy and Ralna were last in the Quad Cities in April 2006 and were a great hit" said WQPT General Manager, Rick Best. "Guy and Ralna" is a fundraising concert with proceeds benefitting WQPT, Quad Cities PBS and was made possible by the sponsorship of Friendship Manor.

# # #

(Washington, D. C.) - The National Grange, the nation's oldest general farm and rural public interest organization, has developed a ten-point program to revitalize rural America and assure U.S. agricultural prosperity. The Grange has provided a grassroots voice for individuals, families, farmers, and rural communities since 1867. Today, Grange members affiliated with more than 2,700 local, county, and state Grange chapters across the nation are leaders in developing and advocating policies that benefit their communities.

The ten-point program includes building a solid foundation of prosperity for America's family farmers, ranchers, and foresters. The National Grange is supporting farm programs that make available credit, risk management, income support, and environmental stewardship for family farmers, ranchers and foresters, regardless of the crop or livestock they produce. "Maintaining a strong domestic agricultural industry is vital to national economic security," stated National Grange President Ed Luttrell.

Achieving energy security through domestic production of agriculturally derived renewable fuels is another top priority for the National Grange. "Renewable energy from our nation's farms and rural communities is grossly underutilized and faces government regulatory and monopolistically driven hurdles to further integration into our national energy mix," stated Luttrell. The Grange supports generating at least 25% of domestic energy needs from renewable resources derived from America's family farms such as biodiesel, ethanol, biomass, solar, and wind energies by January 1, 2025.

Public safety in rural communities is a National Grange priority. Bio-terrorism that could destroy the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of family farmers and ranchers is a real threat via the importation or domestic transportation of invasive pests and diseases. Additionally, consumers are at risk from imported food and manufactured products that often fail to meet the same strict scrutiny that domestically produced products face.

Other points discussed in the 2009 Blueprint for Rural America document are:

· Responding to the National Financial Crisis Sweeping Across Rural America
· Expanding Telecommunications Services in Rural Areas
· Improving the Quality and Availability of Rural Health Care
· Promoting Practical and Effective Immigration Reform
· Supporting Transportation Improvements that Protect the Freedom of Mobility
· Strengthening Civic Participation in Our Society
· Improving the Quality of Rural Education

Leroy Watson, National Grange Legislative Director concluded, "Our 300,000 members across the country believe these points need to be addressed for the betterment of rural America. By concentrating and acting on these fundamental issues, we will assure U.S. agricultural prosperity and strengthen our nation's economy to protect our future."

###

The National Grange is the nation's oldest agricultural and rural community organization, and has evolved to incorporate the interests of non-farm rural families and communities, as well as the traditional interests of family farmers and ranchers. It has more than 2,700 state, local, and grassroots chapters across 40 states. Additional information about the organization's positions is available at: www.nationalgrange.org .