MACOMB, IL – The Western Illinois University Black Alumni Committee will host its 28th annual reunion week, in a virtual format (Zoom), beginning Friday, July 31. The virtual event, featuring comedians, DJs, a reunion day party and a prayer service, will be held Friday, July 31-Sunday, Aug. 2. Proceeds from tickets, which are $10 each for the entire weekend of events, sponsorships, and donations, will provide support for Black students at WIU. Tickets and sponsorships maybe purchased and donations may be made via Eventbrite at bit.ly/WIUBlackAlumniVirtualReunion. “We are asking all former... Read More

Could there be some hockey this year after all? Maybe, but it’ll be late this year. The league of the Quad City Storm, the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) today announced that it is targeting mid-to-late December for the start of the 2020-2021 regular season. “With the continued spikes in COVID-19 throughout the country and the challenges other sports are facing in their attempts to resume play, delaying our start to December gives us the best chance of completing an entire season with all 10 teams,” stated Commissioner Doug Price. “In addition, various state restrictions... Read More

MACOMB, IL — The Western Illinois Bachelor of Social Work program is one of 12 programs nationwide selected to participate in the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Policy Practice in Field Education Initiative. This initiative enables schools of social work to create integrative models that heighten the policy skill set of undergraduate- and graduate-level social work students, regardless of specialization. “These grants make it possible for future social workers to learn the importance of policies, legislation and regulation that advance social justice goals. We thank The New... Read More

Nada Surf’s show originally set for Wednesday, June 3 at Codfish Hollow Barnstormers, 5013 288th Ave., Maquoketa, Iowa, has been rescheduled for 8 p.m. April 26, 2021. Tickets are on sale on Eventbrite. For more information on any future dates see the Codfish event page.  Read More

MACOMB, IL – A Western Illinois University graduate student recently used her internship in the Department of Sociology’s graduate program to increase awareness of the Salvation Army office in Galesburg, IL. Jackie Smith, of Galesburg, recently completed her graduate degree in sociology. She had previously completed the necessary coursework, but had not finished her exit option, which could be an internship and professional paper, in place of a thesis. Smith had completed two bachelor’s degrees at WIU, in theatre and anthropology, which were completed in 2010 and 2011 respectively.... Read More

MACOMB, IL – For more than two decades, Western Illinois University’s annual spring performance of “The Vagina Monologues” has existed to serve two purposes: to stop violence against women and girls and to raise fund for the Western Illinois Regional Council-Community Action Agency (WIRC-CAA) Victim Services. Recently, WIU presented the WIRC-CAA Victim Services with a check for $1,270.50 from the Spring 2020 performance. “The Vagina Monologues” is part of V-Day, a global activist movement, stemming from playwright Eve Ensler’s award winning play and other artistic... Read More

MACOMB, IL – As first generation students, Western Illinois University Sociology Professor Emeritus and WIU Board of Trustees Chair Polly Radosh and Jeff Radosh struggled financially as they completed their college education. To help other first generation students and those with financial need, the Radoshes have established the Radosh Sociology Endowed Scholarship at WIU. Polly, who is the retired chair of Western’s former Department of Women’s Studies, began her teaching career at WIU in 1984 in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. During her 24-year tenure, she taught... 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

I want to give kudos to Rein Razer. In our story earlier this week on QuadCities.com on her upcoming burlesque show, Rein Razer’s Court of Royalty, coming to Village Theater tonight, she said the following:   “I got the idea from how the Speakeasy was doing their booking for shows.”   Seems simple, right? Just actually acknowledging that you got the idea for something from someone else on the local arts scene. But you’d be surprised at how little this is done. More often, much more often, people have an incredible selective amnesia about things others in the scene... Read More

MACOMB, IL – The Western Illinois University Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic has openings for speech diagnostic evaluations from Tuesday Aug. 4-Friday, Aug. 21. There will be additional openings throughout the fall semester. The services are free to the WIU and Macomb communities and are used to determine whether or not a child or adult may be eligible for speech and/or language therapy services. The evaluations also play a significant role in educating WIU’s graduate students as they prepare to begin their careers as speech-language pathologists. For more information about the testing,... Read More