A new regional video project is shining the spotlight on our Downtown Quad Cities and all they have to offer residents and visitors alike. The fast-paced short video promotes the vibrancy, fun and uniqueness of all our downtowns with scenes from their signature events and festivals, venues and their businesses. View the video here: https://youtu.be/ojBA-4sDgcg  The video features seven cities, which were coordinated by Downtown Bettendorf Organization, Downtown Davenport Partnership, East Moline Main Street, City of LeClaire, Moline Centre, Development Association of Rock Island, Silvis Main Street.... Read More

Record Store Day 2021 will be spread out over two days this year, June 12th and July 17th at Ragged Records in downtown Rock Island. We won’t be ready to open at our new Davenport location until July so for the first day we will be combining both orders to bring twice the amount of titles in one location for our Record Store Day Courtyard Sale. Saturday June 12th starting at 9:00am and going until 5:00pm in the Laborspace courtyard outside of our Rock Island location. We’ll have as many copies of as many titles we can get our hands on. Joining us will be Trash Can Annie with a variety of jewelry,... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois will reopen tomorrow after over a year in various stages of covid lockdown! Governor JB Pritzker announced earlier this week that the metrics had been met to put Illinois into Phase 5, which is the least restrictive of all the mitigation phases for the pandemic. So what does that mean for you? How will your life change, for the better, with fewer restrictions? And what restrictions, if any, still remain? According to the Illinois Department of Health, under Phase 5 (the new phase), fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask except where required... Read More

Treat your family, friends, and coworkers to a cone or dish at any Quad City Whitey’s Ice Cream location on Monday, June 14th, and Whitey’s will donate half of all ice cream cone/dip sales to support the programs and services of Bethany for Children & Families. Bethany is a nonprofit child welfare and social services agency with offices in both the Illinois and Iowa Quad-Cities, serving over 10,000 children and families each year. Support a great cause with a scoop of your favorite flavor! For more information, click here.  Read More

Renew Moline has named Liz Nolte, a Quad-City native and local nonprofit development professional, as its new Operations and Communications Director. Nolte currently serves as the Director of Alumni and Annual Giving at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, and will transition to her new role on June 14th. Nolte has more than 10 years of experience working in nonprofit development, marketing communication, and community engagement. Nolte will oversee Renew Moline’s operations, strategic social media and communications efforts, and community outreach focusing on memberships, partnerships,... Read More

UnityPoint Health – Trinity and Encompass Health are partnering to build a new Quad Cities Rehabilitation Institute, which will be at the intersection of 52nd Avenue and 7th Street in Moline. The specialty hospital expects to begin serving patients in the summer of 2022. On Monday, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the future home of the facility. Speakers included Robert J. Erickson, UnityPoint Health – Trinity President & CEO; Albert Park, UnityPoint Health – Trinity Medical Director for Inpatient Rehabilitation Services; U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos; Troy DeDecker, President of Encompass... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: At long last, after the pandemic has kept the state under lockdown for most of the past year-plus, Illinois is looking to reopen (mostly) on Friday. “After a tremendously challenging year, Illinois has now reached a defining moment in our efforts to defeat COVID-19,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said. “Thanks to the hard work of residents across the state, Illinois will soon resume life as we knew it before – returning to events, gatherings, and a fully reopened economy, with some of the safety guidelines we’ve adopted still in place.” According to the Illinois Department... Read More

As SAL Family and Community Services (SAL) celebrates its 50th year, few people have witnessed the organization’s evolution like Loredia Nunn-Dixon. Born and raised in the Quad-Cities, Nunn-Dixon began 30 years ago as an office assistant, working her way up and then over into childcare and family services. There, she saw the nonprofit’s opportunity to offer the community a fuller range of services. SAL oversees Skip-A-Long Child Development Services, which operates four childcare and learning centers in the Q-C. “Seeing the families that came in, I had a chance to experience firsthand that... Read More

After a year with no downtown Moline market, Mercado on Fifth is back to bringing its family-friendly festivities starting this Friday, and a new director is excited to expand the market to downtown Davenport. Mercado on Fifth in Moline (5th Avenue in the area of 11th to 12th streets) will run 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. every Friday, June 4 – Sept. 24. The new Mercado en el Rio in Davenport (Quinlan Court, off River Drive between Brady and Perry streets) will run 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. every second Saturday, June through October. Like other canceled events in 2020, many people missed not having Mercado last... Read More

“Do not desire to fit in. Desire to oblige yourselves to lead” – Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks. The new Gwendolyn Brooks Memorial Park Dedication will take place on the Western Illinois University Macomb campus beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 12. The Park is located on the corner of Adams and Normal streets on the WIU-Macomb campus, on the site of the former Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center (GBCC). As COVID-19 restrictions remain in place, the event will be limited to 100 participants, by invitation only. The dedication will also be livestreamed on WIU’s YouTube... Read More