Crooked Cactus Band Takes the Stage Tuesday in Rock Island

The Crooked Cactus Band also know as Los Nopales Chuecos will perform this week at the Tuesday, June 8 Starlight Review Summer Concert Series in Rock Island at 7 pm in the Rock Island Lincoln Park band shell.

Come early at 5 pm and you can purchase dinner or snacks from the Hy-Vee Grille.

The Crooked Cactus Band is the perfect mix of Latin & classic rock. What sets them apart from other bands in our area is their dynamic trumpet section and the ability to fuse Mexican and American music genres. Plus, you'll find our friend Mike Ortiz in the band!

All summer long you can enjoy a concert every week as part of the summer concert series. Each week KIIK 104.9 will tell you about the musical guest playing and a bit about each performance. Here are some pics of the band playing last week in LeClaire Park.

Every Tuesday all summer long we invite you to spend the evening with KIIK 104.9 and enjoy live music. It's the 65^th year for the Starlight Review Concert Series at Lincoln Park in Rock Island. Each week features live music from a variety local artists each week.

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Open the KIIK 104.9 app to see who is playing each week and find out more about each musical grou. The music starts at 7:00 pm, but if you come early at 5:00 pm, Hy-Vee Grille will be there to serve up dinner and the Rock Island Parks staff have included a variety of pies & ice cream too.

The concert series is presented by Friendship Manor, Rock Island Hy-Vee and the Quad Cities Greatest Hits, KIIK 104.9. We hope you'll join us this Tuesday and every week all summer long.

Here's the lineup for the rest of the summer.

6/15 Gray Wolf
6/22 The Hotrods
6/29 20th Anniversary Concert: Josh Duffee Orchestra
7/6 The Night People
7/13 River City 6

See you at the Lincoln Park band shell!

LOOK: Here are the 25 best places to live in Iowa

Stacker compiled a list of the best places to live in Iowa using data from Niche. Niche ranks places to live based on a variety of factors including cost of living, schools, health care, recreation, and weather. Cities, suburbs, and towns were included. Listings and images are from realtor.com.

On the list, there's a robust mix of offerings from great schools and nightlife to high walkability and public parks. Some areas have enjoyed rapid growth thanks to new businesses moving to the area, while others offer glimpses into area history with well-preserved architecture and museums. Keep reading to see if your hometown made the list.

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Iowa's Island City

There is something unique about every town, but there is really something special about Sabula, IA. Known as "Iowa's Island City," Sabula is the only town in the state of Iowa that is entirely on an island. While not a lot of people have been to, or live in Sabula, it is a quaint little town nestled right on the Mississippi River.

Before we show you around "Iowa's Island City," let me give you the history of Sabula. Sabula was established in 1835, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis. Isaac Dorman and a man named Hinkley crossed the river from the Illinois side on a log and decided to settle on what is now Sabula. An Ohio couple, James and Margaret Woods would settle on Sabula about a year later in April of 1836. Their son, Dr. E. A. Woods would purchase Hinkley's interest in the claim. Charles Swan and W. H. Brown would soon purchase Dorman's interest. The three men, Woods, Swan and Brown later had the land plotted in 1837.

The idea behind plotting the land was because there was no town between Lyons (north Clinton) and Bellevue. The plot of the new town was recorded in Dubuque as this area was part of Dubuque county at the time, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis.

According to Island City Harbor's website, Sabula went through a few names before landing on the official town name. In 1837, Sabula was first called Carrollport. Residents of the town didn't like the name because there was a man's name who was Carroll who had a bad reputation. The town changed its name to Charleston, after early settler Charles Swan. The only issue was that there was already a town called Charleston in Iowa which caused much confusion.

In 1846 the settler’s decided to find a name. Island City Harbor's website says that because of it’s sandy soil, William Hubble suggested the town be called "Sabulum" which is Latin for sand. A party was being held around the time the town name was being discussed, when a woman, supposed to be Miss Harriet Hudson, suggested the town be called Sabula as it was easier to pronounce and sounded more elegant, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis.

Sabula did not actually become an island until 1939. According to Wikipedia, in the 1930's, the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the lock and dam system. In 1939, Lock and Dam No. 13 between Clinton, IA and Fulton, IL was built which caused the bottomlands west of the town permanently flooded. With the Mississippi River east of the town, this created the "Island City." A levee was built around Sabula in 1957 for protection, according to Island City Harbor's website. This also allowed for the south sand pit to be turned into a boat harbor.

I would like to thank my mom Beth, her fiancé Matt, my brother Nolan and my wife Ellie for accompanying me to Sabula. We always have a blast on our trips and this one was no exception.

It's now time to introduce you to Sabula, Iowa, Iowa's Island City.