Saturday, August 20, 2011 from 9:00am - 3:00pm 

Mike Whalen will be at the Bettendorf Public Library this Saturday, August 20th from 9:00am - 3:00pm signing his book "Lemonaid: The Little Car That Helps Kids".  Lemonaid is the story of the little car that fulfilled a dream of helping kids. This book was written after Whalen, President & CEO of Heart of America Group, saw the commitment of local business leaders that got together to race a car identified as a "lemon" in an effort to raise money for the Wildwood Hills Ranch located in St. Charles, Iowa.

Mike's work with the Wildwood Hills Ranch, a year round non-profit organization he co-founded nearly ten years ago, is dedicated to helping disadvantaged youth.  Since its inception, the ranch has served nearly 10,000 children. In April 2011, Whalen received the prestigious 2011 National Restaurant Neighbor Award for demonstrating exemplary community service and charitable works through his work with the ranch.

Stop out at the Bettendorf Public Library and see the real car Lemonaid, meet the author and purchase an autographed copy of Lemonaid along with a plush toy retailing for $20.  Books and plush toys are also on sale at Total Detail - Utica Ridge Road in Bettendorf, Iowa;  Bettendorf Office Products - Middle Road in Bettendorf, Iowa; and The Machine Shed Restaurant located off of I80 (Exit 292) on Northwest Boulevard.  Proceeds from the book and plush sales will benefit the Wildwood Hills Ranch.

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Rock Island  , IL / July 25, 2011 - Media Link, Inc. (MLI) is proud to announce and welcome back Jessica Fink, a former MLI intern, as the company's newest Media Link Software and Government Account Manager. In this role, she will oversee the exciting launch of our new media-buying software and be responsible for maintaining our current and perspective Government Contracts, as well as forging better relationships with existing accounts.

Ms. Fink brings to the table an extensive background in the news industry, formerly serving as a Government and Politics reporter for The Dispatch and Rock Island Argus newspapers. Her breaking news coverage and emphasis on the K-12 education beat provided a credible information source   Quad   City   readers could easily turn to for relevant, critical and current local news.

Ms. Fink began her journalism career as a student at   Black   Hawk   College   while serving as a general reporter for The Chieftain newspaper and BHC's Broadcast Club. Her time spent as a city reporter for Northern Illinois University's daily student newspaper, The Northern Star, helped further hone her writing, editing and communication skills. She graduated from NIU with a B.A. in Journalism and Communication Studies, with an emphasis in Organizational/Corporate Communications.

Following her news reporting stint, Ms. Fink joined Fanfare Sports Marketing, a national leader in the promotional products industry for high schools and middle schools nationwide. There, she gained valuable hands-on experience through helping advertisers effectively target the high school student market segment and satellite audience of parents, faculty and alumni.

"I am thrilled to be joining the Media Link team again," said Ms. Fink. "The growth this company has seen over the years is outstanding, and I look forward to contributing to their mission of helping clients achieve continuous success in their marketing efforts."

Media Link, Inc. is a full-service advertising agency dedicated to helping clients develop strategic marketing plans tailored specifically to their company's unique and individual needs. For more information, contact Natalie Linville-Mass at (309) 786-5142.

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AMES, Iowa -Thirteen films by Iowa teens and preteens will compete at the 2011 4-H Film Festival during the Iowa State Fair

The participants had the choice of working on a film individually or as a team. At least one team member must be in 4-H. Film submissions were due July 1 and the review and judging process is under way.

"It's exciting to see the youth of Iowa grabbing their cameras, gathering friends and making such creative and fun films for all to enjoy," said Jed Findlay, a communications specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and one of the judges for the film festival. "I'm looking forward to the day of the festival to see which films get picked."

The top films will be shown at the 2011 4-H Film Festival in the 4-H Exhibits Building on Aug. 12. Teams are competing for a spot in the line-up and for the grand prize of an Apple iPad.

"These films are a great example of the kind of talent and creativity that youth are capable of and it is outstanding," says Film Festival coordinator Karen Frank.

KCWI, Blank Park Zoo, Traviss Audio Video and Taco Johns are sponsoring the event.

4-H Film Festival Entries

Iowa youth who completed any of grades 5 through 12 were eligible to submit a film in one of three categories:

Educate - Videos intended to provide information or training on a specific topic

Inspire - Videos intended to raise awareness about an important issue or call viewers to action

Just 4 Fun - Videos intended to entertain

Films from the following teams are being reviewed and judged for the 4-H Film Festival.

Educate

A Rocket, a Crew and a Trip to the Moon by The Tech Rollers - Spencer Campbell, Story County

Origami Ocean: Paper Creations That Won't Wash Up In Water by Fold-It-Up Productions - Hunter Brehm, Dubuque County

The Dangers of Texting While Driving by IDHT Productions - Sarah Braun, Warren County

Inspire

Running the Race by 4 Kids and a Camera - Joel Stephenson, Emma Stephenson, Victoria Litwiller and Matthew J. Litwiller, Hardin County

Just 4 Fun

Super Spy Granny by Barr and Padlock Productions - Alan Barr, Alicia Barr, Paul Swanson, Zack Paddok, Emilie Paddok and Bethany Paddok, Decatur County

Trisha's Lullaby by Jaden Ramsey - Tonya Ramsey, Sac County

Blue and Green by Arthur - Arthur Behnke, Scott County

Starry Eyed Surprise by Andrew Smith - Andrew Smith, Story County

Kidnapped by Kids on Scene - Callie Forgy, Madison County

The Journey to the Clover Queen by Eyes on the Child Baby Sitting Club - Mikayla VanderHeiden, Bekah Nau, Megan Garrison, Alaina O'Connor, Paige O'Connor, Amanda Ryner, Tyanna Forgy and Kendra Kirkland, Madison County

10 Weirdest things to Trip Over by ZUM Movies - Alex Zumwalt, Linn County

Hairball Revenge by French Fries - Rayna P. Buxton, Henry County

For more information, contact Karen Frank at kmnaig@gmail.comor Holly Bignall at hbignall@iastate.edu.

MOLINE, ILLINOIS - Inspired by his attorney father and following in the footsteps of his great grandfather, Justice Charles M. Waterman, who served on the Iowa Supreme Court from 1898 to 1902, newly elected Justice Tom Waterman sits down to talk with Jim Mertens on "The Cities." The program will air on Thursday, July 7^th at 6:30 pm and Sunday, July 10 at 5:30 pm.

Speaking about his appointment, Justice Waterman said "I was thrilled to land the position for the Quad Cities. We haven't had a resident justice here since Linda Neumann retired in 2003..." he went on to say "...It's important both for the court and for the Quad Cities to have a resident justice here again. It improves communications, and a lot of what our Supreme Court does is to administer the rules and the personnel in the judicial branch..." Justice Waterman said he was honored to have been appointed to the court and "After 9-11, like many American's, I felt an impulse to give back to the community." He feels strongly that this job fulfills that goal.

Host Jim Mertens asked if it bothered him how the court was politicized the way it was prior to the 2010 elections. Waterman responded "Well, it was a shock to the judicial system, and one thing I've seen now that I'm serving on the court is the backlog the new justices have inherited because the court was at barely over half strength for a number of months and very distracted before it.  It had never happened before, and normally the Supreme Court changes one justice at a time, normally through retirement. It never lost three and never had three new members join all at once. At the same time, that made the need all the greater and the opportunity to serve all the more important..." he went on to say "I think it's very important to our system of checks and balances that our court not get politicized, and two of the downsides to what happened are the risks that justices and judges will get intimidated and base a decision on what they think is popular rather than what the law requires."

Among his plans on the court, he wants more of Iowa's citizens to see how the court works." I hope to bring the court to Davenport within the next year or so. It provides the public with an opportunity to come to a local auditorium, see the court in action and one of my favorite parts of the job is the oral arguments," Waterman said.

Other innovations on the court, is the videotaping of arguments before the court. By archiving the cases, people can go to the Iowa Supreme Court website and be better informed about the cases before the court and their outcomes. Justice Waterman feels that it is the job of the justices to "protect the integrity of the system" and said that upcoming cases include civil, criminal and constitutional issues. To find out more about Justice Tom Waterman, tune in to WQPT Thursday at 6:30 pm.

WQPT is a media service of Western Illinois University located in Moline, Illinois.