Areal Flooding (July 15) until mid-evening: N. Indiana and southeastern Berrien County, MI

posted at Weather dot-com

National Weather Service: until 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time Zone (Sunday July 15, 2018)

Urban and Small Stream Flood Advisory for... Northwestern Elkhart County in north central Indiana... Northeastern St. Joseph County in north central Indiana... Southwestern Cass County in southwestern Michigan... Southeastern Berrien County in southwestern Michigan... * Until 8:30 PM EDT. * At 5:24 PM EDT, Doppler radar indicated heavy rain that will cause urban and small stream flooding in the advisory area. 1 to 2 inches of rain have fallen. The local media and the public have reported ponding of water on roadways and parking lots. Rainfall rates of 1 inch per hour have been observed. *

Marilynne Robinson -- Lecture Notre Dame - September 19, 2018

from www.nd.edu/ communication:

theme of the 2018-19 Notre Dame Forum, “The Catholic Artistic Heritage: Bringing Forth Treasures New and Old,” and invited the Notre Dame community to engage in a year-long dialogue and series of events related to this theme.

“Catholicism, with its sacramental vision, has a long, rich heritage of inspiring and sponsoring artistic creations to express, explore and deepen religious faith,” said Father Jenkins. “This tradition continues today in artists of various Christian traditions who create works that invite audiences to explore and deepen faith. Moreover, there are artists who are not Catholic or even believers who find inspiration in, and develop themes inspired by, this Catholic and Christian tradition of art — themes such as love, sin, sacrifice, atonement, and redemption.”

To kick off this year’s ND Forum, Marilynne Robinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and champion of the integral relationship between faith and art, will deliver a keynote address at 7 p.m. Sept. 19, 2018 (Wednesday) in the Dahnke Ballroom of the Duncan Student Center. Campus of Notre Dame. This event will be free and open to the public.

A Conversation with Marilynne Robinson (Part of Forum 2018-19: The Catholic Artistic Heritage)

Time: Wed Sep 19, 2018, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Location: Dahnke Ballroom, Duncan Student Center (View on map.nd.edu)

To kick off this year’s ND Forum, Marilynne Robinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and champion of the integral relationship between faith and art, will be in dialogue with John Cardinal O’Hara, C.S.C., and Glynn Family Honors Associate Professor, Susannah Monta. This event is free and open to the public.

Robinson is the F. Wendell Miller Professor Emeritus of English and Creative Writing at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. A native of Sandpoint, Idaho, she graduated from Brown University in 1966 and earned her doctoral degree from the University of Washington in 1977. In 1980, her first novel, “Housekeeping,” received the PEN/Hemingway Award for best first novel and a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize.

Robinson’s most famous novel, “Gilead,” received the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction in 2004. Her novel “Home” won the 2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and “Lila,” Robinson’s third installment in the “Gilead” trilogy, won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2014. In 2012, Robinson received a National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama, who praised “her grace and intelligence in writing.” Notre Dame recognized her achievements in 2013 with an honorary doctorate.

Since its establishment in 2005, the Notre Dame Forum has featured major talks by leading authorities on issues of importance to the University, the nation and the larger world, including the challenges and opportunities of globalization, the role of presidential debates, immigration, sustainability and the place of faith in a pluralistic society.

Air Quality Warning Day (July 13, 2018) - until 10 p.m. Eastern tonight

from National Weather Service - Weather Channel - www.weather.com/

AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EDT THIS EVENING... An Air Quality Action Day has been declared by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for Berrien and Cass counties in Michigan...and is in effect until 10 PM EDT this evening. Ozone Levels are expected to be in the Orange or unhealthy for sensitive groups range. People and businesses are urged to avoid activities which lead to ozone formation. These activities include...refueling vehicles or topping off when refueling, using gasoline powered lawn equipment and using charcoal lighter fluid.

Iowa Flooding causes Bike Rally to re-route (July 24, 2018) - Register's Annual Great Bicycle Across Iowa

from Des Moines IA Register website:
https://ragbrai.com/2018/07/12/flooding-forces-ragbrai-to-re-route-around-ledges-state-park/

Recent high rainfall totals throughout Central and Northwest Iowa have led to flooding of the Des Moines River and high lake levels at Saylorville Reservoir. This flooding is having a significant impact on the lower areas of Ledges State Park, which is slated to host The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) on Tuesday, July 24^th.

The situation has forced park staff, local public safety officials, and RAGBRAI organizers to re-route RAGBRAI to avoid the park and these flooded areas. The lowest areas along the route are currently under as much as 20 feet of water and levels are not expected to subside by the time the ride comes through.

With approval from the Department of Transportation, the Iowa State Patrol and Boone County officials, riders will now leave Boone eastbound on US Highway 30 and ride approximately 1 mile, turning south on Quill Avenue (R27), where after travelling 3 miles will meet up with the original route. The new route will decrease the day’s distance by 3 miles and remove the much anticipated Ledges State Park hill.  We hope riders will return to the area to experience Ledges State Park and ride the hill after the water has subsided.

“It’s unfortunate cyclists will not get the opportunity to see the scenic beauty that Ledges has to offer”, says Park Manager Andy Bartlett. “Riders will still get a chance to experience the state park atmosphere though when they pass through Wildcat Den State Park later in the week. Ledges is definitely a gem within out state parks system and I would encourage those interested in exploring what it has to offer to plan a visit in the future.”

The printed maps for RAGBRAI will not have the route change on them since they are already printed.  The maps on the RAGBRAI website are now updated.

Short Stack - 60 cents - one day only - Happy Birthday I. House of Pancakes!

from Michigan Live! dot-com

IHOP may now be in the burger business, but it hasn't abandoned its pancakes and plans to offer a sweet deal for one day only.

The pancake giant is offering short stacks for 60 cents on July 17, 2018 from 7am to 7pm nationwide. It's to celebrate the restaurant chain's 60th birthday. The normal price for a short stack is $4.79. A full stack is $5.79.

"That's right, IHOP! We'd never turn our back on pancakes (except for that time we faked it to promote our new burgers," the chain said on Twitter to announce the deal.

Poem by Robert Browning - - "Abt Vogler" -- cited by Dorothy Sayers

pages 30 - 31 in "Letters to a Diminished Church" (Thomas Nelson, 2004):

But here is the finger of God, a flash of the will that can,

Existent behind all laws, that made them, and lo, they are!

And I know not if, save in this, such gift be allowed to man,

That out of three sounds he frame, not a fourth sound, but a star.

Consider it well: each tone of our scale in itself is nought;

It is everywhere in the world -- loud, soft, and all is said:

Give it to me to use! I mix it with two in my thought;

And there! Ye have heard and seen: consider and bow the head!

Underground Railroad Days (July 13 - 15, 2018) Cass County, Michigan: Documentary film "1847 Kentucky Raid"

The Underground Railroad Society of Cass County MI and the Village of Vandalia will partner for the 9th Annual Underground Railroad Days Saturday July 14 and Sunday July 15 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Festivities will be centered in the Village of Vandalia, as well as three nearby Underground Railroad stations.  UGRR Days Opening Night, Friday July 13, 7:00 pm will feature a documentary by Vandalia filmmaker Sally Jo Conner.  "The 1847 Kentucky Raid' will be shown at Ross Beatty High School in Cassopolis, MI, followed by a discussion with the audience led by Dr. Benjamin Wilson.
 
Saturday and Sunday will feature 40 minute guided tours of Kentucky Raid sites, UGRR related presentations and displays in the Vandalia Youth Center, a living history encampment of the Civil War 102nd US Colored Troops, and all day entertainment at the Ramptown Cabin in Milo Barnes Park.  Three historic sites related to the Underground Railroad will be open for tours.  The Victorian James E. Bonine House (M-60 and Penn Rd) home of Quaker abolitionists James E. and Sarah Bogue Bonine, and the Bonine Carriage House across the street where fugitive slaves (now called freedom seekers) were sheltered, will be open.  The Stephen and Hannah Bogue House just up the street (M-60 and Crooked Creek Road) will also be open to visitors.  The Bogue House was recently donated to URSCC, visitors can see the attic where many freedom seekers were hidden, and learn about the role the home played in the Kentucky Raid.
 
The Village of Vandalia will offer a soul food dinner ($10) and family events.  Parking and all events are free.