MOLINE, ILLINOIS - Tune in Fridays at 7 pm when WQPT brings you "Artists in Profile," a new production that takes a look at the creative process in the words of visual and performance artists.

"Last year the Illinois Arts Council contacted us to offer production assistance for a program that highlighted the accomplishments of our areas artists.  After talking with our producer, Lora Adams, we began pre-production on 'Artists in Profile' and taped three hour long performances in late October 2011," said Rick Best, General Manager for WQPT.  "Being able to showcase the creativity of both visual and performance artists has been a wonderful addition to our local programming."

Michael Romkey and The Bucktown Revue are featured in the first half hour episode that airs March 23 at 7 pm. Upcoming episodes feature Jason Platt (cartoonist), Erin Freund (harpist) and Susan Holgersson (set designer) on March 30^th; Tristan Tapscott (actor/producer), Ellis Kell (musician), and Kate Askegaard (visual artist) on April 6; The Westbrook Singers on April 13; Catie Osborn (smash poetry), Bill Gustafson (muralist) and Kelly and Tammy Rundle (filmmakers) on April 20^th.  "Pages from a Young Girls Life" a ballet from Ballet Quad Cities portrays the life of Anne Frank and was choreographed in 2005 by Johanna Jakhelln. The special hour long program will air on April 27.

The series is funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. Three one hour music specials have also been taped and aired on WQPT as a result of the grant. The first was a Christmas concert performed by The Westbrook Singers in December of 2011 and in March 2012 The Westbrook Singers also appeared in an hour long gospel music special along with an hour featuring The Bucktown Revue.

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

The Bells of Balangiga
by Dr. Eleonor Mendoza

NEW NOVEL EXPLORES LOVE AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE PHILIPPINE INSURRECTION AND WORLD WAR II

The Bells of Balangiga, by Dr. Eleonor Mendoza, brings to life two inextricably linked love stories set against the Philippine Insurrection and World War II.

The novel, which takes place in the Philippines, reflects the customs, traditions, and charm of the time. The story is set with Lieutenant Jack Stewart, a West Point graduate assigned to the Nueva Ecija Province in the Philippines in 1940. Jack falls in love with a young Filipina woman named Neneng, but when his parents visit to attend a reception for the officers, Jack's mother reveals that Jack has a sweetheart back home.

Crestfallen, Neneng seeks comfort in the arms of her mother Clara, who divulges that she was once engaged to Jack's father during the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902). Since then, Clara has been haunted by the sounds of the bells of Balangiga, three church bells taken by the United States Army from the Philippines in 1901. To her, they embody the conflict that shaped her early life. The book goes on to narrate each woman's story and the wars that got in the way.

"We talk of countries going to war, but it is the people who go to war, who fight, who lose loved ones, who are killed," says Dr. Mendoza. "The Bells of Balangiga shares two stories of people who fall in love, against the backdrop of human conflict."

As the only Christian country in Asia, the Philippines holds its religious ideals close. The female characters' beliefs guide their actions throughout the story, while a thorough appendix expands on the history, traditions, and military battles that Mendoza mentions throughout the book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Eleonor Mendoza was born on the southern island of Mindanao, in the Philippines. A licensed physician, although no longer practicing, she came to the United States in 1974 and currently lives in Davenport, Iowa with her husband. She is on the Executive Board of the Filipino American Association of Iowa-Illinois and is active in charity organizations that aid the people of the Philippines. Recently, she has helped with humanitarian work for Typhoon Sendong victims in the Philippines' Iligan City.

Davenport, Iowa - March 8, 2012 - On March 4, 2012, KMXG-FM, 96.1 MIX 96 debuted a new weekend line-up featuring Syndicated Programming once featured on former sister station, 101.3 KUUL-FM.

For years, 96.1 MIX 96 has been the Quad Cities radio station for real music variety?and now, Sundays mean: THE SEVENTIES! New to MIX 96: Casey Kasem's American Top Forty-the 70's (Sundays 11am-2pm),

John Landecker with 'Into the 70's' (Sundays 2-6pm) and Steve Goddard with 'The 70's' Sundays from 9pm to midnight. These 70's shows, along with the MIX 96 Jazz Patio with Art Monroe (Sundays 8a-11a) and

Smooth Jazz Sunday night (Sundays 6-9p), give MIX 96 incredible weekend music variety.

Complete MIX 96 Weekend Lineup:

Saturdays 'Retro Saturdays'

·         Midnight-6am: All 80's (host: Maurice)

·         6am-10am:     Casey Kasem's American Top Forty-the 80's

·         10am-4pm:     All 80's (hosts: Ron and Amy from the MIX 96 morning show)

·         4pm-8pm:       Retro Pop Reunion w/Joe Cortez

·         8pm-2am Sun: Backtraxx USA w/Kid Kelly

Sundays

·         7am-7:30am:  Quad City Forum

·         7:30am-8am:  Viewpoints

·         8am-11am:     The MIX 96 Jazz Patio w/Art Monroe

·         11am-2pm:     Casey Kasem's American Top Forty-the 70's

·         2pm-6pm:       Into the 70's w/John Landecker

·         6pm-9pm:       Smooth Jazz Sunday Night w/Art Monroe

·         9pm-Mid:         The 70's w/Steve Goddard