Join Moline Parks and Recreation for the second and final Movie in the Park of 2020, this Friday Aug 21! Grab your lawn chairs and blankets for a fun family night out. The Lion King (2019) will be showing on the BIG SCREEN at Greenvalley Sports Complex (5920 52nd Ave Moline). This event is free and open to the public. Restrooms will be available. Concessions will not be open, but families may bring their own snacks. The movie will start at sunset, approximately 8:00 p.m. For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/593021658319535/.   For more fun things to do in the... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – – Western Illinois University’s Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) student chapters on the Macomb and Quad Cities campuses both received awards from the national chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) for providing superior growth and development opportunities to student chapter members. SHRM awarded a 2019-2020 Superior Merit Award designation to the WIU-Macomb SHRM chapter and a Merit Award designation to the WIU-Quad Cities SHRM student chapter. The SHRM student chapter merit award program encourages the development of more... Read More

MACOMB, IL – For the second time in two years, Western Illinois University senior broadcasting major Devin Brooks has been one of five national winners awarded the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Mid-America EMMY Foundation Walter Cronkite Scholarship. Brooks, of St. Louis, MO, is a student anchor, reporter, executive producer and web producer for NEWS3, the student-produced newscast in the WIU Department of Broadcasting and Journalism He is pursuing an emphasis in news and performance, and is minoring in sociology. This summer, Brooks completed his third summer internship... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a weekly feature covering an impactful trend, personality, organization or overarching theme in the Quad-Cities arts and entertainment community.   As the Quad-Cities and nationwide Hispanic population has exploded since 2000, Hola America  News this month is celebrating 20 years as the area’s influential bilingual newspaper and a positive force for information, cultural pride and public service throughout the region. “The 20th anniversary of Hola America News is a testament to its hard work and longstanding importance in the media for both Latinos and the community... Read More

Playcrafters Barn Theatre is having its very first Community Barn Sale and they need your help! Community Barn Sale will take place this Saturday Aug 15 and Sunday Aug 16 from 12 – 4 p.m. at Playcrafters Barn Theatre (4950 35th Avenue Moline). Bring your stuff (old stuff, new stuff, red stuff, blue stuff) to sell 6 feet apart in the Barn parking lot! Only $20 for a space! This money will be donated back to Playcrafters to alleviate the stress of their bills. It is asked that all vendors bring their own tables. Playcrafters will be selling vintage clothes and costume pieces ranging from $1-$10.... Read More

As many theaters and musicians nationwide have moved performances online, the Mississippi Bend Players at Augustana College is salvaging part of its canceled summer season, by offering a virtual reading Friday, Aug. 21, of playwright Sarah Ruhl’s deeply personal “For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday.” (The performance originally was scheduled for Aug. 14, but was postponed after power outages this week. Tickets for the original date will be honored on Aug. 21. Patrons who are unable to attend on the new date, and who would like a refund, should contact the Ticket Office.) Filled with Quad-Cities... Read More

The Black Box Theatre once again presents a 1940’s style radio play with “The 39 Steps: A Live Radio Play” by Joe Landry. The show is scheduled for August 20 to 30. Tickets on Thursdays are $13 and $16 all other performances. According to Playscripts the piece is “Inspired by Hitchcock’s classic tale and performed as a live period radio play, this romantic thriller is a fast-paced ride through the signature world of the Master of Suspense. Richard Hannay is visiting 1930s London when he meets Annabella Smith, who is on the run from foreign agents, after a disturbance at a music hall.... Read More

MACOMB, IL – Just as the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many programs on the Western Illinois University campus and around the world, University faculty and administrators have jumped in to help many students who were scheduled to begin internships that were erased by the coronavirus. One of those students is Clint Ratkovich, a senior engineering technology student, of Crete, IL. Ratkovich, who is also a member of WIU’s football team, was originally scheduled to complete his nine-week internship at LyondellBasell, but campus officials worked together to create an internship position for... Read More

MACOMB, IL – A Western Illinois University graduate student has launched an effort to bring diversity to fisheries science, while raising money for a related scholarship program at the same time. Cassidy Miles, a biology graduate student from Saint Ann, MO, noticed last year that there was little diversity at the annual gathering of scientists by The Wildlife Society (TWS) and the American Fisheries Society (AFS). The gathering inspired her to create a pin to promote diversity, inclusion and equality in fisheries. Miles is the public relations officer and outreach coordinator for WIU’s... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – A total of 1,105 students earned academic degrees or post-baccalaureate certificates after the Spring 2020 semester at Western Illinois University. Of these, 156 graduates’ primary attendance site was the WIU-Quad Cities campus. Bachelor’s degrees were awarded to 764 graduates. Academic distinction was awarded to baccalaureate graduates who achieved high grade point averages. This includes: Summa Cum Laude, 3.90 GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale; Magna Cum Laude, 3.75-3.89 GPA; and Cum Laude, 3.6-3.74 GPA. Master’s degrees were earned by 313 graduates; 9 individuals... Read More