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

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

For 36 years, Davenport Schools teacher and coach Ira Dunsworth has provided support and guidance to students and athletes in the Quad Cities area. To honor him for his achievements and community spirit, the board of the Davenport Community School District has agreed to name the track at Brady Street Stadium after him. The decision was made at a regular school board meeting on March 22. Dunsworth served as the head track and cross-country coach at Central High School from 1965 to 1995. His accomplishments include 15 State Championships and receiving the title of Iowa State Coach of the Year four... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! Especially after this past year, we could all use more joy, color, light and life in our lives, and backers of a new public art plan for Moline want that all for downtown. This past week, Moline Mayor Stephanie Acri and the City Council heard a presentation on the new 102-page Public Art and Placemaking Plan, commissioned by Renew Moline and the city. A nine-member Public... Read More

Quad City Arts on Friday announced the winners of the 44th Annual High School Art Invitational. It presented $6,000 in cash prizes and scholarships to area high school students and teachers for excellence in fine art. The awards are as follows: Senior Scholarship sponsored by Morency Family Foundation and Quad City Arts’ board members: Sophia Utsinger, Bettendorf High School Senior Scholarship sponsored by Deere Employee Credit Union and Quad City Arts’ board members: Jaide Logsdon, Bereskin Gallery and Art Academy Best of Show sponsored by Butterworth Center/Deere Wiman House Laurel Hynes,... Read More

John Deere is known the world over for its signature green – in its iconic deer logo; its gleaming ag equipment, and literal link to the land. But another kind of green is playing a larger role in the Moline-based institution as it continues a long tradition to devoting time and treasure to communities it serves, through corporate citizenship and charitable contributions. This week, the John Deere Foundation announced it will invest $200 million over the next 10 years in initiatives that will bring to life John Deere’s higher purpose: “We run so life can leap forward.” That recalls the... Read More

Two icons of the Quad-Cities indie scene celebrate birthdays today, as Moline’s CoOp Records and Rock Island’s Rozz Tox are both blowing out the candles (Rozz Tox’ are probably on cupcakes), and although they’re both suffused with a spirit of fun, their success is serious testament to hard work and an example of how to do local business right. It was 26 years ago that music scene fixture and die-hard Replacements fan Reid Robinson decided to take the leap and open up CoOp at 3727 Avenue of the Cities, Moline. Little did he know he was getting in when the getting was about to get anything... Read More

In 2011, the LGBT*QA Resource Center was established at Western Illinois University to serve as a home, and to raise awareness for, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, questioning+ community at WIU. Ten years later, the resource center provides that home-away-from-home, numerous programming and events and resources for the WIU and surrounding communities. According to Sarah Daniels, a graduate assistant at the LGBT*QA Resource Center, before the center had its first physical home in Seal Hall (now in the Multicultural Center), there was just one week of programming in April to raise awareness for... Read More

The timing of the Quad Cities International Airport (QCIA) announcing its ambitious, sleek renovation plans Tuesday was no coincidence. The public unveiling of more than $20 million in passenger terminal improvements came the day before President Joe Biden today announced his ambitious $2-trillion infrastructure plans, dubbed “The American Jobs Plan” – which includes $25 billion for airport improvements nationwide. “A lot of the funds we get, we pull in federally into the community. So we’re not big on pulling taxes from our neighbors,” QCIA executive director Benjamin Leischner... Read More

Davenport’s German American Heritage Center and Rock Island’s Rozz-Tox are partnering for a new monthly German film series, on the first Friday each month at Rozz-Tox (2108 3rd Ave.) To be streamed outside in the Rozz-Tox “Kinogarten” (German for “film garden”), the first flick is April 2 with “The Edukators” (2004), directed by Hans Weingartner, rated R. Each film is free and features English subtitles (no registration needed). The films will start at 8 p.m. or sundown, and to keep audiences safe, film streaming will be socially distanced and guests are required to wear a mask. Food... Read More