The Virtual Writers Studio hosted by Ryan Collins and the Midwest Writing Center will scribble in online from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Here are the details: Writer’s Studio will be meeting virtually in the private Facebook Group listed below at the regular time (1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month, 11am-1pm). Writer’s Studio regulars or anyone interested in sharing and discussing their work in a constructive space, we’ve started a private group on Facebook for writers to connect while not meeting in-person. Please see the link below to join the group We will also be sharing other writing... Read More

Winter Nights Winter Lights begins lighting up the Quad City Botanical Center, 2525 4th Ave., Rock Island, this weekend! From Nov. 19 to Jan. 10, every night from 4 to 9 p.m. the outdoor gardens will be in winter bloom with over 130,000 glowing lights. Showcasing our largest light display yet, new areas of our outdoor gardens will be lit, including the Children’s Garden. Explore the lawns, pond and pocket gardens of our outdoor light exhibit. Open Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and the night of New Year’s Day. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas. A small processing fee will be added to all tickets. All... Read More

The Quad Cities Community Foundation is targeting the persistent racial disparities that impact the social and economic well-being of Quad Citizens of color with a $50,000 Transformation Grant to United Way. The grant will bolster efforts to reduce inequities across education, income and health systems in the Quad Cities. “We know that strong communities are ones that embrace increased diversity and the powerful assets that diversity brings,” said Sherry Ristau, president and CEO of the Quad Cities Community Foundation. “The Quad Cities is a wonderful place to live, and like other cities,... Read More

Quad-Cities stores are far from flush with toilet paper. With new covid-19 restrictions in place for the Iowa and Illinois Quad-Cities, toilet paper is flying off the shelves again in local stores, although other staple food and supply items seem to be remaining stable on shelves. A visit to six area locations — two Targets, a Walmart, a Sam’s Club, and two HyVee stores — showed that shelves are barren in some, but still in ok shape in others. Iowa side stores seem to be in more of a frenzy, given Governor Kim Reynolds’ proclamations and immediate restrictions put in place... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois High School sports will be put on hold effective immediately, and could be delayed through 2020 and into spring 2021 due to covid-19 mitigations, according to a statement released this evening by IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. The statement was released following Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s announcement of moving Illinois to Tier 3 mitigations for covid-19 starting Friday. There’s no set date for the return of sporting activities, however the statement says the IHSA remains “optimistic” for a return soon. The statement reads as follows: IHSA... Read More

BREAKING NEWS (UPDATED): Illinois will be moving back to Tier 3 mitigations starting Friday, closing up restaurants and bars to indoor service, severely curtailing all businesses in the state, shutting down sporting events including youth sports, and more. Governor JB Pritzker announced the move in his coronavirus update at 2:30 p.m. today. “With COVID-19 spread now exponential in every region of the state, our statewide positivity rate at record highs and hospitalizations already surpassing our Spring peak, all 11 regions will move into Tier 3 effective November 20 at midnight,”... Read More

The Quad-Cities has rocketed up to SIXTH among the top 10 worst covid outbreak spots in the nation, according to data from the CDC, the New York Times reported today. According to the data, the Illinois/Iowa Quad-Cities is now inside the top ten most rapidly spiking hot spots nationwide for a second week in a row, roaring from number 13 to number 7 to number 6 in just two weeks. The rising number of Quad-Cities covid-19 cases have put it consistently among in the top 10 worst covid hot spots in the United States over the past month, with other Iowa communities in the top 10. Iowa continues to be... Read More

Martin Luther King Center, 630 9th St., Rock Island, is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner. Enjoy a delicious, free Thanksgiving meal. All are welcome! Thanksgiving at the King Center will be a bit different this year. We will provide delivery and curb-side pickup for three days (November 20-22). There will be no dine-in service this year. If you would like us to deliver 25 or more meals to one location, please call 309 732 2999 to reserve. More details to come! This event is made possible through the hard work and dedication of hundreds of volunteers, many of whom have been coming back for more than... Read More

Got a perfect pupper? A great good boi? A darn awesome doggo? QuadCities.com wants to feature your dog in our new Pupper Of The Week feature! Just send a picture of your pet with their name, your name, and a sentence or two about them and we’ll post their pic and story on QuadCities.com. Message your doggo pics and info to Sean@QuadCities.com. And get ready to check out some cool doggos on your site for fun, free, local entertainment and features, QuadCities.com! This week’s puppers are Sofia and Sonni, the companions of Maria Steinbaugh! Here’s what she has to say about her doggos: This... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds just announced sweeping new rules to mitigate the spread of covid-19 in Iowa taking place at midnight which will impact all state bars and gathering places, eliminate all sporting events under high school age, and severely limit the number of people able to gather together. In a press conference shortly after 6 p.m. tonight, Reynolds said that starting at midnight tonight, the following mitigation rules will be in effect: When in an indoor public space and unable to socially distance, masks are required to be worn by all, and masks will be required to be... Read More