Each week, News 8’s Jim Mertens talks with area leaders, entertainers, community activists, and interesting characters who are part of the fabric of life in “The Cities”.
THIS EPISODE: It’s a city that’s reinventing itself.
Jim talks with the director of the newly created Downtown Bettendorf Organization, an arm of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce. What was once a bedroom community is now finding itself a magnet for new growth. And with reconstruction of the massive Interstate 74 bridge, Bettendorf is finding opportunities in every downtown block.
Ryan Jantzi sits down to talk about the ways he plans to make sure what’s already downtown prospers while seeking new projects and investments that are transforming a once sleepy part of the Quad Cities.
You can catch entire episodes of “The Cities” on WQPT, public television for the Quad Cities region, Thursdays at 7 p.m., Sundays at 4 p.m., and Mondays at 6 p.m.