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

MACOMB, IL – A Western Illinois University music major has been named the only United States finalist in an international violin competition. Madalyn Pridemore, of Macomb, a sophomore violin performance major, is one of 21 finalists in “The Violin Doc” International Online Festival. She is one of four finalists in her category, advanced violin for musicians between the ages of 16-20. Within each category, the grand prize winner will be awarded an instrument based on their category. All participants receive an individual, online masterclass and attendance at an online workshop by... Read More

Don’t have time for an indoor Historic Tour of Deere-Wiman House and Butterworth Center? Then join the Outdoor Guided Historic Tours! Outdoor Guided Tours take a fresh look at the architecture of both remarkable homes while pointing out some remaining historic landscape features. Learn why Charles Deere chose a hilltop location to construct his home Overlook. Hear the story behind building Hillcrest, the home of William and Katherine Butterworth. Tours take place every Sunday throughout the month of August, from 3 – 4 p.m., beginning at the Deere-Wiman House (817 11th Avenue Moline). Each tour... 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. Though he’s been unemployed for months, like millions of Americans, due to Covid-19, St. Ambrose University alum Brian Hemesath got good news late last month. For the third time out of eight nominations, the 48-year-old Iowa native won a Daytime Emmy Award for his costume design work on “Sesame Street.” Hemesath – who earned his bachelor’s in theater and art in 1994 from SAU – was among a team of 21 designers to tie for the... Read More

As bars and restaurants have been back open in the Quad-Cities, the two major movie multiplexes in the area plan to reopen this month, both with new health and safety restrictions. Cinemark, at 3601 E. 53rd St., Davenport, will open Aug. 14, and Regal, at 4100 38th St., Moline, will be back and running Aug. 21. Cinemark is doing a phased reopening nationwide – 16 theaters are now open, with 43 more on the 14th and the rest by Aug. 31 – and Regal is reopening all its U.S. locations on the same day. “There’s nothing quite as powerful as great cinematic storytelling on the big screen,” Cinemark... Read More

MACOMB, MOLINE, IL – The Western Illinois University School of Graduate Studies is offering the waiver of the $30 application fee for international students who submit an application through Oct. 31. This waiver is only for new international graduate and undergraduate students who have not previously submitted an application. Students who have already applied should not submit a second application. To submit an application, visit student.services.wiu.edu/web-apps/Admissions/International. For more information about International Admissions at WIU, visit wiu.edu/grad/international.  Read More

Things are not looking good for this fall in regard to covid-19. Numbers are spiking, the government has been pathetically inept in terms of dealing with the crisis, and the economy is once again on the verge of completely tanking. Unemployment is up, some industries are shut down through the end of the year, and others are teetering on the precipice of being shut down, maybe for good. I don’t know about you, but I’m so pessimistic I’m starting to stock up on toilet paper. That’s why it’s more important than ever to shop at your locally-owned small businesses now. Local... Read More

MACOMB, IL — The Western Illinois University Singers have been named the Third Place National Winners of The American Prize in Choral Performance (College/University Division), a year-long national performing arts competition. Choirs of all types and levels, elementary to professional, from around the United States, submitted recordings in late April 2019. From those recordings, a national panel of judges selected semi-finalists, finalists and finally, winners in each category. Assistant Professor Brian J. Winnie, director of choral activities, was named the Second Place National Winner of... Read More

Fourteen years before Aug. 6 was burned into the world’s memory (with the 1945 U.S. atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, killing more than 70,000 people), that date marked another impactful death. Davenport native and jazz legend Leon Bismark (“Bix”) Beiderbecke died Aug. 6, 1931 at age 28, from alcohol abuse and lobar pneumonia in his Queens, N.Y., apartment. His mother and brother Burnie were on their way to New York but arrived too late. Bix’s body was returned to Davenport with services on Aug. 11, 1931 at Hill & Frederick’s Funeral Home, and burial at Oakdale Cemetery,... Read More