With all of the election stress this week, we could all use some GOOD news, am I right? And every month, we at QuadCities.com, along with our media partners at KWQC-TV6’s “Paula Sands Live,” present What’s The Good News, a look at some of the awesome people and positive news happening around the area! So, what’s the good news for November? Here ya go… Quad City Arts Visiting Artist Series Takes On An Online Educational Tone Quad City Arts has launched its new collection of online educational materials for the 47th-annual Visiting Artist Series that’s designed to help people during... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – The first student candidate for graduation from Western Illinois University’s Environmental Science: Large River Ecosystems Ph.D. program has successfully defended her dissertation. Michele Rehbein, of Helper, UT, received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from WIU, in 2013 and 2016 respectively. She defended her dissertation, “Mosquitoes of Wetland and Low Order Streams in West-Central and North Central Illinois: Developing Models Between Culex Mosquito Abundance Versus Abiotic Factors and Identification of Mosquito Hosts through Genetic... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Since Fall 2015, Western Illinois University has provided opportunities for area high school students to get a head start on their college career without having to leave their local high school. Western’s Dual Enrollment program offers high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to enroll in college-level courses, including a variety of classes that count toward WIU general education requirements. Courses are available on campus, online and some classes meet on site at partner high schools. Students who take part in WIU’s program, beginning in Spring 2021,... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – The Western Illinois University Board of Trustees will interview the six finalists for the position of Western’s 12th president during a closed session with each candidate beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5 Riverfront Hall, rooms 103/104, on the WIU-Quad Cities campus. The Board will convene in closed session at 7 a.m. Nov. 5. Virtual interviews have been held with the search committee, which is led by WIU Board of Trustees Chair Polly Radosh and Faculty Senate Chair Christopher Pynes, and numerous campus and community constituents. Finalists include Martin Abraham,... Read More

The Western Illinois University Food Pantry will continue implementing the appointment-only system through the remainder of in-person classes on campus, through Wednesday, Nov.18. The Pantry is now located in Horrabin Hall, room 10. The appointment form, located here will be re-used every week to fill out an appointment time. There will not be a weekly form. An appointment must be made to visit the WIU Food Pantry. Patrons are asked to fill this form out in advance of Thursdays or Saturdays. The Pantry hours are Thursdays noon-5 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-noon. Social distancing and facial coverings... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – The Western Illinois University School of Education is now offering a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, which is an alternative licensure program. The program has three degree options, including special education (K-21), secondary math (9-12), and secondary science (9-12). Coursework is completed through WIU and a two-year teaching residency. Teacher candidates will receive an educator license with stipulations, an Alternative Provisional Educator (APE). The candidates will then be hired as a teacher of record by the school and take courses over that two-year period. “Assuming... Read More

One yardstick Western Illinois University Assistant Professor Shelby Henning uses to measure the results of his vegetable research is how full the harvest makes the bed of his vintage Chevrolet El Camino. The production of tomatoes and numerous varieties of bell peppers is part of federally-funded grant research into the use of a high tunnel to extend the growing season for vegetable farmers. The United States Department of Agriculture grant helped build the 30-foot by 100-foot plastic-covered structure on the University’s agricultural research farm, which is used to protect plantings from... Read More

“Do not desire to fit in. Desire to oblige yourselves to lead” – Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks. The new Gwendolyn Brooks Memorial Park Dedication will take place on the Western Illinois University Macomb campus Friday, April 9, 2021 (time TBA). While the event will be invitation-only and limited to 50 in attendance to adhere to social gathering protocols, the University will livestream the event on WIU’s YouTube channel. Invitations will be sent via email in early Spring 2021. The Gwendolyn Brooks Memorial Park has been established on the WIU-Macomb campus on the... Read More

PBS for the Quad Cities Region premieres their newest documentary “The Fight for the Women’s Vote.” The documentary will air November 1 at 9:00 pm and repeat November 12 at 8:00 pm.  Written and produced by WQPT Director of Marketing and Local Content Lora Adams and edited by Denise Hollmer, the documentary follows the timeline of the movement to acquire voting rights for women from the mid 1800’s to 1965 when The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. “We focused not only on the famous suffragettes like Alice Paul, but on our own homegrown suffragettes... Read More

The Western Illinois University School of Music will present the WIU Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Professor Rick Kurasz and Associate Professor Kevin Nichols, at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. Due to the restrictions currently in place, there are no general admission performances in the COFAC Recital Hall.This performance will be broadcast on the School of Music’s YouTube Channel and Facebook page. PROGRAM: Percussion Music – Michael Colgrass Allegro from Water Music – G. F. Handel/arr. James L. Moore Variations on a Ghanaian Theme – Daniel Levitan Implosion –... Read More