State by state:
News from around the nation
ALABAMA
Tuscaloosa: A truck driver called police when an 8-foot alligator crawled under his parked 18-wheeler. Authorities captured the animal and released it back into its natural habitat.
ALASKA
Bethel: A team of scientists is measuring the impact of climate change on arctic wildlife by tracking vulnerable plant and animal species like Alaska’s migratory geese, KYUK-AM reports. One expert says geese that migrate to the area are declining by more than 80% in Siberia and East Asia.
ARIZONA
Kingman: Nearly 50 people are under orders to appear in court Sept. 21 to explain why they shouldn’t be found in contempt for failing to show for jury duty, The Kingman Daily Miner reports. The judge hopes the orders encourage others to report when they get a summons.
ARKANSAS
Harrisburg: State game officials acting on a tip are investigating the discovery of seven tigers, six lions and a leopard in a Poinsett County barn. Authorities say all of the animals were in cages.
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles: An Orange County man pleaded guilty to selling misbranded pet medications without prescriptions. Prosecutors say Sean Gerson netted about $2.5 million over 15 years.
COLORADO
Colorado Springs: Narcotics officers seized millions of dollars in illegal drugs in Colorado Springs. Nearly 11 pounds of heroin with a street value of $2.4 million and over 38 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of about $6.3 million were taken, plus $24,000 in cash.
CONNECTICUT
New Britain: The Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system is having solar energy installed on three campuses. Officials say construction will begin in late fall at Manchester and Middlesex community colleges as well as Southern Connecticut State University.
Millsboro: The theme was “the sacred fire which continues to burn within us.” The two-day Nanticoke Powwow that serves as fundraiser and festival was held in Millsboro last weekend, the News Journal reports.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:
The Secret Service restored access to the White House and surrounding areas Monday after a sign and notebook were thrown over the Pennsylvania Avenue fence. A suspect was arrested.
FLORIDA Tampa:
Two Florida manatees were left stranded when Hurricane Irma sucked water out of Sarasota Bay. Rescuers were able to load the animals onto tarps and drag them to deeper water.
GEORGIA
Atlanta: A state law that lets students carry guns to college has a flaw, supporters and opponents say. But they dispute the fix, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Weapons are OK for tailgating, but not in stadiums. Opponents want a tailgating ban. Supporters want the stadium ban dropped.
HAWAII
Hilo: An investigation found questionable hiring practices by Hawaii County, West Hawaii Today reports. An audit reviewed 46 civil service jobs that were filled in 2016, and determined that 42 raised concern.
IDAHO
Boise: City officials say they’re happy with a program offering jobs in the Boise Parks and Recreation Department to homeless residents and have decided to expand it, The Idaho Statesman reports. The program is a partnership between the city and the Interfaith Sanctuary homeless shelter.
ILLINOIS
Rosemont: Hotel employees found the body of a missing Chicago woman in a suburban hotel’s freezer. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office says Kenneka Jenkins, 19, was last seen at a weekend party at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont, the Chicago Tribune reports.
INDIANA
Jasper: A coroner says a man was fatally injured Monday when a lift collapsed at the Jasper High School football field. The (Jasper) Herald reports that the lift was being used to install lights.
Iowa City: The fate of one of the city’s oldest homes remains uncertain. The University of Iowa is seeking permission to purchase the pre-Civil War home and adjacent apartment for $2.6 million, The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports.
KANSAS
Winter wheat planting is underway in Kansas. The National Agricultural Statistics Service says 3% of the 2018 crop has been planted. That comes as state farmers are harvesting some of their fall crops, including sorghum, corn and cotton.
KENTUCKY
The Blue Grass Stockyards reopened in a rebuilt facility this week after it was destroyed by a fire last year. The $600 million annual business claims to be the largest cattle market in the eastern U.S.
LOUISIANA Monroe:
A woman faces a second-degree murder charge for allegedly smuggling oxycodone to a hospital patient, The News-Star reports. The victim, found dead on the floor with a syringe in his IV port, was being treated for a drug-resistant staph infection.
MAINE
A Civil Warera fort at the entrance to Portland Harbor is closing for improvements. Officials say Fort Gorgas will get safety measures such as railings and gates.
MARYLAND
Local police and firefighters may get a property tax break, The Baltimore Sun reports. Officials believe the step would entice more emergency responders to live in the city.
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston: A group that backed last year’s charter school ballot question in Massachusetts has paid more than $425,000 in a campaign finance settlement. The forfeiture is the largest in the 44-year history of the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
MICHIGAN
Copper Harbor: An Upper Peninsula lodge built with federal aid during the Great Depression is for sale. The Daily Mining Gazette reports that the Keweenaw County Board has a $1.5 million offer for Keweenaw Mountain Lodge.
MINNESOTA
St. Paul: The state’s new computer system for vehicle license plates is drawing criticism from car dealers and drivers who cite long lines at license offices and delays in getting plates. The Minnesota Licensing and Registration System cost more than $90 million.
MISSISSIPPI
Jackson: Mississippi will get its first rural charter school in fall 2018. The Clarksdale Collegiate Public Charter School will start with grades K-2 and grow to 675 students in grades K-8 by 2028.
MISSOURI
Bourbon: A man is accused of breaking into a home, carrying a mop around during the burglary and trying on the resident’s shirts before jumping from a coffee table to leap through a glass window to escape, KMOVTV reports.
Gardiner: Authorities say a grizzly bear attacked a woman on a private ranch but was driven off by bear spray. It was the second grizzly attack in the region this month that was thwarted by the spray.
NEBRASKA
Omaha: Several Nebraska cities report a wealth of butterflies. Officials cite at least 100 painted lady butterflies in some Omaha gardens that usually see only a few dozen. An entomologist attributes the boom to ample rain this year in California, where painted ladies start their migration.
Reno: The University of Nevada in Reno plans to sell a coveted Stradivarius violin at an auction to help pay for a new $35 million arts building, The Reno Gazette-Journal reports.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Keene:
Officials are holding up a permit for Keene’s annual pumpkin festival amid concern about a repeat of violence that marred the 2014 event, New Hampshire Public Radio reports. The City Council received letters from the fire and police chiefs warning of potential trouble.
NEW JERSEY
New Brunswick: A state trooper accused of pulling over women so he could ask them out on dates has pleaded guilty to invasion of privacy and others charges. Prosecutors will recommend probation for Marquice Prather, who will have to forfeit his job.
NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque: Police say thieves stole an SUV and attached U-Haul trailer — with a casket inside — outside an Albuquerque motel. The casket that contained the body of the victim’s father-in-law was found later nearby.
NEW YORK
Greenwich: An upstate New York railroad will raise a Greenwich bridge that has caused traffic jams because it’s too low for the average tractortrailer to pass beneath it, The Glens Falls Post-Star reports. The bridge will be raised about three feet.
NORTH CAROLINA
New Bern: Someone tried to sabotage an annual charity bicycle ride by scattering tacks along the route, The New Bern Sun Journal reports. At least 130 riders in the event Saturday for people living with multiple sclerosis had flat tires.
NORTH DAKOTA
Devils Lake: Lake Region State College has created a campus police force as part of an initiative to improve safety and security, The Devils Lake Journal reports.
OHIO
Steubenville: Officials in this Ohio city are investigating a string of fires. Four vacant houses burned in eight days, The Steubenville Herald-Star reports.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City: The principals of three schools named for Confederate generals say there’s little support among parents to change the names, The Oklahoman reports. Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Aurora Lora will take the issue to the school board on Sept. 25.
Hillsboro: Authorities say a woman faces child neglect charges for allegedly leaving her two children, ages 8 and 3, alone in a park while she went to get a tattoo. Police say the children went into a park restroom when it started to rain and they got scared.
PENNSYLVANIA
Germansville: A former kennel owner who served jail time for animal cruelty faces new charges that he failed to care for dozens of animals on his property. The charges stem from a May 5 raid at Derbe Eckhart’s farm.
Providence: A program that spreads poetry through city transit systems has a new audience. The “Poetry in Motion” program began reaching Rhode Island Public Transit Authority riders this week. The September feature is an excerpt from Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself.”
SOUTH CAROLINA
Greer: BMW has celebrated its 4 millionth vehicle made in South Carolina, 23 years after the first car rolled off the plant’s assembly line. Last year, the Greer plant produced more than 411,000 vehicles.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Sioux Falls: Police say a suspect in last week’s Crown Casino robbery may also be responsible for two other similar casino robberies. Investigators believe the 27-yearold man arrested in that case also robbed Duece’s Casino and Rice Lake Casino on Sept. 1 and 2.
TENNESSEE
Camden: Unsafe levels of the cancer-causing metal cadmium have been found at an abandoned Tennessee landfill, The Tennessean reports. Groundwater tests measured more than five times the acceptable limit for cadmium.
TEXAS
Beaumont: Health officials in Texas say the Federal Emergency Management Agency is using modified Air Force C-130 aircraft to spray chemicals in an effort to control mosquitoes in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
UTAH
Salt Lake City: A Utah school district put a high school teacher on leave for assigning a questionnaire that asked students about their sex lives and other personal matters. Answers were scored with ratings: “nerd,” “indecent” or “hopeless and condemned.”
VERMONT
Windsor: The town is looking at options for an abandoned National Guard armory, The Valley News reports. The building constructed in 1950 has sat vacant since 2011.
Hampton Roads: Pleasure House Brewing is turning rainwater into beer, The Virginian-Pilot reports. Some 300 gallons of drinkable rainwater is being brewed to produce about 200 gallons of pilsner, in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
WASHINGTON Seattle:
Seven bikini baristas and the owner of the “Hillbilly Hotties” coffee stand chain sued the city of Everett on Monday, saying two recent ordinances banning bare skin violate their right to free expression.
WEST VIRGINIA
The West Virginia Board of Education has proposed lowering some teacher requirements, The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports. Among the proposed changes are exempting education degree holders who meet minimum grade-point averages from having to pass a basic knowledge test.
WISCONSIN
The owner of the local Dairy Queen is defending a sign describing his restaurant as “politically incorrect” for its unabashed support for “God and country,” WDJT-TV reports.
WYOMING
A judge ordered a comic shop to pay over $100,000 and legal fees to Little America’s Hotel and Resorts where it hosted the city’s first Comic Con in May 2016, The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports. Loft Collectibles, Comics and Games LLC closed last month.