Still looking for that perfect Valentine's gift for your someone special? Look no further than the Adler Theatre!  Gift certificates make a great Valentine's Day gift for Date Night!   Get your gift certificates or tickets now to spend a wonderful evening full of music, theatre and history at the Adler!

Award aimed at recognizing Illinoisans making a difference in rural communities

CHICAGO - Jan. 22, 2014. Lt. Governor Sheila Simon, chair of the Governor's Rural Affairs Council, is seeking nominations for the 2014 Rural Illinois Champion award. The award is a way to recognize and honor Illinois residents working to make a difference in rural Illinois.

"This award is a great opportunity to recognize the hard work of someone fighting to improve the quality of life in our rural communities," said Simon. "It is important that we acknowledge the unsung heroes in our rural communities. Whether you are trying to improve education opportunities, encouraging economic development or fighting to revitalize your community, I want to hear from you."

Any Illinois resident who is working to bring about change in rural Illinois communities can be considered for the award. Themes of service include : economic development and community revitalization, agriculture, education and empowerment, sustainability, public service, community and/or public health. Simon is asking for nominations to be submitted by Feb. 14 so her office can review and select a winner and announce it at the 25th Annual Rural Community and Economic Development Conference in Peoria on March 5.

A copy of the nomination form is available here and can be emailed to Maggie.Carson@Illinois.gov or mailed to the Lt. Governor's office in Room 414 of the Stratton Building, Springfield, IL 62706 care of Maggie Carson.  

Past award winners include Norm Walzer, founder of Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University, and Jerry Townsend, who worked nearly 40 years in rural development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Established by Governor's executive order, the Governor's Rural Affairs Council (GRAC) is tasked with improving delivery of state services to rural Illinois and expanding opportunities for rural residents to enhance their quality of life. As GRAC chair, Simon has recently advocated for equitable education funding and local food access.

City of Davenport, Iowa

Saturday, January 18, 2014, 8:30 a.m.

City Council Chambers, City Hall, 226 West 4th Street

I. Goal Setting and General Fund Operating Budget Introduction

Fairfield, Iowa based writer and performer Andrew Edlin will perform his play Churchill at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, February 1 at 7:30pm and Sunday, February 2 at 2pm.

Edlin stars as the charismatic statesman, orator, and wit Sir Winston Churchill in a powerful performance seguing from iconic speeches to private revelations, from witty stories to brilliant commentary.

It is April 1955.  Churchill, aged 80, agonizes in his wartime bunker below London whether to finally resign as Prime Minister as the Cold War gathers pace.  He is old and tired, but it becomes clear that personal issues will affect his ability to let go.  As he tries to decide, he rolls back the years and reviews his uniquely eventful career, filled with history-changing events and people, glorious speeches, pity comments, funny stories, his checkered relationship with his family, and all the wit and wisdom that has made Churchill an imperishable legend.

"I have performed my play for audiences who are experts in Churchill, far more than I am, some of whom knew him personally, and for school students who had never heard of him!  They all enjoy the show.  This is not a history lesson.  It is an entertainment - a celebration of the wonderful, full life of a great man.  Churchill loved to have friends round a dinner table and tell stories and entertain.  This play continues that tradition," says Edlin.

Tickets are $20, $15 for youth under 18 and are available online at CoralvilleArts.org, by phone at 319.248.9370, and in person at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts box office at 1301 - 5th Street and the Coralville Recreation Center at 1506 - 8th Street.

A native of Brighton, Sussex in the U.K., Edlin won a scholarship in History to Oxford University, graduating in Psychology and Philosophy.  He's been acting for 50 years, including producing, directing, and playing the title role in King Lear, appearing as Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, and performing Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. Following four years of research, writing, and workshopping, he first performed Churchill in 1997.  He has continued to revise the script and production ever since, working with directors John Rainey and Al Constantineau. He has even performed Churchill at Westminster College, site of the famous "Iron Curtain" speech.  His "day job" is at CENTURY 21 Hayes-Heartland Real Estate.

Owned and operated by the City of Coralville, the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts is dedicated to enriching the community and contributing to the vitality of Coralville by offering an accessible, affordable venue for a variety of performances, presentations, and public and private events.  The 472 seat theater opened August 26, 2011 and has hosted performances from City Circle Acting Company, Orchestra Iowa, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Dan Knight, Lola Astanova, Lorie Line, Judy Carmichael, Jim McDonough, Nolte Academy of Dance, and many others.  Coralville schools are also able to use the Center free of charge up to three times per year; 16 school events took place at the Center in the 2012-2013 school year. The Center was named 2012 Member of the Year by the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.