STATE-BY-STATE

ALABAMA Montgomery: As of this week, if you want to be recognized as a married couple in Alabama, you have to get a marriage license and exchange “I do’s.” Alabama will recognize only those common-law marriages entered into before last Sunday. ALASKA Anchorage: Anchorage police say a 3-year-old girl was found safe after someone stole a vehicle while she was in the back seat. The Nissan Sentra was found an hour later. The case remains under investigation. ARIZONA Lake Havasu City: Arizona regulators are considering new boating rules designed to boost safety and better oversee rental operations. The proposed rules include a ban on boaters towing people from swim platforms at the rear of their craft and a requirement that wake surfers wear life vests, Today’s

News-Herald in Lake Havasu City reports. ARKANSAS West Fork: West Fork leaders say they want to restore a nearly 100-year-old bridge and use it as a trail connection. The Northwest Arkansas

Democrat-Gazette reports that the one-lane, 1925 Woolsey Bridge, is being moved from a little south of West Fork to the city. CALIFORNIA San Diego: The nonprofit foundation that runs San Diego Fleet Week is out of money. The San Diego Union

Tribune says the Fleet Week Foundation’s deepest deficits are tied to its cornerstone event, the Coronado Speed Festival, a series of auto races, car shows and related activities. COLORADO Denver: A bald eagle is making itself at home in a park in downtown Denver. The eagle hunts for fish, ducks and small geese despite the noisy environment, such as construction at the nearby Denver Zoo, the Denver Post reports. CONNECTICUT Waterbury: An abandoned Waterbury factory was destroyed by fire last weekend. WTIC-TV reports that the cause is under investigation. The factory was built in 1900. DELAWARE Blades: Delaware state police say two people were arrested in a raid at a home where police believe guns were being sold illegally. Police seized two handguns, five assault weapons, four shotguns, two hunting rifles and more than 9,000 rounds of ammunition. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Officials say a guest at a Washington hotel died after plunging 10 floors to the basement. D.C. police tell The Washington Post that John Leonard, 23, fell at the Dupont Circle Hotel after going to the roof to get a good view of the city. FLORIDA Hiland Park: Authorities in Florida’s Panhandle are warning parents and neighbors about coyote sightings near Hiland Park Elementary School. Bay District school officials tell The News Herald that coyotes generally aren’t a threat to people. GEORGIA Brunswick: City officials are offering big chunks of one of Brunswick’s historic live oaks so that pieces of the fallen tree can be preserved as art. The

News of Brunswick reports that the massive tree, estimated at 200 years old, had to be cut down last summer because it was dying. HAWAII Lihue: The state plans to complete $18 million worth of improvements and upgrades at Lihue Airport, the fourth busiest airport in Hawaii. Ticket lobby and hold room improvements are expected to be complete by the end of 2018, The Garden Island reports. IDAHO Idaho Falls: The Bonneville County Elections Office has certified nearly 3,000 signatures on a petition proposing that Eastern Idaho Technical College in Idaho Falls be turned into a community college. The State Board of Education will review the proposal, The Post Register reports. ILLINOIS Springfield: The final tour of the Illinois Executive Mansion was given last weekend before the home closed for restoration work, The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports. INDIANA Indianapolis: Indiana business recruitment officials reached 30% fewer incentive deals during 2016 than the previous year. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. says that’s a positive sign and credits the state’s full employment. IOWA Waterloo: The Black Hawk County Sheriff ’s department’s newest police dog will soon have his own protective vest, The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports. KANSAS Topeka: Westar Energy is increasing the use of drones for inspecting equipment, navigating remote areas and managing emergencies. Westar and Kansas State University have one of the nation’s largest enclosed drone flight facilities on the polytech campus in Salina, The Topeka Capital-Journal reports. KENTUCKY Somerset: Officials say hundreds of gallons of gasoline spilled into Hidden Creek in Pulaski County. WLEX-TV reports that some fish were killed and cattle had to be moved out of the area. LOUISIANA Shreveport: A newly formed Shreveport activist group plans to travel to Baton Rouge to protest an incoming pipeline that many worry would hurt the environment, The Times reports. MAINE Portland: Maine is considering a rule to ban imports of 33 types of plants and trees considered invasive, likely invasive or potentially invasive. The Portland

Press Herald reports that residents might be surprised at some things on the list, like Norway maple. MARYLAND Annapolis: Maryland lawmakers have delayed regulationsing for natural for gas. hydraulic When fractur-the legislative lawmakers sessionare expected begins to Jan. con- 11, sider extending banninga moratoriumthe techniqueset to or expire in October. MASSACHUSETTSnew year brought a Boston:change in The the Boston gramming TV moved landscape. from NBC WHDH proChannelowned station,7 to a new WBTS. networkMICHIGANship: An abandoned Northville psychiatricTownhospital in suburban Detroit apparently has a lot of appeal to trespassers. Northville Township police say roughly 300 people were charged with trespassing there last year. MINNESOTA Godahl: The Free

Press of Mankato reports that the Godal Store closed Saturday. It was the oldest consumer cooperative general store still operating in Minnesota. MISSISSIPPI Biloxi: The Mississippi Energy Institute has created a website, “Get on the Grid,” to help students and their parents learn about opportunities for well-paying jobs in the state,

The Sun Herald reports. MISSOURI Hamilton: A $27 million grain-handling facility is expected to open by the summer.

The St. Joseph News-Press reports that weather hasn’t significantly delayed work on the shuttleloader operation in rural Caldwell County. MONTANA Billings: There were no recorded homicides in Yellowstone County in 2016. That compares to 10 slayings in 2015 for the Montana county, The Billings

Gazette reports. NEBRASKA Omaha: Authorities say a dozen cattle roamed an Interstate in Omaha after the tractor-trailer that was carrying them turned over. The Omaha

World-Herald reports that traffic delays didn’t end until the cleanup was completed early last Friday. NEVADA Las Vegas: A man died of an apparently self-inflicted wound after barricading himself inside Mountain View Hospital in Las Vegas. Authorities ordered evacuations at the hospital and closed nearby roads as a precaution. NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: New Hampshire’s Fish and Game Department is asking for public help in counting the state’s wild turkey population. The Wild Turkey Winter Flock Survey runs through March 31. NEW JERSEY Sandy Hook: Marine wildlife rescuers say a bottlenose dolphin was found

dead in waters off Sandy Hook last week. There was no outward sign of the cause of death. NEWTwo dogs MEXICOare blamed Albuquerque:for a weekend home. fire Theat their Albuquerque Albuquerque Journal reportsthe dogs that bumped firefightersinto a kerosenesuspect heaterwere ablein theto escape. garage. The dogs NEW YORK Albany: A new state law in New York requires that fish called “white tuna” actually come from tuna. The law targets a fish known as escolar, which officials say is commonly sold as white tuna but has been known to cause digestive problems. NORTH CAROLINA Kill Devil Hills: Dogs will have free rein for a longer time on the beach in Kill Devil Hills this year. The Virginian-Pilot reports that restrictions remain during the summer. NORTH DAKOTA Fort Yates: The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is seeking help to recover from a winter storm. Standing Rock emergency manager Elliott Ward tells the Bismarck Tribune that snowplows have been unable to keep up with the snow. OHIO Akron: A woman is taking videos of World War II veterans’ recollections as part of a Library of Congress project to capture memories of the war. Suzanne Nichols tells the Akron Beacon

Journal that it’s important for people to see stories about how war affects the people involved. OKLAHOMA Guymon: The Oklahoma Panhandle community of Guymon faces competition when it comes to hiring teachers. Guymon is located just 20 minutes from the state lines of Texas and Kansas, The Oklahoman reports. OREGON Pendleton: Portland General Electric says it’ll determine whether Oregon’s last remaining coal-fired power plant can run entirely on biomass. The plant faces closure if PGE can’t decide on an alternative fuel source by 2020. PENNSYLVANIA Harris

burg: A former Harrisburg mayor charged with stealing historic artifacts from the city is demanding the return of some items seized by prosecutors, saying they have nothing to do with the case. Pennlive.com reports that nearly 1,800 items were seized in 2015 from ex- Mayor Stephen Reed’s home and other locations. RHODE ISLAND Providence: It’s now legal to grow hemp in Rhode Island. A new law lets people get a state license to cultivate hemp for clothing, oil, food, fuel and other commercial products. SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: State archivists are seeking $200,000 to fight the effects of old conservation techniques that threaten South Carolina’s copies of seven constitutions. The Post

and Courier of Charleston reports that lamination used in the 1940s needs to be removed before it breaks down into acetic acid. SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: A judge has ruled that a controversial big home in a historic Sioux Falls neighborhood must get smaller or be relocated. The home brought a lawsuit from neighbors who said it towers over their homes, The Argus Leader reports. TENNESSEE Nashville: A jailed Tennessee sheriff accused of profiting from e-cigarette sales to inmates will face a civil trial April 10 if a jury acquits him at a criminal trial. But if Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold is convicted in February, he’ll lose his office, The Daily News Journal of Murfreesboro reports. TEXAS Dallas: Mayor Mike Rawlings wants state investigators to determine whether previous administrators of Dallas’ ailing police and fire pension fund committed crimes that contributed to its financial crisis. UTAH Salt Lake City: Officials at Utah’s Zion National Park say they’re being overrun by visitors during the usual winter lull. Rangers blocked tour buses and oversize vehicles from Zion Canyon to control crowds during the holiday season, The Salt Lake

Tribune reports. VERMONT Montpelier: David Girard is entitled to hunt and fish for free in Vermont for life. The 56-year-old Girard won the Vermont lifetime hunting and fishing license lottery. VIRGINIA Richmond: Richmond officials paid more than $138,000 to the Washington Redskins for the privilege of hosting the NFL team’s training camp last year. The annual payment is on top of $11 million spent to build the training facility, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. WASHINGTON Spokane: Costs are mounting for Spokane and Tacoma community colleges that are testing a new $100 million computer system. The Spokes

man-Review reports that the software system known as ctcLink is about $10 million over budget and several years behind schedule. WEST VIRGINIA Morgantown: Construction is under way on West Virginia University Medicine’s new clinic in Marion County. The Dominion-Post reports that the $13.9 million outpatient center is to open in September. WISCONSIN Oshkosh: Big-box retailers are suing some Wisconsin cities over property taxes. Retailers argue that their businesses should pay the same tax rate as vacant stores because state law doesn’t make a distinction between them. WYOMING Powell: Wyoming’s deep snow creates a spectacular wildlife viewing opportunity. More than 1,000 antelope have been visible near Whistle Creek, the Powell Tribune reports. Compiled from staff and wire reports by Joe Taylor, with Jim Cheng. Design by Kayla Golliher. Graphics by Alejandro Gonzalez.