Milwaukee, Wauwatosa protesters hit 100 days of marching, look to ...

Eight days into a 750-mile trek, Ken McNair walked through a thunderstorm so strong, it knocked over trees and power lines.

Marching in the rain left him with thick calluses and an infected pinky toe. An urgent-care doctor in Indiana prescribed antibiotics and rest.

“Many have asked me to take it easy and I do see the wisdom in their words, but I feel like I can't stop,” he wrote on Facebook. “Toes can be replaced, right? I'm trying to be the change I want to see in this world.”

McNair was the pacesetter for a group of activists marching from Wisconsin to Washington, D.C., and as a tall guy with a fast step, it was his job to make sure the group didn’t lose momentum.

He had to keep going.

That has been the mindset of many protest organizers in Milwaukee, who have led 100 days of marches for racial justice that have drawn thousands into the streets.

Those continued Saturday as dozens of people marched along West Brown Street shouting "No Justice, No Peace" in a protest organized by activists with the Peoples Revolution, a group formed out of the daily demonstrations.

Community organizer Samuel Alford said it was important to keep pushing the movement forward.

“It means maybe life or death for me or somebody else,” Alford said. “If we continue to raise the issue, people are more on-guard about police brutality or the potential threat.”

Among those who spoke at the kickoff rally was Gaige Grosskreutz, the street medic who was shot in the arm by Kyle Rittenhouse during a protest in Kenosha on Aug. 25.

"(You are) the reason I'm out here ... and still will be out here," said Grosskreutz, who was shot protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha police officer days earlier. "Long live the revolution."

Widespread protests began in Milwaukee on May 29, four days after George Floyd, a Black man, died when white Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest. In recent weeks, daily protests or marches have drawn smaller crowds and a more focused purpose.

After Floyd's death, urgency mounted locally around the issue of police violence as southeast Wisconsin grappled with its own issues of race, inequality and policing.

The Peoples Revolution activists have devoted much of their energy to the cases of Alvin Cole, shot and killed in February by Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah, and Joel Acevedo, who died after off-duty Milwaukee Police Officer Michael Mattioli put him in a chokehold during a fight at the officer's house.

The shooting of Blake has reinforced the protesters' determination. Officer Rusten Sheskey shot Blake, a Black man, seven times in the back as he tried to enter a small SUV with his children inside, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Video of the shooting swept across social media and set off a wave of protests, sometimes violent, and drew the national spotlight to Wisconsin.

The families of Blake and Acevedo called for justice late last month at the Rev. Al Sharpton's March on Washington, and Frank “Nitty” Sensabaugh, a prominent local protest leader, issued a rallying cry to the nation's activists in his speech there.

“We need to demand change, not ask for change,” Sensabaugh told the crowd. “They think this is a negotiation. This is not a negotiation.”

Halfway to the 200 days of Milwaukee's open housing marches in the 1960s, today’s protest leaders aren’t sure how long it’ll take to enact lasting change, but they know they must sustain the summer’s revolutionary energy.

“We’re in these critical times where the whole country’s watching now,” organizer Khalil Coleman said.

Two rallies launched a summer of activism

Before the Peoples Revolution group was formed and before Sensabaugh set off on his trek to D.C., the marches that would launch a summer of activism began with two rallies on a Friday in May.

A rally for Floyd on Milwaukee’s north side kicked off in the early afternoon of May 29. Residents gave impassioned speeches to a growing crowd, then marchers headed downtown, final destination unknown. They briefly walked onto Interstate 43, blocking traffic, then demonstrated outside the Milwaukee County Courthouse and Police Administration Building.

"I was feeling a little helpless and I want to send a message so my descendants won’t have to deal with this," 15-year-old Ashai told the Journal Sentinel as she marched.

"Like, how can I be Black in the future if this is going on?"

Later in the afternoon, on the south side, a rally began for Acevedo. That crowd made its way east, then north, and as the sun set, four lanes of cars trailed the marchers. The group eventually ended at Police District 5, where the situation became violent late at night. Stores were looted and fires were set, and police fired tear gas.

The scene played out several days in a row as May turned to June. Crowds of protesters wove through the city in the daytime, chanting and shutting down streets. And as night set in, police warned of reckless drivers in the caravans and arrested curfew violators.

Milwaukee police fired tear gas or pepper spray six times during unrest in May and June and have faced criticism for their response to protests.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office also faced backlash after its deputies clashed with Sensabaugh and other protesters on I-794 as they tried to reach the Hoan Bridge. Sensabaugh, thrown to the ground during his arrest there, needed nine stitches and has filed a lawsuit against the sheriff’s office.

After the first chaotic days of protest, Coleman helped bring structure to the energized crowds that followed Sensabaugh.

He appointed a handful of lead cars to drive ahead of the marchers and shut down traffic. People walking at the front of the group announced through bullhorns that no one was allowed to pass them. Then the lines of cars followed, drivers honking their horns and playing music.

The car caravans served to multiply their forces. More people could participate, and they made a bigger impact on the streets than a group of walkers could.

“We’ve been able to infuse this energy of traffic,” Coleman said.

The energy extended beyond the marches led by Coleman and Sensabaugh. Protests cropped up for people with disabilities, for the LGBT community, for suburban residents, for bicycle riders.

Even the organizers who’d planned the march on the Democratic National Convention weeks before Floyd’s death changed their focus to police violence. The organizers brought together six Wisconsin families whose relatives were killed by police, and about 500 people turned out Aug. 20 to the event.

“It was George Floyd’s murder that changed things, but it was the specific way in which Milwaukee responded to the murder, the fact that they got out into the streets, thousands of people,” said Ryan Hamann, an organizer.

“What it demonstrated to us is that there’s an issue here that people locally care about,” he said.

Coleman was heartened to see the stamina of the marchers.

“The agenda was everybody come out,” he said. “People were just coming off of COVID-19, and people were already stuck in the house for those months, and I think it was just something fresh for the world.”

The energy and momentum of the summer’s protests mean a lot to Coleman. He led protests after the death of Dontre Hamilton, shot by Milwaukee police in 2014, but left activism after that. The experience was draining and didn’t result in meaningful justice, he thought.

But after Floyd’s death, Coleman felt a sense of urgency.

“We need to be marching,” Coleman remembers telling others. “Talking about it is not enough. We have to be putting our feet to the ground.”

Those who began marching didn’t set out to hit 100 days or even to start counting, he said. The movement grew organically out of the spirited crowds.

Into the suburbs

It was the night of Thursday, June 4, and Brian Anderson was inside his Wauwatosa apartment.

He knew the protesters were coming. He could hear them from blocks away.

This was the seventh day of protests in the Milwaukee area, and hundreds of protesters were making their way into the quiet suburb of Wauwatosa.

Anderson stepped onto his front lawn, while the group slowly marched up North Avenue. Anderson had always been interested in social justice issues, but it never progressed beyond his own study and discussion.

But this time, when he saw the group, he stepped from his front lawn and into the street.

“For me, it was either shut up or join them,” Anderson said. “If you don’t have the power to put your feet to the ground, and participate, then really your voice means nothing.”

Three months later, and Anderson has spent nearly every day marching with the Peoples Revolution.

“I’ll go to work in the morning, get home in the afternoon, shower, and then get out there,” he said.

Anderson said the Peoples Revolution isn't directly affiliated with the Black Lives Matter organization, but they share some of the same objectives, including fighting for racial justice and ending police brutality.

The group that marched to D.C. is also not affiliated with the Black Lives Matter organization.

Recent protests focused their efforts on Wauwatosa, where Officer Joseph Mensah has shot and killed three people in the last five years. Two of the shootings were deemed justified self-defense by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, but the most recent, the February shooting of Alvin Cole after a disturbance inside Mayfair Mail, is still under review.

Police say Cole fired a gun during the encounter. Cole's family disputes that.

Mensah was suspended in July, but the group said they won’t stop protesting until he’s off the force completely.

Alvin Cole's sister, Taleavia Cole, said she appreciates the increased pressure that’s been put on Wauwatosa.

Taleavia, a senior in college, started a movement called “Justice for Thee Three.”

She wants to bring awareness to the shooting deaths of the three people Mensah has killed — Antonio Gonzales, Jay Anderson Jr. and Cole.

“The time to act is now. So until then, we’re going to continue to take the streets. We’re going to continue to promote change and seek justice and the truth,” Cole said.

Some residents have been critical of the protesters' tactics.

Mensah said he was assaulted by protesters in August, and two men are facing felony charges after a shotgun was fired during the encounter.

The group has also shut down Mayfair mall on several occasions. They’ve marched to the police department and the mayor’s home, often late at night. They’ve packed city hall meeting rooms.

“The whole purpose is civil disobedience. The whole purpose is to be a disruption. Because injustice has been a disruption in the lives of many Black and brown people,” Coleman said.

State Rep. David Bowen, D-Milwaukee, present at many recent protests, agrees.

"That's the point," he said. "They're supposed to get agitated so they don't forget that these people have died and that these families have not been given justice."

A 750-mile march to DC

Sneakers and supplies in tow, a group of marchers, led by Sensabaugh, set off Aug. 4 from Caledonia, hoping to reach Washington, D.C., by Aug. 28 for the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

The group left Wisconsin with about 25 people and picked up marchers along the way. As they neared D.C., about 50 people of various ages and races were marching. The group included more than 10 children, a dog named Juice, and a kitten they'd found in the cornfields and dubbed Sparrow.

The marchers bonded like a family on the journey. Morale was high, McNair said, though they knew they’d have to walk 30 miles a day to reach D.C. in time, and they knew they’d encounter people who’d never heard the chants that rang out across Milwaukee this summer.

The group would face much worse: overt racism that ranged from inconvenient to violent.

It was common for passing drivers to rev their engines and blow clouds of black exhaust at the group walked along highway shoulders.

Sensabaugh and Milwaukee victims advocate Tory Lowe were arrested in Indiana because state police said they were blocking traffic as their support vehicles drove slowly in the right lane. The drivers did so, the marchers say, to shield those walking in the shoulder from passing motorists who threw items at them.

In another Indiana county, police closed all the highway exits in the county and told marchers they couldn’t get gas or use the bathrooms in the county. The group thinks someone called ahead and told gas station owners that a mob was coming to loot and burn down their stores.

Their security guard, who goes by the name Cino, was nearly hit by a car one day in Ohio, the driver shouting, “you Blacks need to be shot."

"If people treat us like this for just walking through their area, imagine how they treat the minorities that actually live there,” McNair wrote on Facebook that day.

Three days later, late at night in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, a man came out of his home and shot at the group, striking Cino.

Cino was hospitalized and the marchers delayed, just days away from D.C.

The marchers had been resting near a salvage yard after a long day walking through hilly terrain.

The man who shot at them told police the group wouldn’t leave his family's property when asked, but marchers said they’d never spoken to him before he rounded a hill and started firing his shotgun indiscriminately.

Several marchers count the shooting as their most vivid memory from the trip. It shook them all.

Marcher Sandy Solo remembers dropping flat to the ground and thinking of the children in the group.

Lowe recalls confronting the man, trying to stop him from also shooting a Milwaukee minister traveling with the group.

McNair, writing to his audience on Facebook the next day, was rattled but undeterred.

“My destiny is not to die on these strange roads,” he wrote. “The world knows most of what has transpired throughout this journey and I can only hope that this awareness will help to usher in true change in this country.”

Through it all, though, the marchers knew Milwaukeeans were supporting them from a distance.

Supporters would call ahead to book hotels for the group and often drew on connections to friends in the area or local churches or Black Lives Matter organizations for supplies. Doctors and nurses sometimes came out to provide care for the marchers’ blistered feet, and thousands cheered on the journey in the comment sections of marchers’ Facebook livestreams.

Back in Wisconsin now, McNair often finds himself drifting off to the eerie quiet of the roads lined with cornfields. He thinks that if their journey were made into a movie, it would be a thrilling one.

“It kept escalating and escalating and escalating,” he said. “It was like we were getting to the climax of the movie by the time we got into Ohio, and it was like, what could happen next?”

The movie had a triumphant Hollywood ending, too. The group marched more than 80 miles on their last day, awake more than 24 hours straight.

When they crossed into D.C., Sensabaugh and Solo cried and hugged. The marchers cheered.

They made it to the March on Washington event at 7 a.m. on the dot, sweaty and relieved, the exact time organizers had asked them to be there.

Looking for a lasting change

Milwaukee-area protesters believe their demonstrations have provided the necessary push for several policy changes.

Among their wins: the demotion and subsequent retirement of former Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales, the suspension of Mensah, and the homicide charges brought against Mattioli.

Others have championed the fact that the City of Milwaukee is exploring a cut in the police budget, that the city of Cudahy declared racism a public health crisis, and that Wauwatosa passed a prohibition on carotid and neck restraints.

“It’s pretty incredible what’s happened in such a short amount of time,” said State Rep. Jonathan Brostoff, who has attended a number of protests in recent weeks.

Bowen said the demotion of Morales wouldn't have occurred without the pressure of the protests.

Coleman said there's more to be done. In the first 100 days, the group focused on raising awareness — agitating, educating, organizing, he said. In the coming months, the protesters want to be more strategic.

They'll target legislators who could help pass bills on policing, and they'll take more "direct action," a term for activism aimed at achieving specific demands.

For Bowen, the demands are essential to improving the lives of people of color in Milwaukee.

"Changing the system so other people don't get hurt, don't lose their lives, can find humanity and dignity from a system that will finally protect and serve them and not just white folks — I think think that is a very good goal to have," he said.

As the daily protests have continued, some have drawn comparisons to the 200 days of open housing marches across Milwaukee in 1967 and 1968. Led by Father James Groppi, the marchers pushed for the passage of Ald. Vel Phillips’ proposed ordinance to ban discrimination in selling and renting housing.

The open housing marchers faced violent attacks by thousands of white protesters. They continued through the frigid winter and upon reaching the 200-day mark pursued different tactics to pass comprehensive legislation.

Many of those who protest in Milwaukee today feel the condition of Black Americans hasn’t improved since the Civil Rights Movement.

They see 2020 as the pivotal moment — where things could change for good.

“Enough is enough. I want it to end here,” McNair said.

"I'm trying to set an example for my children," he said. “I don’t want them to have to, 20 years from now, to strap on some shoes and walk to D.C. again.”

As people have begun returning to work and school in the fall, leaders say the momentum generated over the summer must keep steady.

The activists' truly big wins are yet to come, Coleman said.

“I don’t really think we’ve gotten to our big, big, big moment yet. I think we’re still striving for it," he said.

Ricardo Torres of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.

Contact Sophie Carson at (414) 223-5512 or scarson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SCarson_News.

What's next for Kentucky Democrats after election thrashing

Gov. Andy Beshear's victory in the 2019 election gave Kentucky Democrats a glimmer of hope going into Tuesday's contest.

But Republicans thoroughly snuffed it out as they dominated up and down the ballot to solidify Kentucky’s status as a deeply red state.

Not only did Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell breeze to a larger-than-expected 20-point victory over Democrat Amy McGrath, but Republicans also are on pace to win a historic 75-seat supermajority in the state House.

Meet the new U.S. senators

USA TODAY

A raucous election cycle ended with very little change in the U.S. Senate, as most of the endangered Republicans managed to hold on to their seats. Here are the seven newly elected senators who make up the 2017 freshman class.

Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto’s victory in the Nevada Senate race is groundbreaking for the Silver State.

She is the first woman to represent Nevada in the Senate and the first Latino woman in the chamber's history. Her paternal grandfather immigrated to Nevada from Chihuahua, Mexico.

The former two-term attorney general replaces retiring Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid. Losing the seat would have been a devastating blow for Democrats, though even with this win they did not take control of the Senate.

Cortez Masto, 52, ran an aggressive campaign based on foundational Democratic policy proposals — raising the minimum wage, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and passing comprehensive immigration reform.

She was the candidate whom Reid hand-picked to replace him after serving in the Senate for nearly 30 years. Reid helped to remake the face of Nevada by using his power to direct federal funding to the state.

Cortez Masto defeated Republican Rep. Joe Heck, a physician who reached the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Outside groups poured more than $90 million into the race, and top officials from both parties were frequent visitors.

Cortez Masto will be expected to be a solid Democratic vote in the Senate and be supportive of party leadership.

— Bill Theobald

Democrat Tammy Duckworth easily defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Mark Kirk in one of the least surprising Senate victories this year.

She had led by double digits in recent polls, and a majority of Illinois voters in one recent survey said they thought Kirk hadn’t recovered enough from a stroke he suffered in 2012 to perform his Senate duties.

Duckworth is a two-term congresswoman and veteran who lost both legs when the helicopter she was riding in was shot down in Iraq in 2004.

After a yearlong recovery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, she went on to serve stints as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs and as an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs. On Capitol Hill, Duckworth has made veterans issues a priority, and she helped pass legislation to provide resources to prevent veteran suicide, among other initiatives.

During the Senate campaign, she said she would back working with Russia to establish a no-fly zone in Syria and putting more pressure on NATO allies, including Turkey, to help oust the Syrian regime. Duckworth also said public-private partnerships should be leveraged to provide tuition-free community college vocational training, which would be a first step toward free community college for all. She also backs increased investment in infrastructure.

— Donovan Slack

California’s next senator was the front-runner from the day in January 2015 she announced her candidacy, saying she would be “a fighter for the next generation.” In a sense, at age 52, Kamala Harris is getting the first opportunity of anyone in her own generation to win a Senate seat in California.

Barbara Boxer, 75, who announced last year she wouldn’t be seeking a fifth term, was first elected to the Senate in 1992 replacing the late Alan Cranston, who was resigning after four terms. Dianne Feinstein, 83, was elected the same year to finish out the term of Pete Wilson, who had been elected governor, and has remained in the Senate ever since.

Harris, a career prosecuting attorney before being elected and re-elected as the state’s attorney general, will be the first African American and Indian American to represent the Golden State in the Senate. She defeated 10-term Rep. Loretta Sanchez in the Democrat-vs-Democrat general election. Her path to the seat was not as steep as once predicted, as former and current Los Angeles mayors Antonio Villaraigosa and Eric Garcetti, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer decided not to run.

As attorney general she is perhaps best known for negotiating the settlement with bankers over illegal mortgage practices that brought billions to underwater California homeowners. She is also known as an expert on tackling recidivism — she wrote a book, Smart on Crime, about it — and making parents responsible for truant children. As district attorney of San Francisco city and county, she was known for antagonizing local police when she declined to seek the death penalty for a cop killer in 2004, her first year in office.

Harris is also known to have a good relationship with departing President Obama, who once described her as “by far the best-looking attorney general in the country.”

Unlike the outspoken Boxer she’s replacing, Harris has been called cautious. Asked at the only general election debate last month what committee assignments she’ll seek, for example, she said she was concentrating on the election and wouldn’t look beyond it.

—Bartholomew Sullivan

Democrat Maggie Hassan eked out a win to unseat incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte in one of the tightest races in the country.

Hassan, 58, has been governor of New Hampshire since 2013, and before that, she was a state senator for six years, including a stint as majority leader before losing re-election in 2010.

During her tenure as governor, Hassan maintained high job approval ratings, with a Morning Consult poll earlier this year gauging her support 56% favorable and only 33% unfavorable.

She campaigned for Senate on a pledge to work across the aisle to make Washington work better for middle-class Americans and touted her prior record in New Hampshire, where she froze tuition at state universities and lowered it at community colleges and passed two budgets without raising sales or income taxes.

A lawyer by trade, Hassan started in public service as an advocate for special-needs children after the eldest of her two children, Ben, now 28, was born with cerebral palsy. Her campaign said she was driven to “ensure that children like her son Ben, who experiences severe disabilities, would be fully included in their communities and have the same opportunities that all parents want for their children.”

— Donovan Slack

Louisiana Republican John Kennedy pulled off a win on Dec. 10 in the last Senate race of 2016.

Kennedy, the state treasurer, defeated Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell in a runoff to become the latest soon-to-be-member of the Senate.

Kennedy, a former Democrat, had unsuccessfully run twice for the Senate seat. He beat Campbell 63% to 37%.

The race had garnered national attention with its unprecedented field of 24 candidates, including former Ku Klu Klan leader David Duke. It also attracted attention when Republican powerhouses came in to help Kennedy in the final weeks of the campaign.

President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence and Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, traveled to the Pelican State to stump for Kennedy the week before the runoff. Kennedy had supported Trump, who easily won the state.

Campbell, meanwhile, didn’t get much help from national Democrats. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, who is popular in the state, endorsed Campbell early in the campaign, but it wasn’t enough.

Campbell had hoped to take advantage of Edwards’ upset in 2015 when he defeated Republican Sen. David Vitter in the red state.

Kennedy ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2004 (as a Democrat) and in 2008 (as a Republican), but he entered the race as a favorite because of his statewide name recognition. Kennedy had won five statewide races and had years of political experience, including a stint as special counsel to former Republican governor Buddy Roemer.

During the campaign Kennedy, a fiscal conservative, took aim at the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s signature issue. Obama is unpopular in the state.

“I want my country back. I’m scared we are losing it,” Kennedy said when he announced his bid to run. “I worry that America is losing those (conservative) values.”

Kennedy was the front-runner leading up to the runoff. He had nabbed 25% of the vote in the Nov. 8 election, while Foster came in second with 17%. In Louisiana, the top two candidates go to a runoff if the winner of the general election does not reach 50% of the vote.

— Deborah Barfield Berry and Greg Hilburn.

Sooner or later, Chris Van Hollen was going to be a U.S. senator.

The six-term congressman from Maryland literally grew up in government. Van Hollen was born in Pakistan, where his father was serving in the foreign service, and lived in several foreign outposts as a child. His father ultimately served as U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Van Hollen did his graduate studies at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, where he met his wife, Katherine, and they both wound up with jobs on Capitol Hill.

Van Hollen's first gig was working for Maryland's legendary Sen. Charles "Mac" Mathias, a famously moderate Republican.

First elected to Congress on his own in 2002, Van Hollen quickly moved up the ladder of leadership among House Democrats. He led the Democrats' House campaign operation for the 2008 and 2010 election cycles, getting a good reputation among his colleagues for being a prodigious fundraiser. The 2006 Almanac of American Politics said Van Hollen, then still in his second House term, is "among the many Democrats in the Maryland delegation interested in running for a Senate seat when one comes open." He took a pass on the 2006 race won by Democrat Ben Cardin, but the retirement this year of 30-year veteran Sen. Barbara Mikulski was likely to be his last shot for a long while.

The major hurdle to his promotion this year was a tough primary battle against Rep. Donna Edwards, a more liberal African-American lawmaker who argued that Van Hollen would be too cozy with Wall Street. The race seemed close at first, but Van Hollen ultimately won by a better than 10% margin.

In the general election he had little trouble dispatching his Republican opponent, delegate Kathy Szeliga, in a state where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by a 2-to-1 margin.

— Paul Singer

Republican Todd Young, a former Marine who mentioned that fact in nearly every campaign conversation, won Indiana’s open Senate seat by defeating one of the most formidable Indiana politicians: Evan Bayh.

It was not the race Young had expected.

After his decisive May primary win over a Tea Party-backed opponent, Young was set to face former congressman Baron Hill, the Democrat he defeated in a 2010 House race.

But Hill withdrew from the race in July, clearing the way for Bayh — a former U.S. senator with more than $9 million in leftover campaign funds — to go after the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Dan Coats.

Republican leadership and outside groups – including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – came to Young’s aid as they had in the primary.

The election became a referendum on Bayh. Young and his allies accused Bayh of leaving Indiana behind and cashing in when, instead of seeking re-election in 2010 after voting for the Affordable Care Act, Bayh went to work for a Washington law and lobbying firm and for a private equity fund.

The attacks steadily eroded the good feelings Hoosiers had of Bayh from his two terms as senator and governor, even as Young remained unknown to many voters.

In the House, Young had been among the minority of Republicans who joined Democrats in voting for a deal to end the 2013 partial government shutdown.

His willingness to cast tough votes helped him win a seat on the influential Ways and Means Committee, where he threw himself into overhauling the tax code and exploring a new way of funding social services programs.

Young said he hopes in the Senate to be known as one of the “go-to experts” on helping the poor and vulnerable.

Young’s political experience before running for Congress included stints with the conservative Heritage Foundation and working on energy policy for then-senator Richard Lugar.

While Young, 44, did not grow up in a politically active home, his wife is the niece of former vice president Dan Quayle — who ended Bayh’s father’s Senate career in 1980.

Young has slept in his Capitol Hill office in recent years while keeping his home in Bloomington with his wife, Jenny, and their four children.

— Maureen Groppe

Nuns donate home, canines in court: News from around our 50 states

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Florence: Archaeologists are analyzing pieces of pottery, nails and glass found at Pope’s Tavern, an inn and stagecoach stop for travelers dating back to the early 1800s before Alabama achieved statehood. A state team funded by a grant recently conducted a dig at the northwest Alabama site, which has a museum that focuses on the history of the city of Florence. Museum curator Brian Murphy told the TimesDaily pottery was the most common item discovered during the work. “They pulled out a bunch of artifacts that are being cleaned and processed right now,” Murphy said. “They will give us a really good image of the types of materials and type of utensils used, and really a glimpse into the daily life of the people who lived there and used that space.” The crew also found the brick remains of an old structure that could have been a hearth or outbuilding, he said. “They are seeing what type of materials are associated with that, using flotation, which brings up microscopic material to a level that can be processed. After they do that, they’re going to get back to us with the larger picture of what it all means and what might be under there still that could be the source of a future excavation,” he said. Pope’s Tavern was built in the the 1830s, he said, and artifacts found on the grounds dated to the 1820s and ’30s.

Alaska

Juneau: Officials are aiming to make the first wave of dividend payments to state residents the week of Oct. 11, a Department of Revenue spokesperson said. Genevieve Wojtusik, the department’s legislative liaison, said in an email Wednesday that the first wave would include those who filed for dividends electronically. She said the second mass payments, which would include those who filed paper applications, would go out about two weeks later. The Legislature last week approved $730.5 million for dividends this year of about $1,100 and for administrative and other related costs. Wojtusik said the final check amount is being calculated and is expected to be announced by Oct. 1. Dividends typically are paid in the early fall, but this year’s payout wasn’t finalized until the third special session of the year, which ended last week. Lawmakers earlier this year proposed a roughly $1,100 dividend, using money from various sources, but failed to win sufficient support for use of some of the funds. What was left at that time was a dividend estimated to be $525, which Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed.

Arizona

Phoenix: This year’s wet monsoon is contributing to a record-high season for the West Nile virus, which is spread through mosquito bites, health officials said. Arizona had 123 cases and four deaths through late last week, the state Department of Health Services said Tuesday. Nearly all of the cases were reported in Maricopa County, where the virus has been detected in record numbers of mosquitos studied, the department said. While most people infected with West Nile don’t get symptoms, older people and those with weakened immune systems are more prone to diseases that be fatal. Health officials recommend wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants to help prevent mosquito bites on arms and legs and eliminating standing water where mosquitos lay their eggs.

Arkansas

Little Rock: Two men have been convicted of conspiring to kill a federal witness in 2016. A federal jury deliberated for about 61/ 2 hours before delivering the verdicts Tuesday against Donald Smith, 37, of Malvern, and Samuel Sherman, 38, of Batesville, in the shooting death of 44-year-old Suzen Cooper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. Prosecutors alleged Smith, Sherman and Suzen Cooper’s former sister-in-law, Racheal Cooper, conspired to sell methamphetamine and cocaine, and Cooper was a confidential informant who had purchased meth from Sherman. Racheal Cooper was originally charged with capital murder in Hot Spring County but later pleaded guilty to a charge of hindering apprehension, for which she served five years of a 25-year sentence. Smith and Sherman face up to life in prison after being convicted of federal charges of witness tampering resulting in death, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and aiding and abetting the use, carry and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. A sentencing hearing has not yet been set. Porter led the police to the grave site, Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Gardner said. “Suzen Cooper’s body was exactly where Jimmy Porter said it would be,” Gardner said.

California

Sacramento: Residents failed to significantly cut back their water consumption in July, state officials announced Tuesday, foreshadowing some difficult decisions for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration as a historic drought lingers into the fall. Newsom had asked people in July to voluntarily cut back their water consumption by 15% to help address a severe drought that has left some of the state’s reservoirs at dangerously low levels. But in the three weeks after Newsom’s announcement, residents reduced their water consumption just 1.8%, according to new data released Tuesday and reported by the Sacramento Bee. “On conservation, we’re going to be needing to do more,” board chair Joaquin Esquivel said. Still, Esquivel was hopeful the state’s conservation numbers will improve. Newsom declared a drought emergency in the Russian River watershed along the state’s north coast in April. Data from that region shows people reduced their water consumption by 17% in July compared to 2020. “We see that it takes time for conservation to boot up,” Esquivel said, adding that the 17% figure “shows the responsiveness of communities” to appeals for conservation. Dave Eggerton, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies, said the numbers “represent a promising start in reducing water use.”

Colorado

Denver: Criminal charges have been dropped in connection with the death of a spiritual leader whose mummified body was found in what appeared to be a shrine in a southern Colorado home, according to court officials. The body of Amy Carlson, 45, leader of the Love Has Won group, was found decorated with Christmas lights and glitter in the tiny, rural town of Moffat in April, according to previously released arrest affidavits. Seven people were charged with tampering with or abusing her corpse as well as child abuse, presumably because there were two children living in the home. Charges against six people were dropped during court proceedings, the Saguache County court clerk’s office said in an email Tuesday. It said no case existed for a seventh person who was among those charged with the others in May, though the office did not explain what happened in that case. It’s not known why the charges were dropped. Assistant District Attorney Alex Raines asked a judge to dismiss all the charges during a Sept. 14 hearing, the Valley Courier reports. Defense lawyers also requested that records be sealed, which was approved, it said. A telephone message left for Raines was not returned.

Connecticut

Hartford: Hundreds of unionized group home workers are threatening to walk off the job next month if settlements aren’t reached on new labor contracts. The New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199, SEIU, delivered strike notices Tuesday to two private agencies – Whole Life Inc. and Network Inc. – that have about 70 locations across the state that could be affected. The union’s deadline for an agreement is Oct. 5. The threat of a strike, which would involve over 500 workers at group homes and day programs for people with developmental disabilities, comes more than three months after state officials authorized $184 million to increase wages and benefits for group home workers. The union said these remaining two operators have failed to settle on new agreements, despite the added funding. In July, a threatened strike by over 2,100 group home workers at 200 homes was called off after a late-night agreement for higher wages and improved benefits was reached with the Lamont administration’s help. “The State of Connecticut stepped up and provided funding that was adequate,” Rob Baril, the union president, said in a statement. “Now it’s time for these agencies to do the same: to provide people with pensions, affordable health insurance and enough wages that people can take care of their families.”

Delaware

Wilmington: A new law is expected to make it simpler for residents to use solar energy to power their homes through a community-centered program scheduled to start next year. To participate, customers can get credit on their electric bills by subscribing to a centrally located local community solar project, which can be cheaper than paying to install solar panels on their own roofs. Community-owned solar generation facilities have been legal in Delaware since 2010 but included some legal barriers such as requiring the facility to identify all its customers before being built. The bill by Sen. Stephanie Hansen, D-Middletown, removed some of those barriers to make it easier for people to take advantage of the fast-growing industry. Delaware hasn’t had the facilities in the past because the laws weren’t set up to accommodate them, Hansen said. The bill specifically changes regulations for solar facilities that will connect through Delmarva Power, the most prominent energy company in the state. Once facility owners get the green light, Delaware can expect to see the solar panel facilities popping up in open lands like Brownfield sites, undeveloped fields, or on top of parking lots or landfills, according to Hansen.

District of Columbia

Washington: Artifacts from the racial injustice protests that erupted last year in the wake of George Floyd’s death are being preserved, and their protectors are hoping to find new homes for some of the mementos, WUSA-TV reports. As pro-Trump demonstrators repeatedly targeted a makeshift memorial at the barrier that separated Black Lives Matter Plaza from the White House, “fence guardians” sought to protect artifacts of the movement that shone a spotlight on police brutality against Black people. The Biden administration dismantled the fence earlier this year, but not before Nadine Seiler saved more than 700 mementos. “We were lucky that the Library of Congress took some pieces, and Howard University took some pieces,” Seiler said. “But the vast majority of the collection remained with us.” Hundreds of signs, photographs and pieces of artwork remain in her D.C. storage space. Seiler and fellow “fence guardian Karen Irwin are now finding homes for each item, asking interested businesses, nonprofits and organizations to contact them via Facebook. “Ideally, the Black Lives Matter community would like the pieces to stay in the hands of Black organizations,” Seiler said. “But personally, any organization that would give these treasures a safe home and recognize their value, they should reach out as well.”

Florida

Tallahassee: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis named a UCLA doctor and health policy researcher who shares his approach to managing the coronavirus pandemic to serve as the state’s surgeon general Tuesday. Like DeSantis, Dr. Joseph Ladapo said he doesn’t believe in school closures, lockdowns or vaccine mandates. “Florida will completely reject fear as a way of making policies in public health,” Ladapo said. DeSantis said there’s been misinformation spread about COVID-19 to control personal behavior and mentioned monoclonal antibody treatment, claiming that while he’s been advocating it for months, others haven’t been pushing it as vocally. Doctors agree with DeSantis that the treatment, when delivered soon after infection, is effective. Lapado said vaccines aren’t the only way to combat COVID-19. “There’s nothing special about them compared to any other preventive measure,” he said, adding that people should be encouraged to lose weight, exercise more and eat healthier. And Lapado spoke out against lockdowns, saying that “after lockdowns, overall mortality increased ... lots of reasons why they’re bad.” On Wednesday, Ladapo signed new protocols allowing parents to decide whether their children should quarantine or stay in school if they are asymptomatic after being exposed to someone with COVID-19. His new guidelines also tweaked the state’s prohibition against school mask mandates, prompting an administrative law judge to dismiss a lawsuit against the old rule that had been filed by various school boards.

Georgia

Athens: Some of the people living in a homeless camp known as Cooterville say they’re skeptical of a new, government-sanctioned homeless camp planned for the community. The Cooterville encampment under CSX railroad tracks is set to be cleared by Nov. 12, with city leaders trying to time the ejections with the opening of the new camp where homeless will be allowed to stay legally. City officials are looking for an organization to head the government-sanctioned encampment, which will determine what it eventually looks like. The Athens-Clarke County Commission this summer selected a site for it at the North Athens School. Opponents have said they’re concerned it will attract more homeless people to Athens. But supporters say the new camp will come with services aimed at helping homeless people make the transition to permanent housing. In the Cooterville camp, some have expressed feeling left in the dark about the process are are unsure whether they will be secured a spot in the new camp. Oscar Sutton, who’s lived in Cooterville a couple of months, said he has no plans to move to the government-sanctioned encampment and worries about placing so many random people from the homeless community together. “It’s going to be chaos,” he said. “If I have to stay out here, I’ll just find somewhere to stay.”

Hawaii

Honolulu: A man who helped organize a group that opposes COVID-19 vaccines and mandates says he contracted the disease and now has regrets. Chris Wikoff told Hawaii News Now he helped start the Aloha Freedom Coalition last October, believing government shutdowns and mandates were threatening liberties and harming businesses. “They were talking about vaccine passports and vaccine mandates, and it seemed like it was over-the top totalitarianism and control,” Wikoff said. But then he and his wife contracted COVID-19. “We were told the COVID virus was not that deadly. It was nothing more than a little flu. I can tell you it’s more than a little flu,” he said. Wikoff was sent to a hospital on the west side of Oahu but transferred to a facility in Honolulu because hospitals were at or near capacity. “I was in a bed. I can’t move; I can’t breathe,” he recalled. “I was afraid I was going to die.” Wikoff is now considering getting vaccinated because his family and doctors recommend it. “Probably getting COVID again would be more dangerous than getting the reaction from the vaccines,” he said. Wikoff said he asked the Aloha Freedom Coalition to remove his name as a member on state business registration and is warning people not to attend large protests like the ones the group staged in front of Lt. Gov. Josh Green’s home. “Before I thought Josh Green was exaggerating the situation, and after my experience he sounds very rational to me,” he said.

Idaho

Boise: Health care workers are exhausted and angry. COVID-19 vaccines are expiring because they have sat unused for so long. And coronavirus case numbers and deaths continue to climb, putting the state among the worst in the nation for the rate of new diagnoses. Idaho’s public health leaders painted a grim picture – again – during a weekly briefing Tuesday. The state continues to set records with 686 hospitalized COVID-19 patients as of Saturday, 180 of them in intensive care beds and 112 on ventilators, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Dave Jeppesen said. At the moment, there is no end in sight to the surge. The entire state entered “crisis standards of care” last week, officially allowing hospitals to ration health care as needed so that scarce resources can be directed to the patients most in need and most likely to survive. Urgent surgeries have been placed on hold, some patients are being treated in lobbies or field hospitals, and hospital administrators and doctors are desperately trying to shuffle the sickest patients to any facility that has enough open beds or ventilators to treat them. Over the weekend, physicians at one hospital nearly had to face “de-allocation,” in which one patient is taken out of an ICU bed to give it to someone with a greater chance of survival, said Dr. Jim Souza with St. Luke’s Health System.

Illinois

Beecher: A fire destroyed a historic church in Chicago’s far southern suburbs that had appeared in the 2002 film “Road to Perdition.” Officials said nearly a dozen fire departments responded, but by the time the flames were doused, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was in ruins. No one was injured, and the cause of the fire is under investigation. Flames swept the church Sunday afternoon as members of the congregation were enjoying an Oktoberfest celebration in the parking lot. The building dates to 1865. “Yeah, it is devastating: The 150 years of the weddings and the funerals and the baptisms and all of that are gone. But the church still stands, the people; we still have our folk and our faith,” said the Rev. Michael Stein. The closest fire hydrant was approximately a mile away, prompting an effort to shuttle roughly 91,000 gallons of water to the rural location to extinguish the flames, officials said. The church appeared in Tom Hanks’s 2002 film “Road to Perdition,” WGN-TV reports. “My grandparents are buried there. It’s really sad seeing the church like this,” Beecher resident Zachery Wehling told the station. Stein said it’s an opportunity to rebuild. “It is a dark chapter, and a sad one, and we mourn it, and we grieve it … but we still look to Christ, and we find that hope to go on,” he said.

Indiana

West Lafayette: Purdue University said it has nearly 50,000 students this fall, a record fueled by a freshman class of about 10,200. Purdue said it was surprised by an increase in out-of-state students accepted for admission. Families and students told Purdue they were impressed by the school’s response to COVID-19. “Our focuses have been encouraging everyone to be vaccinated,” said Jay Akridge, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity. “We’re up over 83% of the campus (vaccinated). And then if you’re not, get tested,” he said. “And then students have been great about masking inside. … Just as they did last year, students have been very good about following that protocol.” Purdue was expecting 8,450 freshmen but greatly exceeded that number. Total enrollment is pegged at 49,639.

Iowa

Fort Dodge: Experts say a cyberattack on a northwest Iowa grain cooperative could signal Russian-linked groups are beginning to target smaller farm businesses in rural America as bigger companies tighten their security. The cyberattack on New Cooperative, a farm services business with headquarters in Fort Dodge, comes on the heels of a ransomware attack on the giant meatpacking company JBS in late May. JBS closed at least one Iowa pork processing plant as well as all nine of its U.S. beef plants before paying hackers $11 million in ransom. Cybersecurity experts say Russian-backed ransomware group BlackMatter is demanding a $5.9 million ransom from New Cooperative. New Cooperative acknowledged Monday that it had experienced “a cybersecurity incident” affecting some of the company’s “devices and systems.” The member-owned business said it’s using “every available tool and resource to quickly restore our systems.” The cooperative said it had notified law enforcement and was working with data security experts to “investigate and remediate the situation.” New Cooperative declined to say more about the attack Tuesday. Chad Hart, an Iowa State University agriculture economist, said “size really doesn’t matter” to hackers, who “are looking for any target that they think could be valuable.”

Kansas

Kansas City: An organization run by rapper Jay-Z has filed a petition seeking records from the city’s police department related to what it calls a history of officer misconduct within the agency. The request was filed Monday in Wyandotte County District Court by Team Roc, the criminal justice division of Jay-Z’s entertainment organization, Roc Nation. The filing said the department has failed for decades to hold officers accountable for misconduct, including planting evidence, fabricating witnesses, and soliciting sex from victims and witnesses, The Kansas City Star reports. “And, thanks to the blue veil of silence and apparent failure to investigate serious allegations, little of it has come to light,” according to the petition. It alleges department officials refused to provide Team Roc with complaints filed against the department’s investigative division, reports or internal investigations against an officer who has a history of abuse allegations and policies relating to supervising detectives. The department responded in a statement that it has given hundreds of pages of documents to Team Roc but that the Kansas Open Records Act does not require the release of personnel records and criminal investigation files.

Kentucky

Louisville: A drive-by shooting at a school bus stop Wednesday morning left a 16-year-old student dead and another hospitalized, police said. A third child was injured by unknown means as the youths waited at the bus stop just west of downtown Louisville, authorities said. A person in a car drove by and shot at the waiting students, some of whom were not injured, Louisville Metro Police Maj. Shannon Lauder said during a news conference. No suspects were in custody Wednesday afternoon. Police put a photo of a dark gray Jeep SUV on social media and asked for the public’s help in finding it. The vehicle had Illinois license tags, with the plate number BD91644. Mayor Greg Fischer said the shooting – the city’s 145th homicide this year – violated a “sacred space.” Police were working with the FBI and other agencies in investigating the shooting, Chief Erika Shields said Wednesday morning. The chief suggested the shooting could be gang-related, but she said she did not believe the victim was involved with gangs. The bus stop near the city’s downtown was for students of Eastern High School. Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Marty Pollio called the incident “one of the most difficult mornings of my career.” He said support is being provided to students and teachers at the school.

Louisiana

New Orleans: Smoke and flames shot up the side of the Superdome’s roof Tuesday after a pressure washer being used to clean the roof of the sports and entertainment arena caught fire. The New Orleans Fire Department confirmed firefighters responded to flames on the building’s roof shortly after 12:30 p.m. The fire appeared under control a short time later. New Orleans Emergency Management Services said on Twitter that it was transporting one person to the hospital for “minor burns.” Emergency officials called on people to stay away from the area. Crews were power-washing the roof to prepare it to be painted, officials said. “The fire was contained to the exterior gutter system surrounding (the) Superdome, and only a small area of the roof suffered minimal damage,” said a statement from the Louisiana Stadium and Expedition District, a state board that governs the dome, and ASM Global, which manages the Superdome. “Initial assessments suggest that damage is superficial and there appears to be no structural damage or impact to the integrity of the roof’s exterior skin. The building’s outer skin and roof remain watertight.” A photo posted on the city’s emergency management Twitter feed showed firefighters in the trench that separates the Superdome roof from an outer wall as they sprayed down the fire-blackened walls.

Maine

Lebanon: Residents will vote on whether to recall several town leaders in a flap that grew out of the select board chairman’s decision to take a farmer’s pot plants. Farmer Eric Kelley accused Select Board Chairman Charles Russell Jr. and board member Ernest “Butch” Lizotte Jr. of swiping $100,000 worth of plants, knowing that the farmer was in jail. In addition, local animal control officers took his livestock. District Attorney Kathryn Slattery confirmed there was an investigation that focused on possible theft. But there was not enough evidence to prove the charges “beyond a reasonable doubt,” she said. Anger over the marijuana episode apparently served as a tipping point for a recall effort targeting Russell, Lizotte and another person who went to the farm that night. The recall also targets a third selectman who’s accused of missing half of this year’s meetings. Russell, who grows medicinal marijuana for household use, consulted for a local pot business and helped draft town marijuana ordinances, acknowledged to the Boston Globe that he pilfered Kelley’s marijuana plants. But he said he did it because he didn’t want the plants getting “into the hands of the wrong people” while Kelley was in jail. He called it a “public safety” matter.

Maryland

College Park: National Public Radio can air audio recordings from the trial of the gunman who killed five Capital Gazette newspaper employees in 2018, a federal judge has ruled in a case challenging the state’s ban on broadcasting court proceedings. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Bennett on Tuesday permanently barred the state of Maryland from enforcing its “broadcast ban” against NPR, which intends to use audio from the trial of Capital Gazette newsroom shooter Jarrod Ramos in an upcoming episode of its “Embedded” podcast. Bennett ruled it would be unconstitutional for Maryland to ban NPR from broadcasting recordings of the jury trial for Ramos’ criminal case. NPR’s challenge to the broadcast ban was limited to its use of recordings of Ramos’ court proceedings. In July, a jury rejected defense attorneys’ mental illness arguments and found Ramos criminally responsible for killing five people at the newspaper’s office in Annapolis. Prosecutors are seeking five life sentences without the possibility of parole when Ramos is sentenced. The judge already had ruled in NPR’s favor after a hearing Sept. 13, issuing a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocked the law’s enforcement against the radio network. Tuesday’s ruling granted NPR’s request for a permanent injunction.

Massachusetts

Boston: A group of high school students had to ride on a party bus complete with a stripper pole and neon lights during a recent field trip – an experience their teacher said highlights problems with the education system. Jim Mayers, an 11th grade Advanced Placement language and composition teacher at the Brooke Charter School in Boston, said in a since-deleted tweet that the original charter bus had fallen through, Masslive.com reports. “It is a funny story, but there actually is a real bus shortage, and it speaks to major flaws in our education system,” he said, adding that the field trip was a success. He is now using the attention he’s getting because of the original tweet to urge people to better understand educational inequities and other problems facing the nation’s schools. “I’m worried that there is too much attention being paid to the tweet itself, or simply the fact that it went viral, instead of attending to the many systemic issues that are facing not just my students, but students all across the country,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet. For example, districts across the nation are struggling to hire enough drivers to shuttle kids to school, and some states have become creative, including Massachusetts, which is enlisting National Guard members to drive school transport vans.

Michigan

Pontiac: Plans are underway for the state to construct a first-in-the-nation segment of road that will charge electric vehicles while they’re driving, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Tuesday at the Motor Bella auto show in Pontiac. Michigan’s Department of Transportation and the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification are partnering to make a 1-mile stretch of state roadway in Wayne, Oakland or Macomb counties to allow public transportation and private vehicles to charge while traveling as a part of the Inductive Vehicle Charging Pilot, according to a news release. “Michigan was home to the first mile of paved road, and now we’re paving the way for the roads of tomorrow with innovative infrastructure that will support the economy and the environment, helping us achieve our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050,” Whitmer said in the release. As electric vehicles advance, charging infrastructure has become a priority for Michigan cities that want to draw residents. The city of Saginaw got its first charging stations in September in the hope that those traveling in the east side of the state toward tourist areas in northern Michigan will stop because there is little electric vehicle infrastructure available at most destinations.

Minnesota

St. Joseph: A small crowd of local business owners and community members gathered around a gray house near downtown Tuesday morning to kick off a project that would give a house used by the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict a new life. Armed with sledgehammers, Sisters Dorothy Manuel and Karen Streveler posed for photographs outside the house as Habitat for Humanity volunteers in blue hard hats walked around the inside, ready to begin renovating the home that the sisters donated to the organization in December. Next summer a local family will move into the house, addressing a need for affordable housing in the area. “As volunteers and family members begin the kicking out the old to make room for the new and improved, we pray for the safety of all who participate in the renovation project and that everything gets accomplished in a timely manner,” Manuel said as she led a prayer in front of the home. “May this house truly become a home for the family and a blessing for their lives.” The Genesis House was built in 1926 and purchased by the sisters in 1950. It was used to accommodate lay staff from the College of St. Benedict in the past and later to house chaplains, Streveler said. Most recently, some of the sisters lived there for the past seven years.

Mississippi

Jackson: The authors of the state’s 1890 constitution had racist intent when they stripped voting rights from people convicted of some felonies because they chose crimes they thought were more likely to be committed by Black people, an attorney argued Wednesday in a federal appeals court. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should overturn most of Mississippi’s felon disenfranchisement plan, attorney Donald B. Verrilli Jr. argued on behalf of people with felony convictions. The case could affect thousands who have lost voting rights. “Because the 1890 provisions were unconstitutional, they were invalid from the moment that they’re enacted,” Verrilli said. Attorneys representing the state said Mississippi dropped burglary from the list of disenfranchising crimes in 1950 and added murder and rape to the list in 1968. They said in written arguments that those changes “cured any discriminatory taint on the original provision.” The Mississippi Constitution strips voting rights from people convicted of 10 felonies, including forgery, arson and bigamy. The state attorney general issued an opinion in 2009 that expanded the list to 22 crimes, including timber larceny, carjacking, felony-level shoplifting and felony-level bad check writing.

Missouri

St. Louis: The city’s police used force against Black people more than three times as often as on white people, according to a newly released study. The California-based, nonprofit research group Center for Policing Equity examined police report data from 2012 to 2019 and also found that in 9 out of 10 instances in which police pulled out a gun, it was at a Black civilian, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Even as the overall use of force dropped by 18%, police still used it more often against Black people, the report said. “What we typically hear from police officers is that use of force happens predominantly in areas with high crime,” said Hans Menos, vice president of law enforcement initiatives at the center. “So we try to control using neighborhood-level demographics, and even after controlling for that, the number (of Black people who have force used against them) is still higher.” Mayor Tishaura Jones said eliminating racial disparities in policing is key to making St. Louis safer for all of its residents. Outgoing Police Chief John Hayden said this kind of research can bring about scrutiny and questions about policing practices. “However, we embrace the challenge to do better and consider all suggestions from professionals, community stakeholders, and citizens,” Hayden said.

Montana

Helena: National Guard soldiers will assist hospitals with their COVID-19 response as the state struggles with a surge in infections, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Tuesday. A total of 70 soldiers will assist six different hospitals in Helena, Billings, Butte, Missoula and Bozeman. They will begin helping the hospitals either this weekend or next weekend, according to an announcement from the governor’s office. The Guardsmen will support staffing with nonmedical intensive care assistance, environmental services, patient data entry and coronavirus testing. Gianforte has stopped short of issuing any statewide mask or vaccine requirements even as some communities face record-high COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. “While we will not mandate them, vaccines are safe, they work, and they can save your life,” Gianforte said in a statement. The decision to mobilize the National Guard comes after Gianforte announced last week that 10 Guardsmen would begin assisting Billings Clinic, and seven additional Guardsmen would assist in the state lab. The state anticipates additional requests for Guard resources from several other hospitals, according to the governor’s office.

Nebraska

Lincoln: Lawmakers remained at a stalemate Wednesday over how to draw new congressional and legislative maps despite a looming deadline that could force them to postpone the decision until next year and delay the May primary election. Lawmakers have until Saturday to advance both measures, or else Speaker of the Legislature Mike Hilgers has promised to end their special session, forcing them to resume the debate during their next regular session in January. Delaying the new maps until next year would force state officials to reschedule the primary and create major hassles for county election officials and candidates. At issue with the maps are accusations that Republicans and Democrats are trying to draw political boundaries in ways that benefit their party. Republicans enjoy a majority in the officially nonpartisan, one-house Legislature, but they don’t have enough votes to overcome a filibuster led by Democrats and some moderate Republicans, preventing them from forcing through their preferred map. Hilgers said lawmakers have made good progress toward an agreement, and he hoped to pin down specific concerns about the maps to try to reach a compromise so that lawmakers aren’t “just talking past each other.”

Nevada

Carson City: In their first public opportunity to voice concerns on a proposal to let tech companies that meet certain requirements create semi-autonomous jurisdictions called Innovation Zones, officials from Storey County dressed down the idea in a line-by-line fashion. They called into question the motives of the company that wants to break away from its control. “While I’m sure many would prefer to have no independent government oversight, we don’t make laws based on what is convenient for just one party,” Storey County Commissioner Clay Mitchell told lawmakers Tuesday. Mitchell and other county representatives oppose a proposal backed by Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak that would allow companies that promise a $1.25 billion investment and possess at least 78 square miles of land to apply to form the Innovation Zones. The zones would be governed by three county commission-like board members – two of whom would at first be nominated by the company. They would operate outside the jurisdiction of preexisting local government and eventually could create court systems, impose taxes and make zoning decisions. The company’s proposal has been met with opposition from skeptics of overly powerful tech companies, environmentalists and local officials.

New Hampshire

Concord: Fall visitors to the Granite State are being asked to keep their tempers in check and their trash off the ground during their leaf peeping trips this year. With interest in outdoor recreation on the rise amid the coronavirus pandemic, state tourism officials last year launched a “Leave No Trace” campaign to remind visitors not to sully the state’s natural resources. This year, they added a new message – “Don’t Take New Hampshire for Granite” – to encourage visitors to be understanding about rules and respectful of other people and property. With foliage season just beginning, officials are again reminding visitors to show courtesy to workers and the environment alike. Fall is New Hampshire’s second-busiest tourism season, and state officials expect 3.2 million visitors to spend $1.4 billion this year, nearly back to pre-pandemic levels. Businesses still are struggling with workforce shortages and supply chain delays, said Mike Somers, president of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association. That, in turn, has led to an increase in rude and abusive customer behavior. “We’re really asking folks to plan ahead and have a little bit of patience and understanding,” he said. “Just call ahead, find out what the hours of operation are, and please don’t get upset if we’re not open until 11 o’clock at night.”

New Jersey

Trenton: Liquor stores, bars and restaurants are all having trouble stocking their shelves with enough wines, beers and spirits, thanks to COVID-19’s impact on supplies, along with heat waves and frosts that damaged crops. “It’s not just one thing that’s causing the liquor shortage,” said Joe Ringwood, manager of Super Cellars, a fine wine and spirits shop in Ridgewood. It’s a shortage of truck drivers, a scarcity of aluminum, a shutdown of factories, a dearth of containers, extreme weather, tariffs or a lack thereof, and even the greater demand by consumers for premium liquor. “Some of it is directly related to the pandemic,” Ringwood said. “But not all of it.” And it’s not just one category of liquor that’s gone missing. What is in short supply seems to change from month to month, if not week to week. Last year, liquor store owners said, they had trouble getting canned beers, amid a shortage of aluminum. Today, bottled beers and top-shelf tequilas are in particularly short supply. “Every week it’s something else,” said Kathy Mahon, bar manager for Park West Tavern in Ridgewood. Paul Santelle, executive director of the New Jersey Liquor Store Alliance and owner of Garden State Discount Liquors in Perth Amboy, said he has begun to ration over a hundred items so more people will be able to enjoy them.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: A coalition of Native American communities has unveiled its proposal for redrawing the state’s political map to boost Indigenous voters’ influence in elections. The proposed changes from New Mexico’s 19 Native American pueblos and the Jicarilla Apache Nation, outlined Monday, would reshape a congressional swing district where Republicans regained control in 2020. They would also bolster Native American majorities among eligible voters in six state House and three Senate districts in northwestern New Mexico. The proposals were submitted to a committee that will provide recommendations to the Legislature at the end of October. The Democrat-led Legislature can draw its own lines. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham must approve the redistricting, and court challenges are possible. New Mexico is home to 23 federally recognized tribes, and the share of New Mexicans who identify themselves as Indigenous by race or by combined ancestry is 12.4%. Four Indigenous tribes have joined together for the first time to form a stronger voting bloc within one Senate district that might unite Acoma, Laguna, Isleta and Zuni pueblos. Other proposed changes would split the Mescalero Apache reservation between two congressional districts, in hopes of expanding that tribe’s voice in Congress.

New York

New York: Four members of Congress from New York demanded the release of inmates and closure of New York City’s troubled Rikers Island jail complex after another inmate was reported dead at the facility. Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jerry Nadler, Jamaal Bowman and Nydia Velazquez called conditions at the jail “deplorable and nothing short of a humanitarian crisis,” in a letter Tuesday to Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Bill de Blasio. The demand followed the 11th death reported at Rikers Island this year. The city’s Department of Correction said an inmate died Sunday at the jail after reporting he did not feel well and was taken to the infirmary. His death came on the heels of both Hochul and de Blasio announcing plans to try to improve conditions at Rikers Island, where long-standing troubles were exacerbated amid the pandemic. The House members said the jail has failed to provide inmates with basic services and protection against the spread of COVID-19, and lawmakers on a recent visit to the facility found conditions that were “life-threatening and horrific.” They reported overflowing toilets and floors covered in dead cockroaches, feces and rotting food. State Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas said inmates told her they felt like they were being treated like slaves and animals.

North Carolina

Raleigh: People attending the 2021 N.C. State Fair won’t be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, but it’s strongly encouraged, officials said. Also, those going to the fair, which begins Oct. 14, will be required to use clear plastic bags upon entering, and officials say there will be no indoor concerts at this year’s event – a decision they said has nothing to do with the pandemic. A statement from fair officials said any size or type of clear bag is acceptable. Wristlets, diaper bags and medical equipment bags will be accepted at the fair even if they are not clear, but they will require additional inspection. In addition, officials said there will be no concerts inside Dorton Arena. That room will be reserved for vendors. “Moving the vendors, displays and cheesemakers into Dorton Arena will offer a larger space to include more vendors and provide more space for consumers to sample featured products and shop for their favorites,” state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said in a statement.

North Dakota

Bismarck: The head of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is asking a federal agency overseeing the environmental review of the Dakota Access oil pipeline to cut ties with a contractor conducting the analysis, citing a conflict of interest. Chairman Mike Faith and other tribal leaders fighting the pipeline sent a letter Wednesday to a top U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official, taking issue with Environmental Resources Management, the company doing the review, and its ties to the oil industry, the Bismarck Tribune reports. One of the tribes’ concerns is that the London-based company is a member of the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group that lobbies for the oil industry and has submitted court briefs supporting Dakota Access. Meanwhile, the company that operates the Dakota Access pipeline has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse an appellate ruling ordering additional environmental review, saying it puts the line at risk of being shut down. Texas-based Energy Transfer operates the $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile pipeline. Faith said in a statement that the request by the pipeline operator “is part of an ongoing attempt to “evade accountability.” The pipeline began operating in 2017, after being the subject of months of protests during its construction.

Ohio

Dayton: The city plans to demolish the 129-year-old historic building that once was the site of the Wright brothers’ first bike shop because the building has deteriorated to a point where it can no longer be maintained and redeveloped. The shop was first built in 1892 to serve as the Wrights’ first bike shop. Soon thereafter, Gem City Ice Cream Co. bought the property and was housed there until it closed in 1975, when the building was sold to another company, the Dayton Daily News reports. Years after a wide array of owners, the city attempted to sell the rundown property to developers, but it failed inspection tests. The building was deemed structurally damaged and in danger of collapse. City officials also attempted to receive approval to bulldoze the property but did not move forward after hearing community concerns, Daytons Landmark Commission staff report said. But multiple inspections in 2019 concluded the building can’t be saved. City staff and nuisance abatement specialists said the building needs to be removed, the report said. This isn’t the first of the Wright brothers’ bike shops to be torn down in Ohio. Their second and third bike shops were torn down, but the fourth is a national historic site in the Wright Dunbar District, according to the newspaper.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Efforts to control feral swine eating their way across fields might seem as futile as trying to catch a greased pig – the hogs are known to destroy crops and land for farmers, who say the animals aren’t picky eaters and will consume just about anything they find growing. But an influx in federal dollars creating pilot eradication projects across broad areas of the state and a new pesticide introduced this month are making the fight just a little more fair for farmers, ranchers and regulators. The two feral swine control pilot projects, paid for by about $3.6 million in federal dollars allocated through the 2018 Farm Act, have combined tracking efforts with hunting and trapping activities across multiple counties in northern and southwestern Oklahoma to blunt swine activity in those areas. The manufacturer of the new pesticide, called HogStop, claims it can decrease the fertility of male swine and help cut rapid reproduction rates for the animal. It was approved for use by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry this month. Any and all tools to fight the infestation are welcome, as feral swine damage across the state has cost landowners hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Oregon

Salem: A broken power-sharing deal, the lingering possibility of a Republican walkout and a COVID-19 case are adding greater uncertainty to whether legislators will successfully redraw the state’s political districts ahead of a tight deadline. Stakes are high as Oregon gained a new, sixth U.S. House seat following the latest census. Lawmakers were told the House would reconvene Wednesday following news Tuesday that someone in the building had tested positive for the coronavirus. But House Speaker Tina Kotek now says the chamber won’t convene until Saturday to give time for those potentially exposed to the virus to be tested and receive results. Democrats say their entire caucus in the House has been vaccinated. The number of vaccinated Republican lawmakers was not immediately available. When the House reconvenes Saturday, lawmakers will have just two days to vote on and pass new political boundaries. If congressional maps are not passed by Sept. 27, the task will fall to a panel of five retired judges appointed by the Oregon Supreme Court. House Republicans showed signs of a possible walkout this week after Kotek, a Democrat, rescinded a power-sharing deal to redraw political maps that she made with the House GOP as Republicans used delaying tactics to block bills during the 2021 legislative session.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: The state Supreme Court is saying yes to canines in the courtroom, under certain conditions. A trial witness may be accompanied by a “comfort dog” if the animal will help yield reliable, complete and truthful testimony, the justices ruled Wednesday in a precedent-setting opinion that established a “balancing test” for Pennsylvania judges confronted with such a request. Ruling unanimously in a murder case, the Supreme Court pointed to other states that allow witnesses to testify with the help of emotional support dogs. The justices said it’s permissible, as long as steps are taken to minimize any potential harm to a defendant. “Trial courts have the discretion to permit a witness to testify with the assistance of a comfort dog,” Chief Justice Max Baer wrote for the court. “In exercising that discretion, courts should balance the degree to which the accommodation will assist the witness in testifying in a truthful manner against any possible prejudice to the defendant’s right to a fair trial.” The defendant, Sheron Purnell, was convicted of third-degree murder and sentenced to up to 47 years in prison. Purnell’s lawyers argued a judge abused his discretion by allowing a comfort dog to accompany a teenage witness who testified against Purnell, with the defense saying that would “generate sympathy” among jurors for the girl.

Rhode Island

Providence: Health officials are allowing a little leeway to a state mandate that requires health care workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 1. State Department of Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott announced Tuesday that unvaccinated workers will be allowed to continue working beyond that date if their absence would jeopardize quality of care at a facility. “If there is a risk to quality of care and an unvaccinated worker must continue to work beyond October 1 to mitigate that risk, the employer has 30 days to ensure that role is fulfilled by a fully vaccinated health care worker,” she said in a statement. The change was made to “safeguard patients, residents, and staff by holding health professionals and facilities accountable to the October 1 vaccination requirement, while also preventing disruptions to care in Rhode Island as health care facilities work toward full compliance,” she said. According to the latest state survey, 87% of health care workers in Rhode Island are vaccinated. Many of the state’s nursing homes had expressed concern about the Oct. 1 deadline, saying it would put additional strain on facilities already struggling with staffing shortages.

South Carolina

Greenville: A tent has been pitched at Prisma Health’s Greer Memorial Hospital to provide additional triage and treatment space, according to a spokesperson for the health system. The 40-by-80-foot tent was erected over the weekend by the South Carolina State Guard but has not yet been activated to provide treatment, according to a statement from a representative of the health system. Prisma spokesperson Sandy Dees said the tent is part of efforts at Prisma emergency departments in the Upstate to “proactively ‘surge up’ and create additional space to treat patients as needed.” Prisma did not respond to a question about the occupancy of its hospital in Greer. “We’re here to take care of our communities and that means taking the necessary steps to ensure we’re ready when and if those additional resources are needed,” Dr. Matthew Bitner, chair of emergency medicine at Prisma Health in the Upstate, said in the statement. “From a traditional ‘all-hazards’ approach, we are preparing not only for COVID patients but also the everyday emergencies such as trauma, heart attack, strokes, illness and injuries.”

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: The nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization projects more children will go hungry in South Dakota this year and won’t know where their next meal is coming from. Feeding America said the state’s child food insecurity rate for 2021 will be 16.3%, up from 15.3% in 2019. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as reduced food intake, disruptive eating, and decreased quality and variety in diets. The USDA recently reported a national trend of increasing food insecurity, which rose to 14.8% in 2020. “I think it is really concerning,” said Lisa Davis, senior vice president of the No Kid Hungry campaign, a national initiative to end child hunger. “Children who face hunger generally have worse health impacts on their physical and brain development. … They don’t do well in school, they graduate at lower rates, and those consequences for kids literally last a lifetime.” Before the coronavirus pandemic, food insecurity was at its lowest rate since USDA started tracking it in the late 1990s. But the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on food access to households with young children, households of children headed by single women, and households of color, specifically Black and Hispanic, Davis said.

Tennessee

Nashville: State officials are asking the public to pick their favorite of four redesign options for new license plates that will be available starting in January. Gov. Bill Lee’s office said voting began Monday and runs through Sept. 27 at tn.gov/ratetheplates. The new design will replace the current plate that launched in 2006, with modifications in 2011, 2016 and 2017. State law includes a redesign every eight years if lawmakers approve funding for it. Tennessee law also requires the words “Tennessee,” “Volunteer State” and “TNvacation.com” to be on the plate, and it lets Tennesseans pick an “In God We Trust” option. The winning design of the primarily white and deep-blue options will be announced in the fall.

Texas

Austin: After serving as interim police chief for the capital city since March, Joseph Chacon was named Wednesday as the permanent choice for the top spot. City Manager Spencer Cronk announced the appointment of Chacon, whose career with Austin police has spanned more than 20 years, after a nationwide search for a new chief. Chacon has been interim police chief since the retirement of former Chief Brian Manley amid a reckoning over racial injustice and use of force in law enforcement. Chacon, who served as assistant chief in Austin for almost five years before being named interim chief, said he was “extremely excited and humbled” by the opportunity. Chacon’s appointment must still be confirmed by the City Council, which is set to place an item on the appointment on next week’s agenda. Manley, chosen to lead the department in 2018, had been at the center of ongoing criticism following a fatal police shooting in April 2020 of a man driving away from officers and controversial uses of force by officers during protests over the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis in May 2020.

Utah

Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Wednesday that masks will be required inside temples to limit the spread of COVID-19. Church leaders said in a statement that masks will be required temporarily in an effort to keep temples open. The message was the latest in a series of statements from church leaders encouraging masking and vaccination efforts against COVID-19. “As cases of COVID-19 increase in many areas, we want to do everything possible to allow temples to remain open,” the church said in a statement. “Therefore, effective immediately, all temple patrons and workers are asked to wear face masks at all times while in the temple.” In Utah, where the church is based, a summer surge of the coronavirus among unvaccinated residents has continued to grow, while vaccination rates have slightly increased. Data from the Utah Health Department showed that in the past 28 days, state residents who are unvaccinated have been 5.9 times more likely to die from COVID-19 and 7.2 times more likely to be hospitalized than those who are vaccinated. About 64% of Utah residents ages 12 and older were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, state data shows. Utah reported 25 new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 2,829.

Vermont

Montpelier: The Vermont State Police has its first director of mental health programs to help coordinate and oversee the delivery of mental health services to people who come into contact with state police, officials said. Mourning Fox, who was deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Mental Health for the past four years and has more than 25 years of experience in the field, was named to the position, the Department of Public Safety and state police announced. “This is a crucial position within the Department of Public Safety and for the Vermont public safety community as we pursue short-, medium- and long-term goals with respect to mental health response and reimagining policing and safety services,” DPS Commissioner Michael Schirling said in a statement. Fox, who joined the department Aug. 30, will work with the state police’s 10 barracks and the Department of Mental Health to complete hiring. He will also ensure that each field station has at least one embedded mental health crisis specialist and that training is consistent, officials said. In the long term, he’ll help the Public Safety Department reimagine how police provide services to people who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use disorder crisis or have other unmet social service needs, officials said.

Virginia

Richmond: A year and a half into the coronavirus pandemic, the Virginia Employment Commission is still swamped with backlogged claims, its call centers are underperforming, and serious staffing problems persist, according to a scathing interim report the state’s legislative watchdog agency presented to lawmakers Monday. The agency’s staff undertook its review after the employment commission came under harsh scrutiny from lawmakers and the public for what by some measures is a worst-in-the-nation response to the surge in jobless claims. Thousands of Virginians have faced lengthy delays while waiting for benefits, and many have been unable to reach anyone for help or information about their case. “While operating in the extremely challenging public health environment created by COVID was understandably difficult … meaningful actions could have been taken sooner to respond to the public’s needs,” said Hal Greer, director of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam’s secretary of labor, Megan Healy, oversees the employment commission and defended its performance. Although she agreed the agency was not prepared for the pandemic, she argued to lawmakers that the root of the problem was a complicated federal funding formula that has long left the agency starved for resources.

Washington

Seattle: Three new buildings with 165 studio apartments that were supposed to be rented at market rates will instead house people leaving homelessness and people at risk of becoming homeless. The nonprofit Low Income Housing Institute will buy the buildings on Capitol Hill for about $50 million, with city and state housing programs sharing the cost equally, The Seattle Times reports. Seattle is using federal COVID-19 relief funds for its part, Mayor Jenny Durkan said. Two of the buildings will be managed by LIHI for adults. The third will be managed by YouthCare for young adults. Each will have a live-in case worker, said Sharon Lee, LIHI’s executive director. The deals will house people quickly and cheaply, relative to the time and cost required to develop low-income projects from scratch, Durkan said. The three buildings should be occupied by the end of the year, according to the city. “This is the fastest we have ever brought housing online,” Lee said. Tent encampments in parks and greenbelts have grown in Seattle during the coronavirus pandemic partly because the city has lacked shelter and housing spots, Durkan said. LIHI will move people into the buildings from tiny house villages it manages for the city, which should open more of those houses for people living on the streets, Lee said.

West Virginia

Lewisburg: Gov. Jim Justice has withdrawn from consideration as the coach of a boys basketball team at a high school where he already is the girls coach and where he’d already faced rejection for the job. In a letter to the Greenbrier Board of Education on Tuesday, Justice asked that a boys coach be named soon at Greenbrier East High School, with practices for the 2021-22 season starting in a month. Last month the board rejected a motion to hire Justice as boys coach. The board is looking to replace former NBA player Bimbo Coles, who resigned in July. “We need to move forward,” Justice said. “Pick a coach. The kids deserve that, and I wish them all the success.” Justice served as the boys coach from 2010 to 2017, his first year as governor. He has coached the girls team since 2000, winning a state championship in 2012. Justice’s second term as governor runs through 2024.

Wisconsin

Madison: Workers reinstalled two statues Tuesday on the state Capitol grounds that protesters ripped down during a demonstration last year in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Workers reinstalled a 9-foot-6-inch statue of Wisconsin abolitionist Col. Hans Christian Heg as well as a 7-foot statue of a woman symbolizing the state’s “Forward” motto. The statues have no associated racist history, but protesters said they represented a false narrative that Wisconsin supports Black people and racial equity. Demonstrators toppled both statues in June 2020, breaking off Heg’s leg and head. The “Forward” statue was dented and one of its fingers broken off. The demonstration was among several that shook downtown Madison in the days after Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Floyd, who was Black and handcuffed, died after white police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. Heg, a Norwegian immigrant who became an outspoken abolitionist, served in the 15th Wisconsin Regiment during the Civil War. He was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863. His statue, funded by the Norwegian Society of America, had stood outside the Capitol since 1926. The “Forward” statue was a bronze replica of the one that represented Wisconsin at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park: Rescue crews recovered the body of a 67-year-old man and searched around a lake Tuesday for his half-brother after the pair failed to return from a backcountry canoe trip. A 10-person ground crew was walking the shoreline of Shoshone Lake looking for Kim Crumbo, a 74-year-old former Navy SEAL from Ogden, Utah, Yellowstone officials said. A helicopter from nearby Grand Teton National Park was helping in the effort. Rescuers found the body of Mark O’Neill of Chimacum, Washington, on Monday along the eastern shore, where a canoe, paddle, flotation device and other items were found Sunday. A vacant campsite was found on the south side of the lake. A family member reported the two experienced boaters and former National Park Service employees overdue from their four-night trip Sunday. Shoshone Lake covers 13 square miles and has an average temperature of about 48 degrees Fahrenheit, with survival time estimated to be only 20 to 30 minutes in such cold water, officials said. The lake also can be subject to high winds and sudden storms. Drowning is one of the top causes of death in Yellowstone, behind car and snowmobile accidents and illness, park historian Lee Whittlesey wrote in his book “Death in Yellowstone.”

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Pete Arredondo: Uvalde school police chief's termination may be ...

CNN —

Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District officials have informed district police chief Pete Arredondo that the school board intends to meet Saturday to decide on his fate, according to a source close to the discussions.

The source told CNN Tuesday the board is expected to vote to terminate Arredondo, who was placed on administrative leave last month for his role in the botched response to the Robb Elementary School shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers.

Earlier, two sources close to the process told CNN Uvalde officials were in discussions on the process to remove Arredondo over his role in the response to the shooting.

The discussions follow a heated school board meeting Monday night where parents demanded the board fire Arredondo by Tuesday.

CNN has reached out to Arredondo’s attorney and has not received a response.

Arredondo, who has been the school district police chief since March 2020, was one of the nearly 400 law enforcement officers who responded to the shooting in which a gunman entered adjoining classrooms inside the Texas school on May 24.

Officers began arriving at the school within minutes but allowed the gunman to remain in the classrooms for 77 minutes until they entered and killed him, according to a timeline from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). By the time police forced their way inside, 19 children and two teachers were dead.

In a hearing before the Texas Senate last month, DPS Director Col. Steven McCraw called the police response an “abject failure.” He placed sole blame for the failure on Arredondo, who officials have identified as the on-scene commander, saying he “decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children.”

But Arredondo did not consider himself incident commander, according to a Texas House investigative committee’s preliminary report. “My approach and thought was responding as a police officer. And so I didn’t title myself,” Arredondo said in the investigative report.

The report instead placed blame more broadly, saying, “The entirety of law enforcement and its training, preparation, and response shares systemic responsibility for many missed opportunities.”

It also noted others could have assumed command.

Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training “teaches that any law enforcement officer can assume command, that somebody must assume command, and that an incident commander can transfer responsibility as an incident develops,” the report said. “That did not happen at Robb Elementary, and the lack of effective incident command is a major factor that caused other vital measures to be left undone.”

In the wake of sharp criticism, Uvalde school district Superintendent Hal Harrell placed Arredondo on leave from his position as school police chief on June 22.

“Because of the lack of clarity that remains and the unknown timing of when I will receive the results of the investigations, I have made the decision to place Chief Arredondo on administrative leave effective on this date,” Harrell wrote in the announcement.

Arredondo, who has worked in law enforcement for nearly 30 years, has not spoken substantively to the public about his decision-making the day of the massacre, but he told the Texas Tribune and the House Committee he did not consider himself the on-scene commander.

However, at least one of the responding officers expressed the belief that Arredondo was leading the law enforcement response inside the school, telling others, “the chief is in charge,” according to the DPS timeline.

Arredondo also told the Tribune he did not instruct officers to refrain from breaching the classrooms.

Separately, Arredondo resigned his position on the Uvalde City Council in early July, according to a resignation letter he sent to the city.

“After much consideration, it is in the best interest of the community to step down as a member of the City Council for District 3 to minimize further distractions,” Arredondo said in the letter. “The Mayor, the City Council, and the City Staff must continue to move forward to unite our community, once again.”

Shimon Prokupecz Eric Levenson
Shimon Prokupecz
Eric Levenson

Protecting coasts, book bike: News from around our 50 states

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Montgomery: The state is seeking a new execution date for Alan Eugene Miller, who survived the first attempt to kill him in late September. Only a handful of people have walked away from an execution attempt alive – just two of whom had a second execution date set. Last Tuesday, the state attorney general’s office filed with the Alabama Supreme Court an expedited motion to set an execution date for Miller before another man on death row. The attorney general’s office on Aug. 5 moved the court to schedule James Barber’s execution, but the court has not yet set a date. The court would have to suspend state appellate procedure to set Miller’s execution date ahead of Barber’s, according to the motion. After the U.S. Supreme Court OK’d Miller’s execution by lethal injection shortly after 9 p.m. Sept. 22, Alabama Department of Corrections staff tried to establish intravenous access to administer the lethal injection. Prison staff couldn’t find a suitable vein and called off the procedure 30 minutes before midnight, when the execution warrant expired. Staff poked Miller with needles for more than an hour, the Atlantic reports, before he “was left hanging off the upright gurney, his hands and one foot bleeding from failed IV attempts, waiting to die.”

Alaska

Anchorage: Amid a budget shortage, the city’s public school district is considering closures, Alaska Public Media reports. Across the Anchorage School District, 18 schools are operating at less than 65% capacity after a 5,000-student decline over the past ten years, according to the news outlet. A financial officer suggested perhaps five elementary schools might be dropped.

Arizona

Alpine: A $25,000 reward has been offered for the arrest and conviction of perpetrators involved in a wild horse killing in the Apache National Forest, according to Amelia Perrin from the American Wild Horse Campaign. Two nonprofit organizations – the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group and the American Wild Horse Campaign – have pledged $20,000 toward the reward fund. Another advocacy organization, Animal Wellness Action, has pledged an additional $5,000 toward the reward, Perrin said. She said the reward is in response to the discovery of the death of a herd of wild horses in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest by volunteers from the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group. The groups announced the death toll has risen to 15 horses fatally shot, with 20 still missing and presumed dead. “The gunmen who are targeting these horses have inflicted enormous suffering on these innocent animals and caused immense trauma to the people who love them,” said Simone Netherlands, president of the group. The Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests confirmed in a statement Friday that a number of horses were found dead near Forest Road 25 on the Alpine and Springerville Ranger Districts. The investigation is still ongoing. “Someone knows something,” Perrin said.

Arkansas

Fort Smith: Just because the Arkansas History Commission ruled that the Confederate flag is historic and a part of a past flag display at Riverfront Park does not mean the flag needs to fly there again, a judge has ruled.

California

Sacramento: Five California tribes will reclaim their right to manage coastal land significant to their history under a first-in-the-nation program backed with $3.6 million in state money. The tribes will rely on their traditional knowledge to protect more than 200 miles of coastline in the state, as climate change and human activity have impacted the vast area. Some of the tribes’ work will include monitoring salmon after the removal of a century-old defunct dam in the redwood forests in the Santa Cruz mountains and testing for toxins in shellfish, while also educating future generations on traditional practices. The partnership comes three years after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom apologized for the state’s previous violence and mistreatment against Indigenous peoples. Newsom said the state should allow for more co-management of tribes’ ancestral lands. Megan Rocha, who’s on the Tribal Marine Stewards Network’s leadership council, said these coastal areas hold cultural significance for various tribes, making the partnership monumental. “It’s focused on tribal sovereignty,” she said. “So how do we build a network where it provides for collaboration, but again, it allows each tribe to do it in the way that they see fit and respects each tribe’s sovereignty.”

Colorado

Denver: A former National Security Agency employee charged with espionage thought he was sending classified information to Russia when he was talking to an undercover FBI agent, according to court documents released Friday. Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 30, of Colorado Springs, is accused of six counts of attempting to provide documents and information related to national defense to the Russian Federation, according to his indictment issued Thursday. The information he is accused of providing includes a threat assessment of the military offensive capabilities of a foreign country, not named, along with a description of sensitive U.S. defense capabilities, a portion of which relates to that same foreign country, the indictment said. Dalke is being represented by lawyers from the federal public defender’s office, which does not comment publicly on its cases. The Army veteran allegedly told the undercover agent he had $237,000 in debts and had decided to work with Russia because his heritage “ties back to your country.” Dalke was arrested Sept. 28 after authorities say he arrived at Denver’s downtown train station with a laptop and used a secure connection set up by the undercover agent to transfer some classified documents. But first he sent a thank-you letter in which he said he looked “forward to our friendship and shared benefit.”

Connecticut

New Haven: The city is scrapping the idea of building its own high-speed internet network and now plans instead to encourage expansion of existing, largely private broadband services, the New Haven Independent reports. Mayor Justin Elicker and Economic Development Officer Dean Mack told the newspaper in an interview that the decision stemmed from multiple factors, including current providers’ own growth plans and new federal money for improving broadband access. “We want to make sure we’re not spending local tax dollars on something the federal government will already be covering,” he said, and officials also now realize “that there’s market interest in doing what we were thinking of doing ourselves.” The $1 trillion infrastructure deal that President Joe Biden signed last November includes money to expand affordable high-speed internet access. Biden is a Democrat, as is Elicker. New Haven hired a consulting firm in January to explore options for improving internet access, including the possibility of creating a public network. Mack said the city paid the consultants about $40,000, and their work “really helped us out.” The city now plans to tap federal subsidies, woo new broadband providers and encourage current ones to carry out their expansion plans.

Delaware

Wilmington: A Chinese immigrant and chemist who played a role in the 1960s developing noise reduction technology at the DuPont Experimental Station was honored at a recent ceremony. A conference center was named for Theodore “Ted” P. Yin, who worked at the company in the ’60s with his wife, Fay Hoh Yin. DuPont officials recognized their achievements, along with those of all employees of Asian descent who have contributed to DuPont over the years. Ted Yin was a physical chemist at DuPont in the Elastomers Department from 1960 to 1969 and is widely remembered for his role in developing Noise, Vibration and Harshness Reduction. This technology is still used today all around the world and can be found in things like dishwashers in homes, railroad car wheels or engines in cars. Ted died in 1970 at the age of 39, leaving behind his two children, Monona and Duncan, along with his wife and his mother, Florence. Fay was a DuPont biochemist who conducted research on the rhinoviruses from 1966 until her retirement in 1991. She outlived her husband by 50 years and died in 2020. Mobility & Materials President Randy Stone was inspired by the Yin family’s moving story and contributions to DuPont and wanted to do something special to honor them.

District of Columbia

Washington: A new, scathing report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development highlights the filthy and dangerous living conditions in D.C. public housing, WUSA-TV reports. The 72-page document confirms the D.C. Housing Authority has inadequate management, lack of compliance with federal law and poor oversight. Now, D.C. leaders have three months to fix the 82 total violations cited by auditors. Officials must first respond to the report by Nov. 30. D.C. Housing Director Brenda Donald said the agency has received the report and is in the process of putting together responses. WUSA9’s initial investigations into D.C. Housing in May led to immediate action by some local agencies. At Potomac Gardens on Capitol Hill, repairs were made and are still happening. But then WUSA9 started hearing from other people about the conditions in public housing complexes all across the city – buildings the district’s government is responsible for maintaining. According to the audit, D.C. Housing received more than $76 million in federal funds to maintain more than 8,000 units. However, only 76% of their housing stock is occupied – the lowest public housing rate in the country.

Florida

Fort Myers: An army of 42,000 utility workers has restored electricity to more than 2.5 million businesses and homes in the state since Hurricane Ian’s onslaught, and Brenda Palmer’s place is among them. By the government’s count, she and her husband Ralph are part of a success story. Yet turning on the lights in a wrecked mobile home that’s likely beyond repair and reeks of dried river mud and mold isn’t much solace to people who lost a lifetime of work in a few hours of wind, rain and rising seawater. Sorting through soggy old photos of her kids in the shaded ruins of her carport, Palmer couldn’t help but cry. “Everybody says, ’You can’t save everything, mom,’ ” she said. “You know, it’s my life. It’s MY life. It’s gone.” While Gov. Ron DeSantis has heaped lavish praise on his administration for the early phases of the recovery, including getting running water and lights back on and erecting a temporary bridge to Pine Island, much more remains to be done. There are still mountains of debris to remove; it’s hard to find a road that isn’t lined with waterlogged carpet, ruined furniture, moldy mattresses and pieces of homes.

Georgia

Fort Benning: First lady Jill Biden is scheduled to travel to Fort Benning this week to visit with members of the military and their families, according to the White House. During her visit Thursday and Friday to the army post near Columbus, Georgia, and Phenix City, Alabama, she’s also set to stop by the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Biden, who was second lady at the time, and then-first lady Michelle Obama launched the “Joining Forces” initiative in 2011 to aid members of the military, veterans and their families with employment support, educational resources, and programs for health and wellness. Biden previously flew into Fort Benning in April 2021 with her husband, President Joe Biden, on a trip marking his first 100 days in office, the newspaper reports. She was in Georgia more recently in July to visit a children’s summer program in Athens.

Hawaii

Honolulu: The city started taking applications Monday for Oahu restaurants, bars, hotels and clubs that want to offer outdoor dining, HawaiiNewsNow reports. The option became popular at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the latest pilot program looks to expand on that economic boost and offer a way to guard against future outbreaks.

Idaho

Boise: The city has settled a federal discrimination lawsuit with a former library employee who said they were harassed and discriminated against because they are nonbinary and transgender, the Idaho Statesman reports. Jax Perez filed a lawsuit against Boise, the former library director, and other library and city employees in U.S. District Court in Boise last summer. Perez, who uses they/them pronouns, was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union. In a news release Friday, the city said the settlement was reached after both parties “evaluated the merits of the case and the resources required for extensive litigation.” “The city’s policies and practice continue to make the equitable treatment of employees a priority,” the statement said. “This settlement is an affirmation of that commitment.” The Statesman said it has asked the city for the settlement amount but has not yet received an answer. The lawsuit stemmed from two separate instances in 2019. On one occasion, the lawsuit said, then-library director Kevin Booe took action to have Perez fired after a library patron objected to a pride display Perez had organized at the library.

Illinois

Chicago: Kenyan runners Benson Kipruto and Ruth Chepngetich won the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, while Emily Sisson finished second and set a record for an American woman. Kipruto finished in 2:04:24 – 25 seconds ahead of 2021 winner Seifu Tura Abdiwak of Ethiopia. John Korir of Kenya was third at 2:05:01. Chepngetich was the top woman for the second consecutive year, finishing in 2:14:18. Sisson ran the course in 2:18:29, followed by Vivian Jerono Kiplagat of Kenya at 2:20:52. More than 40,000 runners competed in the 26.2-mile event. Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the wheelchair division in 1:25:20. Susannah Scaroni of the U.S. was the top woman in 1:45:48.

Indiana

Indianapolis: Martin University will cut tuition nearly in half and erase up to $10,000 in debt for qualifying students in an effort to make college more affordable and accessible. Leaders of the small private school on the near northeast side of Indianapolis said the initiative, called the Reset to Reemerge Campaign, marked a historic moment for the institution, its students and the city. “We believe that every Hoosier has a right to an affordable college education,” said Sean Huddleston, president of Martin. “But we also know that making a student loan payment, even while enjoying a career, can interrupt one’s ability to achieve their financial goals and fully engage in the economic vitality of our city and state.” Martin has about 225 students currently enrolled. Indiana’s only predominantly Black institution of higher education, it serves a largely nontraditional population of adult learners from low-income households. As such, Huddleston said it has a moral imperative to address the college affordability issue. While it is plaguing institutions, students and families nationwide, Huddleston said the cost of higher education is particularly burdensome for the population Martin serves, but they may also have the most to gain. As many as 300 former students could benefit from the balance erasure, according to university estimates.

Iowa

Des Moines: Regulators have declined a Winnebago tribal request that Summit Carbon Solutions conduct a state-level environmental impact study of its proposed $4.5billion carbon-capture pipeline across Iowa. The Iowa Utilities Board said Thursday that the Ames company will address its proposed pipeline’s environmental impact in connection with its request for a permit to build the 680-mile project across 29 Iowa counties. The three-member board has not yet set a date for Summit’s permit hearing. “It will be necessary for Summit Carbon to file testimony and exhibits that address the environmental permits and authorizations it needs to construct the proposed pipeline,” the board said in its order. It added that “other parties may file testimony and exhibits in response to the evidence presented by Summit Carbon” and cross-examine the witnesses on environmental issues. The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska has a reservation in Dakota County, Nebraska, and Iowa’s Woodbury County, straddling the Missouri River. It requested in June that the Iowa Utilities Board, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the two counties, require Summit – as well as Navigator CO2 Ventures, which also wants to build a carbon capture pipeline – to conduct environmental impact studies. Both would cross or come close to Winnebago tribal land, as well as the Missouri River.

Kansas

Topeka: The tops of the twin towers of Assumption Catholic Church that have adorned the landscape of downtown Topeka for at least 90 years will soon come down because of weather-related deterioration. Work is expected to begin this month on the project, according to The Leaven, the newspaper of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. The top one-third of both towers will be removed and capped off, while the bells located in the east tower will be taken elsewhere and stored, the archdiocese said. Assumption was Topeka’s first Catholic parish. The first Assumption Church was built in 1862 and the second in 1882. The current Assumption Church, built in 1923, is part of Mater Dei Catholic Parish, which also includes Holy Name Catholic Church. The tops of Assumption Church’s towers were not part of the original building, having been constructed using slightly lighter-colored bricks between 1928 and 1932, the archdiocese said. It said water damage resulting from free-thaw cycles during the winters caused the towers to crumble. Serious deterioration was found in 2016 during an inspection of the towers, and an engineer recommended last year that the top one-third of each be removed, the archdiocese said. The rest of the church is considered to be in good condition, it said.

Kentucky

Louisville: A statue of King Louis XVI that stood for decades in downtown Louisville before it was damaged during racial justice demonstrations in 2020 may get restored and reappear in the city. But where and when the statue of the French king from whom Louisville gets it name will stand again – if at all – is pas encore connue, or unknown. A public art official told a Metro Council committee Wednesday that it could cost the city more than $200,000 to restore and relocate King Louis XVI. Consultants also have advised Louisville Metro that the statue could be a safety hazard if placed outside, and that also would not be “in the interest of preserving the statue,” according to the presentation. First installed on the west lawn of Metro Hall in 1967, the King Louis XVI statue was moved in 1973 to the northeast corner of West Jefferson and South Sixth streets and was a gift from Montpellier, Louisville’s sister city in southern France. The 9-ton marble statue of the former king, who helped colonists win the Revolutionary War before his public beheading during the French Revolution, was constructed in 1829 and initially placed in Montpellier’s public square, commissioned by the king’s daughter, Maria-Therese. It was removed from the square less than a year later. In 1966, Montpellier offered the statue to Louisville.

Louisiana

New Orleans: Two people from a sunken fishing boat were fending off sharks in the Gulf of Mexico when a crew rescued them and one other person from waters off the state’s coastline, the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard launched a search after a relative reported the three people failed to return from a fishing trip Saturday evening. The 24-foot, center-console fishing boat sank about 10 a.m. Saturday and stranded the three people without communication devices, the Coast Guard said in a news release. The three were wearing lifejackets, and one was showing signs of hypothermia when they were rescued Sunday about 25 miles offshore from Empire, Louisiana, a small community southeast of New Orleans. The news release said a Coast Guard boat crew saw two of the people fending off sharks, and both of them had injured hands. The crew pulled them from the water, and the two were lifted onto a helicopter. The helicopter crew lifted the third boater from the water. The two injured people were taken to University Medical Center New Orleans, where they were listed as stable. The Coast Guard did not release their names.

Maine

Portland: The state Department of Education is not doing enough to enforce a decades-old law requiring students to be taught about Native American history, leading most schools to fall short, according to a study. Released Monday, on Indigenous Peoples Day, the study concluded most school districts are failing to cover all required areas of Wabanaki studies. “Teaching Wabanaki Studies is not optional. It is required by law,” Michael Kebede, policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, said in a statement. The Wabanaki Alliance, the Abbe Museum and the ACLU of Maine used the state’s open records law to survey 10 districts and the state education department on their compliance with the law. The Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission also joined in the report. The 21-year-old state law requires schools to teach Wabanaki history, economic and political systems, and culture. The Wabanaki comprises the Penobscot Nation, Passamaquoddy tribes at Indian Township and Pleasant Point, Houlton Band of Maliseets, and Mi’kmaq.

Maryland

Frederick: Frederick County Public Libraries is bringing the library to patrons on three wheels. The Book Bike is designed to reach people who might not be able to come to a library branch in person. The bicycle’s bright orange cargo box, balanced between two front wheels, can carry up to 260 pounds, according to a FCPL news release. It comes equipped with an electric boost to help the cyclist pedal heavy loads. The library staff estimates the Book Bike can hold 300 children’s picture books or 120 adult fiction books. The Maryland State Library’s Library Service and Technology Act Grant funded the Book Bike. Beth Heltebridle, the C. Burr Artz branch administrator, said library employees will fill the Book Bike with materials they think will suit the audience they plan to visit. The Book Bike will carry a laptop, so patrons can check out materials or sign up for library cards. It also has a mobile hot spot that can deliver free Wi-Fi within 50 feet of the bicycle. The Book Bike launch coincided with National Library Card Signup Month. A FCPL library card gives the user access to books, movies, magazines, audio books and more. “It’s all about increasing access,” Heltebridle said. The Book Bike does not have a set route yet but is expected to frequent festivals, events and underserved communities.

Massachusetts

Boston: The Boston Symphony Orchestra is embarking next month on its first overseas engagements since before the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of cultural events around the world. The orchestra is scheduled to undertake a four-city tour of Japan, performing at Yokohama’s Minato Mirai Hall on Nov. 9; Kyoto’s Concert Hall on Nov. 10; Osaka’s Festival Hall on Nov. 11; and Tokyo’s Suntory Hall on Nov. 13, 14 and 15. “The last few years have taught us to be especially grateful for the gifts of our lives,” Boston Symphony Orchetra music director Andris Nelsons said in a statement Wednesday. “This is how we feel about returning to Japan, where we will passionately share our music while expressing our deep appreciation for the people and culture of this great country.” The tour repertoire will include Mahler’s Symphony No. 6; Mozart’s Symphony No. 40; Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5; Strauss’ “Alpine Symphony”; and Caroline Shaw’s “Punctum.” The orchestra will be joined by Mitsuko Ushida on piano in Osaka and Tokyo. The stops in Yokohama and Kyoto are the orchestra’s first visits to those cities since the late 1980s. The orchestra’s last overseas tour was an eight-city European trip in September 2018.

Michigan

Muskegon: A judicial candidate is facing domestic assault charges partly based on video footage suggesting he hit his girlfriend repeatedly with a belt, prompting local domestic violence advocates to actively speak out against his candidacy. The candidate’s girlfriend and his attorney deny that he actually struck her. Jason Kolkema was arraigned on the misdemeanor charges in mid-September. Kolkema, a 51-year-old attorney running for Muskegon County’s 14th Circuit Court judicial seat, contends he was striking a chair with a belt and not his girlfriend as suggested by the video shot by an office worker in a building neighboring Kolkema’s apartment. “I understand that the optics are bad. I understand the anger and disappointment, especially from the people who voted for me and supported me … All of the facts will be revealed in due time,” Kolkema wrote on Facebook in response to a comment. His attorney, Terry Nolan, told WOOD-TV in September that Kolkema did not strike his girlfriend and said the incident shouldn’t disqualify him from seeking a seat on the bench. The woman said she was wearing a headset, and Kolkema struck the chair’s armrest to get her attention. The woman said she took some blame for the incident, writing that “it was rude of me to ignore him.”

Minnesota

Keewatin: Construction has started on one of the largest taconite projects in the state in recent years. U.S. Steel dedicated its $150 million plant addition in Keewatin on Wednesday as steelworkers picketed on the road to the facility. The union that represents workers at the Keetac plant is supportive of the project but remains at odds with U.S. Steel over a new contract. The national contract between the union and U.S. Steel expired Sept. 1. The United Steelworkers union has already settled with Cleveland-Cliffs, U.S. Steel’s main competitor on the Iron Range. The new U.S. Steel addition in Keewatin will produce pellets with a higher iron content than the traditional pellet. Full production of the new pellet is expected in 2024, the Star Tribune reports. Keetac is being retooled to make “direct-reduced” grade taconite pellets, which are used for producing iron for electric arc furnaces. Electric arc mills have traditionally used scrap metal but are increasingly utilizing direct-reduced iron or pig iron made from direct-reduced taconite pellets. Taconite plants on the Iron Range, including U.S. Steel’s Minntac facility in Mountain Iron, mainly produce iron ore pellets that are used in traditional blast furnaces. Electric arc furnaces are the primary source of U.S. steel production.

Mississippi

Hamilton: State regulators are investigating after a video showing four day care employees scaring children at a facility in an unincorporated northeast Mississippi community went viral on social media. The videos on Facebook show a day care worker at Lil’ Blessings Child Care & Learning Center in Hamilton wearing a Halloween mask and yelling at children who didn’t “clean up” or “act good.” Children can be seen and heard crying and, at times, running away from the employee wearing the mask, while another employee gives directions about which children acted “good” or “bad.” The employee in the mask is shown screaming inches away from children’s faces at times. Sheila Sanders, who has owned the business for the past 20 years, said she was unaware of the videos until Wednesday afternoon, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports. Sanders said one video was filmed in September and another on Tuesday. “No one came forth to tell me it happened in September,” she said. The behavior shown by her former employees in the video, she said, isn’t tolerated. “I contacted my licensure, and she has gotten involved,” Sanders said. “The people that did those acts are no longer with us. They were fired. I wasn’t here at the time and wasn’t aware they were doing that. I don’t condone that and never have.”

Missouri

Excelsior Springs: Authorities continued investigating a suspected kidnapping and sexual assault this weekend in a small town just northeast of Kansas City that was discovered when a malnourished woman escaped and screamed for help. Clay County authorities charged a man with rape, kidnapping and assault after the woman ran from his house in Excelsior Springs on Friday morning. She was hospitalized in stable condition Friday and reunited with her family afterward. “When we made contact with her, it was readily apparent that she had been held against her will for a significant period of time,” Excelsior Springs police Lt. Ryan Dowdy said. The woman told police there may have been two other victims, but authorities haven’t said whether any additional victims have been found. Investigators have continued to search the home from which the woman escaped, and Excelsior Springs Police Chief Greg Dull asked the public Saturday to be patient while officers sort through evidence. Dull said additional charges could be filed depending on the evidence investigators uncover. Excelsior Springs is about 30 miles northeast of Kansas City.

Montana

Billings: A U.S. magistrate judge has declared unconstitutional two Montana laws that sought to prevent the closure of a coal-fired power plant by subjecting its out-of-state owners to steep fines if they wouldn’t pay long-term maintenance and operating costs. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen DeSoto said the state measures violated free commerce provisions in the U.S. Constitution and federal laws intended to keep states from interfering in private agreements, The Billings Gazette reports. Puget Sound Energy, Avista Corp., Portland General Electric and PacificCorp are majority owners of the Colstrip Power Plant in southeastern Montana. Their home states of Washington and Oregon are phasing out the use of coal-generated power over climate concerns – Washington in late 2025 and Oregon in early 2030. The utilities have previously objected to paying for repairs to extend Colstrip’s life beyond when they can sell the power. Talen Montana and NorthWestern Energy, which do not face coal-power bans, own the rest of the plant and want it to remain open. The disputed laws were passed by the Republican-controlled Montana Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte in 2021.

Nebraska

Omaha: With Ben Sasse apparently ready to resign his U.S. Senate seat to become president of the University of Florida, speculation is rampant that his temporary replacement could be Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts. Ricketts, who like Sasse is a Republican, would otherwise be out of a political job at the end of the year due to term limits. Scenarios of how Ricketts would ascend to the U.S. Senate run the gamut from his presumptive successor naming him as Nebraska’s newest U.S. senator to Ricketts appointing himself to fill the seat. However, Ricketts issued a statement Friday afternoon appearing to rule out appointing himself. “If I choose to pursue the appointment, I will leave the appointment decision to the next governor and will follow the process established for all interested candidates,” he said in the statement. The question is whether Ricketts wants the job. “I think the obvious candidate is Pete Ricketts, and if he wants to be a U.S. senator, then it’s his to take,” said Mark Fahleson, a former chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party. Ricketts on Friday confirmed that the news of Sasse’s departure caught him off guard. “The first I learned about Sen. Sasse’s plan to resign from the United States Senate was yesterday, when he called to notify me,” he said, adding that the job of governor “is the greatest job in the world, and it will remain my number one focus for the remainder of my term.”

Nevada

Las Vegas: The area’s carpool lanes soon will be open to any driver during overnight hours for the next year-and-a-half. The Nevada Department of Transportation will start an 18-month pilot program this month where even a lone driver can travel in carpool lanes or HOV lanes between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. The agency decided to try these new hours out after studies showed traffic on Interstate 15 came down every day between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. There are over 20 continuous carpool lanes in the metro Las Vegas area, according to officials. The new carpool lane hours begin Oct. 24.

New Hampshire

Alton: Slain journalist James Foley has been honored with a stone memorial outside the church he attended in his childhood. Foley, a freelance journalist, was among a group of Westerners brutally murdered in Islamic State captivity in Syria in 2014. He grew up in Wolfeboro and attended St. Katharine Drexel Church in Alton, where the memorial was unveiled Sunday. “We wanted to do something so we would never forget that he’s a member of us, and he’s part of our family,” the church’s pastor, Fr. Bob Cole, told WMUR-TV. Foley’s mother, Diane Foley, said her son would’ve been profoundly humbled by the gesture. “I was hugely grateful to find that Jim received so much strength from his faith,” she said. Two British IS militants, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, have either pleaded guilty or been found guilty by a jury in connection with Foley’s death and are serving life sentences.

New Jersey

Trenton: Nearly two dozen historical sites and nonprofits in the state are set to receive cash injections in a new round of funding from the New Jersey Historic Trust. Part of the state Department of Consumer Affairs, the trust has recommended the release of nearly $15.8 million from the Garden State Historic Preservation Trust Fund to fund 65 projects across New Jersey. Four of the largest awards, $750,000 each, are expected to fund rehabilitation projects in Hoboken, Newark and Paterson. In Paterson, the money is earmarked for ongoing improvements at Lambert Castle. That project could receive a pair of $750,000 grants from the trust for a rehabilitation effort that has kept the Passaic County museum closed since 2019. Built in 1892, the former home of silk tycoon Catholina Lambert is expected to reopen in 2023. The long-term project received $750,000 from the trust in 2019 and $50,000 in 2018, which is also true for the Hoboken Free Public Library and Manual Training School project. Opened in 1897, the four-story public library this year underwent third-floor renovations and received a new HVAC system. The Newark money would boost efforts to preserve City Hall. Built in 1902, it features carved marble and a 24-karat gold-covered dome.

New Mexico

Las Vegas: A synagogue that is believed to be the first Jewish place of worship in the New Mexico Territory is back in the hands of the Jewish community. The Albuquerque Journal reported Monday the Las Vegas Jewish Community crowd-sourced enough funds to buy Temple Montfiore last month from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. One of the oldest Catholic dioceses in the United States, it has been forced to sell properties to help pay a settlement agreement that resulted from a clergy sex abuse scandal. The synagogue was sold to the diocese in the 1950s because there were very few Jewish people in the region. In recent years, the building has been a place of worship for Catholic college students. When the Las Vegas Jewish Community became aware it was up for sale and that the deadline was in September, members turned to GoFundMe. The group raised over $300,000 in just a few weeks – more money than it actually needed. Diana Presser, a board member of the Las Vegas Jewish Community, saud it was fitting that the sale closed during Rosh Hashana last week. “I led the services for the first Sabbath of the new year in a building we now own,” Presser said.

New York

New York: The mayor declared a state of emergency Friday over the thousands of migrants being sent from Southern states since the spring, saying the demand being put on the city to provide housing and other assistance is “not sustainable.” “A city recovering from an ongoing global pandemic is being overwhelmed by a humanitarian crisis made by human hands,” Mayor Eric Adams said. “We are at the edge of the precipice. … We need help. And we need it now.” By the end of its fiscal year, Adams said the city expected to spend $1 billion helping the new arrivals, many of whom are heavily reliant on government aid because federal law prohibits them from working in the U.S. Adams, a Democrat, said the new arrivals are welcome in the city. And he spoke with pride of New York City’s history as a landing spot for new immigrants. “New Yorkers have always looked out for our immigrant brothers and sisters. We see ourselves in them. We see our ancestors in them,” he said. But “though our compassion is limitless, our resources are not,” he said. New York City’s already strained shelter system has been under even greater pressure. Between five and six buses of migrants are arriving per day, Adams said, with nine on Thursday alone. And 1 in 5 beds in New York City’s homeless shelter system is now occupied by a migrant, swelling its population to record levels. The city has opened 42 new, temporary shelters, mostly in hotels, but Adams said more would need to be done.

North Carolina

Raleigh: Planned Parenthood’s political arm announced a $5 million investment Thursday in the state’s battleground races as Democrats fight to preserve the governor’s veto power in one of the last abortion access points in the Southeast. Just 32 days from Election Day, with absentee voting now underway, Planned Parenthood Votes and Planned Parenthood Action PAC North Carolina are targeting 14 legislative swing districts with ads, mailings, phone banks and canvassing. The investment is part of an existing $50 million national campaign to protect reproductive rights in nine target states – the largest-ever electoral program in its history. Abortions are legal in North Carolina until 20 weeks of pregnancy, as of an Aug. 17 federal court ruling. But with Republicans just five seats shy of a supermajority in the General Assembly – three seats shy in the House and two in the Senate – Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s power to veto more stringent abortion restrictions hinges on the November outcome. As its neighboring states slash abortion access in the months following the June U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, North Carolina has become one of the South’s few safe havens for the procedure.

North Dakota

Bismarck: An addiction counselor who helped defeat a marijuana legalization proposal four years ago has launched a fresh opposition group seeking to do it again this November. Kristie Spooner announced her group, Healthy and Productive North Dakota, less than five weeks before Election Day and after some major funders of the 2018 opposition had announced they would sit out the 2022 fight. The measure would allow people over age 21 in North Dakota to use and possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana and grow up to three marijuana plants. “Kristie and other people in North Dakota were really concerned about the measure,” said Luke Niforatos, who helped Spooner launch the group. “We didn’t see an organized effort take hold sooner, so we’re doing it before it’s too late.” The group had raised just $750 as of Thursday, from Niforatos’ contribution as executive vice president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a Virginia-based political organization against marijuana legalization. But he said the group hopes to raise at least $200,000 to put toward digital, radio and billboard advertising. A different group that supports legalization, The New Approach, has raised about $550,000, treasurer Mark Friese said.

Ohio

Columbus: Well over a year after Ohio’s former chief of K-12 public education announced his retirement, the State Board of Education hasn’t found a replacement. In fact, the board argued about whether to seek proposals from outside firms to search for a new state superintendent at its September meeting. “The move for even getting to the point of hiring a search firm was a fight,” board member John Hagan said. Ultimately, the 19-member board voted to start searching for a search firm, but Hagan said he doesn’t think an offer will be made until 2023. And that concerns him and other conservative board members because 30% of Ohio’s children were chronically absent last year, test scores haven’t recovered from the pandemic, and the state’s budget process is already underway. “When this kind of stuff happens, I think that we are losing integrity, and we should never use that word again in this room,” board member Diana Fessler said during September’s meeting. The position – vacant for 15 months now – oversees the education of Ohio’s 1.7 million public education students from kindergarten through high school and helps guide the development of academic standards.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Leaders of the state’s largest tribes say they will formally endorse Joy Hofmeister for governor amid their final push to inspire more tribal citizens to vote and unseat incumbent Gov. Kevin Stitt. Hofmeister has been a clear favorite among tribal leaders throughout the race, but leaders of the Five Tribes plan to take the unique step of expressing their joint support for the Democratic challenger Tuesday in Oklahoma City. While the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee and Seminole nations work closely together on many issues, their top elected officials rarely make joint endorsements in state political races. That they are doing so now signals how critical they view the outcome of the governor’s race. Stitt’s first term in office has been marked by conflict with tribal leaders over policing, taxing, gaming and hunting. Leaders of the Five Tribes said in a joint statement they are backing Hofmeister because she will work with them and because she shares many of the same economic, health and safety priorities. Hofmeister, Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction, switched parties last year to run against Stitt. Tribal leaders, including Chickasaw Gov. Bill Anoatubby and Choctaw Chief Gary Batton, soon donated to her campaign. Tribes across the state also created a voter awareness campaign.

Oregon

Portland: Three of the state’s largest hospital systems are suing Oregon over its alleged lack of adequate mental health care, which they say has forced the hospital systems to house patients in need of mental health treatment for months. Providence Health & Services, Legacy Health and PeaceHealth say in the lawsuit the Oregon Health Authority has forced them to provide care they’re not equipped to give for patients who should be civilly committed to psychiatric institutions such as the Oregon State Hospital, The Oregonian/OregonLive reports. The state psychiatric hospital’s ongoing capacity crisis, along with a recent court ruling that strictly limits who can be admitted, has left community hospitals with nowhere to send patients in need of mental health treatment. Hospital representatives say they have been forced to treat those patients long-term. “The necessary components for safe and effective treatment provided at long-term care facilities – such as security, private rooms, kitchens and physical exercise – are not feasible at hospitals that are also responsible for meeting the short-term acute care needs of their communities,” a joint statement for the facilities said. “As a result, patients left in these environments by OHA do not receive needed care and, in many cases, decompensate back to unstable conditions.”

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia: A statue of Christopher Columbus remains hidden by a plywood box while its fate is decided in the courts, but the box has now been painted with the colors of the Italian flag. City officials told the news station KYW that they painted the box covering the 146-year-old statue in south Philadelphia’s Marconi Plaza with green, white and red stripes at the request of Councilmember Mark Squilla, who represents the district. The new look came just in time for Columbus Day, the holiday now celebrated in Philadelphia and elsewhere as Indigenous Peoples Day. Thomas DeFino, one of the residents who gathered in the park Sunday afternoon to celebrate their Italian American heritage with a parade and festival, welcomed the change, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. “They did it for us – the Italians. It made us feel a little bit better,” DeFino said. “It’s to honor our heritage. They had to pull some strings to paint it.” While he appreciated the gesture, DeFino said, he noted that the statue was “still in a box.” “He should have been taken out at least for one day,” he said. Mabel Negrete, executive director of Indigenous Peoples’ Day Philly Inc., told the Inquirer it was “unfortunate” that some Italian Americans in the city continued to celebrate Columbus. She said the painting “undermines intentions to move forward.”

Rhode Island

Providence: Drivers eager for a new license plate with the reimagined “wave” design will have to wait until next year. The state Division of Motor Vehicles on Thursday said it now plans to begin issuing the new-look plates to automobile owners in January, several months later than initially expected. Back in April, when a new design for the license plate was revealed, the DMV said it planned to start sending out new plates around Labor Day. By the end of May, that timeline was pushed back when vendor 3M had a problem securing the right type of envelopes in which to send the plates to automobile owners. The DMV told the Boston Globe in May that it didn’t expect to receive the plates until September, and customers would start receiving them in October or early November. But even though the envelope issue was resolved, the timeline for shipping the first new plates continued to slip, in this case to mid-November, DMV spokesman Paul Grimaldi wrote in an email. And instead of starting to send them out toward the end of the year, the state instead decided to wait until January.

South Carolina

Inman: Five people died Sunday night in a shooting at a home in northern South Carolina, authorities said. Spartanburg County deputies and emergency workers found them suffering from gunshot wounds at a house in Inman, Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said in a statement. Four people died at the scene, and a fifth died in surgery at the hospital, authorities said. All five people killed appeared to be adults, weren’t related to each other and were found in different parts of the home, the coroner said. Spartanburg County deputies said they won’t release any additional information on the shooting until the coroner has identified the people killed and notified their families. Clevenger said his office is performing autopsies and trying to identify the victims on Monday. The home where the bodies were found is about 10 miles northwest of Spartanburg.

South Dakota

Pierre: Thousands of schoolchildren across the state are facing new barriers to getting proper nutrition at school due to the end of a pandemic-era federal program that provided free meals to all students regardless of parental income. Parents in South Dakota, meanwhile, are facing new financial challenges as they try to pay for meals for their children at a time when high inflation rates are driving up costs for food, energy, housing and many other necessary goods and services, South Dakota News Watch reports. The federal effort to provide free meals to all American schoolchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic expired this summer. The pandemic-era program provided more than 4 billion free meals to American schoolchildren over the past two school years, including to tens of thousands of students in South Dakota. Sioux Falls School District Superintendent Jane Stavem told News Watch that ending the free school meals program after two years has put the district, parents and children in tough spots. The district does not have the funding to continue to provide free meals for all students on its own and is working on innovative ways to continue to pay for food for students who need it.

Tennessee

Gatlinburg: One person was found dead in the rubble of a fire that broke out in downtown Gatlinburg early Sunday morning. The fire caused extensive damage to a block of businesses, including include Cafe 420, Puckers Sports Grill and Gifts of Gatlinburg, the city’s spokesperson said in a press release. Sandy Fox, who was staying at the neighboring Historic Gatlinburg Inn, said the fire was not visible when she initially walked outside about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, but the building was in flames 15 minutes later. She left to connect with friends and said the blaze had spread substantially when she returned at 9 a.m. During fire suppression efforts, crews found one person dead inside the structure, according to the press release. The identity of the individual has not yet been confirmed. Crews from the Gatlinburg Fire Department fought the blaze with assistance from Pigeon Forge, Sevierville and Pittman Center fire departments, the spokesperson said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Gatlinburg Fire Department, Gatlinburg Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Fire crews still were working on hot spots Monday morning, the city’s spokesperson said, and the owner of the damaged structure had a contractor demolishing the damaged building.

Texas

Uvalde: The superintendent of the school district where a gunman killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers in May announced his retirement Monday, according to his wife’s Facebook page. In the statement posted to Donna Goates Harrell’s Facebook page, Uvalde school Superintendent Hal Harrell said he would remain in office throughout this school year until the school board hires his successor. The Facebook posting was first reported by CNN. The superintendent asked his wife “to post this message since he doesn’t have Facebook.” Harrell, the Uvalde school board and other school district officials have faced heavy criticism over the May 24 Robb Elementary School massacre in which officers allowed a shooter with an AR-15-style rifle to remain in a fourth grade classroom for more than 70 minutes. “My heart was broken on May 24th and I will always pray for each precious life that was tragically taken and their families,” the Facebook post said. “My wife and I love you all and this community that we both grew up in, therefore this decision was a difficult one for us. I have been blessed to work among amazing educators and staff who believe in education for more than 30 years, which have all been in our beautiful community. These next steps for our future are ... completely my choice.”

Utah

Salt Lake City: The head of the state’s public school system is pushing back after a man delivering a prayer at an Orem City Council meeting asserted that “evil things ... are being said and done and taught in the school system.” Sydnee Dickinson, Utah’s superintendent of public instruction, called the comment “a dagger to my heart,” the Deseret News reports. Orem Mayor David Young had apparently asked his father, Allen Young, to deliver the invocation at a meeting late last month, when he urged voters to split Orem’s school district in the November election.

Vermont

Burlington: The state’s recreational cannabis marketplace is off to a slow start. The obstacles faced by Vermont’s legal marijuana industry were reflected Oct. 1, the first day of legal sales for recreational use, when only one store in Chittenden County was open for business: Ceres Collaborative on College Street in Burlington. The line for Ceres stretched around the corner and down an alley, with an estimated 200 people waiting to get in. “There are growers that just aren’t ready to harvest and have available flower for Oct. 1,” Russ Todia, chief operating officer for Ceres Collaborative, said before the launch. “That’s for the indoor. For the outdoor, the weather hasn’t been kind. That puts growers in a tough spot, trying to harvest early, or just not having the yield they would have expected.” Tito Bern, owner of The Bern Gallery in Burlington, said most indoor growers have yet to get started. “Supply is terrible,” he said. Bern, who is applying for a Tier 2 license to be an indoor grower as well as a retailer, estimates his own smokable flower won’t be available for another five months. Bern thinks it will be two years before Vermont’s adult-use cannabis industry is fully up and running. “It’s going to take a while,” Todia agreed. “Generally, it will be a slow start for everyone.”

Virginia

Richmond: A federal appeals court on Friday denied a request to rehear a case that found that gender dysphoria is a condition covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. In August, a three-judge panel of the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals became the first federal appellate court in the country to find that the landmark federal law protects people with gender dysphoria, a condition that causes anguish and other symptoms as a result of a disparity between a person’s gender identity and their assigned sex at birth. The decision came in the case of Kesha Williams, a transgender woman who sued the Fairfax County sheriff in Virginia for housing her in a jail with men under a policy that inmates must be classified according to their genitals. In her lawsuit, Williams said that she was harassed and that her prescribed hormone medication was repeatedly delayed or skipped, violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. A federal judge granted a motion by the sheriff’s office to dismiss the lawsuit, but the 4th Circuit panel reversed that ruling, finding there is a distinction between gender identity disorder and gender dysphoria. The modern diagnosis of gender dysphoria “affirms that a transgender person’s medical needs are just as deserving of treatment and protection as anyone else’s,” Judge Diana Gribbon Motz wrote.

Washington

Seattle: The state this year has had the fewest square miles burned in a decade following the second- and third-worst fire seasons on record in 2020 and 2021. State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz announced Friday that about 219 square miles burned in 2022 wildfires, The Seattle Times reports. That’s compared to nearly 781 square miles in 2021 and 1,316 square miles burned in 2020. 2015 was the state’s worst fire season in recorded history, when more than 1,562 square miles burned Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz celebrated the moderate fire season, saying a combination of Department of Natural Resources equipment, aerial firefighting assets, personnel, partnerships with other agencies, as well as a rainy spring that delayed the start of this year’s fire season contributed to the success. Since taking office in 2017, Franz has touted the benefits of controlled burns and of “treating” forests by thinning brush, trimming branches and removing dying trees. Department of Natural Resources officials since 2017 have tracked over 625 square miles of completed treatment, and about 109 square miles of prescribed burns in Central and Eastern Washington.

West Virginia

Morgantown: A federal prosecutor is holding a forum this week on citizens’ constitutional rights and how they’re enforced. U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld and his staff are hosting the event Tuesday morning in Morgantown. Experts will explain hate crimes, disability rights, housing rights and other areas of the law, according to a news release from Ihlenfeld’s office. “Federal civil rights laws are an important tool in our efforts to make communities in West Virginia safer and more welcoming, but they are often overlooked,” Ihlenfeld said. The half-day program is free and open to the public. It starts at 9 a.m. at the Mon County Center at Mylan Park.

Wisconsin

Green Bay: A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from a taxpayers group seeking to block President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, ruling that the group doesn’t have standing to bring the lawsuit. The Brown County Taxpayers Association argued that Biden’s order unlawfully circumvented Congress’ power over spending. They also argued the plan was discriminatory by seeking to give particular help to borrowers of color. U.S. District Judge William Griesbach, an appointee of President George W. Bush, tossed the case Thursday, writing that the group does not have standing to challenge the plan simply because its members are taxpayers. Biden enacted the debt relief plan under the HEROES Act, which was passed after the Sept. 11 attacks sparked an American-led military campaign aimed at terrorism. The act gave the executive branch authority to forgive student loan debt in association with military operations or national emergencies. The president cited COVID-19 as reason to invoke the act. The lawsuit, filed by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on behalf of the taxpayers group, had argued it was an overextension of executive power that improperly sidestepped Congress.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: Voters will decide next month whether to increase from 70 to 75 the mandatory retirement age for district judges and justices on the state Supreme Court, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Medal push for Prince, FBI bus driver: News from around our 50 states

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Decatur: A man being booked into jail wound up at a hospital rather than behind bars after a scan revealed a shotgun shell in his abdomen. Prisoners entering the Morgan County Jail routinely undergo a body scan when being admitted, and a recent image showed what appeared to be a shell from a .410-gauge shotgun that had been swallowed inside a person, spokesperson Mike Swafford said Thursday. “He was never booked in,” Swafford said. “When our medical staff saw that, they said, ‘He has to go to the hospital.’ ” The man, who had been arrested by another law enforcement agency in the county, was later released on his own recognizance, Swafford said, and it was not clear what happened to the shell. Authorities did not release the person’s name or the reason for the arrest. The Morgan County Sheriff’s Department posted an image of the scan on its social media account to let people know about the screening process at the jail, Swafford said. While baggies or other containers holding drugs are sometimes uncovered inside prisoners, he said, finding ammunition was unusual. “We don’t see a shotgun shell very often,” he said. “We speculate it had drugs in it, but we don’t really know.”

Alaska

Juneau: Officials at museums across the state have condemned repeated acts of antisemitic vandalism this year targeting the Alaska Jewish Museum in Anchorage. During instances in May and September, someone placed swastika stickers on the building or carved the symbol associated with the Nazis into the museum door, the Juneau Empire reports. “Alaskan museums are appalled by the attacks, and they are eager to show support for the Alaska Jewish Museum and the Alaska Jewish Campus as they seek to address these crimes and ensure the safety of their facilities and community,” Dixie Clough, director of statewide museum association Museums Alaska, said in a statement. The September acts of vandalism came as the Anchorage Assembly held public hearings about instituting a mask mandate for 60 days as COVID-19 cases spiked. Many opponents packed the Assembly chamber to protest, including some wearing yellow Star of David stickers, similar to the patches Holocaust victims wore, to compare the mandate to what Jews faced under the Nazi regime in Germany. Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, who opposes all COVID-19 mandates, initially defended the use of the stars but apologized the next day, saying that “I understand that we should not trivialize or compare what happened during the Holocaust to a mask mandate.”

Arizona

Phoenix: A new organization calling itself a nonpartisan school board association is headed by GOP activists, including the first vice chair and treasurer of the Republican Party of Arizona, as well as the daughter of the chairwoman. The Arizona Coalition of School Board Members was launched Oct. 12 as an alternative to the Arizona School Boards Association, with the goal of fostering “a public education environment in Arizona that prioritizes freedom in education, parental rights and educational excellence,” the Arizona Capitol Times reports. “For too long, school board members in Arizona have been left without a choice,” the coalition’s announcement video said. Currently, every school district in the state is a member of ASBA, which dates back more than 70 years and provides advocacy, legal resources and training for member districts. But some parents and conservative groups have voiced opposition to ASBA in recent years over the organization’s positions on issues like Empowerment Scholarship Accounts and, more recently, “critical race theory” and the handling of COVID-19. For instance, ASBA is currently a plaintiff in a case before the Arizona Supreme Court challenging Arizona’s mask mandate ban and other Republican policies tucked into this year’s budget reconciliation bills.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The state Supreme Court on Thursday said the endorsement required for a casino license must come from elected local officials in office at the time of the application, a key victory for the Cherokee Nation’s efforts to build a casino in the state. Justices upheld an Arkansas law and state Racing Commission rule on the requirement, reversing a lower court’s decision that they were unconstitutional. Voters in 2018 approved an amendment requiring the state to allow four casinos. Since then, casinos have opened at racetracks in Hot Springs, West Memphis and Pine Bluff. One of the applicants for the casino, Mississippi-based Gulfside Casino Partnership, submitted its application in 2019 with a letter of support from Pope County’s former judge. Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation Businesses submitted an application with the county’s current judge. “Today’s ruling is exciting and greatly appreciated,” former Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, legal counsel for Cherokee Nation Businesses, said in a statement. “I know CNB is ready to put an end to litigation and start building. We anticipate CNB’s license will be issued as soon as the mandate is effective, and we will work quickly to bring final resolution to any remaining lawsuits.” Gulfside, however, said the legal fight over the license was not yet over.

California

Three Rivers: In the wake of California wildfires, upward of 10,000 trees weakened by fires, drought, disease or age must be removed – work that will keep a nearby highway closed to visitors who seek the world’s two largest sequoia trees. The hazard trees could potentially fall onto people and cars on the section of State Route 180 known as Generals Highway, or they could create barriers for emergency and fire response, the Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks said Friday. The highway is closed due to the KNP Complex blaze, which was 60% contained after burning 138 square miles of forest, and will remain blocked off to visitors after the fire is out while saw crews cut down trees and trim branches. The road connects Giant Forest – home to the General Sherman Tree, considered the world’s largest by volume – and Grant Grove, home to the General Grant Tree, the second-largest tree in the world. The trees along the highway include sequoias, pine and conifer trees, said fire spokeswoman Kimberly Caschalk. The KNP Complex has been burning since Sept. 9, and forest officials said earlier this month that it may have killed hundreds of giant sequoias, but the full extent of the damage has not been determined. Firefighters took extraordinary measures to protect the most notable trees. Forest staff unwrapped the base of General Sherman on Friday.

Colorado

Denver: A private ranch with ponds, springs and rare wetland plants will be part of a new state park, Sweetwater Lake. Joined by state and federal parks officials Wednesday, Gov. Jared Polis announced the 488-acre ranch near Sweetwater Lake, in a mountainous northwestern county that borders Utah, will also become part of the White River National Forest. The ranch land near the Flat Tops mountain range was acquired in the federal park service’s Land and Water Conservation Fund purchase Aug. 31. The area was among the federal program’s top-priority purchases to increase public recreation and protect the area’s wildlife, cultural and scenic values, the governor’s office said in a statement. In an effort to increase the area’s public recreation, a new boat launch will be available next June. The state also plans to consult with the public and develop a long-term plan to expand and manage recreational activities while preserving the undeveloped nature of the property, Polis said in a statement.

Connecticut

Hartford: Gov. Ned Lamont has submitted a request for a major disaster declaration to the Biden administration, seeking federal funds to help the state recover from damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. The Sept. 1 storm dumped as much as 8 inches of rain on parts of Connecticut, resulting in heavy flooding and an estimated $7.2 million in damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure, Lamont said. It also resulted in the death of State Police Sgt. Brian Mohl, whose vehicle was swept away in floodwaters. Lamont’s request would allow homeowners in Fairfield and New London counties, as well residents of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribal Nation, to receive federal reimbursements for the costs of uninsured damage to their housing and personal property. According to Lamont’s request, just 8% of damaged homes in New London County and 23% in Fairfield County had flood insurance. The proposed declaration also would allow municipalities in Fairfield and Middlesex counties to receive up to 75% federal reimbursement of the costs of uninsured damage to roads and other infrastructure, as well as costs for emergency response. The governor’s office said public assistance damage assessments in Litchfield, New Haven and New London counties had not yet been completed.

Delaware

Wilmington: A federal lawsuit has been filed against a police officer seen on social media repeatedly slamming a man’s head during an arrest last month inside a convenience store. In addition to using “excessive force,” the lawsuit filed in Wilmington’s U.S. District Court claims Patrolman Samuel Waters used a racial slur when arresting 44-year-old Dwayne Brown, who is Black. Waters is white. “Such racial statements are reflective of his state of mind and discriminatory intent in this incident,” says the lawsuit, filed by the Jacobs & Crumplar Law Firm. The Wilmington Police Department, which placed Waters on administrative duty as video of the Sept. 21 incident went viral, could not be immediately reached for comment Monday. The agency has said its Office of Professional Standards immediately launched an investigation into what the video captured. Wilmington Police Department has not released the officer’s name but said he has been on the force for three years. The lawsuit, which only names Waters as a defendant, claims Brown’s constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable seizures guaranteed to him by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments were violated. Earlier this month, civil rights activists called for Waters’ firing and arrest.

District of Columbia

Washington: In an effort to relieve some of the frustration caused by Metro’s rail service reduction, Capital Bikeshare is offering free 30-day memberships to D.C. residents, WUSA-TV reports. Residents can go on the Capital Bikeshare or Lyft Mobile apps and, under the “Ride Plans” section, select “Pricing” to choose a 30-day membership for $0. Users need a valid credit card and phone number to register. Riders will be able to take unlimited free, 45-minute rides on the red classic Capital Bikeshare bikes with no unlocking or travel fee. Longer rides will cost $0.05 per minute for a pedal bike and $0.10 per minute on e-bike rides. “The service disruptions at Metro are deeply troubling for D.C. and the region,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said. “D.C. is open, and we need a fully functioning transit system to get workers, students and visitors across the city. We have been intentional, over the past several years, about making Capital Bikeshare more accessible and convenient for D.C. residents, and now we are proud to be able to offer this free one-month membership to every Washingtonian who might need it.” Capital Bikeshare has more than 5,000 bikes available at over 650 stations in the region. That includes a 20-bicycle pilot of new adaptive bikes for people with disabilities.

Florida

West Palm Beach: The names of three police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a knife-wielding man won’t be released because they’ve invoked their right to remain anonymous under a 2018 amendment to the state’s constitution. The West Palm Beach officers were trying to take Allan Lorenzo Robb, 33, into custody early Oct. 17 when he showed the knife. One of the officers fatally shot Robb after “less lethal” weapons used by two other officers were ineffective, officials said. The police department cited Marsy’s Law as the reason to keep the officers’ names private. The voter-approved Marsy’s Law allows crime victims or their families to request their names be withheld from public documents. A state appeals court ruled in April that the amendment could be used to shield the identities of law enforcement officers involved in use-of-force incidents. Since the ruling, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the Boynton Beach Police Department and the Boca Raton Police Department have cited the amendement in such cases. The three officers have been placed on administrative leave while the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigate the shooting.

Georgia

Dublin: Federal prosecutors say more than $57,000 in pandemic relief funding was spent on one Pokemon card. Court records show a Dublin man is charged with lying on an application for an economic relief loan about the number of people his business employed and the company’s gross revenue. He faces one count of wire fraud. According to the court filing, he received $85,000 in August 2020 and used the money to buy a Pokemon card for $57,789. The Telegraph reports defense lawyers issued a statement declining to talk about the case. Rare Pokemon cards can sell for thousands of dollars. Collectors have been bidding up prices for trading cards, video games and other mementos. Dublin, a city of about 16,000 people, is located about 130 miles southeast of Atlanta.

Hawaii

Honolulu: More than half of first responders who applied for exemptions from the city’s vaccine mandate cited religion as their reason for not getting inoculated against COVID-19. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports 57% of all exemption requests among first responders pointed to faith. The city requires all government employees to be vaccinated unless an exemption is granted. Exemptions include religion or medical conditions, and only those who qualify may use regular coronavirus testing to bypass the vaccine requirements. City officials said those applying for medical exemptions must provide a letter from a doctor, and religious exemption applications must include a written statement as to why their religion would prevent vaccination. A federal judge dismissed a complaint last week that sought to stop state and county employee vaccination rules. The court said there are options for testing and exemptions, and the workers are therefore not being forced to take the vaccine, as the lawsuit alleged. The 12 first responders who filed the lawsuit claimed they were being forced to take an “experimental” vaccine. The Honolulu Police Department had the most exemption requests, with over 300 applications. City officials said about 90% of all employees were fully vaccinated as of Oct. 8.

Idaho

Moscow: Students at state colleges and universities will be able to opt out of some fees under a plan approved by the Idaho State Board of Education on Thursday. The new fee structure allowing students to opt out of fees for activities, clubs and on-campus organizations goes into effect in the 2022-23 school year, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports. Students who decide to opt out of those fees will receive a refund from their school. Student fees – particularly the ones that go to support extracurricular activities, clubs and cultural events – have long been a source of debate in Idaho as lawmakers and administrators struggle to keep the state’s higher education institutions affordable and robust. Officials spent the spring and summer evaluating which student fees could be optional and how all the fees should be labeled. The new plan breaks the fees into four categories. The student enrollment, engagement and success category goes partly toward scholarships, and the institutional operations, services and support category helps fund maintenance. The student health and wellness category of fees helps cover the cost of fitness centers and counseling. The last category – student government fees – pays for student government and helps subsidize student clubs, organizations and activities. A portion of the latter is now optional.

Illinois

Chicago: A North Carolina man who moved to Chicago was one of the victims of John Wayne Gacy, who was convicted of killing 33 young men and boys in the 1970s, authorities said Monday. Francis Wayne Alexander would have been 21 or 22 when Gacy killed him sometime between early 1976 and early 1977, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said at a news conference in announcing the identification of Alexander’s remains. In a statement, Alexander’s sister, Carolyn Sanders, thanked the sheriff’s office for giving the family some level of “closure.” “It is hard, even 45 years later, to know the fate of our beloved Wayne,” Sanders wrote. “He was killed at the hands of a vile and evil man.” Alexander’s remains were among 26 sets police found in the crawl space under Gacy’s home just outside the city. Three victims, meanwhile, were found buried on Gacy’s property, and four others whom Gacy admitted killing were found in waterways south of Chicago. In 2011, Dart’s office exhumed the remains of eight victims who had been buried without police knowing who they were. Dart called on anyone who had a male relative disappear in the Chicago area in the 1970s to submit DNA. Alexander is at least the third identified from that batch. The effort also has helped police solve at least 11 cold cases of unrelated homicides and helped families find loved ones who had gone missing but were alive.

Indiana

Stinesville: The town is offering to sell a set of vacant downtown buildings for $1 in hopes of finding new life for its tie to southern Indiana’s once-thriving limestone industry. The cluster of four one-story limestone buildings was built in the Monroe County town of Stinesville between 1886 and 1894. The Indiana Landmarks historic preservation group is working with the 200-person town about 10 miles northwest of Bloomington and has suggested the buildings could become an events venue, a restaurant, or a workspace for artisans or craftspeople, WRTV reports. The landmarks group described Stinesville as a boom town in the 1890s with nearly 1,000 residents as stone workers and carvers arrived for jobs at nearby limestone quarries. “The buildings embody the rich history of the local limestone industry and subsequent growth in the town in the late nineteenth century,” the preservation group said. Indiana Landmarks is accepting development proposals through Nov. 15. The town and Indiana Landmarks will then review the submissions based on “experience, qualifications, financial responsibility, capacity to undertake the project, and the appropriateness of the rehabilitation plan.”

Iowa

Des Moines: Two decisions handed down Friday by the state Supreme Court promise to limit prosecutors’ ability to file amended charges close to trial, but a dissent warns that prosecutors may be forced to overcharge defendants to avoid having to refile cases from scratch. Under Iowa court rules, prosecutors have 45 days after someone is arrested to file a formal indictment or trial information specifying the charges against them. After that date, prosecutors can ask the court for permission to amend the charges, but not if the amendment would charge a “wholly new and different offense” or otherwise infringe on the defendant’s rights. In two cases decided Friday, James Vandermark and Jameesha Allen both argued a district court had wrongly allowed prosecutors to upgrade their charges at the last minute. The high court split 4-3 in favor of the defendants. In both cases, a court approved the amended charge over objections by the defense, finding the new charges were “substantially similar” to their original charges. Both trial courts were mistaken, Justice Christopher McDonald wrote, as the new charges each involved different elements to be proved and a substantially greater potential sentence. In his dissents, Justice Edward Mansfield wrote that the majority disregarded a number of precedents but agreed the law is “somewhat murky.”

Kansas

Topeka: Law enforcement agencies across the state have received hundreds of complaints of bias over the past 10 years, but records available to the public show only two alleging racial bias resulted in consequences for officers, an Associated Press examination of the data shows. Advocates for racial equality question how that could be the case and suggest that law enforcement investigating complaints against other officers and a lack of transparency are problems. “We have the police policing the police,” said Sheila Officer, chairwoman of citizens group Racial Profiling Advisory Board of Wichita. She said independent citizen panels should conduct investigations of complaints. Law enforcement agencies and groups interviewed by the AP would not comment on the low overall rates at which bias complaints have been sustained but said that in their own departments, complaints are thoroughly investigated by officers independent of those accused. Kansas defines biased policing as an officer’s “unreasonable” use of a person’s race, ethnicity, national origin, gender or religion when enforcing laws. Lawmakers in 2011 required agencies to submit to the attorney general’s office annual reports outlining how many complaints they’d received and what they did about them.

Kentucky

Louisville: Repeated waves of COVID-19 cases, long hours and chronic staff shortages are taking a severe toll on the state’s nurses, with many citing stress, burnout and distress over encounters with hostile patients and family members. Further, as the pandemic drags on, nurses once viewed as health care heroes have found themselves confronted by some critics who claim COVID-19 isn’t real or are angry about measures such as vaccines and mask-wearing. “Now nurses have to change out of their scrubs to go to the grocery store,” said Delanor Manson, CEO of the Kentucky Nurses Association, which on Friday released a survey of nurses statewide about the state of their profession. Meanwhile, COVID-19 continues to place immense demands on nurses, who account for about 53% of the state’s health care workforce, she said. A chronic shortage of nurses in Kentucky – also a national problem – has left nurses working long shifts in understaffed facilities, leaving them stressed, exhausted and burned out, found the survey from the nurses’ group. About 25% said they expect to leave their jobs within the next three months, which officials said would further worsen the shortage.

Louisiana

New Orleans: A critically endangered Sumatran orangutan at the city’s zoo is pregnant with twins. “We are very excited about this pregnancy,” Bob MacLean, senior veterinarian at the Audubon Zoo, said in a news release Thursday. “Twinning is extremely rare in orangutans – there is only about a 1% chance of this happening.” The births in December or January will be the first for Menari, 12, but the third and fourth sired by Jambi, a male orangutan brought to New Orleans in late 2018 from a zoo in Germany. It may be six years or more before the group’s next babies. Sumatran orangutans wean their offspring at about 7 years old and have the longest period between births of any mammals – 8.2 to 9.3 years, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The great apes with long red hair have been decimated by hunting as well as the destruction of the forests and peat swamps where they spend nearly all their time up in trees. About 13,500 are believed to exist in sustainable wild populations, and “overall numbers continue to decline dramatically,” according to the IUCN.

Maine

Portland: Motorists traveling through the state will pay more in tolls starting next month, as Maine looks to make up for revenue lost during the pandemic. The state faces a $60 million financial shortfall caused by less traffic during the pandemic, The Sun Journal reports. The Maine Turnpike Authority is increasing toll prices for the first time in nine years. About half of the nation’s toll roads increased their fees during the pandemic, said Peter Mills, the authority’s executive director. The authority estimates that about 71% of the higher tolls will be paid by people and companies from other states. The increase is estimated to generate more than $17 million annually. The changes take effect Nov. 1. Among them, the toll for passenger cars going through the new toll booths in York, Maine, will be $4 instead of $3. That change alone is expected to generate more than $14 million of the revenue. The authority had planned to increase tolls in 2028.

Maryland

Annapolis: Gov. Larry Hogan on Monday urged all eligible residents to get COVID-19 booster shots, especially those with health conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes, and the governor said the state will begin vaccinating children as soon as the federal government approves. Nearly 1.4 million Maryland residents are now eligible to receive a booster, Hogan said. People who received their second dose of a Pfizer or Moderna shot six months ago who are 65 and older, 18 and older with underlying conditions, or 18 and older and work in high-risk settings are eligible. People who are 18 and older who received a Johnson & Johnson shot two months ago also are eligible. “We have a robust network of vaccination providers, including pharmacies, primary care providers, mobile clinics, local health departments and community health centers, and we have both the supply and the capacity to provide a booster shot to anyone who needs one,” Hogan said. To help residents determine their eligibility for a booster, state health officials have launched a new portal on covidvax.maryland.gov where residents can enter their information and learn next steps. The state has administered about 280,000 booster shots so far.

Massachusetts

Boston: The city is joining other communities across the U.S. with large numbers of university students in planning to challenge the results of the once-a-decade head count, saying the 2020 census undercounted students as well as jail inmates and foreign-born residents. Mayor Kim Janey said in a letter to the U.S. Census Bureau this month that officials believe about 5,000 college students were missed in the city that is home to Boston University, Northeastern University, Suffolk University and the University of Massachusetts Boston. The city made its estimate based on records Boston schools are required to give to the city with addresses for students living off campus. The 2020 census began just as the pandemic took hold and as students were told to leave campuses. The results put Boston’s population at 675,647 people. The county’s corrections department estimates 500 jail inmates were missed, and city officials believe neighborhoods with large numbers of foreign-born residents were undercounted as well, the mayor said. “Issues such as language barriers and government mistrust, particularly with a possibility of a citizenship question, may have resulted in an undercount of these traditionally difficult populations to count,” Janey said.

Michigan

St. Joseph: A county health officer frustrated with the “politicization of public health” in the COVID-19 era is quitting her job. Courtney Davis has been the interim health officer in Berrien County since July, when she was promoted from deputy. Communications manager Gillian Conrad is also resigning, The Herald-Palladium reports. Davis ordered masks in local schools to reduce the spread of COVID-19, though the order was dropped Sept. 29 when the health department believed its state funding would be in jeopardy. Davis said at the time that it was “appalling” that money was tied to mask policies. Davis said it’s been an honor to work for the department for nearly five years. “However, with the politicization of public health during the pandemic, I can no longer effectively do my job and serve the community with its health and safety always at the forefront,” she said. Davis’ last day is Nov. 3. In stepping down, Conrad said the pandemic had taken a “significant toll” on her mental and physical health. County Administrator Brian Dissette said there has been only one applicant for the job of permanent health officer, a role in which Davis was serving on an interim basis. He said he informed the state health department about the vacancies to try to add more “horsepower” to the search.

Minnesota

Chanhassen: The state’s congressional delegation on Monday introduced a resolution to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to pop superstar Prince, citing his “indelible mark on Minnesota and American culture.” The medal is one of the nation’s highest civilian honors, and past recipients include George Washington, the Wright Brothers, Rosa Parks, Mother Teresa, the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee Airmen and the Dalai Lama. “The world is a whole lot cooler because Prince was in it – he touched our hearts, opened our minds, and made us want to dance,” U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said in a statement. “With this legislation, we honor his memory and contributions as a composer, performer, and music innovator. Purple reigns in Minnesota today and every day because of him.” Prince, whose many hits include “Little Red Corvette,” “Let’s Go Crazy” and “When Doves Cry,” died April 21, 2016, of an accidental fentanyl overdose at age 57 at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen. The resolution is led by Klobuchar and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., with the state’s full delegation co-sponsoring. “Prince is a Minnesota icon,” Omar said in a statement. “He showed that it was OK to be a short, Black kid from Minneapolis and still change the world. He not only changed the arc of music history; he put Minneapolis on the map.”

Mississippi

Hattiesburg: Local leaders honored a homecoming queen who gave her crown to a friend whose mother had just died of cancer. Forrest County Sheriff Charlie Sims presented Nyla Covington a citizenship award, and the county Board of Supervisors voted to pay her community college tuition and declared Oct. 18 to be Nyla Covington Day. “I think her act really gave people hope there are still good folks in the world,” Sims said. Covington, 18, was crowned homecoming queen Sept. 24 at Forrest County Agricultural High School. During a ceremony on the football field, Covington immediately walked over to senior homecoming maid Brittany Walters and placed the crown on her head. Walters’ mother, A.J. Walters, an administrative assistant at the school, died the day of homecoming but had made her daughter and husband promise Brittany would take part in festivities that night. Covington told WDAM-TV that Walters started to back away as she extended the crown to her. “I was like, ‘No, come here, get it. You’re your mom’s queen,’ ” she said. “I wanted her to know that, and then I hugged her.” Walters said she felt her mother’s presence through act of kindness. “I can see my mom through Nyla,” Walters said. “They have the same exact caring, giving spirit, and it’s really fulfilling.”

Missouri

St. Louis: The state’s largest utility has set up a data center at the site of one of its coal-fired power plants that it is using to mine the internet for bitcoins. Ameren Corp. officials say the data center could also help stabilize demand for electricity that could help it avoid ramping production down and back up again, which is inefficient. Ameren officials told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch they believe the utility is one of the first regulated U.S. utilities mining cryptocurrencies. The company has already collected more than 20 bitcoins, valued, as of Friday, at more than $60,000 apiece. But critics question the $1 million project because they say it serves to artificially heighten demand for energy from coal, and the utility could put the resources to better use elsewhere such as by pursuing technology like battery storage or electric vehicle charging stations. “This really increases demand on the system and, therefore, demand for coal energy,” said local Sierra Club official Andy Knott, part of the group’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “I think what they’re trying to do is avoid having to ramp down their generators.” Officials with the utility say they envisioned the high-powered computers as a flexible and controlled way to help manage the electrical load.

Montana

Helena: Democratic leaders in the Legislature are asking for an investigation into whether the state’s attorney general abused his power by sending a Montana Highway Patrol trooper to a hospital over a complaint from the family of a COVID-19 patient. St. Peter’s Health said three public officials threatened to use their positions to force doctors and nurses to treat the patient with ivermectin, a drug used for parasites that is not federally approved for the respiratory disease, the Montana State News Bureau reports. Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office acknowledged getting involved but has said it was to investigate a report that the woman’s family was not allowed to contact her and that legal documents were not being delivered. The hospital’s statement said otherwise. State Senate Minority Leader Jill Cohenour and House Minority Leader Kim Abbott wrote to Senate President Mark Blasdel and House Speaker Wylie Galt on Thursday and asked them to appoint a special counsel to investigate Knudsen’s actions and those of any other public officials who involved themselves in the complaint against the hospital. The patrol’s involvement raised jurisdictional issues. Helena police are usually called for security issues at the hospital.

Nebraska

Beatrice: Homestead National Historical Park rangers and volunteers have helped harvest seeds in the region’s tallgrass prairie to be used to restore disturbed areas of the prairie and increase species diversity. “We are always working on the oldest restored tall grass prairie in the National Parks Service, and this particular year we had to do some work along one of our trails, which did disturb the area, so we need to reseed it with our native plants,” said Jessica Korgie, a park guide at Homestead. The Beatrice Daily Sun reports that in order to restore the prairie, those in attendance walked through the trails near Homestead’s Education Center and collected flower and grass seeds that were ready to be harvested. They also wore tape around their waists and knees, which Korgie said was an experiment to see how seeds are propagated in the prairie. “If you think about the animals that are traveling through the tallgrasses, you have tall animals like deer, and you have small animals like the thirteen-lined ground squirrel,” Korgie said. “So we’re going to put tape up high and tape down low to see what kind of seeds we’re collecting at those heights, and let’s determine what kind of animals might be helping to redistribute this seed to other areas.”

Nevada

Las Vegas: The school board for the metro area plans to consider whether to terminate Superintendent Jesus Jara’s employment contract this week. An agenda posted Friday for the Clark County School District trustees includes discussion and possible action Thursday on “termination of convenience” of Jara’s contract. Three board members requested the agenda item on Jara’s contract, which the board last May voted 4-3 to extend. It wasn’t immediately clear why the three trustees wanted to discuss Jara’s contract. He has faced criticism over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the decision to operate with 100% distance learning for about a year beginning in March 2020, as well as the school reopening process, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Regarding the board’s intention to consider his contract, Jara said Friday that he intends to focus on working for students and educators until he’s directed otherwise. The board also is scheduled to consider removing Linda Cavazos as its president. Jara has been superintendent since 2018, and his annual salary is $320,000.

New Hampshire

Franconia: A fish ladder for trout breeding is being planned at the lake on the site where the Old Man of the Mountain once stood. The project is organized by a fund dedicated to helping to preserve a memorial to the Old Man of the Mountain. The massive, naturally formed granite profile attracted tourists to Franconia Notch for about 200 years before it crumbled in 2003. The memorial project was completed last year. The idea for a fish ladder to restore the natural trout breeding at the lake was first discussed years ago, when the Franconia Notch Parkway along Interstate 93 was built. “It’s a fish ladder leading from Profile Lake through all of the new development we did relating to wetlands and up to what is known as the old breeding pond,” Brian Fowler, president of the Old Man of the Mountain Legacy Fund, told the Caledonian-Record. “Profile Lake’s regional trout breeding area was this pond area, opposite of I-93. … The construction of the interstate cut off this natural breeding cycle.” Since the highway was built, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department has stocked the lake with trout. The legacy fund is partnering with the department, Trout Unlimited and the state parks division.

New Jersey

Paterson: Thanks to technological advances over the past decade, people in dire circumstances such as an active-shooter situation can text 911 and get a link back from emergency dispatchers in Bergen and Passaic counties to give authorities permission to see a streaming video recorded by their cellphone camera. “They can watch in real time what’s happening,” said Officer Jonathan Klos, commander of the Passaic County sheriff’s communications division. “And the officers can prepare themselves, which makes everyone a little bit safer – now they know what they’re walking into.” The cellphone video streaming technology, named 911eye, was originally developed in the United Kingdom by Capita, a digital services business that helps first responders. The program allows authorities to do recon of a given area through the caller’s phone camera. “When the dispatcher can see live what’s going on, you’re going to get the right resources quicker,” said Brian Higgins, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the former chief of the Bergen County Police Department. “This compresses the timeline, and responding officers have a heads-up about what’s going on.”

New Mexico

Santa Fe: Legislators are drafting a plan to ease restrictions against retired police officers coming back to work, in an effort to add law enforcement officers across the state in the midst of a labor shortage. At a legislative committee hearing last week, retired police officer and state Rep. Bill Rehm outlined a proposal for changes to retirement provisions for police that would incentivize a return to work. He said officers might continue to draw pension benefits while working and contributing to the pension fund, or they could delay retirement benefits for a bigger payout later. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is calling for the deployment of 1,000 additional police officers across New Mexico amid public frustration with crime. She said she will ask lawmakers for $100 million to underwrite the initiative. New Mexico amended rules at the Public Employees Retirement Association in 2010 to halt so-called double-dipping in response to concerns about fairness and the long-term solvency of the public pension fund for state and local government employees. Opponents of retired police rehiring plans say it can hurt morale by limiting career advancement opportunities for ambitious younger officers and threaten efforts to modernize law enforcement agencies.

New York

Albany: Workers facing layoffs now have a right to ask their employers instead to trim all workers’ hours and have unemployment insurance help offset the losses for everyone, under a law that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Saturday. The measure is meant to increase awareness of what is known as the “shared work program.” It already exists in New York but hasn’t been very widely utilized, though there has been an uptick during the coronavirus pandemic. Newsday reported in March that nearly 2,700 employers statewide newly enrolled in the program during the pandemic’s first year. The new legislation says workers can petition employers to launch shared work instead of laying people off or rehiring only some of the workforce after a prior layoff. The employer has to respond to the request but doesn’t have to grant it. The law, which took effect immediately, also prohibits retaliating against workers who ask for the arrangement. Proponents say shared work programs help employees keep their jobs, help businesses keep people they’ve trained and make particular sense now. “We need to make sure our recovery efforts focus on supporting workers,” Hochul, a Democrat, said in a release.

North Carolina

Manteo: An abandoned vessel that ran aground on a beach more than a year ago will finally be removed. WRAL-TV reports the removal process is starting just in time for Halloween. Initially, most of the former scallop boat was visible along the shoreline. But it has been slowly sinking into sand along the beach south of Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Oregon Inlet Campground. Now, more than half of it is buried. The haunting 72-foot-long shipwreck became a popular lure for tourists after it ran aground in March 2020. The crew was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. The National Park Service has been warning people to stay away, saying exploring the vessel is dangerous because of unstable sand shifting beneath it. Also, while the wrecked vessel is visible during low tide, it becomes completely surrounded by the ocean during high tide. Officials must remove the vessel before it disappears beneath the sand. The removal project is expected to cost about $295,000. It was expected to begin Monday and take roughly a month to complete.

North Dakota

New Town: A college on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation is offering an incentive for students to get COVID-19 vaccines. Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College in New Town announced that students who can verify they are fully vaccinated will receive $500. The shots must be completed by Nov. 4. “We are seeing a resurgence in the number of positive (coronavirus) cases in the Fort Berthold area and across the state of North Dakota and determined it was time to act,” said Twyla Baker, NHSC’s president. “The financial incentive rewards those who have prioritized their health and the health of others. It is also meant to motivate those who have not yet been vaccinated to act.” The Three Affiliated Tribes college offers in-demand certificate programs and associate degrees as well as three bachelor’s degrees.

Ohio

Columbus: For the first time in its history, the state recorded more deaths than births last year – a development experts say was expedited by COVID-19. Roughly 143,661 Ohioans died last year, while 129,313 were born, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health. So far in 2021, the state has logged 107,462 deaths and 100,781 births. In the 112 years since statewide record-keeping began in 1909, data compiled by the Columbus Dispatch along with the Ohio History Connection shows deaths never previously surpassed births despite countless wars, economic downturns and disease. Ohio’s birthrate has been declining for years, while the number of deaths across the state has risen, meaning the two metrics were likely to swap places at some point. But data shows the pandemic rapidly hastened the switch. The coronavirus killed an estimated 13,927 Ohioans in 2020 alone, according to the state health department. That means the pandemic may account for 97% of the 14,348-person difference in births and deaths in 2020. In 2021, COVID-19 killed more than 9,400 Ohioans, more than the 6,681 difference in births and deaths so far this year. Deaths exceeded births in a record 25 states last year, according to research from the University of New Hampshire. In 2019, just five states saw more deaths than births.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: A Republican state senator is drawing criticism for referring to Asian Americans as “yellow families” during a legislative committee meeting on racial inequity. Sen. Dave Rader, of Tulsa, made the comment Wednesday to Oklahoma Policy Institute analyst Damion Shade following Shade’s comments during an interim study on racial inequality in economics and the criminal justice system. “It wasn’t until well into your presentation did you go to yellow families; you left yellow families out for quite a while,” Rader said. “You mean Asian Americans?” Shade replied. “You use black term, white term, brown term, so I was just gonna jump in there with you,” Rader said, before asking questions about Black families. The word “yellow” is considered a derogatory term in reference to East Asians. In the late 1800s, Chinese Americans were deemed the “yellow peril,” despite living in the United States for years. Rader said in a statement to KFOR that he has worked to remove barriers to success for all types of people. “I’ve spent my entire life as a football coach and educator, fostering opportunities for individuals of every race and background,” he said. Oklahoma Democratic Party Chair Alicia Andrews said it’s frustrating Rader would make such a comment during a study on racial inequality.

Oregon

Portland: A glass recycling plant has consented to either shut down or install pollution control technology, according to an agreement announced between the plant’s operators and the state. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality gave Owens-Brockway, a glass recycling facility in northeast Portland, two options after it reached an agreement with the company to resolve the fine of more than $1 million it issued in June. The glass plant was cited for multiple, ongoing air quality violations of particulate matter emissions as well as permitted opacity. “The best thing Owens-Brockway could do to come into compliance and protect the community is to install pollution controls,” DEQ’s Northwest Region Administrator Nina DeConcini said in a statement. “And if the facility decides to install pollution controls, this agreement requires they demonstrate that the controls achieve a 95% reduction in particulate matter emissions.” Under the agreement, Owens-Brockway must either submit a permit application to install pollution controls by June 30, 2022, or shut down. If the company decides to install pollution control technology, it would have to do so within 18 months of DEQ approval of the application.

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia: Workers for the area’s transit system have voted to authorize a strike next month if an agreement isn’t reached on a new contract. The Transport Workers Union Local 234 said a voice vote at a Sunday morning meeting in south Philadelphia approved a motion to allow union leaders to call a strike if an agreement with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is not reached in a week. The union represents about 5,000 bus drivers, cashiers, mechanics, and other workers providing service for buses, trolleys, the subway and elevated train lines. The current contract expires early Nov. 1, a day before the general election. “Our members are essential workers who have risked their lives and put their own families at risk during this pandemic,” union president Willie Brown told The Philadelphia Inquirer. He said the union was asking SEPTA to address “issues related to health and safety and modest economic improvements.” SEPTA said talks have been productive, and it hopes to avoid disruptions with agreement on a “fair and financially responsible” pact. The agency said it is still losing about $1 million a day in revenues due to ridership declines, with more people working at home during the pandemic and ridership not expected to return to February 2020 levels.

Rhode Island

Providence: Ninety percent of adults in the state are now at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Dan McKee said Monday. The Democrat said Rhode Island is also now one of the top states in terms of the percentage of its population that is fully vaccinated. Overall, more than 77% of residents have received one vaccine dose, and more than 70% are considered fully inoculated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Rhode Island might be small, but we are mighty – especially when it comes to getting shots in arms,” McKee said in a statement. “Thank you to each and every Rhode Islander who stepped up to get vaccinated. It is because of you that we are leading the nation in vaccinations and economic recovery.” The governor said COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots continue to be available at sites across the state, including community centers, local businesses and schools, and more information can be found at C19vaccineRI.org. The state is averaging about 227 new cases of COVID-19 a day, down from about 264 a day two weeks ago. The state has reported 2,872 deaths from the coronavirus since the pandemic started.

South Carolina

Columbia: The state’s social services agency says it is now paying more money to providers in a program that subsidizes child care for low-income families. The Department of Social Services announced Wednesday that the agency has set up a new reimbursement rate structure for the SC Voucher program. The rates are now set based on the actual age of a child in the program, as opposed to what age group the child is in. That rate increase means families in the program will save money by covering fewer tuition expenses, the agency said in a news release. The new reimbursement structure also puts more money in the pockets of child care providers who may have struggled financially during the pandemic. A top-rated child care provider in the program might now receive $296 a week for full-time care of a child under 1 year old, whereas the previous rate structure would have allowed for a maximum of $205 weekly for any child up to 2 years old. The voucher program pays for more than 11,000 children to attend child care programs each month, according to the agency website. Parents must have an income below 150% of the federal poverty level to qualify.

South Dakota

Rapid City: Computer science students from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology have built a new dating app, Lafdr, that matches people based on their taste in memes. After testing a prototype, the app for iOS and Android launched last month. Morgan Vagts and Debbie Liknes, who both graduated from Mines in May, channeled their frustration with existing dating apps by creating their own, the Rapid City Journal reports. Lafdr’s algorithm, built by Liknes, connects like-minded users through the memes they enjoy on the app. “Memes are a great conversation starter,” Vagts said. “It keeps the conversation light and lets people be themselves. … If you can laugh at a meme together, you know you have something in common.” Vagts said Lafdr is designed to help people find friendship or romantic connections, or users can simply browse the memes on Lafdr. Vagts and Liknes spent two years developing the app, which is geared toward college-age students but could potentially appeal to ages 18 to 35. “We were just sitting in Debbie’s living room, talking about the perils of online dating, and she joked about the idea of a meme-based app. And I thought, ‘Yes. That’s brilliant, let’s do it,’ and it evolved from there,” Vagts said.

Tennessee

Nashville: The state’s top medical licensing officials are pushing the state government to crack down on doctors and nurses who spread damaging misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, calling for aggressive probes with the potential to suspend professional licenses and end careers. The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners and the Board of Nursing instructed the Department of Health to pursue investigations of medical professionals who made disprovable claims to patients or on social media. Board members told investigators to prioritize cases involving the most obvious falsehoods or outrageous lies – that vaccines are poisonous, cause infertility, contain microchips or can magnetize the body. Investigators should focus less on subjective statements, even if they cause harm and worsen vaccine hesitancy, board members said, because the state lacks the authority and manpower to discipline those who merely discourage vaccination. “I don’t know that we can police opinion, even though it’s wrong and even though it’s causing – obviously causing – major problems in this state,” said Dr. Debbie Christiansen, a member of the Board of Medical Examiners. “But we can tell people they cannot say things that are absolutely false.”

Texas

Kerrville: A driver lost control during a drag racing event on an airport runway and slammed into a crowd of spectators, killing two children and injuring eight other people, authorities said. A 6-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy were killed in the crash Saturday afternoon at an event called “Airport Race Wars 2” at the Kerrville-Kerr County Airport, police said in a news release. The organized event was attended by thousands and involved drivers speeding down a runway as they competed for cash. The driver “lost control and left the runway, crashing into parked vehicles and striking spectators who were observing the races,” Kerrville police said. The injured victims were taken to various hospitals, including a 46-year-old woman who was listed in critical condition. The majority of the other injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, although the condition of a 26-year-old man was unknown, authorities said. A 4-year-old boy and a 3-month-old girl were taken to a hospital for precautionary evaluations. The Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau’s website promoted the event as an “action packed, family-friendly day” in which fans could watch the “fastest drag cars compete for over $8000 in total prizes.”

Utah

Salt Lake City: The top prosecutor in the state’s most populous county says he will no longer offer plea deals to defendants accused of gun-related crimes, in an effort to combat gun violence. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said Wednesday that he was putting people “on notice” that his office will “throw the book at you.” He cited the recently released 2020 Crime in Utah Report, which showed an increase in homicides from 2019 to 2020. Two-thirds of those homicides involved firearms, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The change means that gun offenders will have to plead guilty to more serious crimes or go to trial, likely resulting in longer sentences behind bars. There would be exception if “evidentiary issues, legal or ethical prohibitions” prevent a conviction, Gill said. Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown and Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said they hope the new policy will send a message to prospective criminals and will help halt the “revolving door” of individuals who are repeat offenders.

Vermont

Montpelier: Residents are being asked for their input on how to spend about $46.9 million to clean up water pollution in the state. The Vermont Clean Water Board is seeking feedback in an online questionnaire on the funding levels and the board’s proposed prioritization of funding, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation said. “The $46.9 million available in the 2023 clean water budget is an all-time high in funds available to improve Vermont’s water quality, in part thanks to additional leveraging of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds,” Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore said in a statement. “This is an exciting milestone and underscores the importance of public input to inform funding priorities.” The funding helps municipalities, farmers and others create projects that reduce pollution washing into waterways, ranging from farmers planting cover crops to reduce soil erosion and improve soil health to municipalities stabilizing roadside erosion, the department said. Water quality projects also help to protect Vermonters from damaging flooding, the agency said. The board’s draft budget is available online. Input can be sent through the questionnaire to the Clean Water Board through Nov. 19. The board will make final recommendations in December.

Virginia

Richmond: Mike Mason, once one of the nation’s highest-ranking FBI officials, now drives students to school in a yellow bus each morning and afternoon. It wasn’t the career turn he’d imagined for himself. Mason was once the executive assistant director of the bureau, responsible for overseeing all criminal investigations, among other duties. But in his retirement, he felt a pull to help when there was a shortage of school bus drivers. “Probably half of the FBI’s operational resources fell under me,” said Mason, 63, who lives in Midlothian, Virginia. Since late April, he has been working for Chesterfield County Public Schools as a bus driver. While the work differs drastically from his previous profession, “I feel the same sense of duty,” he said. Each morning about 5:30 a.m., Mason carefully inspects his 24-foot-long bus – examining the interior and exterior – to ensure it’s safe for students to ride. “I get it ready to roll,” he said. “This is not hyperbole: I’m smiling every day I start that bus up.” He collects nine students ages 10 to 18 and drops them off at the Faison Center in Richmond, which offers educational programs for autistic children. Mason grew up in Chicago, was raised by a single dad who was a truck driver for the board of education. “That’s part of what makes me smile every morning as I crank this bus up,” he said. “It’s the connection to my father.”

Washington

Seattle: Tens of thousands of people were without power Monday after a strong Pacific storm system downed trees and power lines the day before. Most of those still without electricity were in the Seattle area, where utilities reported about 60,000 customers out. Two people died after a tree collapsed onto their car near Issaquah on Sunday. The Seattle Times reports they were traveling in a white sedan on a densely forested roadway when the tree came down across the car. “It’s a freak accident,” said Sgt. Tim Meyer, a spokesperson for the King County Sheriff’s Office. “Just a moment or two’s difference could have drastically changed how this ended.” About a dozen schools in the greater Seattle area were closed Monday or were on a delayed start due to power outages or other issues from the storm. On Sunday, wind gusts topping 60 mph also downed trees on Interstate 90 east of Seattle and cut power to more than 150,000 customers in the metro area and around Puget Sound.

West Virginia

Charleston: The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival held a rally at the state Capitol on Sunday to pressure U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin to support President Joe Biden’s package of social services and climate change strategies, according to a news release. Ahead of the rally, members of the campaign gathered the stories of residents they said would be abandoned by Manchin if he continued to insist on cuts to the package. Rally co-chair the Rev. William J. Barber II, in the release, called the West Virginia Democrat “the new Senator No.” “No to paying home health workers a living wage. No to free community college. No to dental and vision help for senior citizens. No to a $15/hour minimum wage. No to fully protected voting rights,” Barber said, adding that Manchin “still has a chance to say yes.” Also on Sunday, the campaign published full-page and digital ads in four West Virginia newspapers.

Wisconsin

Madison: Republicans plan to launch another investigation of how the 2020 election was administered in the state, GOP leaders announced Monday. Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, Senate President Chris Kapenga and Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dan Feyen said in a news release that Republican leaders will authorize the Senate’s elections committee to conduct the probe in the wake of findings legislative auditors released Friday. Auditors didn’t find any widespread fraud in the state but did identify inconsistent administration of election law based on surveys of ballots sampled from across Wisconsin. Auditors made 30 recommendations for the Wisconsin Elections Commission to consider and 18 possible legal changes for the Legislature. The GOP leaders’ news release said they would assess “the full impact of WEC’s deficiencies.” The release did not say when the Senate committee would begin the probe, how extensive it might be or whether the committee will be empowered to subpoena records. Elections Commission spokesman John Smalley said he hadn’t seen the release and had no immediate comment. A recount and court rulings have shown Democrat Joe Biden won Wisconsin, but former President Donald Trump and his followers have refused to accept defeat.

Wyoming

Jackson: Dozens of U.S. fellow Marines joined hundreds of Wyoming residents over the weekend to bid a final farewell at a memorial for Rylee McCollum, one of 13 U.S. service members killed in a suicide bombing as they guarded a gate at a chaotic Kabul, Afghanistan, airport during the final U.S. evacuation from that country. Many of the Marines were members of the 20-year-old McCollum’s unit serving in Afghanistan when he was killed Aug. 26. McCollum, a Marine lance corporal, grew up, went to school and enlisted for the Corps in the mountain valley area known as Jackson Hole, home to the town of Jackson. He was honored during Saturday’s Jackson service attended by more than 400 people. “We knew his potential. I knew he had the mindset,” said Staff Sgt. Luis Diaz, who recruited McCollum into the Corps. “I knew he had the spirit to accomplish anything he wanted.” McCollum was a dedicated Marine, enthusiastic and funny, said Cpl. Wyatt Wilson. When something had to be done, Wilson told the Jackson gathering, “I always grabbed Rylee because I knew it would be done right the first time,” the Jackson Hole News & Guide reports. Gov. Mark Gordon, who attended with U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, said Americans “should rejoice that heroes like Rylee are born.”

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Big Tex, AC problems: News from around our 50 states

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Birmingham: An infectious disease expert said Monday that he is concerned about lagging vaccination rates in the state, as well as the number of unvaccinated people who appear to have abandoned wearing masks. Alabama has the second-lowest percentage of people vaccinated, ranking only above Mississippi, according to numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 36% of Alabama’s population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 29% are fully inoculated. “All of us want to get back to normal, every single one of us. The vaccine is our sure ticket to get there,” said Dr. Mike Saag, a professor with the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Division of Infectious Diseases. The CDC has said fully vaccinated people are safe to go without masks, but Saag said that message appears to have gotten misconstrued. “What I saw over the Memorial Day weekend: Most everybody was walking around without a mask as if everyone was vaccinated. We know around 70% of the Alabama population has not been vaccinated,” he said. While new cases and hospitalizations are down significantly from their peak, the effects of the Memorial Day holiday will serve as a “stress test” of sorts, Saag said: “It’s not going to be like the surges we saw in January, but it will be a bump. The question is how big.”

Alaska

Juneau: As the current special legislative session slumped along Monday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy urged lawmakers to act on his proposal to place in the state constitution a new formula for the annual check residents receive from Alaska’s oil-wealth fund. Some legislators have raised questions about some of the administration’s modeling assumptions and concerns with tackling the dividend issue without other pieces of a possible fiscal plan. “It’s like whack-a-mole,” Dunleavy said in an interview. “Every time we come up with a thing to move this along, it’s not enough for some people, and you start to become somewhat cynical. You start to say, ‘Well, wait a second. You’re moving the goal posts constantly to try and fix this issue.’ ... We have not decreed that they shouldn’t come forth with ideas. Let’s see what their ideas are.” The Republican said if legislators want to discuss revenues, they can do so in August, when he has scheduled another special session. The agenda for that session references “an act or acts relating to measures to increase state revenues” and includes his proposed constitutional amendment that would put the establishment of new taxes to a public vote. He has unsuccessfully pushed a similar constitutional proposal the past two years.

Arizona

Phoenix: More than 6 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have now been administered in the state. Gov. Doug Ducey hailed it as a major milestone Monday and urged residents to keep the momentum going. More than 3.3 million people statewide have received at least a first dose – 47.3% of Arizona’s vaccine-eligible population. About 2.9 million are fully vaccinated. The state is shutting down operations at its mass vaccination sites by June 28, with public health officials citing the vast availability of doses at community health centers, doctor’s offices, pharmacies and pop-up clinics. Maricopa County health officials have started an education campaign with ads on television, radio, billboards and social media encouraging people to get vaccinated. Public health officials said in a news release that they’re trying to reach people who are on the fence about getting a vaccine, telling them it’s OK to have questions, and they should seek answers from trusted sources. Meanwhile, the state dashboard reported 374 new cases and no deaths Monday. That brings the total numbers of cases and deaths to 884,195 and 17,700, respectively. The number of patients hospitalized for the virus deviated little from the past few days at 560. According to the state, 141 of those patients were in intensive care units.

Arkansas

Fort Smith: Factory shutdowns during the pandemic have caused a shortage of air conditioning equipment. “If we have a real hot summer, we could get desperate,” said Chuck Hooks, the service manager at Blaylock Heating & Air Conditioning, Plumbing and Drain Cleaning in Fort Smith. The factory shutdown has led to a dearth of air conditioning equipment in the state and across the nation, Hooks said. “There’s a big demand and a big shortage for pretty much everything to do with our field right now,” said Michael Lytle, the commercial project manager for Wilson’s Heating & Air Conditioning in Van Buren. Lytle said there is also a shortage of metals for ductwork and air conditioning equipment, which has caused prices to steadily increase. Michael Roberts, the owner of Roberts Heat and Air in Booneville, said he has had trouble getting parts for the past year. Equipment that was taking two to four weeks to come in is now taking six to 24 weeks to arrive, Hooks said. “It will get worse before it gets better is my understanding,” he said. Hooks has his equipment delivered from factories in the United States but said the situation is even worse for people who get equipment from overseas. Because of the coronavirus, the U.S. would not let ships dock and unload their supplies.

California

San Francisco: Mayor London Breed married four couples inside City Hall on Monday to mark the reopening of the storied building after it shut down in March 2020 as part of a regional lockdown. Madelyn Peterson and Indira Carmona were the first couple to wed on the grand staircase of the building’s rotunda. The building’s doors opened at 8 a.m. for those looking to get marriage license applications, business registrations, birth and death certificates, and other documents. Visitors are still required to wear a mask and socially distance. San Francisco has had some of the strictest pandemic-related restrictions in the country, and the compact city of nearly 900,000 has reported 36,766 COVID-19 cases and just 546 deaths. To compare, Long Beach has about 467,000 residents but more than 53,000 cases and 900 deaths. Vaccination rates in San Francisco are also high, with 80% of residents having received at least one dose. Moments before Breed officiated the weddings, she raised the Pride flag outside the building’s main entrance to officially kick off the annual LGBTQ Pride Month celebrations. “We’re going to celebrate; we’re going to have a good time; we’re going to keep smiles on our faces because we survived a pandemic, y’all,” Breed told a small, cheerful crowd gathered for the flag-raising ceremony.

Colorado

Fort Collins: The Fort Collins Rescue Mission wants to expand its downtown shelter and has filed a conceptual application to build a “semi-permanent” structure in its parking lot for men during winter months. The structure would essentially extend capacity by another 50 to 70 beds if the nonprofit is allowed to put bunk beds inside, said shelter Senior Director Seth Forwood. While the facility would not be permanent, it would have windows, doors, flooring, heating and ventilation – everything a permanent addition would have, he said. With financial support from the city of Fort Collins, the Rescue Mission operated a temporary overnight winter shelter from mid-October to April. While it squeezed in about 150 men experiencing homelessness, the downtown Rescue Mission can handle half that number. The city has been working for years on additional shelter resources. For now, federal coronavirus relief funding approved in spring 2020 to staff and run the Rescue Mission’s 24/7 shelter downtown runs out at the end of June. Forwood said he’s still hoping the federal government’s latest pandemic aid package will come through to provide funding beyond July 1. “Like with many things COVID-related, I have hopes that building these plans won’t be for naught,” Forwood said.

Connecticut

Hartford: The state Senate early Tuesday narrowly approved a long-awaited bill that would legalize the recreational use of cannabis after years of failed efforts in both chambers to pass the legislation. The 19-17 vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate came just before 2 a.m. and hours after lawmakers announced they had reached a compromise on how to ensure the new industry will benefit those residents adversely affected by the nation’s war on drugs. Six Democrats voted against the proposal, while one Republican voted in favor. “We’ve seen what’s been wrought by having a war on drugs. Whole communities have been decimated,” said state Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, co-chairman of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee. The bill now heads to the House, where Democratic majority leaders said they hope to see it pass before Wednesday’s midnight adjournment of the regular legislative session. They did not rule out going into a special legislative session if time runs out. “I think it will get done. I think the marijuana vote will happen, I do,” Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said Tuesday morning. Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, said he would sign the legislation.

Delaware

Dover: The General Assembly is allowing some members of the public to return to the building and listen to floor debates in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Legislative Hall in Dover will allow 25 people each in the House and Senate for the remaining 11 days of the legislative year that ends June 30. Masks will be required, and attendees will sit in the galleries, according to a news release from the General Assembly announcing the opening. Seats can be reserved on the General Assembly website legis.delaware.gov. The House and Senate will use separate online signup forms, which will be available at 5 p.m. the day before each session day. The General Assembly meets on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Sign-ups will close either once all seats have been reserved or at 10 a.m. the next morning, whichever comes first. Capitol Police will be given the names of those who have reserved a seat. Doors to Legislative Hall will open 30 minutes before each chamber convenes its session. “In order to accommodate as many Delawareans as possible, members of the public are encouraged to sign up to observe only one chamber each day,” the release said.

District of Columbia

Washington: The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has launched SmarTrip on Google Pay, expanding payment options for Android smartphone users on the Metro system. As the pandemic eases, and more riders return to Metrorail and Metrobus, officials said Android users will now have the ability to use their SmarTrip card, purchase a new one or add value to a card digitally, WUSA-TV reports. “It’s an investment in the future of Metro, as we modernize our system to incorporate many new technologies,” Metro General Manager and CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld said in a statement. Customers will also be able to download the SmarTrip app from the Google Play Store, with Metro waiving the $2 SmarTrip card fee for all Android users purchasing a virtual card during the first six months. Metro rolled out similar options for for Apple iPhone users in September 2020. Card readers will be available at 91 Metro stations, Metro parking garages and lots, Metrobus routes and even regional buses across the capital region. Data shows that 98% of Metro users have a smartphone, according to WMATA officials.

Florida

Miami: Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings on Monday announced plans to set sail from two Florida ports requiring passengers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 despite state legislation banning businesses from asking for proof. Norwegian announced sailings from New York, Los Angeles, Port Canaveral and Miami. Carnival Cruise Line, also based in Miami, announced sailings from the Port of Galveston, Texas, with vaccinated guests and was working with Florida officials for a ship to leave from PortMiami. The cruise lines’ plans appear to be at odds with the new state law. The sailings are contingent on obtaining a certificate from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and it remains unclear how the plans can be reconciled with Florida law. Norwegian said in a statement that it was in contact with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office on the requirements. In April, DeSantis signed an order banning businesses from requiring customers to show proof of vaccination and prohibiting state agencies from issuing so-called vaccine passports that document COVID-19 inoculations and coronavirus test results. The governor argued the legislation was meant to preserve individual freedom and medical privacy.

Georgia

Savannah: Officials in Georgia’s oldest city say they plan to start collecting soon on some long overdue utility bills. More than $25 million in unpaid water bills remain outstanding in Savannah, according to city officials. Mayor Van Johnson said many of the overdue payments date back to 2019. The pile of outstanding bills grew larger over the past year as the coronavirus pandemic left many people jobless and unable to pay, WJCL-TV reports. That’s too much money owed to City Hall for Savannah to keep serving residents efficiently, the mayor said. “We are always willing to work out payment arrangements with those who need it,” Johnson said, “but for our city to operate, we must start collecting what’s due.”

Hawaii

Hilo: The Pacific Tsunami Museum plans to reopen from a coronavirus pandemic-triggered shutdown by the end of the summer after finishing substantial renovations. The downtown Hilo museum is working on relocating and renovating its Japan exhibit, which focuses on the 2011 tsunami, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports. The new displays will also cover Japanese tsunami history. Its Big Island tsunamis exhibit will be updated with new interviews from survivors and more photos from the most recent tsunami that hit the island in 1975. “I always felt the local tsunamis exhibit is one of our most important exhibits because it is informative for people living here,” said Marlene Murray, the museum’s director. The museum is adding a new natural hazards exhibit. The area will step away from tsunamis and highlight hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes and volcanic activity, which all can affect Hawaii Island. The museum got financial help during the pandemic from federal Paycheck Protection Program loans and stimulus funds. It’s also applied for a shuttered venue grant. “Luckily, we’ve had some wonderful people out there that have been renewing their memberships and sending donations specifically to keep supporting us,” Murray said.

Idaho

Boise: Many members of the state’s ascendant far right believe they’ve never been closer to achieving their goals in what is already one of the most conservative states in the country. Some half-dozen recently formed right-wing groups, including anti-government activist Ammon Bundy’s People’s Rights, have used coronavirus restrictions as recruiting tools, organizing angry mask-burning protests in a push to disrupt institutional norms ahead of statewide elections next year. Other Republicans, including a former Idaho attorney general, have established groups to oppose them. The atmosphere is so charged that lawmakers approved extra spending to bring more Idaho State Police troopers to the Statehouse, even when the Legislature isn’t in session. A doorway pane shattered last year when Bundy and others pushed their way into the House gallery that had limited seating due to the pandemic. The schism also played out dramatically late last month when far-right Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin issued an executive order during a short stint as acting governor while fellow Republican Gov. Brad Little was out of the state. She ordered a ban on mask mandates without consulting localities or Little. Bundy, best known for leading an armed standoff at a federal wildlife refuge five years ago, has also filed paperwork in a long-shot run for governor. He is expected to officially announce his campaign this month.

Illinois

Springfield: Health officials, community groups and churches are coming together to vaccinate people against COVID-19, with some offering incentives like gift cards for groceries and fuel. Douglas Avenue United Methodist Church – working alongside Wooden It Be Lovely, a nonprofit that supports single mothers; Springfield Ward 8 Alderwoman Erin Conley; and the Illinois Department of Public Health – plans a vaccination clinic the afternoon of June 17. IDPH also is coordinating clinics at United Methodist churches across the state. The Rev. Meredith Manning Brown, senior pastor at Douglas United Methodist, said the clinic would be a way for people in the community to get the vaccine in an environment that they know and trust. “Vaccination is a way for people to be healthy and safe and for our community to return to normal,” Brown said. “We want as many people to be as healthy and safe as possible, and that’s part of what it means to love and follow Jesus.” The clinic will also provide gift cards for fuel and groceries up to $50, which Conley said is yet another way it could push some community members still reluctant to get the vaccine. “This is just an extra thank-you,” Conley said. “At this point, we know that the vaccine is working.” Overall, 43.77% of Illinois’ population and 51% of its adults are fully vaccinated.

Indiana

Indianapolis: The city ended its mask mandate for people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 on Tuesday, hours after the City-County Council approved a measure easing numerous pandemic restrictions. The Democratic-majority council passed the new public health order Monday evening on a 19-5 party line vote, with Republicans opposed because the measure didn’t fully lift all pandemic restrictions. Despite lifting its mask order, Indianapolis businesses may choose to require masks on their property, and masks are still required in hospitals and on public transportation in Indiana’s capital. The change means residents who received their final vaccine shot at least two weeks ago are not required to wear masks in public areas. Indianapolis is aiming for a 50% vaccination rate in order to fully reopen, Virginia Caine, director of the Marion County Public Health Department, told the council. Last week, the county’s vaccination rate stood at about 36%. Indianapolis’ new order eases numerous pandemic restrictions, including allowing religious services and funerals, as well as community pools, to open to 100% capacity. The maximum number of people at social gatherings increased from 50 to 500, and bars, restaurants and nightclubs can operate at 75% capacity indoors.

Iowa

Des Moines: 515 Alive, one of the metro’s largest annual events, is off for another year, the festival’s organizers announced Monday in a Facebook post. “Organizing events of this size and nature takes months of proper planning,” the post said, “and with the uncertainty surrounding covid regulations we felt that it was simply too turbulent to bring to fruition.” In an addendum to a lengthy post, the organizers said they had been planning a “scaled down” version of the festival this year. “However, artist & date availabilities didn’t align as we had hoped,” they wrote. “We look forward to seeing everyone next year!” The electronic music and hip-hop festival also was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The posting thanked fans for their “patience and understanding.” The festival began as a gathering of DJs and electronic dance music artists in the early 2000s. In 2013 it was staged on a single day in an East Village parking lot, attracting 3,000 people. The event then moved to Western Gateway Park, grew to two days and ultimately ended up at Water Works Park, where festivalgoers could camp overnight. With more than 100 acts that mix local, regional and international electronic and hip-hop talent – including top draws like Waka Flocka Flame and Wiz Khalifa – it has attracted up to 25,000 people.

Kansas

Topeka: Officials with the dispatch center at the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office were hoping higher-than-usual unemployment would mean an increase in applications for open positions, but no such influx of job inquiries ensued. Melanie Bergers, director of communications at the sheriff’s office, said the dispatch center has been understaffed throughout 2020 and 2021 and typically has paid about 600 hours of overtime every two weeks for the past year. Twenty-three dispatchers are employed at the center, leaving it at 60% staffing capacity. Those numbers don’t count American Medical Response employees who work out of the same building. Bergers said applicants must be at least 18 years old, have a high school diploma, and pass a background check and drug test, among other requirements, to be qualified to work. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Kansas was as high as 12.6% in April 2020. The statewide rate had fallen back under 4% by April 2021, according to the Kansas Department of Labor.

Kentucky

Frankfort: The longtime state executive who inherited oversight of Kentucky’s beleaguered unemployment insurance system during the COVID-19 pandemic is stepping down as labor secretary. Larry Roberts’ retirement, effective at the end of June, was announced Monday by Gov. Andy Beshear. Roberts’ career in state government stretches back to 1973. The Democratic governor said he selected another veteran state official, Jamie Link, to succeed Roberts in leading the state Labor Cabinet, beginning July 1. In announcing the appointment, Beshear said Link is “committed to standing with our labor unions, protecting our workers and helping Kentucky families climb out of this pandemic.” Link promised to continue efforts to “resolve and remedy Kentucky’s unemployment insurance challenges” and to focus on “the needs and well-being of all Kentucky workers.” Beshear decided about a year ago to shift the unemployment office into the Labor Cabinet. The unemployment office had been housed in the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. Like other states, Kentucky was overwhelmed by record-setting waves of unemployment claims as the pandemic temporarily shuttered or scaled back many businesses. Tens of thousands of Kentuckians have found themselves in limbo for months waiting for benefits.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: Republican lawmakers have taken aim at vaccines, sending Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards two bills that would keep state and local government agencies from mandating COVID-19 immunization in order to receive certain services. Separate votes Monday gave final passage to the the anti-vaccine proposals from Republican Reps. Danny McCormick and Kathy Edmonston. Edwards – who has championed COVID-19 vaccines and is regularly urging residents to get the shots – hasn’t taken a position on the legislation, and no agency in his administration has publicly proposed requiring the immunization for services. “He will review the bills when they reach his desk and see how they conform with recommendations from doctors and public health experts as well with current Louisiana law relating to vaccines, which does allow for certain exemptions,” Edwards spokesperson Christina Stephens said in a statement. But she also defended the vaccines as safe and effective and said they “have already saved lives and are our way out of this pandemic.” McCormick’s proposal would ban agencies from refusing to give a permit, business license or professional license to someone based solely on a business’ decision that it won’t require vaccines for employees or customers, as well as broadly exempting such employers from related civil lawsuits.

Maine

Saco: The state’s camping industry is busy and campsites are in demand a year after reservations came to a halt at the height of the pandemic. Owners of the Silver Springs campground in Saco told WMTW-TV their business has quadrupled since last year, when the mask mandate and 14-day quarantine restrictions were in place. They said things are different this year: People aren’t just coming for the weekend but for the whole season. “It’s changed overall camping as a nation because now instead of just camping as recreation, it’s camping in spots because you now have the luxury of being able to work from wherever you’re located,” said Bryce Ingraham of Silver Springs Campground. Businesses that rely on campers and outdoors recreation are optimistic about the coming season.

Maryland

Baltimore: Students at nearly three dozen public schools without air conditioning were learning virtually for a second day Tuesday amid sweltering temperatures. News outlets report about 30 city schools listed on the district’s website sent students home about 10:30 a.m. Monday to transition to virtual learning, while staff also transitioned to teaching from home. Officials said several Baltimore City schools had air conditioning systems that were not working properly. In Baltimore County, six public schools also closed three hours early Monday due to a lack of air conditioning, and afternoon and evening activities also were canceled. County school buildings have air conditioning systems but experienced a variety of mechanical problems that prevented them from operating as they should. Two of the schools also closed because of power outages, spokesman Charles Herndon said in an email. Two schools remained virtual Tuesday. Sweltering classrooms are a perennial problem in Baltimore, which has some of the state’s oldest school buildings. Some educators used social media to document the high temperatures in the classrooms as students focus on final exams.

Massachusetts

Boston: The New Bedford Whaling Museum is offering free admission passes to anyone who gets a COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic at the museum Wednesday. The first 25 people who get a shot will also get a gift bag from the museum’s gift shop. The clinic will be administering the Pfizer vaccine, which has received federal authorization for use in anyone 12 or older. Preregistration is encouraged, but walk-ins are also welcome to get a free shot, according to the museum. A follow-up clinic for the second dose will take place June 30. Vaccine check-in and in-person registration will be located at the rear entrance, and doses will be administered inside the building. More than 8.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Massachusetts as of Monday. That includes more than 4.2 million first doses and nearly 3.6 million second doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. There have been nearly 258,000 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered. More than 3.8 million residents have been fully immunized, according to state health officials. Gov. Charlie Baker has set a goal of at least 4.1 million people in the state fully vaccinated. He said Massachusetts has adopted a more targeted approach, particularly in communities hit hardest by the pandemic.

Michigan

Lansing: Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Tuesday that her office is adding 350,000 appointments over nearly four months to address a pandemic-related backlog as Michigan residents try to renew driver’s licenses, transfer vehicle titles and conduct other business in person. Branch offices will be able to serve 25% more customers than planned, she said, citing efficiencies – namely shortening 20-minute appointment slots to 10-minute slots. She also eased a requirement that all visitors book an appointment in advance, saying those who need a disability placard can show up without one and be served. Greeters will be stationed at the doors of some of the department’s busiest offices. They will tell people if any immediate appointments are available or help schedule them to come back later. Benson, a Democrat, is confronting a logjam caused by the end of a 13-month grace period for driver’s license and ID renewals, which has been exacerbated by branch closures due to COVID-19 exposures. Republican lawmakers are pressuring her to restore motorists’ ability to walk in without an appointment, pointing to monthslong waits. But she has said she wants to stay the course and noted more transactions can be done online than in the past.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: Fifteen schools that aren’t fully air-conditioned are switching from in-person to online instruction to avoid a heat wave this week. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports the schools planned to shift into online learning Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Highs in Minneapolis are expected to top out in the mid- to upper-90s those days. The schools plan to reopen Friday, the last day of class for the year, so students can bring items home, and teachers can close their classrooms.

Mississippi

Jackson: A new clinic in the city aims to address health disparities among at-risk mothers using preventive, holistic and patient-first maternal care. Getty Israel, founder and executive director of Sisters in Birth, is fighting against a system in which pregnant women largely lack advocates during the birthing process. Mississippi ranks last in women and children’s health care in the United States. It ranks 50th in infant mortality. Black mothers die nearly three times more often than white mothers of pregnancy-related causes. The state’s high obesity, hypertension and tobacco-user rates are mostly to blame, Israel said. “You always hear about the worst health outcomes,” she said. “Well, what are we doing about it? This is what we’re doing about it. It’s not the solution; it’s a solution.” Israel said childbirth in Mississippi is all about convenience. The state has the highest cesarean delivery rate in the country. The World Health Organization makes it clear that C-sections should only be performed when medically necessary, with only about 10% to 15% of births by cesarean delivery. Mississippi’s rate is nearly 40%. C-sections, intended to be used in emergencies, can pose risks of heavy bleeding, infection, organ injury and maternal death, according to the American Pregnancy Association.

Missouri

Springfield: COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to spike in southwestern Missouri, and residents there are being urged to get vaccinated before gathering for Fourth of July activities. Springfield-Greene County Acting Health Director Katie Towns said 142 new cases of the coronavirus were reported Tuesday, and the seven-day average has reached 62, the highest level since Feb. 10. Meanwhile, 76 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in Greene County. Towns, speaking at a news conference, said Memorial Day gatherings were a source of some of the recent spread, in part because new, faster-spreading variants are in the region. She said there was concern about the pending Independence Day get-togethers. “Gatherings are continuing to be a place where COVID is spread, just as it has throughout this pandemic,” Towns said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 42.1% of Americans are fully vaccinated. Missouri lags with 35.6% of all residents fully inoculated, and rates in the southwestern part of the state are far lower than that. State health department data shows just 31% of Greene County residents have completed their shots, and several southwestern Missouri counties have full vaccination rates below 30% – with a few even below 20%.

Montana

Great Falls: The Montana Democratic Party has become the first state party in the U.S. to establish a formal role for Native Americans, based on their proportion of the population. Representatives from the seven reservations in the state and the Little Shell Tribe will have two delegates each at the Montana Democratic Party platform, rules, officers and special nominating conventions, according to a news release. Rep. Donavon Hawk, D-Butte, who advocated for the rule change, said the move symbolizes progress in Indigenous representation locally and nationally. “This isn’t just about having a seat at the table, it’s about delivering results that improve health care, infrastructure and the economy for American Indian Montanans across the state,” he said in a statement. Some of the Democratic tribal committees have formed. Maria Vega was selected as chair of the Fort Peck tribal committee, and Lance Four Star was selected as vice-chair. Davin Sorrell, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, was selected last week to chair the Flathead tribal committee, and Patrick Yawakie-Peltier, community organizer and co-founder of Red Medicine, was selected as vice-chair. Yawakie-Peltier said he hopes increased Indigenous participation in politics will encourage others to be engaged.

Nebraska

Lincoln: A lawsuit that sought to block the state from imposing a two-tiered Medicaid expansion system with more benefits for people working, volunteering or meeting other requirements is on hold after officials said they would give all participants the same benefits. Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong granted a motion Friday to pause legal proceedings until Oct. 4, the first business day after everyone enrolled in Medicaid expansion will get the extra services available under the state’s premium plan, the Omaha World-Herald reports. The motion was filed after an agreement between the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the state Medicaid program, and Nebraska Appleseed, a Lincoln-based advocacy group that filed the lawsuit. State officials announced recently that they would abandon plans for a limited tier of coverage for most Medicaid expansion patients. According to the motion, the department must give monthly reports to Nebraska Appleseed and the court about its progress in meeting its Oct. 1 goal for launching the additional services. If the services are implemented on time, the lawsuit may be dismissed.

Nevada

Carson City: In Sin City, one thing that will soon become unforgivable is useless grass. A new state law will outlaw about 31% of the grass in the Las Vegas area in an effort to conserve water amid a drought that’s drying up the region’s primary water source: the Colorado River. Other cities and states around the U.S. have enacted temporary bans on lawns that must be watered, but legislation signed Friday by Gov. Steve Sisolak makes Nevada the first in the nation to enact a permanent ban on certain categories of grass. Sisolak said last week that anyone flying into Las Vegas viewing the “bathtub rings” that delineate how high Lake Mead’s water levels used to be can see that conservation is needed. “It’s incumbent upon us for the next generation to be more conscious of conservation and our natural resources – water being particularly important,” he said. The ban targets what the Southern Nevada Water Authority calls “non-functional turf.” It applies to grass that virtually no one uses at office parks, in street medians and at entrances to housing developments. It excludes single-family homes, parks and golf courses. Nevada Assemblyman Howard Watts III, the bill’s sponsor, said he hopes other Western states consider similar action leading up to 2026, when they renegotiate the Colorado River’s Drought Contingency Plan.

New Hampshire

Portsmouth: The city has repealed its mask ordinance. The City Council voted Monday to repeal the mandate, effective immediately. It had been set to expire June 30. The council voted against a motion to amend the repeal so that the mask mandate would stay in place indoors only through June 30. City businesses have reported they are starting to see fewer customers because the mask mandate remained in effect, while other communities revoked their mandates, Assistant Mayor Jim Splaine said. “We are losing business. That’s the message that we’re hearing,” Splaine said. “We’re beginning to look kind of foolish by continuing it.” Durham also rescinded its mask mandate Monday. Exeter and Newmarket ended theirs, and others did not have one. Separately, the city put out a notice that indoor seating in Portsmouth restaurants may return to normal capacity, still complying with all applicable codes. Meanwhile, the public school district in New Hampshire’s largest city is requiring masks for students and staff only for moving around in a building. Masks are now optional inside Manchester classrooms, WMUR-TV reports. School district officials said they made the change because of a decrease in community transmission of COVID-19 and in the district.

New Jersey

Trenton: Schools will have the discretion to let students go without masks during the extreme heat that has descended on the state this week, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday. Summer camps will also have similar discretion on masks outdoors, regardless of the weather, he said. The announcement comes as temperatures in many parts of the state have hovered at or risen above 90 degrees since Saturday and are expected to continue that way at least through Wednesday. Some parents have been clamoring for Murphy to ease mask-wearing inside and outside school buildings, culminating in a protest outside the Statehouse last week. The exception for going without a mask outdoors on school grounds in extreme heat has been in effect since schools reopened last September. But on Monday, Murphy suggested school districts can also waive the mask requirement indoors if it can potentially affect students’ health. “School officials are empowered to relax masking among students and staff in their buildings given extreme weather conditions,” Murphy said at a briefing. Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said it will be up to school districts to determine what constitutes excessive heat. “We need to trust that they’ll do the right thing,” she said.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: The state Supreme Court ruled Monday that there is no constitutional or statutory requirement to compensate businesses for financial losses due to emergency public health orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ruling in favor of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham scuttles about 20 lawsuits against her administration. The original plaintiffs argued that aggressive health restrictions from the administration constituted a regulatory taking much like the taking of land for public works projects. The governor urged the high court to block the lawsuits. In a unanimous opinion from Justice Shannon Bacon, the court said current public health orders “are a reasonable exercise of the police power to protect the public health.” “Occupancy limits and closure of certain categories of businesses, while certainly harsh in their economic effects, are directly tied to the reasonable purpose of limiting the public’s exposure to the potentially life-threatening and communicable disease,” the decision said. The high court noted that the Public Health Emergency Response Act does provide for compensation for the emergency appropriation from businesses of health care supplies, a health facility or any other property.

New York

Albany: Hundreds of nursing homes across the state that are struggling to vaccinate workers remain at heightened risk of COVID-19 outbreaks, despite recent declines in coronavirus infections. About 250 nursing homes are lagging the state’s COVID-19 vaccination rate for long-term care workers, according to a USA TODAY Network analysis of state data. Overall, 62% of nursing home staff statewide have been at least partially vaccinated. While 85% of New York’s nursing home residents have been partially or fully vaccinated, the likelihood of future outbreaks is higher in facilities where fewer workers choose to get shots. It also increases the odds of breakthrough infections among vaccinated people, which are exceedingly rare. The problem is acute in some nursing homes across the Finger Lakes, Mid-Hudson, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley regions, where about 50 facilities had partially vaccinated less than half of their respective workers as of last week. The data shed light on a stagnated vaccination push inside nursing homes, which were granted early access to shots in December but today still trail New York hospitals and assisted living facilities, which have partially vaccinated 72% and 69% of workers, respectively.

North Carolina

Rocky Mount: Get ready for long lines at DMV offices this summer, state officials warn, as pandemic delays and economic forces are bringing record demand for licenses. Division of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Torre Jessup urged motorists to conduct business online if they can. Summer is usually the busiest time at DMV regardless, but many people have waited to get vaccinated before completing transactions, the division said in a news release. The COVID-19 pandemic also delayed thousands of teenagers in completing in-person driving tests to obtain their provisional licenses. And the agency’s job vacancy rate remains high because of the state’s strong job market, according to DMV. The department is encouraging people who must complete in-person business to schedule appointments or to wait to come in until after Labor Day. Meanwhile, the agency is opening new offices, expanding hours and hiring new license examiners.

North Dakota

Bismarck: State tax revenue exceeded projections in April, according to new data released by state budget officials. The Bismarck Tribune reports the data shows April’s general fund revenues outpaced 2019 legislative projections by 1.2%, or more than $2.7 million. Revenues have exceeded projections by 2.2%, or $96.6 million, since mid-2019. May’s revenue numbers aren’t available yet, but State Office of Management and Budget Director Joe Morrisette said Monday they looked to be what he called “fairly positive.” Some tax sources are still underperforming 2019 projections, however, reflecting the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall sales taxes, the largest source of general fund revenue, for example, were still 2.5% lower than the 2019 forecast, though. Overall oil taxes were 26% under forecasts.

Ohio

Columbus: The state crossed two COVID-19 milestones Tuesday, counting more than 20,000 total deaths from the disease and reporting the fewest number of people currently hospitalized statewide. Since the pandemic began, 20,021 people have died due to COVID-19, according to the Ohio Department of Health. December remains the deadliest month for the coronavirus in Ohio, with 5,520 deaths, according to state data. But deaths fell sharply in January and February, after older Ohioans and people living in nursing homes were able to get COVID-19 vaccines. In April, 518 Ohioans died due to COVID-19, and 269 died in May. Those numbers could increase as deaths are reported. Deaths are often reported in the state’s coronavirus stats weeks or even months after someone dies. That’s because medical professionals have up to six months to complete a death certificate, under Ohio law, and they are reviewed by the National Center on Health Statistics before appearing in Ohio’s tally. Meanwhile, only 503 coronavirus-positive patients were being treated in hospitals across the state Tuesday, the lowest number seen since the Ohio Hospital Association began collecting data in March 2020. That’s down from a high of 5,308 on Dec. 15, 2020 and 1,058 just one month ago.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: The state’s economy is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic downturn, with revenue collections in May 34% higher than May 2020, Treasurer Randy McDaniel said Tuesday. The state collected $1.24 billion in May 2021, $314.7 million more than the same month a year prior, according to McDaniel. “At this time last year, unemployment was high, numerous businesses had significantly reduced operations, and many people were quarantined in their homes,” McDaniel said. “Today, pent-up demand has been unleashed, and the economy is performing quite well.” He said the strongest indicator of increased economic activity is sales and use tax collections of $534.2 million – a 26% increase, or $110.1 million more than a year ago. Gross production taxes on oil and gas generated $87.3 million, nearly 128% more than May 2020, after oil prices plummeted to below $20 per barrel. The unemployment rate in Oklahoma was 4.3% in April, the most recent month available, down from 13% in April 2020.

Oregon

Salem: Lane County, home to Eugene, has vaccinated enough people to move into the state’s lowest level of COVID-19 restrictions. And other counties will have restrictions changed based on measurements of community spread, Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday. Coos and Wasco counties will move down from moderate risk to lower risk. Josephine and Yamhill counties will move down from high risk to moderate risk. Harney County will move up from lower risk to moderate risk. Brown’s county risk level system governs capacity limits in restaurants, bars, gyms, retail stores and more, as well as the size of social gatherings. Since November, counties have changed risk designations based on metrics such as cases per 100,000 residents and coronavirus test positivity. On May 11, Brown announced that counties where 65% of adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and where officials have submitted a plan for vaccine equity can move into the lowest level of restrictions. Lane is the seventh Oregon county to do so. The new designations take effect Friday. In all, there will be 11 counties, including Marion, in the high-risk category; four counties, including Polk, in the moderate-risk category; and 21 counties in the lower-risk level.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: The state’s long-awaited overhaul of its unemployment claims filing system went live Tuesday, with some users immediately complaining about glitches and the state agency that runs the program reporting a phone outage that temporarily prevented it from making or receiving calls. More than a year after the coronavirus pandemic swamped the state’s old claims system, officials promised the replacement would be easy to use; simplify and speed up the process of filing a claim; and incorporate features to reduce the opportunity for fraud. But people trying to migrate to the new website quickly ran into trouble – and weren’t shy about expressing their displeasure online. The agency acknowledged some users got “invalid password” messages, while others had trouble connecting to the server. It said fixes were in progress. Many claimants expressed alarm when the system told them they’d receive benefits by debit card and not direct deposit. But the Department of Labor & Industry said it was “just a display issue and not a problem with payment type.” Pennsylvania had been relying on a 40-year-old computer system to process unemployment benefits. The replacement system that went live Tuesday had been under development since 2006 and was plagued by delays and cost overruns.

Rhode Island

Providence: With the coronavirus apparently on the run in Rhode Island, the state is sending help to other areas of the world still in the heat of the battle against COVID-19, officials said Monday. Care New England’s COVID-19 Crisis Relief Effort and the Rhode Island Department of Health recently sent 200,000 coronavirus tests to India, along with protective equipment, ventilators, medications and other medical supplies to be distributed to hospitals around Delhi. “India’s hospitals and laboratories have been stretched to their limit as case counts in the nation reach an all-time high,” Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, director of the state Department of Health, said in a statement. The BinaxNOW rapid antigen tests can help health care professionals quickly identify coronavirus cases and put people into isolation, she said. The tests do not need to be sent to a lab and provide results in 15 minutes. The tests were part of Rhode Island’s allotment from the federal government, and the state has enough remaining to sustain current testing volume.

South Carolina

Columbia: Continuing efforts to boost the state’s economy following pandemic-related hardships, Gov. Henry McMaster on Tuesday announced a cash infusion for technical colleges, aimed at training the jobless in new skills as they reenter the workforce. During a news conference in Anderson, the Republican said he’s allocating $8 million in federal coronavirus relief aid to a partnership between the state’s 16 tech schools and the Department of Employment and Workforce. Starting this week, the agency will contact the 87,000 South Carolinians already eligible for jobless benefits to advise them of tuition-free, short-term training classes designed to quickly prepare them for jobs like welding and truck driving, according to Tim Hardee, president of the state’s technical college system. The funds come from a total of more than $48 million provided under federal legislation passed in spring 2020, to be used at the governor’s discretion. In other allocations, McMaster has directed funds to the Department of Social Services, the Department of Education and the Department of Commerce. “All they have to do is apply,” McMaster said of the training for in-demand technical jobs. “If this works as well as we are confident it will, we are hopeful this will be a permanent part of our career process in South Carolina.”

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: The union at a Smithfield Foods pork processing plant engaged in contract negotiations Tuesday armed with the authorization to call a strike. A strike authorization at the Sioux Falls chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union was overwhelmingly approved late Monday with 98% of the vote total, the union said. However, leaders said they hoped to avoid a work stoppage as they met with company representatives Tuesday. Meatpacking workers have become emboldened after a coronavirus outbreak at the plant last year killed four workers and infected nearly 1,300. The union is demanding that Smithfield boost its wage offerings in a four-year contract to match those at a JBS pork plant in the region, as well as to make several other concessions on break times and employee health insurance costs. “We’re not going to change our stand,” said B.J. Motley, the president of the local union. Smithfield Foods, based in Virginia, has said its initial offer, which was rejected by the union last week, is in “full alignment” with agreements that UFCW has already accepted at other plants. A strike at the plant, which produces roughly 5% of the nation’s pork supply every day, could create ripple effects from hog farmers to supermarket shelves.

Tennessee

Nashville: The state’s annual free fishing day is Saturday. Each year, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency offers one day when anglers can fish without a paid license in the state’s public waters, agency-owned and -operated lakes, and state park facilities. The TWRA said it annually stocks several thousand pounds of fish for various events. However, some privately owned lakes and ponds continue to charge during free fishing day, the agency said. Interested anglers will need to consult with those operators if there are any questions about a facility. Many events are returning this year following cancellations in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A list of events being held on free fishing day can be found on the TWRA’s website.

Texas

Dallas: The State Fair of Texas is coming back this fall, two years after the last time folks were able to gather at Fair Park to devour funnel cakes, admire flashy cars and gaze up at the iconic 55-foot tall Big Tex. The annual fair, which dates back to 1886, will take place from Sept. 24 through Oct. 17. This year’s theme is “Howdy, Folks!” State Fair of Texas president Mitchell Glieber said in a statement that the theme “encompasses the foundation of what the fair is all about – being together.” “We’re excited to make up for lost time and help families and friends from all walks of life reconnect again, while making new memories to last a lifetime,” Glieber said. Last year, the in-person fair was canceled due to the pandemic. Instead of eating fried food at Fair Park, would-be attendees had the option to stream corn dog and funnel cake cooking tutorials from their living rooms. Big Tex still loomed over Fair Park, but for the first time in his 68-year history, he wore a mask. This fall, according to the Dallas Morning News, his mask is coming off. Fairgoers can look forward to bull riding, vegetable carving and Dia de los Muertos activities. Food offerings will include Cajun crab bombs, deep fried waffles, and jalapeno and champagne jello shots, and attendees will hear loads of live music.

Utah

Salt Lake City: More than 20,000 people marched through downtown Salt Lake City over the weekend to close out Pride week in the state. Utah Pride Center Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Foulk said it was “beautiful” to see everyone gathered at the “Rainbow March & Rally” again after events were canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, KSTU-TV reports. “We really wanted to get back to how Pride started,” Foulk said. “Pride started as a protest and a rally and a march, and that’s what we brought back for this year specifically because we couldn’t have food vendors and floats and have a super large gathering.” Planning has already started for next year, with hopes that more people can attend, Foulk said.

Vermont

Montpelier: Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed into law Monday a bill that will make it easier for residents to vote in general elections. The new law will send general election ballots to all active voters ahead of the election, making permanent a policy used last year during the pandemic. Under the system that was used last November, when COVID-19 was surging, voters will be able to cast ballots by mail, take them to polling places to vote early or cast their ballots in person on Election Day. The law also provides a mechanism for correcting defective ballots and makes other changes to the state’s voting laws. Scott said he didn’t think the law went far enough, and he urged lawmakers when they return in January to extend the provisions of the law to primary elections, local elections and school budget votes. “I’m signing this bill because I believe making sure voting is easy and accessible, and increasing voter participation, is important,” Scott said in a statement. At a time when legislatures around much of the nation are more likely to pass laws that limit opportunities to cast ballots, “here in the Green Mountain State we chose a different path,” Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos said in a statement.

Virginia

Falls Church: The mansion where Robert E. Lee once lived that now overlooks Arlington National Cemetery is open to the public again, after a $12 million rehabilitation and reinterpretation that includes an increased emphasis on those who were enslaved there. The National Park Service opened Arlington House to the public Tuesday for the first time since 2018. The mansion and surrounding grounds had been expected to reopen in 2019, but delays and the coronavirus pandemic extended the closure. The rehabilitation was funded by philanthropist David Rubenstein, who has also donated millions for the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and other historical sites around the D.C. region. The mansion, which commands an unrivaled view of the nation’s capital and the Potomac River, is best known as the home of the Confederate general leading up to the Civil War. But its history goes well beyond Lee. George Washington Parke Custis, the adopted son of George Washington, built the mansion as a memorial of sorts to the country’s first president. Robert E. Lee came to Arlington House after he married Custis’ daughter, Mary Anna Randolph Custis. New exhibits and materials at Arlington House include the stories of the enslaved Syphax and Norris families.

Washington

Bremerton: The elite submarine USS Connecticut, now finally free from an infestation of bedbugs, has set sail for deployment to the Pacific Ocean. The Navy announced the submarine, one of three of the Seawolf-class boats, left Sinclair Inlet on May 27. The boat had been battling an infestation of bedbugs on board, but Navy officials said the submarine is free of the insects following eradication efforts. Some of the crew of more than 100 had complained of bed bugs in late 2020. Navy entomologists found them in the perforated bulkheads between bunks Feb. 19, the Navy said. Berthing areas were thoroughly cleaned and treated for the insects, and linens, privacy curtains and clothes on board were washed and dried. Some crew members slept in vehicles until a temporary structure was opened in the boat’s mooring area. The Connecticut is home-ported at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton with sister boat USS Seawolf, itself having returned from a globetrotting deployment in February. Only three of the Seawolf-class subs, which each cost more than $3 billion to build, were actually completed. Many more had been planned in the days of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, as a way to gain an upper hand.

West Virginia

Charleston: Lawmakers poured federal funds and extra state cash into road repairs, health care, and education programs such as school lunches Monday as they began the GOP-led Legislature’s first special session of the year, called by the governor to handle spending about $902 million received through the latest round of federal pandemic aid. One Republican senator took the opportunity after the break to snipe at Gov. Jim Justice’s new sweepstakes for getting more residents vaccinated against COVID-19 and his reluctance to lift a statewide mask mandate sooner. Fully vaccinated people are exempt from the indoor mask requirement. Sen. Randy Smith, R-Tucker, said he is “fed up” with the governor’s decisions and “wasteful spending.” Justice announced a vaccine lottery that will include prizes ranging from hunting rifles to $1 million. “I don’t believe we should be using money to bribe people to get something that should be their own personal choice,” Smith said. The governor and his health experts have pushed residents to get the shots in weekly news conferences, where Justice has trotted out his bulldog named Babydog to entice viewers. West Virginia’s vaccine lottery is now called “Do It for Babydog.” The efforts haven’t yet boosted a sluggish vaccination drive.

Wisconsin

Milwaukee: A former pharmacist who purposefully ruined more than 500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine was sentenced to three years in prison Tuesday. Steven Brandenburg, 46, of Grafton, pleaded guilty in February to two felony counts of attempting to tamper with a consumer product. He had admitted to intentionally removing the doses manufactured by Moderna from a refrigerator for hours at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, located just north of Milwaukee. In a statement before receiving his sentence, Brandenburg said he felt “great shame” and accepted responsibility for his actions. He apologized to his co-workers, family and the community. Aurora destroyed most of the tampered doses, but not before 57 people received inoculations from the supply. Those doses are believed to have still been effective, but weeks of uncertainty created a storm of anger, anxiety and anguish among the recipients, according to court documents. Prosecutors asked for a sentence of three years and five months. Brandenburg faced a maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment at $250,000 in fines for each felony count. Brandenburg is an admitted conspiracy theorist who believes he is a prophet, and vaccines are a product of the devil. He also professed a belief that the Earth is flat and that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were faked.

Wyoming

Cody: The Cody School District’s practice of broadcasting its special school board meetings to the public has come to an end after over a year. The pandemic-era practice related to limited capacity in the board room, but those restrictions have since been dropped, the Cody Enterprise reports. The district will continue to broadcast its regular meetings via the paid service Boxcast, which officials say is more accessible than free options like Facebook Live and YouTube, according to the newspaper.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Pipeline penalties, climate change symphony: News from around ...

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Montgomery: The state intends to move quickly on building new prisons under a plan that taps pandemic relief funds and could skip the normal bidding process for the construction of two supersize facilities. Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday signed into law the $1.3 billion construction plan to build two 4,000-bed prisons and a new prison for women and to renovate other facilities. The plan taps $400 million from the American Rescue Plan – money the state has already received – and could steer the construction contracts toward companies that previously qualified for the work. Those include Birmingham-based construction giant BL Harbert International and Montgomery-based Caddell Construction. Caddell and BL Harbert are expected to be the main contractors for the two prisons, Republican state Sen. Greg Albritton said. Lawmakers said working with those companies will allow the state to incorporate prior work. “This is going to enable us to start these projects 12 months in advance, and time is money,” said the bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Steve Clouse. Officials will have the money to start construction after lawmakers approved $400 million in coronavirus funds and another $150 million from the state’s general fund, in addition to agreeing to borrow $785 million through a bond issue.

Alaska

Juneau: A Canadian mining company has been looking for precious metals on Chichagof Island in southeast Alaska. Millrock Resources, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based company, several years ago applied to the U.S. Forest Service for drilling permits to renew exploration on claims that once made up the historic Apex and El Nido gold mines. However, the exploration never happened. CEO Gregory Beischer said the company wasn’t able to secure financing. The mines produced precious metals in the early 20th century. Some exploration resumed in the 1980s. “But it really has been dormant since the mining activity took place in the ’20s and ’30s,” Beischer told CoastAlaska. Millrock has formed a partnership with another company, which has allowed it to take soil samples on claims less than 3 miles from Pelican, a community with fewer than 100 year-round residents. The operator of Kensington Mine north of Juneau, which is a subsidiary of Coeur Mining, invested about $200,000 for a small team of geologists based in Pelican. Beischer said soil sample results are pending. But he said geologists hope they will show that gold-bearing quartz veins continue down the mountain. Taking soil samples doesn’t require permits, according to state and federal regulators.

Arizona

Phoenix: U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said Monday that activists who confronted her outside an Arizona State University classroom and filmed her inside a restroom were not engaging in “legitimate protest.” The Democratic senator said the immigration reform activists unlawfully entered the suburban Phoenix campus building, which was only open to ASU students and faculty, and recorded her and her students. Sinema, a former social worker, is a lecturer at ASU’s School of Social Work. “In the 19 years I have been teaching at ASU, I have been committed to creating a safe and intellectually challenging environment for my students,” Sinema said. “Yesterday, that environment was breached. My students were unfairly and unlawfully victimized.” Living United for Change in Arizona posted video of the Sunday encounter on social media. The video showed LUCHA members chastising Sinema on accusations that she did not adequately support expectations of a pathway to citizenship for people in the country illegally and has not been supportive enough of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion infrastructure proposal. LUCHA said its members were forced to confront Sinema at ASU because she has been inaccessible. Sinema said in her statement she has met with the group multiple times since she was elected to the Senate.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The state Senate has advanced a measure that would require an exemption process for workers who face a COVID-19 vaccine mandate from their employers. The vote Monday came during a special session that was called to redraw the state’s congressional maps. The measure from Sen. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, says any employer that mandates the vaccines must also offer an exemption process that includes coronavirus testing or proof of antibodies. If enacted, the requirement would end July 31, 2023, unless extended by lawmakers. Republican lawmakers have filed numerous bills targeting vaccine mandates for the special session, which began last week. The proposals are primarily in response to President Joe Biden’s order requiring workers at businesses with at least 100 employees to get vaccinated or tested regularly. The discussion about vaccine requirements comes as coronavirus cases continue to decrease from their summer peaks in Arkansas. According to Johns Hopkins University, the state had 529.7 new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks, which ranks Arkansas 28th in the country for new cases per capita.

California

Los Angeles: Weeks before a leak from an oil pipeline fouled beaches to the south in Orange County, Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously to phase out oil and gas drilling and ban new drill sites in the unincorporated areas of the nation’s most populous county. Over 1,600 active and idle oil and gas wells could be shuttered after last month’s 5-0 vote by the board of supervisors. Among the sites is the Inglewood Oil Field, one of the largest U.S. urban oil fields. The sprawling, 1,000-acre site, owned and operated by Sentinel Peak Resources, contains over half the oil and gas wells in the county’s unincorporated areas. The field produced 2.5 million to 3.1 million barrels of oil a year over the past decade, according to the company. “The goal is to provide direction to county departments to begin addressing the variety of issues, environmental and climate impacts created by these active and inactive oil and gas wells,” said Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, who represents the district where most of the Inglewood Oil Field is located. The California Independent Petroleum Association, representing nearly 400 oil and gas industry entities, opposed the measure.

Colorado

Denver: Three Front Range ski areas vying for the annual distinction of being the first to open for the season could begin snowmaking operations very soon. They just need Mother Nature to cooperate. In 15 of the past 20 years, at least one of those areas – Arapahoe Basin, Loveland and Keystone – has opened during the second or third week of October, usually relying heavily on manmade snow, The Denver Post reports. But October this year is likely to have above-average temperatures with average or slightly below-average precipitation, said Kari Bowen, a National Weather Service meteorologist. That doesn’t necessarily mean the resorts won’t be able to make snow, but a cold October doesn’t appear to be in the forecast. Beyond that, the weather service’s Climate Prediction Center says there is a 60% chance of above-normal temperatures for the northern and central mountains over the next three months, with a 60% chance of below-normal precipitation. From the early 1980s through 2001, the rivalry to become the first Front Range ski area to open was between Keystone and Loveland. Then, in 2002, Arapahoe Basin installed snowmaking equipment, and the race became a duel between A-Basin and Loveland. In 2019, Keystone added 53 automated snow guns with 11,000 feet of pipe and 15 miles of electrical cable.

Connecticut

Hartford: The state’s attorney general is asking leadership of TikTok, a video-sharing service, to come to Connecticut and meet with educators and parents to discuss the “harmful impact” the popular app is having on the mental and physical safety of students and educators. Attorney General William Tong, who sent a letter Monday to TikTok’s CEO, said there’s concern that a current viral challenge known as “Slap a Teacher” could put educators at risk. His request comes after New Britain High School temporarily closed last month due to student misbehavior that was attributed in part to the viral “Devious Licks” TikTok challenge, which led to damage at schools across the U.S. Students took videos of themselves vandalizing school bathrooms and stealing soap dispensers, among other acts of destruction. “With new reports of the “Slap a Teacher” challenge, it is clear that TikTok is unable to control the spread of harmful content,” Tong wrote, noting that TikTok had identified and removed “Devious Licks” content from its platform. “Simply put, whatever TikTok has been doing to enforce its terms of service has not been working and merits serious review and reform.” A message was left seeking comment with a TikTok spokesperson.

Delaware

Newark: A school bus with students on board crashed into parked cars, went off the road and struck a pole Tuesday morning as it pulled into a school campus, but there were only minor injuries, police said. The crash happened just before 9 a.m. at the Newark Charter School campus on Patriot Way, Newark police said in a news release. Elementary and middle school students were on the bus at the time of the crash. When police officers arrived, a school nurse was treating some students who received minor injuries, but no students needed to be taken to a medical facility, police said. The school notified parents of the incident. The driver was not injured, police said.

District of Columbia

Washington: A plan to remove homeless encampments at two underpasses in the NoMa neighborhood near Union Station paused Monday after a bulldozer driver began clearing out a tent with an unhoused resident still inside, WUSA-TV reports. Witnesses described the moment as a chaotic scene, with advocates rushing to prevent the man from getting seriously hurt. Community advocates said he was taken to a hospital by ambulance for extra medical attention and was expected to be OK. “They had to cut a hole to make sure this person was OK, and they brought in the fire department, who actually got him out,” witness Andrew Anderson said. “They didn’t actually take any time to make sure anyone was in there; they just grabbed the tents and took them out.” Anderson is part of the nonprofit organization People for Fairness Coalition, which provides services to homeless encampments. He and other activists spent much of the day at the sites at the L and M Street underpasses – one of four areas on which the city is focusing as part of the new Coordinated Assistance and Resources for Encampments pilot program aimed at relocating more than 100 unhoused residents to apartments and connecting them to resources while closing down the homeless encampments for health and public safety reasons.

Florida

Tallahassee: Florida first lady Casey DeSantis has breast cancer, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday. DeSantis, 41, is the mother of the couple’s three children, the youngest of whom was born after the governor took office in January 2019. “As she faces the most difficult test of her life, she will … not only have my unwavering support but the support of our entire family, as well as the prayers and well wishes from Floridians across our state. Casey is a true fighter, and she will never, never, never give up,” Ron DeSantis said in a statement. Casey DeSantis has played an active role in her husband’s Republican administration, advocating for people with mental health issues. She often appears with him, children in tow, at bill signings and other official events. Republican and Democratic leaders put partisanship aside during an outpouring of support for Mrs. DeSantis on social media. “As a #breastcancer survivor also diagnosed at 41 and a 14 year survivor, I’m wishing you the strength you need to fight and win this battle,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz wrote on Twitter. “The breast cancer survivor sisterhood knows no party. Please reach out if I can help in any way.”

Georgia

Atlanta: A new photo and video project celebrates Hispanic workers in the state who were required to keep going to their jobs during the pandemic, even when a lockdown let many other employees stay home. Photographers Hector Amador and Miguel Martinez document the experiences of these essential workers in the online exhibition “Our Essential Heroes,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The project, which includes interviews with a farm worker and janitor, is part of the Latino Community Fund Georgia’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations. “We realized a lot of people were sort of invisible when it comes to essential work,” Amador told the paper. “Miguel and I are both immigrants. We know what it’s like being trapped between two cultures. We know what it’s like being treated like a second-class citizen sometimes.” Maria Fajardo, a farmworker in Glennville who contracted the coronavirus, said in an interview featured in the project that work harvesting crops is not appreciated, and farmworkers are not valued. “We have to be here,” she said. “We could be sick, but we are still expected to keep working, harvesting the food so that people can eat.” To view the project, visit unidosgeorgia.com/heroes.

Hawaii

Honolulu: The Hawaii Tourism Authority plans to seek $64 million from the state’s capital improvements budget to fix a leaky rooftop deck at the Hawaii Convention Center. That’s more than double what the agency had last anticipated it would cost to complete the largest deferred maintenance project at the building, which opened in 1998, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. It’s a substantial reinvestment in a center that cost $200 million to construct. Julian Anderson, who presented recommendations to the Hawaii Tourism Authority board Thursday on behalf of Honolulu-based property manager Rider Levett Bucknall, said the deck was still structurally safe. However, he said, components of contractor Nordic/PCL’s design were guaranteed for only 15 to 20 years, so it’s well past time to address the leaky rooftop. “This is an issue that has existed since the building was designed. Repair is not an option; replacement is required,” he said. “If work is not done, the amount of damage will continue to increase, and more rentable space will be taken out of inventory.”

Idaho

Boise: A constant barrage of misinformation has health care workers facing increased animosity from some patients and community members, officials say. It’s gotten so bad in northern Idaho that some Kootenai Health employees are scared to go to the grocery store if they haven’t changed out of their scrubs, hospital spokeswoman Caiti Bobbitt said. Some doctors and nurses at the Coeur d’Alene hospital have been accused of killing patients by grieving family members who don’t believe COVID-19 is real, Bobbitt said. Others have been the subject of hurtful rumors spread by people angry about the pandemic. “Our health care workers are almost feeling like Vietnam veterans, scared to go into the community after a shift,” Bobbitt said. Similar instances are happening across the state, said Brian Whitlock, president of the Idaho Hospital Association. “We’ve had reports of physical violence, verbal abuse, demands for alternative treatment that are not acceptable or approved. And those become very difficult conversations to have as the patient continues to decompensate,” Whitlock said. “We’re not frustrated with the misinformed. We’re frustrated with those who propagate the misinformation because it’s costing people their lives.”

Illinois

Chicago: A federal agency has recommended that Tootsie Roll Industries pay more than $136,000 in fines after a machine at its Chicago plant cut off part of an employee’s finger earlier this year. In a news release, the U.S. Department of Labor said its Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one willful violation “for inadequate machine guarding” and proposed the fines after an investigation into the April 19 incident. According to the release, a 48-year-old employee had reached into a machine to remove stuck paper debris when a bag sealer snapped shut on one of his fingers. And the Labor Department said the incident happened after the company had allowed the machine’s access doors to remain unguarded. “Hundreds of workers are injured needlessly each year because employers ignore safety guards, often to speed up production, and that’s exactly what happened in this case,” OSHA Chicago South Area Director James Martineck said in the release. Calls to the company for comment were not immediately returned Tuesday. According to the Labor Department, the company has 15 business days to comply with the recommended fines, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent OSHA review commission.

Indiana

Indianapolis: The governor gave his approval Monday to the Republican redrawing of the state’s congressional and legislative districts that critics argued gives the party an excessive election advantage for the next decade. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb’s signature was the final step in the redistricting for Indiana’s nine congressional seats and 150 seats in the Legislature that were drawn by Republican leaders behind closed doors and adopted Friday in the Legislature without any support from Democrats. The maps faced intense criticism as diluting the influence of minority and urban voters in favor of white voters living in rural areas to bolster the election prospects for Republicans. That came after the 2020 census found that the state’s white and rural populations both shrank over the past 10 years. Holcomb said in a statement he believed that legislators completed the redistricting work in “an orderly and transparent way.” Political analysts say the new maps that will be used through the 2030 elections protect the Republican dominance that has boosted them to a 7-2 majority of Indiana’s U.S. House seats and commanding majorities in the Legislature. Opponents pointed to Donald Trump winning 57% of Indiana’s presidential vote last year as Republicans captured 71 of the 100 Indiana House and 39 of 50 state Senate seats.

Iowa

Davenport: The city is making a million-dollar investment in a riverside park as part of an effort to get ready for an expected increase in cruise ship traffic. The Quad-City Times reports the city has repaired the seawall and is extending the river walk and promenade that runs the length of the riverfront at River Heritage Park. The promenade includes a decorative walkway, lighting and benches. The latest Mississippi River cruise schedule shows large passenger vessels from two cruise lines anchoring simultaneously next year along the seawall. Davenport was a stop this year for boats from American Cruise Lines, including classic paddlewheelers and modern riverboats. Passengers typically get off the boat at Davenport and board buses for tours of Quad City destinations. New riverboats from Viking Cruise Lines also will be anchoring next season in Davenport.

Kansas

Topeka: Some local governments are operating with 10% of their positions unfilled, making it hard to deliver the services that citizens expect. Across the state, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that Kansas has seen a 4.7% drop in the number of public-sector workers, which translates into about 12,000 vacant jobs, but some towns are being hit harder. The pandemic has compounded the situation because the competitive labor market has made it hard to replace older employees who decided to retire. And private companies, which are also struggling to hire, have more flexibility in pay and benefits than city governments generally do. In Concordia, city manager Amy Lange said the government is down to the bare minimum needed to perform city functions, but with six positions open – which accounts for 10% of its workforce – workers are stretched thin. The problems become more serious in the area’s pool of emergency medical technicians, where the pool of part-time EMS workers has dwindled. Elsewhere, Lawrence has over twice the normal number of vacant positions. In Winfield, the city had to overhaul its pay structure for utilities workers in an effort to avoid being short-staffed. And officials in Shawnee County and across Kansas have struggled to hire corrections and public safety workers.

Kentucky

Frankfort: Gov. Andy Beshear recommended Monday that the state use $400 million in federal pandemic relief assistance to provide bonuses next year for beleaguered health care staff and other front-line workers who provided essential services during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Democratic governor said he intends to send a framework of the plan to the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature within the next 10 days. Lawmakers would make the final decision on appropriating the federal aid. Beshear’s recommendation comes as many Kentucky hospitals continue struggling with chronic staffing shortages to treat an influx of coronavirus patients – most of them unvaccinated against COVID-19. Some prominent Senate Republicans have urged the governor to call lawmakers into a special legislative session this year to direct immediate aid to hospitals to overcome staffing woes. The governor said Monday that the federal money won’t be available until next year, when lawmakers are back in regular session. Beshear also expanded the number of workers potentially eligible for bonuses, mentioning emergency responders, grocery store workers, educators and factory workers employed by companies deemed essential during the pandemic.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: Sixteen of the 49 Louisiana hospitals that regularly deliver babies have met new standards aimed at improving the state’s poor performance involving deaths resulting from pregnancy. The Louisiana Department of Health said Monday that 11 hospitals in the state are “Birth Ready,” and five others met the higher designation of “Birth Ready+” under standards set by the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative, a network of public health experts, advocates, doctors and other care providers. The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reports the classifications grade hospitals on whether they meet certain benchmarks related to maternal blood loss, cesarean sections, staff education and other factors that contribute to improved outcomes during pregnancy. “These 16 hospitals went above and beyond,” said Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell, director of the collaborative. The effort seeks to make births safer using metrics to judge whether a hospital is doing everything possible to ensure births don’t end in death or serious complications. Louisiana’s rate of pregnancy-related deaths in 2018 was 25.2 deaths per 100,000 live births – compared to the national rate of 17.4.

Maine

Bangor: The headlining event of next year’s Maine Science Festival will be a musical exploration of climate change. The organizers of the festival said they commissioned composer Lucas Richman to create a symphony about hope in the era of climate change in the Gulf of Maine, which is warming faster than most of the world’s oceans. The organizers said the Bangor Symphony Orchestra will perform the premiere of the work, called “The Warming Sea,” at the Maine Science Festival on March 19. Festival organizers said Richman’s work was informed by discussions with scientists, researchers, experts and Maine middle school students. The performance will also include a women’s and children’s choir. It will take place at Collins Center for the Arts in Orono. The Maine Science Festival began in 2015 and hosts dozens of events during its five-day March festival.

Maryland

Baltimore: Dundalk residents and some preservationist groups fear that a developer’s plans to build storage units on one of the last undeveloped pieces of battleground land from a key War of 1812 battle may destroy human remains that they believe are yet to be unearthed on the property. The proposed 13,600-square-foot building would be an extension of a Prime Storage facility in the Baltimore County community. The county approved the project as a limited exemption from standard development processes because it’s a minor commercial structure, so neither public notice nor hearings were required. The property is near the site of the former Patapsco Neck Methodist Meeting House, used as a field hospital during the Battle of North Point in September 1814. About 70 American and British soldiers were killed during the two-day battle, and, as the story goes, British bodies were buried in unmarked graves near the long-gone church that was used as a makeshift hospital. A 1990s archaeological survey found no evidence of remains on the property where the project is proposed. But community groups and state and federal agencies want to halt the development for a more thorough investigation they say would determine the truth.

Massachusetts

Barnstable: A hydrologist who researched the levels of contamination in Cape Cod’s bodies of water found there were human-made chemicals in 21 ponds he tested. Tom Cambareri collected water samples from ponds around town, finding a group of chemicals known as PFAS polluting the town’s clean water supply. The chemicals have been linked to several health problems and often do not break down into the environment easily. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances are unregulated at the federal level, but Massachusetts is beginning to put safeguards on drinking water. Last year, the state enacted a safeguard that would allow 20 nanograms per liter for a group of six PFAS compounds in drinking water. The contamination of local water supplies can be traced to the Barnstable County Fire Rescue and Training Academy and the Cape Cod Gateway Airport. The two locations used PFAS-filled firefighting foam for decades. Even though in 2015 city water officials began cleaning up the pollution from the airport and training academy, Cambareri’s report found that the pollutants spread across the village through contaminated well water before that treatment began. Local officials said they can’t do anything further because there is no state or federal standard for exposure to PFAS in surface water bodies.

Michigan

Detroit: Aretha Franklin was given a bit of posthumous R-E-S-P-E-C-T on Monday when a post office was named after the late singer in her hometown. Members of Franklin’s family as well as postal and elected officials visited the former Fox Creek post office to celebrate the name change honoring the Queen of Soul. “Her legacy lives on in her music, in her family. But we have added to that list of her legacy a post office with her name on it,” said U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, a Michigan Democrat and longtime postal service worker. Lawrence also was a friend of Franklin and introduced the bill in Congress that resulted in the name change. That legislation, signed by President Donald Trump in January, sailed through Congress, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters said. “Sometimes people wonder if Congress can come together,” the Democratic senator said to laughter during the dedication ceremony Monday. “Congress can come together when it comes to standing up and recognizing this amazing person.” The post office is located about 5 miles east of downtown and not far from a concert amphitheater on the Detroit River that also is named for Franklin. It now will be known as the Aretha Franklin Post Office Building.

Minnesota

St. Paul: An appeals court has ruled in favor of a retired botany and physics professor whose unmanicured yard was declared a public nuisance. Ed Borchardt wanted a natural yard, filled with native plants and flowers that would attract birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife. The city of North Mankato disagreed with his vision and said the yard doesn’t meet the standards of a new local ordinance that encourages naturally managed lawns. The appeals court on Monday said a city cannot declare a nuisance “based on little more than neighbors’ displeasure with the property’s appearance.” The court said the city failed to produce enough evidence that Borchardt’s yard was a hazard to public health or safety, the Star Tribune reports. In recent years, health problems have prevented Borchardt from keeping up with the yardwork, and neighbors began to complain about an explosion of vegetation. City Administrator John Harrenstein said that despite the appeals ruling, the case is not closed. “The property in question still remains, in our opinion, a nuisance according to our existing code,” he said. The appeals court decision faulted the city for not offering enough evidence to back its contention that Borchardt’s yard is a nuisance, and Harrenstein said the city will be consulting with its lawyers on how to proceed.

Mississippi

Jackson: The largest physician group in the state will pursue options to expand Medicaid despite opposition from two top political leaders. The Mississippi State Medical Association recently adopted a resolution to explore and pursue options including a Medicaid waiver program and or amending the state’s Medicaid plan to ensure more people have access to health care. “Mississippi has been saddled with a health care access issue long before the COVID-19 pandemic. The current landscape has demonstrated how urgent and critical the need to increase access to health care for Mississippians is,” MSMA President Dr. Geri Lee Weiland said. Mississippi is one of the dozen states that have not expanded Medicaid despite the federal government picking up 90% of the cost. The Mississippi Hospital Association also supports expanding Medicaid. Its president, Tim Moore, has said the state’s decision not to expand Medicaid has hit rural Mississippi particularly hard. He said six rural hospitals have closed their doors for good in recent years, and nearly half of all rural hospitals are now at risk of closure. Hospitals in the state spent over $600 million on uncompensated care in 2019, Moore said. Joint House and Senate Medicaid committees have four hearings scheduled this month on Medicaid at the state Capitol.

Missouri

St. Louis: Former U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, a conservative Republican whose comment that women’s bodies have a way of avoiding pregnancies in cases of “legitimate rape” sunk his bid for the U.S. Senate and became a cautionary tale for other GOP candidates, has died. He was 74. Akin had cancer for several years, his son Perry said in a statement. He died late Sunday at his home in Wildwood, a St. Louis suburb. “As my father’s death approached, we had people from all different walks of life share story after story of the personal impact he had on them,” Perry Akin said in a statement. “He was a devout Christian, a great father, and a friend to many.” Akin represented a Republican-leaning eastern Missouri district that included St. Louis-area suburbs for 12 years, giving up a safe seat to run for the U.S. Senate in 2012. He emerged from a crowded GOP primary to challenge then-incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, only to seriously hurt Republicans’ chances of recapturing a Senate majority less than two weeks later. Akin, a strong abortion opponent, was asked during an interview by a St. Louis television station whether he supported allowing abortions for women who have been raped. He answered that “from what I understand from doctors,” such pregnancies are “really rare.”

Montana

Billings: A plan designed to test whether boosting water releases from Fort Peck Dam in the spring could help endangered pallid sturgeon successfully spawn has been approved. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its environmental impact statement Sept. 24 outlining its proposed path forward as well as the predicted economic impacts. Under its chosen alternative, when reservoir water levels allow, the Corps would request that Fort Peck Dam begin increasing releases in April to see if mimicking spring runoff will attract pallid sturgeon into the Missouri River. The concept is not a new one, U.S. Geological Survey research fish biologist Pat Braaten noted. In the early 2000s, fisheries and biologists worked on test flows from Fort Peck to gather data, but the push evaporated around 2007 when water levels dropped due to drier weather. Mother Nature eventually provided proof of concept in the high-water years of 2011 and 2018, Braaten said, as pallid sturgeon females moved up the river below the dam. Without managed flows like the Corps’ proposed tests, such opportunistic runoff scenarios provide the best chance for the fish to successfully spawn in the wild, he said. Under the Corps proposal, the tests would fluctuate dam releases between April and July.

Nebraska

Omaha: Two women sued the state’s public health agency Monday after it denied their request to list both their names as parents on their children’s birth certificates. Erin Porterfield and Kristin Williams, of Omaha, allege in their lawsuit that state officials treat unmarried, same-sex couples differently from unmarried, opposite-sex couples, in violation of their due process and equal protection rights. The women argue listing them both is critical because it could affect their children’s eligibility for government benefits, should something happen to one of them. They also accuse the state of sexual discrimination because it allows men to voluntarily acknowledge they are parents to get onto a birth certificate but doesn’t allow women to do so. “Our sons are our entire world, and we want to make sure we’re doing right by them,” Porterfield said. “Our boys have a right to the security of having both parents on their birth certificates, a required document in so many life changes and decisions.” Porterfield and Williams began a romantic relationship in 2000 and used an anonymous sperm donor to have two children, according to the lawsuit. Porterfield gave birth to their first son in 2002 and Williams to their second in 2005. They ended their romantic involvement in 2013 but continued to share parenting duties.

Nevada

Carson City: State health officials as of Monday are counting results from rapid antigen tests in the coronavirus data they present to the public and use to determine whether the pandemic is prevalent enough to trigger mask and capacity mandates. The state updated its health response dashboard, adding more than 600,000 tests to its count. The dashboard started displaying “cumulative tests” on its testing page and dividing the new infections into “confirmed cases” and “probable cases” on its page that reports total cases. Unlike the traditional molecular tests that are considered more accurate, antigen tests detect viral proteins rather than the coronavirus itself. They can return results in about 15 minutes instead of days. Rapid tests have become increasingly common throughout the nation, particularly in high-risk settings like nursing homes, schools and prisons. Nevada’s updated tally counts molecular tests as confirmed cases and rapid tests reported to the state as probable cases. State health officials said the fact that the tests are now being used more commonly prompted them to change their data reporting practices. As of February, CNN reported five states including Nevada only reported publicly reported confirmed cases from molecular tests, contrary to guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. All but Maryland now report both.

New Hampshire

Concord: Gov. Chris Sununu is calling for the removal of a state representative, a fellow Republican, from his position as head of the legislative fiscal committee, saying the lawmaker is continuing to spread COVID-19 misinformation. Last month, Rep. Ken Weyler, of Kingston, told state Health Commissioner Lori Shibinette at a committee hearing that he doubted the state’s figures showing 90% people who are hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. Shibinette said his assessment was incorrect and was misinformation. On Monday, Democratic committee member Rep. Mary Jane Wallner released a statement saying Weyler sent the entire committee an email containing a 52-page “report” with disinformation on COVID-19, including claims that live creatures with tentacles are entering people’s bodies through the vaccine and that technology was placed in the vaccine to control people’s thoughts. Sununu said in a statement Monday that he has “repeatedly expressed” to House Speaker Sherman Packard the need to remove Weyler from his leadership position, calling the latest emails “absurd” and saying they have “accelerated the urgency that the Speaker needs to take action.” Sununu added: “Disseminating this misinformation clearly shows a detachment from reality and lack of judgment.”

New Jersey

Trenton: The state eliminated a carve-out Tuesday in its law against discrimination that permitted employers not to hire or promote workers who are 70 or older. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed the legislation into law, saying that “discrimination of any kind has no place in New Jersey.” New Jersey’s law bars discrimination or harassment based on disability, gender, national origin, race, religion or age. But the law contained provisions that said the law shouldn’t be construed to block employers “from refusing to accept for employment or to promote any person over 70 years of age.” The new law eliminates that provision and also does away with a section that permitted colleges and universities to require retirement at age 70. “Seventy is the new 50, and older individuals are continuing to work either due to financial need or because they still have the energy, skills, and experience,” Democratic Sen. Shirley Turner said in a statement. One of the bill’s sponsors said the measure was necessary to update the state’s anti-discrimination statutes. “As in many places around the country, New Jersey’s workforce is aging, and we need to be proactive in protecting those older workers against age discrimination,” Senate Democratic Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg said in a statement. The bill had passed without any opposition.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: The Democratic governor is seeking legislation to help jump-start hydrogen production from natural gas in her state – a process that generates harmful greenhouse gases but could one day be harnessed to provide environmental benefits. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham outlined the effort briefly at a convention of oil executives Monday in a speech that acknowledged New Mexico’s reliance on industry tax revenue while pledging to enforce pro-environment regulations. It’s the latest tightrope walk for the governor who has promised action on climate change while also working to shield the state’s oil and gas producers from a federal drilling moratorium on public lands issued by fellow Democrat President Joe Biden. After waiting for the executives to put on their masks, citing her emergency regulations in response to the coronavirus, Lujan Grisham launched into a 20-minute speech thanking oil and gas producers for their contributions to the economy and tax revenues that form the backbone of state education funding. She pledged to kick-start the hydrogen fuel industry in New Mexico with legislation in February. The bill could include taxes and incentives to produce hydrogen, legal frameworks to facilitate production and storage, refueling corridors for truck traffic and training programs for workers in the industry.

New York

New York: The city’s public libraries will no longer charge late fees and will waive existing fines for overdue books and other materials, officials announced Tuesday. Late fees had already been suspended since March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic and will now be permanently eliminated, elected officials and leaders of the city’s three library systems said in a news release. “This announcement is another major step towards making our public libraries, the heart of so many communities, accessible to all,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “Eliminating fines will let us serve even more New Yorkers, allowing them to enjoy all of the resources and programs that public libraries offer to grow and succeed.” In 2019, the city’s libraries collected about $3.2 million in late fees. No late fees were collected in 2020 because of the pandemic, and libraries made up the lost revenue in other fines. New Yorkers will still need to pay replacement fees if they lose books or other materials, the library officials said. A book is considered lost after it is overdue for a month, though if it is returned, there will no longer be a fee. The new policy covers the New York Public Library, with branches in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, as well as the Brooklyn Public Library and the Queens Public Library.

North Carolina

Charlotte: Janice Covington Allison, a transgender woman who became a strong Democratic activist on behalf of LGBT rights, has died at age 74. Allison died Friday at Atrium Health Mercy hospital in Charlotte, according to a friend, September McCrady. McCrady, who had been in contact with Allison’s wife, said Monday that her health had declined with kidney troubles. Allison became the first transgender woman to represent North Carolina at the Democratic National Convention when she was elected a delegate to the 2012 convention in Charlotte, The Charlotte Observer reports. Allison also ran unsuccessfully for North Carolina Democratic Party chair in 2015 and was the party’s diversity and outreach chair. A Delaware native, Allison served in the military and moved to the Charlotte area in the 1970s. Dressed as a man, she was a volunteer fire chief in Cabarrus County. “I was living two lives, yelling at men to get on a ladder and put out a fire by day and going to clubs at night as Janice … wearing a miniskirt and heels,” Allison told the Observer. In a statement over the weekend, North Carolina Democratic Party leaders called Allison “a fearless LGBTQ+ advocate and champion for the transgender community.”

North Dakota

Bismarck: Passenger traffic at the state’s eight commercial airports declined in August after a more robust July. “July is historically one of our busiest months out of the year for air travel, and so it can be expected to see lower passenger numbers heading into the fall as leisure travel begins to slow down,” said Kyle Wanner, the executive director of the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission. A total of 82,371 passengers boarded planes in August, nearly double the same month last year but well below the 101,784 boardings in August 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic hit, the Bismarck Tribune reports. The airports in Bismarck, Minot, Williston, Dickinson, Grand Forks, Fargo, Devils Lake and Jamestown all saw an increase in passengers this August from the previous year. Bismarck’s 19,272 boardings were 77% higher than the same month last year yet 26% down from pre-pandemic August 2019. “Our communities are doing an incredible job in maintaining a high level of air service, and we hope to see passenger demand maintain at current levels and then grow, once the holiday season arrives,” Wanner said. Year-to-date boardings are ahead of the 2020 pace at all eight airports. Statewide, they’re up more than 41%. But they’re down 30% from 2019.

Ohio

Columbus: The police officer who shot and killed Andre Hill will stand trial next spring, a judge decided Monday. Hill, 47, who was Black, was fatally shot by Officer Adam Coy, who is white, on Dec. 22 as Hill emerged from a garage holding up a cellphone. Coy has since been fired from the Columbus police department. Coy, 44, has pleaded not guilty to murder and reckless homicide. Franklin County Judge Stephen McIntosh set Coy’s trial for March 7. In August, McIntosh denied a request by Coy’s attorneys to move the trial out of concern that extensive local and national publicity – including news coverage, posts on social media and billboards around Columbus – would make it impossible to assemble an impartial jury for Coy in Franklin County. McIntosh sided with prosecutors, who argued there was no reason to believe that people elsewhere were less likely to have read about the case than were Franklin County residents. In May, the city reached a $10 million settlement, the largest in Columbus history, with Hill’s family.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: COVID-19 vaccinations have helped reduce infections by 7,500 and deaths by 1,100 among Oklahomans ages 65 and older, according to a study released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The study of Medicare recipients found that as vaccinations increased from January, when the vaccines became more widely available, through May, each 10% increase in vaccination rates resulted in an 11%-12% decline in weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths among Medicare beneficiaries. In its weekly report Sept. 29, the Oklahoma State Department of Health said 91.1% of Oklahomans 65 or older had received at least one vaccination, and 79.8% were fully vaccinated. The three-day average of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 on Tuesday stood at 825, the health department reported. The average fell below 1,000 daily on Monday for the first time since mid-August. In other developments, the Yukon School District announced Monday that it will provide its full-time employees with $1,000 stipends from funds it received from a federal coronavirus relief package. The district’s board voted for the stipends Monday night and for prorated stipends for part-time employees.

Oregon

Salem: The summer of 2021 was the hottest on record both in the capital city and statewide. The average temperature in Salem for June, July and August was a record-breaking 71.7 degrees, the warmest since records began in 1892, according to the National Weather Service in Portland. That broke the previous record average of 71.3 degrees, set in 2015. The record heat this summer had severe consequences for Oregonians. More than 100 people died due to the temperature in the June heat wave. Large portions of the state spent the summer in various phases of drought. These conditions threatened water resources and made the state more susceptible to wildfire, which has burned about 800,000 acres this year so far. Larry O’Neill, the state climatologist, confirmed that Oregon’s average temperature of 67.7 degrees was the highest in NOAA’s records dating back to 1895. Summer 2015, which previously held the record, was a degree cooler than 2021. The state’s average for the 1900s is more than 5.5 degrees cooler than this year’s, O’Neill said. He pointed to prolonged periods of higher-than-normal temperatures as being among the biggest factors in this summer’s record-breaking heat.

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia: The corporate developer of a multibillion-dollar pipeline system that takes natural gas liquids from the Marcellus Shale gas field to an export terminal near Philadelphia was charged criminally Tuesday after a grand jury concluded that it flouted Pennsylvania environmental laws and fouled waterways and residential water supplies across hundreds of miles. Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the sprawling case at a news conference at Marsh Creek State Park in Downingtown, where Sunoco Pipeline LP spilled thousands of gallons of drilling fluid last year. The spill, during construction of the troubled Mariner East 2 pipeline, contaminated wetlands, a stream and part of a 535-acre lake. Energy Transfer, Sunoco’s owner, faces 48 criminal charges, most of them for illegally releasing industrial waste at 22 sites in 11 counties across the state. A felony count accuses the operator of willfully failing to report spills to state environmental regulators. Shapiro said Energy Transfer ruined the drinking water of at least 150 families statewide and released a grand jury report that includes testimony from numerous residents who accused Energy Transfer of denying responsibility for the contamination and then refusing to help.

Rhode Island

Providence: Two men who authorities say touched off a needless and expensive ocean search and rescue effort when they fired maritime distress flares to celebrate a friend’s wedding have agreed to pay $5,000 each to settle the case, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. The Coast Guard and the town of New Shoreham spent more than $100,000 combined responding to the flares off the coast of Block Island on June 6, 2020, when there was no one in distress, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office in Providence. Perry Phillips, 31, and Benjamin Foster, 33, “knowingly and willfully communicated a false distress message to the Coast Guard,” according to the civil complaint, and “caused the Coast Guard to attempt to save lives and property when no help was needed.” The men borrowed a flare gun and flares, set out on the water in a small skiff, and, when they thought they could by seen by people at their friend’s wedding reception, fired three flares, prosecutors said. They recorded their actions to post on social media, prosecutors said. People who saw the flares reported them to the New Shoreham harbormaster, who in turn alerted the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard deployed a boat and two helicopters for the search.

South Carolina

Columbia: Gov. Henry McMaster wants lawmakers to set aside $300 million in federal COVID-19 relief and surplus money to pay for the first segment of a long-desired interstate link between Interstate 95 and Myrtle Beach. The full 60 miles of new freeways and upgrades would cost $1.6 billion, and McMaster and other leaders hope by building the first segment, the rest of the road will follow. “It may be the most significant step we can take toward making I-73 a reality,” McMaster said during a news conference Monday. The Republican governor wants to spend $100 million in coronavirus relief funds and $200 million left over from last year’s state budget that lawmakers set aside in case the economy tanked because of the pandemic. The first segment of I-73 would run from I-95 in Dillon County south of Latta to U.S. Highway 501. The project has permits and has been successfully defended in court. Work could begin as soon as the money is in place, officials said. I-73 has been a dream of tourism boosters and highway builders, as those coming to Myrtle Beach run into stoplights and a few small towns where the speed limit drops, and police officers with radar may await. Environmentalists have opposed the road as unneeded and say it would destroy wetlands and farms.

South Dakota

Rapid City: A growing grass fire north of the city prompted officials to warn residents they may need to evacuate. Abnormally high temperatures, gusty winds and extremely dry conditions fueled a fire that began Monday afternoon. By Monday evening, the fire torched between 250 and 300 acres and burned uncontained, according to authorities. Rapid City police helped evacuate the Marvel Mountain neighborhood earlier Monday and helped divert traffic around road closures. An unknown number of residents were evacuated. It’s not known what ignited the fire, and no structures had been damaged as of Tuesday morning. Early Monday evening, the fire crossed into Meade County, prompting officials there to warn residents that additional evacuations may be needed. “Any residents who live north of the Pennington County line, west of Erickson Ranch Road, and south of Elk Creek Road are encouraged to be ready to evacuate if an order is given,” Meade County Emergency Management said in an alert sent Monday evening. Single-engine air tankers were dropping fire retardant on the north and west flanks of the fire. Additional air support was being summoned, officials said.

Tennessee

Nashville: It’s out with the old and in with blue for the state’s new license plate, moving away from its green mountain design to a new dark blue plate with white text and Tennessee’s three-star emblem displayed in the center. State law requires the reissuing of a new license design at least every eight years, but the green one first introduced by former Gov. Phil Bredesen in 2006 has been essentially unchanged over the past 15 years. In September, Gov. Bill Lee’s office asked the public to vote on four new designs in a contest to determine the new plate. His administration said the winning license design received 42% of the 300,000 total votes cast. A picture of the new plate provided by Lee’s office in a press release Tuesday contains the phrase “In God We Trust,” but Tennesseans can choose a plate with or without that language. The new tag will also display the words “Tennessee” and “Volunteer State,” as well as the website “TNvacation.com,” as required by law. New plates will be available online and in person beginning Jan. 3, 2022.

Texas

Houston: A state agency on Monday approved a request that George Floyd be granted a posthumous pardon for a 2004 drug arrest made by a now-indicted ex-Houston police officer whose case history is under scrutiny following a deadly drug raid. The unanimous recommendation by the seven-member Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles will now be forwarded to Gov. Greg Abbott, who will make the final decision. Allison Mathis, an attorney with the Harris County Public Defender’s Office who submitted the pardon request in April, said she was pleased by the board’s decision. “A man was set up by a corrupt police officer intent on securing arrests rather than pursuing justice. No matter what your political affiliation is, no matter who that man was in his life or in his death, that is not something we should stand for in the United States or in Texas,” Mathis said. The board’s recommendation was first made public on Monday by a reporter with The Marshall Project. The May 2020 killing of Floyd, who was Black, by a white Minneapolis police officer prompted worldwide protests against racial injustice. Floyd, who grew up in Houston, was arrested in February 2004 by Officer Gerald Goines and accused of selling $10 worth of crack in a police sting. Floyd later pleaded guilty to a drug charge and was sentenced to 10 months in a state jail.

Utah

Salt Lake City: Former independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin launched a campaign Tuesday to challenge Republican Sen. Mike Lee in the conservative state where McMullin made inroads with voters uncomfortable with then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016. McMullin, a former CIA agent and congressional aide to Republicans, settled in Utah after capturing more than 20% of the state’s presidential vote in 2016. In a tweet announcing his campaign Tuesday, he said that “extremism, division and conspiracy now threaten our quality of life and democratic republic.” The brand of conservatism popular in Utah, by contrast, tends to seek more of a middle ground and values politeness – qualities that initially made many voters uncomfortable with Trump, especially in his first campaign. “I’m not running as a Republican or a Democrat,” McMullin said in a statement. “I’m running as a patriot, as an American committed to defending our nation and changing our politics for the better.” The 2022 Senate race promises to test whether lingering discomfort with Trump-style Republican politics remains a political force in Utah. Lee, a two-term incumbent who first won office during the tea party movement, was skeptical of Trump at first but later became a staunch ally of the president.

Vermont

Montpelier: The state will be represented in a series of new $1 coins issued by the U.S. Mint with an image of a snowboarder. The “American Innovation” series of dollar coins started in 2018 and will eventually include one for each state, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. Vermont’s coin, to be released in 2022, shows a snowboarder holding the edge of her board while doing a trick. While snowboarding was not created in Vermont, many advances in the sport come from the state. Burton Snowboards, started in Londonderry and now headquartered in Burlington, improved foot bindings, and its founder, Jake Burton Carpenter, campaigned to allow access for snowboarders to local ski resorts, WPTZ-TV reports. “In many ways, Vermont is the birthplace of modern snowboarding, and this coin represents Vermont’s contributions to the sport,” Gov. Phil Scott said. The U.S. Mint says it works with the governor or chief executive of each state or territory to choose possible design concepts, which are then developed and vetted. Other states’ designs include a telephone for Massachusetts, the educator and civil rights activist Septima Poinsette Clark for South Carolina, and the first home video game console for New Hampshire.

Virginia

Norfolk: Much of the hotel industry in the Hampton Roads region has recovered faster from the COVID-19 pandemic than almost any other market in the United States, according to an economic report released Tuesday. The State of the Region, an annual analysis by economists at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, reports that the region’s hotel revenue was 10% higher this June than it was in June 2019, before the pandemic began. Nationally, hotel revenue was down by 12%. One reason for the quick recovery is that Hampton Roads’ hotel industry relies more on people taking vacations than it does on people attending large events, such as conventions, conferences and concerts. ODU economists also told The Virginian-Pilot last year that visitors typically arrive by car instead of flying, a method of travel that fell out of favor for many during the pandemic. Virginia Beach is typically a 3 1/ 2 -hour drive from Washington, five hours from Philadelphia and about seven hours from New York. There is one exception, however. The Williamsburg hotel market has not done as well, according to the report. The COVID-19 pandemic had temporarily shut down attractions like Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. And Colonial Williamsburg was already experiencing a downturn in visits prior to the pandemic.

Washington

Tacoma: A female Sumatran tiger from Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium has died after another tiger attacked her during a breeding introduction, officials said. Six-year-old Kirana, who was born at the zoo, died Monday, The News Tribune reports. Dr. Karen Wolf, the zoo’s head veterinarian, said in a news release that a necropsy completed Monday confirmed Kirana died from substantial trauma from injuries and a bacterial infection. Zoo staff had slowly introduced Kirana and Raja, the zoo’s 2-year-old male Sumatran tiger, as part of a plan to help save the endangered species. The two were closely monitored and separated by a mesh door, staff said. When zookeepers removed the barrier to allow the tigers to meet physically Friday, Kirana was attacked, and staff moved quickly to separate them, officials said. “We’re devastated by the loss of a very special tiger and by the loss to the tiger population as a whole,” said zoo general curator Dr. Karen Goodrowe, who is also coordinator of Species Survival Plan programs for Sumatran, Malayan and Amur tigers. She said some aggression is natural in tiger breeding, but this level was far beyond expectations. There are only about 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Fewer than 80 live in North American zoos.

West Virginia

Monongah: Amid shortages of emergency medical technicians at a time the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many medical systems to the brink, a state program is training workers to fill the critical need. West Virginia Public Service Training trains more than 45,000 first responders every year, with trainers traveling all around the state to run affordable classes that help residents earn certifications in specific fields, the Times West Virginian reports. Recently, Monongah Volunteer Fire Department was filled with about 12 prospective EMTs, ready to take part in the state’s 155-hour program to put participants on track to get certified. The EMT courses are some of the most rigorous in Public Service Training’s repertoire, requiring a commitment of about 155 hours of class instruction, though the hours can vary depending on how ride-alongs go, according to instructor Brian Potter. Once participants finish the classes, they’re able to take the national registry exam for the position and can become nationally registered EMTs before applying for the state certification. “This is a job that’s always in need,” instructor Randy Corbin said. “A lot of (EMTs) move on to become paramedics, doctors and nurses and move on somewhere else in the medical field, and COVID has hurt our numbers.”

Wisconsin

Madison: A report published by the Wisconsin Policy Forum shows the state’s bars and restaurants are recovering but have not reached pre-pandemic levels. It’s not due to a lack of customers or jobs, according to the report, but because restaurant and bar owners can’t find enough willing workers. “We have seen customers coming back, and we’ve seen a lot of our long-time regulars coming back. The biggest problem that we’re having is staffing and having enough staff to handle the demand,” said Chris Wiken, owner of The Packing House in Milwaukee. On a busy night, Wiken has to let tables sit empty, simply because he doesn’t have the staff to serve them. Food service has been one of the hardest-hit industries from COVID-19, with employment at bars and restaurants plummeting by nearly 50% in April 2020. According to last week’s report, employment was still down 8.8% in August compared to pre-pandemic levels in August 2019. “Overall, what we’re seeing is the restaurant and bar industry in Wisconsin has recovered quite a bit but that its recovery is not quite as strong as the economy overall,” said Joe Peterangelo, a senior researcher at the Wisconsin Policy Forum and author of the report. Still, July sales tax revenues in the industry were actually up 6.8% compared to July 2019, according to the report.

Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park: A woman suffered burns from her shoulders to her feet when she tried to rescue her dog from a Yellowstone hot spring. Park rangers and firefighters cared for the 20-year-old woman from Washington state before she was taken to the burn unit at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, park officials said in a statement Tuesday. The woman’s name, the intensity of her burns and her condition weren’t released after she was burned Monday afternoon in the Madison Junction area. The woman and her father had stopped to look around when their dog jumped out of their car and into Maiden’s Grave Spring near the Firehole River. After the woman tried rescuing the dog, her father pulled her out of the spring and drove her to West Yellowstone, Montana. Somebody else rescued the dog, and the father said he planned to take it to a veterinarian, park officials said. The woman was the second burned in a Yellowstone thermal feature in recent weeks. A park concessions employee suffered second- and third-degree burns to 5% of her body near Old Faithful Geyser in September, park officials said. Yellowstone has more than 10,000 thermal features, which can be as hot as 280 degrees Fahrenheit.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Oklahoma Turnpike Authority's eminent domain powers hard to ...

Dozens, if not hundreds, of homeowners and businesses are likely to be displaced, forcibly if necessary, to make way for new turnpikes in south Oklahoma City, Norman and elsewhere despite assurances the roads are planned for largely undeveloped corridors.

And while they are quickly organizing, the distressed property owners face long odds in their fight to keep their homes and businesses.