Charlotte Boyer, a 17-year-old junior at Rock Island High School, made her national television debut Monday night on the final rounds of blind auditions for Season 20 of NBC’s “The Voice” singing competition, which began Monday, March 1. She was featured singing a minute-long rendition of Amy Winehouse’s “Love Is a Losing Game,” and didn’t get the response she hoped for from celebrity judges John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and Nick Jonas. None turned their chair for her. “I am so sorry we don’t have better news for you today,” Legend told Charlotte on the show. “I... Read More

When Jack Cullen first visited Rock Island in 2008, to look at Augustana College, he fell in love with downtown. After he graduated from Augie in 2013, downtown is one reason he decided to settle in the Quad-Cities. Come April 1, the enthusiastic 30-year-old (who grew up in Madison, Wis.) will return to Rocktown as the first downtown Rock Island director for the Quad Cities Chamber. Under a new two-year-contract with the city, Cullen will provide place management services for the historic riverfront business district and create a new downtown organization. “It’s really gonna be filling... Read More

Due to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker relaxing Covid-19 restrictions for indoor theaters, Quad City Music Guild will return to in-person audiences for its musicals starting in July with “Mamma Mia!” In its online Covid update at www.qcmusicguild.com, the Moline-based nonprofit theater said that “Mamma Mia” and “Matilda” will return to the Prospect Park theater (1584 34th Ave.) as scheduled for July and August. The state of Illinois is allowing indoor theaters with over 200 seats to have 25-percent capacity audiences, meaning a maximum of 133 people per performance at Music Guild. Theaters... Read More

Augustana College in Rock Island plans a fall 2021 return to entirely in-person instruction for students and faculty. Augustana leaders have announced a return to the college’s normal, time-honored teaching and learning experience this fall. The announcement was made last week during one of the live virtual campus briefings hosted regularly throughout the pandemic. “Augustana College is very pleased to announce its intention to safely return to the in-person, deeply engaged learning environment that is core to its identity, and which our students and graduates value most,” college president... Read More

In partnership with the City of Rock Island, the Quad Cities Chamber has hired Jack Cullen for the new role of Downtown Rock Island Director to provide place management services for the historic riverfront business district. According to Kyle Carter, vice president of place management for the Chamber, focused placemaking efforts are vital to a community’s growth, and having vibrant and inclusive downtowns helps attract residents, amenities and businesses. “It’s great to see a diverse group of energized and engaged downtown Rock Island stakeholders with long-term placemaking goals in mind,”... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! Jessica Sheridan loves to share the light, capture the light, and be the light. The bubbly, passionate 34-year-old Bettendorf native has a strong theatrical background and she’s consistently used her devotion to storytelling – on stage and off – to make a career as a professional photographer and theater artist. Sheridan graduated in 2008 from St. Ambrose University... Read More

The morning after he gave a visionary talk on repurposing the I-80 bridge across the Mississippi River, Chad Pregracke was back at the Rust Belt Friday to push the process of gathering public support for the planned Bison Bridge. Jake Ford, director of government affairs with the Quad Cities Chamber, led a morning legislative forum on the project with Pregracke, president/founder of Living Lands & Waters; Matthew Hughes, consultant with MRH Solutions, Kevin Marchek, retired engineer from the Illinois Department of Transportation, and Illinois state Sen. Neil Anderson. Before the meeting, Quad... Read More

The Rust Belt in East Moline is beginning to knock off the rust, so to speak, in opening up to more live shows — and audiences are responding with enthusiasm. Tickets to see Corey Taylor in concert at East Moline’s Rust Belt in June were to go on sale this morning (March 19) to the general public. But the June 12 limited capacity show sold out within a day of opening in pre-sale Wednesday, and they’ve added a second date for the frontman of Grammy-winning juggernaut Slipknot and platinum rock force Stone Sour on Sunday, June 13. The artist management and venue are limiting both shows... Read More

BREAKING NEWS/EXPANDED INFORMATION: As reported first earlier on QuadCities.com, Mississippi River cleanup champion Chad Pregracke and a newly formed foundation unveiled conceptual plans tonight (March 18) for repurposing the I-80 bridge over the Mississippi River into a wildlife crossing and pedestrian parkway called Bison Bridge. Pregracke, president/founder of Living Lands & Waters, joined fellow members of the new Bison Bridge Foundation at East Moline’s Rust Belt to announce the grassroots effort and professional concept for the existing Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge. “I truly believe... Read More

EXCLUSIVE: River cleanup champion Chad Pregracke and a newly formed foundation unveiled conceptual plans tonight (March 18) for repurposing the Interstate 80 bridge over the Mississippi River into a wildlife crossing and pedestrian parkway called Bison Bridge. Pregracke, President & Founder of Living Lands & Waters, joined fellow members of the Bison Bridge Foundation in announcing the grassroots effort and professional concept for the existing Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge. Halfway between Chicago and Des Moines, it connects Illinois and Iowa in the Quad-Cities, the largest metropolitan... Read More