DES MOINES, IA (08/06/2014)(readMedia)-- Every year Fairgoers from all around the world come to the Iowa State Fair to see the exhilarating art of chainsaw carving. For the 11 days of the Fair, sculptors, and registered chainsaw carvers, A.J. Lutter and Gary Keenan will amaze spectators with their work as they transform simple logs into pieces of art in less than one hour. The pair is nationally known, traveling to city, county and state Fairs, and can sculpt anything from people to animals.

Add a piece of Iowa State Fair art to your home by attending the 2014 Woodcarver's Auction! The auction will feature the sculptures that Lutter and Keenan create each day at the Iowa State Fair. In addition to the woodcarvings, champion meats will be up for bid during the sale, including ham, bacon and dried beef.

The 2014 Woodcarver's Auction will be held on Sunday, August 17 at 3:30 p.m. in the air-conditioned comfort of the Cattle Barn's Penningroth Media Center. All funds generated from the auction will be used by the Blue Ribbon Foundation to preserve and renovate the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Since its inception in 1993, the Blue Ribbon Foundation has been raising funds to renovate and restore the historic Iowa State Fairgrounds. Funds have been generated to support 40 projects throughout the Fairgrounds. Improvements have been made to the William C. Knapp Varied Industries Building, the Grandstand, the Campgrounds and Ye Old Mill. In addition, funds support the building of new facilities such as the Paul R. Knapp Animal Learning Center, Elwell Family Food Center and the Richard O. Jacobson Exhibition Center.

The Blue Ribbon Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Since 1993, the Foundation has generated more than $100 million for renovations and improvements to the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

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Despite a five-homer series, Quad Cities is swept in a road series for the first time this season

GENEVA, Ill. (August 3, 2014) - Left fielder Chase McDonald, first baseman A.J. Reed and catcher Brett Booth each hit home runs for the Quad Cities River Bandits, but every Kane County starter contributed to the team's 17 hits in a 9-5 Cougars win and three-game series sweep at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark Sunday afternoon.

Cougars catcher Cael Brockmeyer hit his team's only home run of the three-game series, finished 3-for-5 and was one of three Cougars with two-RBI games. Cougars shortstop Daniel Lockhart and second baseman Chesny Young each had a double and three hits. Quad Cities (21-21 second half, 56-55 overall) has allowed 42 runs on 70 hits during its current five-game losing streak.

For the third straight game, Kane County (25-17 second half, 70-42 overall) took at least a three-run lead by the end of the second inning. Against right-hander Andrew Thurman (5-7), Cougars third baseman Jeimer Candelario led off the second inning with a triple to right field and scored on a single by Brockmeyer. Young doubled to right field, putting runners at second and third bases. Groundouts by right fielder Jeffrey Baez and center fielder Trey Martin made it 3-0. Both Baez and Martin joined Brockmeyer in having two-RBI games.

In the third inning, Lockhart doubled to right field and moved to third base on a wild pitch when Thurman walked first baseman Ben Carhart. Designated hitter Victor Caratini hit an RBI single to right field, extending the Cougars' lead to 4-0.

Cougars right-hander Daury Torrez (10-5) faced one batter over the minimum in the first three innings before Quad Cities cut into the deficit in the fourth. Right fielder Ryan Bottger hit a leadoff single to right field, and McDonald launched a ball into the trees beyond the signs in left-center field for his 12^th home run of the season, shrinking Kane County's lead to 4-2. But the Cougars answered in the bottom of the inning, as Baez hit a one-out double and to left field and scored on a single by Martin for a 5-2 lead.

Torrez had set down seven batters in a row - including four on strikeouts - before Reed blasted a drive over the picnic deck in right field for his third home run in his first week in the Midwest League. Brockmeyer answered with his home run on Thurman's first pitch in the bottom of the inning. Young singled to chase Thurman, who allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits and three walks with two strikeouts in five-plus innings. Left-hander Albert Minnis entered to allow a triple to center field by Baez, who scored on a sacrifice fly by left fielder Shawon Dunston Jr. With two outs and the bases empty, Lockhart singled, stole second base and scored on Carhart's RBI single to make it 9-3. Minnis allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk with one strikeout in two relief innings.

After Torrez allowed three earned runs on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts in six innings, right-hander David Garner began the seventh inning, and Booth hit his fourth home run of the season off the video board in left field - the fifth different player to homer in the last two games for the River Bandits, who have hit 15 home runs in their last nine games.

Garner worked two innings, and right-hander Francisco Carrillo debuted for the Cougars in the ninth inning. Reed hit a leadoff double for his first two-hit game in the Midwest League and scored on Booth's sacrifice fly, but Carrillo completed the inning to seal the 9-5 final.

Quad Cities opens a seven-game homestand and three-game home series against Burlington at 7 p.m. Monday at Modern Woodmen Park. River Bandits left-hander Chris Lee (7-5) is scheduled to face Bees right-hander Garrett Nuss (5-1).

UP NEXT: On Markdown Monday presented by 97X, the River Bandits will offer $2 bleacher and berm tickets, hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, nachos, soda and beer. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. game, and an All-You-Can-Ride Amusements Pass is just $10. Tickets are available at www.riverbandits.com. To order any of the River Bandits 2014 ticket plans - with new lower prices - call the River Bandits box office at 563-324-3000. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $40. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.

ABOUT THE BANDITS: Having just been named Ballpark Digest's winner of Best Ballpark Improvement in America under $1 million, the River Bandits ownership recently made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 105 feet over the playing field, opened May 24, and Space Camp opened June 20; the newly expanded 300-foot long zip line has also reopened. Soon to come is another new ride, this one called a "Drop and Twist." In 2013, the team unveiled a new 220-foot long dual zip line, a rock climbing wall, and a number of new bounce houses. Last season, the team's major league affiliate, the Houston Astros, saw all six of its affiliates reach the playoffs - the first time in a decade any MLB team can claim such success. The River Bandits were one of three affiliates to reach the championship round and one of two to win their league championship.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (July 31, 2014) - Quad Cities River Bandits third baseman Marc Wik tied a Midwest League record with three triples and had a career-high four RBIs Thursday night, but the Clinton LumberKings hit six doubles and two home runs among 18 hits in a 13-9 win in a series rubber match in front of 4,892 at Modern Woodmen Park.

LumberKings center fielder Isaiah Yates led all players with four hits - including two doubles - and five RBIs, while catcher Marcus Littlewood reached base in all six plate appearances, walking three times, finishing a triple shy of the cycle and scoring four runs. Eight LumberKings had a hit, and six had multi-hit games, while the team scored all its runs in five multi-run innings. The 13 earned runs and 18 hits were the most allowed by Quad Cities this season.

Clinton (15-24 second half, 45-62 overall) reached the scoreboard in the first inning against right-hander Michael Feliz (6-4), who had only allowed five runs - three earned - in his first 34 innings at Modern Woodmen Park this season. Designated hitter Luis Caballero walked, right fielder Chantz Mack hit an RBI double, and Yates hit an RBI single for a 2-0 lead. The River Bandits (21-18, 56-52) took their only lead in the second inning. Left-hander Blake Holovach (6-4) hit designated hitter A.J. Reed with a pitch and allowed a one-out single to catcher Brian Holberton. Wik drove a two-run triple to the right-center field gap and scored when shortstop Thomas Lindauer hit a two-out single. Lindauer scored on a two-out double by right fielder Brett Phillips.

With a 4-2 lead, Feliz retired the first two batters of the third inning before another LumberKings rally. Littlewood doubled and scored on left fielder Brett Thomas' single. Yates doubled to put runners at second and third bases, and a wild pitch scored Thomas for a 4-4 tie. Third baseman Martin Peguero singled to give his team a 5-4 lead. Feliz retired the next five batters in a row, before Littlewood started another rally with a one-out single in the fifth inning. Thomas walked, and Yates hit a two-run double, ending Feliz's night. Left-hander Albert Minnis later allowed a two-out infield single by second baseman Andy Peterson that scored Yates for an 8-4 Clinton lead. Feliz was charged with career highs of eight earned runs on 10 hits. In 4 1/3 innings, he walked four batters and struck out three.

In the bottom of the fifth, center fielder James Ramsay hit a leadoff triple and scored on a groundout by first baseman Chase McDonald. Left fielder Ryan Bottger reached on a two-out error by shortstop Jack Reinheimer and later score d on Holberton's single. Wik hit his second triple to right-center field, but was left at third base in an 8-7 game. Holovach allowed seven runs - five earned - in five innings.

Clinton restored its four-run lead in the sixth inning, when Minnis gave up his first home run since June 25, 2013, to Mack and allowed a two-run single by Yates to make it 11-7. Quad Cities tallied runs in the seventh and eighth innings against LumberKings right-hander Rafael Pineda. Reed led off the seventh with a double and scored on Wik's third triple to left-center field. Wik had two career triples entering Thursday and became the fifth player in Midwest League history - and first ever for Quad Cities - to triple three times in a single game. Wisconsin's Michael Reed was the last to do so, when he had three triples May 22, 2013, at Modern Woodmen Park. In the eighth inning, Lindauer singled and scored on Ramsay's sacrifice fly. Right-hander Emilio Pagan escaped the eighth inning with an 11-9 lead, and Littlewood's two-run home run in the ninth off right-hander Frederick Tiburcio, insured Pagan's 12^th save after his two scoreless innings.