And so the saga sort-of, maybe, kinda, possibly, ends. Or not. We’ll see. The Rock Island County courthouse saga has gone on for a couple of years now, with the county wanting to demolish the building and repurpose the spot just off Centennial Bridge, and a growing number of citizens calling for it to be sold to local developer Joe Lemon, who has been trying to buy it for over a year. We at QuadCities.com have covered this issue extensively, and if you want to get more of the details, I encourage you to listen to my various QCUncut podcasts of a meeting about the issue, an interview... Read More

The Rock Island County Courthouse battle will take a new turn at the County Board Meeting tonight. According to courthouse preservation advocate Bridget Ehrmann, local commercial real estate developer, Joe Lemon, will bring a $500,000 written offer to purchase the historic Rock Island County courthouse at the county board meeting at 5:30 p.m. at 1504 3rd Avenue on the 3rd floor.  The offer includes a purchase price of $500,000 and an agreement to invest $8 million into the restoration of the 124-year-old courthouse. That’s $8.5 million. In writing. And that, up to this point, has been one of... Read More

“How can you be making a celebrity out of a criminal!” “He broke the law! How can he be a hero?” “You should be ashamed of yourselves for giving fame to a law-breaker!” These are some of the messages I’ve gotten this week from, well, all of three people. And no, they’re not about Batman. Those have finally died down, especially after he helped stop the Joker from blowing up the Rock Island County Courthouse. Or at least got a temporary injunction. Rather, the flood of Batman emails has subsided in lieu of those complaints about Catfish Guy. Yes, QC Catfish Guy. A.k.a. Pete Robinson. A.k.a.... Read More

There’s so much bad news in the world, how about some good stuff? There’s always plenty of good news happening around the Quad-Cities, and here in What’s The Good News?, our cooperative effort with the good folks at KWQC-TV6’s “Paula Sands Live,” we highlight some of the awesome things happening around our area! Have something you want included next time around? Email Sean Leary at Sean@QuadCities.com. We’re happy to help! Now let’s get started in taking a look around the local spots for some positive and upbeat news…   A KISS for the USO, from the Q-C Storm! The Quad City... Read More