14 Mar 2012

DAVENPORT WOMAN EXPECTS $3,000 PRIZE, WINS $30,000 INSTEAD

By Amy Garringer

Joyce Schurke Wins Top Prize of $30,000 Playing "Crossword" Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa - A Davenport woman was alone when she scratched her "Crossword" ticket and thought she only counted nine words, which would pay a $3,000 prize.

Joyce Schurke, 59, called her family to share her good news about winning a $3,000 prize, not knowing she'd actually won a top prize of $30,000.

"I called [my son] and I told him I had just won $3,000 on a lottery ticket," Schurke said. "So when he got home I asked him to check it for me."

Schurke's son told her she was in fact, wrong when she counted her words.

"He goes, 'Mom, it isn't right. You have ten words!'" Schurke said. "Then we went through every letter to make sure it was right!"

Schurke, who is a school bus driver, said when she discovered she'd won much more than she originally thought, she was so shocked that she started to shake.

"I called my mother and then my sisters and they all thought I was kidding at first," she said.

Schurke said Crossword is her favorite ticket, so she was extremely excited to win a top prize.

"I love Crosswords," Schurke said with a laugh as she claimed her prize Feb. 23 at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids.

Schurke said she plans to use some of her winnings to pay bills and is still thinking about how to use the rest. She purchased her winning ticket at Casey's, 222 Front St. in Buffalo.

Crossword is a $3 scratch game. Players win a prize by uncovering at least three complete words in the ticket's puzzle. If a player uncovers 10 words, he/she wins $30,000. The overall odds of winning in the game are 1 in 3.82.

Forty-three top prizes of $30,000 are still up for grabs in Crossword, as well as 68 prizes of $3,000, more than 900 prizes of $300 and more than 4,470 prizes of $100.

Players can enter eligible nonwinning 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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14 Mar 2012

DAVENPORT MAN WINS $10,000 PRIZE ON LAST SCRATCH TICKET IN THE PACK

By Amy Garringer

DES MOINES, Iowa - When a Davenport man decided to buy the last two "Lifetime Riches" instant-scratch games in the retailer's pack, he never dreamed he'd win a $10,000 prize.

Steve Hoftender, 50, said he was only going to buy one ticket, but ended up buying the very last one as well.

"The one that she gave me was the winner," Hoftender said. "I was shaking and handed it to my wife."

Hoftender said when he discovered what he'd won, it didn't even sink in.

"I couldn't believe it was real," he said.

Hoftender, who manages a car wash in Davenport, took his ticket back to Tobacco Outlet Plus, 2312 State St. in Bettendorf to have his ticket validated.

"The same lady was there and she ran it through and was really happy for me," Hoftender said. "I ran it yesterday and it was actually her birthday."

Hoftender's wife, Paula, shared the news with their family and friends on Facebook, so Hoftender said everyone knew right away.

"The kids are jealous and wondering what I'm going to buy them," he said with a laugh.

Hoftender said he plans to use some of his winnings to remodel a room in their home. He claimed his prize Feb. 23 at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids.

Lifetime Riches is a $20 scratch game. When players match any of "your numbers" to any "winning number" in the play area on each ticket, they win the prize shown for that play area. If they find a "star" symbol, they win the prize shown instantly, and if they find the "5X" symbol, they win five times the prize shown for that symbol.

Two top prizes of $1 million are still up for grabs in Lifetime Riches, as well as four prizes of $10,000, 58 prizes of $1,000 and more than 600 prizes of $500 and $100. 

Players can enter eligible nonwinning 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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07 Mar 2012

Home's Exterior Reflects Owner's Personality

By Rick Martin

KANSAS CITY, KAN. - According to the 2011 DaVinci Roofscapes' Homeowners Exterior Preferences Study, more than seven in ten homeowners* (71 percent) believe the outward appearance of their home reflects their personality. Those people who identify their personalities closest to their home's exterior live in the Midwest, while those with the least connection are residents of the Northeast.

 

Homeowners who closely align their home's exterior with their own personality cited a variety of reasons for the similarity, including:

-       "It's bold and different like me."

-       "Having personally designed my home I feel it reflects my likes and preferences."

-       "I am a contemporary person; the house is contemporary."

-       "It too is old, but really stylish."

-       "It looks simple and unpretentious ... which is how I think of myself."

-       "The exterior of my home is conservative in appearance, which is the same as my personality."

 

Homeowners also indicated in the study that the colors of their home's exterior match up

and reflect their personalities, citing:

-       "I am a traditionalist. I think the colors of my house are very traditional."

-       "The (house) color and trim was chosen by me and is unique to my personality."

-       "I have chosen colors (for my home's exterior) that are traditional and dramatic rather than the drab beige people consider safe."

 

"This part of the study tells us that a majority of homeowners see a relationship between their personalities and their home exteriors," says Ray Rosewall, CEO and president of DaVinci Roofscapes. "This helps us understand why roofing color options are important to homeowners. They see their home's exterior --- including the colors on the exterior --- as a positive reflection of who they are. This explains why we've seen soaring sales of personalized color configurations of our roofing products in the past several years and an overall increase in color blends by our customers. People are sharing their personality through their home's exterior!"

 

The nationwide consumer study, conducted online by Harris Interactive©, also indicates that homeowners in the Midwest are the most likely to feel connected to the outward appearance of their home (80 percent), followed by the South at 73 percent and the West at 71 percent. Homeowners in the Northeast feel the least amount of personality connection (65 percent) with their home's exterior.

 

"Homeowners in the study also indicated that when house hunting or designing their own homes, the most attention-grabbing feature of the exterior was the style of the home, followed by how the home looked on the property," says Rosewall. "We believe this information firmly links a homeowner's personality with a specific style home. As opposed to buying a house simply because it's a 'good deal' or in a good location, people seek out the style of home that most reflects how they view themselves and want others to see them."

 

DaVinci Roofscapes has manufactured award-winning polymer slate and shake roofing since 1999. The roofing tiles are virtually maintenance free and far more cost effective than the natural product. DaVinci leads the industry in tile thickness, the tile width variety and the greatest selection of subtle earth-toned colors. Company products have a 50-year warranty and are 100 percent recyclable. DaVinci proudly makes its products in America and is a member of the National Association of Home Builders, the Cool Roof Rating Council and the U.S. Green Building Council. For additional information call 1-800-328-4624 or visit www.davinciroofscapes.com.

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06 Mar 2012

Grassley Q&A on Gas Prices

By Grassley Press

Q:        What's the effect of rising gas prices?

A:        Affordable energy is a major economic issue.  In 2011, consumers spent a greater percentage of their household income on gasoline than any other year since 1981.  Since January 2009, the average U.S. price of a gallon of regular gasoline has more than doubled.  Paying $4 or more for gas acts like a hidden tax and results in people having less money to spend on other things.  Rising energy prices also increase the cost of doing business for job creators and take away dollars that otherwise could go to hiring workers.

 

Q:        How can and should policy makers respond?

A:        Policy makers need to adopt and sustain a comprehensive approach that ramps up domestic production of traditional energy, allows the expansion of alternative and renewable energy sources, and encourages conservation.  Greater domestic energy production would increase supply and help to lower prices, and it would create American jobs.

 

Q:        What stands in the way of more domestic production of traditional energy?

A:        Many factors impact the price of oil, including OPEC production decisions and turmoil in the Middle East, but the Obama administration has made things worse by restricting access to domestic energy sources.  In fact, the President's record contradicts his recent remarks that he's for an all-of-the-above strategy.  For example, President Obama's proposed offshore oil and natural gas leasing plan for 2013-2017 would dramatically limit energy development by the United States.  And, during the first two years of the Obama administration, oil and gas leases issued by the Bureau of Land Management were down 44 percent, new permits to drill were down 39 percent, and the number of new wells drilled on federal land declined 39 percent.  These policies and others have prevented more oil production in the United States and resulted in higher prices, lost opportunities for job creation, and less energy security. Separately, President Obama has denied an international crude oil pipeline, the Keystone XL, which would run from Canada to Oklahoma and Texas.  The decision inhibits energy-related development that could create 20,000 jobs.  What's more, Canada is a reliable and geographically secure trading partner whose oil exports are insulated from geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East, as well as the impulses of OPEC, including member countries such as Libya and Venezuela.

 

February 28, 2012
06 Mar 2012

Put Brakes on Frivolous Lawsuits

By Sen. Chuck Grassley

by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley 

 

Against a staggering national debt that's surged by $5 trillion in just the last three years, voters will decide in November who will take the reins of Washington's runaway spending.  In the meantime, the fragile economic recovery is struggling to gain traction.  Job creators in the private sector are vulnerable to rising gas prices, expiring pro-growth tax laws and swelling health care costs that influence hiring, investing and spending decisions.

 

Consumer confidence is a primary factor that affects the U.S. economic outlook.  Paying $4 (or more) for a gallon of gas will arguably cause more households to pull back on spending money at their local restaurants, hair salons, retailers and charities.  Higher shipping costs also eat into the profit margins for Main Street businesses, leaving less money for hiring workers.

 

While rising gas prices capture the spotlight in an election year, there's another burden on the American economy.  The costs of frivolous lawsuits are invisible price tags that add up to higher prices for consumers and another burden for businesses struggling to stay above water.

 

In an era when America is looking for economic growth to take root, billions of dollars are wasted on frivolous lawsuits that siphon money away from job creation.  Frivolous claims also clog an already burdened legal system and delay the resolution of lawsuits that have merit.

 

Attorneys who file frivolous lawsuits today can do so without much fear of any consequence.  These claims force innocent individuals and businesses to choose between years of litigation, court costs and attorneys' fees, or paying a settlement.  It's a waste of time, money and resources.

 

A culture of suing at the drop of a hat is an albatross for start-ups and small businesses operating on tight margins.  Small businesses rank the cost and availability of liability insurance as second only to the cost of health care as their top concerns.  While it's no secret that small businesses are the number one job creators in America, it's not so well known how frivolous lawsuits block their road to prosperity and their ability to create jobs.

 

The U.S. legal system relies on Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to curb frivolous filings.  Unfortunately, Rule 11 was watered down in 1993.

 

As the Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, I've introduced legislation that would help put the brakes on frivolous lawsuits by restoring the strength behind Rule 11.  My bill, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act, would install three reforms to bring more accountability to the U.S. tort system.

 

First, my bill would reinstate mandatory sanctions to deter the offending party from filing a frivolous claim.  Currently, when a judge finds that a lawsuit is frivolous, it's in the judge's discretion whether to impose sanctions.

 

Second, my bill would require judges to impose financial sanctions against lawyers who file frivolous lawsuits, including attorneys' fees and costs incurred by the defendant.

 

Third, my bill would reverse a rule that allows attorneys to avoid sanctions for making a frivolous claim by withdrawing them within 21 days after a motion for sanctions has been served.

 

Law-abiding Americans with a legitimate legal grievance are entitled to their day in court.  But unscrupulous attorneys who litigate for jackpot justice stand in the way of that.  Frivolous lawsuits need to be weeded out of the system.  Putting the brakes on frivolous lawsuits that damage the economy and clog the legal system will go a long ways towards balancing the scales of justice, upholding the rule of law, and improving the public good.

 

 

February 28, 2012
06 Mar 2012

A Call to Action for Modern Society

By Ginny Grimsley
Advocate Offers Tools to End Horrific Practice

In January, MSNBC.com posted a report of its four-month investigation into a slavery network emanating in Eastern Europe. Every year, it says, some 200,000 women and girls are  smuggled out of impoverished former Soviet countries and sent to the Middle East, Western Europe and the United States, where they're held captive.

In Haiti, UNICEF reported thousands of children were illegally trafficked out of the country following the devastating earthquakes two years ago. Selling orphaned children as slaves is a common problem following natural disasters, it says.

"Modern-day slavery is an even bigger problem than it was during the years of legalized slave trade from Africa to the Americas," says Lucia Mann, the daughter of a woman who was held as a sex slave in South Africa in the 1940s. Mann, a former journalist, tells a slightly fictionalized version of her family's story in Rise Above Hate & Anger (www.luciamann.com).

There are ways individuals can help end the suffering and reach out a hand to victims, says Mann, who created the Modern-Day Slave Reporting Centre as a tool to address the problem. Here are details about the reporting center and other resources.

• At The Modern-Day Slave Reporting Centre, www.mdsrc.org, anyone who suspects a person is being held captive, or any person who is being held their will, can file a report. The information will be reported to law enforcement officers and the person filing can request they remain a confidential source. The Web site also includes links to relevant law-enforcement agencies in Canada and the United States.

• At www.slaveryfootprint.org, people can take a short online survey that calculates the number of slaves working for you around the world based on the clothes, cars, electronic items and other consumer goods you own. The number is calculated according to what's known about slave labor in the regions where the raw materials are produced and the goods are manufactured. (Google Chrome is required to take the survey.)

• At www.chainstorereaction.com, are email prepared letters and surveys to any of 1,566 companies asking what steps they're taking to ensure no slave labor is used in their supply chains. Companies who complete the survey and go out of their way to describe ongoing and current efforts are tagged with a "Thank You." Companies that complete the survey are tagged with "View Response." As of mid-January, 70 companies ranging from Fruit of the Loom to Campbell's Soup had earned a "Thank You." Another 25, including Avon and Best Buy, had completed the survey. Most, though, had not responded despite numerous emails. Duracell, for instance, was sent 432 emails and Bounty was sent 221.

• In California, the Transparency in Supply Chains Act became effective Jan. 1. It requires retailers and manufacturers with gross receipts of $100 million to disclose what they've done - or haven't done - to eliminate slavery in their supply chains. While there are no punitive consequences, advocates say the law will raise awareness and allow consumers to reward or punish companies with their shopping choices. Residents of other states can lobby legislators for a similar law.

"There is nowhere in the world now where slavery is legal, and yet more than 27 million people are held captive as forced laborers or sex slaves," Mann says. "That's more than twice the number enslaved during 400 years of trans-Atlantic trading.

Raising Americans' awareness and concern is the first step to ending slavery, Mann says.

"If there is no money to be made from enslaving people, it will end."

About Lucia Mann

Lucia Mann was born in British colonial South Africa in the wake of World War II and lives in British Columbia, Canada. She retired from freelance journalism in 1998 and wrote Rise Above Hate & Anger to give voice to those who suffered brutalities and captivity decades ago.

28 Feb 2012

Fill Desks, Not Cells, Advocate Urges

By Ginny Grimsley
Move to Privatize Prisons Threatens Genuine Inmate Reform, He Says

The statistics are overwhelming and irrefutable: The less education a person has, the more likely he or she will end up in jail or prison.

Once in prison, the more education an inmate receives, the greater the chance he or she will remain free once released.

"The correlation is so dramatic, I can't understand why we as a nation are more interested in building and filling prisons than in educating people who haven't finished high school or could benefit from post-secondary school," says advocate Adam Young, citing a recent Huffington Post news story about Corrections Corporation of America. The business is attempting to buy prisons across the nation - with the stipulation that states agree to keep them 90 percent full.

Young, www.communityservicehelp.com, partners with charities to help people sentenced to community service get credit for taking classes like algebra and English instead of picking up trash. He says it just makes sense to take advantage of any opportunity to educate people who've already had a brush with the law.

"About 40 percent of all U.S. prison inmates never finished high school, and nearly 44 percent of jail inmates did not complete high school," he says, quoting from a 2003 Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. "More current data shows that hasn't changed. In Washington, D.C., for instance, 44 percent of Department of Corrections inmates are not high school graduates. Less than 2 percent had 16 years or more of schooling.

"Isn't it better for all of us, for both economic and public safety reasons, if we help educate people so they can get jobs?" he asks.

The trend of budget-strapped states looking to economize by selling their prisons to Corrections Corporation worries Young. As the business cuts expenses to boost profits, prison-run GED and college degree programs will likely be among the first on the chopping block, he says.

"If states really want to save money, they should address recidivism through programs that include education," Young says. "There's a 2011 Pew Center study that found the 10 states with the highest recidivism rates could save $470 million a year, each, if they lower those numbers by just 10 percent."

Those states are Alaska, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.

A widely cited 2006 study of two groups of inmates in three states found that those who participated in education programs in prison were less likely to be arrested again within three years of their release, and more likely to be employed. Of the inmates tracked, 31 percent of those who did not take classes were back in prison within three years compared with 21 percent of those who did study.

Arizona, South Carolina and Nevada all have recently passed laws that allow inmates to cut their sentences or shorten their probation by doing things like taking classes, Young noted.

"In early February, there was an interesting conversation about education and crime on Real Time with Bill Maher," he says. "Maher said, 'If you spent the money you were spending to send people to prison on schools, those people wouldn't wind up going to prison.'

"He's 100 percent correct on that."

About Adam Young

Adam Young is a longtime internet marketing professional who launched his educational community service alternative in January 2011. He was inspired by a minor brush with the law when he was an 18-year-old; the community service hours he received cost him his job and nearly caused him to drop out of college. Through his website, offenders have logged more than 300,000 hours of self-scheduled schooling that allows them to remain employed while completing service hours. Young advocates education as the most cost-effective tool for rehabilitating offenders.

28 Feb 2012

What's ISU Hiding?

By Ed Fallon

Monday, Sheree Clark joins Sylvia DeWitt of The Juice Company for our continued conversation on developing a small business. Sheree's business is called, Fork in The Road. She's a nutritionist and raw food advocate who gave up her career in advertising to promote a lifestyle of healthy eating. And don't forget the business develop conference this Wednesday (see my events page for details).

Also Monday, I'm excited to have Adam Bolt join us for further conversation about the AgriSol-ISU-Tanzania triangle. Adam's a producer and editor for Dan Rather Reports and also edited and co-wrote the Oscar-winning documentary Inside Job. Dan Rather Reports airs every Tuesday on HDNet at 7:00 pm, available in Iowa via satellite on DIRECTV (channel 306) and DISH Network (Channel 362).

Tuesday, Charles Goldman and I talk politics. One question floating around in our fertile minds is whether or not the remaining Republican presidential candidates are, in fact, happy to see gas prices rise. Will they use it as a campaign wedge issue against Obama in the general election?

Also Tuesday, we talk with Anne Dietrich of Truth in Labeling Coalition about the genetic contamination of our food supply and the push to get Iowa's U.S. Senators and Congressmen to sign-on to the Boxer-DeFazio Congressional Letter to the FDA, asking the agency to require mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food. For Congressional contact information, please visit my website, and I want to thank Campbell's Nutrition for helping to sponsor the show.

Wednesday, Stephen Toothman with Occupy Des Moines discusses the campaign to expose the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and its highly-partisan, right-wing  agenda.

Thursday, we talk with State Rep Dan Kelley (D-Newton) about the week's activities at the Iowa Statehouse. We also talk with attorney Jonathan Wilson about the erosion of our civil liberties. Check out his excellent commentary on the subject here.

I'd like to thank some of our business supporters, including Community CPA at 3816 Ingersoll Ave in Des Moines. With tax season here, it'd be a good idea to give Ying Sa a call at (515) 288-3188.

So, join the conversation Monday - Thursday from 7:00-8:00 pm at 98.3 FM and online. Call-in at (515) 312-0983 or toll-free at (866) 908-TALK. You can download the Fallon Forum as a podcast, too.

Thanks! -- Ed


EVENTS

February 29 - Small Business: Start, Grow and Succeed (Des Moines)
At Lotus Moments and Events Center, 2134 E Grand Ave from 8:45 am - 1:30 pm. Presentations and one-on-one consultations by local experts for entrepreneurs seeking help getting their business idea off the ground. No charge, but please register by Monday, February 27th. For details, visit BizSourceIowa.com/calendar.

March 1 - Drinking Liberally (Des Moines)
You don't have to be a card-carrying liberal to enjoy political conversation and excellent libations at AJ's, 419 E Court starting at 8:00 pm every Thursday. If the revolution is going to start anyplace, this is probably it. Contact desmoines@drinkingliberally.org.

March 1-3 - Sufi Retreat and Introductory Talk (Des Moines)
Thursday: free informational talk at 7:00 pm at Plymouth Congregational Church, 42nd & Ingersoll. Friday and Saturday: retreat sessions with Sufi minister Mudita Sabato Friday at 7:30 pm and Saturday at 10:30 am, 2:30 pm, and 7:30 pm at Friends Meeting House, 4211 Grand Ave. Suggested donation per session of $10. Contact Munira at (515) 491-5489 or Angela at (515) 205-5494, or visit www.muditasabato.blogspot.com.

March 8 - Empowered Women Changing the Planet (Des Moines)
A free event in honor of International Women's Day. Bring a dish to share at 5:00 pm at the Thoreau Center, 3500 Kingman Blvd. Organized by Oxfam America, Des Moines Area Sisters on the Planet Ambassadors, and League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Des Moines. Bian Li from the World Food Prize will speak about the power of investing in rural women entrepreneurs in developing countries by engaging them as business partners. Register here.

March 10 -  Civic Engagement at the Library (Des Moines)
Citizens have the opportunity to discuss public issues in a moderated forum. The topic for March is The New Challenges of American Immigration: What Should We Do? It's from 9:15 am - 12:00 noon at the Central Library Meeting Room One, 1000 Grand Avenue. To participate, please register at www.dmpl.org (Online Events Calendar), or call (515) 283-4957. Limited to 25 registrants.

March 20 - Irish Jam at Open Sesame (Des Moines)
Discover the fusion of Lebanese and Celtic culture every third Tuesday of the month: belly dancing to Irish gigs and reels, Lebanese cooking washed-down with a pint of Guinness. All musicians patrons welcome, at 313 E. Locust St from 8:30-10:30 pm.

Through March 23 - Environmental Impact Awards Applications (Iowa)
The Greater Des Moines Partnership, Center on Sustainable Communities and Metro Waste Authority established the Environmental Impact Awards to recognize organizations and leaders who exemplify environmentally sustainable practices. Awards will be given to individuals, businesses (large and small), non-profit or community organizations, and for the built environment (residential and commercial). Applications available at www.desmoinesmetro.com/events. Deadline is March 23 at 3:30 pm. Winners will be recognized in an awards ceremony luncheon on May 16 at the Botanical Center.

March 31 - Bishop Dingman Peace Award Dinner (Ankeny)
Join Bishop Thomas Gumbleton (featured in Michael Moore's latest documentary, Capitalism:  A Love Story) and Joshua Casteel, a US Soldier Interrogator at Abu Gharib who is now a conscientious objector and scholar. It's at Our Ladies Immaculate Heart, 510 E. 1st St at 6:00 pm and is a fundraiser for Catholic Peace Ministry. Tickets are $35 or $280 for a table of eight. Contact Jeffrey Weiss at jjwcpm@yahoo.com or (515) 255-8114.

May 12 - Asian Festival (Des Moines)
From 10:00 am - 5:00 pm on the east side of the Iowa State Capitol. Contact Swallow Yan at iowachinese@yahoo.com.

28 Feb 2012

DAVENPORT WOMAN WINS $100,000 PRIZE PLAYING FAVORITE SCRATCH GAME

By Amy Garringer

DES MOINES, Iowa - When a Davenport woman discovered she'd won the very last top prize of $100,000 playing the "Triple Platinum 777" game on her break at work, she couldn't believe what she saw.

Jolene Ronek, 50, scratched the ticket during her evening break where she works as a machinist.

"I started shaking and I couldn't believe what I saw," Ronek said. "I took it to the break room to show all the other guys and I was in tears. They told me to sign it right away."

Ronek said her head was fuzzy because she couldn't believe the win was real.

"I kept looking at those zeros and going, 'No, that isn't right,'" she said.

Ronek told her family about her big win before claiming her prize Thursday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids. Ronek said it also put everyone at work in a great mood for the rest of the evening shift.

"One of the guys at work got on the radio and told everyone," Ronek said with a laugh. "Everybody was just happy that someone they knew won."

Ronek said she was really surprised to get the big winner, because it was the very first ticket in a new pack of Triple Platinum 777 tickets at the QC Mart, 1402 State St. in Bettendorf.

Ronek said she's looking forward to using her winnings to become debt-free and also plans to use some to take a trip this summer.

"We travel all over riding motorcycles," she said.

Triple Platinum 777 was a $10 scratch game. Players scratched the "dollar" symbols and the "bonus box." If they revealed the "7" game symbol, they won the prize shown for that symbol. If they revealed the "77" game symbol, they won double the prize shown for that symbol. If they revealed the "777" game symbol, they won triple the prize shown for that symbol.  If they got two like symbols in "bonus box," they won $50 instantly. The overall odds of winning a prize in the game were 1 in 3.11.

Players can enter eligible nonwinning 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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27 Feb 2012

USGC News Release: U.S. Grains Council Previews A Changing Vision of World Food Demands in 2040

By Marri Carrow

Rapid Rise of Asian Middle Class Likely To Revamp Global Food Systems:
U.S. Grains Council Previews A Changing Vision of World Food Demands in 2040

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 24, 2012 – The sophisticated food demands of newly affluent consumers in China and other developing nations are likely to cause major change in U.S. farming and food production, Asian food policy and world trade, according to Food 2040, a new study of emerging food trends in Asia by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC).

USGC President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas C. Dorr presented a preview of Food 2040 today at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's annual Agricultural Outlook Forum.

"Growing affluence in China could change people's diets and the global food system. Consumers will expect more choice, quality, convenience and safety in their food purchases," Dorr said.

Food 2040 also reveals important implications for agricultural trade policy between the United States and Asian nations. "We are seeing China become more open to acceptance of new technology, such as agricultural biotechnology, which can help meet the needs of the Asian middle class in a sustainable manner through trade," Dorr said.

U.S. attitudes about feeding the world are likely to change too. "Many of the agribusinesses and agricultural organizations that comprise the U.S. Grains Council are starting to review possibilities for meeting the needs and capturing the economic value that ascendency of the Asian middle class represents," said USGC Chairman Dr. Wendell Shauman, an Illinois corn farmer and member of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board. "Working together with trading partners around the world to understand emerging trends, we can use a convergence of science, technology and policy reform to meet changing food demands and capture the economic potential of new Asian consumers."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is assisting the Council with the launch of Food 2040 in Japan. "Japan and the United States are longstanding trading partners, and we understand each other well. Now, our two nations must learn more about China and develop an understanding of how this emerging mega-market will influence the global food system and our two nations' participation in it," said Geoffrey Wiggin, USDA's FAS Minister-Counselor in Tokyo.

Food 2040 outlines the following possibilities for significant change in the global food system.

GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEMS RESTRUCTURED TO SUIT CHINA'S MIDDLE CLASS
China is the world's fastest growing economy, and because of the sheer size of its population, Chinese demand will reshape the global food industry over the next 20 years. Although India is expected to surpass China in population numbers, China is likely to remain the dominant economy within the timeframe of Food 2040.

CHINA AS WORLD BIOSCIENCE LEADER
Agricultural biotechnology may no longer be dominated by U.S. technology. China is on a path to global bioscience leadership, driven by major central government investments to meet its own food needs and a desire to be an export leader.

NEW ASIAN SYSTEM OF FOOD SAFETY
Asia does not yet have a well-developed food safety and inspection system, but this could change through use of 21st-century nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and logistics systems.

FOOD AS A SERVICE
By 2040, 70 percent of consumer food expenditures in Japan will go toward foods prepared outside the home, and China is likely to adopt Japan's rapid acceptance of foods prepared outside the home.

FOOD AS A SERVICE
Food 2040 envisions a proliferation of specialty markets and product differentiation in Asia. This is not a new concept for the United States, where the average U.S. supermarket carries almost 40,000 items, but when four billion people around the world with very different cultures and diets begin to enjoy that degree of consumer choice it will significantly affect global food production, processing and distribution systems.

The complete Food 2040 study is available at www.grains.org. The U.S. Grains Council is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to building export markets for barley, corn, sorghum and their products. The Council is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with 10 international offices and active market development programs in more than 50 countries. Financial support from the Council's private industry members, including state checkoffs, agribusinesses, state entities and others, triggers federal matching funds from the government and support from cooperating groups in other countries, producing an annual market development program valued at more than $28.3 million.

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