A little ol’ thing like a global pandemic didn’t stop companies from growing and building in the Quad-Cities and Clinton areas in 2020. Recent investment in the six counties along the Mississippi River, including the Q-C region, has been recognized by Site Selection Magazine as part of its 2020 Governor’s Cup Awards. The economic development publication annually ranks metropolitan and micropolitan areas by number of projects per capita and total number of projects. The Q-C and Clinton areas earned high rankings for project growth in the Mississippi River Corridor, awarded to the top metro... Read More

After getting canceled last summer due to Covid, the popular Bix 7 weekend festivities and Alternating Currents festival are returning to downtown Davenport this summer. Bix 7 race related activities draw some of the largest crowds to the Quad-Cities annually, and now the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP) is introducing a new event model to capture its thousands of attendees to immerse them in the downtown experience July 23-24, the Quad Cities Chamber announced Thursday. The traditional Street Fest model — featuring traveling vendors — is being replaced with a local focus. New... Read More

Playcrafters Barn Theatre is still searching for its happy ending. The 107-year-old former dairy barn (4950 35th Ave., Moline), used as a theater since 1960, has been shuttered for a year now due to Covid-19. Plans for a 2021 reopening were thrown out of whack with a Valentine’s Day disaster, as pipes froze and a valve ruptured during February’s spell of bitterly cold temperatures, flooding the entire first floor of the building and causing about $35,000 in property damage. “My wife and I were going out to late lunch, and I got a text from a board member,” Playcrafters board president Bruce... Read More

Like most of her work this past year, Lindsay Hocker has been mainly at home as marketing specialist for Black Hawk College, Moline. This week, she’s attending the virtual national conference for the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations (NCMPR), and the 33-year- old Milan native was honored as the group’s 2021 National Rising Star. The only organization of its kind that exclusively represents marketing and public relations professionals at community and technical colleges, NCMPR has more than 1,700 members from nearly 650 colleges across the U.S. and Canada. “As a newspaper... Read More

Things are looking up for KONE Corporation’s Quad-Cities manufacturing plant, as the firm has landed a huge contract to provide 130 new energy-efficient escalators across the Washington, D.C. region. KONE, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry with operations in Coal Valley, on U.S. 6, recently won a $179-million, seven-year contract from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to modernize and replace escalators in 32 Metrorail stations. The company’s escalator plant in Coal Valley will produce equipment for the project, which is expected to be completed... Read More

Since national hero Chad Pregracke founded East Moline-based Living Lands & Waters in 1998, the nonprofit has worked on removing trash from 24 rivers in 21 states. With the help of more than 115,000 volunteers, it’s removed 10.5 million pounds of debris from U.S. waterways. On Thursday, March 18, Pregracke will announce formation of a major new effort in the Quad-Cities, Bison Bridge Foundation, and the 90-minute event will be livestreamed from The Rust Belt in East Moline. Starting at 6:30 p.m. March 18, tune in live at https://bisonbridge.org/live-stream, where he and his team will discuss... Read More

Augustana College, Rock Island, has received a $298,827 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and has hired a new program director for sexual violence prevention and education — Zachary Draves. In this role, Draves will work with others from across campus to coordinate and enhance Augustana’s response to sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.  The grant period covers three years. “The DOJ requires that campuses who are funded with a grant develop and implement targeted and campus-wide initiatives for students, faculty, staff and administration to address... Read More

After more than a year dealing with Covid shutdowns, some much needed laughter may be the best medicine after all. Thirteen months after its last mainstage production, Moline’s Spotlight Theatre is opening the madcap comedy, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised]” on Friday, March 19, at 7 p.m. Performances – featuring Spotlight co-owner Brent Tubbs with Jeremy Mahr and Amelia Fischer – will be this weekend and next, with seating limited to 50 audience members at most in the 500-plus seat theater. The Spotlight, in the former Scottish Rite Cathedral at 1800 7th... Read More

After much progress under its first director, Davenport’s Hilltop Campus Village (HCV) will be in the market for a new boss, as executive director Scott Tunnicliff recently told the board of directors he will retire as of June 30. “A great deal has been accomplished since the HCV’s founding, thanks to our volunteers, our working partnerships and support from Main Street Iowa,” said Tunnicliff, who’s headed the nonprofit for 11-plus years. “There are some important projects going forward right now, but it doesn’t make sense to wait for a lull in the action to hand the reins to someone... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: St. Ambrose University music professor Bill Campbell awoke to some great news Monday morning. The 2020 documentary for which he wrote music, “Hunger Ward,” is among five 93rd-annual Academy Award nominees for Best Documentary, Short Subject. Campbell was among the film crew that attended the 91st-annual Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles, in February 2019, when the second film in the refugee trilogy, “Lifeboat” (2018), was nominated in the same category. “The movies that are nominated for the Documentary Short are really — all of them – absolutely amazing films,”... Read More