River Cities Reader Podcast

Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra discuss films and why some of them exist. Sometimes, there are no easy answers to that question.

Films:

Previews:

“Karate Kid: Legends,” “Bring Her Back,” and “Mountainhead”

Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra discuss films reviewed by Schulz, and await forthcoming releases.

The Discussed:

The Forthcoming:

“Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,” “Lilo and Stitch,” “The Last Rodeo,” and “Friendship”

Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra throw down on the latest batch of movies:

Previews:

“Final Destination: Bloodlines,” “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” and “Nonnas”

River Cities’ Reader publisher Todd McGreevy talks with WQUD GM Aaron Dail on May 13, 2025, concerning the May issue of the Reader, Issue 1033. Dail says that anyone who wants to pitch Netflix a series called City of Davenport would need look no further than the Reader’s coverage. One could get a whole season’s worth from the fallout from the 28 May 2023 collapse of The Davenport — an ostensible drama of intrigue, official-capacity opacity, and Scott County equivocation, which plays like an old Three Stooges short directed by David Mamet. And that’s just a season.

Timeline: Elected Scott County Officials Keeping Public Information Secret Cost Taxpayers $93,000: Scott County Played Games Even After Iowa Supreme Court Ruling

Kathleen McCarthy provides a timeline of legal buffoonery that has followed from Davenport’s violation of the Iowa Open Meetings Act when it paid out roughly $1.9M in settlement agreements to departing staffers during a closed-session meeting, without offering so much as a pretense of eliciting public input on the matter.

Scott County Attorney Keeping DCI Report on 324 Main Collapse Secret Will Cost Taxpayers … Again

David Ezra Sidran PhD, who has earlier provided a separate timeline (with receipts) on The Davenport collapse, and the city’s response to it, offered a scathing rebuke at the 24 April 2025 Scott County Board of Supervisors meeting of then-County attorney Kelli Cunningham’s attempt to keep the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation’s report on the collapse a secret. The above link is a transcription/distillation of his remarks that day. Were it not for his filing of Freedom of Information requests to free up the incriminating records — and, since we are now praising famous folks, were it not for Dr Allen Diercks and Diane Holst (a former Scott County Board of Supervisor) hiring Attorney Mike Meloy to compel the County towards greater transparency — we would all pay a serious price in allowing city government to run its operations under cover of darkness. In the long term, $93,000 in legal fees for Mr Meloy to get the city to own up to its lack of transparency is a mere pittance — though if the city and the county have a serious jones for secrecy, like a heroin addict for their needle, they should, before long, expect to pay Mr Meloy another $93,000.

Really: These folks should take a hard look at themselves and their practices. If your actions result in a court case and your side loses money, you’ve got a problem.

Debris in Davenport Is Gone, but the Secrets Remain: May 15 Iowa Public Information Board Might Hear County Attorney Request to Keep DCI Report on 324 Main Street Collapse Hidden

Randy Evans, the Executive Director of The Iowa Freedom of Information Council, felt compelled sufficiently to remind Scott County of the byways of the Iowa Open Records Handbook, and how these public servants more often observe the bylaws in the breach as opposed to the practice. This is Ethics 101 stuff. You would think they would have learned these lessons back in school.

Wild, at Heart: Wolfskill & the Wild Play in Support of Their EP Debut “Feral Heart,” May 30 at Ragged Records

Mike Schulz provides the cover story on Madison Anthony and J Wolfskill, local musicians who collaborated on their music project, Wolfskill & the Wild Play, and fell in love. Schulz really drills down on the whole songwriting process here; it’s got insights for days.

Music Section

A lot of great shows this month, and yet to come into June. Check it out online.

Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra talk film and drop plot twists on the clown movie:

This is what Schulz saw:

Previews:

“Clown in a Cornfield,” “Shadow Force,” “Fight or Flight,” and “The Shrouds”

Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra talk film — and we’re talking a lot of film here. Can’t wait to see Final Destination Bloodlines:

Previews:

“Thunderbolts*,” “Another Simple Favor,” “The Surfer,” “Rust”

“The Accountant 2” and “Until Dawn”

Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra talk film, with Schulz enthusing over Sinners. Does anyone really want to celebrate the re-release of Revenge of the Sith?

Releases:

Previews:

Re-release:

“Sinners” and “The Wedding Banquet”

Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra talk movies and the lack of any new animated releases on the immediate horizon:

Previews:

“Warfare,” “The Amateur,” and “Drop”

Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra talk film and aver the normal run-times of latter-day releases, with the notable exceptions including the forthcoming The Chosen: Last Supper 3 clocking in at over three hours:

Previews:

“A Minecraft Movie,” “The Friend,” and “Hell of a Summer”

Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra go yard on the week’s stack of film:

Previews:

“Death of a Unicorn,” “The Woman in the Yard,” and “A Working Man”