13 May 2003

Fewer Big Names, but Quality Reigns at the Quad Cities Jazz Festival

By Jeff Ignatius
This year's Quad Cities Jazz Festival at first blush looks less impressive than previous incarnations. But appearances can be deceiving. You won't find much contemporary jazz this year, yet fans of the classic styles won't be disappointed.
06 May 2003

Whither the Blackhawk?

By Jeff Ignatius
The Rhythm City Casino-owned Blackhawk Hotel stands three blocks from the gambling boat. It sounds like a short distance, but those three blocks include one unpleasant journey across five lanes of River Drive. And they cost money, the owners argue - for them and for the citizens of Davenport.
06 May 2003

At the Peaks of Their Powers

By Jeff Ignatius
Most artistically successful groups evolve toward obscurity - think most recently of Radiohead and Wilco - crafting an idiosyncratic vision that wins admirers and praise but threatens to alienate the bands' core audiences.
29 Apr 2003

Breast Cancer Gets Busted in One-Woman Show

By Jeff Ignatius
When Nancy Heerens-Knudson was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1985, her son - who was in kindergarten at the time - thought she was in the hospital for an elbow problem. He didn't know about the breast cancer until he was in sixth grade.
22 Apr 2003

Can the Quad Cities Graduate to the Next Level with Higher Ed?

By Jeff Ignatius
Efforts to enhance higher-education offerings in the Quad Cities got a boost last week with a new study identifying a need for more public-tuition-rate undergraduate programs and suggesting the expansions of two local educational institutions.
15 Apr 2003

Mediacom Pits Customers Against Public Access

By Jeff Ignatius
Activists trying to ensure that the City of Davenport improves public access to cable-television-production and -broadcast services are competing against some tough opponents: a public vocally concerned about cable rates and a cable provider threatening to pass increased public-access costs onto consumers.
15 Apr 2003

Upcoming Shows Feature Two Compelling Artists

By Jeff Ignatius
Matthew Clay, Crown Yourself King It’s pretty amazing what can come out of the do-it-yourself movement. Matthew Clay appears to be an artist with a new record on an indie label, but it doesn’t take much sleuthing to figure out that the Ottumwa, Iowa-based Freakin Records (as in, “Give me my Freakin Records”) is a one-man outfit, promoting only Clay.
01 Apr 2003

The Dingo Debuts with Mixed Results

By Jeff Ignatius
Sean Leary's stated goal for The Dingo - the new humor magazine that he debuted last week - is to be the print equivalent of Saturday Night Live. (He has wisely specified the show in its early years.
25 Mar 2003

Making the Pieces Fit

By Jeff Ignatius
What finally emerges as Iowa's Big Plan for revitalizing the state's economy might actually resemble a lot of smaller ideas pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle. It started with a basic concept and a challenge from the governor, and the response has been so strong that legislators have no shortage of initiatives from which to choose.
18 Mar 2003

Putnam to Debut Two IMAX Movies in Coming Weeks

By Jeff Ignatius
• In a move contrary to its past practices, the Putnam Museum & IMAX Theatre in Davenport will bring two new movies to the area in the span of just a few weeks. T-Rex: Back to Cretaceous opens March 21 (with a companion exhibit), followed by Ghosts of the Abyss (directed by James Cameron and focusing on the wreckage of the Titanic) on April 11.

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