Quad Cities Nonprofit and DJ Veteran Starts as New Head of German-American Center
For the second time in less than three years, Davenport’s German American Heritage Center and Museum (GAHC + M) has a new boss.
Moline native Kirk Marske, 54, took over the reins of the nonprofit in mid-September, succeeding Brian Allen, who left as executive director after 26 months this past spring to become executive director of Quad City Arts.
Marske – a former radio disc jockey and producer, and area event DJ — has managed programs for iHeart Media, Junior Achievement of the Heartland, Black Hawk College, and Renew Moline, Inc. His interest in architecture, history, and his own German heritage has him excited to join the GAHC+M organization to lead and support its staff, board, volunteers, and members.
“I’ve managed programs virtually my whole career,” he said Monday. “I haven’t been an executive director, but what I liked about it is, it’s centered around one historic building. They have an active board with committees, a small but dedicated and hard-working staff. They have great volunteers and members as well. I have an interest in architecture and history, and thought it was a good fit.”
Marske stands in part of “The German Immigrant Experience” permanent exhibit on Sept. 29, 2025 (photo by Jonathan Turner).
Marske’s paternal grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Germany, and he’s interested in exploring more of their history. He’s never visited Germany (or anywhere in Europe) before.
“Part of my journey here is learning more about my heritage,” he said. Founded in 1994 (and housed in a four-story, 1871 former German hotel), the mission of GAHC + M is to preserve and enrich for present and future generations knowledge of the German immigrant experience and its impact on American culture. It focuses on cultural programs and immigrant contributions. “We reach out to other cultural groups and demonstrate the contributions made by immigrants from many countries and from varied backgrounds to the ethnic palette which is the United States,” the center website says.
“It was a learning experience for me to learn about the programs they offer,” Marske said. “One of the things I like about the organization is the outreach that we do. There was a time where you have an organization like this and people would just come to it, and now there’s more of an effort to do outreach, and get out into the community. Definitely, the programming and events we do were of interest to me.”
Aaron Baker – who started with the center in summer 2023 as new education and DEAI (diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion) coordinator – does most of that outreach to schools, and assistant director Clare Tobin served as interim GAHC director during the executive director search process. Marske said Monday they also plan to add a new development director position, in charge of fundraising, but there’s no timetable for that to start.
Kirk Marske, a 54-year-old Moline native and Augustana alum, is new executive director of the German-American Heritage Center and Museum (photo by Jonathan Turner).
“Part of our DEAI initiative is making this facility accessible – either here within the physical walls of our building, but also going out into the community to different places, with programming we do,” Marske said, noting partnerships with the Figge Art Museum and Davenport Public Library.
“Part of what drew me here is the team aspect of this organization,” he said. “I’ll be part of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. There’s a whole network of people; that’s one of my strengths – networking and collaborating. And obviously with a communication background, talking to people about what we do and how we do it, with people who might have an interest in the organization.”
He most recently worked as Moline Centre program manager for Renew Moline for two and a half years, starting the same day Brian Allen did as then-director of GAHC + M, 712 W. 2nd St., Davenport, at the foot of the Centennial Bridge. One of Marske’s downtown Moline projects was re-launching a live music series in the Skinner Block Courtyard in 2024 (next to River House), under the name “Chillin’ in the Courtyard.”
Part of the permanent “German Immigrant Experience” exhibit, renovated and reopened in early August 2025 (photo by Jonathan Turner).
Marske is a Riverdale High alum and graduate of Augustana College in Rock Island, where he majored in Speech Communications and minored in Journalism and Art History. He and his wife, Cara, live in Moline and enjoy family time (they have three grown kids in their 20s), weekend adventures, concerts, and local events.
Marske spent several years working in QC radio, including producing Dwyer & Michaels’ morning show at 97X from 1995 to 2006, then at KUUL-FM and WOC-AM. From 2012 to 2018, he worked for the local Junior Achievement as manager for its Career Cruising online program. Later jobs include WOC program director and morning show co-host; working at the Performance Food Group warehouse, and at Black Hawk College with high school students and job preparation.
He recently retired from his Quad City DJ company, after 30-plus years, mainly doing wedding receptions, fundraisers and other parties. Marke’s wife works at the Youth Service Bureau of Rock Island County.
The German-American Heritage Center and Museum in downtown Davenport includes videos depicting real German immigrants, who picked up their entire life and moved to Davenport, in a variety of time periods (photo by Jonathan Turner).
GAHC has not been substantially affected by federal cuts to arts funding – its main revenue sources come from sponsorships, grants, memberships, donations, event rentals and gift shop sales. There’s also an endowment that provides some funding.
Marske’s start in the job was perfectly timed, as it was soon after the early August opening of the update and expansion to the third-floor permanent exhibit, “The German Immigrant Experience: 1845-1925.” The total renovation project (led by Edwards Creative of Milan) cost $25,000, and GAHC this past spring lost an Iowa Historical Society grant of over $10,000, when National Endowment of Humanities cut many grants nationwide. “Thankfully, a few key donors helped make that up,” Tobin said in August.
Marske also began work the week the center was finalizing preparations for the annual “Oktoberfest,” it held with help from Downtown Davenport Partnership all day Sept. 20 in K-Square on East 3rd Street. “That gave me a chance to see how this event comes together, how it’s executed,” he said. “I got to see the staff in action and see how hard-working and dedicated they are, the volunteers and board members we had as well.”
Part of the permanent “German Immigrant Experience” exhibit, renovated and reopened in early August 2025 (photo by Jonathan Turner).
“I think people always have an interest in history,” Marske said. “A lot of people are aware of our building and what we’ve done, but they haven’t been here yet. That’s why if we can raise awareness about what we do…One of the things we have in the Quad Cities is the river that divides us and brings us together. Outreach to Illinois is important.”
He wants to work closely with DDP, as well as downtown Rock Island leaders, and programming at the Hauberg Center, Rock Island. “There’s a lot of opportunities to partner with people on both sides of the river,” he said. “This location we’re at is the gateway to Davenport as well, so there’s a lot of potential for being at the center of what’s happening in this particular area.”
Marske would like to make more use of the GAHC parking lot to hold events, at 2nd and Gaines streets.
On Wednesday, Oct. 1, GAHC + M is co-sponsoring the last film in its five-movie series, “From Hitler to Hollywood,” showing one of the most beloved films of all time, “Casablanca,” at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Last Picture House, 325 E. 2nd St., Davenport.
The series aimed to have viewers step into the dramatic world of 1930s Hollywood, where the silver screen became a beacon of hope and resistance. As the Nazi regime took hold in Germany, more than 800 filmmakers, directors, actors, technicians, and artists, fled persecution and found refuge in Los Angeles. United by their love of cinema and a determination to survive, these exiles became a vibrant creative community, supporting each other through hardship and forging new pathways in American film, according to the event Facebook page.
Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit GAHC + M programming.
Other upcoming events at the center (free for members), each starting with coffee and cake at 1:30 p.m., include:
- 12th – Wonderfully Weird Objects from the Putnam Collections with Christine Chandler
- 26th – The Wicked and the Weird: Stories from the Quad Cities with John Brassard Jr. (Strange and Dreadful Things)
- 9th – The Danville Station Museum and Anne Frank with Janet Hesler
- 23rd – The Belgian Connection: Belgium’s Influence Abroad and in the Quad Cities
For more information, visit the group’s Facebook page HERE.
The German-American Heritage Center building, 712 W. 2nd St., Davenport, as it looked circa 1877-1889 when it was Miller’s Hotel.
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