Rock Islands mayor looks back at six months in office, and we take you bac to ancient Egypt and your chance to take a quick university course in The Cities.

[lively music] [music ends] Each year, the community is offered a chance to escape the winter doldrums and stir the mind.

CommUniversity is what it's called.

And we'll look at what's offered, including a little trip down the Nile.

But first, Rock Island and the year 2026.

The city has a new mayor who's now been in office for just over six months.

He's already faced two controversial decisions in the city, one involvin a development abutting wetlands.

The other limiting some social service facilities like homeless shelters.

We talked with Mayor Ashley Harris, our first interview with him since he was a candidate for office.

Mr.

mayor, you're about to give your, first, State of the City address.

Your theme is commitment to community.

Tell me about that.

Well, you know it's pretty much is pretty much how I got here, you know, with the with the strong commitment to community.

And as mayor, you know, I look to, you know, get, get, get deepe into that, into that covenant, you know, it is things that our residents deserve.

And for the most part, it's just, you know, tender loving care, you know, having leaders, that truly care about, the state of the city and how our residents ar treated and, and how they can, you know, have a good quality of life.

So, so this is just reinforcing, you know, this, this state of the city is just pretty much just going to reinforce that and then let people kno where we where we are currently and where we look to go with this new found energy.

And I don't want to steal anything from your address that's upcoming, but what i the state of the city right now?

How do you see it?

Well, I, I, I like what I see.

It's it's promising.

We have, in a good in a bad way.

We have a ton of room for improvement.

You know, years past that may look negative, but now looking toward, the present and the future, you know, that, you know, it looks like sunny days.

There is no there's no secret, you know, the city has, you know, issues and concern we still need to work through.

And and I am going to explain how we are diligently, trying to achieve our goals.

You, took office about seven months ago.

And so you've been in the chair for a while, but not a very long time.

Is there anything that surprised you?

Because a campaign is one thing.

Governing is quite another.

Yes.

You know, this, this mayorship, it has a lot of moving parts and, and and, the, the thing about it is, you know, just staying on top of everything, you know, I've learned that, good support system is essential.

You know, there's thing that I can't do by myself, and, you know, within, withi and outside of the city council.

So it's just it's just having a good support system, making sure you on top of everything, it's very important to try to get back with everybody.

So nothing falls through the cracks.

So that is a job all on its own.

I know that, I know that one small aspect of it is, you know, making sure emails are checked every day.

And, you know, like I said, with me being, you know, typically a boots on the ground guy, you know, email is something that, that I, I, I haven't been accustomed to checking regularly.

So with this new role, you know, that's something that that that I'm, I'm, I'm, you know, making a point to stay on top of.

Well, an you really ran on transparency.

So I assume part of that is the communications.

Yes.

That would be the email system as well.

Are you happy with what you've done so far, or has it been a bigger climb than you thought to be?

As transparent as you want?

Yeah, you know that yes, I have, I'm satisfied.

But you know, even with that answer, it's bittersweet because you know, I, ran on the campaign saying that I would not kick kick anything, any issue down the curb.

You will never hear me say, oh that was a past administration.

You'll never hear me say, oh, I didn't have anything to do with that.

So with, with with taking challenges on day one as if they're my own, as if they're our own.

You know that that is the that is the bitter part.

You know, naturally, you want to say, hey, I didn't have anything to do with that.

But, you know, the city, the city we deserve.

We deserve leaders that's going to step up to the plate on day one and and take those issues as if we've been married to them all along.

So you know that that that is the bitter part right there.

But the sweet part is someone taking responsibility, you know, for, fo for the direction, of, of where we've been and the direction of where we're going.

So that's the sweet part.

I do want to tal about two controversial issues that you had to face, in your first few months.

One is the, social services licensing ordinance.

That really a lot of people, as you well know, think it's terribly unfair to, the unfortunates, in, in Rock Island.

You vetoed it, but still you lost out on this fight.

What are you saying to those that are trying to help the homeless, in Rock Island?

You know, keep keep pushing you know, let's keep fighting, you know, you know, the thing the thing about it is that is the humane thing to do, and and and it's unfortunate that that the city, our list of priorities doesn't list that high enough right now.

And and and and to to the city's credit, you know, to our credit, you know, we are we are trying to address th vulnerable population situation and at the same time slightly on a lesser note, still honor and respect the wishes of our downtown residents and our downtown businesses.

That is a fine line to walk.

The social service ordinance.

It did not do a good job in walking that line.

So so it it can use som improvements, some adjustments.

And we're looking forward to, you know, being held fully accountable by anything that may be right or wrong or controversial, an ordinance, that's nothing that we're running from.

Well, let's let's talk about it a little bit more because, I mean, there's the perception issue as well, that Rock Island is not that welcoming to, people that are not of, of means perhaps.

Is that the way?

Was that one of your big fears as well?

Is the perception as well as the reality of of helping these people?

Well, sir, you know, I, I realize what the real issue is, you know, when you, when you look at big cities, for, for for the amount o homeless people in big cities, they have a lot more homeless people than, than Rock Island does.

However, you know, it doesn' look it doesn't look like that because our, our downtown economy, it isn' it isn't as good as it could be.

You know, we still have a lo of vacant buildings down here.

You know, we have a lot of, businesses that still need to develop, that still need to open up, that still need to be attracted to the area.

So when you have that, when you have that, that, that lack that void, and then you ad a homeless population, it looks it looks bigger than what it i because they're the only people in the district right now.

And and truthfully, that is what that's what we're mad at.

You know, the lack of the lack of economic development, the lack of, you know, people coming down to the district shopping as of right now, you know, we have more homeless people down here than we do have people coming to patronize.

And and that's a tough pill to swallow.

So obviously, you know, you would want to I take this with take this with a grain of salt.

But obviously you would want to point the finger or point the blame or, or take that frustration out on something.

And in this case, it's prove to be our vulnerable population.

And that's something that, yo know, I, I will not stand for.

But I realize our true issues here.

The other controversia issue might have been the Milan Bottoms, development, the development of a cannabis, sale area and a truck stop so to speak, that was located, awfully close to wetlands.

A number of studies saying that it is safe, but but a lot of, ecologists and environmentalists still are upset with this development.

Absolutely.

And, and and, sir, you know, that that's that's something else.

You know, I revert back to, the lack of economi development, you know, when we when we listen to both sides, when we listen to citizens, when we listen to professionals, our residents here, the only thing that they were saying, in support of the of the development is that, hey, you know, we need the money.

You know, we need the tax revenue, which is true.

We desperately need that revenue.

But but the unfortunate part is the fact that we have to be in that desperation mode, that that we would just agree to anything and everything just for the money.

Now, I'm not saying that the development is a good or bad deal.

All I'm saying is I'm.

I wasn't comfortable with the fact that we needed it just for the money.

Now here, moving forward, when the city is in a better financial position, when we have economic development, when we have developers coming in, when we're retaining our business, when when we bring our tax base up, our population up, then then when we have controversial things, then we can get the true reason if if our citizens of Rock Island want it or not.

But it would not just be because we need the money.

And that's something that, you know, that disappoints me right now.

The fact that that that we pretty much we had to go through with it just for financial, just for financial reasons.

Well, I've talked a lot about 2025.

We're of course, in 2026, you have a forward vision for this coming year in your, state of the city address.

What's your top priority for 2026?

Economic development and the support thereof.

That's that's, that's that has been our gaping hole for year over year.

And that's something that I'm looking to put the the put the strategic plan in place with the, with the manpower and resources behind it to really move the dial.

It's one thing to say economic development.

It's one thing to to implement a plan.

But if you don't have the people, if you don't have the resources, if you don't have, the unwavering support behind there its just going to be a paperweight.

And that's what we've been going through as a city for year over year.

And that's going to be the one thing that changes.

Mr.

Mayor, thats all the time I have.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Hey, thank you Jim.

I appreciate it.

Our thanks to Mayor Ashley Harris of Rock Island.

In a moment, we open our minds with a trip to ancient Egypt.

Unless you'd rather learn to play the ukulele.

That's still ahead.

But first, the January weather may leave you a little cold.

We do have some great events to warm your spirits, thanks to visit Quad Cities.

Check out the things t do this week in the Quad Cities.

2026 is the year for new hobbies and fun crafts.

Try calligraphy at Front Stree Pub and Eatery on January 27th.

Next, the ice rink will open early for students to skate before regular public hours.

Don't miss out on the fun!

Comedian and actor Drew Lynch is making a stop at Rhythm City Casino Resort for his comedy tour.

All ages are welcome.

Then sample from local, regional and national breweries at the QCCA Draft and Craft Beer Festival.

Finally, enjoy this hilarious murder mystery that everyone will enjoy a Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse.

For more events like these, check out our events calendar at VisitQuadCities.com Since 1979, a series of classes on various topics over four straight Sunday afternoons has been offered to the public as a public educational outreach to adults in the cities.

It's called CommUniversity.

Held in February at Black Hawk College.

The topics range from chess to crocheting, playing the ukulele, to studying Flemish painters, from learning about American Sign Language to dealing with your daily life in difficult times.

It's some 22 different class offerings.

One of the instructors, Brian Alm, is an Egyptologis specializing in ancient Egypt, and he joined us to talk about the old and the new at CommUniversity.

So what got you intereste in teaching for CommUniversity?

I mean, it is kind of a different type of concept than a regular classroom.

Yeah.

Well, first of all, it's a wonderful institution.

It's just a real treasure for a community to have to have a thing like CommUniversity, and then the huge variety of things you can take in the humanities, arts, personal enrichment, history, things you could have learned to teach the ukulele.

That's one of the classes.

Yeah.

Or learn how to crochet.

Yeah, exactly.

And and learn how to play chess.

I mean, these are all things that somebody wants to do.

It's really remarkable.

You know all... So anyhow it's a it's a great institution.

And, and, I had such a huge love of ancient Egypt that, you know, you look for a place to share it.

You know, it's it's it's no fun.

Just to know stuff.

It's only fun when you can share it with somebody else.

Well, and it is a classroom.

It is, two hour session, four of them on Sundays in the afternoon.

It's it's it's not really a class.

It's really a nice laid back chance.

And you can ask questions that, let's be honest, when we were 18, 18 to 22 year olds we sat with and took our notes.

Here you can really participate and learn so much more about these issues, in your case, ancient Egypt.

Yeah, it's it's always amazing how interested people are.

I've had people I know, 2 or 3 people who have taken this course, six times.

And you've taught it for 17 years.

16 years.

Okay.

And I keep saying, you know, I, I've got a lot of people who repeat they'll be there 2 or 3 years, but, a couple of them, you know, six years and I've I've asked you, you know, why?

Why come back?

Now, we do change the course each time.

It's not the same course every time.

But I always cover all the basic stuff for all the newcomers.

And I try to throw in something, you know, special for the people who repeat.

But I ask people, why?

Why are you?

I'm not complaining, but why are you taking the course so many times?

And they say it's cumulative.

It just keeps adding.

It is such a complex and such a long culture that you can't possibly absorb it in a month.

And so they come back year after year and just keep adding to to their knowledge.

Is this year a little different because you're going to be concentratin a little more on hieroglyphics?

It's not going to be very much different.

I'm, I'm going to spend more time on, on, on the hieroglyphics, the hieroglyphic, element of the language.

But, we're only going to do, you know, maybe a part of one session on that.

And the other interesting part about, the the search for answers for, Egypt or Egyptia history is the power of women.

So early on in their society, more than Nefertiti, more than Cleopatra, women had a significant power in Egypt.

Yeah, long before Nefertiti and Cleopatra and, And uh, it's hard to imagine an ancient culture where women had as much power and effect as they did in ancient Egypt, and as much, and rights that they had.

There, a woman could, do contracts, could have her own money.

There's a there's one case on record of a woman who loaned her husband money, and, and charged him 30% interest, and it was perfectly legal.

She could do that.

There were women who ran businesses who, served as ferry pilots.

And those were just the commoners.

And you get to the royalty, and there were many women who many who served as, regents for their minor, sons, and ruled the country as regents.

There were some who were kings, and I specifically say kings there.

There was no word in English in the, Egyptian language, for, Queen.

It was always King's great wife or king's wife.

And so when they became monarchs in their own right, they were kings.

And there were four who were absolutely clearly kings.

There was another one who almost certainly was that would be Nefertiti.

And then there are three more who were probably kings.

And so you, you have like eight who were either absolutely were or were pretty close to being kings.

And then you have dozens who were, ruling Egypt as regents.

Well, I, I, I am I'm a lover of American history.

But American history is like this compared to Egyptian history.

That's gone on and on and on.

Is there a certain, era and I'm sure that's a period or or epoch for, for, Egyptians.

That's far more interesting to you than the others.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's it's sort of b and not it's sort of by chance, not by design, but it's the New Kingdom.

The New Kingdom, is the.

It's called the Empire.

It's when they first had a standing army, there was lots of, incursions into areas, east and south of Egypt.

The great temples, some of the most famous people, you know, if, if you were to write an opera about ancient Egypt, it would be set in the New Kingdom.

And in fact, a guy di that.

(ha, ha) Giuseppe Verdi.

He wrote Aida.

And that was pure New Kingdom.

The grandure, the pomp, the the, if you if you think about something just beyond life scale, that was the New Kingdom.

And so I kind of got just sifted into the New King.... I always used to say that, I was a generalist, but, but, over the years, I just got more and more, and more into the New Kingdom.

Most of the stuff that I've published, has, well, not most, but, a lot of it has, has dealt with it, the New Kingdom.

You have immersed youself, I mean, you were in the US Navy.

Yes.

You were actually, I want to say University of Chicago.

Am I wrong?

Yes, I did.

Grad school.

As an English... Yeah.

Professor.

Yeah, I... And now you have immersed yourself in Egyptology and, and one of the things that you're going to be offering for CommUniversity students is kind of an early guide.

If somebody is interested in going to Egypt, you're going to help people.

Yeah.

Kind of say, oh, don' forget about going here or here.

That's a great idea.

If you're thinking of traveling, take this class.

You know, people, take the class, often they they take i because they've been to Egypt, and they want to know what they saw.

Ha, ha, ha, yeah.

Others take i because they're going to Egypt or want to go someday and want to know what they're going to see.

But no tour guide could even barely scratched the surfac of what we do over four weeks.

You know, at CommUniversity, and people will go over there and they don't come back and say, you know, I had no idea.

You know, we never even got anywhere near this depth.

In the, in this tour we spent thousands of dollars for, but but it's predictable you know, I mean, we are really we go into ancient Egypt, at CommUniversity.

We we don't do Egypt lite.

We really like to get into the depth and breadth of it.

And, you really give people their money's worth.

For those people who are thinking, you know what?

Maybe this is something.

I did it because you got to get out of the house in February.

It was just a great Sunday afternoon.

And why not learn something?

And you got to meet other people that might have a similar interest.

That seems to be kind o at the heart of CommUniversity.

That is now what since the 1970s, first at St.

Ambrose, now at Blackhawk College, that it really is.

It's a great name for it.

It's a community university.

Yeah.

It is.

People get so enthused about ancient Egypt and it's completely understandable.

When I was 12 years old, my parents took me to see the mummie at the Field Museum in Chicago, and I was spellbound, and I started reading.

It just kept, kind of never quit So I really, I, I can't understand why people get so enthused about it.

It becomes a passion.

It's the most intriguing, most complicated culture, I think, in the history of... Mankind?

Mankind.

Yeah.

And it is so, so long.

You know, I use this chart, you know, I it's like an accordion thing.

I unfold it.

And it covers Egyptian histor from the first formation of the of the nation of 3100 BC, up to, the, the end of, of Egypt as sovereign state, ancient Egypt.

And this thing, it has, three inches per century.

And I unfold this thing and it goes out like to... Yeah.

...15ft or something.

And, I have one little pink stripe on it.

There's about this long.

And what do you think that is?

That's the United States.

Imagine having a sovereign nation for 3100 years with the same culture, same language, the same artistic traditions, the same canons of art, and, thought, mythology... Architecture.

...yes.

Sculptures.

It's an amazing culture, and it's accessible through you at CommUniversity.

Right.

Thank you so much for joining us, I appreciate it.

Thanks for having me.

Our thanks to Brian Alm, a com university instructor who's a lecturer on ancient Egypt, written in stone.

Once again, CommUniversity 2026s two hour classes are held each Sunday afternoon in Februar at Blackhawk College in Moline.

The classes start each Sunday at two in the afternoon, and they cost $40 for the entire month.

You can register now by heading to the Blackhawk College website bhc.edu Registration deadline is January 29th.

This year marks 250 years since America declared its independence in 1776 and leading up to the 4th of July.

We're asking people about their Civic Spark, why they chose their caree and how it impacts our society.

Circa 21 has been a gem in Rock Island, providing a dinner theater experience in what was once the Fort Armstrong Theater.

But keeping the arts alive is not an easy job.

So we asked Circa 21s Bren Hitchcock what his civic spark is that keeps the stage open.

[quiet music] I got started, I wanted to work with my dad and that was the big thing.

And so, and his vision for this business was to entertain people, to have people come in, give them an evening of entertainment, to give them, you know, to step away from everything going on in their lives and just have some fun.

And I think that's what we need more of in this country.

And, and so it was I saw the impact that he was making on the community when I was younger and decided, that's what that's what I want to do, too.

I don't want to be an actor because I was terrible as an actor.

But but to be on the business side and to and to run this business with him, has been very rewarding.

And I think, you know, this country just gives so many opportunities to to people like my dad, you know, a guy that was a college professor that had a big dream.

And that's one of the things that makes this country so amazing is that somebody with an idea, you know, with, with the right luck, you know, can can make this, into a huge business and, and have a huge impact, you know, in their community.

And I really feel like that's what my, my father did.

And, it's just my pleasure to continue that, you know, into the future and making sure that we can, and we can provide an entertainment opportunity for people to come out and have a good time.

[music ends] Our thanks to Brent Hitchcock with Circa 21 dinner theater in Rock Island.

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.

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