BREAKING NEWS (UPDATED): Iowa has been slammed with a civil rights investigation by the Biden administration’s Education Department over Gov. Kim Reynolds’ move to ban mask mandates. The federal government investigation levels the charge that Iowa, and Gov. Reynolds’ actions, “create an unsafe learning environment for students with disabilities who are at heightened risk of severe illness from covid-19.” Iowa is one of five states to get hit with the investigations, the other four being Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah. “We’re advocating for... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: As the covid delta variant rages across the state, in alignment with CDC guidelines and other school districts around the country, Eastern Iowa schools — including those in the Quad-Cities Davenport and Bettendorf districts — are “strongly encouraging” mask use and putting in place other covid precautions. The Davenport District released its revised the plan for the 2021-2022 school year to align with updated guidance from local and state public health officials. Face coverings are strongly encouraged. Read the Return to Learn plan, here: https://bit.ly/3CPluXX. Linn... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Covid-19 numbers are dropping in Rock Island County, according to data released by the Rock Island County health department. As previously reported earlier on QuadCities.com, numbers across Illinois have been dropping as the number of vaccinated people above age 16 in the state has gone over 50 percent. Today, the Rock Island County health department reported 16 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total to 14,487. Currently, 26 patients are hospitalized in the county with the virus. The average age of today’s cases is 32. The new cases are: • 2 women in her 40s •... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Covid numbers for Illinois Region 2, which includes the Illinois Quad-Cities, continue to worsen, bringing our area ominously close to potential mitigations, according to data released over the weekend. As earlier reported on QuadCities.com, covid-19 numbers in Illinois Region 2, which includes the Quad-Cities area, have been surging over the past two weeks, putting the area at risk for mitigations and a shutdown of some activities. Region 2 has seen a rise in covid cases for more than seven days, which would put it in danger of having some mitigations reinstated; it has seen three... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: All Iowans could be eligible to get the covid-19 vaccine as early as April 5, if all goes according to plan, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said in a virtual press conference this afternoon. Reynolds said she talked to President Biden’s covid transition team on Tuesday, at which point they said vaccine production was going to be ramping up in the coming weeks, allowing states to be able to begin scheduling potential times for vaccines. Reynolds also addressed computer problems the state had been having with its covid data base and said they had been fixed, and should not impact... Read More

I’m not great at predicting the stock market. I can’t say I’ve been especially adept at picking lottery numbers. But I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Iowa Quad-Cities covid numbers, and probably statewide numbers as well, are going to see a rise in 10-14 days. Over the weekend, my social media feed was flooded with pictures of people at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, downtown Davenport, the Village of East Davenport, and really all over, enjoying the good weather and the premature St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. What did all of those pictures have in... Read More

There’s an old saying that you shouldn’t blame the messenger when you receive bad news. However, that saying is reliant on the messenger being a neutral party. When the messenger is merely the one bringing you the message, it’s without blame. For example, when we at QuadCities.com, give you a story featuring covid statistics, we’re passing along information we’ve gleaned from an official source. We also attribute that source, so that you know where we got that information. We have no part in creating that information. We do not make up the statistics. We do the duty of what the media... Read More

Yesterday, I wrote about the moronic decision by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds to do away with her already minimal efforts to mitigate covid-19 — just as statistics were showing that Iowa is one of the worst, and least safe, states in the country in regard to keeping its citizens covid-free. I’d say her actions were ill-advised, but apparently, Reynolds took no advice in regard to making them. She ignored scientists, healthcare professionals (you know, those people she loves to pose for photo ops with, and hollowly praise as “heroes” while undercutting them with her actions)... Read More

When you allow people with less intelligence and common sense to think for you and inform your decisions, the results are seldom good. And that’s why Iowans — and those traveling through Iowa in the Quad-Cities and throughout the state — need to ignore the abysmal advice of short-sighted Governor Kim Reynolds and trust scientists and their own common sense and good judgement in regard to covid. Over 5,000 people have died in Iowa since the pandemic began, 60 percent of those in the last three months, according to the Iowa Department of Health. Sixty percent. Over the last three... Read More

In a shocking new report, the Associated Press reported on Monday that Reynolds lifted the state’s mask mandate without consulting the health officials in her administration. State lawmakers participating in a conference call with Iowa Department of Public Health officials told the AP that Reynolds did not talk with health experts before lifting the restrictions. “We asked the Iowa Department of Public Health if they had input into the governor’s decision to lift the mask mandate on Friday and they said they had not,” said Sen. Liz Mathis, who participated in the meeting, according to the... Read More