On display through April 6 at Davenport's German American Heritage Center, the sensitive and touching exhibit With You I Am Myself / Mit Dir bin ich ich finds Israeli artist and photographer Oranit Ben Zimra portraying 12 pairs of friends from Norderstedt, Germany, in words and pictures, the collection forming a beautiful mosaic of German-Israeli friendships.
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An Augustana College graduate, former Moline teacher/coach, and Superintendent of Rock Island-Milan Public Schools takes part in a conversation about his recent memoir in From Dubuque to Selma & Beyond, an April 7 book talk with Dave Markward that finds the author, at the Rock Island Public Library Watts-Midtown Branch, sharing his personal journey of understanding racism in America.
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A wildly popular presence on TikTok and Instagram, and the 2022 winner of the inaugural James Beard Award for Best Social Media Account. Alexis Nikole Nelson serves as the latest virtual guest in the Illinois Libraries Present series, her April 10 program The Act of Foraging, co-presented by the Rock Island and Silvis Public Libraries, designed to celebrate all the edible plants hiding in plain sight.
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Even if you've previously seen Lyon's takes on The Firebird and La Création du monde, which will enjoy two stagings at Davenport's Adler Theatre on April 12, you won't have seen them quite the way you soon will.
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Having made Vulture’s 2023 list of “Comedians You Should and Will Know,” and having been identified by GQ as “at the front of a new wave of comedians," Stavros Halkias brings his tour to Davenport's Capitol Theatre on April 12, the funnyman also noted for being a founding member of the popular podcast Cum Town and appearing in Steven Soderbergh’s sci-fi series Command Z.
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[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.]
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The Civic Federation, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, and the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability recently released a report calling for the expansion of the sales tax to several services, claiming such a move could raise $2 billion for the state.
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On February 11, 2025, more than 75 concerned citizens gathered in room 102 at the Iowa state capital for the House Environmental Protection Sub-Committee hearing regarding House File 191 proposed legislation from Iowa District 87 (Van Buren County) State Representative Jeff Shipley.
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Two major proposals backed by Governor JB Pritzker did not advance out of legislative committees before last week’s passage deadline. Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton confirmed that she won’t be advancing her legislation supported by the governor that would dissolve townships with populations below 5,000 (SB2217), and eventually abolish townships with populations below 50,000 and lower the petition threshold to five percent from ten percent to put a township abolition on the ballot.
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I don't know anyone who isn't touched by the compassion and trust between human and animal that bonds us together for life, while simultaneously becoming thoroughly disgusted with government regulatory abuse that interferes with the best part of human-animal interaction, after learning the story of Peanut the squirrel.
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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.
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With its delightful assemblage of songs including “Fins,” “Volcano,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” and the iconic "Margaritaville," the Jimmy Buffett celebration Escape to Margaritaville enjoys an April 4 through 13 run at Moline's Prospect Park Auditorium, Quad City Music Guild's 2025 season-opener lauded by the Hollywood Reporter as "the theatrical equivalent of sipping on a frozen drink while lying on a beach chair in the blazing sun."
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The 19th-century author of some of history's creepiest stories will serve as the inspiration for mistaken-identity hilarity when Geneseo's Richmond Barn Theatre opens its 2025 season with The Tell-Tale Farce, playwright Don Zolidis' witty and wacky comedy slapstick that enjoys an area engagement April 3 through 13.
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Lauded by American Theatre Magazine as "raw and hilarious," the wickedly funny revenge comedy Exit, Pursued by a Bear enjoys an April 10 through 13 run at Augustana College's Honkamp Myhre Black Box Theatre, its playwright Lauren Gunderson also famed for multiple shows that have recently played on Quad Cities stages, among them Silent Sky, The Revolutionists, and Natural Shocks.
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Closing the University of Iowa School of Music's 2024-25 opera season with a trio of ravishing performances April 11 through 13, the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts will house a pair of obscure yet treasured pieces that have enjoyed a recent resurgence: Gaetano Donizetti’s Rita, a darkly comic look at power dynamics in relationships, and La Colombe, in which Charles Gounod’s sparkling score accompanies a farcical tale of seduction.
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Hailed by the New York Times for her “impeccable phrase-shaping (and) crystalline sound,” noted pianist Lorraine Min will be the special guest in the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's sixth and final Masterworks presentations of the ensemble's 2024-25 season.
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Touring in support of their September release Barely Blue, an album that Rolling Stone said "evokes images and sentiments of wonderment and playfulness," the country artists of Midland headline an April 5 concert at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, Rolling Stone adding that "the Texas-based band blend their voices to produce country music that recalls a mix of George Strait, Urban Cowboy, and Seventies yacht rock."
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On April 5, music lovers are invited to experience the thrilling energy of stride jazz piano with virtuoso Alex Gilson in his solo showcase Making Strides, an event in the Sound Conservatory's Carnegie series showcasing the thrilling joys of swing, syncopation, and masterful improvisation.
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An exciting and unique work for chorus and orchestra with texts written by the titular master and accompanying screen projections, Jocelyn Hagen’s The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci enjoys an April 5 performance at Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre, the event promising an immersive and powerful experience drawn from de Vinci's stunning sketches.
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An internationally renowned organist whose performances are acclaimed for their musicality, virtuosity, and ability to excite and engage audiences of all ages, David Briggs performs in the University of Dubuque's John & Alice Butler Pipe Organ Recital Series, his April 6 program proving why he is considered among the foremost organ transcribers of symphonic works, giving listeners the opportunity to experience the organ in a new way.
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Yes, a horned, magical creature does perish – at least twice. But forget its demise(s): Nothing that happens to the apparently not-mythical beast is quite as grisly as what happens to most of the movie's humans, our collection of potential victims including a Big Pharma titan and a grown man who seemingly doesn't own a pair of long pants. So, you know … it's okay to laugh if they die.
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Garsh … so many thoughts on a live-action Disney reboot that, in all honesty, is barely worth a single thought. In honor of the support staff whose collective moniker has been dumped from the original Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs title, here are a septet of paragraphs on director Marc Webb's and screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson's Snow White, accordingly themed to each individual Dwarf.
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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, April 3: Discussion of Death of a Unicorn, The Woman in the Yard, and A Working Man, and previews of A Minecraft Movie, Hell of a Summer, and The Friend, the latter starring Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, and a Great Dane. It's a drama. About grief. The odds on the pup's survival do not appear good.
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For roughly two-thirds of its length, director David Yarovesky's largely stationary thriller Locked is like 127 Hours if the boulder were played by Anthony Hopkins.
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Now playing at area theaters.
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Offering a bold, provocative critique of societal structures through collaborative, resistance-driven prints, the exhibition Delusion of Choice, by the art collective Fatherless Print Posse, enjoys a showcase at Dubuque's Voices Studios April 4 through May 31, with the artists present for an opening celebration on April 4.
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Delivering intimate explorations of the human condition through drawing and printmaking, the exhibition Fresh Steele, by area talent Priscilla Steele, enjoys a showcase at Dubuque's Voices Studios April 4 through May 31, with the artist present for an opening celebration on April 4.
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An engaging, animated PowerPoint presentation boasting archival photographs and video segments, Randy Lengeling's Grant Wood: Artistic Rags to Riches – an American Success Story will be presented at the LeClaire Community Library on April 9, the event allowing participants to enjoy an evening of art history and state pride in Iowan accomplishments.
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An annual fine-art showcase involving students in the Department of Digital Art and Design at the University of Dubuque, The Edge Show is the latest exhibition at the institution's Bisignano Art Gallery, this celebration of dazzling young talent on display through April 9.
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Held in conjunction with the current exhibit showcasing 18 thought-provoking pottery pieces and lithographs, 20 evocative photographs, and a new collaborative piece created exclusively for this exhibition, a special presentation celebrating Cara & Diego Romero: Tales of Futures Past will take place at Davenport's Figge Art Museum on April 10, the evening's program based on themes found throughout the married artists' works.
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