MOLINE, Ill. — Throughout 2023, News 8 published thousands of digital stories, covering everything from breaking news like the Davenport apartment collapse to more heartwarming stories like a WWII veteran and DeWitt resident being honored during Chicago Cubs opening day. Out of all the stories we covered, these were the top 10 most viewed articles of 2023.
One resident of the collapsed Davenport apartment building had her insurance company deny her rental insurance claim because the collapse was "on the building owner." Former WQAD photojournalist Linnea Hoover was inside the building taking a nap when it collapsed. She contacted her insurance company the night the tragedy happened, and GEICO told her they wouldn't honor her rental coverage, which only covered $5,000 of personal expenses.
"We're not helping you with hotel, we're not helping you with clothing, we're not helping you with anything, and we're denying your claim because it's on the building owner," Hoover said.
You're going to see News 8's morning meteorologist Andrew Stuzke on this list a few times; his "Ask Andrew" segments breaking down weather and science news have earned a lot of attention!
In this article, Andrew broke down the winter weather outlook from the NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. This outlook gives guidance in terms of what to expect for rain, snow, and temperature patterns from December 2023 through February 2024.
Given the ongoing conditions and the expectation that we will be dealing with a strong El Niño, the overall temperature pattern is expected to be slightly warmer than average. That doesn't mean we won't be experiencing some of those bitterly cold stretches of weather. It's almost guaranteed once we get into January and February as El Niños typically weaken the polar vortex, meaning its movement is more sporadic and free. In terms of snowfall, near-normal to slightly below-normal snowfall is expected in our region based on current trends.
On Sunday, May 28, Davenport became the center of national news when "The Davenport" apartment building collapsed, killing three people. At least six stories caved in on the west side of the building facing the parking lot, with some apartment rooms destroyed.
"Multiple agencies responded with the sole purpose of finding people and getting them out of the building," Mayor Mike Matson said in a press conference the night of the collapse. "There are some people unaccounted for, but we're continuing to locate them and search."
Former News 8 photojournalist Linnea Hoover lived in the building and was home when the collapse happened, describing the feeling as similar to an earthquake.
Here's another Ask Andrew story that caught readers' attention; in late March, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars gathered together and were visible in the western sky. These planets weren't visible in a straight line, instead taking on the shape of an arc from just above the horizon to much higher in the sky, near the quarter moon.
Several smaller alignments also took place throughout the year, as well. However, if you're hoping to get a view like the one in March again, you're going to have to wait a while; the next most impressive planetary alignment is on track to arrive on Sept. 8, 2040. That's when five planets will join the crescent moon in the sky for another beautiful display that is sure to please the eye.
A WQAD viewer first tipped us off to this story when they sent photos of a fiery crash along I-80 between Sheffield and Princeton in June.
The collision involved three semi-trucks, one truck going westbound on I-80 lost control and crossed over the median, crashing into another semi going eastbound. Another semi-truck driving eastbound collided with the semis, and all vehicles caught fire after the collision. 51-year-old Kurk R. McCornack of Oklahoma City was killed, one of the other drivers sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and the other was left uninjured.
Over several months, many News 8 viewers sent us questions about strangely moving lights they spotted in the sky at night, with many community members wondering what they even were. Fortunately, Andrew had the answers!
While these appear to be star-like, they are in reality satellites launched by SpaceX, an American aerospace company, under the brand Starlink. The purpose of these satellites is to provide worldwide, high-speed wireless internet access to even the most remote areas of the planet. Coverage is offered to more than 60 countries and more than 5,000 individual satellites have been launched into low earth orbit.
These satellites are often launched in groups of about 50, taking advantage of what's referred to as plane drift, allowing them to cover large parts of the globe after final positioning. What we see as a perfect line of star-like objects in the sky is each satellite upon launch drifting to its final position in orbit, which can take a few months to complete.
On Sunday, June 18, community members said goodbye to a piece of Quad Cities history, as Helm Group began demolishing the eastbound span of the old I-74 bridge. The work took a lot more than just a day, but News 8 viewers wanted to get a look at the farewell from every angle.
In the story linked above, News 8 compiled all of our different views of the bridge's destruction, from our photographers on the ground to our BridgePointe cameras nearby.
A few days after the Davenport apartment collapse, News 8 learned about a call made on Saturday, May 27, warning first responders of the impending collapse at 324 Main Street.
News 8 obtained the 911 call audio and the call for service report from the incident. The call came into the Scott Emergency Communications Center at 2:46 p.m. The caller said one of his workers was cleaning the area near the parking lot on the southwest corner of the building and noticed the exterior wall wasn't "looking good." Working crews were also at the building working on repairs.
"My guy said he looked at it and there's actually someone working right now," the caller said, "and they're trying to figure out what's going on with it. Just in case, I'd rather have someone stop and look at it."
The call log shows what the Davenport Fire Department did in response. The unit was dispatched at 2:48 p.m., just two minutes after the initial call. The unit arrived on the scene at 2:51 p.m. and cleared out by 2:55 p.m. In total, the Davenport Fire Department was at the scene for about four minutes the day before the collapse. However, records do not show what the firefighters did during that time or what steps the first responders took after clearing the call.
On March 10, Less than a month after high-security inmates were bussed out of the prison, the Federal Bureau of Prisons announced that United States Penitentiary Thomson's mission change would be housing low-security inmates.
Thomson will "ultimately house 1,178 low-security inmates; relieving some of the current overpopulation pressures the BOP is experiencing at low-security facilities nationwide," according to an email sent announcing the change. The Bureau of Prisons told News 8 back in February that it recently discovered "significant concerns with respect to institutional culture and compliance with BOP policies" at the prison.
All of this came on the heels of reported violence among inmates and staff, drug exposure in the mailroom and calls for the warden's removal. News 8 previously reported on the hundreds of alleged sexual assaults from inmates and drug exposures. The U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into USP Thomson in June 2022.
Rounding out our list of top stories, we have a case that captured the eyes and ears of true crime fans across the country.
On Wednesday, Jan. 11 around 6 p.m., the Eldridge Police Department was made aware of 19-year-old Madison Russo, who was suspected of stealing over $37,303 from over 439 donors by using false claims that she, "suffered from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Stage 2 Pancreatic Cancer and a tumor, the size of a football, that wrapped around her spine."
Russo shared her story publicly through social media and a GoFundMe page, which was featured in the North Scott Press newspaper on Oct. 18. Russo also discussed her cancer journey as a guest speaker at St. Ambrose University, The National Pancreatic Foundation and on the Project Purple podcast.
Investigators learned that via her GoFundMe, Russo accepted private donations from other businesses, nonprofit organizations, school districts and Quad Citizens. Subpoenas for medical records were obtained which revealed that Russo has never been diagnosed with any form of cancer or tumor from any medical facilities within the Quad Cities or surrounding communities.
Russo was eventually given a suspended ten-year prison sentence in October following her conviction.
