Local breweries will be spotlighted next week as the Quad-Cities serves up QC Craft Beer Week on May 10-15, just in time for the second anniversary of the QC Ale Trail. Over the past two years, hundreds of craft beer lovers from 17 states have blazed the QC Ale Trail, according to Visit Quad Cities. The QC Ale Trail invites beer lovers on a self-guided tour of local craft breweries across the region, from Muscatine, Iowa to Geneseo, Ill. The Q-C craft beer community continues to grow, with three new breweries opening last year and Nerdspeak Brewery opening soon at 7563 State St., Bettendorf. “Craft beer,... Read More

Hey, how about a pizza? You really can’t beat a great ‘za for comfort food in jenky times. In eras of uncertainty, there’s really nothing more certain that the delicious combo of malty crust, tangy sauce, gooey cheese and fresh toppings. Got your attention? You’re darn right we do. Now what you gonna do about it? Call up for some fresh pie? Good thing for you QuadCities.com offers you a list of local restaurants, bars and cafes that are going above and beyond to offer the community options to still get their favorite dishes – and here’s your list of pizza joints available for carry-out,... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – – The Western Illinois University College of Education and Human Services has named Jill Bisbee as Recruitment, Retention, and Student Success Officer, as part of her role as a Field Placement Specialist for Counselor Education and College Student Personnel. Bisbee will serve approximately 3,000 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students from all programs and departments to enhance, coordinate and implement the COEHS’ Strategic plan for Recruitment, Retention and Student Success. “This new role is in pursuance of President [Guiyou] Huang’s Three... Read More

Western Illinois University’s Infant and Preschool Center’s Silver Circle of Quality designation from ExceleRate Illinois has been renewed for three additional years. The center first received the designation in 2018 as part of the State of Illinois’ new quality recognition and improvement system for early learning and development providers. “Every early learning and development provider who participates in ExceleRate Illinois makes quality a priority,” said Cynthia L. Tate, executive director for the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development. ExceleRate... Read More

The new Bettendorf-based Double Threat Studios will debut its first production, “James and the Giant Peach Jr,” this weekend in three performances at Playcrafters Barn Theatre, 4950 35th Ave., Moline. “We have been lucky enough to be able to work with several local theaters to help support through the pandemic,” Double Threat co-owner Megan Warren said this week. The cast features 13 3rd-8th graders performing the full production – and students come from Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline, and Rock Island. The show is based on Roald Dahl’s book of the same name featuring essentially... Read More

Looking for something to do this weekend? Check out our podcast, Weekend in 2 Minutes, running every Thursday on QuadCities.com! This week: Beaux Arts Fair, Bad Hair, and those Divas over there, plus karaoke, Danger Zone, Douglas and Tucker and more, in this week’s Weekend! Listen HERE.  Read More

At Deere & Company’s world headquarters in Moline Thursday morning, Dr. LaDrina Wilson recalled the wisdom and importance of the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” That’s a key concept behind the new “Rise United 2030” campaign launched Thursday by United Way Quad Cities. Wilson, the founder/CEO of Iman Consulting, is one of three chairs for United Way’s 2021 Community Campaign, with Caitlin Russell, Senior Vice President at Russell, and Chad Everitt, Managing Director at Deloitte. The campaign tri-chairs will formally kick off fundraising efforts in August,... Read More

Jora Taylor, a Western Illinois University junior social work major from Monmouth, has been named the 2021 recipient of the Western Illinois University Martin Dupuis/Mukti Fund Award for Leadership. The $1,400 award recognizes a student from the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and allied communities who has provided leadership at WIU. At WIU, Taylor is a social work program student representative, which requires attending weekly meetings to share the needs of students in the program. In addition, as a representative, Taylor assists with the creation of student activities, including Zoom and... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Covid-19 numbers are dropping in Rock Island County, according to data released by the Rock Island County health department. As previously reported earlier on QuadCities.com, numbers across Illinois have been dropping as the number of vaccinated people above age 16 in the state has gone over 50 percent. Today, the Rock Island County health department reported 16 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total to 14,487. Currently, 26 patients are hospitalized in the county with the virus. The average age of today’s cases is 32. The new cases are: • 2 women in her 40s •... Read More

There’s finally some momentum in a good direction in regard to covid-19 in the Illinois Quad-Cities, Region 2 and the state in general. Positivity rates for coronavirus cases were the lowest they’ve been since March, at 3.3 percent. Statewide, over the past week an average of 72,613 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered daily, bringing the total number of people vaccinated statewide to 9,450,418, according to the Illinois Department of Health. At this point, 4,145,711, or 32.54% of the total population of the state, has been fully vaccinated. Over half of Illinois residents... Read More