The Quad-Cities theater company Genesius Guild was wearing masks in performance for decades before it was fashionable or medically recommended. After it had to cancel its 2020 summer season at Rock Island’s Lincoln Park Classic Theatre due to Covid, Genesius will be back this summer, with three scaled-back productions in June and July, including an ancient Greek tragedy in mask to close the abbreviated season – ensuring it will all be safe for cast, crew and audiences. The 2021 season will consist of: June 19, 20, 26 and 27: William Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure,” adapted and abridged... Read More

If you get your Covid vaccine at the Rock Island County mass vaccination clinic in Milan between April 14 and May 20, there will be something special that’s literally music to your ears. Taking inspiration from famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s recent impromptu performance during his Covid vaccine observation period, the Rock Island County Health Department and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO) are partnering to bring live music to the mass vaccination site at Camden Centre in Milan. “Vaccine Variations” is an initiative that arranges for one-hour performances by QCSO musicians starting April... Read More

April 4 through 10th is National Library Week, when the nation celebrates libraries, library workers, and the use and support of libraries. The 2021 theme is “Welcome to Your Library.” The Rock Island Public Library kicked off their Grow a Reader giving campaign this week to welcome young users back to the library. Grow a Reader donation “trees” are on display at the Rock Island Downtown and Southwest Libraries. Each display contains tags with an account balance of over $5 or more for an anonymous young person between 6 and 18 years of age with an active library card. Donors can choose... Read More

For the first time ever, the American Cornhole League (ACL) will hold an event in the Quad Cities with the ACL Open #7 on April 9-11, 2021. The ACL promotes and develops cornhole as a sport for any age and any skill level.  Their tournaments are regularly seen on ESPN.  There are 15 conferences across the U.S. and the Midwest Conference is home to one of the largest player bases in the country. “We are thrilled that the American Cornhole League (ACL) will help the Quad Cities make history by hosting their first event in the QC and at the Bend XPO,” said Dave Herrell, President and CEO, Visit... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: In a surprisingly clean-fought yet vigorously challenged campaign, Mike Thoms has won re-election for Mayor of Rock Island over energetic and impressive challenger Thurgood Brooks. According to official results, Thoms won 52-48 percent with a little over 5,000 votes cast. This is Thoms’ second term. He won over a number of challengers in an open field in 2017 after then-mayor Dennis Pauley decided not to run for a third term. The Thoms/Brooks contest was marked by its vigorous intellectual and political debate, with the more centrist Thoms facing off against a decidedly more... Read More

BREAKING: Organizers for the Dawn and On has announced plans to return to Rock Island’s Schwiebert Park for their 6th Annual Music Festival on Saturday July 10.  Last summer’s festival was ultimately cancelled due to COVID-19.  This will mark the fest’s second year at Schwiebert after the previous 4 years in Moline. Festival Co-founder and Marketing Director Mike Mathews is excited to be able to move forward with a 2021 event. “It’s great to get back to some normalcy.  Our first year at Schwiebert was amazing so we’re looking forward to picking up where we left off.  The park is... Read More

Ryan Wille, a former marketing manager of Quad City Botanical Center, has been chosen next executive director of the Rock Island-based nonprofit, succeeding Ami Porter. A 2009 graduate of Bradley University in Peoria, Wille was the marketing manager at QCBC (2525 4th Ave., Rock Island) from March 2016 to October 2018, and since then has been development manager of the Humane Society of Scott County. “Ryan, he is a great leader. He is a wonderful person,” Porter said Tuesday morning. “He is very passionate about the gardens. He cares very much about the success of the gardens and he’s... Read More

Spring is here, the weather is looking better, and there’s an optimism in the air! Things are looking good, Quad-Cities! And so, it’s a great time to check out some of the POSITIVE news and stories from around the area, which we do every month in our What’s The Good News feature on QuadCities.com and KWQC-TV6’s “Paula Sands Live.” So, what’s the good news this month? Let’s find out… New Book Offering Advice To Teenagers Yours truly, Sean Leary, is working on a new book, Advice To A Teenager, based upon advice I’ve learned, been given, and will be giving to my son Jackson, who... Read More

If you have a personal or professional event you typically go out of town for, Visit Quad Cities wants you to consider bringing it back home. Visit Quad Cities – the area’s destination management marketing organization — officially launched its new “Bring It QC” initiative today, April 5. The program is designed to connect Quad Citizens with the Visit Quad Cities team to identify potential new meetings, events, conventions, and conferences that could be held in the Quad Cities regional destination. Many Quad Citizens travel out of town to attend conferences, professional association... Read More

I got two election fliers in the mail the other day. Being that we’re only a few days away from the April 6 election, and the mayoral race in Rock Island is, from most reports, closely contested between incumbent Mike Thoms and challenger Thurgood Brooks, this is not surprising. But what has been pleasantly surprising is the positive nature of this campaign. While the Moline mayoral race slides around in the mud, with a bunch of slanderous and poorly spelled fliers by a dark money group peddling lies about Stephanie Acri’s challenger, Sangeetha Rayapati, the two men vying for Rock Island’s... Read More