BREAKING NEWS: Could Illinois be in danger of having to mask up again as covid begins to rise in some areas of the state? Businesses, schools, and people in general have been happy but cautious since the statewide mask mandate was lifted Feb. 28, but as covid-19 numbers decline overall statewide, some parts of the state are seeing numbers spike up again and some are in the high risk transmission area that could see local officials tell those Illinois residents to mask up again. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has ruled out returning to a statewide mask mandate as long as covid numbers remain at low levels.... Read More

The first production of The Black Box Theatre 2022 season is Lauren Gunderson’s “The Revolutionists.” Described as “Four beautiful, badass women lose their heads in this irreverent, girl-powered comedy set during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. Playwright Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen (and fan of ribbons) Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle hang out, murder Marat, and try to beat back the extremist insanity in 1793 Paris. This grand and dream-tweaked comedy is about violence and legacy, art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots... Read More

As covid-19 numbers decline overall statewide, some parts of the state are seeing numbers spike up again and some are in the high risk transmission area that could see local officials tell those Illinois residents to mask up again. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has ruled out returning to a statewide mask mandate as long as covid numbers remain at low levels. However, he has said it’s at the discretion of area officials if they want to implement a mandate in their counties. More than 90 percent of the U.S. is now at medium or low risk for covid, and in those areas, the Centers for Disease Control... Read More

After two years, fans are welcome back to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Women’s Basketball Tournament, affectionately known as Hoops in the Heartland, on March 10-13, 2022, at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Ill.  Get ready for exciting action on the court as the tournament tips off on Thursday, March 10 at 4:02 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the TaxSlayer Center box office or online at www.taxslayercenter.com.  Tickets are $12, $20, or $25 per day or $65 for reserved seat All-Session tickets.  For complete information on the tournament, go to www.mvcquadcities.com or download the... Read More

Western Illinois University’s School of Computer Science hosted the 2022 LeatherHack training and cybersecurity competition in February. A selection committee chose 11 students out of 58 applicants to participate in the competition, based on their experience and interest in cybersecurity. Computer Science faculty conducted training sessions in a Cybersecurity lab. Six of the participants advanced into the finals and competed as two teams, Team Kali and Team Phoenix. The final competition was held Feb. 23. Professor Binto George coordinated training and competition activities. A panel of judges,... Read More

Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17), a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, announced that she secured $10 million for the Quad Cities Manufacturing Lab and $400,000 for small business-focused programming at Western Illinois University’s (WIU) Quad-Cities campus in a major funding package. The package has passed the House and will be voted on by the Senate and signed into law by President Biden in the coming days. “As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, my top priority is bringing taxpayer dollars back home to support our communities,” said Congresswoman... Read More

Moline author Jason Platt’s latest book for young adults, “Middle School Misadventures: Dance Disaster” is going to be available worldwide on Little Brown publishing on April 5! Jason will be doing book signings around the area after its release. Preorder at: middleschoolmisadventures.com/books !    Read More

Project NOW and the Moline Public Library are launching a new book group to explore important community issues – housing, economics, education, healthcare, and justice. The Rooting Out Poverty Book Discussion Group begins on Tuesday, March 29 at 6:30pm at the library (3210 41st Street, Moline). Future discussion dates and titles will be shared at this meeting. The first book selection for Rooting Out Poverty is Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond. Discussion will be facilitated by Dwight Ford (Executive Director, Project NOW). Registration is required for this... Read More

The award-winning documentary “Jean Seberg: Actress Activist Icon” will have its broadcast premiere on WQPT-Quad Cities PBS and screen one time on Sunday, March 27 at 7 p.m. The film was produced by Mid-America Emmy Award winners Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, and Regional Emmy-nominated filmmaker Garry McGee of McMarr, Ltd. Selected from 18,000 aspiring actresses world-wide at age 17, Marshalltown, Iowa’s Jean Seberg made her acting debut in Otto Preminger’s 1957 Saint Joan and starred in Hollywood films Lilith with Warren Beatty, Paint Your Wagon with Clint Eastwood,... Read More

Moline Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati, Western Illinois University Vice President of Quad Cities Campus Operations Kristi Mindrup, Lindsay Meeker of the WIU College of Education and Human Services, and Ron Clewer of Gorman & Associates have opened up a new partnership that will expand childcare options in an effort to return more people to the workforce and fill long-vacant commercial space in downtown Moline. WIU-QC will establish the Spanish Bilingual Early Learning and Family Empowerment Lab in the first-floor commercial space of the Enterprise Lofts building. Bolstering childcare options in Moline... Read More