From the time I first saw Tim VanHyfte’s artwork, not long after I moved to the Quad-Cities in the mid-’90s, I was absolutely enthralled. VanHyfte had a beautiful, intricate, original and wonderful style that was distinctly his own. Most of Tim’s subjects were women, and his artwork presented them as beautiful mysteries, fantastic worlds and journeys to be taken through merely the look in their eyes, the way they held themselves, the environments in which they were presented. It was reminiscent of a Gen X version of Andrew Wyeth’s “Christina’s World” —... Read More

Bettendorf’s Emily Tinsman, in her second year as Miss Iowa and first teaching at a Des Moines middle school, is part of a new Miss America Organization program where state title holders speak with teens in their area to discuss the dangers of substance use and addiction. The new partnership with Advanced Recovery Systems’ Real Talk program has served the Florida community since 2016 (led by Miss Florida) and has impacted over 15,000 students since its founding. This partnership with Miss America Organization will expand the educational ambassador program nationwide. There are currently 20... Read More

As it does for downtown Davenport and Bettendorf, the Quad Cities Chamber is looking to contract with the city of Rock Island to provide downtown place management services. On Monday, Jan. 25, at 6:45 p.m., the Rock Island City Council will discuss the issue at Council Chambers (3rd Floor), 1528 3rd Ave., Rock Island. You can also watch the meeting at www.youtube.com/user/RockIslandIL/live. “Revitalizing our downtown area is a key component to economic growth opportunities for the city, which is why we’re excited to bring this public/private partnership forward,” Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms... Read More

It’s Sunday, and QuadCities.com proudly presents FUN10, a list of the top 10 things to do in the Quad Cities this week, and every week! Every Sunday, we drop a new FUN10, to give you a head start on your week and a heads up on what’s going on over the coming seven days. Check out FUN10 every Sunday for the details on ten awesome events happening around town. It’s a cool read, and a great way to get started planning your entertainment for the week. FUN10 — ten ways for you to have fun in the Quad-Cities, this week and every week, running every Sunday, only on your site for fun, free, local... Read More

Saturday In The Arts offers an in-depth look at a local person, trend or event of interest in the Quad-Cities. It runs weekly on your free local media for arts and entertainment, QuadCities.com. Joe Maciejko has been shooting beautiful photos for far longer than Paige Magistrelli has been alive, but both passionate Bettendorf residents are among 23 area artists who will have their photography on display in February at the Bereskin Gallery and Art Academy, 2967 State St., Bettendorf. Five other Q-C photographers are part of a new ongoing campaign to promote the work and purpose of United Way Quad... Read More

Like millions of other people, I watched the inauguration of Joe Biden as president this week, in part to see if Kanye West was going to jump on stage and claim that he should’ve won the award. But as I was watching Joe talk about how he was going to help millions of Americans in need, to help them get the aid they so desperately seek, I couldn’t help but think of one particular person I hope is rescued from her situation. That person? Taylor Swift. Oh, no, wait, not her. The person I’m talking about is, of course, Alice, the maid on “The Brady Bunch.” That’s... Read More

Wednesday was kind of a big day for Moline native Elisabeth Plunk and 58 of her musical colleagues in the “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. The 41-year-old principal flutist – and Master Sergeant – played for her fifth U.S. presidential inauguration. A 1997 Moline High alumna, Plunk got up at 3 a.m. Wednesday, and arrived with the prestigious band at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. by 6:30 a.m. “The security takes a long time,” she said Wednesday afternoon. The prestigious Marine Band – whose mission is to perform for the President of the United States and the... Read More

Western Illinois University’s student-run broadcast news and sports media, as well as the radio station, have been named as finalists for the annual Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) Media Awards, to be held in March. NEWS3 staffers, The Dog WIUS-88.3 FM, and Broadcast Journalism’s sports broadcasters were nominated for a number of categories, including Best College TV Station, Best College Radio Station, Best Sports Pre-Game/Post-Game Show, Best Women’s Basketball Play-By-Play, Best Spot News, Best Use of YouTube, Best Video Sports Report and Best Use of Graphics. Individual... Read More

Congratulations to local musician Josh Duffee, who very deservedly won the Bix Lives Award this weekend! Josh has long been a huge supporter of the Bix fest and Beiderbecke’s legacy, as well as an accomplished jazz musician in his own right. Josh posted news of the win on his facebook, where he said: I am very honored to have received the Bix Lives Award this past Saturday, January 16th, at the RME. A congratulations is also in order for Carol Schaefer, the other recipient of the award. I can’t believe it has been 20 years since I started my musical journey with my orchestra... Read More

It’s Monday. Yeah. We feel you. And so, every Monday, we give you a music video. A fun, funny music video. Something that’ll make you smile, make you laugh, make you reminisce, and make you realize that back in the day, music video creators were probably either insane or heavily intoxicated. But were also incredibly entertaining. We call this feature, The Video You Deserve, and you can find it every Monday on your site for fun, free entertainment and features, QuadCities.com. Our latest video is one you’ll certainly remember if you were alive and cognizant in the ’90s, as it was... Read More