Innovation and collaboration in the face of an unprecedented challenge helped the St. Ambrose University Theatre Department and KALA-FM, the public radio station on campus, combine to win a first-place national award at the annual Intercollegiate Broadcasting System conference on Saturday, March 6. The award for the Best Radio Drama honored the Theatre Department’s fall 2020 performance of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play, “An Enemy of the People.” The 2019 adaptation of the 1882 play was penned by Tom Isbell, a theater professor at University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD), who is friends with... Read More

Genesis Health Group will help speed up COVID-19 protection with a mass vaccination clinic to open March 23 for Genesis patients. As more vaccine becomes available, Genesis will consolidate its Iowa vaccination efforts into the former Dick’s Sporting Goods store at 5250 Elmore Ave., Davenport. The retail-sized clinic in the new location will allow Genesis to reach more Scott County patients in a shorter period. The vaccinations will be available by appointment only to eligible Genesis patients who reside in Scott County. Eligible populations are defined and guided by the Iowa State Health Department... Read More

Thursday, March 11, COVID-19 surveillance testing is underway at Western Illinois University and will continue as the semester progresses. Additional open appointment times may be added periodically for those who would like to be tested,but have not been selected as part of the surveillance test population. In addition, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has added select dates for free test clinics on the WIU-Macomb campus, the next being March 11. Each week, approximately 700 students, faculty and staff* will receive an email encouraging them to get a free COVID test provided by Beu... Read More

MOLINE, IL – – Western Illinois University School of Engineering Director William Pratt has been selected to receive the Quad City Engineering and Science Council (QCESC) 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award. The prestigious award was presented to Pratt Thursday, Feb. 25 at the 59th annual National Engineers Week QCESC STEM virtual celebration. “Dr. Pratt’s leadership as founding director of the WIU School of Engineering balances the priorities of strategic partnership development and innovation with teaching and individualized mentorship of WIU students. He inspires K-12 students... Read More

If you think a 22-year-old is too young to be an executive director of a new music school, you don’t know Rishi Wagle. A bright, articulate and friendly 2016 Pleasant Valley High School alum and 2020 graduate of Brown University, Wagle was recently named the first head of the new Deanery School of Music, 1105 Main St., Davenport, whose founder and artistic director is Hannah Holman, principal cellist of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and a busy teacher (including as cello instructor at University of Northern Iowa). “Rishi, who went through substantial music education here in the Quad-Cities,... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Statistics show that first-year college students who take advantage of tutoring and other academic success resources have a higher GPA than those who didn’t seek assistance, and are more than likely to finish college in a more timely fashion. At Western Illinois University, the offices throughout the University are continually putting more resources into place so WIU students have the tools to succeed during their time at Western. According to Justin Schuch, executive director of retention initiatives at WIU, involvement in success programs makes a difference, and not... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Moline Mayor Stephanie Acri wants to break up with Western Illinois University, but the public riverfront campus wants more time to work things out. Last month, new WIU president Guiyou Huang wrote to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker  about ongoing discussions regarding a potential transfer of the WIU Quad-Cities campus to another state institution. Huang became president Jan. 1, 2021. At that point, Western has not been included in the discussion, he noted, copying Mayor Acri and Quad Cities Chamber president/CEO Paul Rumler. She responded that she’s had concerns about the impact of... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: More residents of Rock Island and Scott counties are eligible to receive long-awaited vaccines against Covid-19. The Iowa Department of Public Health has announced that beginning Monday, March 8, health care providers are now authorized to vaccinate individuals 64 years of age and younger with medical conditions that are or may be an increased risk of severe illness from Covid-19. Qualifying underlying conditions can be found on the Centers for Disease Control list of underlying conditions. The IDPH press announcement stated: “This announcement comes as several Iowa counties... Read More

The Davenport Public Library and the Rock Island Public Library are excited to announce a virtual visit with award-winning young adult author, Tiffany D. Jackson on Tuesday, March 9th! We are happy to welcome her into the classrooms and home-learning spaces of students on both sides of the Mississippi River. If any teen (ages 11-19) is interested in attending the Tiffany D. Jackson virtual author visit and does not attend a school that currently has a partnership with the Davenport or Rock Island Public Library, please contact Amber Carlson at acarlson@davenportlibrary.com for information. Ms.... Read More

Davenport schools need more substitute teachers, and this problem is not unique to the Quad-Cities. According to the Chicago Tribune, a lack of available subs has reached a crisis level at many school districts across the Chicago area, and a nationwide shortage of substitute teachers was a chronic problem long before the arrival of the pandemic. The New York Times reports that “The nation’s schools need thousands of more teachers, full-time and substitute, to keep classrooms open during coronavirus outbreaks.” Some states and districts have even suspended college course requirements, or permitted... Read More