As a lapsed Catholic and current wine lover, I was fully prepared to be intoxicated by “Drinking Habits,” the latest feel-good farce at Richmond Hill Players in Geneseo. I wasn’t prepared for how drunk with delight I got, I could barely drive home after Sunday’s picture-perfect matinee at the Barn Theater in Richmond Hill Park. In the silly Tom Smith story (intricately deep with secrets and many surprise romantic and family connections), two nuns at the 1965 Sisters of Perpetual Sewing have been secretly making wine to keep the convent’s doors open, but Paul and Sally, reporters and former... Read More

The area’s longest running burlesque troupe, Bottom’s Up Burlesque, is set to celebrate their 10 Anniversary with three great shows coming up on April 14,15 and 16!  Seats can be reserved for the shows by calling the Circa ’21 ticket office at 309-786-7733, ext. 2 or at the theater’s ticket office located at 1828 3rd Ave. in Rock Island. Bottom’s Up Burlesque was formed in 2012 with performers who had previously been part of Danielle Colby’s Burlesque Le’ Mustache troupe. From their first show on April 27,2012, Bottom’s Up has connected with local... 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

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

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

Ballet Quad Cities is going down the rabbit hole with its latest performance — Alice in Wonderland, coming your way April 9th at 2:30pm & 7:30pm at The Adler Theatre, Davenport, Iowa! You won’t want to miss this fun filled twist on Alice’s adventures. Bring your family and enjoy an imaginative and unforgettable journey through Wonderland with the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts and many more of your favorite characters from this classic storybook! For tickets and more information, click here!  Read More

There have been a myriad of takes on the infamous Will Smith slap of Chris Rock at the Oscars Sunday night. Some people think it was straight up assault, and that Smith should’ve been arrested on the spot and jailed that night. Some people think Smith was a bully and that if the person telling the joke was the 6’1” 250 lb The Rock rather than the 5’6” 150 lb 54-year-old Chris Rock, he probably would’ve stayed seated and continued laughing. And, some people think that Rock went too far with a joke that seemed as fresh as a Foghat concert about a movie from the ‘90s, and that Will was... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Group O announced today that Kevin Kotecki has been appointed its new CEO. A visionary leader with a unique combination of skills and accomplishments from both large corporations and entrepreneurial businesses, Kevin will continue the momentum built by Gregg Ontiveros. Gregg Ontiveros’ entrepreneurial spirit and continuous interest in emerging technologies has taken Group O from a $49M company in 1999 to the thriving $900M multi–faceted enterprise it is today. As principal owner, Gregg Ontiveros will continue to focus his time and talents to building new and existing client... Read More

Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17), a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, helped pass a major funding package for Fiscal Year 2022. Congresswoman Bustos secured significant local wins – including more than $55.65 million for local projects in Peoria, Rockford, the Quad-Cities, Galesburg, East Dubuque, Freeport and Morrison. This package will be voted on by the Senate and signed into law by President Biden in the coming days. The package also includes $13.6 billion in new military and humanitarian assistance to support the people of Ukraine, a 2.7 percent raise for military... Read More

I just love what Circa ’21 has done this year in regard to its shows. Its last show, “The Play That Goes Wrong,” was wonderfully absurd and hilarious, a terrific bit of humorous escapism. It’s latest show, “Just Desserts,” isn’t quite as unhinged and wacky, it’s far more conventional in terms of plotline and structure, but it’s just a warm, funny, and comforting show that extends the same escapist mood that we really all need right now. The last two years have been tough, and this year, even slogging out of covid, has been fraught with challenges from an economic and world perspective.... Read More