Building a bridge to the Davenport riverfront.

And the future of public broadcasting in The Cities.

[lively music] The city's is getting ready for Red, White and Boom!

But there's another attraction downtow that is quickly coming together.

We'll have that a little bit later.

But first, it's been a year since Congress and the Trump administration effectively cut of funding for public television.

The largest part of the WQPT budget.

What's happened since?

Well, for one thing, Eastern Illinoi public television station WEIU went off the ai after losing 80% of its funding.

It's now streaming all of its content.

So what's happening at WQPT and is the current model sustainable?

We talked with the general manager, Dawn Schmitt.

so.

It has been a year since, federal funding was basically eliminated for public broadcasting, particularly television.

So tell me what's happened in the last year at WQPT?

Yeah.

It's [?].

I was just looking at my emails and it was June 3rd is when the rescission package was delivered to Congress.

So it's been a crazy year.

It's been a very eventful and full year for us.

It was devastating, the loss.

We lost 53% of our budget, or about $840,000 from our annual budget with the rescission.

So we've been very, very fortunate, the Quad City community and surrounding areas have stepped up.

We have the largest membership that WQPT has ever had, and it's 43, 44 year history now.

So we've, done our best.

We've looked at our expenses.

We've had to make some cuts.

Unfortunately, we're down to only five employees.

And then we have some great contractors that work with us that help us keep this, this boat rowing.

But tell me, because when the federal money went, a lot of people heard about it, and people reach out, and react to that.

But as the months go by, as you well know, it's harder and harder to keep people, actively supporting, something such as WQPT.

So have you noticed kind of a waning of support since that initial, support?

Well, right now, this month, we're really going head to head against, you know, the numbers.

So the numbers, we'll continue to, you know, present themselves over the next few months is when we'll really see our, our going against last year's numbers.

You start a new fiscal year on July 1st.

Correct.

I mean, that is a big deal... Absolutely.

...to determine how well you're doing.

Yeah.

We are facing a challenge.

So we are trying to make sure that we may, let people know that, it wasn't a one time deal.

We lost some money last year, but it's still gone.

And for for the foreseeable future, it will continue to be gone.

So it's very important, that the community knows that we are 100% community funded right now.

And so we need your, continued support.

So and I think over the next few months, we'll really see, you know, how we do to net last year's numbers.

But people have to know that we really need them.

Continuing on into the future so we can maintain the same level of community outreach and support that we are doing now because once again, it's more than just a TV station.

There is an educational outreach, there are reading programs, there are education programs.

There are a number of different outreach programs that WQPT does throughout the community.

Absolutely.

We're in schools.

Melissa Gravert is our education director, and she is in the schools every every week, multiple days a year.

Or libraries.

Or libraries?

Yes.

We'll spend this summer in libraries throughout the, viewing area.

We are let's just underline the severity of these cuts.

Because over the last month, we learned that Eastern Illinois University, WEIU basically went dark.

They are no longer broadcasting but our instead streaming.

And they're more of also a student run, station in some ways.

Correct.

Much more active with the, journalism department of, of Eastern Illinois University.

What does that what does that say to you when, a sister station, so to speak, such as WEIU and Eastern Illinois University has to go dark?

I mean, it's a real possibility.

Yes, unfortunately it is.

And it hit us hard, you know, because they are very similar to us.

They're a very similar, size and type of station that we are currently.

So, we are very lucky that we have the support of the administration for at Western.

And they believe in the outreach, that WQPT does in the community and how it, it just, comes alongside what Western believes in and and so we're working together to make the community better.

But it is not funde by Western Illinois University.

That I think is a key component that you point out.

Correct, correct.

Thank you for saying that.

No.

We have beautiful space on the campus of Western Quad Cities, but financially Western does not support us.

Yeah, bu but that is support in itself.

I mean, that's that's a huge expense... Right, right.

...that you don't have to worry about.

Yes, we have this beautiful, you know, studio because... Yeah.

Absolutely, absolutely.

...of their generosity.

Tell me about the pla for this upcoming fiscal year.

I mean, do you know exactl what is going to be occurring, or are you just waitin to find out what the numbers are closing out this fiscal year?

Well, this fiscal year we will finish ahead of budget, because of the community suppor and the community stepping up.

So it's nic to have that little bit of extra in our back pocket going into the next year.

I have or I am completing the FY 27 budget now and, it's not it's not great.

We are looking at a deficit budget.

But we're counting on the community to continue to step up.

We're being conservative.

As far as our revenue projections.

So it's definitely doable with the community support.

How difficult is fundraising at this point when you take a look at the economy and you take a look at other groups that are also asking for money?

I mean, fundraising at the best of times is difficult.

Absolutely.

And there are so many worthy causes here in the community, you know, and other, you know, non-profits who are looking for the support as well.

And we encourage them and we want them to succeed as well.

But for us, it is a challenge.

But what we provide for the community is free television to everyone.

We have the number one trusted educational brand.

And so that that support for early educators and also for, for childre coming into the school system.

Nothing can compete with WQPT.

And it's free over the air.

And everything that we do in the community is community supported.

And we're just tryin to give back to the schools and, help with literacy.

When I first, showed up on your doorstep of 15 years ago, and started working on this program, I remember the great pride of the staff, and the belief that this was the little engine that could.

This is, always been a very small, family knit almost a TV station with with just bare bones operations.

And like you said, you're down to five people right now running a television station.

Do you still feel it's the little engine that could.

I think we definitely are.

I think, you know, the staff, that has remained and we we're just pulling together.

People are wearing many different hats.

We're doing the best we can.

We understand that we can't do it all.

And, you know, we give ourselves a little grace, but I really think this is a staff that really wants to see us, succeed and stay and continue to give back to the community the best way that we know how.

And so I have a great staff, and they want to do it.

And when it comes to fundraising and when it comes to charitable giving, you're asking people, don't forget public broadcasting.

WVIK radio and especially WQPT television?

Absolutely, absolutely.

We provide such a wonderful service.

And I think, from the responses that we're getting from the communit and the words of encouragement and thank you and, and, you know, thank you for what you're doing and trying to, you know, keeping us on the air or keeping you on the air.

You know, we get great comments like that all the time.

And so people, believe in WQPT and public television and, they want to see us stay.

So we want to stay for them.

Our thanks to WQPT general manager Dawn Schmitt.

Just ahead getting ready for Red White and Boom.

And while we're at it, let's look at some of the 4th of July related events in our area.

Thanks to Visit Quad Cities.

[soft music] Check out the things t do this week in the Quad Cities.

Start your week of with some relaxing yoga for all skill levels at the Figge Art Museum.

Next, enjoy a celebration of America's 250th anniversary with a movie, hot dogs and karaoke.

Continue the America 250 celebration by watching a dazzling fireworks display launched from the Mississippi River.

Then enjoy celebrations and a parade.

You can expect activities food, music, and so much more.

Finally, experience Sunday Funday on the patio.

Listen to live music and enjoy the nice weather.

For more events like these.

Check out our events calendar at VisitQuadCities.com [music ends] The cities is known for its bridges, but its newest is one being built as part of a transformation of the Davenport riverfront.

And it comes as the area is set to celebrate Independence Day with Red, White and Boom!

We were joined by the executive director of the Downtown Davenport Partnership, Kyle Carter.

Main Street landing, the bridge that's, that's now up.

Yeah.

It's standing.

I mean, this is really a transformational, exciting time for the heart of Davenport.

Yeah.

I mean, the riverfronts obvious been on the To-Do list for a very long time.

Oh, yeah.

The, this particular portion of it that the city is completing right now, will connect downtown to the new play area that's, underway.

The scale of it, I think, is still just a lot larger than people realize.

And it's very exciting to see it come together.

The scale is much bigger than I realized.

I mean, you take a look at some of the architectural drawings now.

This is going to be a major gathering point.

Yeah.

Height is something that I think people will start to appreciat once they physically are there.

You know, the scale of the play area itself is much like what you'd see near the Bean in Chicago with the just huge, hug scale of the play, playscapes.

When you're standing out there just even today, it looks amazing.

The view of the river is completely different than what you get anywhere else.

So just nice to see, that, project come along and somethin that's been on the to do list.

And, and, you know, we're, we'r just ready for the next phase.

How do you thin that's going to change downtown?

I mean, it's really going to be a draw.

Yeah, it's very family oriented.

So once that's done and people, like, get their hands on it and can touch it and feel it, then I think they'll realize, like how many families are going to be drawn to that every day.

Which inevitably people will come and cross into downtown proper over time.

But you have to have, an activity that is just special enough that someone's going to go out of their way to make sure that they travel there.

And I think this will get people's attention when it's all said and done.

I think it was interesting that you pointed out the Chicago Bea and that it's, Millennial Park, I believe, is what it's called, and it's an area that, people from around the world but definitely around the nation and definitely from the Midwest, they congregate there.

Well, there's a play area specifically that's adjacent inside Millennium Park.

That particular part is what we're talking about, where you've got, you know, slides that are three stories tall and, you know, just it's it's very specific in what we're trying to do there.

But at any rate, I think I just think it's going to really transform that side of, of the riverfront.

But what I think wha I was going to try to point out was that i seems to be one of those draws.

One of those, you know, oh, my gosh this is what Davenport's about, is this particular area.

And as you well know, being associated with the Chamber of Commerce, so often, what they want to d is create a better way of life so that you can attract more businesses.

You can attract more residents.

And this is one of those these one of those events, one of these, construction projects that could be, once again, transformative.

Yeah I mean, that's always the point.

You know, you have to have a quality of life that people are seeking, looking for.

And, you know, the riverfront is somethin that's completely unique to us.

You can't replicate that anywhere else in town.

It is truly kind of it is special in that regard.

And so, yeah, you want you want things that keep peopl wanting to come here and visit here, stay here, live here, and, pieces like this are a big, big part of that identity.

Events are a big deal as well.

And let's talk about Red, White and Boom, it is coming up again, markin the 250th birthday of America, of course.

So you wanted to have somethin bigger, something more special?

Yeah.

So I mean, we've just got, we've got a little bit more fireworks.

There's still a lot of, activity going on in, the baseball stadium.

We'll have the game going on.

LeClaire Park will be open and free.

Rock Island and Schwiebert park they now have Arts Alley done.

So a lot of people who haven't seen all the construction downtown, rock island's completed, this is a great opportunity to kind of introduce yourself to that if you haven't been there in a while.

So just it'll be nice to see, all the different vendors and everything come together for this.

Is this one of those that, I mean, it's grown year after year after year.

I'm trying I'm trying to remember when Red, White and Boom started.

It's it's got to be within 20 years.

Yeah.

It was around oh five ish.

You know, Terry Lunardi, was was very... Instrumental.

...yeah, very instrumental in organizing it and getting the private sector involved.

Mary Ellen Chamberlain, who passed not that long ago, she and the RD were the original funders of it.

So a lot of people were involved in and how this came together.

But it i it is one of the only Bi-State fireworks shows that you'll find.

And, you know, coordinating with the with the barges every year is always a challenge, but, it's always worth the effort.

Well, and let's talk about that because, I mean, you're part of the downtown Davenport partnership, but there is tha reaching out across the river.

I mean, we can even talk abou Centennial Bridge at this moment and plans for a changes in that in the coming decade.

It it really has become more of a unified Quad Cities.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, and I wear two hats.

So I also help Jack in downtown Rock Island, who has the equivalent of my job.

He works inside our organization as part of our family.

So we work very closely with Rock Island.

And the, it has changed, especially in the las five years or so, as their own, you know, special service area got off the ground, which is kind of the mirror image of what DDP is to downtown Davenport.

And we've been able to coordinate in ways that maybe in the past were a lot harder.

And it's been very seamless now.

Because it's als Alternating Currents, which was, you know, when you think about that, you go back to River Roots, which was basically a LeClaire Park centric, event, but you wanted to get more of the downtown, you wanted t spread the wealth, so to speak.

Yeah.

And s and I'm telling you your story.

I shouldn't be doing that.

But Alternating Currents is being very much a Davenport based event, and that's now a multi-city event as well.

Yeah, we've extende expanded that into Rock Island, into downtown Bettendorf as well.

It really has just got a life of its own.

This will be our ninth year, with the festival.

And, you know, considering where we started, where it' gone, AC is just off the charts.

I mean, we have over, we have over 40, maybe almost 50 venues this year, over 200 performances.

You know, small business is the backbone of a lot of those performance spaces.

Yes.

I mean, we don't even hol a liquor license for that event.

You know, the businesses themselves receive all the income from all the extra foot traffic and action on the ground.

So, I mean, it's an amazing model and something we're very proud of.

Is kind of stolen from, South by Southwest, was it not?

Yeah, Sout By was a big inspiration for it.

So was, Appleton, Wisconsin and what they do up there with Mile of Music.

There's also a festival out in Boise that's, a little similar to what we do.

But it's still a, you know, on a national scale, there are only a handful of places that that run this model because it's really hard to operate.

The logistics are... Oh my gosh.

...are crazy.

Alicia doe a wonderful job of that in our, in our office of just navigating, you know, getting all of that to happen in the span of a few days.

We, now are seeing the one ways slowly be removed... Yeah.

...from the heart of, Davenport.

Fourth, is it?

Yeah.

So fourth Street, we'll get done at the end of this year.

Yeah, exactly.

And so third's been done since last winter, And so third's been done since last winter.

Right.

And then that'll finally be done.

And again, it only goes to Marquette.

I mean, it's mainly the downtown core plus a little bit of that.

The one way still keep rolling once you go further west.

But it's, fourth will be done here pretty soon and then we'l finally have the actual, design that was always intended once that's done.

Because we've been kind of, you know we've had half of it in place, since the winter.

It'll function since the winter.

It'll function totally differently when both roads are done.

Yeah because what have you noticed since third has been done?

Yeah, well, I mean, the retail's been really enjoying the accessibility and it's been very nice to be able to have that where you can, you know, come off River drive, hang right, get to the Hotel Blackhawk especially people have never been to the Adler before, the, they, just the dynamics of how to get around and where to get around are a lot simpler.

And we'll be even more so once we have fourth done.

But that's just been nice to see.

Some of the, the growing pains of it are just, frankly, that half of it's done rather than the full package.

And the rest of that will clean itself up here at the end of the year.

In a way, it almost had to be done that way.

I mean, the adjustment of the motoring public, isnt an overnight thing?

Yeah, I mean, a lot of they jus had to do with road resurfacing.

So people forget that, like the hardest part of this project had nothing to do wit what direction you're driving.

Road had to be completely resurfaced because they were in terrible condition.

We simply decided to go ahead and do the conversion on top of that, because it made sense to not do it twice.

But we're excited that, you know, both road surfacing and the conversion will be done this year.

And then starting next year, it'll just be a clean slate and feel a lot better.

Well, and to be honest, if you're not used to it and you're coming from the west to downtown and you're on, Third heading towards Marquette, it really is well delineated.

And that just paint.

Yeah, it's pretty obvious.

And then there's always River Drive.

And that, still carries the bulk of, of transit traffi that are just passing through.

I was reading one of the earlier, analysises, analysis, analyses, I don't know, of, downtown, Davenport.

And what I thought was interesting is, the recruitment of businesses where almost, and correct me if I'm wrong, that Davenport was seen almost in an opposite way of most communities where it had more of a nightlife than it had a day life.

Yeah, I think that's very common.

And more so across downtowns around the country right now, because residential has taken over so much of what used to be office space.

And so as a result of that, you just get more energy, more foot traffic, more action after five than you d sometimes in the daytime hours.

Because so many communities, it was rolling up the sidewalks at 5:00.

Yeah, yeah.

And that that's really flipped on its head.

We were ahead of our time.

We've been using historic tax credits.

We've converted a lot of our empty warehouse and office buildings to to very full apartments over the last 15, 20 years.

And, you know, you're starting to see that happen in Chicago now.

You're starting to see that in major metros all across the US.

We were actually ahead of the curve on that.

But a lot of other, folks are starting to see the same kind of dynamics that we have.

Is it also, because you bring up you know, the warehouses that have been transformed and the older office places that have been transformed, the fact that Davenpor has got kind of a mix of the old and the new?

Yeah, yeah.

Well, I mean, you still got a beautiful modern museu right in the middle of all that.

We've seen new construction just this past year at Third and Main.

You see the brand new apartment building that went up there and the old Wells Fargo drive through space.

So there's always this dynamic in downtown of the new and the old colliding.

And that's what makes it special and what makes it cool in the first place.

So what is the big, recruitment then?

Because your state of th downtown address will be coming up, of course.

And you'll be discussing what?

I mean, we'll be rolling out all kinds of information.

So our annual meeting takes place at the end of June, and we'll roll out mountains of data about grant dollars, construction, ne projects, stuff in the pipeline.

One of those things will be rolling ou our new branding, for downtown.

And so we've been working on that for years.

And so we'll do the big reveal at the annual meeting, kind of a new color palette, a new design, new look, for both downtown as a whole and DDP too.

But it's it's exciting and a long time coming.

Because when I think of mysel coming here about 30 years ago, the downtowns really were, you know, I don't want to say dead, but they were just limping along.

It wasn't this great deal of attention.

And the chamber, as you have pointed out, has really organized, you know, these hubs in in Moline, in Rock Island, in Davenport, but still, as you said, working together.

But I mean, there's been a real transformation in the downtowns over the last few decades.

Yeah a lot of that is due to the work of the private sector in concert with the public sector.

That's what place management in our industry is all about.

We manage taxing districts that are unique to their geographies where we're taking extra dollars property taxes are being generated in and applying them and governing with the public sector.

It's a very unique model.

It's something that you see around the country, and our district actually is going to turn 50 years old next year, and we'll celebrate that more next year.

But I'm looking forward to seeing that come around the bend.

It's a big deal, and you're starting to see it all over the Quad Cities.

Because you bring up the Figge, you think of, the, River Renaissance as it was called, some 20, 25 years ago, which really kind of sparke a new attention to the downtown.

It did.

That River Renaissance was the turning point where we really started to see the the energy start to work where, you know, you built the Figge Art Museum, River Music Experience, two parking ramps, the Skybridge.

There was, the Adler got redone at that time.

The New Ventures.

Yeah, the New Ventures got built, which is where our office is today.

So just that pushed a level of energy that brought the Hotel Blackhawk here.

And that renovation happened shortly on the heels of that, which then begat more apartments and housing.

I mean, thi this stuff happens for a reason.

It's not accidental.

And it takes year to piece these things together.

But you can draw a straight line from a River Renaissance to what we see today.

Once again, Red, White and Boom is coming up.

A perfect family event.

And it's not just the fireworks.

No, the fireworks, are just the main event.

But, you know, between what's going on in downtown Rock Island, all of the just free spaces to watch the, both sides of the rive and of course, the baseball game at Modern Woodman, which is not free, but, still very reasonable to go hang out there.

I mean, we love, we love our friends at the River Bandits, too.

So I think, it's jus a good opportunity to celebrate, not just, you know, American pride, but the fact that, you know, this Bi-State region is a really special place.

And when you're sitting down there in person on the riverfront and feeling that it's, it's always a good reminder of, you know, how this, the Quad Cities really is just one big place.

Our thanks to the Executive Director of the Downtown Davenport Partnership, Kyle Carter.

We're continuing to celebrate the 250th birthday of the Declaration of Independence by celebrating the Civic Spark in many of us.

That's what showcases the reason that we work so hard for our community.

Well, we asked Alexandra Ellis, executive director of Renew Moline, about her Civic Spark.

So I think for me, I grew up in Davenpor and my father had a retail shop downtown, and I watched during the farm crisis, I watched downtown die.

I mean, I used to shop for school clothes downtown at Peterson's when it was downtown, and I loved being downtown.

My parents are New Yorkers and so I loved being downtown, and I watched that die.

And it wasn' until I got to graduate school in city planning that I started to piece together why that happened, and then how people wer putting downtowns back together.

And so I really, by accident, found my niche in the world.

And, found a caree that I'm super passionate about.

And I really and truly believe that this is a career in city planning that really affects everyone's lives and really can make everyone' life just a little bit better.

Because downtown is for everyone.

Our thanks to Alexandra Ellis, executive director of Renew Moline, and her Civic Spark.

On the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile devic and streaming on your computer, thanks for taking some time to join us, as we talk about the issues on The Cities.

[lively music] [music ends]