Looking For Positive News In Iowa And Illinois? What’s The Good News For June, Quad-Cities?
Hey, it’s summer, and it’s time to smile and be happy the winter is behind us!
And it’s also time to celebrate some of the great news happening around the area in our latest What’s The Good News? column on QuadCities.com and segment on KWQC-TV6’s “Paula Sands Live!”
So, what’s the good news for June?
Quad City Strikers Celebrates Presidents Cup Wins
The Presidents Cup pits the best youth soccer teams in Iowa against each other for the coveted title of best in the state, and three teams from the Quad-Cities have won the trophy and are going on to compete against the tops in the Midwest in the Midwest regionals later this month!
Quad City Strikers U14 boys, U13 boys and U16 girls all took home the gold at the TBK Complex in Bettendorf as Presidents Cup winners, honored as the best soccer clubs in Iowa at their respective age levels.
The teams will head to St. Louis to compete against the top teams from other Midwest states in the regionals, and if they’re able to make it through that gauntlet, will head to the Nationals against the best in the U.S. in North Carolina later this summer.
Quad City Strikers is the only local team to have squads win the Presidents Cup.
Good job, and good luck to all the hard-working talented players!
Iowa Motion Picture Association gives “Remembering Forest Grove” Museum Film Top Award of Excellence
“Remembering Forest Grove”, a museum film produced by Emmy award-winning filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, received the top Award of Excellence from the Iowa Motion Picture Association in the Education category. The 10-minute film highlights the history of education in the nation, one-room schools in Iowa, on-camera interviews with former teachers and students of Forest Grove School No. 5, and concludes with a visual summary of the successful seven-year restoration spearheaded by Sharon Andresen and a dedicated group of local volunteers and craftspeople.
Forest Grove School was built in 1873 and closed in 1957. Restoration began in 2012 and was completed in 2019. Forest Grove School No. 5 is refurbished to its 1920s appearance and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“We’re grateful for this award that recognizes the creative quality of the film and the importance of this inspiring Quad Cities’ historic preservation project,” said director Kelly Rundle. The Rundles also won the IMPA Award of Excellence in the Education category for their documentary “Over and Under: Wildlife Crossings in 2021.
The newly restored schoolhouse is open for tours on Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to noon, and Thursdays 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Docents guide tours through the one-room school’s fun exhibits and share details about the country school experience throughout the summer.
“Remembering Forest Grove” is available to view exclusively at the schoolhouse. Multiple shorter films about farming, history, and former students and teachers of Forest Grove School, are also accessible via an interactive kiosk in the museum. The museum film was funded by several generous donors.
Kelly and Tammy Rundle are the owners of Fourth Wall Films, a multi-award-winning and Mid-America Emmy award-winning independent film and video production company based in the Quad Cities.
They are currently in post-production on the feature-length documentary “Resurrecting Forest Grove” which will premiere in 2023 for Forest Grove School’s sesquicentennial celebration. Visit FourthWallFilms.com for more information.
Tammy and Kelly Rundle own Fourth Wall Films in Moline.
Bettendorf Middle School Students Win 2022 Wayne Cheramy Citizenship Awards
A number of students from Bettendorf Middle School have been named the winners of the 2022 Wayne Cheramy Citizenship Awards!
This award stresses the human attributes that we would like to see all of our students exhibit. We feel that the students recognized with this award exemplify the qualities that Mr. Cheramy modeled as a Bettendorf educator.
Wayne Cheramy was an associate principal at Bettendorf Middle School for many years. In 1984, he became the principal of Middle School and served in that capacity for six years, retiring from education in June of 1990. The Wayne Cheramy Award was instituted during the 1990-1991 school year. The award began as a way to pay tribute to students each year who exhibited the following qualities: Responsibility, Caring, Respect, and Community.
The winners are Chase Scupham, Ellie Winkler, Mitch Martens, Aksel Skogman, Brady Bakeris, Jonah Smith, Treya Patel, Madyson Thomas, Garrett Willey, Hadley James, Truman Brooks, Joseph Tompkins, Lubna Matar, Liam Rehnberg, Stephen Schwartz, Braylin Moeller, Landon Gardner, and Mateo Troche.
Downtown Rock Island Awarded Huge Grant
Arts Alley, the public alleyway at 1719 2nd Ave. in Downtown Rock Island, will undergo a major facelift thanks to a $267,181 grant award to the Quad Cities Chamber and City of Rock Island from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).
“These types of statewide grant programs are extremely competitive, so it’s exciting to see the State of Illinois recognize and support our ongoing efforts to revitalize Downtown Rock Island through this award,” said Jack Cullen, Director, Downtown Rock Island for the Chamber. “Arts Alley is a unique but underutilized shared space, and this funding will allow us to turn it into a vibrant urban art gallery, event venue and family-friendly destination for both Quad Cities residents and visitors.”
The planning process, including outreach to Downtown stakeholders, is underway. Community members are encouraged to check out the digital renderings for Arts Alley (click on image to enlarge) and provide input on the draft plans. Upon final review and approval by Rock Island City Council, the project is expected to begin this fall and finish in 2023.
Proposed additions to Arts Alley include ornate signage, lighting, professional murals, interactive art installations, spaces for live performances and film screenings, new pavement, landscaping and a heating component to make it accessible throughout the year. Rentable vendor stalls will also provide a platform for entrepreneurs and small business owners to sell their products during seasonal pop-up shop programs. Additionally, Modern Woodmen of America offered to dedicate space in its adjacent parking lot for a new enclosure that will host the existing dumpsters in Arts Alley and improve the overall visitor experience.
Urban Reserve Luxury Event Suite Opens In Rock Island
Hello, #quadcities! Meet your new favorite rooftop destination!
The Urban Reserve, a luxury event suite above Ms.BriMani’s Hair & Beauty Supply in #downtownrockisland, is officially open and accepting reservations .
Congratulations to owner and curator Nicole Watson-Lam for completing this beautiful buildout, and thank you for your continued investment and leadership in #downtownri. The space speaks for itself – book it today for your next social gathering.
Rock Island Girls Softball, Boys Baseball Win Regionals!
Congrats to Rocky softball and baseball teams for taking home the Regional Championship titles!
The boys baseball team rocked to win their regional championship, and the girls softball team rolled to a big win to take regionals!
Both teams will advance to sectionals next week.
Great job!
We’re Tops! Illinois Quad-Cities Ranked Among The Best Places To Live In The U.S.!
The Moline-Rock Island Quad-Cities were ranked among the best places to live in Illinois — second best behind Peoria — and among the best places to live in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report magazine’s annual report of the Top 150 places to live in the U.S., based on affordability and relatively clean air.
The publication’s list, released this morning, of its Best Places to Live, had Illinois cities Peoria, Moline-Rock Island, Chicago and Rockford among its top spots to call home. While it wasn’t on the list last year, Moline-Rock Island jumped into the list at No. 53 for 2022.
Here’s what US News And World Report had to say about the Quad-Cities:
“Spanning two states over the Mississippi River, the Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois can feel smaller than it is. Despite its name, the Quad Cities are composed of five cities: Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa; and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline, Illinois. Each is distinct, but with downtowns clustered along the same riverfront and collaborations across business, service and the arts, the area offers many of the amenities you’d expect from one larger city.
There’s a bustling brewery scene, casinos and river cruises. Davenport alone is the third-largest city in Iowa. Rock Island’s historic downtown includes a pedestrian mall with a popular nightlife area known as The District.
The Quad Cities is the largest metropolitan area on the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and St. Louis, and it’s three hours from Chicago and two and a half hours from Des Moines, Iowa.”
Peoria ranked the highest among the Illinois cities, coming at No. 50,Chicago ranked 73rd on the list (up from 103rd last year) while Rockford, came in at No. 127. No other Illinois cities cracked the top 150 (sorry, Woodstock!)
To come up with the ranking, U.S. News looked at the job market, value, quality of life, desirability, and net migration ratings determined in part by a public survey of thousands of Americans on the qualities they consider important when deciding where to live. As part of the methodology, U.S. News also looked at federal data from the Census Bureau, FBI, Labor Department, the digital health app Sharecare, and its own rankings on the Best High Schools and Best Hospitals.
The publication’s list, released this morning, of its Best Places to Live, had Illinois cities Peoria, Moline-Rock Island, Chicago and Rockford among its top spots to call home. While it wasn’t on the list last year, Moline-Rock Island jumped into the list at No. 53 for 2022.
