QC, THAT'S WHERE!

Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered how to transform your passion into a thriving online presence? Join us as we pick the brains of food connoisseurs and successful content creators, Annie Froeschle and Bailey Thompson, as they dish out their journey to the digital world. Launching into the vibrant food scene in the Quad Cities, they recount how their platforms turned from mere hobbies into profitable...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder how an engineer in aeronautics becomes a real estate aficionado? Our guest, Alex Skeen, takes us through his extraordinary journey from rockets to helping people find their dream home in the Quad Cities real estate market. His fascinating story will captivate you, as he shares his unique experiences, including the awe-inspiring sight of a rocket launch in Florida and t...

Send us Fan Mail Scott Beck and Bryan Woods met back when they were 11-year-old kids at Bettendorf Middle School, bonding over a shared interest of making movies. Through the years they moved from stop-action films with action figures to getting friends to act in their films, holding casting calls and getting their movies played on screen at places like "The Adler Theatre" or "The P...

Send us Fan Mail Quad Citizen and author, Jonathan Turner, has made a lifelong career as a writer.  One of his latest works is "100 Things to do in the Quad Cities Before You Die," which is a guide book to help people navigate must-see and do activities in the Quad Cities region.  The book is broken down topically, with recommendations and brief descriptions to help readers find an exper...

Send us Fan Mail Kathy Wine, the Executive Director of River Action got inspired by a trip she took to Baltimore.  She had ridden a pedestrian boat and saw the opportunities the Quad Cities had to have a similar service, on the Mississippi River. Enthused with the idea, Kathy wrote a grant for a feasibility study to see if such a service as a water taxi could work in the Quad Cities. With $25,000...

Send us Fan Mail The owners of Buttercupp Candles, which now has three locations around the Quad Cities, share the story of their start. Jennifer initially wanted to make candles to support the aesthetic of another business endeavor, and ultimately she and her husband K.C. discovered "Buttercupp" could be a venture of its own.  The pair started making candles in their home, working to ke...

Send us Fan Mail Dan Bush from Bummer City Inc. is an entrepreneur with a passion for improving the quality of life and place in the Quad Cities. The owner of multiple businesses, Dan says he tries to create spaces that are more than just bars, but are hangouts.  Analog Arcade Bar, being one, is just as it sounds. A bar and an arcade. It brings together the nostalgia of childhood video gaming whil...

Send us Fan Mail Patrick Allie, the director of the Rock Island Arsenal Museum gives us an inside look at the hard work and thought that's gone into the renovation of the museum. Originally opened on July 4, 1905, the museum has been revamped only three times, once in response to WWI, another time in response to WWII, and the third in response to a the global COVID-19 pandemic.  The mission o...

Send us Fan Mail Sonny Soliz is the artist behind the Hero Street USA monument in Silvis, Illinois. It has been documented that as of the present day there have been over 100 young men and women from Second Street who have given service to the United States Military Forces. It had been researched and documented by The Department of Defense in Washington, D.C. that (there is no other street of comp...

Send us Fan Mail Ryan Collins, executive director of the Midwest Writing Center in Rock Island explains what the organization does in the community and how its programming works to serve writers from all backgrounds, levels and aspirations.  The center hires interns, hosts writing workshops and a large annual event every summer, as well as partners for community outreach.  If you're intereste...

Send us Fan Mail If the Quad Cities had a soundtrack, the Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra would be an integral part. The organization has been awarded two recognitions in recent years from the Illinois Council of Orchestras. The QCSO was awarded Community Relations of the Year, recognizing two programs they launched in their 2021-2022 season: Concert Access Pass and Promo Partners. Learn more here...

Send us Fan Mail Brian Fanning of FVNTVNV Records has been in the music scene since he was a kid. Growing up in a musical family, he took to writing music at a young age. Coming from the Chicagoland area, Brian studied and graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, a move that led him to find a group of other passionate musicians; together, they started East$ide Sounds.  https://ww...

Send us Fan Mail Curt Johnson and Kate Schlotfeldt are professionals in the Quad Cities brewing scene. Curt co-owns Green Tree Brewing Co. in LeClaire, Iowa and is a longtime brewer. Kate is the GM of Crawford Brew Works in Bettendorf, Iowa. On the QC, That's Where podcast, these two brew gurus talk about the size of the brewing scene, how it's a growing industry that seems to comfortabl...

Send us Fan Mail K.C. Ross has a background in law enforcement and a passion for cooking.  Founder of cookandcuffs.com, Ross, AKA Chef Keys, brings her favorite dishes to life, sharing recipes and the opportunity to have a Class-A dining experience inside a home.  And that's what she does. She prepares a custom meal for her guests, or goes into someone else's home and cooks for them in t...

Send us Fan Mail Coinciding with the 2023 NCAA "March Madness" tournament, Whitey's Ice Cream made a competition of its own, called "2023 Flavor Madness" which pits dozens of flavors up against each other. A husband and wife pair, Alexey and Lewis Knudsen had some personal experience to cover nearly the entire "Flavor Madness" bracket, after having spent two cons...

Send us Fan Mail Owner and founder of Blue Spruce General Store in the Quad Cities, Brandon Carleton, sat down on the "QC, That's Where" Podcast and reminisced on his journey of entrepreneurship. As he was thinking back on some of the creative endeavors, he said, "I'm learning more and more that there are some things you just don't have to ask permission for, you can...

Send us Fan Mail The Quad Cities region has hundreds of restaurants and hundreds of thousands of people who love to explore them.  Two of those people are Dave and Laura Kilmer. The couple has made a tradition of exploring restaurants, both new and tried & true, photographing and noting their experiences and then taking their reviews to the popular "Quad City Food Lovers" Facebook gr...

Send us Fan Mail The Quad Cities is closing in on a new community asset made to help honor and preserve history of the Civil Rights Movement in the Quad Cities. This event space will not only honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, but pull together stories and cultural history from decades of great people who helped build Davenport, Iowa and the Quad Cities into what it is today. Wat...

Send us Fan Mail Looking at placemaking and civic pride in the Quad Cities, there's been a lot of progress. That's partly thanks to the entrepreneurship and leadership of Maria Ontiveros, president of Mercado on Fifth and Nancy Ballenger, vice president and general manager of Isle Casino - Hotel Bettendorf. Mercado on Fifth is a weekly event that invites all ages to downtown Moline to ce...

Send us Fan Mail Every winter, Bald Eagles fly down from Canada to set up shop where they can fish and set up shop for the cold months. Many of them land here in the Quad Cities where the Mississippi River remains unfrozen.  While they're here, visitors and residents enjoy the show in several viewing locations around the region. Jody Millar with the Quad Cities Audubon Society gives the dos a...

Send us Fan Mail Ben Leischner, the Visit Quad Cities Board Chair and Kai Swanson, the board's Immediate Past Chair, got together to reflect on their responsibility as board members and the philosophy and impact of tourism.  Ben and Kai share their personal experiences living and being in the Quad Cities. Ben from the perspective of a transplant and Kai, as a lifelong Quad Citizen. #VisitQuad...

Send us Fan Mail QC, That's Where QC, That's Where is a podcast powered by Visit Quad Cities. Through the people, partnerships, and personalities woven throughout the Quad Cities region, you'll meet real Quad Citizens and hear the untold stories of the region. Follow Visit Quad Cities on social media and never miss an episode of #QCThatsWhere. Facebook Instagram LinkedIn X

Send us Fan Mail Joel Alexander spent some formative years in the Quad Cities. It's where he launched his career path by saying yes and showing up. Today, he's a photographer and model living in Nashville. In this episode of "QC, That's Where," Joel reminisces on the path he's taken.  He notes some opportunities that sparked for him in the Quad Cities and got into the...

Send us Fan Mail Charlie Cole is the brewmaster and General Manager at Blue Cat Brewing Company in Rock Island.  Cole and his team are continuing a QC tradition when Blue Cat was revived in the fall of 2021.  Laugh along as Cole remembers his apprenticeship, learning under the instruction of a German brewer.  With equipment all labeled in German. Cole has made a successful career out of brewing by...

Send us Fan Mail Monta Ponsetto is a long-time Festival of Trees participant, volunteer, and decorator. She's seen the evolution of this fundraising event as it's grown, moved, and added new and creative elements. In this episode of #SheQCThatsWhere , she describes designs from years past. One in particular is centered around a WWII scene, with a prop of real letters she used from a rela...