Visit Quad Cities, the region’s official destination management and marketing organization (DMMO), announces a new initiative expanding the way visitors and Quad Citizens interact with destination assets.  The brand-new QC Coffee Trail showcases nearly 30 local coffee shops and cafés in the Quad Cities regional destination that are participating in the new trail. The QC Coffee Trail uses mobile-based code check-ins, special offers, and gamification to engage participants. It’s free to register at www.QCcoffeetrail.com.  As you visit the variety of coffee shops in the QC, you can check in... Read More

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. To spark conversations about childhood well-being and build awareness of the community resources available for ensuring safe, healthy childhoods for all, EveryChild, formerly known as the Child Abuse Council, is leading a variety of events, activities, and community trainings throughout the month. “Childhood well-being is a community issue, and Child Abuse Prevention Month is an opportunity for us all to come together to celebrate the small steps we can take to strengthen children and families, not just this month but throughout the year—and far into the... Read More

It’s after three o’clock on a Monday afternoon and while most students have left school to go home, a group of students chooses to stay and learn. Laura Irish is a teacher at Rock Island Academy and started the Leopards Who Code club. Just in its first year, already 16 students have signed up. “I have some good social-emotional learning conversations with my students about gaming and apps. They often make me think about things from a new perspective,” said Ms. Irish. The club is for any 3rd-6th grade Leopard who’s interested in learning about technology. The club... Read More

Ryan Warren, a Western Illinois University graduate student in Sociology and a Peace Corps Fellow, from Savannah, MO, has been selected as the Spring 2022 recipient of The Sociological Masters Scholarship Award. This $1,000 award, funded by emeritus WIU faculty members Ken Mietus and Chris Adamski Mietus, is given annually to an outstanding graduate student in the program based on their academic achievement and their application essay regarding how they plan to use their sociology degree. “In her essay, Warren discussed her career goal of becoming an investigative agent within federal law... Read More

Atomic Coffee along John Deere in Rock Island is OPEN NOW! The shop had a soft opening to get things moving along smoothly over the weekend, but today, they’re good to go, open in the old Checkers along John Deere corridor. Earlier, it was reported that Atomic  would be opening in Rock Island around March, and delays pushed them into early April.   Atomic has two other locations in the Quad-Cities, 4707 N Brady St. in Davenport, and 3235 Ridge Point, Bettendorf. For more info, stay tuned to your fun, free, local QuadCities.com…  Read More

The Knoblauch Cafe, a campus restaurant open weekly and run by Western Illinois University students, has reopened for the Spring semester. The cafe offers carry-out meals for $8 from 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. each Thursday that can be picked up in the Knoblauch Hall Corporate Kitchen, room 238. Each meal includes an entree, a beverage and a dessert. Jill Cassady, instructor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration, took over the course in 2010. Then, the cafe was named “Western Lites” and focused on offering low-calorie options for the campus community. Now, the cafe focuses... Read More

QuadCities.com is happy to partner with Quad City Animal Welfare Center, 724 2nd W. Ave., Milan! Interested in adopting a pet? Check out our Pet of the Week every Monday! This week’s Pet of the Week is Miracle! ​ Miracle is an extremely chatty girl! She is nice when she gets to know you and she prefers love on her terms. We think Miracle would do best in a home as your only pet. She is spayed, up to date on her vaccines, and is microchipped. Miracle is still quite young, born September 2021, so she has plenty of time to become the best cat she can be. Are you the miracle that Miracle needs? Speaking... Read More

Tryouts/evaluations for Bettendorf-Pleasant Valley Youth Baseball are Monday, April 4 and Wednesday, April 6. So, if you have yet to register, make sure your son or daughter is signed up in time to play baseball this spring and summer! The registration link is: https://active.leagueone.com/Olr/Pages/Welcome.aspx?ClubId=14196 Please note: The tryouts/evaluations are only for the Majors (grades 6-7) and Minors (grades 4-5) divisions. However, teams will be forming soon in the other divisions — Coach Pitch (grades K-3), Rookie/Kid Pitch (grades 2-3) and Juniors (grades 8-9). And once that... Read More

Today, unfortunately my review is for a corporate monster, a big business if you will. Starbucks. Specifically, the Starbucks inside Moline’s Hyvee on the Avenue. Why do I say “unfortunately”? Well because this is more about the barista than it is about the coffee. I love coffee, I love local coffee, I love Colombian coffee, I love Ethiopian Coffee, hell I even love elephant poop coffee. Trust me its insane, I’ve had it once. But what I love more than coffee is the folks that serve the coffee. That is what brings me back. That is what brings me in for the next high... Read More

Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) joined her colleagues on the Congressional Biofuels Caucus in a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to prioritize homegrown, renewable biofuels as a replacement for Russian energy sources. The letter comes after Congress banned the importation of Russian oil earlier this month. In their letter, the Members applauded the decision to ban imports of Russian oil and natural gas into the United States and argued that a renewed emphasis on renewable fuels would lower fuel prices for American consumers by more than $12 billion annually, generate substantial... Read More