Traveling to Germany? Brush up on your German before you go! The German American Heritage Center will be offering German language classes starting in May. Join instructor Kathi Hofmann for a "German for Travelers" language series! The class will feature travel tips, food, hotel, touring basics and typical signage as encountered by the average American tourist.

The classes consist of four 90-minute sessions on May 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th from 5:30-7pm and the cost is $50, payable by check to GAHC at 712 W 2nd St. Davenport, IA 52802. Register by April 23rd by calling Ruth at 563-322-8844 or emailing rer@gahc.org.

Who: The Kinetic King: 13^th place in last summer's America's Got Talent, real name Tim Fort, already holds Guinness World Record for Largest Stick Bomb.

What: World Record attempt for chain reaction of most "Clever Levers". Previous record of 600 elements was detonated last year on America's Got Talent by the Kinetic King. This year he will attempt 750 elements.

Where: Family Museum, 2900 Learning Campus Drive, Bettendorf, Iowa

When: Saturday, March 24, 2012; detonation at 11:00 AM.

Last summer, NBC's America's Got Talent introduced the nation to the self-proclaimed "greatest purveyor of chain reaction gadgets in this and the 17 known universes," the Kinetic King. Viewers fell in love with the Minnesota charm and the impressive chain reactions made from tongue depressors, ping pong balls, plastic cups, and more. View his debut appearance on YouTube. The King will be packing his gadgets and heading to the Quad Cities to build several super-cool kinetic structures at the Family Museum in Bettendorf, Iowa. He will host daily detonations Tuesday, March 20 - Friday, March 23 at 4:00pm. He will conclude his visit with a final detonation on Saturday, March 24 at 11:00am.

The Kinetic King, aka Tim Fort, holds the Guinness World Record for the "Largest Stick Bomb" using 3,864 tongue depressors. It was detonated on June 20, 2010 at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Fort creates displays all over the country (some successful and some not). Many of these attempts he posts to his YouTube page (user name LunaTim). The Kinetic King placed 13^th overall in season 6 of America's Got Talent.

"Oh wow!" -Howie Mandel, Season 6 America's Got Talent

"Wow!" -Nick Cannon, Season 6 America's Got Talent

"Do it again!" -Nick Cannon, Season 6 America's Got Talent

"Weird, but interesting." -Sharon Osbourne, Season 6 America's Got Talent

"Whoo hoo!" -The Kinetic King, Season 6 America's Got Talent

Find out what the buzz is about March 20-24 at the Family Museum. "It's way beyond your grandma's domino tumbling!" -The Kinetic King

Winner will receive two round-trip air tickets to see their artwork displayed in US Capitol

Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today invited high school students from across Iowa's First Congressional District to submit original artwork for the annual Congressional Art Competition, "An Artistic Discovery."

The Congressional Art Competition, first held in 1982, is a nationwide high school arts competition sponsored by the US House of Representatives.  One winning piece of artwork from each House district will be selected to be displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the US Capitol Building in Washington for the next year.

"I encourage Iowa high school students to participate in this year's art competition," Braley said.  "There are many gifted young artists in eastern Iowa, and this is a great opportunity for their work to be displayed for thousands of people to see.  It's a great honor to feature the work of an outstanding young artist in the US Capitol."

Any high school student from the First Congressional District of Iowa is eligible to submit their artwork for consideration.  To enter, students must submit a digital image of their artwork via Braley's website.  The submissions will be compiled into an internet gallery for public voting.

The submission deadline is April 23^rd, 2012.  There is a limit of one submission per student.  Voting will close on May 1^st, 2012, and the winner will be announced.  He or she will receive two round-trip airline tickets to Washington, DC, to see their artwork displayed and attend a winners' reception.

For full details on the 2012 Art Competition, including information on how to enter, please visit Braley's website at http://braley.house.gov/art-competition.

List of Past Iowa First District Art Competition Winners:

2007    Jonathan Welser, Davenport

2008    Stephanie Tarnish, Davenport

2009    Mitch Doll, Davenport

2010    Emily Schroeder, Cedar Falls

2011    Krista Stork, Dubuque

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