With his album Stever Fever named one of its year's top-10 comedy albums by Comedy-Reviews.com, and his latest recording Alive on State a number-one smash on iTunes, standup comedian Steve Gillespie brings his touring act to Davenport's Raccoon Motel on May 29, the evening of laughter held in support of his new album Liminal Bliss and boasting sets by Donny Townsend and Maggie Driscal.

His career trajectory having taken him from being a public school teacher to a national touring comedian, Lucas Bohn shares his journey of following his dreams in the midst of life’s many curve balls in Lesson Plans to Late Night. a special May 22 event at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse boasting a plethora of jokes from students and ruminations on the joys of mid-life adoption while performing comedy across America.

The recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship who, in 2016, was also named one of Politico's “50 people across the country who are most influencing the national political debate," a Pulitzer Prize winner engages in virtual conversation with a Chicago-based journalist in Poverty – A Discussion with Matthew Desmond, the May 13 event with Desmond and Natalie Moore presented by Illinois Libraries Present and the Rock Island and Silvis Public Libraries.

A fascinating exploration of both a well-known German-American blacksmith and a revolutionary addition to the transportation industry, Immigrant Innovators: The Fruehauf Trailer Company will be on display at Davenport's German American Heritage Center through June 29, the exhibit offering insight into the company’s origins, its development over the decades, and its ultimate downfall after the Fruehauf family’s involvement.