Employing contemporary newspaper clippings and photographs for his fascinating and insightful program, author and frequent River Cities' Reader contributor D. Ezra Sidran, PhD will present How Davenport Became the Wickedest City in America at Davenport's German American Heritage Center on February 8.
Delivering the Spring 2026 Michael Lester Wendt Character Lecture for the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center, the institution's president Travis Frampton, PhD will speak on Heroes, Villains, & Leading Roles: How Stories Shape Character, this insightful program taking place in the John and Alice Butler Hall on February 9.
A lauded actor, comedian, and community leader best known for his portrayal of DEA Agent Steven Gomez on the Emmy-winning AMC series Breaking Bad, Steven Michael Quezada is the February 12 headliner in the "Laugh QC" Thursday Night Comedy Series held in the Mississippi Hall of the Davenport RiverCenter, the performer also boasting roles in Magnum P.I., Strange Darling, and Documentary Now!
Mary Todd Lincoln lived a life filled with triumphs and tragedies. But few genuinely know her story, and in the Bettendorf Public Library's February 12 program Historic Voices: Mrs. Lincoln in Love, patrons are invited to listen in as Mary – as portrayed by librarian and touring performer Laura Keyes – reflects on the loves of her life: her children, her husband, and her country.
Enabling visitors to explore the remarkable ways in which animals across 500 million years have adapted armor for survival, and how these adaptations continue to inspire human innovation, the traveling exhibition Animal Armor takes residence in Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center through February 15, the fascinating exhibit exploring the evolutionary battle between protection and predation.
On January 22, 2026, the Scott and Muscatine GOP county parties co-hosted a 2026 Gubernatorial Primary Candidate Forum live in Eldridge, Iowa. The event was the first of its kind in Iowa's history and the first time any substantive questions were presented to Republican want to be governor candidates in a primary race in more than 20 years.
The ACLU's 63-page report released last month is a very valuable and exhaustive work product that every elected official who has an oath of office to uphold the state and federal constitution, and protect the governed who consented to have their rights protected, should read.
The top three Democratic U.S. Senate candidates faced off twice last week. The first debate wasn’t televised, so the live audience was quite small. The second debate was televised, so the audience was bigger. However, these debates don’t attract even a smidgen of the audience of presidential debates, when half the country often tunes in.
Illinois House Democrats were told last week that a state capital projects plan designed to assist Arlington Height’s bid to lure the Chicago Bears away from their Indiana stadium gambit would cost up to $895 million. None of the money would be used to directly build the new Bears stadium or the surrounding commercial district envisioned by the team’s ownership.
Iowa Government Entities Should Get Out of License Plate Surveillance Contracts
Iowa ACLU and University of Iowa Technical Law Clinic Release Exhaustive and Alarming Report on Automatic License Plate Readers Statewide
Local governments in Iowa should pause the use of automated license plate readers, civil rights advocates said last month, arguing the devices infringe on the privacy of drivers who have not violated any laws.
Adapted from the YA science-fantasy that has sold more than 10 million copies and was a 2018 Disney movie smash, Madeleine L'Engle's iconic A Winkle in Time enjoys a February 6 through 8 staging at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, the inspiration for this latest production by the student talents of Young Footliters Youth Theatre a work the National Education Association listed as one of its "Teachers' top 100 books for children."
Lauded by the New York Daily News as "fresh and original" with "bouncy, big-hearted songs," the acclaimed stage version of a film-comedy smash enjoys a February 6 through 15 run at Moline's Spotlight Theatre, with 9 to 5: The Musical deemed "a triumph" by The Guardian, which added, "It seemed improbable, given the cult status of the movie, but the stage show has met it and raised it, rather than being its pale imitation."
Director/choreographer Ashley Becher and musical director Ethan Hayward, alongside their wonderful crew and energetic, talented crème de la crème cast, elevate the solid script and score into the realm of delight.
Reviews by Rochelle Arnold, Jeff Ashcraft, Patricia Baugh-Riechers, Audra Beals, Pamela Briggs, Dee Canfield, Madeline Dudziak, Kim Eastland, Emily Heninger, Heather Herkelman, Kitty (née Israel) Hooker, Mischa Hooker, Paula Jolly, Victoria Navarro, Roger Pavey Jr., Alexander Richardson, Mark Ruebling, Mike Schulz, Joy Thompson, Oz Torres, Brent Tubbs, Jill Pearson Walsh, and Thom White.
We may be in the midst of winter, but the Quad City Symphony Orchestra will be celebrating the season to come in the February 7 and 8 concert event The Rite of Spring.
Touring in support of their acclaimed album debut with their moniker in the title, the musical mosaic BASIC headlines a February 12 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, Pitchfork raving of the group's This is BASIC, "Like a less shambolic version of 75 Dollar Bill or a more shambolic version of the Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet, the band repeats simple parts with such insistence and drive that they turn minimalism into maximalism."
A high-energy ensemble boasting some of the sharpest musical talents the area has to offer, 10 of Soul headlines a February 13 engagement in the Rust Belt's "Winter Jam 2026" concert series, their East Moline set sure to boast classic tunes from the genres of soul, funk, and blues, as well as a few funky arrangements of their own.
Performing locally as a Valentine's Day gift for fans of blues and roots music, the Massachusetts-based talents of GA-20 plats a February 14 concert at Rock Island's recently reopened RIBCO, the Blues Music Award nominees also recipients of the Boston Music Awards' "Blues Artist of the Year" citation every year from 2021 to 2025.
Returning to Moline with two spectacular Saturday-evening performances, the live, multi-sensory musical experience known as the Candlelight Concerts series enjoys its latest Quad Cities engagements at the city's First Congregational Church, the February 14 events boasting Tribute to Queen & More at 6:30 p.m. and Valentine's Day Special at 8:30 p.m.
Winner of Best Feature Documentary prizes at the Waco Independent Film Festival and Richmond International Film Festival, as well as the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the Green Film Festival of San Francisco, 2024's The Cigarette Surfboard serves as the fourth presentation in the 2026 QC Environmental Film Series hosted by River Action, the 90-minute movie also hailed by KPBS.org as "a beautiful and inspiring portrait of activism."
Going to the cineplex or staying in and streaming this weekend? Every Thursday morning at 8:15 a.m. you can listen to Mike Schulz dish on recent movie releases & talk smack about Hollywood celebs on Planet 93.9 FM with the fabulous Dave & Darren in the Morning team of Dave Levora and Darren Pitra. The morning crew previews upcoming releases, too. Or you can check the Reader Web site and listen to their latest conversation by the warm glow of your electronic device. Never miss a pithy comment from these three scintillating pundits again
Thursday, February 5: Discussion of Send Help, Iron Lung, and Arco, previews of The Strangers: Chapter 3, Dracula, and Solo Mio, and a question of whether NBA star and upcoming GOAT cast member Stephen Curry is using a fake voice. Not in the animated film. In life.
Sam Raimi's latest is the ultimate “revenge on a horrible boss” comedy, one far nastier than Horrible Bosses itself, and like 9 to 5's empowered kidnappers, Rachel McAdams' marginalized, fed-up office drone is eminently worth cheering. Ma-a-aybe not when holding a knife dangerously close to her paralyzed employer's privates, but … . Oh, who am I kidding? Especially then.
The mildly futuristic, vaguely sci-fi thriller Mercy is a rather confused movie, which, of course, isn't the same thing as a confusing one.
Now playing at area theaters.
A fascinating collaborative art installation that invites viewers to return to a place before definition, Amniotic Ambiguity: Comparative Embryology to Queering a Space will be on display in Augustana College's Wallenberg Hall February 8 through August 20, artists Maggie Adams and Aykeem Spivey demonstrating how, in this period of incubation, black-or-white thinking is disrupted by a bold labor of love.
With Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss known for their witty explorations of human nature, the duo's acclaimed 1987 video The Way Things Go will be screened in the Figge Art Museum's Lewis Gallery through February 8, this playful spectacle revered for transforming destruction into art, and embracing absurdity and unpredictability as essential parts of life.
With the works of both Iowa-based artists boasting vivid colors and expressive storytelling qualities, the dual exhibition Laber & Mullins will be on display in Rock Island's Quad City Arts Center from February 6 through March 20, this showcase of local talent boasting evocative, thrilling paintings by Phillip Laber and Rachael Mullins.
Detailing the life and works of the abstract expressionist painter and printmaker, Knox College's Dr. Greg Gilbert – who earned his 1998 Ph.D. in Art History from Rutgers University – will deliver a presentation on Robert Motherwell at Davenport's Figge Art Museum, the February 12 event exploring one of the youngest of the New York School of Artists which also included Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko.
Boasting a vibrant collection of visual narratives from University of Dubuque students in the ART 367 Digital Photography course, the exhibition Mosaic Moments: Storytelling by Students will be on display in the university's Bisignano Art Gallery through February 13, each image designed to act as a distinct tile in a larger mosaic of storytelling.
You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Real Astrology and RCR Crossword every week?)
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