The Putnam’s next featured exhibit is for the birds. It explores bird species through themes of extinction and the role of citizen science to preserve these important members of the animal kingdom. Birds and You is an original exhibit at the Putnam Museum & Science Center (1717 W. 12th St., Davenport), set to open Saturday, Feb. 6. The exhibit will be included with general admission and remain open through mid-2021 at the Putnam, a Smithsonian Affiliate museum. The exhibit was inspired by the extraordinary decline of the bird population in North America – a 29% decline, or a loss of... Read More

As it does for downtown Davenport and Bettendorf, the Quad Cities Chamber is looking to contract with the city of Rock Island to provide downtown place management services. On Monday, Jan. 25, at 6:45 p.m., the Rock Island City Council will discuss the issue at Council Chambers (3rd Floor), 1528 3rd Ave., Rock Island. You can also watch the meeting at www.youtube.com/user/RockIslandIL/live. “Revitalizing our downtown area is a key component to economic growth opportunities for the city, which is why we’re excited to bring this public/private partnership forward,” Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms... Read More

Saturday In The Arts offers an in-depth look at a local person, trend or event of interest in the Quad-Cities. It runs weekly on your free local media for arts and entertainment, QuadCities.com. Joe Maciejko has been shooting beautiful photos for far longer than Paige Magistrelli has been alive, but both passionate Bettendorf residents are among 23 area artists who will have their photography on display in February at the Bereskin Gallery and Art Academy, 2967 State St., Bettendorf. Five other Q-C photographers are part of a new ongoing campaign to promote the work and purpose of United Way Quad... Read More

The Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St., Davenport, plans to host two major music events at its big Fair Center in March. A St. Patrick’s Day Bash is scheduled for March 12-13, and the planned lineup is: Friday — Roadside Circus, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., Project X 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Saturday — Doug Brundies, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., North Of 40, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (plus Flying Leprechauns at 3), Electric Shock, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Casey Muessigmann, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Tomb, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Cheese Pizza, 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. “Mask up Quad Cities and let’s... Read More

Wednesday was a day not only for national celebration, with the inauguration, but for the Quad Cities Cultural Trust. The organization gathered its six funded partners in person for the first time since the pandemic started, to mark exceeding its 2021 fundraising goal; record-breaking allocations in 2020 for the partners, and a new Quad City Arts mural that bursts with color and purpose on the west side of the River Music Experience building at 2nd and Main streets, Davenport. Over the last 13 years, QCCT has provided annual unrestricted funds (over $11 million total) to the Figge Art Museum, Putnam... Read More

Wednesday was kind of a big day for Moline native Elisabeth Plunk and 58 of her musical colleagues in the “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. The 41-year-old principal flutist – and Master Sergeant – played for her fifth U.S. presidential inauguration. A 1997 Moline High alumna, Plunk got up at 3 a.m. Wednesday, and arrived with the prestigious band at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. by 6:30 a.m. “The security takes a long time,” she said Wednesday afternoon. The prestigious Marine Band – whose mission is to perform for the President of the United States and the... Read More

Though a story of redemption, new life, and surviving an infectious pandemic would have made an ideal return this spring, Quad City Music Guild for the second time on Tuesday announced it would again cancel a planned production of the beloved musical, “The Secret Garden.” While the board of directors informed the original 2020 cast and crew last month that it decided to scrap live performances at Prospect Park Auditorium, Moline, it waited to publicly announce until after its January board meeting Tuesday night. Due to ongoing Covid safety protocols and continuing limitations on audience size,... Read More

Due to ongoing Covid safety protocols and continuing limitations on audience size, the Quad City Music Guild board announced Tuesday it is again canceling the planned Spring 2021 show, “The Secret Garden,” which was originally postponed from last spring. “While these decisions remain difficult, we know how important it is to keep the safety of our participants, patrons, and community at the forefront of everything we do,” Music Guild said Tuesday night on Facebook. They have elected to replace The Secret Garden with a streamed performance, On With the Show: A QCMG Cabaret.... Read More

Reflecting international devastation of the airline industry, due to Covid-19, Moline’s Quad City International Airport saw a drop of more than half the passengers from 2019 to 2020. The airport served 306,260 total passengers last year, 58 percent fewer than 2019’s 721,999, the Metropolitan Airport Authority board of commissioners learned at its Tuesday meeting. Airport executive director Ben Leischner said some of the decline stemmed from decisions of United Airlines to suspend nonstop flights to Denver last spring, and Delta to drop nonstop service to Minneapolis and Detroit, as well as... Read More

In this dark winter of our discontent, Summer Olson treasures a feeling that’s all too elusive in the Covid era – total freedom. The bright, bubbly Bettendorf 26-year-old – with a personality as warm as her name – loves leaving the confines of the ground behind, by taking off in a two-seater Cessna. Even greater than being unchained by the shackles of Earth, Olson and her boyfriend, Kyle Kuehl, are true entrepreneurs, and have combined their talents by starting a new business – Quad Cities Aero, based at the Davenport Municipal Airport. She flew on her initial discovery flight (with an... Read More