Thirteen months after Bettendorf native Emily Tinsman competed in Miss America, the 24-year-old is in the unprecedented position being Miss Iowa for a second year. Like everything else around the world, the Covid-19 pandemic upended Tinsman’s touring schedule in 2020, and since there was no Miss America competition held last month, the 2021 Miss Iowa is expected to be named this June at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, and a new Miss America at the end of the year – the 100th anniversary of what is no longer considered a beauty pageant. “I was on a roll,” Tinsman said recently of returning... Read More

Art and aviation fly high in a perfect connection at the new Quad City Arts Art at the Airport exhibit with “A Trip Back in Time” at the Quad City International Airport, Moline. The new exhibit – on display through March 1, 2021 – features Drew Morton’s digital drawings of airport runways, Peter Mauney’s time-lapse photographs of airplane arrivals and departures along with a selection of mid-century modern artifacts on loan from Fred and Ethel’s antiques store in Rock Island, the Putnam Museum and Science Center in Davenport, and private collections. Drew Morton of Iowa City explained... Read More

The day last August that Marian Lee was to be the first female pianist to play for Iowa Public Radio’s (IPR) Steinway Café series, was the day after the devastating derecho swept through the Midwest. The St. Ambrose University associate professor of piano rescheduled her virtual appearance to this Monday at noon. Lee’s pre-recorded 45-minute program (filmed at SAU’s Madsen Hall) will be available on IPR’s Facebook page and Ambrose music department’s Facebook. Lee will be watching and answering viewer questions in real time on the IPR site. “I was really surprised to find I was the... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a comprehensive weekly feature looking at a trend, personality, or major subject involving the Quad-Cities arts and entertainment scene. This past week was an historic one for the nation, as well as for Davenport-based River Music Experience. Five Americans died as a result of the massive Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, as pro-Trump insurrectionists disrupted the certification of the Electoral College presidential results. That same Wednesday, RME postponed the planned celebration of the online Music Lab’s 200th episode that afternoon. The half-hour weekday... Read More

Is there a more fitting song for our tense, troubled times than “Together”, by the contemporary Christian act For King & Country? Its lyrics include: “If you’re lookin’ for hope tonight, raise your hand If you feelin’ alone and don’t understand If you’re fightin’ in the fight of your life, then stand We’re gonna make it through this hand-in-hand “And if we fall, we will fall together.” Dance students with Sudlow Junior High School and the Creative Arts Academy (CAA) of the Quad Cities recently did an interpretive dance to the May 2020 song,... Read More

2020 was a difficult, unprecedented year for everyone, and the Midwest Writing Center (MWC) wants area residents to be part of a new anthology documenting it. With a submission deadline of Jan. 31, MWC Press is putting together an anthology of creative works responding to the many disasters that were endured last year. To be titled “These Interesting Times: Surviving 2020 in the QC,” the book will feature historic events like Covid-19, the derecho and other natural disasters, police protests, and the contentious presidential election, but they’re also interested in the smaller, untold stories... Read More

While the live-music industry has been decimated by coronavirus, including Davenport’s River Music Experience, it was the massive insurrection 843 miles away in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday that postponed the planned online 200th episode of RME’s Music Lab. Wednesday, RME posted on Facebook they were postponing the episode until Thursday due to the chaos in Washington, D.C., at the Capitol building. “This is a historic moment in our nation’s history. As we witness a violent assault on our capitol and attempted coup on our democracy, we believe every American should be following these... Read More

Hanukkah is celebrated over eight nights and Christmas is honored over 12 days, ending today (on Epiphany), Jan. 6. It’s a major miracle that the first Miracle at the Freight House, 421 W. River Drive, Davenport, is being extended four weeks beyond its original end date. Though the worldwide Miracle pop-up bar franchise is meant to celebrate the Christmas season, who doesn’t need a miracle year-round? That’s exactly what Davenport co-owner Lars Rehnberg heard from customers who filled the temporary, but fully festive bar – as much as was allowed under state Covid restrictions. “We limited... Read More

You can chill out in a winter wonderland in the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP) expanded 9th-annual Icestravaganza. The celebration will run from 5 p.m., Friday, Jan. 15, through 10 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 17, at the Freight House in downtown Davenport, 421 W. River Drive. The free event features beautiful ice carvings (more than 24,000 pounds’ worth) on display all three days at the Freight House and throughout Downtown Davenport. This year’s sculpture theme is “Chilling Winter at the Freight House” with Halloween-inspired ice sculptures, such as witches, haunted houses, jack-o-lanterns... Read More

Bethany Sanders is only 24 years old, but already has 21 years of dance experience  and is quickly gaining a reputation as a passionate teacher and choreographer. The Pleasant Valley High alum started taking tap and ballet lessons when she was 3 and hasn’t stopped moving since. “I absolutely loved it, and added theater to the game when I was 11,” Sanders said in a recent interview. After 5th grade, she started doing theater at Center for Living Arts in Rock Island, and her first musical was “Grease” in 2008, when she was 11, and she performed with Center for Living Arts through junior... Read More