MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — Applications are being accepted for the Western Illinois University 2021 Martin Dupuis/Mukti Fund Leadership Award in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Communities. The $1,400 award recognizes a student who has provided leadership either for a LGBTQ* group and/or in regards to LGBTQ* issues. Applicants who meet the leadership criteria must be undergraduate students who will return to WIU for the 2021-2022 academic year. To be considered for this award, students must complete an application, write a short essay, provide a resume and include two letters of reference.... Read More

Charlotte Boyer, a 17-year-old junior at Rock Island High School, made her national television debut Monday night on the final rounds of blind auditions for Season 20 of NBC’s “The Voice” singing competition, which began Monday, March 1. She was featured singing a minute-long rendition of Amy Winehouse’s “Love Is a Losing Game,” and didn’t get the response she hoped for from celebrity judges John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and Nick Jonas. None turned their chair for her. “I am so sorry we don’t have better news for you today,” Legend told Charlotte on the show. “I... Read More

Rock Island Mayoral Candidate Thurgood Brooks has released an ambitious 100 Day Plan which he will be striving to achieve in his first 100 days in office should he be elected over current Mayor Mike Thoms in the April 6 elections. The plan is as follows: To hear Brooks talk about elements of his plan and his campaign, listen to our conversation on the podcast QCUncut here.  Read More

Negocios Now, a national award-winning publication focused on Hispanic business, has included Group O CEO Gregg Ontiveros to its annual list of the 50 Most Influential Latinos in the Chicago region for 2020. The list includes top Hispanic executives in business, nonprofits, government, healthcare, and other areas where Latinos are making a clear difference in this country. Ontiveros was recognized for turning Group O from a $50M business in 1999 into the $900+M diversified services firm it is today thanks to his entrepreneurial spirit and can-do philosophy. Ontiveros leads with a hands-on approach,... Read More

Charlotte Boyer, a 17-year-old junior at Rock Island High School, will be featured as one of the contestants in Season 20 of NBC’s “The Voice” singing competition, which begins airing Monday, March 1, at 7 p.m. “It was a very long process and I was lucky to even be a part of it all,” Charlotte said this week of her auditions in October in Los Angeles. “I’m not sure what the number was, but there were a lot of auditions, a lot of people that did try out. I was one of the few that got lucky.” “My mom submitted a video of me to the website and I guess someone found it, and I was... Read More

Nearly 4,000 Roku Streaming Sticks were donated to frontline health care workers at Unity Point and Genesis Health centers on Thursday, February 4. Despite blizzard-like conditions and freezing temperatures, Group O employees loaded up the devices at the company’s Milan warehouse and delivered them to Unity Point Health-Trinity Health Foundation in Rock Island and Genesis Medical Center – East Campus in Davenport to show appreciation for months of hard work during the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. Both organizations will manage the distribution of the devices to their various locations. “Group... Read More

A local group of volunteers has begun a project to preserve the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (GLBTQ+) history of the Quad Cities. This project began shortly after Joyce Wiley, a local social activist in the GLBTQ+ community passed away in June of 2020. Joyce’s long-time friend Kathy Bowman was talking with Joyce’s husband Jack and the conversation turned to how much GLBTQ+ history disappeared with Joyce and how it would be great to preserve it for the benefit of future generations. The project is currently holding interviews of current and former GLBTQ residents of the Quad... Read More

Improving equity is a major priority on the national and local level, and the Quad Cities Community Foundation continues to make big strides in the effort. It recently awarded two $100,000 transformation grants to help bring equitable solutions to the bi-state region, and the nonprofit’s new board chair is focusing on aiding minorities and disenfranchised populations in the Q-C. The East Moline and United Township School Districts, and Humility Homes and Services, will each receive $100,000 transformation grants from the Quad Cities Community Impact Fund at the Community Foundation. “The past... Read More

Do you have some cool talents you’d like to show off? Head on over to the Varieties Nightclub open stage at 10:30 p.m. Thursdays at 822 W. 2nd St., Davenport. Do you have a talent? Looking for a place to show your talent? Here is your chance as performers will compete against each other to win a paid spot in one of our shows! Sign up the day of by 10:00 p.m. Varieties is an LGBTQ+ Nightclub offering the QC’s best Drag Queen/King shows, EDM shows, Burlesque, and performances every Friday and Saturday @ 10:30 pm. Serving great drinks at great prices! Available to rent for any special... Read More

In a bitter, divisive time – just two days before inauguration of the 46th U.S. President – the 38th-annual memorial service honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday held special resonance. Livestreamed on YouTube from Rock Island’s Martin Luther King,. Jr. Community Center, the nearly hour-long service spoke to the ideals of the late civil-rights leader (who was assassinated in 1968) and how far the nation still has to go to achieve his dream of peace, unity and justice. MLK Center executive director Jerry Jones noted at the outset that theme of the service was King’s quote,... Read More