DAVENPORT, Iowa - The Journey of Hope North team will arrive in Davenport on Wednesday, July 22. The team will arrive at Clarion Inn, where lodging is provided for the night at 11:30 a.m. They will have lunch at Happy Joe's at 1 p.m. That evening, the team will have dinner and a Friendship Visit at the Seduary Pool at 6 p.m. The three teams of the Journey of Hope will spend over two months cycling an average of 75 miles a day from city to city visiting with people and organizations that help people with disabilities.

What: The Journey of Hope, organized by Push America, is a cycling trek that raises funds and awareness on behalf of people with disabilities in hopes to enhance the quality of their lives. Every cyclist commits to raising at least $5,000 on behalf of people with disabilities before the trip begins. Combine their individual efforts with corporate sponsorships and the Journey of Hope 2010 teams have raised more than $500,000 for people with disabilities.

When: Thursday, July 22.

Where: Happy Joe's

201 W 50th Street

Seduary Pool

1800 W. 12th Street

Who: Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity members from across the country.

Other media opportunities: Please contact on-site coordinator David Hamrick for details about team location while cycling into Davenport for photos, interviews or any other media opportunity.

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Davenport, IA, June 28th, 2010: Effective July 1st, all three Davenport Public Golf Courses will be beating the heat with cool prices. For the entire month of July, golfers can play 18 holes for the price of 9! The special will only last until July 30th and is valid for weekdays only, so reserve your tees times today at Emeis Golf Course, Duck Creek Golf Course, or Red Hawk Golf & Learning Center!

For questions regarding event, please contact 563-326-7812 or www.golfdavenport.com

Expert Asks If You Can't Lift More Than You Weigh, Then Why Do You Need 500 Pounds of Weights to Work Out?

The average American male can bench press only 135 pounds without risking injury, and women can typically only bench press about 60 pounds, so why does everyone feel like the only way they can work out is with a 500 pound weight machine from a gym?

That's the question asked by Donnie Gorsuch, a woman who didn't have the time or money for a gym, but wanted to exercise in the comfort of her own home. Her logic flew in the face of the popular notion that if you don't belong to a gym, you need to buy gym-style equipment to work out.

"Gyms and the health club industry have created in the popular consciousness a type of 'gym dependency,' which has convinced millions of people that the only way to really get a good workout is with gym equipment," she said. "But I didn't have the time or money to join a gym, and I didn't have room in my house for a giant workout machine. That's when I discovered the practice of bodyweight training, which uses your own weight to provide the resistance for muscles that gym equipment provides."

Gorsuch is not only a practitioner of bodyweight training, but she also developed with her husband a simple brace for bodyweight trainers called The Power Platform(www.powerplatformfitness.com). The platform folds up and fits just about anywhere, and comes with instructions on how to perform basic and advanced bodyweight exercises.

"Bodyweight exercises don't require weights, so they are ideal for people who can't afford or don't have time for the gym," Gorsuch added. "In this economy, most people are of one of two extremes. They either have two or more jobs trying to make ends meet, or they are among the millions who are unemployed or underemployed. Bodyweight training is perfect for these people, because it's neither expensive nor time consuming."

The practice has been around for decades, and is used by the military, the space program, and even Olympic athletes, according to Gorsuch.

"People have become slaves to their gym, and when they are forced to quit because of time or money, they wind up buying an expensive piece of equipment from a late night infomercial than ends up taking up space, or better, becoming a staging area for folding clothes or a work bench for household fix-it projects," she added. "Bodyweight training has always been around, but because of the unique challenges facing most people in today's new economy, it looks like the practice will finally gain the mainstream acceptance it deserves."

June 11, 2010

(Des Moines) -- Today the Iowa Civil Justice Foundation and the Iowa Bicycle Coalition announce a joint Safe Cycling project promoting bicycle helmet use for Iowa kids. The groups will collaborate to outfit children with new bike helmets at community events across the state. This bicycle helmet project is a continuing commitment for the Iowa groups, who are currently accepting event requests.

If you are interested in organizing a bike rodeo or bike ride in your community, the Safe Cycling project may provide free bike helmets for the event. For more information please contact the Iowa Bicycle Coalition at 515-309-2867 or at mark@iowabicyclecoalition.org.

The Iowa Civil Justice Foundation is the education and community service arm of the Iowa Association for Justice - an organization of nearly one thousand Iowa attorneys who fight for justice in courtrooms and communities across the state. The Association serves the legal profession and the public through its efforts to strengthen our justice systems, promote injury prevention, and foster the transparency of information critical to the health and safety of all Iowans.

"Bicycles are associated with more childhood injuries than any other consumer product except the automobile," said Brad Lint, executive director of the Iowa Civil Justice Foundation. "Our members are often called into service after a child has been terribly injured, or worse, while riding his or her bicycle, and those cases are truly tragic. That's why attorneys across the state are working so hard to outfit kids with the helmets that can save their lives and prevent terrible injury."

The Iowa Bicycle Coalition is a state-wide bicycle advocacy organization with 1,150 members and over 5,000 partners through affiliated organizations. The Coalition works to build partnerships, educate Iowans, and help to establish safe and enjoyable bicycle transportation and recreation networks throughout Iowa.

"Bike helmets save lives," said Mark Wyatt, executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. "We encourage cyclists of all ages to wear a well-fitted helmet every time they ride, and the Safe Cycling project helps instill that practice at a young age."

The single most effective safety device available to reduce head injury and death from bicycle crashes is a helmet. Bicycle helmets have been shown to reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent and the risk of brain injury by as much as 88 percent. It is estimated that 75 percent of bicycle-related fatalities among children could be prevented with a bicycle helmet.

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June 10, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today issued the following statement on the future of the Big 12 Conference. 

"I am dismayed by the proposed breakup of the Big 12 Conference and the expansion of the Big Ten.  These are two well settled conferences that have historic rivalries.  Fans and alumni like myself count on those rivalries and look forward to the games, so I question the motivation of schools looking to leave the Big 12.

"Long-standing tradition, school pride and the spirit of teamwork are at the heart of college athletics.  Universities should not send a message to students that chasing dollars weighs more heavily than those values."

 

Floatzilla has a new challenger. On Saturday, June 5th, Pittsburgh hosted Paddle at the Point, an event organized around an attempt at the Guinness World Record for the "largest raft of canoes and kayaks." The event was reported as a success with an unofficial count of 1,800 canoes and kayaks, thus significantly raising the bar over the previous record of 1,104 achieved by One Square Mile of Hope in Inlet, New York. This new record, however, falls short of Floatzilla's ambitious attempt to rally 2,010 canoes and kayaks on August 21st, 2010. Floatzilla offers the Quad Cities a unique opportunity to trump Pittsburgh's impressive accomplishment less than three months after Paddle at the Point and to demonstrate the resources and vitality of a thriving Midwestern community.

The Quad Cities is a premier place to live, work, and play, and is home to a wealth of paddling opportunities on the Mississippi River and its many smaller tributaries that rival some of the best anywhere. Floatzilla isn't just a record attempt put a celebration of our community and its waterways and River Action welcomes paddlesports enthusiasts near and far to join us on August 21st as ambassadors of the sport and to share the experience of this epic event. Floatzilla is an unparalleled opportunity to encourage family, friends, co-workers, and any other interested party to give paddlesports a try and take to the water with thousands of other participants.

Grab your paddle and register today at www.floatzilla.org. The registration fee is $10/paddler, which includes one Floatzilla t-shirt, commemorative boat sticker, registration wrist band, one ticket to "River Roots Live", free parking, and free shuttle to off-site parking for "floats." Premium registration is available for $20 and includes the basic registration package plus coupons for local hotels, restaurants, and retailers.

Floatzilla is coordinated by River Action, Inc. For additional information please call 563-322-2969 or email riveraction@riveraction.org.

Play it safe on the road!

3 Easy and Practical Steps to take to be safe on your motorcycle this summer!

1. Make sure you are wearing proper gear. Many people choose to skip their helmets and other basic safety gear. This can be a fatal mistake. Make sure your helmet is properly rated. Leather jackets also help and look cool at the same time.

2. Confirm all your lights are working and you have other reflective striping on your bike. Cars have a harder time seeing bikes and you want to take every advantage you can to ensure they can catch a glimpse, especially during the night.

3. Drive Passively - although fun to zip in and out of traffic and especially when in a hurry, it's easy to forget the basics. Please don't. It's better to arrive a few minutes late and yield your right away to a car or truck - eventhough it's really frustratin. Give them the benefit of the doubt and don't assume that they are out to cut you off. Remember - you're the one on the Harley enjoying life properly. They are couped up in a the vehicle and it's no wonder they are stressed out.

Enjoy a 44-mile ride along the Mississippi scenic river valley with the Muscatine Melon City Bicycle Club and the Quad-City Bicycle Club!!!! Help us make the MRT (Mississippi River Trail) the place to be! This ride begins and ends in Muscatine.

A special 44-mile Muscatine-Buffalo-Muscatine ride will be held on the same day as Ride the River, Father's Day, June 20th, 2010. This MRT event will help to highlight the need to complete the Iowa MRT section of the trail from Muscatine to Buffalo. Riding on Highway 22 dictates that our participants be avid cyclists, at least 18 years of age, and capable of riding 13 mph and up. The $10 fee includes a t-shirt and a midpoint pancake breakfast in Buffalo. There will be a SAG stop in Wildcat Den on the return leg. The group will depart from the downtown Muscatine riverfront bike path at 7 a.m. on June 20th. Register for the MRT Ride at the River Action website: www.riveraction.org.

You can learn more about the Mississippi River Trail up and down the Mississippi by going to www.mississippirivertrail.org.

Thanks for helping River Action promote the expansion of our wonderful Mississippi River Trail system.

For additional information about the Muscatine-Buffalo-Muscatine ride, contact Dean Mathias at 309-737-8429, Harper's Cycling and Fitness at 563-263-4043, or River Action at 563-322-2969.

Mayor Bill Gluba, hosted elected and administrative city and county officials for a brisk walk, bike ride or even skate board activity today in recognition of Quad City in Motion Week.  Officials met at the Lindsay Park Marina and proceeded along the Mississippi River Trail to lunch at the Boat House on foot, bike and skate board.  Elected participants included Bettendorf Mayor Mike Freemire, Rock Island Mayor Dennis Pauley, Moline Mayor Don Welvaert, Rock Island County Board Chair Jim Bohnsack and Scott County Board Chair Chris Gallin.  Administrative officials included Craig Malin, Davenport City Administrator; Dee Bruemmer, Scott County Administrator, John Phillips, Rock Island City Manager and Denise Bulat, Bi-State Regional Commission.

The rain stayed away and the overcast conditions were perfect for the informal outing which offered the opportunity to enjoy the Quad City area trail system.  QC in Motion Week is a week dedicated to healthy living and our environment.  It celebrates movement through alternative transportation, employee health walks, informational bike rides through our local parks and many, many more great activities.  The week has focused on promoting ways of incorporating physical activity into your daily routine, highlighting the importance prevention plays in maintaining a healthy & productive workforce and increasing awareness that a healthier environment leads to a healthier community. Area residents were encouraged to minimize car use during the week and participate in as many of the week's activities as possible.

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Davenport, IA, May 20th, 2010:  Effective May 20th, all three Davenport Public Golf Courses will be rolling back greens  fees a decade!  The special will only last until June 30th, so reserve your tees times today at Emeis Golf Course, Duck  Creek Golf Course, or Red Hawk Golf & Learning Center!

For questions regarding event, please contact 563-326-7812 or www.golfdavenport.com

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