NEOGA - There's a running joke at Jacob Dow's house that there were more people in the crowd where he sang in the Chicago area last month than there are in the town where he grew up.

But what comes next is bigger, not just in the size of the crowd but the scale of opportunity that goes along with his performance.

Admitting that he's "overwhelmed," the Neoga High School senior leaves today for Vancouver, British Columbia, where three days later he'll compete against nine other people from across the United States. Dow and the others qualified for a talent search competition conducted by that Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter David Foster.

At stake are $7,000 in prize money and going on a tour with Foster, who's been the producer for singers such as Celine Dion and Whitney Houston and wrote the title song to the 1985 movie "St. Elmo's Fire."

For more, see Friday's Herald & Review.