Macomb, IL – This year's Al Sears Jazz Festival in Macomb was dedicated to the memory of Dale Hopper. The former director of Western Illinois University's jazz program died Friday night at the age of 64. Hopper worked at Western for more than two decades. Under his direction, the Jazz Studio Orchestra gained an international following. Hopper also directed the marching band and wrote several books about band techniques. In addition, Hopper co-hosted "Big Band Jazz" on Tri States Public Radio for the past couple years.

Carthage, IL – Eight beds from Carthage Memorial Hospital are headed to a Shreveport hospital to help with victims of Hurricane Katrina. Administrator Ada Bair says the hospital recently installed new beds. It was seeking a use for the old ones when it received a call from the Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, which coordinates medical donations. Bair says the beds are likely to be used in some of the temporary treatment facilities being set up in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Fort Madison, IA – The workweek for some Lee County employees will be returning to normal. During this week's meeting, the County Board of Supervisors officially overturned its decision to reduce the workweek for the county's union workers. The move is part of an agreement between the county and the unions representing its workers to settle several prohibitive practice complaints that had been filed. Employees who worked the reduced hours for almost two months will also be compensated.

West Burlington, IA – Southeastern Community College has received more than two dozen applications for the vacant position of president. Board of Trustees Secretary Sherry Zeller says a committee consisting of several Iowa community college presidents will review the 26 applications. The panel will narrow the field to 8. Zeller says SCC's search committee will then review the applicants. It will recommend up to five of the remaining candidates to the Board of Trustees for individual interviews. SCC hopes to have a new president in place by the beginning of the calender year.

Jacksonville, IL – A survivor of the Rwanda genocide is urging U.S. action to stop the killings in Sudan. Paul Rusesabagina told a crowd at Illinois College how he relied on his business accumen to bribe militiamen and called in favors when he was hiding more than 1,000 people in his luxury hotel. Rusesbagina managed the hotel where he hid refugees from the mass killins going on. He urged the audience to write to the President urging action to stop the killings in Sudan. He says he does not want to see a movie called "Hotel Darfur."

September 15, 2005 – Joanne Murray and Cindy Cavett of the McDonough County YMCA join Rich Egger to talk about the Heart Smart for Women program.

Rushville, IL – There is a new proposal for the Rushville prison, which remains empty two years after being built. Hundreds of people attended a meeting Thursday night to listen to the state's plan, which calls for the facility to house a civil commitment program. The program is for sexually violent people who've served their prison sentence but are deemed too dangerous to be released. The facility could employ around 250 people. Most would be guards. Supporters say it's important to open the facility instead of allowing it to remain vacant.

Macomb, IL – McDonough County faces a Sept. 30 deadline for ordering handicapped-accessible voting machines. However, County Clerk Florine Miller is hoping for an extension. Miller says the Illinois State Board of Elections has approved only two voting machines for the March primary. Two more are being tested. Miller says her preference would be an attachment to the county's Accuvote system, but she's not sure it will be certified by the state.

Keokuk, IA – Southeastern Community College is trying to do more to stop academic dishonesty. The SCC Board of Trustees has approved the establishment of an academic integrity policy for the entire institution. The Executive Dean of Keokuk Campus, Tim Ahern, says that in the past, professors had to come up with their own policies to deal with cheating or plagerism. He says the faculty at SCC requested the policy to deal with the ease of cheating through the internet. The measure focuses on specific classifications of academic dishonesty: fraud, cheating, plagerism, and forgery.

Keokuk, IA – Business did not go on as usual for Keokuk's city council last night. The city council was forced to cancel its meeting because it did not have enough members in attendance. Since there are 9 seats on the council, 5 members must be present to hold an official meeting. Last night, just 4 showed up. Mayor Dave Gudgel says that while the cancellation will be forgotten in a couple of months, it is agrevating. The council has come close to cancelling meetings in recent months due to a lack of attendance. One contributing factor is a pair of vacant seats.