EXCLUSIVE — Illinois Quad-Cities businesses have been notified by the state to begin preparing for a shutdown and covid mitigation procedures beginning Wednesday, multiple sources who asked not to be identified told QuadCities.com today. The sources are all local small business owners, and were notified last night so they could begin preparing. An official announcement from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker will be forthcoming Monday. According to the sources, there will be a number of mitigation actions put in place, including no indoor dining, limits to the number of people gathered in any... Read More

I’m sick of the politics. I’m sick of the politicians. With more people struggling than ever, with more businesses closing, with the covid numbers increasing yet again, just like the scientists predicted (amazing how you can listen to intelligent, learned people and get accurate predictions on what’s likely to happen, isn’t it?), IT’S TIME TO PASS ANOTHER STIMULUS BILL TO HELP PEOPLE STRUGGLING FROM COVID. I wrote another story today, one of probably over 100 this year, about a business closing down due to covid. This time it was Big Swing, in downtown Rock Island,... Read More

You are invited to a VIP only tour of the top secret QCHF International containment facility. Outbreak! at the QC Haunted Forest (3501 207th St. N. Port Byron), an outdoor walk through attraction, opens this Friday Oct 9 and will continue every Friday and Saturday from 7 – 11 p.m. throughout the month of October. QCHF has been performing genetic test developments of animal and human subjects, in order to weaponize these beings for military use. Your visit starts with at outpost APL (in the main building) where you will be checked in and briefed. From there, you will walk to the outdoor gates... 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

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

Saturday in the Arts is a comprehensive, in-depth feature on a topic, trend or personality impacting the Quad-Cities, posted every Saturday morning on QuadCities.com.   The day before the state of Illinois entered Phase 4 of reopening, affecting his longtime acting home of Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, Moline’s Tom Walljasper was filming scenes as a farmer in small-town Iowa. A full-time actor, Walljasper had not acted since “Kinky Boots” closed at Circa in March, and both he and his wife Shelley were cast in small parts for a TV pilot, “Complete Bull,” filmed in June and July (with... Read More

A little more than two weeks after the Mississippi Valley Fair announced it would scale back its offerings this year, including no big-name grandstand acts, on Tuesday it said it would cancel the 101-year-old tradition altogether. The fair, at 2815 W. Locust St., was scheduled for Aug. 4-9. “We have continued to work closely with the Scott County Health Department to ensure that if we put on a fair this year we met all the requirements of the principles shared by both organizations,” MVF general manager Shawn Loter posted Tuesday on Facebook. “Health leaders determined our safety plan was... Read More

Ok, so about 50 percent of you hate Donald Trump. And, about 50 percent of you hate Joe Biden. But, probably about 90 percent of you, whether you like his music or not, think Kanye West is pretty freaking insane. This week, Ye, as the kids like to call him, was more crazy like a fox with the brilliant public relations stunt of announcing he’s going to run for president. Never mind that he hasn’t formally filed to run, and never mind that he’s way past the deadline to do so or be on the ballot in a vast majority of states, so technically, he has no chance. The fact that he announced it at... Read More

You can help make a child’s first day at school a lot more special by helping The First Day Project. Over 25,000 kids receive free or reduced lunches, and therefore they qualify for free school supplies through the project, which relies on the generosity of locals in the community to help out. The First Day Project used to partner with the Postal Service to collect the school supplies but three years ago they Postal Service stopped the program and United Way stepped in to help. “In the past, we worked mainly with our business community to collect the items but the need is too great... Read More

Welcome to the QuadCities.com Virtual Art Gallery! In this feature, we’re spotlighting area artists and their work. Every Tuesday we’ll feature a new local artist. It’s free and our way of showcasing awesome area artists and allowing them to include a link to their own online gallery or patreon! If you’d like to be included in the gallery, just send your bio, a headshot pic of yourself and up to a half-dozen .jpgs of your art to Sean@QuadCities.com. We look forward to adding YOU to the gallery! Our latest artist is a multi-talented creator, Jenny Lynn Stacy! Jenny Lynn hails from Davenport,... Read More