U.S. Army Recruiting Company Waterloo will join hands with local business to bring a Health and Fitness Expo to high school students in both Mason City and Clear Lake Tuesday and Wednesday.

The event is sponsored by the Iowa Army Community Partnership Council, which identifies issues and seeks solutions to improve school drop-out rates, education, employment, health, fitness, well being, as well being a giving guest in communities.

The U.S. Army, who orchestrated the Health and Fitness EXPOs with local businesses and organizations, will moderate the assemblies throughout the school day. Clear Lake students will participate on Tuesday; Mason City will participate on Wednesday.

Since our youth are our future, the advisory partnership council members came up with the idea to put together health and fitness specialists that would capture the attention of high schools students and share the fact that your health is your future, said Capt. Forrest Moore, commander of U.S. Army Recruiting Company Waterloo.

Moore said obesity in the U.S. has become a national security issue. This national problem is putting a strain on our national healthcare costs and making it more difficult to find qualified applicants to serve in our military.

Jake Prazak, a Mason City native and holder of two world power-lifting records, will speak about proper-lifting techniques and overcoming obstacles. Prazak, owner of N.I.P. and Fitness in Mason City, will also perform a bench demonstration.

Jim Hallihan, executive director of the Iowa Sports Foundation and an Iowa Healthiest State advocate, will speak about sportsmanship. Amy Kirchhoff and Megan Conlon, registered dieticians with Hy-Vee, will speak about the importance of nutrition.

Nathan Pearce of Gamer Zone & Game Stop, who will have interactive video fitness games.

Other speakers include Janae Halm of Cerro Gordo Department of Public Health; Clear Lake and Mason City police departments and Sheriff Kevin Pals; Mason City Fire Chief Bob Platts; and Sonny Onoo, world karate champion.

For more information about the expo call Moore at his office in Waterloo at 319-236-3407.

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Health, fitness expo set at Lake, M.C. high schools

The new rules for retirement

This isn't your daddy's retirement. And it's not for the faint of heart.

Do-it-yourself 401(k)s, IRAs and multiple-choice Medicare supplement plans have taken the place of the company pension plan, retiree health benefits and a gold watch.

And working into retirement -- in the form of a second (or third) career or part-time job -- is becoming the norm.

"It's a changing landscape," says Sara Rix, a senior strategic policy adviser with AARP.

But this evolution hasn't happened overnight, she says. "Some of the changes we're seeing began 20 to 25 years ago."

One major adjustment: People are working longer. In 1985, there was fewer than 1 in 5 65- to 69-year-olds in the workforce, Rix says. Today, it's almost 1 in 3 -- a 74 percent increase.

Some would-be retirees need the money, says Rix. Others enjoy their jobs and want to keep at it. And, for some, it can be a combination of the two.

Whether you're 25 or 75, you should know these seven things about retirement in the new millennium.

It's like one of those high school math brain-twisters: The amount you save times your compounded earnings, minus any investment losses and factoring for inflation, equals what standard of living at some (movable) future date?

Read this article:
7 things you must know about the 'new retirement'

DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

With the deadline for new retirement plan disclosure regulations just around the corner, 89 percent of financial professionals1 say their plan sponsor clients would value more education about plan fees.

The Principal Financial Group has created a comprehensive online resource to help. Assessing Retirement Plan Value offers tips and tools for understanding and evaluating retirement plan fees, services and overall value.

Financial professionals can use the new resource to help clients comply with a key fiduciary obligation: evaluating whether plan fees are reasonable for the services received.

There is more to assessing retirement plan fees than comparing numbers. The better informed plan sponsors are about the services received for those fees, the better equipped they are to make an effective evaluation, said Greg Burrows, senior vice president of retirement and investor services at The Principal. Financial professionals can use our new online resource to help clients evaluate the overall value of the services the plan is receiving and then assess the reasonableness of the fees paid for those services.

The online resource offers:

The Principal also offers a new Fee Reasonableness Review Checklist, a sample template financial professionals can share with plan fiduciaries to help guide them through the evaluation process.

Weve been delivering the required enhanced disclosures to plan sponsors since last year, said Burrows. We wanted to get ahead of the deadlines so there would be no surprises for financial professionals and plan sponsor clients. This new online hub is one more step in ensuring that plan sponsors understand their plan costs and have what they need to fulfill their fiduciary obligations.

The Principal began delivering a redesigned and streamlined summary of fees to new clients in July and existing clients November 1, 2011. Other features from The Principal include:

The Principal also created an ERISA 404(a) Participant Disclosure Regulation Resource Center to assist plan sponsors in complying with the new participant disclosure regulation,

Excerpt from:
New Resource Helps Evaluate Retirement Plan Fees

Click here to take the Chicago Maroon Reader Survey Sports At the Penultimate, the Maroons focused on individual athletes getting their personal marks up in order to qualify for Nationals. Despite that, they still competed well as a team and as individuals.

On an overcast and rainy day, the Maroons had home field advantage for the last time this season as they competed in the Chicago Penultimate.

Photo: Courtesy of Dave Hilbert

Instead of the traditional dual or team meet competition, at the Penultimate the South Siders focused on individual athletes getting their personal marks up in order to qualify for Nationals. Despite that, the Maroons still competed well as a team and as individuals.

I think the mens team did great; I was really happy with the results. [We had] a lot of PRs and season bests, third-year Demetrios Brizzolara said.

With the help of so many personal and season bests, the Maroons put together eight top-three finishes across all events with more than three competitors and placed many more athletes within the top five.

Brizzolara topped the list in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.84 seconds. First-year Renat Zalov and fourth-year Brian Wille placed first and third respectively in the 800-meter run with times of 1:57.34 and 1:59.09. Third-year Gregor Siegmund placed second in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:07.99 while fourth-year Brian Schlick and second-year Samuel Butler took first and third in the 5,000-meter run with times of 15:12.42 and 15:33.39.In throwing events, third-year Conner Ryan posted a 42.94-meter throw in the javelin and fourth-year Daniel Heck threw 51.57m in the shot put.

In addition, other athletes were able to reach mark requirements for the North Central Last Chance that takes place this Thursday and Friday.

As the season comes to a close, extra opportunities to post high marks can only benefit the team.

It was good to get a [personal record] in the hammer yesterday. I met the standard for the Last Chance meet at North Central, so it allows me to compete in the event one more time, fourth-year thrower Nick Rockwell said.

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A Stagg-ering performance: South Siders close in on qualifying times at Chicago Penultimate

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire -05/14/12)- HP (HPQ) today extended its HP ProLiant Generation 8 (Gen8) portfolio with new servers that deliver increased performance, simplified maintenance and improved data center uptime.

HP also announced new financial, support and partner programs, including the HP ProActive Insight Architecture Alliance, which brings together some of the world's leading technology companies to eliminate manual maintenance tasks and significantly improve data center efficiency.

With HP ProLiant Gen8 and its expanded ecosystem of programs, HP is helping organizations transform technology silos to efficient, highly automated IT infrastructures that allow as many as 30 days a year to be reallocated from maintenance tasks to innovation that fuels growth.(1)

Delivering greater computing opportunities The expanded HP ProLiant Gen8 line-up includes new servers based on the latest AMD Opteron 6200 Series processors, Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 product family and Intel Xeon processor E5-4600 product family. Optional enhanced HP PCIe Gen2 IO Accelerators that reduce data access latency enable clients to achieve accelerated application performance and improved compute cycles.

To address the growing requirements that span from small and mid-size businesses up to enterprise organizations, HP is offering new HP ProLiant Gen8 rack-and-tower servers and a new blade server with the Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 product family:

HP also is adding AMD Opteron 6200 Series processor support to its HP ProLiant Gen8 line-up, with:

The HP ProLiant family of scale-up servers also will add support for the Intel Xeon E5-4600 processor in new, density-optimized form factors for both blade and rack servers. These will begin shipping in volume in the summer.

An ecosystem that maximizes built-in intelligence, delivers leading performanceThe HP ProActive Insight Architecture Alliance is focused on maximizing the built-in intelligence of HP ProLiant Gen8 servers. Alliance members are leaders in the memory, storage, input/output (I/O), power and infrastructure segments. They design technology that meets HP ProActive Insight Architecture standards to help analyze thousands of system parameters, and deliver high levels of automation, aiding in the reduction of data center downtime caused by manual errors.

Technology contributed by alliance members is intelligently integrated with HP ProLiant Gen8 to enable the communication of alerts, metrics and other critical system analytics to the HP Insight Online support portal. Clients that leverage HP's service feature to troubleshoot issues and optimize performance can decrease their problem-resolution time by as much as 40 percent, reducing potential downtime.(2)

Additionally, HP is working with leading global software companies, such as Microsoft Corp, Red Hat, SAP and VMware to set industry-leading performance benchmarks with HP ProLiant Gen8 servers. Details on these breakthrough results can be viewed at http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/benchmarks/index.html.

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HP Delivers Increased Performance, Automation With New HP ProLiant Gen8 Servers

CALABASAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

DTS, Inc. (Nasdaq:DTSI - News), a leader in high-definition audio, today announced that international personal technology company Lenovo has integrated high-performance DTS audio into its K91 smart TV. The collaboration enhances the consumer entertainment experience, offering consumers in China an immersive home theater audio experience.

The K91 smart TV is a state of the art consumer electronics device which integrates the most sophisticated technologies, remarked Xiong Wen, the general manager of Lenovos Digital Home Group. As such, it was a natural choice to include DTS audio technology to ensure the home entertainment experience is as lifelike and engaging as possible. DTS technology takes the K91 smart TV to the next level and elevates the overall entertainment experience with the addition of high-definition sound.

The K91 smart TV is the worlds first smart TV powered by Qualcomms 1.5GHz dual-core 8060 Snapdragon CPU and operated by the Android 4.0 system. It also incorporates DTS 2.0 + Digital Out technology, which means it can decode DTS-encoded content from a USB port for two-channel stereo playback directly from the smart TV, turning the devices three major functionsVideo On Demand (VOD), Internet applications and traditional TV programsinto a full-service home entertainment center that delivers a high-performance audio experience. DTS Digital Out is compatible with external devices, such as an AV receiver or home theater system, which sends out a multi-channel DTS stream for immersive surround sound playback. It also complements the K91 smart TVs cloud supportallowing consumers to access their favorite songs and videos, share files between connected devices, and control the TV via tablet and smartphone.

In our efforts to provide high quality audio experiences to consumers, DTS is partnering with Lenovo, said Brian Towne, executive vice president and chief operating officer of DTS, Inc. Whether the consumer is listening to web content, their digital library or broadcast programing, our goal is to provide unprecedented sound clarity to users worldwide, on any consumer electronics device.

Roy Law, DTS president of the Greater China Region, added, DTS technology is now present in Chinas top five TV brands and products from international industry leaders. This feature further ensures widespread access to a superior audio experience in consumers living rooms.

Visit the DTS website for more information. Connect with DTS on Facebook, or on Twitter (@DTS_Inc.).

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $US21 billion personal technology company serving customers in more than 160 countries, and the worlds second-largest PC vendor. Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovos business is built on product innovation, a highly-efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Groups acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile Internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see http://www.lenovo.com.

About DTS, Inc.

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DTS and Lenovo Bring High-Definition Audio Experience to Smart TVs

Shakera Hall wrapped up a great weekend at the 12th Austin Sealy Classic with a second personal best performance, this time in the sprint hurdles, last Sunday evening at the National Stadium.

Hall, a bronze medallist in the Under-20 Girls 100 metre hurdles at the CARIFTA Games, stepped down to the Under-18 height to win in 13.85 seconds, almost two clear seconds on the field.

It followed a personal best 11.97 in the 100 metres for the Elite Distance athlete and was also well under the 14.30 for the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Juniors in El Salvador.

Also meeting the CAC standard was Levi Cadogan of Quantum Leap, who did the sprint double, racing to victory in the mens 200 metres in a personal best 21.46 seconds.

lt looked like a blanket finish as they went up the straightaway, before Cadogan nosed ahead of Pacers Christopher Davis (21.59) while HPPs Mario Burke, who was second in the 100, was third in 21.83.

Sharon Larrier won the womens race in 24.09 from Hall (24.39).

Also qualifying for CAC was Rising Stars Jerrad Mason, who won the mens 800 metres in 1 minute 53.82 seconds.

Despite beating Freedom Striders Cindy Forde (2:24.40) by a clear 50 metres, Parkinsons Sonia Gaskin was 0.49 seconds off the CAC qualifying time, clocking 2:10.99.

The Rising Stars duo of Tianna Bowen and Rivaldo Leacock won the Under-15 600 metres and 800 metres, respectively, in 1:39.88 and 2:02.20.

Sprint Techs Taylor Hill was among four others who did the sprint double when she crossed the line in 25.44 seconds in the Under-17 Girls 200m. With Kyle Farrell, a non-starter, Rising Stars Tre Adamson was the winner of the boys race in 23.10.

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Hall a shoo-in for CAC Games

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

As the worlds population ages, Quantum International Corp. (OTCBB: QUAN.PK - News) is exploring new opportunities to deliver advanced personal assistance robots capable of helping the elderly and chronically ill lead more independent and productive lives.

Currently, robotics developers in the U.S. are testing innovative new home-care automatons designed to reduce stress on families and other caregivers charged with assisting seniors and others requiring day-to-day care. These robots include navigation software that has been demonstrated to determine static and dynamic obstacle avoidance skills, eliminating the need for joystick control or programmed pathways.

The robots can carry onboard third-party sensors for monitoring blood pressure, pulse, oxygen and more, allowing human nurses and other care providers to devote more time to more demanding tasks. Designed with safety in mind, these interactive machines have reportedly been received enthusiastically by both care givers and receivers.

Personal assistance robots may represent a major breakthrough in home care as the global population of seniors grows rapidly. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of elderly people in the world will exceed the number of children within a decade, placing greater demands on a shrinking number of young caregivers and taxing social insurance programs.

QUAN believes that personal care robots hold tremendous potential for reducing the stress on families and welfare institutions by automating many tasks currently provided by nurses and other caregivers. The company is currently investigating ways to capitalize on the demand for new robotics solutions to the pressing challenges faced by the healthcare industry in the 21st Century.

QUAN plans to announce its initial business targets in the red-hotroboticsspace soon. For more information on Quantum Internationals robotics initiatives, please visit http://www.quantuminternationalcorp.com/investors.html.

Quantum International Corp. is working to develop the next generation of robotics technology to compete in a booming global industry alongside Hansen Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: HNSN - News),MAKO Surgical Corp.(NASDAQ: MAKO - News), Covidien (NYSE: COV - News) and Accuray Incorporated (NASDAQ: ARAY - News).

About QUANInternationalCorp.

Quantum International Corp.(OTCBB:QUAN) is an emerging robotics innovation company working to commercialize the next generation of sophisticated, automated technology.The Companyis positioning itself to develop, deliver and market the most cutting-edge innovations in robotics in order to leverage the worldwide demand for the precision, speed, and cost-effectiveness these technologies offer.

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QUAN: Home Care Robots Could Transform Personal Assistance Market

Mark Seliger/NBC

"Smash's" Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty

[Warning: This story contains spoilers from the season finale of Smash.]

NBC's Smash wrapped its freshman run Monday by crowning a Marilyn Monroe once and for all as Bombshell was forced to make a final decision between Ivy, who played the part during the workshop, and newcomer Karen, the show's most recent understudy.

Ultimately, Derek's (Jack Davenport) visions of Karen (Katharine McPhee) as Marilyn gave her the edge over Ivy (Megan Hilty), despite his romantic connection with the latter. His decision, meanwhile, doesn't go over well with Tom (Christian Borle), Julia (Debra Messing), Eileen (Anjelica Huston) and Ellis (Jamie Cepero), who admits to getting rid of Rebecca Duvall (Uma Thurman) so the production could make its way to Broadway.

"Derek keeps seeing her as Marilyn and that's hard when a director sees something -- even if no one else sees it -- there's nothing else that can change that person's mind," McPhee tells The Hollywood Reporter.

STORY: 'Smash' Finale Preview: Who is Best Equipped to Be Marilyn?

Karen's big break, however, doesn't come easy as she's tasked with not only learning the rewrites and last-minute changes but also contending with frenemy Ivy, who isn't happy about being bypassed for the part and confesses to sleeping with Karen's boyfriend, Dev (Raza Jaffrey), after his botched marriage proposal.

"She's paying for a lot of things that I don't think that she necessarily deserves," McPhee says. "Her boyfriend acts in disgusting ways and Ivy tries to redeem herself by being honest with what's happened, but she's despicable herself as well."

After confronting Ivy and Dev, Karen ditches both and, following a pep talk from Derek -- who points out that in addition to having Marilyn's desire now shares heartbreak with the icon -- returns to center stage with a newfound confidence.

Excerpt from:
'Smash' Finale Postmortem: A Marilyn is Crowned Once and for Good

GREGORY Residents will see different, but not quite new, leadership as former councilman Freddy R. Garcia prepares to take over the mayors seat and former Mayor Tino Zambrano sits on the council.

With two years left on his council term, Garcia resigned to face Mayor Victor Lara on Saturdays ballot. The gamble paid off as he won with 44 percent of the vote to Laras 36 percent. Councilwoman Joyce Salinas also ran against Lara and received 20 percent of the vote.

Garcia, 37, is an information technology technician with H-E-B. He was born and raised in Gregory.

He and other citizens have been frustrated, Garcia said, because they were left in the dark on city activities. For example, he said, the city did not release information on finances, and it was unknown what was going in and what was going out.

I also had been big on code enforcement and abandoned lots and we just didnt seem to be going anywhere with that, Garcia said. I would bring up concerns and it seemed like nothing happened.

Former Gregory resident Juan Hernandez Jr., who served on the council several years ago, speculated Lara lacked experience and had personal problems that concerned voters, he said. Lara was arrested in December on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

Thats PR; thats representing the city, Hernandez said, adding that Gregory is entering a new era with the $1 billion Tianjin pipe mill plant on the way. There are new jobs coming in and the city needs direction for infrastructure and housing development.

Hernandez said its easy for candidates to talk big before coming into office. They want to change things and make them better.

But theres no budget for it, he said. When I was there, our hands were tied. You just have to help people as much as you can.

Garcia said he has talked with each member of the council and they have the same priorities: improving infrastructure, drainage and fire hydrants. He also plans to focus on code enforcement.

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Gregory councilman's bid for mayor a success