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Published: 25 September 2018

New Publishing Company Exclusively for Authors Living with Disabilities (OLEB Books) to Launch in October

   A new publishing company that will exclusively publish the work of people with disabilities has just been launched by Belo Cipriani. Belo is the national spokesperson for Guide Dogs for the Blind, and a professional writing tutor at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul.

   The school is sponsoring a public event titled "Disability Matters: An Evening of Stories By People with Disabilities” to help kick off the company, and officially release its first book: the anthology, Firsts: Coming of Age Stories by People with Disabilities. The event takes place the evening of Tues., Oct. 2, 2018,  between 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. at the Metropolitan State University Founders Hall Auditorium, located at 700 7th Street East, Saint Paul, MN 55106.  The free event, which is open to the public, will be part literary salon, part panel discussion, and serve as a venue to discuss disability issues.
   Several articles have been published previewing the launch. Here are links to the stories in The MN Sun Sailor, Gay Star Loves and About Magazine.
  

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Published: 06 September 2018

Minnesota Man's Efforts Put His Hometown in the National Spotlight Sept. 22

   The 57th anniversary of the day Congress passed the Peace Corps Act was Sept. 22, and thanks to an Eagan, Minn., man's efforts, the anniversary was marked with pomp and circumstance in his hometown of Plainview, Minn. The first Peace Corps marker to be placed in the United States was officially dedicated in Plainview thanks to the efforts of Ken Flies, who back in 1962 was one of the four original Peace Corps members from Plainview, a town that at the time had only 1,400 citizens. Plainview is about a half hour northeast of Rochester.

      The marker dedication was followed by a book signing event for Flies’ memoir, Into the Backlands, which was held at the American Legion Hall in Plainview. At the time of the marker’s conception, Flies was encouraged by the Minnesota Historical Society to write a memoir of  his experience in the backlands of Brazil in the early days of the Peace Corps. This event marks the public launch of the memoir.

    Preview stories about the event were published in the Eagan Sun This Week, Fleis' current hometown newspaper, The Rochester Post Bulletin, KROC-AM in Rochester and the Wabasha County Herald. There was also a story previewing the event on KIMT television, and The St. Paul Pionneer Press and KAAL ABC 6 in Rochester covered the event.