(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."

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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 .

The Moline Foundation has a new grant opportunity through a fund called Karen's Summertime FUNd in honor of Karen Getz. Through the Karen's Summertime FUNd, The Moline Foundation is offering mini-grants between $300 and $1,000. The object of this special opportunity is to provide non-profit organizations extra funds to develop creative, educational, and fun-filled activities for kids during the summer months. Non-profit organizations are encouraged to apply if they serve the citizens of Moline and the surrounding region, including the Quad Cities.

Karen's Summertime FUNd grants are made possible by Tom Getz, the Getz family and friends and many generous donors to The Moline Foundation. In establishing Karen's Summertime FUNd program, the Moline Foundation honors the life of a woman who gave to so many others. This special program will help us remember the many ways Karen Getz reached out to children with her sparkling personality and tireless spirit.

All materials necessary to receive funds are due in The Moline Foundation offices by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 1, 2009 or must be postmarked by or on Friday, May 1, 2009. Please call The Moline Foundation at (309) 764-4193 to request a Grant Application.

Any child oriented non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, including those who have never received Moline Foundation funding in the past, is welcome to apply.

The Moline Community Foundation offices are located at the Deere-Wiman House, 817 11th Avenue, Moline.

The Moline Foundation, founded in 1953, is a community foundation which provides grants to health, human services, education, community development, the arts and other charitable organizations. The Moline Foundation receives and administers charitable gifts for the benefit of citizens in Scott County, Iowa and Rock Island, Mercer, Henry, Warren, Henderson, and McDonough counties in Illinois.

Davenport, IA - The ninth annual Quad City Symphony Orchestra Association music education program Listening Olympics will be held on Friday, April 24 at Asbury United Methodist Church, 1809 Mississippi Blvd., Bettendorf. Registration begins at 3:30 PM with preliminary rounds at 4:00 PM and final competition at 5:30 PM. More than 40 fifth-grade students, in teams of three, from Quad City area schools will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals at this friendly competition challenging students' knowledge of classical music.

Playing on the theme of Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader, the QCSO will be fronting three adult teams to compete against the students in the final round. Three teams will represent the Orchestra members, the Board of Trustees and Volunteers for Symphony respectively. These exhibition teams cannot take home medals, but it should be great sport to watch them play.

Listening Olympics is a fun and interactive competition testing students' knowledge of classical music elements, including titles, composers, families of instruments, and style. Student participants have been studying music examples and answering questions like, "Who is the composer?" or "Is this music from the classical or romantic period?"

"Listening Olympics is a fun and wonderful way for fifth graders to become further acquainted with symphonic music!" said Laurie Skjerseth, QCSO Education Coordinator. "We're so excited to have these schools joining the competition." Currently confirmed participants at this year's competition include : Butterworth, Hamilton, Franklin, and Jane Addams from Moline; and Colorado and Madison from Muscatine.

Listening Olympics is offered at no cost to schools and participants through support and funding from Volunteers for Symphony. Photos and interviews can be arranged by calling the Symphony office, 563-322-0931.

April 22 is Earth Day and a time when people in Iowa and across the nation take time to promote environmental citizenship. Earth Day began when a pioneering Midwestern Senator named Gaylord Nelson proclaimed that we had an environmental crisis in the United States. Since then, the day has helped to bring our nation's concerns over a cleaner environment and conserving resources to the forefront of American ideals.

Thirty-nine years have passed and in that time we have promoted landmark protections such as the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. We have made great strides but we still have many challenges ahead. Iowans have a strong attachment to the land with an appreciation for the environment, which surely has a lot to do with our agricultural heritage.  Now there is even more we can do with simple actions to combat the policies and failed habits of the past, and preserve our planet for generations to come.

One of the fundamentals of becoming environmentally friendly is the act of recycling. Not only can you recycle basic materials such as glass jars, bottles, aluminum cans and paper but items such home appliances, eye glasses, cell phones, computers and other electronics can also be recycled. These efforts will help keep our landfills clean and drive down the cost of raw materials. For more information on where and how to recycle in your community please visit www.earth911.com or call 1-800-CleanUp.

Conserving energy is another way to celebrate Earth Day. Simple actions such as turning off the lights when you leave a room, buying energy efficient appliances and light bulbs and unplugging unneeded accessories have a big impact on the amount of electricity Iowans use. Not only do these efforts reduce our carbon footprint, but they are also an excellent way to save money. For example, switching just one traditional light bulb to an energy efficient bulb can save a family up to $30 over the life of a single bulb. With the average American household having 30 light fixtures, this change could mean an average savings of $900 per family.

Iowa's farmers are also doing their part by being good stewards of the land. In the 2002 farm bill, I created the Conservation Security Program (CSP), which pays farmers for maintaining and installing new conservation practices that protect our land and water. In the 2008 farm bill, we were able to make even greater investments in such programs.  These initiatives are a new direction in agriculture policy because they reward farmers for how they grow and produce crops and livestock rather than for what they grow.

Additionally, Iowans are helping to protect our planet as leaders in the production of clean, renewable home-grown sources of energy. We have already seen the benefits of biofuel production and now Iowa is second in the nation for the production of wind power. These sources of energy are not only good for the environment, they also wean us off our dependence on foreign oil and create new 'green' jobs in our state and across the country.

So while we have made steps in the right direction, there is still much that we can do to protect our planet and preserve our natural resources. I encourage all Iowans to do their part to celebrate Earth Day both on April 22 and all year long.

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