When the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal’s website went live on Dec. 1, we were proud to join in celebrating the new Interstate 74 Bridge that we view each day from the windows of our Alter Building office in downtown Bettendorf.
It was a hard-fought victory for the entire Quad Cities region. But the unique $1 billion twin-span bridge is more than that. As Visit Quad Cities’ Dave Herrell likes to say, “It binds the Quad Cities together.”
It also is a symbol of the power of regional cooperation. It shows what a community can do when it pulls together in the same direction and speaks — when it counts — with one voice.
In today’s inaugural print edition, we’re pleased to share with our readers what some Quad Cities leaders hope to do to keep the I-74 Bridge momentum going, as well as ideas for what should come next.
Going forward, this page also seeks to be a place for Quad Citians to share their ideas and to talk about what matters to them. Why not start today? For example, write a letter to the editor and share your big ideas for the next big project in the Quad Cities and we’ll share them here.
Or if you’d like to meet with our editorial board to talk about issues of interest to the community and our readers, please reach out to Group Publisher John Lohman, johnl@quadcitiesbusiness.com, Editor Jennifer DeWitt, jennifer@quadcitiesbusiness.com or Senior Reporter Kenda Burrows, kenda@quadcitiesbusiness.com.
The best editorial pages are not lecture halls, but community forums. We want readers of the QCBJ editorial page from everywhere in the region — Rock Island, Henry, and Mercer counties in Illinois, and Scott, Clinton and Muscatine counties in Iowa — to pull up a chair and join the discussion, or start one.
We will, of course, offer our opinions and assessments on matters of local and regional interest to the business community. But we want you to share your thoughts and opinions, too. If you think we’re wrong, tell us why in a letter to the editor. We also urge business, government and community leaders to share guest columns that will stimulate, enlighten, challenge and energize our readers. So if you have information to share or questions to ask, please do so. If you’re worried about a current trend or have discovered ways to deal with new challenges, send your ideas to us and we’ll share them.
Email your submissions to news@QuadCitiesBusiness.com. Or send them via snail mail to Editorial Page, QCBJ, 2117 State St., Suite 105, Bettendorf, Iowa, 52722. Include ”Letter to the editor” or “Guest Column” on the envelope or in the subject line of your email. Also, please include your name, your hometown, business or job title (if relevant to the content) and your telephone number, not for publication, but so we can confirm your letter.
Please join the QCBJ as we seek on this page to promote regional cooperation and growth.
