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Wednesday, February 13, 2013
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Bigger, better downtown envisioned our future is about,” Roberts said. “This is a really important next step for us. There are a lot of opportunities.” Ryan Garcia, project coordinator with the SAA Design Group, headed the meeting. He said the city is moving in the right direction. “There has been a substantial public investment in the core [of downtown],” he said. “The theme of today’s meeting is ‘downtown is everybody’s business.’ Everybody has to stay invested.”
Community leaders discuss DeKalb goals, how NIU fits
By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com DeKALB – In the next 10 years, residents want downtown DeKalb to be bigger and better. About 50 community leaders gathered at Eduardo’s Mexican Restaurant on Tuesday to discuss potential improvements to downtown DeKalb, one of which was expanding the core to the east and especially west toward the Northern Illinois Uni-
versity campus. The event was sponsored by Re:New DeKalb, the city of DeKalb, and the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce. Integration of NIU into the downtown was a major focus, with participants suggesting building the physical downtown outward, establishing easier access from the campus to downtown or even having NIU hold classes, such
Obama: U.S. is stronger, GOP should back his plans
as art, in some of the vacant space downtown to introduce students to the area. Nathan Dettman, a DeKalb resident who has worked at downtown businesses such as The House Cafe and has friends who own businesses downtown, said targeting young people is key to the future. “We already have a heavy shopping area on Sycamore
Road,” Dettman said. “We need things that will draw students and young families to the area or the expansion would be a waste.” Bill Nicklas, an NIU administrator, said NIU is the economic engine of the area and has more potential to contribute to the downtown, even if that means expanding the boundaries past the existing small section between
Fourth and First streets. Frank Roberts, president of Re:New DeKalb, said when he talks with outside firms about DeKalb, the first word that comes to mind is NIU. Roberts said that although there are still economic challenges, community members are in control of the future of the downtown in the next five to 10 years. “We can drive a lot of what
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President calls for more federal spending to fix nation’s infrastructure At a glance President Barack Obama also announced new steps to reduce the U.S. military footprint abroad, with 34,000 American troops withdrawing from Afghanistan within a year. And he had a sharp rebuke for North Korea, which launched a nuclear test just hours before his remarks, saying, “Provocations of the sort we saw last night will only isolate them further.”
By JULIE PACE The Associated Press WASHINGTON – Uncompromising and politically emboldened, President Barack Obama urged a deeply divided Congress on Tuesday night to embrace his plans to use government money to create jobs and strengthen the nation’s middle class. He declared Republican ideas for reducing the deficit “even worse” than the unpalatable deals Washington had to stomach during his first term. In his first State of the Union address since winning re-election, Obama conceded economic revival is an “unfinished task,” but he claimed clear progress and said he was seeking to build on it as he embarks on four more years in office. “We have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and we can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is strong,” said Obama, speaking before a joint session of Congress and a television audience of millions. In specific proposals for his second term, an assertive Obama called for increased federal spending to fix the nation’s
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Photos by Kyle Bursaw – kbursaw@shawmedia.com
Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra director Linc Smelser leans toward the group while conducting a quieter portion of a song Feb. 4 in the NIU music building in DeKalb.
Local music groups thrive despite down economy By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
D
eKALB – Art programs are often among the first casualties in a struggling economy, but DeKalb County’s premier music organizations have continued to thrive. Despite many local orchestras struggling throughout the state and country, leaders of the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra and DeKalb Municipal Band say their groups are financially strong and still attracting musicians and audiences thanks to local resources most communities do not enjoy. Tamara Farrell, publicist and music librarian for the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra, said Northern Illinois University has been a blessing
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Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra trumpet player Kevin Davis performs with the group at practice Feb. 4 in the NIU music building. for the group, particularly during recent economic struggles. NIU provides rehearsal space, performance space at the Boutell Concert Hall, percussion instruments and world-class musicians in the music depart-
ment who often perform with or assist the group. Every discount the group receives helps make the most of its roughly $60,000 annual budget generated through ticket sales, grants, donations and
fundraising from Kishwaukee Symphony Associates, Farrell said. “We are so lucky to have the orchestra in our town because people from other areas have to leave and go into a more populated city to find the kind of talent we have right here in our town,” Farrell said. “We’re lucky to benefit from all we have here.” The university is not the orchestra’s only major supporter. Farrell said DeKalb and Sycamore high schools produce some of the best young musicians in the state, with both schools receiving top honors the past few years. Even the youngest musicians have ample opportunities to excel early, Farrell said, through the NIU Community School of the Arts.
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We are so lucky to have the orchestra in our town because people from other areas have to leave and go into a more populated city to find the kind of talent we have right here in our town.
President Barack Obama gestures as he gives his State of the Union address Tuesday during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington.
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– Tamara Farrell, publicist and music librarian for Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra
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