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COMMENTARY WHAT'S HAPPENIN' LOCAL ARTS & MUSIC

Covid Distraction, Power,
Politics, and Money 2
Private Funding of Public
Elections is Wrong 3
Why Local County Elections Matter 11
Portraits of Remarkable Women 7
Over 300 Events 6
Art in Plain Sight: Mermaids 8
Live Music Calendar 23
New Sounds:
Waiting For Godot on Stage 10
Dark Family 15 Sunshrine 22

Your Key to the Quad Cities' Culture

Know More. Do More. OCT 2020

PRINTED MONTHLY #978
 2 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Three Scoops of Good COVID News
W
e all agree there is a new
coronavirus known as
SARS-CoV-2 that causes
a disease called COVID-19, from
which people have died. That’s pretty
much where the agreement begins
to wobble as new information is dis-
covered, building on the science and
informing the relative risk, which in
turn informs the extreme response
that lingers with increasingly less
justification.
Three critical new developments
have occurred in the last few weeks to
the media’s and health department’s
consternation nationwide. The first
is the best news. The SARS-CoV-2
virus is not remotely as lethal as
originally feared. Now that the med-
ical community has actual boots-
on-the-ground data to inform its
conclusions, the computer modeling
and fear mongering that have flowed
from wildly inaccurate predictions is
forever debunked and on the ash pile
of pseudo-science.
Despicably, that has not altered
media’s narrative by a punctuation
mark, nor has all the fact-based sci-
ence replaced any of the fact-free sci-
ence, causing the world’s population
to operate like headless lemmings
headed for the cliff. So naturally,
the obvious question is once again
begged: Why?
After much research, analysis of all
manner of relevant data, the answer
is almost too terrible to write out
loud: money. Well, politics (including
the upcoming election) and money.
Okay: power, politics (still including
the upcoming election), and money.
Oh, all right: mass distraction, power,
politics (especially including the
upcoming election), and money. But
most of all money.
The second development is the dis-
covery (more like unavoidable admis-
sion) that the rt-PCR tests being used
to diagnose COVID-19 are function-
ally unreliable as a diagnostic tool
because (a) the test is incapable of
affirmatively detecting specific viral
strains (i.e.; SARS2 versus SARS1,
etc.) from microscopic RNA frag-
ments and other particles captured in
the swab; and (b) the test is incapable
of determining the test subject’s viral
load.
Translation: The PCR tests don’t
reliably confirm the person being
tested has the SARS-CoV-2 virus
specifically, which is specifically
required to be present for a diagnosis
of COVID-19 because it is the official
virus specifically designated as the
cause of COVID-19.
Further translation: Because the
PCR test cannot determine the
amount of viral load a person is car-
rying, there is no way to know if he/
she has enough virus to be contagious
and capable of transmitting the virus.
In order to be infectious, the host has
to have enough viral load to be actu-
ally sick (have the disease), or at least
show some symptoms … eventually.
(The time frame has been all over the
place; currently, it’s four days.)
If a host has a trace amount of
the virus, and is asymptomatic (not
sick), yet tests positive, that is not
automatically a “case” of COVID-19.
It just means that host might have
an RNA fragment that maybe might
potentially be SARS-Cov-2 virus, but
still not have COVID-19, the disease
caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Are you starting to get this at all?
For example, when people test posi-
tive for HIV, they don’t automati-
cally have AIDS. Most positive HIV
(the virus) carriers never get AIDS
(the disease caused by HIV). It’s like
that, except SAR-CoV-2 (one of many
viruses classified as coronaviruses)
and COVID-19 (an infectious disease
best characterized as a respiratory ill-
ness very similar to that of colds, flus,
and some viral pneumonia) are not
in any way as dangerous or lethal as
HIV and/or AIDS.
Voltaire’s quote is very
appropriate for these
times: “Those who
can make you believe
absurdities, can make
you commit atrocities.”
Infectious-ology 101 drills into
students the important distinctions
in this basic terminology, includ-
ing cause and effect, because under-
standing the differences is essential
in the disciplines of immunology,
virology, and infectious diseases.
The media and health officials have
successfully deceived the public by
obfuscating, confusing, and blurring
definitions of terms to undermine the
average person’s understanding of
basic principles of everyday medical
conditions that occur with regularity
in humans.
So to recap: The host must be
infected with enough virus to be
contagious enough to transmit an
adequate viral load at the time of con-
tact with another person. That person
then must absorb and replicate the
transmitted virus (if conditions are
right, but not a guarantee) to create
his/her own viral load ample enough
to eventually cause COVID-19, the
infectious disease, and become ill
… or slough it off without incident,
never knowing he/she caught any of
the virus to begin with, and thanks to
nature, simultaneously creating his/
her own immunity to the virus, and
often to other similar viruses, going
forward.
The health-surveillance apparatus
is using functionally unreliable tests,
yet claiming a positive result based
on the detection of some RNA frag-
ment that might or might not be spe-
cifically SARS-CoV-2. But because it
is a fragment of some coronavirus,
or merely a nucleic acid particle, the
test is categorized as positive and the
health community, not science and
certainly not nature, confirms it as
a positive “case” of COVID-19. This
is regardless of whether a person is
sick, or even has symptoms present,
or whether he/she has been in contact
with anyone who is sick, or has any
symptoms.
SARS-CoV-2 is non-lethal for 99.9
percent of the world’s population.
Herd immunity is already well in
place via antibodies prolifically pres-
ent throughout populations, includ-
ing more recently discovered T-Cell
immunity that provides cross-immu-
nity for all manner of coronaviruses
and like-viruses that abound in our
bodies.
According to the Center for Disease
and Control (CDC), in a report that
should be a game changer – except it
isn’t for the media and most health
officials, politicians, and bureaucrats
(this is where the power, politics, and
a lot of the money, but not all the
money, enters into it) – the survival
statistics by age range for people who
come into contact with SARS-CoV-2
and/or who actually develop actual
cases of COVID-19 are as follows:
• Ages 0-19, the survival rate is
99.997 percent
• Ages 20-49, the survival rate is
99.98 percent
• Ages 50-69, the survival rate is
99.5 percent
• Ages 70+, the survival rate is
94.6 percent
(RCReader.com/y/covid1921)
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
By Kathleen McCarthy
Which brings me to the third
development: Only 6 percent of the
approximately 210,000 U.S. deaths
attributed to COVID-19 are recorded
as strictly due to COVID-19 alone,
with no other underlying or co-mor-
bid causes. The remaining 94 percent
have been found to have at least two
critical co-morbidities or underlying
diseases that were life-threatening,
regardless of COVID-19. (RCReader.
com/y/covid1922) The likelihood
of their deaths was inevitable, and
accounts for why so many that died
were already in nursing homes, hos-
pice, or hospitals. However, because
of the extreme restrictions imposed
in response to COVID, too many of
our dearest loved ones have passed
alone, leaving canyons of sadness
that may never know a bridge.
The much-awaited comfort, there-
fore, is that this recent downgrade of
COVID as a pandemic level lethal
threat means that even our beloved
elders are less at risk than originally
believed. In other words, there is
much more hope for their recovery
if treated properly, including a more
prudent, dialed-back use of ventila-
tors (despite a discernible increase
in Medicare payouts when deployed,
but now arguably responsible for
most of the rare long-term damages
and after-effects reported), continued
protective protocols and safeguards.
Finally, as a cherry on top these
three scoops of great news, while
the media and health officials con-
tinue to ceaselessly hype an increase
in positive testing as “cases,” there
is virtually no increase in deaths or
hospitalizations due to COVID-19.
People can test positive all day long
and not be sick, therefore not conta-
gious. Nor has there yet to be a single
instance of a child transmitting the
SARS2 virus to an adult, worldwide.
In addition, the current deaths
being reported worldwide are rarely,
if ever, attributed to COVID-19
alone. No amount of distraction, mis-
direction, sensationalizing, greed,
or political animus changes the evi-
dence that confirms this flattening
of the COVID curve. So catch up
and rejoice, knowing that blinders
will have to come off before masks
do. And odds are always in our favor
that we are going to live in spite of
ourselves!
Voltaire’s quote is very appropriate
for these times: “Those who can make
you believe absurdities, can make you
commit atrocities.”
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Iowa Voter Alliance Suing Scott County
Vol. 28 · No. 978 Over Private Funding of Public Elections
OCTOBER 2020 S cott Countians recently learned that
County Auditor Roxanna Moritz, a
longtime activist for both the Scott County
RIVER CITIES’ READER and Iowa Democrat Parties, applied for and
532 W. 3rd St. received a COVID-19 Relief Grant from the
Davenport IA 52801 privately funded, Chicago-based non-profit
RiverCitiesReader.com organization Center for Technology and
(563)324-0049 (phone)
(563)323-3101 (fax)
Civic Life (CTCL) in the amount of $286,870
info@rcreader.com for election management. (RCReader.com/y/
ctcl1 and RCReader.com/y/ctcl2)
PUBLISHING SINCE 1993 Moritz’s $286,870 award is part of an eye-
The River Cities’ Reader is an independently owned popping $250 million donation from Face-
publication and website, dedicated to providing readers
book’s highly partisan Mark Zuckerberg
and members the “keys to the Quad Cities’ culture.”
and his wife Priscilla Chan. CTCL attracted
PRINTED MONTHLY Zuckerberg’s mega-bucks as a provider of free
Newly printed complimentary editions are available digital election-data management and analyt-
monthly at select locations in the region. For a complete ics to state and local election offices nation-
list, visit www.rcreader.com/distribution. wide. (RCReader.com/y/ctcl3 and RCReader.
com/y/ctcl4)
PRINT & DIGITAL ADVERTISING
Concerned Iowans contacted attorneys
Visit QCAdvertising.com
with the Amistad Project about fi ling a fed-
for full publishing calendar,
eral lawsuit similar to the ones funded by
sponsorship opportunities,
the Chicago-based non-profit organization
ad sizes, and pricing.
Thomas More Society which has fi led suits in
Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Penn-
PUBLISHER
Todd McGreevy • todd@admospheres.com sylvania. (South Carolina, Texas, and Georgia
are also fi ling this week.) (RCReader.com/y/
EDITOR & BUSINESS MANAGER amistad) The Iowa Voters Alliance (IVA)
Kathleen McCarthy • km@rcreader.com was formed and a complaint opposing this
grant on grounds that it violated federal elec-
ARTS & CALENDAR EDITOR
Mike Schulz • mike@rcreader.com
tion law, including a request for a temporary
injunctive relief, was fi led in Iowa’s Northern
IT-SYSMIN District Federal Court Monday, October 5,
William Reveal 2020. (RCReader.com/y/iva1)
The complaint cites federal election law,
ADVERTISING SALES claiming it prohibits states from accepting
sales@rcreader.com
private funds for public purposes – in this
case elections – that are governed and bud-
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Amy Alkon, Max Allison, Rob Brezsny, geted as part of the state’s authority and pur-
Max Cannon, Madeline Dudziak, view, therefore funded via tax dollars. CTCL’s
Rich Miller lawfare claiming counties and municipalities
have jurisdictional authority to accept these
PRINT COPY DISTRIBUTORS funds because they are not states, therefore
Cheri Delay, Greg Fitzpatrick, Jay Strickland not governed by the same federal restrictions,
borders on the absurd, as each is a legal con-
Email info@RCReader.com
struct of their states.
to make your business
But if that legal argument fails, then there
a Reader pick up spot.
is always COVID to blame (essentially the
“better to ask for forgiveness than permis-
ALIVE AND FREE sion” strategy). Election officials are claim-
ing the current pandemic has brought budget
SINCE ’93 hardships to the 2020 election and the grants
are necessary for safe elections. There is useful
Keep the free press free with evidence (in Scott County, at least) to likely
derail that strategy, especially due to Auditor
your direct support at Moritz’s lack of transparency before unveil-
RCReader.com/Support ing the grant at the eleventh hour in an early-
October special emergency meeting.
Over 40 percent of Iowa counties received
© 2020 River Cities’ Reader grants in varying amounts from CTCL, as did
many other counties and municipalities in the
critical swing states throughout the Midwest
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
and eastern states. Very few grants were
awarded in western states by comparison. The
counties and cities that did not receive grant
money is just as indicting as those that did.
While CTCL denies any partisan bias in
their COVID-relief grant allocation, dis-
missing the lawsuits as frivolous, its grant
distribution map at CTCL’s Web site plainly
depicts its partisan agenda to augment public
elections by providing significant resources
in largely swing states where a high Demo-
crat voter turnout is needed for this election.
(RCReader.com/y/ctcl5)
The funds can be used for a wide variety
of efforts, including poll workers, mail-in
voting, PPE, absentee-ballot collections
(a.k.a. potential ballot harvesting, specifically
prohibited in Iowa), adding early in-person
voting sites, mobile drop boxes (also prohib-
ited in Iowa), voter registration, and voter
education, all under the cover of providing
safe elections during the current pandemic.
CTCL’s own grant agreement states that at
their full discretion they can claw back all of
the funds, leaving taxpayers footing the bill if
CTCL doesn’t like the outcome. (RCReader.
com/y/ctcl6)
During an emergency Scott County Board
meeting on Friday, October 2, to accept the
$286,870 CTCL grant, the decision was
tabled by all five supervisors. The request to
the board was then abandoned altogether
the following week, thanks to a vague legal
opinion proffered by Assistant County Attor-
ney Robert Cusack, concluding that Audi-
tor Moritz’s acceptance of the grant did not
require the Board’s approval. (See Supervisor
question number six on page 13.)
Advocates of Moritz justify her acceptance
of the partisan funding, citing that her office
is an elected one and if the voters don’t like
her policies, they can express it at the polls.
Amen. But she is conveniently running unop-
posed this time. It’s unfortunate that Moritz
has forfeited the bipartisan trust she richly
enjoyed from so many Scott Countians with
this blatant partisanship, which is unaccept-
able in her position. Meanwhile, there are
other effective ways to engage with her office
and protect our votes, thereby our elections.
In her defense, Moritz claims she believed
the grant to be sanctioned by Secretary of
State Paul Pate’s office, who is a Republican.
Iowa auditors were introduced to CTCL and
invited to apply for its grants during a state-
wide conference this past summer arranged
by Pate’s election officer. Still, its hard to
misinterpret the obvious partisan tilt of this
particular NGO and its Zuckerberg-funded
mission.
However, the plot thickens as CTCL’s ori-
gins, mission, leadership, staff, formidable
3
By Kathleen McCarthy
capacities in election technology, and fund-
ing sources beyond Zuckerborg (including
tech giants such as Google and Microsoft,
oligarchs Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and
politically left organizations such as Democ-
racy Fund, etc.) are revealed as strategic
partners. Long tentacles reach deep into the
local and state election offices nationwide,
many of which are coincidentally staffed by
ex-CTCL employees, advisors, and members.
(RCReader.com/y/ctcl6)
The dangers in allowing private money into
local governments’ election coffers, otherwise
mandated to be funded by tax dollars, cannot
be overstated. This is unprecedented. All of
the Scott County Board of Supervisors ran for
cover instead of demonstrating leadership by
moving to stop this overt partisan election
interference.
As Americans, regardless of support for
Biden or Trump in this election, we should
all be deeply offended by any partisan inter-
ference, regardless of which party benefits, via
infusions of private resources to influence any
part of government, but especially to influ-
ence elections. The people have three tools
with which to wield their individual and col-
lective power in this constitutional republic:
the power of the purse, the power of the jury,
and the power of the vote.
If IVA can’t stop this election meddling via
the federal court restraining the spending of
CTCL funds, then Scott Countians need to
step up and protect their ballots’ integrity by
volunteering (one Democrat with one Repub-
lican at all times) to participate in every task
being funded, to ensure parity among the
350-plus extra workers that have been hired
by Auditor Moritz. Parity here, parity there,
parity everywhere: at the polls (whether at all
locations during early in-person voting or
at all 63 polling sites on November 3) as poll
watchers, ballot counters, ballot certifiers,
witnesses to chain of custody of ballots, daily
counting/supervision of counting of absen-
tee ballots/mail-in ballots in the counting
room(s), random audits of counts, periodic
reviews of recordings of the counting and
reviews of daily expenditures. In other words,
gather an army of election watchdogs from
both parties to daily monitor all aspects of the
election process to prevent error or sabotage,
and deliver proper and trusted voter results,
most especially in this excessively toxic politi-
cal climate.
If Scott County voters can’t muster this
small effort of civic vigilance for this short,
finite period of time to protect its own elec-
toral authority going forward, then America’s
Republic really is lost – deservedly so. People
endure the amount of tyranny they allow.
4 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
ILLINOIS POLITICS
When Treasurer Michael
Frerichs Thinks Aloud, His
Fellow State Democrats Suffer
I
t’s well-known that the Illinois House Repub-
licans (along with pretty much all Illinois
Republicans) are using House Speaker
Michael Madigan’s bad reputation to bludgeon
their Democratic opponents.
Speaker Madigan has been enormously
unpopular in Illinois. It’s probably worse now
because he’s been in the news so much during the
long federal investigation into ComEd and the
company’s resulting deferred-prosecution agree-
ment with the U.S. Attorney in Chicago.
A special House investigating committee has
been impaneled to take testimony about the fed-
eral probe and consider whether to discipline
Madigan for “conduct unbecoming a legislator,”
which is helping to keep him in the news.
And add the more recent news about Dem-
ocratic Representative Stephanie Kifowit’s
announcement last week that she will run against
Madigan for speaker in January and it’s been a
complete media circus for the longtime pol.
Representative Kifowit has not yet identified
any allies and isn’t exactly an odds-on favorite to
defeat Madigan. She votes more conservatively
than many in the House Democratic caucus.
She was the only House “Present” vote on the
minimum-wage-increase bill and she hired a
public-relations person who is raising money for
the Republican opponent of Cook County State’s
Attorney Kim Foxx, putting her at odds with her
party, the Black Caucus, and labor unions which
fund the Democrats.
But the mere fact that she stood up and
announced her bid is an indication of how Madi-
gan’s political strength is not what it used to be.
Anyway, the last time the Paul Simon Public
Policy Institute polled Speaker Madigan’s job-
approval rating was last year. It found 71 percent
disapproved of the way Madigan did his job while
only 20 percent approved — a 51-point difference.
Those results weren’t all that different from the
same poll’s question on whether Illinoisans sup-
ported a new state tax on retirement income. 73
percent opposed it while 23 percent supported —
a 50-point margin.
Normally, opposition to a retirement income-
tax is an easy lay-up for Illinois legislators in both
parties. Just score some no-brainer points with
the folks back home and move on to the next
question.
But some brainiacs always want to start a “dis-
cussion,” and it often blows up in their faces.
This time, it’s blowing up in others’ faces.
“One thing a progressive tax would do is make
clear you can have graduated rates when you are
taxing retirement income,” Treasurer Michael
Frerichs, a Democrat, told the Daily Herald back
in June. “And, I think that’s something that’s
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
By Rich Miller | CapitolFax.com
worth discussion.”
Frerichs’ quote has opened the door to House
Republican attack-mailers in numerous dis-
tricts against Democrats who voted “Yes” on the
graduated-income tax last year and also against
Democratic House candidates in general.
“Mary Edly-Allen supports the tax-hike
amendment,” one recent HGOP mailer
exclaimed about the freshman Democratic state
Representative from Libertyville. “Her Spring-
field pals admit the amendment would open the
door to a brand-new tax on retirement income.
That means your pension, your 401(k) plan, and
your retirement plan would be taxed and sent
straight to Springfield.”
The mailers are being sent to other districts
(Metro East and southern Illinois, for example),
where the tax is also not polling great. But, said
one House Republican source of the tax issue,
“We’re talking about that everywhere.”
The mailers have the added benefit of ginning
up opposition to Governor JB Pritzker’s “Fair
Tax” constitutional amendment, which House
Republican Leader Jim Durkin has vowed to
defeat. So, it’s a twofer.
“Politician Janet Yang Rohr wants to tax your
retirement income,” another Republican mailer
warns about Representative Grant Wehrli’s
(R-Naperville) Democratic opponent.
“Yang Rohr is backing the graduated income
tax. This plan would not only raise taxes on the
middle class, but also on retirees. The State Trea-
surer has admitted this is a tax on retirees. There’s
no question that ordinary people will suffer.
Protect your retirement. Vote ‘No’ on Janet Yang
Rohr.”
To be fair, if Treasurer Frerichs hadn’t said
what he said, the Republicans would’ve found
another way to make the same argument. But
Frerichs did make their job easier.
And Governor Pritzker can’t really complain
about taking somebody’s mention of a gradu-
ated tax on retirement income and twisting it
into an attack on all retirement income-taxation
because he did the very same thing in the 2018
Democratic primary. His top two Democratic
opponents, Chris Kennedy and Daniel Biss, both
tentatively supported a tax on upper-income
retirees, but Pritzker distorted that into TV ads
claiming the two wanted to tax all retirement
income.
Karma can be problematic.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily
political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
New Column Published
Weekly at RCReader.com
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020 5

A multi-million
dollar settlement,
hidden from
Rock Island
County taxpayers.
Accounts of Paid for by
Deception & Anybody But Dora “Villarreal” Nieman
Chair: Lauri Hageman
Incompetency

AnybodyButDora.org
 6 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
Your event listing in print and online has been complimentary since 1993!
Send your events to Calendar@RCReader.com
NOTE: All events listed are confirmed at time of publication. Please check with the venue ahead of arrival to ensure status of each event.
VISUAL ARTS
Openings & Gallery Events
Virtual Curator Talk: Monica Correia, curator Correia
will discuss the 3D Design Program and some of the work
featured in the exhibition “Seating by Design”; free, but
registration required; for information, call 563-326-7804.
Figge Art Museum, 6:30pm Thu Oct 8
Thursdays at the Figge, art-themed activities,
discussions, tours, refreshments, and more; guests are
invited to experience the current exhibitions and permanent
collection gallery as well as shop the Museum Store; free; for
information, call 563-326-7804. Figge Art Museum, 5pm thru
Thu Oct 29
Virtual Family Day - Your Way!, grab your family and
explore the exhibition Seating by Design through virtual
activities; watch videos, design your own chair, and engage in
great discussions about designing fun and functional objects;
registration is free and families can choose the option to
pick up free Activity Packs at the museum for added fun; for
information, call 563-326-7804; Figge Art Museum, 10am Sat
Oct 10
Virtual Film Premiere: Urban Exposure, Urban
Exposure provides a creative channel allowing kids to
express themselves constructively, non-violently and with
increased confidence; celebrate with the student filmmakers
as you view the featured films that were created based on
the practice of storytelling; free, but advanced registration
is required; for information, call 563-326-7804. Figge Art
Museum, 6:30pm Thu Oct 15
Virtual Artist Talk: T.J. Dedeaux-Norris, a discussion of
“T.J. Dedeaux-Norris presents the Estate of Tameka Jenean
Norris”; Dedeaux-Norris has participated in numerous
exhibitions including at Prospect.3 Biennial, New Orleans, LA;
The Walker Museum, Minneapolis, MN among many others;
free, but advanced registration required; for information, call
563-326-7804. Figge Art Museum, 6:30pm Thu Oct 22
Virtual Scholar Talk: David Bright, JD, in Conversation
with T.J. Dedeaux-Norris, join attorney David Bright and artist
T.J. Dedeaux-Norris as they discuss estate planning for artists
and other legal issues facing artists; this program will also
explore the legal efforts taken to preserve the artistic legacy
and estate of Tameka Jenean Norris; this online program is
free but advanced registration is required; for information,
call 563-326-7804. Figge Art Museum, 6:30pm Thu Oct 29
Virtual Family Fiesta: Day of the Dead, join us for these
family-flexible virtual experiences; your free registration
grants your family a 2-week access to our virtual line-
up, which means you can choose your day to play; free
family activity packets will be available at the museum
for each registrant; online options may include how-to
videos, interviews, art projects, performances, discovery
prompts, discussion questions; for information, call 563-
326-7804; Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport IA,
FiggeArtMuseum.org, noon Sun Nov 1
Exhibits & Shows
Matthew Boonstra & Alan Pocaro: SIGNALS and
Elizabeth Powell: Original Prints, sculpture, works on
paper, and printmaking exhibits… Quad City Arts Center,
thru Fri Oct 9
OCTOBER 2020
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Covering October 8–November 4, 2020
Cecile Houel and Rose Moore, exhibit of works held in
conjunction with the 100th… Davenport RiverCenter, thru
Wed Oct 28
Nobel Peace Prize Collection: Peace Starts Within,
works of internationally recognized artist Cecile Houel…
Bereskin Gallery & Art Academy, thru Wed Oct 28
Paint the River: 4th Annual Plein Air Paint Out, exhibit
of works painted outdoors and on… Bereskin Gallery & Art
Academy, thru Fri Oct 30
A Portrait of Remarkable Women, exhibit of portraits
painted by Davenport’s Heidi… Quad City Arts Art @ the
Airport, thru Sat Oct 31
‘Til Death: Wedding & Mourning Traditions, exhibit
in the Stanley Gallery; Tue.-Fri. 10am-4pm,… Muscatine Art
Center, thru Sun Nov 1
Hard Stop: Dancing for Good, exhibit by the transatlantic
art duo composed… Public Space One, thru Tue Nov 3
Seen & Heard: The Art of Empowerment, exhibit
focusing on the major contributions of female artists over
the past 100 years, with featured artists including Marisol,
Grace Hartigan, Louise Nevelson, Lee Krasner, Allison Saar,
and others; Tue.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Thu. 10am-8pm, Sun.
noon-5pm; $4-10; Figge Art Museum, for information, call
563-326-7804; Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport
IA, FiggeArtMuseum.org, thru Wed Nov 4
Robert Lipnick: Mountains, Faces, Stories, & Stacks, this
exhibition features Lipnick’s most recent body of work, which
consists of large abstract ceramic assemblages that challenge
the viewer to discern meaning from their emblematic forms;
Tue.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Thu. 10am-8pm, Sun. noon-5pm; $4-10;
for information, call 563-326-7804; Figge Art Museum, 225 W.
2nd St., Davenport IA, FiggeArtMuseum.org, thru Wed Nov 4
Robert Lipnick's Mountains, Faces, Stories, & Stacks
(thru November 4 at Figge Art Museum)
Seating by Design, curated by Professor Monica Correia,
the exhibit features innovative furniture designs created by
24 former students of the University of Iowa 3D Design MFA,
MA, and BFA programs; Tue.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Thu. 10am-8pm,
Sun. noon-5pm; $4-10; for information, call 563-326-7804;
Tue.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Thu. 10am-8pm, Sun. noon-5pm; $4-10;
for information, call 563-326-7804; Figge Art Museum, 225 W.
2nd St., Davenport IA, FiggeArtMuseum.org, thru Wed Nov 4
Living Proof Exhibit: A Visualization of Hope, exhibit
celebrating the therapeutic benefits of the arts and people
impacted by cancer, with works by cancer patients and
survivors within a 200-mile radius of the Quad Cities; for
consideration; Tue.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Thu. 10am-8pm, Sun.
noon-5pm; $4-10; for information, call 563-326-7804; for
information, call 563-326-7804; Figge Art Museum, 225 W.
2nd St., Davenport IA, FiggeArtMuseum.org, thru Wed Nov 4
New American Scene: Recent Acquisitions to the
Figge Collection, featuring works by artists including
Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton, who depicted rural
communities, and artists such as Edward Hopper who
were focused on life in the city; also with works by Adolph
Rosenblatt, Rose Frantzen, and Mark Messersmith; Tue.-Sat.
10am-5pm, Thu. 10am-8pm, Sun. noon-5pm; $4-10; for
information, call 563-326-7804; Figge Art Museum, 225 W.
2nd St., Davenport IA, FiggeArtMuseum.org, Sat Oct 10 thru
Wed Nov 4
T.J. Dedeaux-Norris Presents The Estate of Tameka
Jenean Norris,   Dedeaux-Norris will use this exhibition
to establish an artist estate and retrospective for recently
deceased persona Tameka Jenean Norris; Tameka Jenean
Norris entire body of work will be on view including fabric
assemblage paintings, videos, music and works on paper.; 
Tue.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Thu. 10am-8pm, Sun. noon-5pm; $4-10;
for information, call 563-326-7804; Figge Art Museum, 225 W.
2nd St., Davenport IA, FiggeArtMuseum.org, Sat Oct 24 thru
Wed Nov 4
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
Scarecrow & Jack-o-Lantern Competition Exhibition,
exhibit of decorated works by families, artists, Muscatine Art
Center, Thu Oct 29 thru Sun Nov 1
Classes
Virtual Creativity Lab: Halloween Paper Lantern,
create a silhouette paper lantern to add a spooky-ish feel to…
Moline Public Library, 3:30pm Thu Oct 8
Wheel Throwing, Thursdays thru Dec. 3; with instructor
Claire Waterman; this class… Bereskin Gallery & Art Academy,
5pm Thu Oct 8
Virtual Class: Oil Painting, on Thursdays; with instructor
Dave Anderson; the first class includes… Bereskin Gallery &
Art Academy, 2pm thru Thu Oct 29
Wheel Throwing, Fridays thru Nov. 27; with instructor
Claire Waterman; this class… Bereskin Gallery & Art Academy,
6:30pm Fri Oct 9
Open Clay Studio Membership, with instructor Claire
Waterman by appointment: Monday & Wednesday (9…
Bereskin Gallery & Art Academy, 5pm Fri Oct 9 thru Fri Oct 30
Beginner Hand Building, Saturdays thru Nov. 28; with
instructor Claire Waterman; this class… Bereskin Gallery & Art
Academy, 10am Sat Oct 10
Metal Embossing & Patina Necklace & Earrings, with
instructor Wendy Olinger; learn how to emboss metal,
apply… Bereskin Gallery & Art Academy, 10am Sat Oct 10
Open Clay Studio Membership, with instructors Claire
Waterman by appointment: Monday & Wednesday (9…
Bereskin Gallery & Art Academy, Sat Oct 10 thru Sat Oct 31
Virtual Class: Oil Painting, on Saturdays; with instructor
Dave Anderson; learn to see, draw,… Bereskin Gallery & Art
Academy, 9am Sat Oct 10 thru Sat Oct 31
Fall Leaves Paper Banner Kit, every two weeks we will
release a new kit designed… Rock Island Public Library -
Downtown Library, 10am Mon Oct 12
Pumpkin Craft, an event in the Southwest Craft Night
series with materials… Rock Island Public Library - Southwest
Branch, 6pm Tue Oct 13
Virtual 3D Paper Haunted House, register to learn how
to make your own 3D paper… Moline Public Library, 10am
Tue Oct 13
Virtual Class: Oil Painting, on Wednesdays; with
instructor Dave Anderson; the first class includes a… Bereskin
Gallery & Art Academy, Wed Oct 14 thru Wed Oct 28
“I Am Suns” Mixed Media Collage w/ Gina
Kirschbaum, a Living Proof Exhibit creative session;
celebrate healing through mixed-media… Muscatine Art
Center, 5:30pm Thu Oct 15
Shiny Objects: Fall Still-life Seminar, with instructor
Susan Reinier; compose an autumn-themed still life oil…
Bereskin Gallery & Art Academy, 9am Sat Oct 17
Life Drawing 3rd Sunday, with instructor Gary
Burlingame; artists from all over the QC… Bereskin Gallery &
Art Academy, 1pm Sun Oct 18
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
Message Bracelet & Earrings, with instructor Wendy
Olinger; learn how to attach your Word… Bereskin Gallery &
Art Academy, 6pm Tue Oct 20
Take Home Workshop: Colorful Translucent Tea Light
Shades, light up your home with these beautiful, colorful
translucent tea… Bettendorf Public Library, 10am Thu Oct 22
Reverse Glass Fall Scheme, a Red Barn Studio class with
Vada Baker; $13.50-15; for… Muscatine Art Center, 5:15pm
Thu Oct 22
Breast Cancer Awareness Bracelet & Coordinating
Earrings, with instructor Wendy Olinger; learn how to make
a Sterling… Bereskin Gallery & Art Academy, 10am Sat Oct 24
Beading/Jewelry-Making, every two weeks we will
release a new kit designed… Rock Island Public Library -
Downtown Library, 10am Mon Oct 26
Painting Skin Tones In Portraiture, Thursdays thru Nov.
29; with instructor Brad Bisbey; explore the… Bereskin Gallery
& Art Academy, 11am Thu Oct 29
Owl Polymer Clay Pendant, a Red Barn Studio class with
Vada Baker; $13.50-15; for… Muscatine Art Center, 5:15pm
Thu Oct 29
Open Clay Studio Membership, with instructors Claire
Waterman by appointment: Monday & Wednesday (9…
Bereskin Gallery & Art Academy, 9am Mon Nov 2 thru Wed
Nov 4
Virtual Class: Oil Painting, on Wednesdays; with
instructor Dave Anderson; the first class includes a… Bereskin
Gallery & Art Academy, Wed Nov 4
Gyrls Night Out: CRAW Bead & Lampwork Earrings,
with instructor Karen Kubby; use your CRAW skills to make…
Beadology Iowa, 5:30pm Fri Sep 25
Ruffles Galore, with instructor Karen Kubby; learn to use
two-hole tile beads… Beadology Iowa, 10am Sat Sep 26
DIY Barn “Quilts”, make your own painted barn “quilt”
hanging using a 2’x2’… Rock Island Public Library -
Downtown Library, 1pm Sat Sep 26
Calls for Entry
Call for Entries: Scarecrow & Jack-o-Lantern
Competitions, families, artists, crafters, and students are
invited to participate; entries… Muscatine Art Center, thru
Sun Oct 25
Call for Entry: High School T-Shirt Design Contest,
e-mail us your original t-shirt design, and the winner’s design
will be printed on shirts that will be for sale in the Figge
Art Museum Store, with all proceeds benefiting next year’s
educational programs at the Figge; the winner will also
receive $100 cash, a family membership to the Figge, and
a private screen-printing party for them and three friends;
contact Brian Allen at ballen@figgeartmuseum.org with
questions. Figge Art Museum,thru Wed Nov 4
Call for Entry: Quarantine Art Exhibition, all artists
residing within a 250-mile radius… Quad City Arts Center,
thru Wed Nov 4
Quad City Arts Annual Call for Proposals, Quad City
Arts invites artists residing within a 250-mile… Quad City Arts
Center, thru Wed Nov 4
MUSIC
Concerts
Jazz Lounge Thursday w/ Mason Moss & Sara Tubbs,
on Thursdays; a relaxing night of jazz music; cash bar,… The
Spotlight Theatre, 7pm Thu Oct 8
Virtual Concert– 2nd Thursday Series: Songs of
Isolation and Connection, hosted by CROpera and
featuring the company’s young artists Christina… 7pm Thu
Oct 8
Virtual Concert: Joseph’s All the Songs We’ve Ever
Played – Native Dreamer Kin, thru Oct. 10; join Natalie
Schepman and her sisters Allison… Englert Theatre, 8pm
Thu Oct 8
Virtual Concert: Joseph’s All the Songs We’ve Ever
Played – I’m Alone, No You’re Not, thru Oct. 10; join Natalie
Schepman and her sisters Allison… Englert Theatre, 8pm Fri
Oct 9
Virtual Concert: Joseph’s All the Songs We’ve Ever
Played – Good Luck, Kid, thru Oct. 10; join Natalie
Schepman and her sisters Allison… Englert Theatre, 8pm Sat
Oct 10
The Cadillac Three, concert with the Southern rock group
consisting of Jaren Johnston,… First Avenue Club, Fri Oct 16
Beatles vs Stones: A Musical Showdown, the two
greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands of all time… Adler Theatre, 7:30pm
Tue Oct 20
Beatles vs Stones: A Musical Showdown, in alternating
power sets, internationally known tribute bands Abbey
Road… Five Flags Center, 7:30pm Wed Oct 21
Live(stream) with Heritage Center: Alpin Hong, as
a famed and fine-tuned pianist, Alpin Hong has made a…
University of Dubuque’s Heritage Center, 7:30pm Thu Oct 22
Lily Hiatt- Beth Bombara, concert with the Nashville-
based singer/songwriter, featuring an opening set by…
Englert Theatre, 8pm Fri Oct 23
WVIK/QCSO Signature Series I: Naha Plays
Beethoven, featuring Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Sonata
in G Major, K.301,” Franz Schubert’s “Grand Duo, Op. 574,”
Jesse Jones’ “Scherzo,” Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Sonata in C
minor, No. 7,” and Naha Greenholtz on violin and Marian Lee
on piano; for information and tickets, call 563-322-7276. Figge
Art Museum, 7:30pm Fri Oct 23
​Northern Parallels: Halloween Edition, w/ Mike Derer,
Ace Chamberz, Higgy & DJ Pancypants; outdoors,… Rozz-Tox,
4pm Sat Oct 31
Tuneful Tuesdays: Chris Vallilo (noon), the folk-music
concert may be presented virtually; free; for information,…
Rock Island Public Library - Downtown Library, noon Tue
Nov 3
Call for Entry
Call for Submissions: QC Beats, QC Beats, an online audio
streaming service, is… Davenport Public Library, thru Sat
Oct 31
LITERARY ARTS
Call for Entries: QC Life in the New Normal Writing
Project, we are collecting individual or group reflections
about how life… Davenport Public Library - Main Branch, Thu
Oct 8 thru Sat Oct 31
Virtual Mystery Book Discussion Group: Girl Waits
with Gun, a discussion of Amy Stewart’s novel via
GoToMeeting; for information,… Bettendorf Public Library,
9:30am Sat Oct 10
Virtual Get Lit: Arrowood, an online discussion of Laura
McHugh’s novel; for information, call… Bettendorf Public
Library, 7pm Tue Oct 13
Virtual Event: Creepy Tales with Edgar Allan Poe, on
Tuesdays; we’ll read a classic story or poem by… Davenport
Public Library - Main Branch, 4pm Tue Oct 13 thru Tue Oct 27
Virtual Book Club @ Night: American Street, a virtual
discussion of Ibi Zoboi’s young-adult novel; free; for…
Davenport Public Library - Main Branch, 6:30pm Wed Oct 14
Virtual Event – Book Club @ Night: American Street, an
online discussion of Ibi Zoboi’s book; using GoTo Meeting,…
Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue Branch, 6:30pm
Wed Oct 14
Virtual Book Club, on Wednesdays; using GoTo Meeting,
patrons will be able to… Davenport Public Library - Eastern
Avenue Branch, 2pm Wed Oct 14 thru Wed Oct 28
Writer’s Studio, on the 1st & 3rd Sat. of the month; an…
Midwest Writing Center, 11am Sat Oct 17
Fly Girls, a discussion of Keith O’Brien’s book with the Last
Call Book… Icons Martini, 7pm Tue Oct 20
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders & the
Birth of the FBI, a discussion of David Grann’s book with
the Book Babes… St. James Lutheran Church - Rock Island,
6:30pm Tue Oct 20
Virtual Book ‘Em Mystery Book Club: Conviction, an
online discussion of Denise Mina’s novel; for information,
call… Moline Public Library, 1pm Tue Oct 20
Continued On Page 9
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
VISUAL ARTS
A Portrait of Remarkable Women
Through Saturday, October 31 @ Quad City Arts
International Airport, 2200 69th Avenue, Moline, IL
H
eld in commemoration of the 100th
anniversary of the passage of the
19th Amendment, which guarantees
and protects women’s constitutional right to
vote, A Portrait of Remarkable Women serves
as the current exhibition at the Quad City
Arts International Airport Gallery, its display
through October 31 celebrating a milestone of
democracy and the achievements of women,
especially in the arts.
The airport gallery’s exhibit features por-
traits painted by Davenport’s Heidi Hernan-
dez and Cecile Houel of Fort Madison, Iowa,
as well as sculptures by 11 female artists living
within a 250-mile radius: Kristin Garnant,
Hilde DeBruyne, Lisa Mahar, Liz Wakita,
Judy Bales, Joan Webster-Vore, Stephanie J.
Baugh, Elizabeth Rhoads Read, Lori Roder-
ick, Karen Brinson, and Justine Zimmer. In
doing so, A Portrait of Remarkable Women
offers glimpses of of both the extraordinary
women artists in our community as well as
the women commemorated by Hernandez
and Houel.
“One hundred years ago,” says Quad City
Arts’ visual arts director Dawn Wohlford-
Metallo, “female artists struggled to be
taken seriously in the profession, which
meant being included in important exhibi-
tions alongside men and selling their work
at comparable prices. Now female artists can
be self-supporting, have work purchased for
museum collections, can own an art gallery,
be curators, esteemed educators, critics, writ-
ers, and speakers. We now have numerous
outstanding female artists here in our region
to celebrate and share with the public. These
artists can all stand on their own merit and
many have had solo exhibitions, previously,
but this anniversary provides us an opportu-
nity to highlight talented women living here,
now.”
As part of this special exhibit commemo-
rating women, Houel will exhibit six female
Nobel Peace Prize Winners at the airport gal-
lery, and has said she plans to do portraits of
7
all 107 Nobel Peace Laureates. Working from
her studio in Fort Madison – a two-minute
walk from the Mississippi River – she typi-
cally completes 10 of the intensely personal
four-foot by four-foot portraits each year.
Hernandez, who will also be exhibited at
the airport, chose to paint local and national
female artists she admires, saying, “The col-
lection of portraits I painted capture an
exterior, a façade judged unfairly based on
stereotypes and bias. Hidden truths gleaned
during interviews with the artists, are pre-
sented behind the portraits, peeking out
underneath the edge of the painting, inviting
the viewer to take a closer look.”
In addition to Portraits of Remarkable
Women, the Quad Cities currently houses
five additional exhibits dedicated to women
artists: Nobel Peace Prize Collection: Peace
Starts Within at the Beréskin Gallery & Art
Academy; Nobel Peace Prize Collection at the
German American Heritage Center; works
by Cecile Houel and Rose Moore in a Dav-
enport RiverCenter/Adler Theatre display (all
three running through October 28); Liberated
Voices/Changed Lives at the Putnam Museum
& Science Center (through November 4); and
Seen & Heard: The Art of Empowerment at the
Figge Art Museum (through May 2, 2021).
Together with the Quad City International
Airport Gallery, these six QC venues provide
visual art and historic displays that reflect the
importance, power and struggle of female
artists, as well as all people who have worked
tirelessly for the equality of women, world
peace, and the advancement of humankind.
The Quad City International Airport Gal-
lery is located opposite the airport’s gift shop
and restaurant, there is a $1 fee for parking,
and more information on the A Portrait
of Remarkable Women exhibit on display
through October 31 is available by call-
ing (309)793-1213 extension 108 or visiting
QuadCityArts.com.
 8 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

VISUAL ARTS By Bruce Walters

Art in Plain Sight: Mermaids

“
It was so hot,” says Heidi Sallows. “I
remember I filled a small tub full of
water. Laughing, we took turns getting
in it like a tiny squatting pool. And then we
would climb back up and paint in the heat.
“I was painting low and she was standing
on a ladder on the scissor lift painting more
than 35 feet in the air. It was scary at first
and it was a lot of fun by the end.”
Ten years have passed. Yet the Sea Turtle
mural is still as vibrant and alive as Sallows
remembers painting it with Sarah Robb.
Painted on the east wall of the building
at 2104 Fourth Avenue in Rock Island, the
mural jolts us out of our familiar world
– plunging us into an underwater world
populated with beautiful, mysterious,
mythical, and dangerous creatures.
Sallows sees their work as a story open
to interpretation. For her, the story begins
with scuba divers unknowingly coming
upon the wonders of the sea. And three
magical mermaids, who represent three
fates: the past, which is the mermaid peek-
ing into the window; the present, which
is the mermaid looking out at you; and
the future, which is the mermaid look-
ing toward the giant squid. Though facing
danger, she seems calm and ready.
The mural was one of her favorite proj-
ects working with Robb. “I brought her in
on the project because of the size and the
amount of time we had to get it done. I felt
that her style and my style, though very dif-
ferent, lent themselves to one another very
nicely. She painted with bold colors and
could cover areas quickly and I could come
back in and sweep in details with yes a very

painterly style.” with Chad Pregracke’s Living Lands &

On the 1800 block of Bettendorf’s Lin-
coln Road is a mural painted last year by
Heidi Sallows with her team of Metro Arts
students. A 177-foot-long mermaid domi-
nates the mural. Like the mermaid who
represents the present in the Rock Island
painting, she is looking directly at us. There
is also danger in this mural: pollution.
As Sallows said, “The mural was designed
by the kids, but in many different sections
like a puzzle. We wanted to focus on the
climate again because it’s important. And
the health of our river is important. I liter-
ally told the kids that if we paint something
beautiful like the mermaid, we can put all
this trash around it and relate to culture
through garbage. I wanted her to feel like
she was moving in and out of the space
itself to remind people of the river just a
mile away.”
Her concern with the environment and
pollution dates back to her involvement
Waters team, when she painted on his tow-
boat and worked for 12 years on the art
auction at his annual Barge Party.
Sallows added, “I guess mostly what I
want to say about climate change is that I
want people to care. To realize that what we
do matters and what we don’t do matters.
That small piece of garbage that you throw
on the ground goes somewhere.”
To see more of Sallows’ work, visit
MuralChik.com.
Bruce Walters is a professor of art at
Western Illinois University.
This is part of an occasional series on the
history of public art in the Quad Cities. If
there’s a piece of public art that you’d like to
learn more about, e-mail the location and
a brief description to BD-Walters@wiu.edu.
 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020 9
Zoom Class – Puppetry for Ages 8+, Mondays
CONTINUED

Resilience: A Drive In Live Performance of Dance and In-Person Class – Advanced Dance: Ballet/Jazz for
LITERARY ARTS thru Nov. 16; students explore the creative, and fun,… Music, a presentation in the Iowa Dance Festival 2020; with Ages 9+, Tuesdays thru Nov. 17; this class will focus on
Davenport Junior Theatre, 5:30pm Mon Oct 19 designated… Iowa City Municipal Airport, 6:30pm Sat Oct 17 ballet… Davenport Junior Theatre, 5:45pm Tue Oct 20

Virtual Contemporary Books Discussion Group:
The Ghost Map, an online discussion of Steven Johnson’s
novel; for information, call… Bettendorf Public Library,
1pm Wed Oct 21
Virtual Contemporary Books Discussion Group:
Washington Black, an online discussion of Esi Edugyan’s
novel; for information, call… Bettendorf Public Library,
7pm Wed Oct 21
Virtual Event: Book Bash, we’ll be offering information
about the book clubs the library… Davenport Public
Library - Main Branch, 6:30pm Wed Oct 21
Virtual Novel Naptime: Nothing to See Here, an
online discussion of Kevin Wilson’s novel; for information,
call… Moline Public Library, 10:30am Wed Oct 21
Virtual Last Monday Book Club, join Rachel through
GoToMeeting for Book Club; each person who… Silvis
Public Library, 6pm Mon Oct 26
Good News for a Change, a discussion of David Suzuki’s
and Holly Dressel’s book with the… River Action, 7pm Tue
Oct 27
In-Person Class – Character Creation for Ages 7-9,
Tuesdays thru Nov. 17; students will learn to push their…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 4pm Tue Oct 20
In-Person Class – Musical Theatre for Ages 10+,
Tuesdays thru Nov. 17; class develops storytelling and
communication skills… Davenport Junior Theatre, 7pm
Tue Oct 20
In-Person Class – Musical Theatre for Ages 5-6,
Tuesdays thru Nov. 17; class develops storytelling and
communication skills… Davenport Junior Theatre, 5:30pm
Tue Oct 20
Zoom Class – Playwriting for Ages 10+, Tuesdays
thru Nov. 17; this class introduces the craft of writing…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 5pm Tue Oct 20
Zoom Class – Sketch Comedy for Ages 13+, Tuesdays
thru Nov. 17; learn sketch writing, create memorable
characters,… Davenport Junior Theatre, 6:30pm Tue Oct
20
In-Person Class – Heroes & Villains for Ages 7-9,
Wednesdays thru Nov. 18; class lets kids create their own…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 5:15pm Wed Oct 21
In-Person Class – Beginning Ballet! for Ages 5-6,
Mondays thru Nov. 16; dancers continue learning ballet
fundamentals and concepts… Davenport Junior Theatre,
5pm Mon Oct 19
In-Person Class – Budding Ballet for Ages 3-4, Mondays
thru Nov. 16; our tiniest dancers learn ballet fundamentals…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 4pm Mon Oct 19
Zoom Class – Flexible Stretching! for Ages 7+, Mondays
thru Nov. 16; this class will go through stretches… Davenport
Junior Theatre, 5:30pm Mon Oct 19
Zoom Class – Hip-Hop for Ages 7+, Mondays thru Nov. 16;
students will learn basic hip hop… Davenport Junior Theatre,
4:15pm Mon Oct 19
Zoom Class – Improv Dance! for Ages 9+, Mondays
thru Nov. 16; improv dance is about feeling the… Davenport
Junior Theatre, 6:30pm Mon Oct 19
In-Person Class – Jazz for Ages 7+, Tuesdays thru Nov.
17; this class will focus on basic… Davenport Junior Theatre,
4:15pm Tue Oct 20
Zoom Class – Cheer for Ages 7+, Tuesdays thru Nov. 17;
similar to Poms, this class works… Davenport Junior Theatre,
5pm Tue Oct 20
Zoom Class – Tone It Up! for Ages 7+, Tuesdays thru Nov.
17; this at-home exercise class, led by… Davenport Junior
Theatre, 6:15pm Tue Oct 20
Zoom Class – Zoomba Kids! for Ages 3-6, Tuesdays thru
Nov. 17; this dance aerobics class is great… Davenport Junior
Theatre, 4pm Tue Oct 20
In-Person Class – Poms for Ages 5-6, Wednesdays thru
Nov. 18; similar to Poms, this fun and… Davenport Junior
Theatre, 4pm Wed Oct 21
Continued On Page 10

Virtual Alpha Book Club, to join in, read the book, then
register to get… Rock Island Public Library - Downtown
Library, 1pm Mon Nov 2
Virtual Pageturners, we will be meeting on Zoom;
books are provided on… Moline Public Library, 1pm Tue
Nov 3
Virtual Book Club, on Wednesdays; using GoTo Meeting,
patrons will be able to… Davenport Public Library - Eastern
Avenue Branch, 2pm Wed Nov 4
In-Person Class – Musical Theatre for Ages 7-9,
Wednesdays thru Nov. 18; class develops storytelling and
communication skills… Davenport Junior Theatre, 6:45pm
Wed Oct 21
In-Person Class – Tell Me a Story! for Ages 5-6,
Wednesdays thru Nov. 18; explore storytelling and creative
expression in… Davenport Junior Theatre, 4pm Wed Oct
21
Zoom Class – Acting with Accents for Ages 10+,
Wednesdays thru Nov. 18; create exciting characters from
all over the… Davenport Junior Theatre, 4:30pm Wed Oct

THEATRE
21

Zoom Class – Advanced Accents for Ages 10+,

Performances
Virtual Performance: No Child, Nilaja Sun’s one-
woman journey through the New York City public…
Riverside Theatre, thru Sun Oct 18
Radio Play: An Enemy of the People, St. Ambrose
University’s theatre department presents a radio-drama
version of… KALA Radio 88.5 & 105.5 FM, Fri Oct 9 thru
Sun Oct 11
The Rocky Horror Show, do the “Time Warp” again with
the cult-musical sensation; for… The Circa ‘21 Speakeasy,
8pm Sat Oct 10 thru Sat Oct 31
Virtual Performance: Grounded, George Brant’s one-
woman drama about a drone pilot and new… Riverside
Theatre, Fri Oct 16 thru Sun Oct 25
Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett’s tragicomic classic,
directed by Mike Schulz; Thu.-Sat. 7:30pm… The Black Box
Theatre, 7:30pm Thu Oct 22 thru Sat Oct 31
Virtual Performance: “Art”, Yasmina Reza’s Tony-
winning comedy about three longtime friends and a…
Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, Fri Oct 23 thru
Sun Oct 25
Wednesdays thru Nov. 18; this class picks up where our
Acting… Davenport Junior Theatre, 6pm Wed Oct 21
In-Person Class – Improv for Ages 10-12, Thursdays
thru Nov. 19; through games and exercises, students
develop ability… Davenport Junior Theatre, 5:30pm Thu
Oct 22
In-Person Class – Improv for Ages 13+, Thursdays thru
Nov. 19; through games and exercises, students develop
ability… Davenport Junior Theatre, 7pm Thu Oct 22
In-Person Class – Improv for Ages 7-9, Thursdays thru
Nov. 19; through games and exercises, students develop
ability… Davenport Junior Theatre, 4pm Thu Oct 22
Zoom Class – Broadway Beats! for Ages 3-4,
Thursdays thru Nov. 19; explore storytelling through song
and dance;… Davenport Junior Theatre, 4:30pm Thu Oct
22
Zoom Class – Voice-Over for Ages 10+, Thursdays
thru Nov. 19; from the voices of your favorite… Davenport
Junior Theatre, 5:45pm Thu Oct 22
In-Person Class – Acting for the Camera for Ages
10+, Saturdays thru Nov. 21; students will learn tips, tricks,
and… Davenport Junior Theatre, noon Sat Oct 24

Classes In-Person Class – Professional Acting for Ages 11+,

In-Person Class – Musical Theatre for Ages 10+,
Mondays thru Nov. 16; class develops storytelling and
communication skills… Davenport Junior Theatre, 7:15pm
Mon Oct 19
In-Person Class – Musical Theatre for Ages 5-6,
Mondays thru Nov. 16 class develops storytelling and
communication skills… Davenport Junior Theatre, 4:30pm
Mon Oct 19
In-Person Class – Sketch It! Drawing for the Stage
for Ages 9+, Mondays thru Nov. 16; explore your visual
creativity by working… Davenport Junior Theatre, 5:45pm
Mon Oct 19
Saturdays thru Nov. 21; students will learn the ins and…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 10:30am Sat Oct 24
In-Person Class – Tell Me a Story! for Ages 7-9,
Saturdays thru Nov. 21; explore storytelling and creative
expression in… Davenport Junior Theatre, 9am Sat Oct 24
Zoom Class – Musical Theatre for Ages 5-6,
Saturdays thru Nov. 21; class develops storytelling and
communication skills… Davenport Junior Theatre, 11am
Sat Oct 24
Zoom Class – Stage Management for Ages 11+,
Saturdays thru Nov. 21; learn all the in, outs, cues…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 9:30am Sat Oct 24

Zoom Class – Character Creation for Ages 7-9,

Mondays thru Nov. 16; students will learn to push their…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 4pm Mon Oct 19
Zoom Class – Musical Puppetry for Ages 8+, Mondays
thru Nov. 16; building on skills learned in our… Davenport
Junior Theatre, 7pm Mon Oct 19
DANCE
Ballet Quad Cities School of Dance Classes, offering
classes in Ballet Pointe, Modern, Jazz, Tap, Conditioning,
Creative… Ballet Quad Cities School of Dance, Thu Oct 8 thru
Wed Nov 4
10 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
THEATRE
Waiting for Godot
Thursday, October 22, through Saturday, October 31
@ The Black Box Theatre, 1623 Fifth Avenue, Moline IL
Peter Alfano and Tristan Odenkirk in Waiting
for Godot - October 22 through 31
A
n absurdist classic made newly
relevant by the global pan-
demic, Samuel Beckett’s leg-
endary tragicomedy Waiting for Godot
enjoys an October 22 through 31 run
at Moline’s Black Box Theatre, with
Samuel Beckett's timeless story of hope
amidst existential dread described by
the New York Stage Review as "the great
play of the 20th century."
In Waiting for Godot, two wandering
vagabonds, Vladimir and Estragon,
wait by a barren tree to meet up with
Mr. Godot, an enigmatic figure in a
world where time, place, and memory
are blurred and meaning is only where
you find it. The tramps hope that
Godot will change their lives for the
better. But instead of enjoying an audi-
ence with the fabled Godot, Vladimir
and Estragon encounter the eccentric
travelers Pozzo and Lucky – one man
arriving on the end of the other’s rope
– as well as a young messenger who
comes bearing urgent news. Between
its scenes of riotous slapstick and
tender anguish, Waiting for Godot is
a hilarious, heartbreaking, and ulti-
mately hopeful tale of a friendship
that refuses to perish, and a work that
London Evening Times described as
“one of the most noble and moving
plays of our generation … with phrases
that come like a sharp stab of beauty
and pain.”
Directing the play for the Black
Box is Reader employee Mike Schulz,
who most recently appeared in
the QC Theatre Workshop’s pro-
duction of The Goat, or Who Is
CONTINUED
Sylvia?, and whose directing cred-
its for that venue include Venus in
Fur and The Big Meal. With Schulz
an alumnus of Augustana College,
Waiting for Godot features three
fellow Augustana graduates among
its cast: Tristan Odenkirk (The Goat,
the Mississippi Bend Players’ Biloxi
Blues) as Vladimir, Peter Alfano
(Augustana’s Noises Off and The Cru-
cible) as Estragon, and Brandon Smith
(Augustana’s She Kills Monsters and
The Three Musketeers). Current Augus-
tana senior Jarod Kovach (Noises Off,
The Three Musketeers) plays Lucky;
Josef Bodenbender (Genesius Guild’s
Hamlet, the Prenzie Players’ The Merry
Wives of Windsor) plays the messen-
ger; and the creative team boasts Cait
Bodenbender as assistant director and
costume designer, Samantha Flipp as
stage manager and lighting designer,
Emily Keiner as props designer, and
Odenkirk as sound designer.
Waiting for Godot will be staged at
the Black Box Theatre from October 22
through 31, with performances Thurs-
days through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m
and admission $13-16. Patrons will be
required to wear face masks, tempera-
tures will be taken before entry, and
only certain seats will be available in
order to conform to social-distancing
guidelines. Advance purchase of tick-
ets is highly recommended in order
to avoid the handling of money, and
more information and reservations are
available by calling (563)284-2350 or
visiting TheBlackBoxTheatre.com.
DANCE
In-Person Class – Poms for Ages 7+, Wednesdays thru
Nov. 18; similar to Poms, this fun and… Davenport Junior
Theatre, 5:15pm Wed Oct 21
Zoom Class – Budding Ballet for Ages 3-4, Wednesdays
thru Nov. 18; our tiniest dancers learn ballet fundamentals…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 4:15pm Wed Oct 21
Zoom Class – Yoga for Ages 7+, Wednesdays thru Nov.
18; yoga helps students to gain strength… Davenport Junior
Theatre, 5:15pm Wed Oct 21
In-Person Class – Beginning Hip-Hop for Ages 5-6,
Thursdays thru Nov. 19; students will learn basic hip hop…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 4pm Thu Oct 22
In-Person Class – Hip-Hop for Ages 7+, Thursdays thru
Nov. 19; students will learn basic hip hop… Davenport Junior
Theatre, 5:15pm Thu Oct 22
In-Person Class – Lyrical Dance for Ages 10+, Thursdays
thru Nov. 19; this free and fluid style will… Davenport Junior
Theatre, 6:45pm Thu Oct 22
Zoom Class – Beginning Ballet! for Ages 5-6, Thursdays
thru Nov. 19; dancers continue learning ballet fundamentals
and concepts… Davenport Junior Theatre, 5:15pm Thu Oct
22
Zoom Class – Creative Movement! for Ages 3-6,
Thursdays thru Nov. 19; this fun class helps to build
locomotive… Davenport Junior Theatre, 4:15pm Thu Oct 22
In-Person Class – Beginning Ballet! for Ages 5-6,
Saturdays thru Nov. 21; dancers continue learning ballet
fundamentals and concepts… Davenport Junior Theatre,
10:15am Sat Oct 24
In-Person Class – Budding Ballet for Ages 3-4,
Saturdays thru Nov. 21; our tiniest dancers learn ballet
fundamentals… Davenport Junior Theatre, 9:15am Sat Oct
24
Zoom Class – Dance Break! for Ages 3-6, Saturdays thru
Nov. 21; join us as we learn a new… Davenport Junior Theatre,
10am Sat Oct 24
Zoom Class – Dance with Me! for Ages 1.5-3, Saturdays
thru Nov. 21; dance and move with your little… Davenport
Junior Theatre, 9am Sat Oct 24
Zoom Class – Dancing Through the Decades! for Ages
7+, Saturdays thru Nov. 21; join us and your friends while…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 11am Sat Oct 24
COMEDY
Shots ‘n’ Giggles, performers do shots and toasts with the
audience while playing… The Circa ‘21 Speakeasy, 8pm Sat
Oct 10
An Evening with GIT Improv, a fundraiser for the Quad
City Symphony Orchestra with special… Stoney Creek Inn
Convention Center, 6pm Thu Oct 29
Tim Meadows, Meadows is one of the longest-running cast
members in the history of Saturday Night Live”; the touring
standup comedian performs in the Rhythm City Casino Resort
Comedy Series; for information, call 563-328-8000. Rhythm
City Casino Resort Rhythm Room, 6:30pm Thu Oct 29
MUSEUMS
Nobel Peace Prize Collection, thru Oct. 28; works of
portraiture by internationally recognized artist… German
American Heritage Center, thru Wed Oct 28
Liberated Voices/Changed Lives, thru Nov. 4; visitors will
travel back in time to… Putnam Museum & Science Center,
thru Sat Oct 31
Valor & Victory Gardens: WWII in the Hawkeye State,
the year 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the end…
German American Heritage Center, thru Sat Oct 31
Virtual Presentation: Oktoberfest by the Numbers, a
fun-fact filled presentation about Germany’s largest Volksfest
by Kelly… German American Heritage Center, 2pm Sun Oct 11
Drive-in Movie Event: Hotel Transylvania, parking-lot
screening of the animated comedy presented by the City…
Family Museum, 7:30pm Sat Oct 17
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
Virtual Mad Scientist Ball, this virtual fundraiser for the
venue includes an interactive science… Putnam Museum &
Science Center, 6pm Sat Oct 17
Virtual Presentation: The Journey to Mollie’s War:
WACs & WWII, virtual presentation by Cyndee Schaffer;
members of the Women’s Army… German American Heritage
Center, 2pm Sun Oct 18
Virtual Spooky Stories and Tales, GAHC staff will be
reading a selection of our favorite… German American
Heritage Center, 2pm Sat Oct 24
OTHER EVENTS
Online Bulb Sale, lilies, daffodils, tulips and more spring
favorites… Quad City Botanical Center, Thu Oct 8 thru Thu
Oct 15
Architectural Outdoor Tour, on Thursdays; for
information, call for information, call 309-373-5080…
Hauberg Civic Center Mansion, 7pm Thu Oct 8 thru Thu Oct 29
OWL (Outreach Wheeled Library) at the Park, on
Thursdays; for those struggling to check emails and help
their… Eastern Avenue Park, 1:30pm thru Thu Oct 29
OWL (Outreach Wheeled Library) at the Park, on
Thursdays; for those struggling to check emails and help
their… Slattery Park, 3pm thru Thu Oct 29
Celebration Belle River Cruises, enjoy the sights of
the Upper Mississippi River aboard the… Celebration Belle
Landing, thru Sun Nov 1
Riverboat Twilight Sightseeing Cruises, thru Nov.
1; enjoy the elegant, triple-decked riverboat for day,…
Riverboat Twilight, thru Sat Oct 31
Jane’s Place at CASI Alzheimer’s Team Walk, meet in
the Botanical Building Parking Lot; wear something purple…
Vander Veer Botanical Park, 8:30am Fri Oct 9
CASI Outdoor Morning Walking Club, on Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays; be prepared with a mask… Vander
Veer Botanical Park, 8:30am Fri Oct 9 thru Wed Nov 4
Hauberg Estate Tours, on Fridays; docents conduct
interesting and informative tours of the… Hauberg Civic
Center Mansion, 1pm Fri Oct 9 thru Fri Oct 30
Terror at Skellington Manor: Theatre of the Macabre,
a walk-through Dark Attraction filled with terrifying live
actors, amazing… Skellington Manor Banquet & Event Center,
7pm Fri Oct 9 thru Sat Oct 31
Blackout Orpheum: Historically Haunted Spooky
Tours, on Fridays; tours will be held on the half-hour from…
Orpheum Theatre, 8pm Fri Oct 9 thru Fri Oct 30
Geneseo Farmer’s Market, Saturdays thru Oct. 17; local
vendors sell fresh produce, fabulous… 111 West Pearl St., 8am
Sat Oct 10 thru Sat Oct 17
Pete’s 2020 5K Humane Race: In-person & Virtual, join
Pete the Purple Bull during National Bully Prevention Month
to… Riverdale City Hall, 1pm Sat Oct 10
Black Hawk Hiking Club Fall Overnight, held at Lake
Keomah State Park in Oskaloosa, Iowa… 2:30pm Sat Oct 10
OWL (Outreach Wheeled Library) at the Park, on
Saturdays; for those struggling to check emails and help
their… Eastern Avenue Park, 1:30pm Sat Oct 10 thru Sat
Oct 31
OWL (Outreach Wheeled Library) at the Park, on
Saturdays; for those struggling to check emails and help
their… Emeis Park, 10:30am Sat Oct 10 thru Sat Oct 31
OWL (Outreach Wheeled Library) at the Park, on
Saturdays; for those struggling to check emails and help
their… Madison Elementary School, 3pm Sat Oct 10 thru
Sat Oct 31
OWL (Outreach Wheeled Library) at the Park, on
Saturdays; for those struggling to check emails and help
their… Sunderbruch Park, 9am Sat Oct 10 thru Sat Oct 31
OWL (Outreach Wheeled Library) at the Park, on
Mondays; for those struggling to check emails and help
their… Centennial Park, 3pm Mon Oct 12 thru Mon Oct 26
OWL (Outreach Wheeled Library) at the Park, on
Mondays; for those struggling to check emails and help
their… Fejervary Park, 1:30pm Mon Oct 12 thru Mon Oct 26
Continued On Page 15
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
WORDS FROM THE PUBLISHER
Why Local Elections Matter
F
or this year’s election cycle, we
focus on the local Scott County
election for County Sheriff and
two seats for the County Board of
Supervisors (BoS). Thank you to all
the candidates for participating in
our sur vey and providing engaging
responses.
We’ve written about the importance
of the quiet government, the county
officers, for years. Most Quad Citi-
zens can’t name their county sheriff
or a single county super visor. And
that’s just fine for them, as they have
no readily tangible example of how
those offices impact their daily lives.
If you don’t pay property taxes, inter-
act with the court system, develop
property in the unincorporated rural
county, or utilize mental-health ser-
vices, then this indifference is some-
what understandable.
Recall that it was the County BoS
who held the determining vote on
wa iv i ng a g r ic u lt u re-pre ser vat ion
LOCAL ELECTIONS
Scott County Sheriff
Candidate Survey
T
he River Cities’ Reader asked the two
candidates for Scott County Sheriff
to answer 12 questions in advance of
the November 3 election. The background
information, questions, and answers for
incumbent Republican County Sheriff Tim
Lane and his Democratic challenger Scott
County Sheriff’s Deputy Pete Bawden are
printed below. Responses are presented in
full but have been lightly edited for spelling,
punctuation, and grammar.
COVID-19 Pandemic,
Vaccinations & Testing
Background: Congress passed and Presi-
dent Reagan signed into law The National
Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA)
of 1986 (42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-1 to 300aa-34).
(rcreader.com/y/ncvia)
This law shielded vaccine makers from
being sued and set up a fund that has paid
out over $4 billion to families whose chil-
dren have been harmed or killed by a vac-
cine they took. This law was challenged
and upheld in the Supreme Court in 2011.
(rcreader.com/y/ncvia2)
Meanwhile, global foundations, thought
leaders in the vaccine industry and federal
zoning ordinances when the $1-billion
fertilizer plant was being proposed for
north Scott County. And be assured
t hat t he a ll-grow t h-at-any-cost-is-
good-grow th lobbyists will be back
at this Board again over the next four
years.
But the BoS is important beyond the
occasional super-site zoning battle.
This year’s COVID-infused crisis era,
along with the social-media-fueled
civ il unrest has highlighted how
important one’s county government
and its agencies are to protecting one’s
inalienable rights, property, and places
of business, including one’s own body.
It was the Scott County Board of
Super v isors t hat held emergenc y
meetings to declare emergency cur-
fews back in early June to quell unrest
following the rioting, looting, shoot-
ing, and murders that ensued on May
30. It is BoS that governs the staff-
ing and funding of the Scott County
Health Department. This department
health officials have advocated for the con-
cept of a COVID-19 vaccine passport or
certificate that proves one has been vac-
cinated in order to continue employment,
access public and private services and busi-
nesses, and in order for one’s children to
attend a public or private school.
Given the blanket immunity that vaccine
manufacturers enjoy, and the urgency cur-
rently sweeping the nation for a COVID-19
vaccine please answer the following: 

Question 1: If local, state or federal
health officials decree that Ameri-
cans must comply with mandatory
vaccinations, would you support or
oppose such a mandate? 
 things like polio and small pox thus far,
Tim Lane: I would oppose a mandate on a
COVID-19 vaccination.
Pete Bawden: No. I do believe it is best for
people to be vaccinated, however that is
their choice. If schools or employers force
vaccinations then that is out of the Sher-
iff’s hands. If a county wide vaccination
rule came out, I would not instruct my
deputies to enforce it, but to not enforce it.
Passing a law or regulation
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
continues to stoke increasingly unwar-
ranted fear with its unjustifiable and
extreme mitigation guidelines. It is the
Scott County Health Department that
will be beating the drums for man-
dated COVID vaccinations. It was the
BoS that wrung their hands over a pro-
posed and unenforceable mask man-
date. Until recently, it was the BoS that
had oversight for the Auditor’s budget
regarding funding for local, state and
federal elections. (See our Iowa Voter
Alliance Sues County story on page
three.)
Whether you agree with these actions
or not, it is the County Supervisors that
have the most inf luence on these mat-
ters, more than any other elected offi-
cial in the county except for the sheriff.
It’s important to understand that when
a government entity has gone wild – be
it a state legislature, a governor, a fed-
eral congress, a state or federal agency,
a court system and its judges, or even
a president – the people’s ultimate
firewall against unconstitutional and
tyrannical acts is the county sheriff.
Sheriff Tim Lane
that requires a person to get a vaccina-
tion or any other medical care I believe to
go against our rights. ONCE AGAIN, I do
believe people should get vaccinated for
however that is up to them, not the Sheriff
to enforce.
Question 2: If you do support a
mandatory vaccination for all or
any specific segment of the Ameri-
can populace, for which Scott
County citizens qualify, for any
reason or under a specified health
crisis, please share the source for
such constitutional and/or admin-
istrative authority (e.g. county,
state, federal) to enforce such a
11
By Todd McGreevy
For instance, in Cook County, Illi-
nois, the sheriff there took it upon
himself to cease serving home foreclo-
sures for banks due to unfair-notice
practices. Given the mounting pres-
sure to consider new lock-downs for
businesses and potential vaccine man-
dates, anyone concerned about a gov-
ernment gone wild would do well to
get to know and support their county
sheriff. It’s critical that the people have
the sheriff ’s back if they expect him/
her to have theirs.
Please review the Q&As of these
six candidates below closely. We’ve
focused on regionalism and board
practices for the super visors. And
for the sheriff race, we’ve focused on
COVID-19 related issues, the sheriff ’s
authority and powers, and property
rights and privacy. We’ve invited both
sheriff candidates to participate in a
virtual forum to further explore their
responses, moderated by myself and
Pat Miletich. Subscribe to our e-mail
newsletter at RCReader.com to get
notification for that pending event.
Deputy Pete Bawden
mandate, and please include under
what type of order or directive
(e.g. county board policy, state
health department declaration,
federal agency guideline) would
you require in order to enforce
any restrictions of citizens’ lawful
activities, commerce, education or
travel in Scott County, Iowa who
do not comply with being vacci-
nated?
Lane: I would not direct the Sheriff’s
Office to enforce such a mandate.

Bawden: I believe the previous answer
covers this.
Continued On Page 14
12 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
LOCAL ELECTIONS
Jazmin Newton
Scott County Supervisor
Candidate Survey
T
he River Cities’ Reader asked the four
candidates vying for two of the available
County Supervisor seats to answer six
questions in advance of the November 3rd
election. The background information, questions
and answers for incumbent Republicans, Tony
Knobbe and challenger Democrats Jazmin
Newton and Rogers Kirk are printed below.
Responses are presented in full but have been
lightly edited for spelling, punctuation, and
grammar.
Background: In 2019, incumbent Scott County
Supervisor Ken Croken authored a guest editorial
in the Quad City Times titled, “The case for
consolidated government.” Here’s a link to the
article: rcreader.com/y/croken.

One of the
concerns raised is rural towns in Scott County
have aging populations and don’t have the
resources, including volunteers, to keep up with
the requirements for services such as EMT,
ambulances and dispatching. Another example is
four unique library systems inside Scott
County. 

Mr. Croken’s appeal is to at least commit
to evaluating the pros and cons of integrating
governments inside Scott County versus
maintaining current jurisdictional integrity levels.

 govern their jurisdiction as they wish provided it
Question 1: Do you agree that Scott
County should pursue consolidating
governmental units and duplicative
services with cities like Davenport and
Bettendorf and towns such as Donahue
and Eldridge? If yes, how would you go
about it? If no, why not?
Rogers Kirk: Yes, I feel as a Board we should
always look at way to make our county a better
place to live. Where there are opportunities for
consolidation it should be done slowly with 28E
agreements.
Jazmin Newton: The joint exercising of
governmental powers which would allow Scott
County and local governments to enter into
shared service agreements is governed by Iowa
Code 28E. When governing, there should be a
Ken Beck
case by case analysis of each situation and or
scenario that is being entertained. There is no
easy answer or one size fits all approach to this
very complex issues that is presented. I support
shared service agreements where they make
sense. I understand that such agreements allow
for more efficient and effective use of taxpayer
resources. Afterall, the Scott County Board is
responsible to the taxpayers in ensuring each
dollar is spent wisely. Duplicative services, such as
the ones mentioned in the question, are examples
of where it could be beneficial to have shared
service agreements. As a county, we should work
closely with all municipalities and ensure we are
collaborating and partnering where it is prudent.
However, the board has a responsibility to ensure
that such does not come at the expense of the
residents of Scott County. Every service must be
examined case by case and thoroughly discussed
with all those involved. It is vital we make sure no
part of Scott County becomes underserved.
Collaboration is about maximizing benefit and
services for all of Scott County. It is about being
smart.
Ken Beck: Iowa is a “Home Rule” state which
means each level of government has the right to
is not inconsistent with state statue. Based on
comments from constituents, council members,
and mayors, there is no desire at this time to give
up their local control and consolidate services. As
one of your examples, even though the county fire
districts have challenges raising money (their tax
levy is fixed by the state and has been maxed out
for years), recruiting volunteers, and buying
equipment, they too do not want to give up their
local control. For consolidation to be successful, it
must be a win-win to all parties involved, enhance
efficiency, be worthwhile to the stake holders and
reduce costs to the taxpayer.
Tony Knobbe: Pursue might be a strong word,
but I have considered several possibilities. As
Thomas Sowell aptly observes, “There are no
solutions, only tradeoffs.” Whatever changes
might be considered, response times and public
Rogers Kirk
safety must be paramount in that discussion. I
know that it is very difficult to staff a volunteer fire
crew in bedroom communities, and that they
frequently rely upon the help of neighboring
towns for fire and emergency calls. To my
knowledge, no arrangements for measurement,
nor financial compensation exist, but I agree that
they should, at least when the differential is
substantial. I also know that our own sheriff
department answers numerous calls in Daven-
port, but no formal agreement exists between the
two entities. On the other hand, sheriff staff enjoy
the use of Davenport’s gun range, and rely heavily
upon the forensics capabilities of the DPD. I
would support some formal, publicly shared
agreement between municipal government
entities when unequal cost/benefit situations
exist.
Question 2: If you support consolidated
government in Scott County and law
enforcement is a unit to be consoli-
dated, which do you support for the
chief law enforcement position: an
appointed chief of police, or an elected
county sheriff?
Kirk: I support an elected County Sheriff.
Newton: There is already a lot of collaboration
between the Scott County Sheriff’s office and city
police departments. I am very supportive of that
collaboration and applaud our public safety for
their continued efforts to work together to serve
and protect our communities. I am supportive of
a continued effort to explore additional opportu-
nities for collaboration and partnering to find
more efficiency. A great example is the joint
dispatch center because taxpayers save money
and are afforded improved services.
Beck: Changes in state legislation to remove the
position of sheriff from the county would be
needed and I doubt legislation could be so specific
to be for just one county. At this time, there has
not been any interest surfacing with the cities or
Sheriff, from my sources. The real question here is,
would the top position in a consolidated law
enforcement unit be better filled by an elected
official or hired position? There is something to
say about an elected sheriff position since it has
been on the books for many years. Since a
decision regarding consolidation has not been
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
Tony Knobbe
brought up yet to vet through the pros and cons,
let me answer this hypothetical situation this way.
In general, a hired position is typically more
efficient from the stand point that it eliminates
politics and focuses on qualifications. In addition,
the hired position’s pay and/or increases are not
tied to the wages of other elected officials. If
required, changes in command can be made
quickly with a hired position whereas the elected
official is there until voted out of office or retires.
Knobbe: I could make strong arguments for both.
To suggest the elimination of an elected sheriff
would fly in the face of hundreds of years of
history and folklore surrounding the position. A
tall order. On the other hand, having an elected
(fill-in-the-blank) introduces politics to any
otherwise professional department, and creates
an opportunity for politics to be the main focus.
Background: The Quad City International
Airport, in Moline, Illinois operates without any
tax base contributions from Scott County
residents. Currently, only Rock Island County
residents are taxed to support the airport. It is
estimated that at least 60% of the travelers who fly
from the QCIA are from Iowa. The concept of
expanding the airport’s transit authority taxing
status to include Scott County with new Scott
County representation on the airport board has
been trial ballooned in various local business
chamber and community development forums.
Question 3: Do you support the concept
of including Scott County within the
Quad City International Airport’s
taxation authority and subsequent
representational governance? If yes,
how would you go about it? If no, why
not?
Kirk: No. Although it is estimated that 60% of
travelers are from Iowa, not all of this percentage
is from Scott County. We should look at a broader
region, which would include counties in Illinois,
(Mercer, Henery, Whiteside and Rock Island) and
Iowa (Clinton, Muscatine, Cedar and Scott).
Newton: The QC Airport is important part of
driving our regional economy. We should look
for ways to collaborate and support it on a regional
level. I believe that there are many ways we can do
that. We need to have a boarder discussion with
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
both the private and public sector about
addressing future funding of regional amenities
and services. It’s important for Scott County to
be a part of that discussion and take an active
role in ensuring we are working together as a
region so that together we win.
Beck: Having an airport facility is a vital part of
attracting new businesses and supporting overall
economic growth for the Quad Cities. However,
a bi-state taxation authority requires federal and
state legislation in both states, which has not yet
occurred. Should legislation be passed at both
state and federal levels, then creating a taxing
authority would need to be approved (superma-
jority) by the residents on both sides of the river.
If approved, it is my opinion that each project
proposed by the bi-state taxation authority be
put to the voters for approval.
Knobbe: No. The Metropolitan Airport
Authority of Rock Island County was formed
after seven townships voted to establish it in
1947. If the taxing geography of the airport were
to be expanded, I would suggest the remaining
townships of Rock Island County be approached
first. The authority enjoys the benefits of rental
car, hotel, airline and parking revenue. Are those
being offered to be shared with Iowa? Quad
Citizens from both sides of the river frequent
airports in Cedar Rapids, Peoria, and Chicago.
Running an airport is a tough business, I get it.
Expanding tax authority is not my preference for
addressing budget shortfalls.

 first phase of implementing this cost effective
Background: Due to Covid-19 and the Auditor’s
office requiring the Board Room where
Supervisors conduct their public meetings, the
Committee of the Whole and Board Meetings
have been moved to being held virtually. 

As
such, the meetings are now being recorded by
the Board staff with a CISCO WebEx license
costing $11,000 annually. The Auditor has been
recording previous meetings to enable more
accurate minutes, and has stated she is being
disallowed by the Board to post said recordings
at the County website. Staff has provided the
Board proposals to make future Board meeting
recordings publicly available that would cost tax
payers over $100,000 plus ongoing expenses for
complicated software and additional staff-
ing. 

Meanwhile, due to Covid-19, the ease of
recording and posting to the internet virtual
meetings with resources already paid for, has
been made very apparent, as evidenced by the
County Health Department’s posting of its
media briefings. (rcreader.com/y/covid1920) 
 Question 5: Do you support the current
Question 4: Do you support directing
staff to immediately post the Board of
Supervisors’ virtual meetings’ audio
and/or video recording(s) to the Scott
County website? If not, why not? Do
you support directing staff to continue
this practice with the current technol-
ogy and comparatively inexpensive
resources, or are you in support of the
proposal to invest over $100,000 and
additional ongoing licensing fees and
staff resources with new more compli-
cated software?
Kirk: I am in support of the proposal to invest in
the licensing fees and staff resources needed. We
must do all we can as a Board of Supervisors to
have an informed community.
 times that more residents can attend, the board
Newton: Yes, I strongly support meetings being
posted online. I think it is sad that it took a
national pandemic for Scott County to finally
make meetings available online (in real time
only). Many counties in Iowa were already doing
this long before the pandemic took place it and it
was a topic of discussion among the board. Scott
County should broadcast meetings online to
make sure that it is accessible and accountable to
the people of Scott County. As a county, we should
be doing everything we can to make sure we are
engaging the community and being accessible
and accountable are certainly two ways that can
be done. Once elected, I would evaluate all options
that may be available and look to see what other
local governments are using. I would make sure
that we continue the use of technology to make
our meetings available online and also ensure that
such is compliant with ADA requirements.
Beck: COVID 19 brought new awareness of
technology and opportunities to provide
electronic access and to record our meetings.
Scott County recently started using WebEx Event
Solution to provide electronic access and record
our meetings. We are still working through the
platform, which is much less expensive than the
solution previously presented to the board in 2019.
Equipping the board room with audio and video
equipment to improve the experience is the next
phase, and the cost for those improvements will
be covered by the Iowa CARES Act.
Knobbe: We are marching toward our goal of
recorded, published meetings. Although we
desired (in 2019) to publish audio recordings (a
compromise between status quo, and the very
high cost of video recording), we were told by IT
director Hirst that to maintain ADA compliance,
we would have to also publish a complete
transcript of each meeting, also cost prohibitive.
I’m confident that a Webex (or some similar
alternative) solution will provide a complete,
accessible record for current and future reference.
What remains is the hardware and software to
individually mic each of the board members,
participating staff, and those from the public who
wish to speak. We’ll get there soon.
 complaint or request from a citizen who is unable
public meeting times of 8am on Tues-
days for Committee of the Whole and
5pm on Thursdays for the regular Board
meeting? If not, what times do you
propose the meetings should be moved
to?

 Administrator stating that due to County General
Kirk: My suggestion would to have both the
Committee of the Whole and the regular board
meetings at 5pm.
Newtown: I do not support the current meeting
times and strongly believe the meetings should be
in evenings to accommodate more people. I also
understand that even when we change meeting
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
times to evening hours, there will be some
residents that still cannot make it, that is why it is
necessary that meetings be available online. A
government should always be assessable and
accountable. By changing the meeting times to
would be promoting accessibility and thus
allowing for community engagement.
Beck: Scott County is one of the few counties that
hold our board meeting (Thursdays 5 pm) late in
the afternoon. The remaining counties hold their
Committee of the Whole and Board meetings
back to back and/are in the mornings. No matter
what time we hold our meetings, the time will not
be convenient for someone. When we do have an
item of special interest, which is the exception
more than the rule (as compared to say a city
council), constituents do contact the board
members via phone calls, emails, and even an
occasional letter. On one recent issue, we received
over 500 emails. And when there is an item of
special interest such the recent revisions to the
Land Use Maps/Zoning Maps and Park View
Multi-Family Rental Ordinance, we take our
meetings to locations across the county or at a
location convenient for the affected residents. We
also visit city councils at their regular meeting
times, so we do conduct meetings with constitu-
ents outside of the normal COW and Board
meeting times. With the addition of the WebEx
Event Solution, folks can access our meetings
without leaving their place of business, home or
vehicle. At this time, we have not received many
comments from our constituents to change the
meeting times.
Knobbe: I’ve surveyed all surrounding counties,
and the largest counties in Iowa. With one
exception, all of those counties hold meetings in
the morning. Some of our fellow board members
have continually proposed holding meetings later
in the evening than we already do. Judging by the
fact that we frequently have meetings lasting three
hours or more, I would hardly consider those to
be convenient to the public if we were to run past
the late news. On the contrary, Scott County has a
long history of bringing popular, controversial, or
broad issues to the people. Our recent special
meetings to discuss Park View rental property
ordinance, land use map revisions, and zoning
ordinance changes are good examples where we
held evening meetings, at rural sites throughout
the county. To-date, I have yet to receive a single
to come to a meeting to defend, explain, request,
or express criticism of any issue. As one of your
fellow journalists has aptly stated, “Unless the
water runs brown, no one will attend.”

 the same day that our auditor publicly told our
Background: Scott County Attorney Cusack
recently wrote a letter to the Scott County
Policy 30, Auditor Moritz's recent request for
Board approval to accept a $286,000 private grant
funded by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg via the
Chicago based NGO Center for Tech and Civic
Life (CTCL) did not require Supervisor approval.
Here is Cusack’s letter: rcreader.com/y/cusack and
here is Policy 30: rcreader.com/y/policy30. 


13
Question 6: Presuming Cusack is accu-
rate, do you support modifying General
Policy 30 so that in the future grants to
privately fund public elections must be
approved by the Board?
Kirk: No!
Newtown: I do not support modifying Policy
30 to require future grants that aim to privately
fund public elections be approved by the Board.
Each office Scott County is led by an elected
official. In this case, Roxanna Mortiz is the
Scott County Auditor that was elected, and
re-elected many times, by the people of Scoot
County to run the auditor’s office. People have
elected her to do her job and, in her position,
if she believes a grant is for the benefit of the
public, she should be the one to make that
decision. The board is there to oversee the
budget and how taxpayer dollars are spent, not
to dictate how each elected official runs her or
his office. That is why we have elections. If the
people of Scott County do not agree with a cer-
tain grant that an elected official has applied for/
received, then the people of Scott County have
the opportunity to voice their opinion at the
polls. It should be noted that such grant which
our auditor applied for, was one that was shared
by the current Secretary of State and one which
many counties in Iowa applied for and received.
Furthermore, we must also understand that
we are in the middle of a national pandemic,
one that was not foreseeable when the budget
for this election was put in place. The current
auditor obtaining a grant to help with the added
costs of running a safe and fair election is only
helping our democracy and also our county
checkbook.
Beck: Funding to conduct elections is a primary
function of government, which includes grants
such as the HAVA Cares Act. Using private
funding to fund election activities in an already
contentious election year just adds to further
distrust in the election process. The board
will review Policy 30 and see if adding board
approval is warranted when the grant require-
ments do not specify board approval. In my
opinion, state legislation is needed so that any
use of private funding for election activities is
uniformly applied across the state level. Discus-
sions regarding approval at the state level has
already begun with our local legislators.
Knobbe: Yes, I support modifying this policy.
I am not supportive of outside interests of any
political (or apolitical, for that matter) persua-
sion involving themselves in the funding of the
election process. I am disappointed that on
board that the election plans for Scott County
were in great shape, she had signed the applica-
tion for these outside funds. The justification
offered was that COVID precautions required
additional resources to provide for a safe elec-
tion. Which am I to believe, that election plans
were AOK, or that we needed an additional
$286K to hold a safe election? I believe that it
should be my fiduciary responsibility as a super-
visor to be part of that discussion.
14 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
ELECTIONS
(Continued) Scott County Sheriff's Survey
Question 3: Please apply the same specifica-
tions from question 2 to a requirement that
Scott County citizens must participate in a
specific biological test in order to continue
their same lawful activities.
Lane: I would oppose mandatory biological testing and
would not direct the Sheriff’s Office to enforce biologi-
cal testing.
Bawden: This is an issue that I do not see the Sheriff
having much control over. If for instance, the Daven-
port Community Schools require all persons in their
building to be vaccinated before returning to work
that is a policy for their Union or each employee to
take up with their employer. If the Sheriff was asked
by the Board of Supervisors to make sure people
were vaccinated, and it was just a mandate, then NO
ABSOLUTELY NOT. If the Board of Supervisors
passed a Scott County Ordinance and the Scott County
Attorney signed warrants for people who were not
tested or vaccinated, then I must say I would be having
long hard conversations with the Scott County Attor-
ney about the Constitution and see where we end up.
An easy answer would be no. I am against mandatory
biological testing or any other type of forced medical
procedures by the government.
County Sheriff’s Authority
Question 4: What office comprises the
chief law enforcement officer (LEO) in Scott
County, and why?
Lane: The county sheriff of each county represents
the chief law enforcement officer of their respective
county. This is based on the fact that they are elected
by the people to the executive branch of county
government, legal history, and origins of the office
of sheriff. The county sheriff is also frequently
considered the most influential county elected office
holder. The origin of the office of sheriff is English
common law which was adopted in the United
States. There is no known specific court ruling that
determines that the sheriff is the chief law enforcement
officer but there are court rulings such as the one you
provided that are directed towards the authority of the
sheriff in their law enforcement capacity. If the sheriff
had a superior law enforcement authority, then the
decision would be directed to that office. The amount
of influence the sheriff has is outside your question but
is my opinion based on the National Sheriff’s Associa-
tion. But, one must also take into account that it is an
opinion that is also determined by the location in the
country since some locations do not have sheriffs and
some have had their duties diminished over time.
Bawden: In accordance with the Iowa Constitu-
tion’s Distribution of Powers in Article 3, the County
Attorney is the chief law enforcement officer in Scott
County. The Sheriff is second. That being said, I would
work incredibly close with Mike Walton and his
successor in making sure the residents of Scott County
are properly represented. The Iowa Constitution
Article 3 with Distribution of Powers states, “General
assembly. SECTION 1. The legislative authority of this
state shall be vested in a general assembly, which shall
consist of a senate and house of representatives: and
the style of every law shall be. “Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of Iowa.”” This implies
that powers to government are by state statutes.
Instead of other politicians claiming the “State Code
says so,” I believe it is from the State of Iowa Constitu-
tion. From there I go to the following state statutes:
“331.659 (sic) 331.653 Duties of Sheriff” and “331.756
Duties of County Attorney.” Both were passed by the
Iowa General Assembly. I see the law enforcement
officer of the County of Scott as including the County
Attorney. If one of my deputies files a charge with the
court the County Attorney can deny to prosecute. If
the County Attorney decides to file a charge, as Sheriff
I am required by code to carry the arrest out. This is
by code and the State of Iowa Constitution is what sets
the precedence. That this is how the powers of pros-
ecution go. The true authority on crime in a county in
Iowa is given to the county attorney, not the Sheriff.
Now, if your definition of “Chief LEO” of the County
is only regarding officers with the ability to arrest,
then I would say it is the Sheriff of said county. Chiefs
of Police have to answer to municipalities and not the
voters. The Sheriff is the only LEO who the people
of the community choose. With that standard, then
the Sheriff would be the head LEO of the community
answering directly to the people.

Background: In the 1977 Printz-Mack v US case, the
Supreme Court ruled that the two Sheriffs petition-
ing the court had standing, and were constitutionally
compliant in their refusal to enforce or administer a
Federal directive. (rcreader.com/y/mack)
“We held in New York that Congress cannot compel
the States to enact or enforce a federal regulatory
program. Today we hold that Congress cannot
circumvent that prohibition by conscripting the
State’s officers directly. The Federal Government may
neither issue directives requiring the States to address
particular problems, nor command the States’ officers,
or those of their political subdivisions, to administer
or enforce a federal regulatory program. It matters not
whether policymaking is involved, and no case by case
weighing of the burdens or benefits is necessary; such
commands are fundamentally incompatible with our
constitutional system of dual sovereignty. Accord-
ingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit is reversed.”
Question 5: Given this 1997 ruling, what
agreements currently exist between the
Scott County Sheriff’s office and any of its
vendors, suppliers, consultants, grantors,
and/or state or federal agencies that waives,
or suspends temporarily or in perpetuity,
the County Sheriff’s authority as a State
officer upheld in Printz-Mack v US cited
above? (For example, conditions contained in
“Certified Assurances” or requirements for obtaining
a Homeland Security grant.)
Lane: The Scott County Sheriff’s Office receives
grants for the purpose of enforcing state traffic and
drug laws from the State of Iowa and the federal
government. However, the certified assurances within
these contracts do not suspend the Sheriff’s authority
in any way. These contracts are reviewed and renewed
annually for the amount of the contract and the
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
specific language. A 2019 federal court ruling [City
of Chicago v. Barr] barred the federal government from
Property Rights & Privacy
withholding federal funding for failure to cooperate with
federal enforcement by local agencies. (rcreader.com/y/ Question 9: Do you consider an individual's body
sheriff1) his/her own private property?
Lane: I consider an individual’s body to be legally the same as
Bawden: Unfortunately, I am only able to get what you
their life or person which is constitutionally protected.
have from public records. I do not know the dealings that
lead us to where we are with our vendors. I would like
Bawden: Absolutely.
to add that I am not a supporter of getting “free” stuff
from the federal government. Everything comes with
Question 10: What is the probable cause
a price even if the price is a deal. I believe Scott County
standard for obtaining a warrant to search
needs to separate itself from commitments to the Federal
constitutionally protected private property of a
Government regardless of grants and gifts.
resident of Scott County, Iowa, as defined by the
US and Iowa Constitutions?

Question 6: Under what circumstances, if any,
would you consider ceding the County Sheriff’s
Lane: The constitution protects citizens from unreasonable
authority to a state or federal agency appropri-
searches and requires probable cause for the issuance of a
ate and/or justified?
warrant. Probable cause for the search is the reasonable belief
that a crime has been committed and a specific property
Lane: I would not consider ceding the authority of the
contains the evidence or the accused.
Office of Sheriff to any state or federal agency.
Bawden: Probable cause is what is needed to bring a
Bawden: Almost none. I will say that if me or one of my
defendant before the courts, and does not mean someone is
Deputies committed a crime and I could not go forward
guilty. It shows that there is reason enough for someone to be
with prosecution I would turn the case over to the State
a defendant and answer to the courts. The probable cause
Department of Criminal Investigations to not have any
for a warrant is the information law enforcement has to show
bias in the prosecution. 

a judge who signs the warrant. This information needs to
be truthful, current, and sworn under oath before a warrant
Scott County Grand Jury 

 is signed. Any violation of these requirements will lead to
charges under my administration.
Background: Iowa Rules of Criminal Procedure Chapter
2, section 2.3(4)j(3) requires the Scott County Grand Jury Question 11: Under what circumstances is it
to inquire into “The unlawful misconduct in office in the appropriate and legal to conduct warrantless
county of public of officers and employees.” (rcreader. surveillances or searches, whether physically or
com/y/gj1)
 virtually upon a Scott County citizen’s private
property?
(For background please see the Reader’s 2015
commentary: “Help Restore the Power of the Grand Jury”
Lane: Exigent circumstances such as protecting a person from
at (rcreader.com/y/gj2) and the 2020 Grand Jury list at
physical harm.
(rcreader.com/y/gj3)) 

Bawden: Felony Arrest in a Public Place, Searches Directly
Question 7: When a duly sworn Scott County
Related to a Lawful Arrest, Exigent Circumstances of an
Grand Jury contacts the Scott County Sheriff
arrest. K9 alerts so long as the defendant has not been detained
for assistance in investigating alleged crimes,
longer than reasonable and the K9 has legitimately kept up on
and this investigation is independent of the
training and K9 certifications.

Scott County Attorney’s initiative or partici-
pation, will you as County Sheriff assist the
Question 12: Approximately what dollar amount
Grand Jury with such matters as serving and
of the County Sheriff Office’s annual budget
enforcing subpoenas for the Grand Jury’s in-
is allocated to deputies serving notification to
vestigation? (2020 Grand Jury list attached.) 

employers to enforce court orders for garnish-
ment of wages, specifically associated with
Lane: The Sheriff’s office would serve and enforce those
unsecured credit card debt collection?
subpoenas.
Lane: A rough estimate without a thorough financial audit
Bawden: Yes.
would be about $10,000 annually. The sheriff’s office collects a
fee to serve garnishments to offset the cost to the tax payer.
Question 8: If no, why not? If yes, and the
Grand Jury’s subsequent investigation results
Bawden: I wish I knew. As a candidate, and not the Sheriff,
in probable cause for an indictment and due
I am only allowed the same information you have as public
process for the accused, will you also enforce
record. I will say that as Sheriff the Deputies that carry out this
the Grand Jury’s indictment or True Bill, and
assignment will not be in uniform disrupting business, but
arrest and incarcerate the accused, so that due
process can ensue? in plain clothes and in unmarked cars to not disrupt business
as usual. Currently the Deputies in this position are in fully
marked patrol vehicles, full Patrol Uniforms, and enter into
Lane: If the grand jury comes back with an indictment a
businesses as agents of the law when this is a Civil issue not
warrant would then be issued and served by the sheriff’s
a criminal issue. I will have those deputies assigned to this
office.
duty back in civilian clothes and civilian cars since this is
a CIVIL not criminal arm of the Sheriffs Office.
Bawden: Yes.


Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020 15
Virtual Event: Digital Skills for Everyday Tasks, learn
MUSIC
CONTINUED

how to manage work and life tasks more effectively…

By Max Allison
OTHER EVENTS

Dark Family, We All Fall

Davenport Public Library - Main Branch, 6:30pm Mon Oct 26

OWL (Outreach Wheeled Library) at the Park, on
Tuesdays; for those struggling to check emails and help
their… Goose Creek Park, 1:30pm Tue Oct 13 thru Tue Oct 27
OWL (Outreach Wheeled Library) at the Park, on
Tuesdays; for those struggling to check emails and help
their… Jackson Elementary School, 4pm Tue Oct 13 thru
Tue Oct 27
Virtual Event – Come to the Quiet: Blessings of the
West, led by Pat Shea; West direction brings us sunsets,
reminding us… Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, 9:30am Tue
Oct 13
OWL (Outreach Wheeled Library) at the Park, on
Wednesdays; for those struggling to check emails and help
their… Emeis Park, 3pm Wed Oct 14 thru Wed Oct 28
OWL (Outreach Wheeled Library) at the Park, on
Wednesdays; for those struggling to check emails and help
their… Sunderbruch Park, 1:30pm Wed Oct 14 thru Wed
Oct 28
Wholeness and Healing in the Prairie, led by Fred Meyer;
a mindful walk through the prairie… Our Lady of the Prairie
Retreat, 9:30am Thu Oct 15
COURSES
Down and Coronaroma
Online: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
Nutrition Classes, we have moved all our nutrition lessons
online until further… thru Sat Oct 31
Everyday Environment Webinar: Composting,
Composting does not have to be rocket science, but
following… University of Illinois Extension - Milan, 1pm Thu
Oct 8
Webinar: Caregivers Need Care, Too, his session
examines how to recognize and prevent caregiver stress…
University of Illinois Extension - Milan, 6:30pm Thu Oct 8
Webinar: Discover Caregiving Relationships:
Caregiver Self-Care, participants will discover the variety
of relationships impacted by caregiving situations…
University of Illinois Extension - Milan, 6:30pm Thu Oct 8
Webinar – Gardening in the Air, featuring individual
tracks on native species, fruits, and ornamentals; free,…
University of Illinois Extension - Milan, 9am Sat Oct 10
Webinar: Creating a Bottle Terrarium, Explore the

Bottoms Up Quad City Burlesque, striptease and comedy
with Quad Cities’ premier burlesque troupe; $15-20;… The
Circa ‘21 Speakeasy, 8pm Fri Oct 16 thru Sat Oct 17
8th Annual Quad Cities Tweed Ride, starting point TBA;
a leisurely bicycle ride along the waterfront,… River Action,
10am Sat Oct 17
Black Hawk Hiking Club Hike, a hike in Eagle Point Park in
Clinton, Iowa; free… 2:30pm Sat Oct 17
Night Sky Viewing With the Popular Astronomy Club,
objects to view will be Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars, which…
Niabi Zoo, 6:30pm Sat Oct 17
Christian Care Scavenger Hunt, assemble your crew to
solve all 10… Christian Care, Sun Oct 18 thru Sat Oct 31
Birding with Jimmy, experienced and beginner birders
can learn more about bird identification… Nahant Marsh
Education Center, 8am Sat Oct 24
Black Hawk Hiking Club Hike, a hike in Wapsipinicon
State Park in Anamosa, Iowa; free… 2:30pm Sat Oct 24
Adult Chess Club, all of the materials needed for the game
are available… Bettendorf Public Library, 6:30pm Mon Oct 26
Zoom Event: Scary Movie Trivia, show off your
knowledge on all things frightful; this trivia… Rock Island
Public Library - Downtown Library, 6pm Tue Oct 27
Virtual Event: Terrifying Trivia, prizes will be awarded;
registration is required to get the… Davenport Public Library
- Main Branch, 6:30pm Thu Oct 29
Virtual Event – Final Friday Trivia, you can participate
by yourself, with your family at home,… Bettendorf Public
Library, 7pm Fri Oct 30
Virtual Final Friday Trivia, you can participate by yourself,
with your family at home,… Bettendorf Public Library, 7pm
Fri Oct 30
Black Hawk Hiking Club Hike, a hike in Our Lady of the
Prairie in Wheatland,… 2:30pm Sat Oct 31
LECTURES
Virtual Event: 3rd Thursday at Hoover’s: Heroism and
Humanity Behind German Lines, presented by historian
and author Jeffrey B. Miller; Miller has written… Davenport
Public Library - Main Branch, 6pm Thu Oct 15
Virtual Community Connections – The Political
Lincoln: Honest Abe on Campaigns & Elections,
available thru Oct. 25; Abraham Lincoln, as portrayed by
Kevin… Bettendorf Public Library, Mon Oct 19 thru Sun Oct
25
Virtual Event: Local Ghosts, join a DPL Special Collections
archivist for tales of local spirits,… Davenport Public Library -
Main Branch, 6pm Thu Oct 22
Frieze Lecture Series, on Thursdays; learn about a history
of global crisis from… Rock Island Public Library - Downtown
Library, 2pm Thu Oct 22 thru Thu Oct 29
enclosed world of bottle terrariums, self-contained plant
environments… University of Illinois Extension - Milan,
1:30pm Tue Oct 13
Virtual Class: Networking and Team Building, the class
will focus on key elements and practical solutions to… Black
Hawk College - Quad City Campus, Tue Oct 13 thru Wed
Oct 21
Virtual Career Coaching with Susan Zelnio: Online
Applications, learn what to consider before applying for
that job and… Moline Public Library, noon Wed Oct 14
Webinar – Get the Facts on Nutrition: Know Your
Labels, join Leila Shinn, MS, RDN, FAND to learn about how…
University of Illinois Extension - Milan, noon Wed Oct 14
Webinar: Losses and Mixed Emotions of Caregiving,
caregivers experience losses and difficult emotions such as
frustration, guilt… University of Illinois Extension - Milan,
6:30pm Thu Oct 15
Virtual Workshop: Your Money, Your Goals, the
workshop is specifically designed to support you to have…
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, 9am Thu Oct
15 thru Thu Oct 22
Virtual Class: Goal Setting, the class will focus on key
elements and practical solutions to… Black Hawk College -
Quad City Campus, Fri Oct 16 thru Mon Oct 26
Virtual Class – Resume 911: How to Write an
Attention-Grabbing Resume, register by Oct. 12 for
online course facilitated by Tracy… Carl Sandburg College,
6:30pm Mon Oct 19
Retirement University: Estate Planning and Long-
Term Care, register with your email address to receive the
Zoom invitation… Rock Island Public Library - Downtown
Library, 6pm Wed Oct 21
The Iowa Watershed Approach: A Vision for a More
Resilient Iowa, a course in the 2020 Upper Mississippi River
Webinar Series, featuring… River Action, 2pm Wed Oct 21
Virtual Career Coaching with Susan Zelnio:
Connections Matter – Career Networking, your
connections help you find a job; turn to friends,… Moline
Public Library, noon Wed Oct 21
Webinar – Active Aging: Using Exercise to Maintain
Health Across the Lifespan, join kinesiology student,
Shelby Keye, to learn about the current… University of Illinois
Extension - Milan, noon Wed Oct 21
Webinar – Budget Hacks, learn how to take what we know
about human behavior… University of Illinois Extension -
Milan, noon Wed Oct 21
Zoom Webinar: Safe Medication Practices, prescription
medications can help us live longer and healthier lives… CASI
(Center for Active Seniors), 11am Wed Oct 21
Two Mississippi: A Historical Geographic Exploration
along the Upper Mississippi River since the Great
Depression, a course in the 2020 Upper Mississippi River
Webinar Series, featuring… River Action, 2pm Thu Oct 22
F
rom a thematic perspective, stalwart free-
form rock weirdos Dark Family from
Moline seem to have taken the COVID-
19 pandemic to heart, dropping two albums in
mid-September that seem to float within a more
morbid, albeit probably tongue-and-cheek,
virus-type mood. The cover of We All Fall Down
(you know, like, a “Ring Around the Rosie”
plague reference) bears an unsettling collage of
children crying, while the sister album Coron-
aroma carries the plague right there in the title.
Don’t let this distract you from the music
contained here, though, as Dark Family’s sonics
prove to be more tranquil and even-tempered
than the outward signifiers surrounding their
music might entail. We All Fall Down seems to
serve as the more electrified, psychedelic side of
the coin, while Coronaroma feels like a collection
of more subdued sketches – though both albums
bear plenty of finely wrought details and lovely
psych-pop flourishes to plant listeners’ con-
sciousnesses in a bright open meadow.
Who is Dark Family, and what does each
member of this gaggle of chill-seeming heads
pictured in the band’s portrait contribute to the
overall creation of the album? This, my friends,
I cannot answer. Needless to say, they seem like
a legit factory prepared to pump out psychedelic,
slightly twisted psych-rock gems and have clearly
dedicated themselves to entertaining the Quad
Cities populace, and beyond, with their red-eyed
wanderings.
Take “You’ve Got the Key” from We All Fall
Down, one of the album’s longest tracks, that
gives the band space to stretch out into a zoned-
out, almost Carnatic expanse of droning bass
lines, sitar-like guitar accents (are they real sitars,
or a digital simulacrum?), and washes of effected
guitar texture. While these voices wisp through
the mix, the lead vocals land in a stoned drawl
over the top, carrying enough melody to align
the sound with some strain of psych-y, folk-y
rock but also clearly not trying to seem like
they’re trying too hard. The track’s most effective
moments come, though, when all vocals and rock
instruments fade into the ether and give way to a
wash of synthetic strings, sitar flurries, and what
sounds like slow-bowed double bass. It’s hard
not to look to George Harrison’s “Within You
Without You” as the guiding light here, though
Dark Family push the Indian classical elements
further from tradition and toward the realm of
self-nullifying drone bliss.
Throughout We All Fall Down, Dark Family
demonstrate their vision of rock music as a
canvas for atypical, more foley-derived bits such
as field recordings, water and wind sounds, and
instrumental input saturated in hazy room tone.
The sum total of these accents almost pushes
the album into the world of K Records-core lo-fi
rock, but for each one of these more space-defin-
ing details, the band offers up a vocal line or a
guitar passage that hits us in full clarity. The mix
of fidelities here lends the album a fractal, scram-
bled aesthetic that works to build the atmosphere
more than turn the focus onto any given chunk of
instrumental input.
Retreating a week back in time to early Sep-
tember, when Dark Family released Coronar-
oma, we get a view of the band that seems like
the more pleasant, Zen-minded sibling to We All
Fall Down’s slightly more chaotic presentation.
Here, the band zeroes in on their penchant for
augmenting rock instrumentation with dots of
impressionistic texture, from recordings of band
members (?) talking on the porch (?) to curlicues
of forest field recordings, to folky jams that sound
like they were recorded straight to tape.
The track “Like A Slow Dream” makes the
most of its contrasting guitar tones, from the
bright acoustic strums to the more cavernous
electric leads, and dusts it all with evocative
peals of harmonica and what sounds like har-
monium. Album closer “Don’t Bother” manages
to split the difference between the more informal
Coronaroma and the more “professional” We All
Fall Down with its brightly rendered acoustic
guitar lines and vocal harmonies, all augmented
with crispy electric leads. The track breaks open
around the halfway point to usher in a wall of
heavy guitar drone and harmonica squeals,
which crumbles shortly into what sounds like
a band member (again, who knows?) talking
off the cuff about a time when she got particu-
larly high. As the interlude continues, the band
introduces washes of atonal brass and stumbling
guitar lines, perfect for the shambolic vibe of the
band as a whole: You might be a little too high for
comfort, but your friends are there with you, and
even if it gets weird, it’s gonna be totally okay.
Listen at darkfamily666.bandcamp.
com
16 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

Webinar: Changing Relationships in

Caregiving, identif y and understand the
relationship changes that can develop among…
University of Illinois Ex tension - Milan, 6:30pm Thu
Oct 22

Virtual Class – Interview Bootcamp: How to

Make Them Want to Hire You, register by Oct.
12 for online course facilitated by Tracy… Carl
Sandburg College, 6:30pm Mon Oct 26

Nitrogen Budgets for Iowa Watersheds, a

course in the 2020 Upper Mississippi River Webinar
Series, featuring… River Action, 2pm Tue Oct 27

Virtual Career Coaching with Susan Zelnio:

Problem Areas for Job Searchers, you might
have been laid-of f or fired and ended up… Moline
Public Librar y, noon Wed Oct 28

Webinar – Fermented Foods: What do they

do?, learn how to decipher fact from fiction with
enthusiast, fermenter,… University of Illinois
Ex tension - Milan, noon Wed Oct 28

Cedar River Flood Control Project, a course in

the 2020 Upper Mississippi River Webinar Series,
featuring… River Action, 2pm Thu Oct 29

Webinar: Couple Relationships in Caregiving,

caregiving situations can bring unexpected
challenges to couple relationships; learn…
University of Illinois Ex tension - Milan, 6:30pm Thu
Oct 29

Webinar – Block the Bite: A Guide to Commonly

Encountered Ticks and How to Protect Yourself
and Your Family, tick ecologist Heather Kopsco will
teach you when and where… University of Illinois
Ex tension - Milan, noon Wed Nov 4

MEETINGS
Bettendorf Public Library Board of Trustees
Meeting, free; for information, call 563-344-4175 or
e-mail info@bettendorflibrary.com… Bettendorf Public
Library, 5pm Thu Oct 8

Moline Public Library Board Meeting, agendas

are available prior to the meetings; minutes are
available… Moline Public Librar y, noon Thu Oct 8

MEETINGSGoose Hollow Prayer Garden

Open for Outdoor Prayer, at 1006 Western Ave.,
Davenpor t; for information, call 309 -236 -7113;
free;… Goose Hollow, thru Wed Nov 4

Rock Island Public Library Board of Trustees

Meeting, with time for public comment provided
at the beginning of… Rock Island Public Librar y -
Downtown Librar y, 5pm Tue Oct 20

HEALTH
Online: Iowa State University Extension and
Outreach Nutrition Classes, we have moved all
our nutrition lessons online until fur ther… thru Sat
Oct 31

Buddhist Meditation, on Tuesdays; free with $4 -8

admission; for information, call 309 -794 - 0991…
Quad City Botanical Center, 6:45pm Tue Oct 13 thru
Tue Nov 3

Yoga, on Tuesdays; free with $4 -8 admission; for

information, call 309 -794 - 0991… Quad City Botanical
Center, 5pm Tue Oct 13 thru Tue Nov 3

Grief Support Group, on the 2nd & 4th Wed. of the

month; hosted… Family Restaurant, 9:30am Wed Oct
14 and Wed Oct 28

Yoga on the Mezz w/ Susan McLoone of

KindredMinds, all-levels class for beginners and
veterans; bring your own mat;… Craw ford Brew
Works, 6pm Wed Oct 21

Yoga on the Mezz w/ Monique Jackson, all-

levels class for beginners and veterans; bring your
own mat;… Craw ford Brew Works, 8pm Wed Nov 4

Yoga on the Mezz w/ Susan McLoone of

KindredMinds, all-levels class for beginners and
veterans; bring your own mat;… Craw ford Brew
Works, 6pm Wed Nov 4
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
KIDS’ STUFF
V i r t u a l Eve nt – Ta l e s f o r To t s , o n T hu r s d ay s;
s to r y ti m e f o r yo u n g chi l d r e n a n d th e i r c a r e g i ve r s;
n ew v i d e o… B e t te n d o r f Pu b li c L i b r a r y, 10 a m T h u
O c t 8 t h r u T h u O c t 29
V i r t u a l Eve nt : S h a p e I t o r Fa ke I t – Fo n d a nt
S c u l p t i n g , o n T hu r s d ay s; eve r y we e k , we ’ll p o s t
a v i d e o o n Fa ce b o o k… D ave n p o r t Pu b li c L i b r a r y -
M a i n B r a n ch , 4 p m T h u O c t 8 t h r u T h u O c t 29
N o t S o S c a r y H a l l owe e n Wa l k f o r L i t t l e
G h o s t s a n d G o b l i n s , o n Fr i d ay s; ti cke t s m us t b e
p u rch as e d i n a d v a n ce f o r 30 - m i nu te… Q u a d C i t y
B o t a ni c a l Ce nte r, 6: 30 p m Fr i O c t 9 t h r u Fr i O c t 2 3
Z o o m Cl a s s – D a n ce B r e a k ! f o r Ag e s 3 - 6 , o n
S at u r d ay s; a we e k l y d ro p - i n cl ass; j o i n us as we…
D ave n p o r t J u ni o r T h e at r e, 10 :15a m S a t O c t 10
t h r u S a t O c t 17
S u n d ay Fu n d ay : Paw - s o m e H a l l owe e n ,
a c ti v i ti e s f o r f a m i li e s i n th e Pu m p k i n
E x t r av a g a n z a s e r i e s; f r e e w i th… Q u a d C i t y
B o t a ni c a l Ce nte r, 1p m S u n O c t 11
Z o o m Cl a s s – D a n ce B r e a k ! f o r Ag e s 7- 9, o n
M o n d ay s; a we e k l y d ro p - i n cl ass; j o i n us as we…
D ave n p o r t J u ni o r T h e at r e, 6 p m M o n O c t 12
V i r t u a l Eve nt – Pr e s c h o o l St o r y t i m e , o n
M o n d ay s; a g e s 3 -5 a r e i nv i te d to at te n d th e s e
30 - m i nu te s e ssi o ns… B e t te n d o r f Pu b li c L i b r a r y,
10 a m M o n O c t 12 t h r u M o n O c t 26
V i r t u a l Eve nt – St o r y t i m e f o r Li t t l e s , o n
M o n d ay s; v isi t o u r o n li n e p ro g r a m ro o m to h e a r
s to r i e s ,… M o li n e Pu b li c L i b r a r y, 9 : 30 a m M o n O c t
12 t h r u M o n O c t 26
K i n d e r n a t u r e: Pu m p k i n s a n d G o u r d s , at
10 : 30 a m & 2p m; e nj oy a s to r y a n d t a ke yo u r…
Q u a d C i t y B o t a ni c a l Ce nte r, 10 : 30 a m Tu e O c t 13
K i n d e r n a t u r e: Pu m p k i n s a n d G o u r d s , at
10 : 30 a m & 2p m; e nj oy a s to r y a n d t a ke yo u r…
Q u a d C i t y B o t a ni c a l Ce nte r, 10 : 30 a m Tu e O c t 13
Davenport, Iowa • 563.326.7804
www.figgeartmuseum.org
V i r t u a l 3D Pa p e r H au nt e d H o u s e , r e g is te r to
l e a r n h ow to m a ke yo u r ow n 3D p a p e r… M o li n e
Pu b li c L i b r a r y, 10 a m Tu e O c t 13
V i r t u a l H au nt e d H o u s e E s c a p e , t r y o u t this
sp o o k y o n li n e a d ve nt u r e w h e r e yo u r… M o li n e
Pu b li c L i b r a r y, 8 a m Tu e O c t 13 t h r u Fr i O c t 2 3
V i r t u a l Eve nt – B a by St o r y t i m e , o n Tu e s d ay s;
j o i n us o n Fa ce b o o k f o r a sp e cia l Sto r y ti m e…
D ave n p o r t Pu b li c L i b r a r y - M a i n B r a n ch , 10 a m Tu e
O c t 13 t h r u Tu e O c t 27
Z o o m Cl a s s – D a n ce B r e a k ! f o r Ag e s 10 +, o n
We d n e s d ay s; a we e k l y d ro p - i n cl ass; j o i n us as
we… D ave n p o r t J u ni o r T h e at r e, 4 p m We d O c t 14
Z o o m Cl a s s – D a n ce B r e a k ! f o r Ag e s 3 - 6 , o n
We d n e s d ay s; a we e k l y d ro p - i n cl ass; j o i n us as
we… D ave n p o r t J u ni o r T h e at r e, 10 a m We d O c t 14
V i r t u a l Eve nt – Af t e r S c h o o l K i d s L a b,
o n We d n e s d ay s; we w i ll p o s t a f u n s ci e n ce
e x p e r i m e nt , c r a f t ,… B e t te n d o r f Pu b li c L i b r a r y,
3p m We d O c t 14 t h r u We d O c t 2 8
M i n i M a s t e r s S i l l y St o r i e s: I f Yo u ’r e a
M o n s t e r & Yo u K n ow I t , i nt ro du ce a g e s 2-7 to
th e wo r l d o f a r t w i th this… M us c ati n e A r t Ce nte r,
9 : 30 a m We d O c t 14
V i r t u a l Eve nt – R e a d w i t h R a n e l l , o n
We d n e s d ay s; j o i n M iss R a n e ll o n th e R o ck Is l a n d
L i b r a r y… R o ck Is l a n d Pu b li c L i b r a r y - D ow ntow n
L i b r a r y, n o o n We d O c t 14 t h r u We d O c t 2 8
Te e n O n l i n e B o o k Cl u b: T h e H a t e U G i ve , a
v i r t u a l d is c ussi o n o f A n g i e T h o m as ’ n ove l; we
a r e c u r r e ntl y… D ave n p o r t Pu b li c L i b r a r y - M a i n
B r a n ch , 4 p m T h u O c t 15
K i d s S a t u r d ay Wo r k s h o p w/ J u l i e L e a r :
Pa c i t a A b a d , ce l e b r ate th e n o te d p a i nte r ’s
b i r th d ay w i th a n A b a d - i nsp i r e d p roj e c t ; f r e e,…
M us c ati n e A r t Ce nte r, 1: 30 p m S a t O c t 17
S u n d ay Fu n d ay : Pa i nt e d Pu m p k i n s , a c ti v i ti e s
f o r f a m i li e s i n th e Pu m p k i n E x t r av a g a n z a s e r i e s;
f r e e w i th… Q u a d C i t y B o t a ni c a l Ce nte r, 1p m S u n
O c t 18
Living
Proof
Exhibit
A Visualization
of Hope
THROUGH DECEMBER 13, 2020
Judy Heath, Bridge of Sighs, watercolor
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020 17
V i r t u a l Eve nt : Te e n Ad v i s o r y B o a r d M e e t i n g , Tr i c k o r Tr e a t D r i ve B y H a l l owe e n
TAB M e m b e r s p a r ti ci p ate i n a n o n li n e te e n Ce l e b rat i o n , s to p by C A SI f o r s o m e y u m my
p ro g r a m m i n g , vo lu nte e r- f ro m - h o m e a c ti v i ti e s… H a ll owe e n t r e at s; n o n e e d… C A SI (Ce nte r f o r
D ave n p o r t Pu b li c L i b r a r y - M a i n B r a n ch , 6: 30 p m Ac ti ve S e ni o r s), 10 a m Fr i O c t 30
Tu e O c t 2 0
S u n d ay Fu n d ay, f r e e w i th $ 4 - 8 a d m issi o n;
Twe e n B o o k Cl u b, j o i n us to sp e a k a b o u t yo u r f o r i n f o r m ati o n , c a ll 30 9 -79 4 - 0 9 91… Q u a d C i t y
f avo r i te b o o k ; f r e e; f o r… Si l v is Pu b li c L i b r a r y, 5p m B o t a ni c a l Ce nte r, 1p m S u n N ov 1
We d O c t 21
V i r t u a l Eve nt – Pr e s c h o o l St o r y t i m e , o n
V i r t u a l Pr e s c h o o l St o r y t i m e: H a l l owe e n M o n d ay s; a g e s 3 -5 a r e i nv i te d to at te n d th e s e
S p e c i a l , f e e d yo u r p r e s ch o o l e r s n e e d to l e a r n 30 - m i nu te s e ssi o ns… B e t te n d o r f Pu b li c L i b r a r y,
a n d p l ay w i th f u n… M o li n e Pu b li c L i b r a r y, 10 a m 10 a m M o n N ov 2
We d O c t 21
V i r t u a l Eve nt – St o r y t i m e f o r Li t t l e s , v isi t o u r
M i n i M a s t e r s S i l l y St o r i e s: L ove M o n s t e r, o n li n e p ro g r a m ro o m to h e a r s to r i e s ,… M o li n e
i nt ro du ce a g e s 2-7 to th e wo r l d o f a r t w i th this… Pu b li c L i b r a r y, 9 : 30 a m M o n N ov 2
M us c ati n e A r t Ce nte r, 9 : 30 a m We d O c t 21
V i r t u a l Eve nt – B a by St o r y t i m e , j o i n us o n
V i r t u a l Pu m p k i n S l i m e M i n i L a b, r e g is t r ati o n Fa ce b o o k f o r a sp e cia l Sto r y ti m e… D ave n p o r t
is r e q u i r e d f o r this o n li n e li ve Zo o m m i ni l a b;… Pu b li c L i b r a r y - M a i n B r a n ch , 10 a m Tu e N ov 3
M o li n e Pu b li c L i b r a r y, 3: 30 p m T h u O c t 22
V i r t u a l Eve nt – Af t e r S c h o o l K i d s L a b, we w i ll
H au nt e d M e z z a n i n e , f a m i l y f u n i n a n o t- s o - p o s t a f u n s ci e n ce e x p e r i m e nt , c r a f t ,… B e t te n d o r f
sp o o k y p l a ce; f r e e; f o r i n f o r m ati o n , c a ll… R o ck Pu b li c L i b r a r y, 3p m We d N ov 4
Is l a n d Pu b li c L i b r a r y - D ow ntow n L i b r a r y, 4 p m Fr i
Oct 23 V i r t u a l Eve nt – R e a d w i t h R a n e l l , j o i n M iss
R a n e ll o n th e R o ck Is l a n d L i b r a r y… R o ck Is l a n d
Te nt- N -Tr e a t a t Fa m i l y H a l l owe e ke n d , a ll Pu b li c L i b r a r y - D ow ntow n L i b r a r y, n o o n We d
f a m i li e s a r e i nv i te d to e x p l o r e th e my s te r i o us N ov 4
wo o ds o f… C a m p L i b e r t y, 10 a m S a t O c t 24
V i r t u a l Eve nt – 22 n d A n n u a l N o o g i e f e s t , September 8 Crossword Answers
a f r e e, v i r t u a l H a ll owe e n / Fa ll Fe s ti v a l p a r t y f o r
chi l d r e n a n d th e i r… G i l d a’s Clu b Q u a d C i ti e s , S a t
O c t 24
Z o o m St r i n g A r t f o r Te e n s , ce l e b r ate N ati o n a l
B at M o nth by m a k i n g a s t r i n g a r t b at ;… M o li n e
Pu b li c L i b r a r y, 3: 30 p m M o n O c t 26
V i r t u a l PJ Pa r t y St o r y t i m e , cli ck o n d i f f e r e nt
i m a g e s a ro u n d th e p ro g r a m ro o m to h e a r…
M o li n e Pu b li c L i b r a r y, 10 a m Tu e O c t 27
V i r t u a l G h o s t l y N i g ht , j o i n us f o r this
h au nti n g l y f u n o n li n e Zo o m eve nt ; f a m i li e s…
M o li n e Pu b li c L i b r a r y, 6 p m We d O c t 2 8
M i n i M a s t e r s S i l l y St o r i e s: M o n s t e r N e e d s
a Co s t u m e , i nt ro du ce a g e s 2-7 to th e wo r l d o f
a r t w i th this… M us c ati n e A r t Ce nte r, 9 : 30 a m We d
Oct 28
Angela Meyer @ Hawkeye Tap Sports Bar N Grill
October 17 (See Full Live Music Calendar, page 23)
Ordinary Elephant @ Bishop Hill Creative Commons
November 2 (See Live Music Calendar, page 23)
18 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

Crossword TCH IT
TWO'S A CROWD • OCTOBER 13, 2020 Sep. 8 Answers: Page 17 WA

Schulz’s Review of
the Latest Movies On Demand

BOMBSHELL
Director Jay Roach turns a borderline-
queasy tale into transfixing
entertainment through Charles
Randolph's strong, thoughtful, witty
script, superb makeup effects, and a
thunderously fine cast led by Nicole
Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow,
and the sublime Charlize Theron.

THE PEANUTS MOVIE

Faithful in spirit and beautiful in
execution, this sprightly animated
comedy based on Charles Schulz's
beloved comic strip is a 90-minute
onslaught of charm, cleverness, and,
for the older viewers among us, maybe
more trips down Memory Lane than you
can count.

ACROSS 65. Blanched DOWN 51. Perfumes

1. Purpose 66. Closed curves 1. Wife of Rama 52. Free-for-all SHAZAM!
5. Both: Prefix 67. Corvine cries 2. Capping 54. Close With Zachary Levi giving an inspired
9. Teacher of Stradivari 68. Farmer, at times 3. Plant with leathery 55. Word in a forecast performance in this first-rate DC
14. _ -Ra 70. Oscar Fingal fronds 56. Some correspondence
18. Bit of gossip 4. Mimicked
Studios release, this witty, fast-paced,
O’Flahertie Wills _ 58. Cattle rancher
19. Rise 71. Holy _ 5. Take on 59. Fly unexpectedly touching superhero
20. Ponies anagram 73. Dead duck 6. Predatory pussycat 60. Tutu: 2 wds. adventure is a wonder because it's
21. Queue 74. Somewhat blue 7. Unadorned 62. Florida city so wonderfully buoyant – a blessedly
22. Balsam of _ 77. _ de mer 8. Dander 63. Line on a weather map featherweight entry in a genre
23. “You bet!” 78. Document from 9. Point in an orbit 64. “And Then There Were _”
24. Start of a quip by antiquity 10. Disadvantage 69. Join
frequently prone to self-seriousness.
Groucho Marx: 3 wds. 80. Cut 11. Terminus _ quem 71. Pie chart
26. Expression of praise 81. Charter 12. _ Aviv 72. Go here and there
28. Transition 82. Had a nosh 13. Like sports drinks 73. Shot in the dark
29. Shadow 83. Surface magma 14. Base substance 74. Indication
30. Point on a peak 84. Ostrich-like bird 15. Of a government 75. Saharan
31. Eaglewood 85. Shield carried department 76. Lucy’s other half
32. Bituminous and by Athena 16. Organic compound 79. Old literary works
subbituminous 86. Defunct browser 17. Fresh 80. Scold Catch your favorite movies
33. Part 2 of quip: 3 wds. 89. Part 4 of quip: 4 wds. 20. “_ _ _ Grecian Urn” 81. Car seat part
37. Band of marauders 92. Splash 25. Toward the mouth 84. _ monkey
and shows from ABC, NBC, CBS,
40. Harmonize 93. Mertz and Zinnemann 27. Yearn 85. Part of AFL-CIO: Abbr. FOX, STARZ®, ENCORE® and more.
41. Kind of palm 94. Raced 28. Aslant 87. Sinuous
42. Girl found in Estonia 95. Trapper’s goods 31. Thai or Laotian 88. Hit on the head
Plus, watch over 19,000 titles
43. Two or more eras 96. Came to light 32. Genus of wolves 89. Scouting groups at the press of a button!
44. Lump 97. Electrifying 33. Support 90. Of bone
45. Sprig 101. End of the quip: 3 wds. 34. Tangerine-grapefruit 91. Drug
47. Grows fearful 103. Kind of bargain hybrid 93. Kitchen gadget WANT EVEN MORE? VISIT
mediacomtoday.com
49. Linear measure 104. Adams or Sedgwick 35. Run 95. NASA event
50. _ and caboodle 105. Vocation 36. Caruso or Fermi 96. Bewildered
51. Firth or Farrell 106. Chirrups 37. Fleming protagonist 97. Coaster or jumper
52. Rings 107. Do an usher’s job 38. Drive casually 98. _ fixe & CLICK ON TV EVERYWHERE!
53. Amalgamate 108. Forwarded 39. “Yep!” 99. Muses’ number
55. A red wine 109. Bar mem. 42. Aromatic herb 100. Attains
56. Sister of Ares 110. Burns 45. Turf 101. Defunct airline
57. Norman Vincent _ 111. Out of work 46. Make a plan 102. An article
58. Stateroom 112. River in England 47. Patient’s complaints 103. Greek letter
61. Part 3 of quip: 3 wds. 48. Kind of club
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
Movie Reviews
Palindrama
TENET
G
iven its epically convoluted particulars,
cagey metaphysics, and dialogue that’s
frequently (and most likely intention-
ally) indecipherable, Christopher Nolan’s long-
awaited action thriller Tenet boasts a narrative that
I couldn’t spoil even if I wanted to. And I kind of
really want to, if only to explain why, after two-
and-a-half hours, my brain was practically bleeding
from the strain of trying to figure this thing out.
For the most part, I’m okay with movies in which
I don’t know why things are happening. I may not
necessarily understand everything that’s going
on in, for example, a David Lynch or an Andrei
Tarkovsky, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun.
What I’m not okay with is not knowing, on the
most fundamental levels, what is happening while
it’s happening. There’s a scene in Tenet’s final half-
hour in which the details of a mission are actually
drawn out, step by step, in red Sharpie on a dry-
erase board, and I still had no earthly idea what the
recruited forces were planning to do, or why they
were doing it, or what possible good would result.
(Aside from, that is, our armed heroes Saving the
World – but only in that generic, meaningless,
comic-book way.) And that scene, sadly, isn’t an
aberration. Like, at all.
Nolan’s 2001 masterpiece Memento was a mind-
scrambler, too, and so, in their specific ways, were
Inception and Dunkirk. (Th is is where I politely
refrain from adding further commentary on 2014’s
Interstellar.) But on a scene-by-scene basis – and,
eventually, as a whole – the plotting and character
motivations in those offerings made absolute sense.
Tenet, though, finds Nolan being willfully perplex-
ing, even impenetrable, and I grew to resent him for
so routinely trying our patience for the sake of a few
expert set pieces and “How’d they do that?!” visuals
that wind up meaning next than nothing. A new
Nolan movie is always worth anticipating – never
more so than this year. But when, early on in the
fi lm, a scientist tells John David Washington’s pro-
tagonist “Don’t try to understand it – feel it,” what it
actually felt like was Nolan preemptively forgiving
himself, as asking us to forgive him, for his latest
not being comprehensible in ways movies need
to be for us to at least adequately enjoy ourselves.
He shouldn’t be automatically rewarded for that
... even if we do kind of need this type of grandly
scaled blockbuster entertainment now more than
ever.
I should probably back up, as the palindromi-
cally titled Tenet oftentimes does, by saying that
Washington isn’t playing a lowercase protagonist
here; in the end credits, and throughout the fi lm,
he’s referred to only as a capitalized Protagonist.
For the sake of your patience and my sanity, I’m
gonna keep this simple: The Protagonist is a CIA
agent. He learns of an arms dealer (Kenneth
Branagh’s Andrei Sator) who has found a way to
invert time and consequently destroy humankind.
With the assistance of his British handler (Robert
Pattinson’s Neil) and the arms dealer’s abused wife
(Elizabeth Debicki’s Kat), our Protagonist attempts
to prevent the apocalypse. Plutonium is involved.
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020 19
By Mike Schulz • mike@rcreader.com
So are a number of car chases and, in a possible
nod to Nolan’s Inception, a pair of mano a mano
battles in cramped hallways. Lots of stuff blows
up. Action scenes occur in forward and backward
motion. This being a Nolan, Michael Caine pops in
for a cameo. And as with all of the writer/director’s
non-Batman fl icks, Nolan plays so many tricky,
confounding games with the natures of time and
reality that Tenet almost begs you to watch it again
down the line, this time from a more enlightened,
all-seeing, God’s-eye view. Nolan’s view, as it were.
Truth be told, I doubt I’ll bother. There are a few
exceptional action sequences – the best being an
exquisitely slow action sequence in which a Boeing
747 takes a painstakingly long time to crash into a
building near its tarmac. A highway chase involv-
ing vehicles speeding and tumbling in both for-
ward and reverse motion is pretty extraordinary, as
are the repeats, in the movie’s second half, of events
that took place from different perspectives in the
first. As in the 10-year-old Inception, the hallway
melees are the finest things about this new movie, John David Washington in Tenet
too, thanks to Nolan’s clever choreography and
the genius of editor Jennifer Lame. Despite having there are so many other problems surrounding attendees being gassed before a shootout should
nothing in the way of a flesh-and-blood figure to those more major ones. Debicki, who’s generally a be the fi lm’s 007-style pre-credits kicker, but it has
play, Washington is sensationally watchable, and sensationally witty and alert performer (see her in no kick, and doesn’t have one even when we return
should maybe be first in line when producers start Widows – please), is also perhaps the most statu- to the same scene, in altered form, some two hours
considering replacements for Daniel Craig as James esque beauty in current cinema; Kat Sator towers later. Our initial introduction to the “inverted time”
Bond. over the comparatively runty men surrounding her. conceit is, I think, meant to be a mind-bending
Pattinson, meanwhile, has always been outland- Yet in lieu of a personality, Debicki is merely given stunner along the lines of Inception’s folding city,
ishly handsome. Recently, though, he’s become an estranged son in short pants and knee socks to but all this protracted sequence made me reflect on
almost outlandishly charismatic, as well, and pine over, and she’s staggeringly miscast as a cow- was the comparative elegance of that fi lm’s climac-
might some day be singlehandedly responsible for ering trophy wife to dumpy, middle-aged Branagh. tic spinning top. And while I know no one goes to
me returning to Tenet despite my current misgiv- (Debicki’s only solid scene finds her finally exacting a Nolan fi lm for the talking (just like we don’t go to
ings. Is it my imagination, or is Pattinson – who revenge on this human turd.) To be fair, Branagh is a James Cameron fi lm for the talking), the auteur
provides the fi lm’s only true levity, and grins with relatively scary in a Bond-villain sort of way, even just might have benefited from a writing partner –
teasing “I know something you don’t” satisfaction if you’re bemoaning the tired acting device of his frequent sibling collaborator Jonathan, perhaps? –
throughout – actively flirting with Washington in Russian replacing “ing” with “ink” at the ends of on this one. After being frisked for firearms at one
their scenes together? (And if he is, could you blame words just so we’ll know he’s Russian. But the two point, Washington’s Protagonist actually delivers
him?) of them – Debicki with her nakedly emotional hon- the one line I was praying he wouldn’t: “Buy me
I’m not sure that all this is satisfaction enough esty and Branagh with his well-practiced hammi- dinner first!” Nolan has a 12-year-old son. Was that
even on a first viewing. Ever since The Dark Knight ness – don’t appear to be acting in the same movie kid somehow responsible for the dialogue?
Rises, when most of Tom Hardy’s conversation for an instant, and so despite Andrei holding the So yeah: This one was clearly not for me … and
under his Bane mask translated to variants on fate of the world in his palm, nothing about their this is coming from someone who adores more
“Mglmphfghruhdjfjsh,” Nolan’s works have been relationship, or their relationship in regard to the Nolan movies than he dislikes, and more than he is
rightly criticized for their muddy sound mixing. planet’s future, ever seems at stake. even ambivalent about. And I’d hardly want to dis-
(Even if Dunkirk, astoundingly, won an Oscar for And there are other annoyances. While most of suade anyone who’s been leery about returning to
it.) But wow does Nolan seem to be going out of his Tenet’s action is clearly the result of technical wiz- the cineplex to not return to one for the first Chris-
way to make sure we understand as little of Tenet’s ardry, some of it most definitely isn’t, and the final topher Nolan in three years. Tenet, though, is a slow
dialogue as possible. With composer Ludwig half-hour features too many shots of extras obvi- burn that entirely fi zzles out, and its 150-minute
Gransson’s score assaulting our ears and the aural ously running backward in real life as opposed to running length winds up feeling like an eternity.
effects shaking our seats even if we’re not sitting through cinematic magic; these background bits If that’s yet another bit of time-trickery on Nolan’s
in one of those ghastly vibrating cineplex chairs, look just as silly as the sight of people running part, I gotta say, it wasn’t a trick I enjoyed.
we’d already have a tough time comprehending backward always does. The opening scene of theatre
such basic commands as “Get out!” and “Now!”
(On a few occasions, Branagh’s heavily accented
Russian barks even louder than his accompanying
music cues, which is quite the feat.) Nolan, though,
ups the ante by also having characters shout over
walkie-talkies, and during gunfire, and under face
masks like the ones we’re wearing just to watch this
thing on the big screen, rendering nearly a full third
of the characters’ verbal communication incompre-
hensible. I’m reasonably sure someone sitting in my
socially distanced periphery could hear me mutter
“This is bullshit” through my mask better than they
heard most of Tenet’s exposition.
If the fi lm’s problems, though, ended with its
largely crap sound and unfathomable storyline, I
still might’ve had a pretty good time. Unfortunately,
20 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
What an Earl Wants
This new guy I’ve been dating said he wants
to keep things casual. I’m bummed because
I’ve caught some pretty intense feelings for
him. Is it possible he just needs to get to
know me better and once he does, he’ll feel
differently?
– Wishful
Pursuing a relationship with this guy is like
sentencing yourself to live out the rest of your
days stuck in that “distracted boyfriend” meme.
Understanding your situation starts with
a peek into book publishing. Unbeknownst
to most people, the most profitable area in
publishing is the romance and erotica genre.
Most romance novels have pretty much the same
theme: a high-status man, often wildly wealthy,
who has shown he can’t be tamed but who,
nevertheless, eventually is – by the irresistible
beauty and specialness of one particular woman.
This genre is literary catnip for the ladies, earn-
ing $1.5 billion in 2015, while the next best-
earning book genre, mystery and crime, brought
in a measly $730 million.
It turns out art reflects life – or rather, how
women wish their romantic lives would play out.
Evolutionary psychologist Catherine Salmon
explains that, in romance novels, “in the end,
the heroine is typically the one in control,” while
the hero is “a slave to his passion/love for her.”
She references romance-novel bloggers Sarah
Wendell and Candy Tan, who, hilariously, refer
to the heroine’s hold over the hero as the power
of the “magic hoo hoo.” Once the hero has this
particular hoo, “he desires no other,” writes
Salmon. Or as some researchers put it, a “dad”
is being molded out of the ashes of a confirmed
“cad.”
Salmon explains that women’s longing to be
irresistibly desired emerges from evolution’s
effect on female emotions, pushing women –
who, unlike men, can get pregnant from sex – to
be commitment-centric. This “female desire to
be irresistible” is ultimately a desire by a woman
“to be secure in the belief that her choice of mate
is the right one and that he will never stray.”
As for the power and prevalence of this desire,
Salmon notes previous research finds that more
than half of female sexual fantasies revolve
around “the desire to be sexually irresistible,”
and this desire seems to be “at the heart of the
bodice-ripper style of romance and fantasies of
submission.”
Now it’s within the realm of possibility that
this guy only thinks he wants to keep it casual, and
he’ll come around and become your Mr. One and
Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405. E-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com, visit
@amyalkon on Twitter, and listen to Amy’s weekly radio show at BlogTalkRadio.com/amyalkon. Order
Amy Alkon’s new book Unf_-ology: A Field Guide to Living with Guts and Confidence (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2018).
©2020, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. New column published weekly at RCReader.com
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
Only. Research suggests men can sometimes be
triggered into committing when they sense they
have competition, like through your dating other
guys. It’s likewise possible this wouldn’t change
anything; he might simply be in the thick of his
sexual safari years. So applying the old 80/20
equation to your situation, 80 percent of suc-
cess in love is showing up. The other 20 percent,
however, is making sure you aren’t showing up to
hookup hell in a wedding dress.
Ex to Grind
I’m seeing this new guy, but his ex-girl-
friend is absolutely awful: rude, unfriendly,
and less-than-intelligent. It makes me ques-
tion his judgment. If he’s interested in a girl
like that, I’m not sure I want to be with him.
– Legitimate Fear?
Really good sex can keep a man from seeing
the romantic hell-show he’s in, especially when
the thinking cap he automatically reaches for
comes from a small square package marked
“Trojan.”
We assume someone’s romantic partners are a
result of carefully reasoned choices. In fact, many
people meet someone, have sex with them, want
more sex, and end up in a relationship – totally
SEATING
bypassing any assessment of whether this might
BY DESIGN
be a ruinous idea. Eventually, the initial hot-sex
fog recedes a little, and their partner’s terrible
qualities become increasingly apparent. Time to
break up, right? Well, there’s a problem.
Psychologist Daniel Kahneman explains that THROUGH JANUARY 17, 2021
we tend to be “loss aversive”: deeply disturbed
by potential losses (more than we’re excited by
possible gains). We often succumb to the “sunk
cost fallacy”: irrationally deciding to continue
investing time, money, and/or energy in what we
know is a losing gambit, based on the investment
we’ve already made (that is, “sunk” into it in the
past). However, that prior investment is gone.
The rational approach is seeing whether future
investment would pay off sufficiently and, if not,
cutting our losses (perhaps while waving a for-
lorn goodbye to all the days, months, or – gulp!
– years we wasted).
To determine how active a role your man’s
judgment played in his previous entanglement,
ask him about what he values, in general and in
a partner, and then ask what draws him to you.
You should see whether he’s with you for reasons
you respect or whether you’re just a random vari-
ation on the nasty, kitten-eating sexbots of what
might be called “Cinder” (Tinder when a guy’s Vako Darjania, b. Georgia, 1987, Vanity Chair, 2018
penis repeatedly picks emotional arsonists who’ll Fabric, upholstery, foam, wood, © 2020 Vako Darjania
burn his mental wellness to the ground).
Davenport, Iowa • 563.326.7804
www.figgeartmuseum.org
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
ARIES (March 21-April 19):"A person’s
best ally is someone who takes care of
herself," says actress Susan Clark. I heart-
ily agree. The people with whom you can
cultivate the most resilient bonds and most inter-
esting synergy are those who have a high degree of
self-sufficiency – those who take rigorous respon-
sibility for themselves and treat themselves with
tender compassion. In the coming weeks, Aries, I
think it's especially important for you to empha-
size relationships with allies who fit that descrip-
tion. Bonus! Their exemplary self-care will
influence you to vigorously attend to your own
self-care.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): According
to my reading of the astrological poten-
tials, the coming weeks will be an excel-
lent time for you to take a vacation in
reverse. What's that? It's when you devote yourself
to renewing and reinvigorating your relationship
with the work you love. You intensify your excite-
ment for the vocation or job or long-term quest
that teaches you important life lessons. You apply
yourself with sublime enthusiasm to honing the
discipline you need to fulfill the assignments you
came to earth to accomplish.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "If you are
not having fun you are doing something
wrong," said comedian Groucho Marx.
He was exaggerating so as to drive home
his humorous point, but his idea contains some
truth – and will be especially applicable to you in
the immediate future. According to my analysis of
the astrological omens, you have a temporary
exemption from feeling frantically dour and
unpleasantly dutiful. As crazy as the world is right
now, you have a cosmic mandate to enjoy more
playtime and amusement than usual. The rest of us
are depending on you to provide us with doses of
casual cheer.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): "Leave the
door open for the unknown, the door
into the dark," writes Cancerian author
Rebecca Solnit, adding, "That’s where the
most important things come from." I think this is
good advice for you in the coming weeks. What
exactly does it mean? How and why should you do
what she advises? My first suggestion is to re-frame
your conception of the unknown and the dark.
Imagine them as the source of everything new; as
the place from which the future comes; as the
origin of creative changes. Then instruct your
imagination to be adventurous as it explores brew-
ing possibilities in the dark and the unknown.
LEO (July 23-August 22): "If something
comes to life in others because of you,
then you have made an approach to
immortality," wrote author Norman
Cousins. Whether or not you believe the "immor-
tality" part of his formulation, I'm sure you under-
stand how fabulous it is when you help activate
beauty and vitality in someone. You may even feel
that inspiring people to unleash their dormant
potential is one of the most noble pleasures possi-
ble. I bring these thoughts to your attention, Leo,
because I suspect that you now have exceptional
power to perform services like these for your allies,
friends, and loved ones. I dare you to make it one
of your top priorities.
VIRGO (August 23-September 22):
"The messiah will come when we don't
need him any more," said author Franz
Kafka. In that spirit, and in alignment
with current astrological omens, I will tell you that
the precise help you wish you could attract into
your life will show up as soon as you make initial
efforts to provide that help to yourself. Here are
some additional nuances: The gift or blessing you
think you need most will be offered to you by fate
once you begin giving that gift or blessing to your-
self. A rescuer will arrive not too long after you
take steps to rescue yourself. You'll finally figure
out how to make practical use of a key lesson as
you're teaching that lesson to someone you care for.
LIBRA (September 23-October 22):
Libran author Ursula K. Le Guin said
that we don't just naturally know how to
create our destinies. It takes research and
hard work. "All of us have to learn how to invent
our lives, make them up, imagine them," she wrote.
"We need to be taught these skills; we need guides
to show us how. If we don't, our lives get made up
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
for us by other people." I bring this to your atten-
tion, Libra, because the coming weeks will be an
excellent time to upgrade and refine your mastery
of these essential powers. What can you do to
enhance your capacity to invent your life? Which
teachers and information sources might be
helpful?
SCORPIO (October 23-November 21):
In 1984, hip hop group Run-DMC was
the first to achieve a gold record in their
genre, meaning they sold more than
500,000 albums. Their next album sold over a mil-
lion. They were pioneers. In 1986, legendary pro-
ducer Rick Rubin encouraged them to do a remake
of "Walk This Way," a song by the hard rock band
Aerosomith. The members of Run-DMC didn't
want to do it; they felt the tune was in a genre too
unlike their own. But Rubin eventually convinced
them, and the cross-pollination was phenomenally
successful. The Run-DMC-meets-Aerosmith col-
laboration launched a new genre that sold very
well. The song was later voted into the Grammy
Hall of Fame. In this spirit, and in accordance with
current cosmic rhythms, I urge you to try a bold
hybrid or two yourself, Scorpio: blends of elements
or influences that may seem a bit improbable. They
could ultimately yield big dividends.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-Decem-
ber 21): You Sagittarians periodically go
through phases when you specialize in
stirring up fresh intuitions. I mean,
you're always one of the zodiac's Intuition Cham-
pions, but during these special times, your flow
becomes an overflow. You have a knack for seeking
and finding visions of the interesting future; you
get excited by possibilities that are on the frontiers
of your confidence. From what I can tell, your life
in recent weeks has been bringing you these
delights – and will continue to do so for the fore-
seeable future. Take maximum advantage. Aggres-
sively gather in the gifts being offered by your inner
teacher.
CAPRICORN (December 22-January
19): Calling on my expert knowledge of
healing language and imaginative psy-
chology, I have formulated a mantra for
21
By Rob Brezsny
you to use in the next six weeks. I suggest you say
it five times after you wake up, and again at mid-
day, and before dinner, and before sleep. It should
help keep you intimately aligned with the dynamic
groove that the cosmos will be conspiring to pro-
vide for you. For best results, picture yourself as
glowing inside with the qualities named in the
mantra. Here it is: StrongBrightFree ClearBold-
Brisk DeepNimbleKind AdroitSteadyWarm.
AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18):
The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles
features displays that extol the musicians
who've won Grammy Awards over the years. A few
years ago, a distinctly un-famous musician named
Paz Dylan made professional-looking fake posters
touting his own magnificent accomplishments,
and managed to sneakily hang them on the
museum walls. They remained there for a month
before anyone noticed. I'm going to encourage you
to engage in similar gamesmanship in the coming
weeks, Aquarius. It'll be a favorable time to use
ingenuity and unconventional approaches to boost
your confidence and enhance your reputation.
PISCES (February 19-March 20): "Rela-
tionships never stop being a work in
progress," writes author Nora Roberts.
That's bad news and good news. It's bad news
because even for the most loving bond, you must
tirelessly persist in the challenging task of rein-
venting the ways the two of you fit together. It's
good news because few activities can make you
more emotionally intelligent and soulfully wise
than continually reinventing the ways the two of
you fit together. I bring these thoughts to your
attention because the coming weeks will be a fer-
tile time for such daunting and rewarding work.
Homework: What's the most interesting and trans-
formative action you could take right now? Testify
at FreeWillAstrology.com.
Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s
EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES
& DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at
1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-77
22 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
MUSIC
Sunshrine, Sunshrine
M
oline-based indie rock crew Sun-
shrine whip up a heady cocktail of
garage-rock tunes, psychedelic-rock
excursions, and amorphous collage pieces, all
frosted with a sheen of immaculate, Beatles-
esque pop production for their self-titled LP
Sunshrine. The album’s lovely throwback art-
work accurately captures the vibe of the band’s
music with its simplified day-glo color palette
that renders tripped-out psych tropes includ-
ing monoliths, orbs, and celestial flowers as
building blocks for a heady four-panel tableau.
While the music of Sunshrine hovers between
pure ‘60s Nuggets worship and a more modern
songwriting sensibility, the band’s high-defi-
nition approach to production makes sure that
every phased guitar lick, chubby bass line, and
rollicking drum pattern reaches us at a level of
crisp detail.
From a production standpoint alone, Sun-
shrine deserve every plaudit you could throw
at them from within the wide spectrum of
indie rock – perhaps centralized with a post-
Tame Impala focus on tonal fidelity and tex-
tural accents within the realm of what could
be considered traditional rock tracks. Album
centerpiece “Lovers In Season” slides from
an intro segment oriented around a bubbling
stew of processed vocals and reverbed-out
guitar licks into a driving groove that allows
the string instruments to expand and drift
into more freely improvised modes. The bass
playing in particular keeps the track on course
for its 10-minute running time, providing a
tonal benchmark that remains unchanged as
the two guitars swirl and activate in the edges
of the mix. Check out what happens around
the track’s six-minute mark, when the bass
starts to occupy more room in the mix than
before, and the amp distortion comes into
clearer focus, providing the chance for the
bass to occupy the role of a lead voice.
By the track’s halfway point, when the
guitars kick on the distortion and the drums
switch to a more bludgeoning, Bonham-esque
stomp, it’s hard to even remember the atmo-
sphere in which the track began – a sign of
an effective narrative arc deployed across a
variety of moods and levels of intensity. The
fact that the band maintains an intrinsic and
defined character even as their tones morph
into different configurations speaks to their
effectiveness as psych rock jammers, and
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
By Max Allison
their honed sense of how to keep a longer
track moving at an interesting clip. By the
eight-minute mark, the tempo picks up as the
drums slam on the cymbals and the guitars
whip up into a nice Deep Purple-core “High-
way Star” burner.
The track “Puzzle” is the one that kicks on
when you open Sunshrine on Bandcamp, and it
might serve as the most concise “single” within
the scope of the album. The track coasts over
a spread of whining organ licks and big vocal
hooks, effectively planting Sunshrine closest
to their ‘60s influences in one compact, four-
minute burst. The band knows how to pack a
“pop” song to the brim with details, from the
bright guitar solo that takes over toward the
end of the track, and the pleasant scrapes of
the pick against the strings throughout the
quieter portions of the song. When the organ
kicks into a more sizzling vibe for the inter-
lude toward the end of the track, the energy
is perfectly primed for a stoned and sublime
afternoon spent lying in the park.
[Side note: (and this isn’t directed at Sun-
shrine in particular but to the general array of
bands that release music on Bandcamp) what’s
the deal with albums on Bandcamp that start
at a track other than the first track? I under-
stand that people’s attention spans are shorter
than ever right now when it comes to stream-
ing music, but when I open up an album and it
starts at track five, it makes me think that the
tracks before that aren’t worth listening to.]
“Swamp Rat” serves as Sunshrine’s other
extended jammer, but it shifts the dial closer
to – who would have guessed? – murky swamp
rock, with guitars all dressed in disfiguring
effects. Once again, the bass and drums hold
the track down and prevent it from falling too
far into the formless rabbit hole. Here, the
guitar players get a chance to really burn, as
the left-channel guitar fires off hallucinogenic
bursts and the right-channel guitar doles out
a more chordal framework heavily fried by
phaser effects.
Sunshrine finishes off with a trio of shorter,
more pop-adjacent tracks that once again
show off the band’s flair for meaty pop hooks
and fast-shifting chord progressions. “Wait-
ing So Long” generates tension from its more
woozy tonality, but keeps the energy up with
sprightly hand claps. “Who’s the Mechanic”
bumps along upon a more standard rock tem-
plate at first, until the churning hook kicks in
with its knotty chords that keep us on our feet,
trying to anticipate the band’s next move.
“Spring Is Coming” caps Sunshrine off with
a whiff of fresh air, built on gentle field record-
ings of rainfall and a more pastoral guitar
arrangement. The song serves as a through-
line to the progressive folk practiced by, say,
Fairpoint Convention and their modern chil-
dren such as Fleet Foxes. In total, the band’s
range and attention to songwriting detail
shines just as brightly as their high standard
of production.
Listen at https://sunshrine.bandcamp.
com/album/sunshrine
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com
LIVE MUSIC
NOTE: All events listed are confirmed at time of publication. Check with the venue ahead of arrival to ensure status of each event.
THURSDAY
2020/09/03 (Thu)
(8)
Jazz Lounge Thursday w/ Mason
Moss & Sara Tubbs – The Spotlight
Theatre, 1800 7th Ave., Moline IL
Virtual Concert – 2nd Thursday
Series: Songs of Isolation &
Connection – Cedar Rapids Opera,
Cedar Rapids IA
Virtual Concert: Joseph's All the
Songs We've Ever Played – Native
Dreamer Kin – Englert Theatre, 221
East Washington St., Iowa City IA
FRIDAY
2020/09/04 (Fri)
(9)
5 of Hearts – The Gypsy Highway Bar &
Grill, 2606 W. Locust St., Davenport IA
Dave Ellis – The Grape Life Wine Store &
Lounge, 3402 Elmore Ave., Davenport
IA
Fair Warning – Harley Corin’s, 1708
State St., Bettendorf IA
Funktastic 5 – Hawkeye Tap Sports
Bar N Grill, 4646 Cheyenne Ave.,
Davenport IA
North of 40 – Parkside Grill & Lounge,
2307 5th Ave, Moline IL
Pocket Change – Rhythm City Casino
Resort Rhythm Room, 7077 Elmore
Ave., Davenport IA
Red Dirt Road – Riverside Casino
and Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22,
Riverside IA
Virtual Concert: Joseph’s All the
Songs We’ve Ever Played – I’m
Alone, No You’re Not – Englert
Theatre, 221 East Washington St.,
Iowa City IA
SATURDAY
2020/09/05 (Sat)
(10)
Chad Bruneau – Riverside Casino and
Resort, 3184 Highway 22, Riverside IA
Craig Heidgerken & Friends – The
Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge, 3402
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Daylight Over – Harley Corin’s, 1708
State St., Bettendorf IA
First Impression – The Gypsy Highway
Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust St.,
Davenport IA
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo – Green Tree
Brewery, 309 N. Cody Rd., LeClaire IA
Lewis Knudsen – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport IA
Molly Durnin – Hawkeye Tap Sports
Bar N Grill, 4646 Cheyenne Ave.,
Davenport IA
Phyllis & the Sharks (6pm) – Len
Brown’s North Shore Inn, 700 N. Shore
Dr., Moline IL
Red Dirt Road – Rhythm City Casino
Resort Rhythm Room, 7077 Elmore
Ave., Davenport IA
Russ Reyman Request Piano Bar – The
Phoenix Restaurant & Martini Bar, 111
West 2nd St., Davenport IA
Virtual Concert: Joseph’s All the
Songs We’ve Ever Played – Good
Luck, Kid – Englert Theatre, 221
East Washington St., Iowa City IA
SUNDAY
2020/09/06 (Sun)
(11)
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo (2pm) – Len
Brown’s North Shore Inn, 700 N. Shore
Dr., Moline IL
Not Music Nite! w/ Blue Movies –
Bootleg Hill Honey Meads, 321 E. 2nd
St., Davenport IA
WEDNESDAY (14)
2020/09/09 (Wed)
Alex Fischbach (6:30pm) – The Faithful
Pilot Cafe & Spirits, 117 N Cody Rd,
LeClaire IA
FRIDAY
2020/09/10 (Thu)
(16)
The Cadillac Three – First Avenue Club,
1550 First Ave, Iowa City IA
Daniel Stratman – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport IA
Far Out 283 – Parkside Grill & Lounge,
2307 5th Ave, Moline IL
Starlette’s Web Acoustic – Rhythm City
Casino Resort Rhythm Room, 7077
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
The Stone Flowers – The Gypsy
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust
St., Davenport IA
Your Mom Band – Riverside Casino
and Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22,
Riverside IA
SATURDAY (17)
Angela Meyer – Hawkeye Tap Sports
Bar N Grill, 4646 Cheyenne Ave.,
Davenport IA
Code 415 – Harley Corin's, 700 N. Shore
Dr., Moline IL
Danger Zone – The Gypsy Highway Bar
& Grill, 2606 W. Locust St., Davenport
IA
Jim Perron – Bootleg Hill Honey Meads,
321 E. 2nd St., Davenport IA
Russ Reyman Request Piano Bar – The
Phoenix Restaurant & Martini Bar, 111
West 2nd St., Davenport IA
Starlette's Web Accoustic – Riverside
Casino and Golf Resort, 3184 Highway
22, Riverside IA
Tony Hoeppner & Ron Wilson of the
Whoozdads – The Grape Life Wine
Store & Lounge, 3402 Elmore Ave.,
Davenport IA
SUNDAY
2020/09/12 (Sat)
(18)
Bugeye Sprite – Len Brown’s North
Shore Inn, 700 N. Shore Dr., Moline IL
Chuck Murphy (4pm) – The Gypsy
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust
St., Davenport IA
Not Music Nite! w/ Blue Movies –
Bootleg Hill Honey Meads, 321 E. 2nd
St., Davenport IA
TUESDAY
2020/09/13 (Sun)
(20)
Beatles vs Stones: A Musical
Showdown – Adler Theatre, 136 E.
Third St., Davenport IA
OCTOBER 8–NOVEMBER 4, 2020
Send your live music events to calendar@rcreader.com
Deadline 5 p.m. Thursday before publication
WEDNESDAY (21)
Beatles vs Stones: A Musical
Showdown – Five Flags Center, 405
Main St, Dubuque IA
Scott Stowe (6:30pm) – The Faithful
Pilot Cafe & Spirits, 117 N Cody Rd,
LeClaire IA
(22)
THURSDAY
2020/09/17 (Thu)
Live(stream) with Heritage Center:
Alpin Hong – Universit y of
Dubuque’s Heritage Center, 2255
Bennett St., Dubuque IA
FRIDAY (23)
(Fri)
CJ Ryder & Past Masters – Riverside
Casino and Golf Resort, 3184 Highway
22, Riverside IA
Dirt Road Rockers – The Gypsy
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust
St., Davenport IA
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo – Sugar
Maple Golf Glub, 19283 E. 1600th St.,
Geneseo IL
Lily Hiatt – Beth Bombara – Englert
Theatre, 221 East Washington St.,
Iowa City IA
Phyllis & the Sharks – Parkside Grill &
Lounge, 2307 5th Ave, Moline IL
Push the Limit – Rhythm City Casino
Resort Rhythm Room, 7077 Elmore
Ave., Davenport IA
Rachael Kilgour (6pm) – Bishop Hill
Creative Commons, 309 N Bishop Hill
St., Bishop Hill IL
The Soul Company – The Grape Life
Wine Store & Lounge, 3402 Elmore
Ave., Davenport IA
WVIK/QCSO Signature Series I:
Naha Plays Beethoven – Figge Art
Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport IA
(24)
SATURDAY
2020/09/19 (Sat)
The Cal Stage Band – Hawkeye Tap
Sports Bar N Grill, 4646 Cheyenne
Ave., Davenport IA
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020
Fair Warning – The Gypsy Highway Bar
& Grill, 2606 W. Locust St., Davenport
IA
Freddy Allen & Neal Smith – The
Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge, 3402
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Joshua Sinclair – Riverside Casino
Event Center, 3184 Highway 22,
Riverside IA
Push the Limit – Riverside Casino
and Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22,
Riverside IA
Ruby & Donovan – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport IA
Russ Reyman Request Piano Bar – The
Phoenix Restaurant & Martini Bar, 111
West 2nd St., Davenport IA
SUNDAY
2020/09/20 (Sun)
(25)
Not Music Nite! w/ Blue Movies –
Bootleg Hill Honey Meads, 321 E. 2nd
St., Davenport IA
WEDNESDAY (28)
2020/09/23 (Wed)
David Kavanaugh (6:30pm) – The
Faithful Pilot Cafe & Spirits, 117 N
Cody Rd, LeClaire IA
FRIDAY
2020/09/24 (Thu)
(30)
Fair Warning – Parkside Grill & Lounge,
2307 5th Ave, Moline IL
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo – Uptown
Bar & Grill, 1720 E. Kimberly Rd.,
Davenport IA
Halloween w/ Cocked & Loaded – The
Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
The Hot Rods – Riverside Casino
and Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22,
Riverside IA
The Knockoffs – Hawkeye Tap Sports
Bar N Grill, 4646 Cheyenne Ave.,
Davenport IA
Mead-o-Ween: Sid Yiddish – Dead
Girl Medallion – Bearquake – Blue
Movies – Dan Fennesy – Bootleg
Hill Honey Meads, 321 E. 2nd St.,
23
Davenport IA
Rock Steady Band – Rhythm City
Casino Resort Rhythm Room, 7077
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Ron Tegeler Jazz Trio – The Grape Life
Wine Store & Lounge, 3402 Elmore
Ave., Davenport IA
SATURDAY
2020/09/25 (Fri)
(31)
Frankie Joe & Kinfolk – Green Tree
Brewery, 309 N. Cody Rd., LeClaire IA
Funktastic Five Halloween Bash – The
Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
The Hotrods – Rhythm City Casino
Resort Rhythm Room, 7077 Elmore
Ave., Davenport IA
Pie in the Sky – Riverside Casino
and Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22,
Riverside IA
Project X Halloween Bash – Harley
Corin’s, 1708 State St., Bettendorf IA
Rob Dahms & Gary Pearson of the
Night People – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport IA
Russ Reyman Request Piano Bar – The
Phoenix Restaurant & Martini Bar, 111
West 2nd St., Davenport IA
Tangled Reality – Abides Bar & Grill @
Backyard Bowl, 2020 1st St. W., Milan
IL
​
N orthern Parallels: Halloween
Edition – Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Ave.,
Rock Island IL
MONDAY
2020/09/26 (Sat)
(2)
Virtual Concert: Ordinary Elephant –
Bishop Hill Creative Commons, 309 N
Bishop Hill St., Bishop Hill IL
TUESDAY
2020/09/27 (Sun)
(3)
Tuneful Tuesdays: Chris Vallilo
(noon) – Rock Island Public Library -
Downtown Library, 401 19th St., Rock
Island IL
24 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 28 No. 978 • October 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

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