Linda Phan does not consider herself a child prodigy, but the 11-year-old Bettendorf student is the youngest musician to perform as a soloist with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra in recent memory. Linda – who’s in sixth grade at Riverdale Heights Elementary – won the Grand Prize at the 2019 Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles Concerto Competition. This past Saturday night, she joined the QCSO for the first movement of Wolfgang A. Mozart’s charming Third Violin Concerto, written when that child prodigy was 19, and you can buy digital access to the concert through March 9. It was performed,... 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

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

BREAKING: Due to covid-19 numbers getting better in the Quad-Cities Region 2, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced Sunday that the region is moving out of Tier 2 restrictions and into Tier 1. Indoor dining at 25% capacity will now be allowed in all Region 2 counties, including Bureau, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kendall, Knox, LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, McDonough, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren, and Woodford. This marks the second Illinois region in two days to be moved to Tier 1, as Region 5 was moved to Tier 1 restrictions on... Read More

UnityPoint Health® – Trinity is excited to announce the first Quad City baby was born at 12:20 a.m. Nora Grace Hessman was delivered by team members at UnityPoint Health – Trinity Moline Birthplace. The healthy baby girl was born to parents Brittany & Mark Hessman. The birth marks the first delivery for Trinity hospitals in 2021 and the first for the entire Quad City area. “Nora wasn’t interested in making an appearance in 2020 and we don’t blame her,” said Brittany Hessman. “We just feel blessed to have a healthy baby girl regardless of when she arrived.” Mark and Brittany... Read More

Davenport native Mark Salter – the longtime confidant and speechwriter for U.S. Sen. John McCain – is co-writing a film script on the late maverick Senator’s cinematic life. An Assumption High School alum whose father was executive director of Mississippi Valley Fair for decades, Salter is penning the biopic with television producer Craig Turk (“The Good Wife,” “FBI”). The film is being made with support from McCain’s family. His widow, Cindy McCain, will serve as an executive producer. “John’s story is one of incredible heroism, of serving causes greater than his own self-interest,”... Read More

It was 350 days ago when Illinois announced its first case of covid-19. Today, the state went over one million in cases, meaning almost one in 12 people in the state have tested positive for the virus, according to statistics from the Illinois Department of Health. As of Thursday night, 3,777 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 780 patients were in the ICU and 422 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators, according to statistics from the Illinois Department of Health. Illinois health officials reported 9,277 new COVID-19 cases and 126 deaths Friday. The... Read More