For the first time in 10 years, ComedySportz (CSz) Quad Cities will host the world championship for the improvisational comedy group, and for the first time at Moline’s Spotlight Theatre (1800 Seventh Avenue, Moline IL).

John Taylor doesn’t have to go far to hear first-class live music. Since 2014, the friendly Iraq war veteran and computer programmer has hosted concerts at his home in tiny Cambridge, Illinois, 31 miles southeast of Moline.

Like many of us, Mike Conrad is just making it up as he goes along. Unlike most of us, however, the 37-year-old – a Bettendorf High School alum whose trio headlines a June 29 concert at Davenport's Redstone Room – has won international acclaim and several awards for his improvisational wizardry as a composer, arranger, pianist, and trombonist.

Courtney Crouse and Tommy Ranieri are both enthusiastic theatre directors who are taking on recent roles as artistic directors of, respectively, our area's summer-stock organizations the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre and the Timber Lake Playhouse. Their passion for the craft and their new summer homes were obvious in recent interviews about the theatres located just 24 miles apart, one on each side of the Mississippi River.

You only turn 100 years old once. And while the Figge Art Museum – which originated as the Davenport Municipal Art Gallery in 1925 – is marking its centennial year in many ways, it's pulling out all the stops on Saturday, May 17, with a “Glow Up” party, celebrating a landmark $4-million lighting of its building at 225 West Second Street in Davenport.

Jason Tanamor will help celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May with a new, Filipino-inspired shoe that pays respect to the Philippines flag. He designed the Italian-made shoe, the JT I, produced by Alive Shoes, which also aims to expand the underrepresented market of the Philippines.

Hisham Bravo Groover is nearing the close of his first season leading several QC orchestras. And the articulate, passionate conductor is earning key bravos along the way.

[The following is an update to the "Rock Island Addresses Concerns Over Development Plan Near Casino" article published March 21, 2025. In the above photo by Jonathan Turner, Jeff Hughbanks (right), who heads Rock Island-based Rymak Construction Group, talks about his $12-million plan to build a new cannabis dispensary and gas station in southwest Rock Island, at the March 21 press conference at city hall. Mike Thoms (left) will end his two terms as mayor having been defeated by 150 votes in the April 1st city wide election by Ashley Harris who won 51 to 49 percent.]

One hundred and 13 years (minus six days) after making its infamous maiden voyage, a new production of Titanic: The Musical will set sail at Moline's Spotlight Theatre.

Nature’s Treatment of Illinois (NTI) has done so well in Milan that it wants to fly the coop and a build a bigger nest in Rock Island. Local environmentalists are keeping an eagle eye on a $12-million-plus development plan next to Bally’s Quad Cities Casino & Hotel to ensure that wildlife and wetlands are protected.

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