Muddy the river online

QUINCY HAS A new online media outlet, the Muddy River News. It's being staffed by former Herald-Whig reporters and editors, and it's bankrolled by a local attorney and banker. 

This is no flash in the pan project. It has serious backing and is going hard after local advertising dollars. It's not a personal grudge outlet like the online Quincy Journal Bob Gough ran with the legendary and late Chip "Tookie" Gerdes in 2008. It didn't last long, but it made traditional media stand up and take notice of the new player in town, the online media. Muddy River has also recognized the power of the podcast, unlike the rest of Quincy media.

Gough started the site and quickly hired former Whig news and sports guy David Adam. Steve Eighinger was hired to write columns for Muddy River, and he has a huge audience in the area thanks to his many years of writing about the Quincy Raceways. 

The latest hire was a major coup - Matt Schuckman, who was a sports write and editor at The Whig for more than 20 years. Muddy River is launching a sports section in August and getting Matt to come aboard is a huge plus. It will be very interesting to see what the section covers geographically and if Matt is going to be a one-man show, a daunting task in a sports-crazed area. 

These guys are good at what they do and they are my friends, so I'm not going to give some overanalyzed dribble about Muddy River going after The Whig and other media outlets. I wish them the best of luck and they appear to be serious about entering the local media fray. 

The site is free, unlike the Whig's online edition, which gives you five free clicks and then puts up a paywall. 

Muddy River has a huge advantage right off the bat because it has little brick and mortar issues. The Whig staff has steadily shrunk and they are still in a big building at the corner of Fifth and Jersey. Muddy River is located in the Maine Center just a block or so away at Sixth and Maine.

I hope both outlets do well. Competition is a good thing, and it might force the new owners of The . Whig to up their game. Or maybe not. I still have friends at The Whig even though I left nine years ago, so I wish them the best too.

I don't read much local media coverage unless it's a big event. Muddy River won't change that. But it is a product of our digital age and shows how much our media consumption and habits have changed, and more power to them for starting a new endeavor.

The flood of '93 anniversary

TODAY IS THE 28th anniversary of the West Quincy levee breaking. It was a seminal moment in Quincy history, and if you lived here in 1993, you still remember where you were and what you were doing on July 16 a little after 8 p.m.

James Scott was famously interviewed on WGEM right after the levee broke, and Sheryl was watching. She called her sister (they knew the Scott family) and said, "Jimmy Scott broke the levee. Turn on the TV, they are interviewing him. If anyone did it, he did." Here's an interview with the officer that interviewed him after he broke the levee.

Scott was convicted twice of causing the levee to fail, and sentenced to life in prison. He is eligible for parole in two years, the 30th anniversary of the break, and his story is again generating national media attention you'll probably hear about soon.

Did James Scott break the levee, and did he deserve a life sentence? You'll get varied opinions from people in Quincy. Some are convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt. Others think it's a conspiracy. Others think it would be a mistake for Scott to return to Quincy, even after all these years, because it's still a raw and gaping wound in this city's history.

When a journalist from the outside comes in to investigate, they often fail to realize the massive  emotional toll the levee break took on our community. Almost the entire city engaged one way or another to keep the levee from breaking. Businesses paid their employees to fill bags with sand or help at the levee itself. When it broke, it did more than flood thousands of acres and cause millions in damages. It broke the hearts of many people invested in keeping the levee intact.

People that lived in Missouri and worked in Quincy (and vise versa) had to figure out the logistics of getting to their job, since both bridges between Quincy and West Quincy flooded and couldn't be used. Sheryl remembers flying in a 4-seater plane back and forth from Hannibal to Quincy to get to work. She'd stay at her parents during the week and fly to her home in Taylor, Mo., to see her husband on the weekends. The housing issue in Missouri was so bad that they sold the trailer to someone that had lost their home and was desperate for a place to live. The flying back and forth to Quincy scared the crap out of her every time she had to do it, so selling the place was a good move.

I wasn't here in 1993. I moved to Quincy three years later. In 2008 we had a flood similar in nature, and I spent much of that summer writing stories for The Whig about the heroic efforts to keep the levee intact. The late Chip Gerdes hooked me up with a Knapheide sandbagging crew on the levee itself, and I spent a harrowing night on patrol right on top of the levee.

Also in 2008, I got a call from former Time Magazine writer Adam Pitluk. He wrote a book about James Scott and the levee break called Damned To Eternity, and it was a fascinating account from the outside about the case. I was the only journalist in Quincy to take the book seriously, and Pitluk helped me with access to James Scott himself. It was the first time in 15 years Scott talked with a member of the Quincy media, and it was among the best stories I ever did.

Whatever you think of James Scott and his checkered past, you can't deny it is a compelling story, and its little wonder it still draws interest today. 

 

Stuff for the bike and great local service

THIS SUMMER I'VE rediscovered the joy of riding my Trek bike around Quincy. I've been pedaling around some of the neighborhoods and it's a great way to unwind and get exercise after a long day at the store. 

I decided to get a rearview mirror and a few other things for the bike. I could have gone online, but it was an easy decision to visit Madison & Davis at Eighth and Jefferson. There are other places to buy bicycles in Quincy but Madison & Davis has long been the standard around here in the local bike scene. Owner Greg Davis made a huge investment a few years ago in the property and it's much appreciated on the south end of town.

The service was outstanding. Ryan Hildebrand knew exactly what to get and made the choices easy. More importantly, he installed the mirror and the odometer I bought, because I never would have figured it out, even though it's easy and makes sense.

Madison & Davis and Second String Music have a lot in common. We both consider the internet to be major competition. We are both having supply issues right now, though they are slowly getting better for us. Ryan said the wait for some bikes is a year or longer, and some customers misplace the blame and get frustrated with the retail outlet.

To me, Madison & Davis is much more than a bike shop. It's a place to get good information and service. It's peace of mind, because you never know what you might get when ordering online. And it's more important than ever to do business with our home-grown retailers and keep our dollars local. We are coming back after a long COVID-19 nightmare and small businesses are the backbone of our communities.

Now I know what's coming up behind me and how far I've pedaled. And I got great service and advice to boot. Thank you Ryan and Madison & Davis, and three cheers for us little retail guys!

Don't miss out this weekend

I DON'T WANT to hear anybody say there is nothing to do in Quincy. Proof? It's time to gear up for another event-packed weekend in The Q.

It starts Friday with our Noon Blues series in Washington Park. This Friday we have a special double feature, with banjo player Gerry Lunt playing at 11:30 a.m. and the amazing Steve Rees performing at 12:30. Both these guys are incredible musicians, and we'll have food vendors and plenty of shade for you to enjoy right across the street from Second String Music.

Our Blues In The District performer Friday night is Kent Burnside, starting at 5:30. Cori and I (HartLyss) are playing at Revelry on the other side of the square at 8:30. 

Quincy native Ray Burke is back in town for a huge weekend at The Dock - his birthday bash with Humanity Street and friends is Friday night, and Saturday night he's putting on a Forever reunion with opening act The Pimpkatz. Check out the Reunion on the River. Ray now lives in California and he's been planning this weekend for a long time, and both nights will be killer.

Speaking of The Dock, there's a great bicycle event taking place Saturday morning for the Friends of the Trails. It's called the Terry Anastas Ultimate Ride and features challenges for all levels of bicycle enthusiasts. I'm intrigued about the Mountain Bike event through the Bill Klingner trail, because I've been riding my Trek almost every night after work and I've never been through the trail. You can sign up online and it looks like a great family event.

The weather is supposed to be warm as usual, and hopefully the rain stays away Saturday. Get out and enjoy Quincy in the summer!