During the COVID-19 pandemic, creative, intelligent people are being asked to find new ways to meet unexpected challenges. That was the case when West High School teachers Greg Smith and Jason Franzenburg received a request from TJ Schneckloth, Superintendent of Davenport Community School District, back in June 2020. At that time, Schneckloth needed a reliable source of face shields for District employees. Smith and Franzenburg, industrial technology instructors, teach Project Lead the Way Engineering and Career and Technical Education. “TJ was looking for an efficient, creative way to take care... Read More

A Davenport barbershop will have a permanent health station installed that will provide access to health information, resources, and education, and be the site of health screenings and in-person provider education. The health station, part of the “Medicine in the Barbershop” partnership between UnityPoint Health – Trinity and 4 Sher Cut & Style, is partially funded through a grant from the University of Iowa College of Public Health, Business Leadership Network Community Grant program. It will help advance health and wellness for African-American men while offering a health access point... Read More

By Craig Cooper The coronavirus sweeping across the globe may seem to be unlike anything most have experienced. But if you are 60 years old or older, mass COVID-19 vaccination efforts may seem vaguely familiar. You may remember another frightening and uncontrolled viral outbreak. We have been down this path before. There was danger in the water for parents and their children 60 years ago. The warm months of summer were polio season. Exposure to waters polluted by human fecal matter and ingested by others could be life altering and possibly deadly. Polio outbreaks were striking American children,... Read More

Michael Carton, director of education and outreach for WQPT (Quad Cities PBS), is in his fourth year of teaching computer coding classes to area K-3 students. But since last spring, it’s been very limited because of Covid restrictions. Carton is happy, however, to be among seven Q-C STEM professionals and one technical organization to be honored by the Quad City Engineering & Science Council (QCESC) at its 59th-annual STEM Celebration on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. The awards pay tribute to and recognize engineering and science professionals and educators whose outstanding achievements... Read More

EXCLUSIVE: The beloved former president/CEO of Ascentra Credit Union, Dale Owen, died in November 2020 at 52, but his wide-ranging generosity and large legacy will live on in a new fund established by the Quad Cities Cultural Trust. While battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer, Owen in 10 months worked to raise $500,000 from 11 local lending and banking institutions, including Bettendorf-based Ascentra. Together, those participants agreed to rename this project The Dale Owen Art and Culture Match. It will match every $1 given up to $500,000 to support art and culture programs in the Quad-Cities through... Read More

SuperStorm 2021 (or at least the latest one) is over, but winter’s cold and dreariness continues on. But don’t despair, there are things in the Quad-Cities to smile about! Every month, we at QuadCities.com, in conjunction with our media partners at KWQC-TV6’s “Paula Sands Live,” present What’s The Good News? A look at some of the positive things going on in and around the Quad-Cities. So, what’s the good news for February? Here ya go… Rock Island Teen Is Headed To ‘The Voice!’ Charlotte Boyer, a 17-year-old junior at Rock Island High School,... Read More

Western Illinois University will celebrate Black History Month throughout February, with a variety of activities, speakers and events planned. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the events vary from virtual to in person. The Black History Month schedule for the remainder of the month includes: • Friday, Feb. 19 – 6 p.m. – movie night, “Moonlight,” virtual event: The LGBT*QA Resource Center and Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center will celebrate Black History Month with a free, online movie night. The film is a powerful and inspiring coming of age drama of a young Black man growing up in Miami.... Read More

Sharon Glassman is fondly remembered as a quiet, thoughtful person who worked at the International Harvester Plant in East Moline. She possessed a cheerful, kind-hearted sensibility that shone through whenever she spoke. Her husband, Kenneth Glassman, was a welder at Johnson Sheet Metal whose iron-clad work ethic instilled within him a sense of duty and purpose. Together, the Glassmans found their passion in helping individuals and families better themselves however they could — they each worked hard throughout their lives, and eventually amassed a modest estate through prudence. Before they... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: While Major League Baseball is scheduled to start spring training Feb. 28 and Opening Day is April 1, the Quad Cities River Bandits will return to play a 120-game schedule, with their season opener on the road Tuesday, May 4, 2021, against the South Bend Cubs. The River Bandits home opener will be on Tuesday, May 11, at 6:30 p.m. against the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Davenport’s Modern Woodmen Park. Single game tickets will go on sale Monday, April 19. Anyone who purchased tickets or vouchers for games in 2020 can exchange those tickets at the River Bandits’ box office for any... Read More

Can we ever get out of the rabbit hole? That eternal question is more relevant today than ever, as Davenport Junior Theatre (DJT) continues its 69th season with its second virtual production, “Alice in Wonderland,” directed by local theater artist Bobby Becher. Based on Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” (1865) and adapted by Daniel DP Sheridan, “Wonderland” is a timely story that speaks directly to the viral Wonderland we’ve all found ourselves in over the last year. “Alice in Wonderland” involves 24 students from around the Q-C area. The kids range from ages... Read More