LAWRENCE, KS (03/03/2014)(readMedia)-- Approximately 4,620 undergraduate students at the University of Kansas earned honor roll distinction for the fall 2013 semester.

The students, from KU's Lawrence campus and the schools of health professions and nursing in Kansas City, Kan., represent 93 of 105 Kansas counties, 45 other states and 40 other countries.

Area honorees are as follows:

Joseph Boland, of Rock Island. He is the son of Mary Dewitte, Rock Island, Ill. Boland was named to the honor roll for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Rebecca Townsend, of Muscatine. She is the daughter of Betsy and James Townsend, Muscatine, Iowa. Townsend was named to the honor roll for the School of Music.

Rachel Rauch, of Leclaire. She is the daughter of Rebecca Rauch, Leclaire, Iowas. Rauch was named to the honor roll for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Caitlin Doornbos, of Dewitt. She is the daughter of William Doornbos, Dewitt, Iowa, and Shannon Stuckert, Hutchinson. Doornbos was named to the honor roll for the School of Journalism.

The honor roll comprises undergraduates who meet requirements in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and in the schools of allied health; architecture, design and planning; business; education; engineering; journalism; music; nursing; pharmacy; and social welfare.

Honor roll criteria vary among the university's academic units. Some schools honor the top 10 percent of students enrolled, some establish a minimum grade-point average and others raise the minimum GPA for each year students are in school. Students must complete a minimum number of credit hours to be considered for the honor roll.

PEORIA, Ill. (March 3, 2014) – During Red Cross Month, the American Red Cross invites everyone to make a difference in their communities by giving blood, volunteering, taking a class or making a financial donation. Those supporters enable the Red Cross to continue to help people in need like the Roux family.

Jenny Roux's son, Blake, was born with a rare and serious chromosome disorder that causes multiple abnormalities. Jenny and Blake both received two pints of blood the day he was born. For Blake, that marked the first of many transfusions. Jenny said she knew her time with him would be short, but she credits multiple blood transfusions with helping extend his life.

"Without the blood transfusions, I don't know that he would have even had the 10 months we had with him," she said.

At that point Jenny again turned to the Red Cross, and the organization's Service to the Armed Forces program provided emergency communications about Blake's death to her husband, who was deployed to Iraq.

Thanks to everyday heroes, the Red Cross was there for the Roux family in their time of need.

The Red Cross invites the public to discover their inner hero this month. To make an appointment to donate blood or for more information about other ways to get involved with the Red Cross, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Upcoming blood donation opportunities:

Clinton County

March 23 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Assumption Catholic Church, 147 Broadway St. in Charlotte, Iowa

March 26 from 3:30-7 p.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1519 S. Washington Blvd. in Camanche, Iowa

Henry County

March 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kewanee High School, 1211 E. Third St. in Kewanee, Ill.

March 25 from 1-6 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 214 N. W. Second Ave in Galva, Ill.

March 28 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Woodhull Alwood High School Student Council, 301 E. Fifth Ave. in Woodhull, Ill.

Mercer County

March 18 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Mercer County High School, 1500 College Ave. in Aledo, Ill.

March 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at VFW Hall, 106 SW Third Ave. in Aledo, Ill.

March 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Aledo Genesis Medical Center, 409 North West Ninth Ave. in Aledo, Ill.

Whiteside County

March 19 from 2-6 p.m. at American Red Cross, 112 W. Second St. in Rock Falls, Ill.

March 19 from 3-7 p.m. at Abiding Word Church, 806 E. Lynn Blvd. in Sterling, Ill.

March 20 from 12-6 p.m. at United Methodist Church, 200 W. Lincolnway in Morrison, Ill.

March 25 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Robert Fulton Community Center, 912 Fourth St. in Fulton, Ill.

March 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at American Red Cross, 112 W. Second St. in Rock Falls, Ill.

March 29 from 5:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. at CGH Medical Center, 100 E. LeFevre Road in Sterling, Ill.

March 29 from 7-10:30 a.m. at American Red Cross, 112 W. Second St. in Rock Falls, Ill.

How to donate blood

Simply call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver's license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. The Red Cross is supported in part through generous financial donations from the United Way. For more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

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Rock Island, IL– The Quad City Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO proudly and unanimously endorses the March 18th referendum concerning the 1% sales tax increase for Rock Island County's schools. Voters will have a very clear choice: we either want what is best for our students, our kids, our future, or we don't. We should all want safer schools, more energy efficient schools, more modernized schools that keep our kids safe, save tax payer dollars on energy bills, and attract the best and brightest from in state and out of state. We can have all of this by voting Yes! on March 18th.

Organized labor has always had a strong interest in promoting and fighting for equal education opportunities for all and we are proud to join with our community allies in seeing this referendum pass.

Moline, United Township, East Moline and Rock Island school districts have agreed to eliminate a building fund levy from property taxes if the sales tax goes through. So this plan offers a clear measure of tax relief, not just a modest tax increase.

For every dollar you spend in Rock Island County, one penny will be put into a fund that can only be used for capital improvements at our schools. That is a financial sacrifice we can and must make for our kids, our future.  A better future has always required an investment from the current generation, and this is our opportunity to do the right thing for our kids.

We strongly encourage all workers, active and retired, in Rock Island County to Vote Yes on March 18^th for Rock Island County Schools!

About the Quad City Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO:  Established in 1959, the QCFL is a 501(c)(5) non-profit labor organization that is made up of 70 different locally affiliated unions, collectively representing nearly 30,000 hard-working men and women throughout the Quad Cities region. We fight for good jobs, good benefits, secure retirements, and strong communities for all workers.

Q&A on the President's budget with U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley                      

Q:        Will the President's budget be "dead on arrival" when it reaches the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday?

A:        It appears lawmakers from the President's own political party are set to mark "Do Not Resuscitate" on the proposal before it even crosses the legislative threshold.  In fact, the leadership in the U.S. Senate has abandoned even the pretense of producing a budget as required by law.  The head of the Senate Budget Committee announced last Friday that the panel on which I serve would not write a 2015 fiscal blueprint to avoid "relitigating" details of the two-year budget deal approved in December.  Seems like a cavalier attitude when we're talking about $1 trillion in discretionary funding that will operate government agencies, including those responsible for administering military, transportation and education dollars.  It's a slap in the face to taxpayers who foot the bill and who would face fines, penalties, liens and fees if they opted not to comply with federal tax laws.  Previews of the White House budget proposal suggest the President himself has abandoned any pretense of getting serious about putting America's fiscal house in order. And when the President pitches adding more projects and programs to the federal ledger, it may tempt lawmakers to take a bite at the shiny red apple.  But the reality is these programs would not only grow the size and scope of the federal government, they also would extend Uncle Sam's reach even deeper into taxpayers' pocketbooks.  Apples grow on trees; money doesn't.  It's reckless and irresponsible to continue lifting the lid on spending again, and again and again.  The President also has proposed to fix stagnant wages and joblessness in America by raising the minimum wage and extending unemployment benefits. If only that would cure what ails the sluggish economy.  When the president talks about narrowing the wage gap and addressing income inequality, he's targeting the architecture of America's extraordinary system of free enterprise, productivity, innovation and economic mobility.  That's why it's so important to vet the tax and spending details of the federal budget.  What the President is selling as economic elixirs may bear negative side effects that the taxpaying public won't want to swallow.  Restoring fiscal discipline and demanding accountability for the way tax dollars are spent are a sorely needed reality check in Washington.  Economic growth is what drives the creation of good-paying jobs that will lift standards of living for people working hard to make ends meet.

Q:        What happens next?

A:        What the President proposes, the Congress disposes.  Despite the President's proclamation earlier this year to sidestep Congress, the legislative branch holds the purse strings and bears constitutional responsibility to write the laws of the land.  No doubt, the minority party in the U.S. Senate has an uphill climb.  That's because the majority party has shown time and again it is marching in lockstep with the White House, including the damaging decision to trample on the Senate's longstanding filibuster rules that protect the views of dissent in the greatest deliberative body in the world.  Enough is enough.   I'm not about to join the march to madness that allows America to tax, spend and borrow on the backs of generations yet to come.  With eight months to go before the midterm congressional elections, the White House seems more focused on scoring political points by pushing expansive health care and education entitlements and provoking divisive class and cultural issues rather than swallowing a dose of fiscal responsibility and tackling tax, immigration and entitlement reform to help grow the U.S. economy.  As millions of hardworking taxpayers file their tax returns in the six weeks remaining until April 15, I will continue working to hold the line on unbridled federal spending and regulatory overreach.  It's time to change the mindset that believes Washington knows best.