Shifted Elementary Zones Take Effect for New Academic Year
East Moline, IL · August 13, 2026
Yellow buses are back on the roads this morning as local classrooms gear up for their first full day.
The Lead
As East Moline School District 37 kicks off the 2026–2027 academic year, families across the city are adjusting to newly configured elementary attendance boundaries. The redistricting plan reshapes attendance zones for Bowlesburg, Hillcrest, Ridgewood, and Wells elementary schools to balance class sizes, optimize school bus routes, and ensure long-term operational efficiency. Driven by community feedback gathered over months of public forums, the district also rolled out an automated text messaging system to deliver real-time attendance updates directly to parents' phones. District administrators designed the new attendance zones to reduce overcrowding while keeping walking routes as safe as possible for neighborhood children. Parents can verify their updated school zone assignments and busing eligibility through the district's online portal.
Local Pulse
MidAmerican Begins Citywide Power Line Pruning Contract crews are trimming overhanging tree branches near power lines to prevent storm outages across local neighborhoods.
City Opens Bids for Downtown Parking Repaving Municipal contractors can submit proposals through late August to resurface public parking lots along the 15th Avenue corridor.
Today's Outlook
- High 80°F · Low 68°F — Rain (67% chance of precipitation)
- Keep an umbrella handy today as scattered rain showers are likely throughout the afternoon.
What's On Around Town
Rock Island: Downtown Baby Storytime Rock Island Library (401 19th St), 10:00–11:00 AM Free morning songs, rhymes, and early literacy play for toddlers.
Davenport: Alternating Currents Festival Downtown Davenport, 10:00 AM–1:00 AM Four days of live music, comedy, and film across forty venues.
Davenport: Prison Live in Concert Raccoon Motel (304 E 3rd St), 6:00 PM Intimate indie rock performance in downtown Davenport — grab tickets early.
Port Byron: Madison Loree Electric Violin Rams Riverhouse (428 N High St), 7:00 PM High-energy pop and rock covers on electric violin along the riverfront.
Spotlight & Story
- East Moline Post Office Mural
- Painted in January 1936 by New Deal artist Edgar Britton, the "Early Settlers" mural inside the main lobby depicts regional pioneer farming and industry. Funded through the Treasury's Section of Fine Arts, it remains one of Illinois's intact Depression-era public artworks.
East Moline Daily Digest — compiled from local sources as of 6 AM. For breaking updates, follow your local newsrooms.
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