Holy Speculation
- Annika OMelia
- Nov 24
- 7 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
A realtor, a minister, and a dentist walk into the Rock Island Argus Building...
The History
In 1925, the Rock Island Argus Building rose on 4th Avenue—commissioned, designed, and brought to life under the direction of Mrs. Minnie Potter, who wanted a structure the community "could view with continuous pride.” The building became the flagship home of the Rock Island Argus, a newspaper whose roots stretched back to 1851.
The paper began as the Rock Island Republican, but after it was purchased in 1854 by Col. J.B. Danforth—a committed Democrat—the name was changed to the Rock Island Argus. The name was purposeful: Argus, the hundred-eyed watchman of Greek mythology, a guardian who never sleeps, keeping constant vigil over public affairs and protecting the community from what might be missed.
In 1882, John W. Potter purchased the Argus when it had just 500 subscribers. After his death in 1898, his wife, Minnie, only 32 years old and raising three young children, took over the paper. She led it for nearly four decades and transformed it into a force in regional journalism.
Minnie’s tenure is legendary. During Prohibition, she became one of the most outspoken critics of gangster John Looney, whose criminal empire—gambling, extortion, bootlegging, and political manipulation—terrorized Rock Island. After theater operator William Gabel was murdered in 1922, the Argus intensified its reporting on Looney’s organization. The paper’s sustained coverage helped unravel the network of corruption surrounding Looney and ultimately contributed to the downfall of several public officials, including the mayor and police chief. At a time when reporters were routinely threatened, Minnie insisted the Argus would continue to print the truth.
After Minnie Potter's death in 1936, The Potter family continued to guide the Argus through the mid-20th century. In 1932, they expanded into broadcast media by purchasing Rock Island’s first radio station, WHBF, which eventually grew into a network that included FM radio and WHBF-TV. The newsroom weathered labor battles as well; during a long typographical strike in 1953, dynamite was planted under the cars of Argus employees—a stark reminder of the volatile environment in which the paper sometimes operated.
The Potters sold the Argus to the Small Newspaper Group in 1986. Over time, the Argus and The Dispatch became increasingly integrated, eventually sharing much of their reporting and operations. By the mid-1990s, the papers had shifted to morning publication and jointly launched digital news services, including Quad-Cities Online.
In 2017, Lee Enterprises purchased the combined Dispatch–Argus for $7.15 million, bringing the papers into the same family as the Quad-City Times. Though the Argus name continued, most editorial functions were consolidated, marking the end of the building’s era as an independent newsroom.
The Building
As the newspapers consolidated and operations relocated, the Argus building became obsolete. The Argus is currently listed on the historic registry and is one of Rock Island's top 100 most historically significant buildings. Read more about the Argus building on pages 30 and 31 here:
Interested buyers can own the building, currently listed on Rock Island's registry of vacant, abandoned or foreclosed properties, for $800k. See the listing here:
The Realtor
In 2009, the Argus Building left the hands of the newspaper and was sold to Argus Building, LLC, an entity managed by Thad DenHartog, one of the Quad Cities’ most prominent commercial real estate brokers. The deed recorded the sale at $10, a nominal amount often used when the true transaction value is not publicly listed, while the PTAX Illinois Real Estate Declaration lists $190,000 value.
According to Mel Foster's website, Thad DenHartog is the Managing Broker and a Principal at Mel Foster Commercial Real Estate Services, LLC, and is widely recognized as a top producer in the regional commercial real estate market. Over more than two decades in the Quad Cities, he has built a career shaping large-scale development projects, including:
helping market and develop 210 acres associated with roughly $250 million in economic activity,
supporting the development of a casino and hotel complex in Davenport, and
playing key roles in major East Moline projects involving 130 acres and over $100 million in investment.
Owning a portfolio of properties in Rock Island through various LLCs
He has consistently ranked as Mel Foster’s top commercial real estate sales associate for more than two decades, closed over $60 million in commercial transactions in 2022, and was inducted into the Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame in 2015. His résumé reflects deep market knowledge, strong transactional experience, and an extensive understanding of the region’s commercial property landscape.
During the fourteen years that DenHartog’s LLC owned the Argus Building (2009–2023), the property passed through multiple cycles of marketing and attempted sale. It was periodically listed—for example, at $600,000 in 2020—but no buyer committed, and the building remained largely vacant.
As with many historic structures held for long periods without redevelopment, the building deteriorated. Water intrusion, ceiling damage, and extensive deferred maintenance made the property increasingly difficult to lease or sell. While some tenants occupied portions of the building briefly—including a theater company—no long-term or stabilizing use took hold.
The Minister
In 2023, Thad Denhartog donated the Argus building to Waterbearer Ministries out of Louisiana. Pastor Mark Williams leads the non-profit that drills wells in Africa to provide safe drinking water to local villages. According to Pastor Williams, over 11,000 people have access to clean water thanks to his organization. One way the non-profit raises funds is by selling donated real estate. Waterbearer Ministries can drill a well for about $2500 US.
When I spoke with Pastor Williams, he said he was approached by a local (meaning Louisiana) person who was interested in the property and had a connection in Illinois looking for a place to make a charitable donation of property. Waterbearer Ministries simply acted as an intermediary to pass the property from seller to buyer whilst raising funds for the good work of the non-profit.
The Dentist
A dentist, who owns Cobalt Realty in Louisiana, bought the Argus building from Waterbearer Ministries in December 2023 for $25,000 - enough to drill 10 wells. Waterbearer only held the property for three weeks. As previously stated, the dentist is asking $800k for the property and has replaced the roof. Rock Island thanks you, as tourists of the building recall being able to "see the sky" from the top floor in the not too distant past.
Though listed for sale currently, the Cobalt Realty offices are truly lovely. And only 15 miles from Waterbearer Ministries.
The Punchline
Back to the joke (and this is only a joke... I'm simply speculating on what happened and have no knowledge of the matter).
A realtor, a minister, and a dentist walk into the Rock Island Argus.
The realtor says, "I need to pay less taxes."
The minister says, "I need money to build a well."
The dentist says, "I need to make a profit."
Argus says, "I started with 100 eyes but slowly lost them over time. I'm tired, weak, and barely breathing, just kill me now and commence the dealing."
"It's holy speculation," the trio cry. "Nothing to see here anyway," they say, as Argus closes his last eye.
Holy Speculation
The trio are correct, there's nothing illegal about commercial real estate speculation or donating buildings to non-profits to reap tax benefits or sitting on historic buildings awaiting a payout. But... the practice brutalizes vulnerable communities.
Rock Island policymakers have been focusing much of their time and energy worrying about the people living on the street as an impediment to downtown revitalization. A larger issue is the vacant and abandoned buildings, often listed at prices out of reach of Rock Islanders, and owned by folks from Iowa, Louisiana, Florida, Wyoming, etc.
Commercial real estate speculation in depressed communities occurs when investors purchase properties—not to occupy or improve them for local benefit—but to hold them, flip them, or leverage them for future profit as the neighborhood slowly rebounds. In areas already struggling with disinvestment, poverty, and limited local ownership, this practice can worsen conditions: buildings sit vacant for years, storefronts remain dark, and needed services never open. Speculative buyers often wait for public subsidies, infrastructure improvements, or outside developers to raise land values rather than contributing to the community themselves. The result is a cycle where residents endure blight, lost economic activity, and declining social cohesion, while wealth generated by eventual redevelopment flows outward to absentee owners instead of staying with the people who have held the community together through its hardest years.
Eyes Open, Rock Island
What happened to the Argus Building is not an isolated story—it is the story of what happens when a community’s physical heart is left in other people’s hands. When a building as iconic as the Argus becomes a bargaining chip, a tax strategy, or a speculative placeholder, something in the civic spirit is lost.
Rock Island deserves more than to have its history traded like a distressed asset in someone else’s portfolio. If we want a future in which our downtown thrives again, we will have to reclaim—not just the bricks, mortar, and broken windows—but the very idea that these buildings belong, first and foremost, to the people who live here, love here, and imagine a future here.
A city’s past shouldn’t be a burden to offload; it should be the foundation on which a community builds itself back up. The Argus, once a hundred-eyed guardian, may have dimmed—but we still have our eyes open. And we still have a say in what comes next.
If there's a building you love in Rock Island sitting empty, ask your city council person to explore why it is vacant or abandoned and let me know what you find out.
Note: The author gained interest in the building (and borderline obsession in Minnie Potter) after inquiring about purchasing and is still pursuing said interest in purchase - though the seller may lose interest in the author. And the author cannot afford $800k plus the millions in renovation costs. If the author cannot inhabit the physical space of the Argus building, perhaps she can embody the metaphysical spirit of Minnie Potter and Argus.