Briefly: News notes Monday

Trip the light fantastic to the Stardusters

Ballroom dance Wednesday at The Center, 714 S. Main St., in Council Bluffs.

Cost is $7. The Stardusters will perform from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Show up at The Center every Wednesday for ballroom dancing. Country and line dances are also held throughout the year.

President-elect of Rotary to speak

The Rotary International president-elect will speak at the 19th Annual Metro Area Rotary Luncheon Wednesday .

The 11:30 a.m. event will be at the Embassy Suites Omaha-La Vista Hotel and Conference Center. The Omaha West Rotary Club is hosting the annual event.

Ray Klinginsmith, an attorney, served as general counsel, professor of business administration and dean of administration for Truman State University for more than 20 years. He will serve as the 100th Rotary International president during his term in 2009-10

For more information, visit www.rotarydistrict5650.org.

UNO forum to focus on plight of refugees

The University of Nebraska at Omaha on Wednesday is hosting a community educational forum titled “History of Strife, Promise of Hope.”

The 7 p.m. forum will in the Thompson Alumni Center. It is free and open to the public.

Hike to Help Refugees has sent tents to Afghanistan, Darfur, Chad and Pakistan. Guest speakers Tor Kuet, Marc Breslaw and Shar Jen Ahmadzi will address the history of conflict in these countries including firsthand testimony of what it is to be a refugee.

Author, photographer to speak in Falls City

Hear from author and photographer Dean Jacobs on Thursday and Friday in Falls City, Neb.

Three events will be held at the Falls City Library and Arts Center, 15th and Stone Streets.

On Thursday, Jacobs will sign books from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will speak at 7 p.m. That will be followed by a reception and dinner in his honor.

On Friday, Jacobs will speak at a writer’s luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the library. The gallery talk and reception are free. The dinner is dutch treat. The writer’s luncheon is $7.

To make reservations, call 402-245-2913.

Documentary to be shown at McFoster’s

See and discuss a California Newsreel documentary called “Unnatural Causes, Part 4” at McFoster’s Natural Kind Cafe, 38th and Harney Streets, Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Two 30-minute films make the point that social forces affect our lives much more than people might like to believe. Scharol Bronson, community health planner for Douglas County, will lead the discussion.

For more information, visit www.progressiveomaha.com and click on The People’s Film Festival.

Compiled by Veronica Daehn Stickney