What’s The Good News For February, Quad-Cities?
It’s the month of love, and we’ve got plenty to love in our latest What’s The Good News? column, showing you some of the positive news going on in and around the Quad-Cities!
QC Strikers donations to Haiti
Quad-Cities Band Einstein’s Sister Has Song Featured On Hulu’s ‘Pam And Tommy’
Local band Einstein’s Sister will have one of their songs, “Together We’re Alone,” used as part of the soundtrack to Hulu’s new series on the infamous Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson relationship!
Guitarist/singer/songwriter Kerry Tucker announced on the Einstein’s Sister Facebook page this weekend, “We just found out that an upcoming episode of the Hulu series “Pam & Tommy” will be using “Together We’re Alone” from our ‘Learning Curves’ album. Just so we are clear, they will use our version and will not have a fake Motley Crue band performing it.”
Well, let’s hope it’s not used as the backdrop for one of the more notorious scenes in the show! Although probably not, because there’s no saxophone or chugga-chugga guitar…
DCSD and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach partner to host Family Cafes
The Davenport Community School District and the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach are sponsoring Family Cafes to help families navigate the challenges of raising kids. This is part of a series of conversations about mental health, along with other topics, with families who have similar experiences and a trained professional to facilitate these important conversations.
The next family cafe is happening Wednesday, March 9, 2022, from 4:30-5:30 pm at the Davenport Schools Achievement Service at 1702 North Main Street in Davenport in the 2nd Floor Board Room. The session is titled “Improving Family Life with LPOV (Listening and Point of View).” This fun and interactive workshop is for 5th-8th grade students and their adult family member(s) and is intended to teach and practice active listening skills among family members, as well as assist adult family members and their “tween” children in understanding each other’s point of view.
The registration deadline is Wednesday, March 2 at 5:00 pm. Families can register online. They can email Sarah Brennan at brennansa@davenportschools.org to sign-up for childcare or if they need assistance.
New $1.8 Million Grant For MetroLINK to Expand Ferry Service
Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) and U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that Rock Island County will receive $1,850,000 in federal funding to expand MetroLINK’s passenger ferry service. The funding, awarded by the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Passenger Ferry Grant Program, will support the construction of a terminal near the newly developed “Bend District” on the Mississippi River in East Moline, Illinois. The new terminal will address safety and accessibility accommodations.
“The Quad-Cities MetroLINK Channel Cat is a fun and unique way for folks in our community to cross the Mississippi River,” said Congresswoman Bustos. “I’m thrilled to join Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth to announce more than $1.8 million in infrastructure funding to construct a brand-new terminal in East Moline. This project will create local jobs and boost development right here in the Quad-Cities – all while improving our water taxi system.”
East Moline Silvis Soccer Club Gets $1500 Grant From HAVLife Foundation!
EMSSC is the recipient of a $1500 grant from the HAVlife Foundation! Director Jill Sanders-Colgan and Assistant Director Susy Hughes graciously accepted the grant. Thank you for supporting EMSSC!
Iowa Grant Opportunities Now Open for Summer Youth Internship Projects
Governor Kim Reynolds today announced the opening of another round of funding opportunities for employers, nonprofits, educational and community groups seeking to provide high school youth with internship opportunities.
Now available for the fourth consecutive year, Future Ready Iowa’s Summer Youth Internship Project grants are designed to help youth explore and prepare for high-demand careers while gaining work experience and developing the personal attributes necessary to succeed in the workplace.
A total of $250,000 will be available for programs this summer. Applications must be submitted through www.IowaGrants.gov by March 2, 2022.
Priority for funding will be given to programs that provide internships to high school youth who are at risk of not graduating, from low-income households, from communities under-represented in the Iowa workforce, or who otherwise face barriers to success and upward mobility in the labor market.
“Iowa needs every available worker for our economy to succeed,” said Governor Reynolds. “These Future Ready Iowa Summer Youth Internship programs open doors to students who face barriers or otherwise might not consider work in a particular industry or career. Our state can build a brighter future by helping both young Iowans and employers consider the entire range of what’s possible in our labor force.”
Grant funds may be used for services and resources to support costs of program participants, including for example: internship wages, training resources, transportation of the participants, clothing, program staff time and indirect costs. Last year, more than 550 students participated in 26 summer internship programs. A total of $1.6 million was awarded in amounts ranging from $5,900 to $246,720.
Moline Establishing Spanish Bilingual Early Learning And Family Empowerment Lab
Moline Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati, Western Illinois University Vice President of Quad Cities Campus Operations Kristi Mindrup, Lindsay Meeker of the WIU College of Education and Human Services, and Ron Clewer of Gorman & Associates have opened up a new partnership that will expand childcare options in an effort to return more people to the workforce and fill long-vacant commercial space in downtown Moline.
WIU-QC will establish the Spanish Bilingual Early Learning and Family Empowerment Lab in the first-floor commercial space of the Enterprise Lofts building. Bolstering childcare options in Moline and the entire region in order to increase workforce participation is a critical goal.
The Moline City Council recently approved the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to create a Childcare/Workforce Infrastructure Forgivable Loan Program that will assist families and businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic by delivering quality, worker-friendly childcare options. The program will work similarly to the City’s successful 2021 micro-business loan program that helped dozens of Moline entrepreneurs survive the economic impacts of the pandemic.
The program works by offering loans from $10,000 up to $50,000 to childcare providers – either existing or new – to improve the quality and availability of childcare, encourage and support those businesses to continue their operations, expand their operations or to open new childcare facilities. Priority will be given to providers that offer non-traditional hours, particularly second and third shifts, overnights and weekends, and those equipped to care for infants, toddlers and children with special needs. More details on the program can be found here.
