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WQAD Year in Review | Quad Cities News

2022 is heading out the door now! Here's a look at our hardest news stories from the past year.

MOLINE, Ill. — WQAD News 8 is now on Roku and Amazon Fire TV. Download the apps today to stream live newscasts and watch live video on demand.

If 2022 has taught us anything, it's that time moves quickly and a lot happens every day. 

From rising costs due to inflation to crime to railroad workers, News 8 has covered a lot this year. Below you'll find the full list of topics with hyperlinks to different pieces of our coverage. 

Watch more content like this on News 8's YouTube channel by clicking or tapping here

Inflation's impact on Quad Cities residents and businesses

Inflation has been a hot topic of discussion across the United States in 2022. 

News 8 spoke with several businesses and residents throughout the year on how this is impacting them. One such story is from April, when Devin Brooks met with Cookies and Dreams to talk about how rising costs had impacted them. 

News 8 continues to have weekly discussions with Quad Cities Investment Group's Mark Grywacheski about the economy. You can always find those stories on our YouTube channel. 

Death of Knox County Deputy Nicholas Weist

Knox County Sheriff's Deputy Nicholas Weist died on April 29 after a fleeing suspect hit him at the intersection of Highway 150 and 150th Avenue in Henry County.

At just 34 years old, Weist made a tremendous impact on his community. Those who knew him made sure he was remembered for who he was — a true community hero. 

The man accused of killing him is Daylon Richardson, 21, of Granite City, Illinois. According to online court records, Richardson's next pretrial appearance is scheduled for Jan. 17. 

East Moline Sgt. William Lind assaulted on the job

East Moline police Sgt. William Lind is still recovering after an assault that left him in critical condition in late October. He and his family penned a letter to the QC thanking everyone for their support during his recovery.

Adrian Rogers, the man accused of attacking Lind, has been deemed unfit for trial. His next hearing to establish his transfer to an Illinois facility will be on Dec. 28. 

Woman drives onto Interstate 74 Bridge pedestrian path, kills 2

Two out of three people hit on the newly built Interstate 74 Bridge pedestrian path in May died as a result of their injuries. Those individuals were Ethan Gonzalez, 21, and Anthony Castaneda, 18, both of Moline.

Chhabria Harris, 46, of East Moline initially faced 14 charges related to the accident. Half of those charges were dropped by Rock Island State's Attorney Dora Villarreal. Harris' next pretrial court date is set for Jan. 19. 

Impact of Uvalde school shooting felt in the Quad Cities

The 21 souls tragically stolen from Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, may have never made their way to the Quad Cities, but their stories echoed through the halls just the same.

Rock Island school resource officer Charles Butler made the trip to Uvalde within days of the shooting. 

"I did this on my own. I had to," Butler said. "I wanted to educate myself to understand. I wanted to see what tragedy looked like firsthand, so I knew what to bring back to my district. I wanted us to have those tough and transparent conversations about safety." 

Other SROs reflected on their own experiences with guns in school, including Mark Dallas, the officer credited with stopping a shooting at Dixon High School in 2018.

"It breaks my heart. It makes me extremely sad," Dallas said. "There's no way you would keep me in a hallway when that was happening." 

Railroad workers call for strike, change in culture on the tracks

One of the top stories of the year has been about BNSF Railway employees being disgruntled with a new attendance policy that they say would make it harder to take days off without retaliation. 

That potential strike impacted about 17,000 union workers. 

"Our job is not like the normal job," one employee told News 8 back in January. "Our only way to have time at home is to 'lay off.' We have no scheduled days off. This is the only way we have to be home for anything from a dentist appointment to a child's graduation or if we have COVID and are sick."

Railroads rejected sick time demands back in October, but Congress was able to avert it by December. Now, rail workers say that deal won't resolve their quality-of-life concerns

Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern rail merger in the Quad Cities

Canadian Pacific Railway filed an application to purchase Kansas City Southern in 2021, but the biggest steps were made in 2022.

Bettendorf OK'd the merger in July before Illinois lawmakers joined together to oppose it. Muscatine, LeClaire and Davenport followed Bettendorf in approving the merger shortly after. 

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