Tagged: Emphasis

Keokuk, IA – Jason Parrott's guest is Keokuk Area Hospital CEO Al Zastrow.

They talk about the financial difficulties facing the hospital.

Keokuk Area Hospital is one of seven hospitals in Iowa to be considered a "tweener" facility.

Zastrow says that means the hospital does not receive full reimbursements for the services it provides.

He says a key factor in that is that 75% of the hospital's clients participate in Medicare or Medicaid or are considered indigent.

Fort Madison, IA – Jason Parrott's guest is Robin Delaney of Fort Madison.

She is the President of the new non-profit organization, Lights, Camera, Action, which is working to bring family-friendly movies to the city.

Fort Madison has been without a commercial movie theater for years.

Delaney says movies are a great way for families to spend time together, but she says the cost is keeping people away from theaters.

She says LCA will offer free movies with $1 concessions.

Macomb, IL – Rich Egger's guest is Charles Allen of Nauvoo. He is author of the new book Journey of Promise: West From Sempringham. The book explores the idea that America was founded for a divine purpose.

Allen said the ancient village of Sempringham, England is where the Massachusetts Bay Company was organized in 1627. Three years later the company arrived in North America and became the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Macomb, IL – Rich Egger's guest is Kevin Timlin, Assistant Director of the Center for International Studies at Western Illinois University. They talk about International Education Week.

IEW is a national event promoted by the US Department of State and the US Department of Education. WIU's celebration of it will last for two weeks, beginning Monday, November 7.

Quincy, IL – Jason Parrott's guest is Damon Porter. He is the director of MOBroadbandNow, a public/private partnership to expand broadband services in Missouri.

Governor Jay Nixon established MOBroadbandNow in 2009.

The organization's goal is to increase high speed internet accessibility to 95%, statewide, by the end of 2014.

The state currently sits at about 79%.

Porter says those numbers are deceiving, though, as roughly 33% of residents who can access broadband internet choose not to.

Macomb, IL – Rich Egger's guests are Earl Godt, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of McDonough County, and Bill Jacobs, Executive Director of the Housing Authority of McDonough County.

They talk about local housing issues and the Housing America campaign that is underway across the nation this month.

Jacobs said the campaign is designed to raise awareness about housing concerns, especially what he calls "overhousing."

Galesburg, IL – Rich Egger's guest is Owen Muelder, Director of the Galesburg Colony Underground Railroad Freedom Center at Knox College. They talk about Muelder's new book, Theodore Dwight Weld and the American Anti-Slavery Society.

Muelder said Weld was a significant figure in the abolitionist movement during the 1830s. He recruited a group of men who became known as "The 70" to deliver anti-slavery speeches throughout the North.

Keokuk, IA – Jason Parrott's guest is Sue Prochazka, who is the director of the Tri-State Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Abuse.

They talk about Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the Violence Against Women Act.

Prochazka says 1 in 4 women will be affected by domestic violence during their lifetimes.

Organizations like the Coalition use the month of October to highlight available services and to stress prevention and awareness.

Congress also has an opportunity to help these organizations.

Macomb, IL – Rich Egger's guest is Timothy Collins, Assistant Director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs. They talk about this fall's Sustainability Brownbaggers series at Western Illinois University.

The hour-long presentations begin at 12:30pm on Tuesdays on the third floor of WIU's Malpass Library. The theme this fall is "Climate Change and Global Warming."

Macomb, IL – Rich Egger's guests are Deb Miretzky and Ron Pettigrew of Western Illinois University. They talk about the upcoming series "Difficult Conversations."

The series will provide a chance for the campus community to discuss issues of diversity and difference. All of the informal discussions are free and open to the public.

Each of the conversations will take place in the Lamoine Room of the WIU University Union. They begin at 3:30pm.