When Jack Cullen first visited Rock Island in 2008, to look at Augustana College, he fell in love with downtown. After he graduated from Augie in 2013, downtown is one reason he decided to settle in the Quad-Cities. Come April 1, the enthusiastic 30-year-old (who grew up in Madison, Wis.) will return to Rocktown as the first downtown Rock Island director for the Quad Cities Chamber. Under a new two-year-contract with the city, Cullen will provide place management services for the historic riverfront business district and create a new downtown organization. “It’s really gonna be filling... Read More

After getting canceled last summer due to Covid, the popular Bix 7 weekend festivities and Alternating Currents festival are returning to downtown Davenport this summer. Bix 7 race related activities draw some of the largest crowds to the Quad-Cities annually, and now the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP) is introducing a new event model to capture its thousands of attendees to immerse them in the downtown experience July 23-24, the Quad Cities Chamber announced Thursday. The traditional Street Fest model — featuring traveling vendors — is being replaced with a local focus. New... Read More

Experiencing rapid growth of its direct-to-consumer medication delivery service, Quad Cities-based pharmacy startup divvyDOSE is expanding in the region. After being acquired by UnitedHealth Group last fall, the healthcare tech company headquartered in Moline is adding 200-300 jobs in the area and moving its front-end operations to two floors of Mississippi Plaza in downtown Davenport, the Quad Cities Chamber announced Tuesday morning. divvyDOSE’s back-end operations, mainly the dispensing and packaging of medication, will remain at the business’s facility off John Deere Road (4300 44th Ave.)... Read More

After being bruised and battered from the spring 2019 flood and the 2020 pandemic, downtown Davenport is looking to a much brighter 2021, as the Davenport City Council officially accepted a comprehensive downtown master plan at its Jan. 27 meeting. That marks a milestone for the project started a year ago by the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP), an affiliate of the Quad Cities Chamber. “As downtown goes, so goes Davenport and the Quad-Cities,” said DDP executive director Kyle Carter. “Our community is well-prepared to rebound quickly from a challenging couple of years with this roadmap... Read More

The new Raccoon Motel bar and live-music venue plans to open St. Patrick’s Day 2021 at the old Abernathy’s in downtown Davenport, with live music starting in early summer, one of its partners said Wednesday. John McDermott, a Quad-Cities commercial lender who’s friends with original Raccoon Motel music booker Sean Moeller, is partnering with Moeller and Eric Swanson to resurrect the Raccoon – which operated from March 2017-August 2019 at 304 E. 3rd St. (now Devon’s Complaint Dept.), averaging about 150 live shows a year. The new Raccoon already has been selling some new hoodies, stocking... Read More

Despite the Covid crisis, the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP) — an affiliate of the Quad Cities Chamber – has been very busy for the past eight months. The result of all that work was presented Tuesday afternoon, as DDP executive director Kyle Carter unveiled a new strategic master plan to the Davenport City Council during a public work session. The 110-page plan (led by a New York-based consulting firm) will be added to upcoming city council agendas for further public input, and a vote to accept the final version is expected by December. Carter is most excited about providing hope... Read More

Next time you hop on Amazon to buy something online, consider keeping your money in the Quad-Cities. That’s the thrust of a new campaign from the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, which has launched “Keep It QC,” to bring awareness to the power of doing business locally. According to Chamber representatives, buying local has many tangible economic benefits for the region, in addition to helping area businesses rebound faster from the financial impact of Covid-19. “Keep It QC is about educating members of our community about why buying local should be the first choice every time,” Erin... Read More

Several Quad-Cities cultural organizations and projects were among 176 grants totaling just over $2 million, announced Friday by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs (IDCA), for works in art, film, history, and culture. The funding comes through programs overseen by the department’s divisions: the Iowa Arts Council, the State Historical Society of Iowa and Produce Iowa, the state office of film and media production. “These funds are critical to help sustain arts, film, heritage and cultural vibrancy across the state and showcase Iowa’s world-class cultural programs and destinations with... Read More

Another major Quad-Cities cultural event is biting the dust due to Covid-19. Event organizers from Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP) on Wednesday announced the cancellation of Alternating Currents, originally scheduled for August 27-30, as a regional event across five Quad-Cities downtown areas. Downtown Bettendorf Organization’s (DBO) “Be Downtown” event — in its third year originally re-scheduled from June to coincide with Alternating Currents — also has been canceled. Both organizations are divisions of the Quad Cities Chamber. “In order to keep Quad Citizens and visitors... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a comprehensive, in-depth feature on a topic, trend or personality impacting the Quad-Cities, posted every Saturday morning on QuadCities.com. This week we look at the various downtown businesses of the Illinois and Iowa Quad-Cities and how they’ve been impacted by, and have adapted to, the covid-19 pandemic.   The popular Rock Island Brewing Company (RIBCO), in the middle of The District at 1815 2nd Ave., has been through a lot since it opened in 1979. Hailed as a leader in Q-C live entertainment (its starry roster of guest acts includes Bo Diddley, The Wallflowers,... Read More