News from across the USA

ALABAMA Florence: The cartoon and science-fiction characters were out in force last weekend for the fifth annual Geek Gathering at the Florence-Lauderdale Coliseum. Will South, one of three Ghostbusters decked out in uniforms that included proton packs, says “it’s a good hobby to have.”

ALASKA Anchorage: The popular Star, a pet reindeer that often walked the streets of downtown Anchorage, has died at age 15, KTVA-TV reports. Owner Albert Whitehead says Star collapsed and died in his arms after a short walk.

ARIZONA Phoenix: Apache County has converted a former juvenile detention center in St. Johns into a community center that caters to young people, The Arizona Capitol Times reports. The center offers pool, free internet and a music room with guitars and a keyboard.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: Enrollment at Arkansas’ colleges and universities dropped 1.8% during the past year, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. Preliminary fall enrollment is 163,529 students, a drop of 2,958.

CALIFORNIA Sacramento: California regulators have rejected a proposed new method of carrying out executions by lethal injection. The regulations would have allowed the use of one of two powerful barbiturates. Inmates could also choose the gas chamber.

COLORADO Colorado Springs: Two 13-year-old boys are under arrest for allegedly plotting to kill people at Sabin Middle School. Police say the students established a “kill list.”

CONNECTICUT Middletown: It’s National Fire Prevention Week, and Connecticut public safety officials are urging residents to create and practice a home escape plan in the event of a fire.

DELAWARE Wilmington: Prison officials say two inmates were injured in a weekend escape attempt at the Howard Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington. Authorities say both men were able to gain access to the roof, but one turned back and the other was discovered by an outside patrol.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Metro police say two men died after being found shot in vehicles in separate incidents about four miles apart, The Washington Post reports. Authorities couldn’t say whether the cases are related.

FLORIDA Orlando: Officials say a woman left her 3-year-old child alone in a vehicle while she visited an inmate at the Orlando jail. Rachael Etienne, 21, was charged with child neglect.

GEORGIA Atlanta: An online job site says working people in Atlanta have been getting raises, but the wage growth has been sluggish, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

HAWAII Honolulu: Quicksilver has announced that it won’t sponsor this year’s iconic big wave surfing competition known as “The Eddie.” For more than 30 years, Quicksilver and the Aikau family have partnered to put on the contest at Waimea Bay. It’s named for Eddie Aikau, a champion surfer and lifeguard.

IDAHO Waha: State Police say a man and at least 20 cows died when a semi-truck hauling a livestock trailer overturned and slid down an Idaho embankment Sunday.

ILLINOIS Oak Park: Organizers of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park say the nonprofit historical museum in the Chicago suburb will close Sunday, the Chicago Tribune reports. Some of the museum’s exhibits will be at the Oak Park Public Library.

INDIANA Indianapolis: The Indiana State Museum is hosting a free Halloween-themed science gala on Friday. Costumes are

encouraged at the family-friendly “Spooky Science” event that will offer a “shocking display” of static electricity and make “magic” minerals.

IOWA Des Moines: City officials likely will demolish three historic but deteriorating buildings at Fort Des Moines unless private donors offer the estimated $6.2 million needed to save the granary and two mess halls, The Des Moines Register reports.

KANSAS Olathe: The grandparents of a 2-year-old boy say Kansas is acting as “religious police” by requiring vaccinations for children, The Kansas City Star reports. Linus and Terri Baker are suing the state Department for Children and Families to block its intention to vaccinate the boy despite the family’s wishes.

KENTUCKY Frankfort: Officials with Kentucky’s Tobacco Quit Line have launched a new ad campaign that encourages people to stop using tobacco products.

LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: A state audit is critical of how Louisiana’s education department monitors charter schools, saying the severity of violations should be weighed in making performance ratings, The Advocate reports.

MAINE Augusta: Maine’s annual moose hunt expanded this week to 19 of the state’s 28 wildlife management districts. Hunters are allowed to take one moose in the area through Saturday.

MARYLAND Upper Marlboro: School officials say two people at Henry Wise High School have been diagnosed with tuberculosis, NBC4 reports. Officials declined to say whether the two are students or staff.

MASSACHUSETTS Lowell: Authorities say a Lowell man collected about $76,000 in donations for charities that don’t exist. The Middlesex prosecutor says Zachary Noonan, 25, kept most of the money for his own use.

MICHIGAN Lansing: The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is looking for private companies to operate concession areas at state parks and other locations. Possibilities range from

food service to renting boats or bikes.

MINNESOTA Spring Valley: Fire destroyed Johnny Ringo’s, a popular bar and grill in this southern Minnesota community, early Monday. Sheriff ’s deputies evacuated apartments above businesses that were adjacent to the fire.

MISSISSIPPI Natchez: The proposed refinancing of some bond debt would save Adams County about $25,000 a year, The Natchez Democrat reports. The county is considering refinancing a 2013 bond used to purchase the former International Paper site.

MISSOURI Springfield: Authorities evacuated a Springfield apartment complex after concerns were raised about possible explosives. Residents were allowed to return late Sunday.

MONTANA Helena: A $650,000 grant will help coordinate efforts to guide Montana high school students to graduate while developing career interests and preparing for college or an apprenticeship.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has set Dec. 22 to raze a matching pair of high-rise dorms. All 13 stories of Cather Hall and Pound Hall, which opened in 1963, will be knocked down.

NEVADA Las Vegas: Anti-drone activists protested at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs. The protesters oppose the use of unmanned military aircraft in military actions.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Laconia: Police are seeking court permission to destroy about two dozen guns, The Laconia Daily Sun reports. Police Chief Matt Canfield says some of the guns could be sold but police are concerned they could be used in a future crime.

NEW JERSEY Swedesboro: The quadruplet Murphy sisters in New Jersey are doing their best to honor the legacy of their late mother, who worked as a nurse, Philly.com reports. Casey, Kelly, Rachel and Erin, now 18, are working toward careers in medicine.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: New Mexico’s pension funds aren’t on the solid financial ground sought when lawmakers approved fixes intended to shore up the retirement systems, The Albuquerque Journal reports. Accounts for public employees and educators won’t be 100% funded by 2043 as hoped.

NEW YORK New York: A fisherman was rescued after spending 17 hours adrift on Long Island

Sound after his kayak capsized. WABC-TV reports that Michael Diaz was spotted Sunday by a passing boater clinging to rocks outside a lighthouse.

NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed legislation that would eliminate judicial primaries next year. The legislation did not affect November elections for judges. Republican lawmakers say eliminating primaries would give more time to study possible changes to judicial districts.

NORTH DAKOTA Minot: A man was sentenced to time already served and probation for leaving his daughter alone in a car behind his apartment building in April while he was intoxicated. Officers investigating a fight between Craig Cadotte and two other men found the girl alone and crying in the back seat of the vehicle.

OHIO Chardon: A newly dedicated memorial park honors three teenagers killed by a fellow student in February 2012 at Chardon High School, The News-Herald reports. Organizers raised over $400,000 for the project in memory of Demetrius Hewlin, Russell King Jr. and Danny Parmertor.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The small Oklahoma town of Marble City is irate that the state will restore its Capitol with marble from a Chinese vendor over what the town’s quarry offers. Some 25,000 square feet of marble will go in the Capitol.

OREGON Bend: A lawsuit that accused two physicians of failing to detect warning signs before a woman went into cardiac arrest was dismissed, The Bend Bulletin reports. Shelley and Brent Harding sought $8.75 million, claiming the doctors should have referred Shelley Harding to a hospital for an evaluation.

PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: Gov. Tom Wolf plans to borrow against the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center to help plug a projected $2.2 billion deficit and make school and human services payments. Wolf says the “lease-leaseback” is expected to yield $200 million up front.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: A statue of Christopher Columbus was found vandalized on the day marking his arrival in the Americas. The statue in Columbus Square in Providence was found doused in red and black paint on Monday.

SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: The College of Charleston is getting nearly $2 million for a new professorship, a gift from the former chief executive of cybersecurity contractor ISHPI. It will pay for a professor studying information management and innovation in the School of Business.

SOUTH DAKOTA Corsica: Thirty-eight South Dakota school districts face penalties for not following state requirements to use a portion of sales tax revenue to boost teacher pay. South Dakota ranks lowest in the nation in average teacher salary.

TENNESSEE Nashville: The city has launched a one-stop website and hotline for citizens to submit concerns, from potholes to code violations. Mayor Megan Barry’s office says hub-Nashville is available in English or Spanish. Trained representatives help people request services from the right agency.

TEXAS Crawford: Military veterans injured during their service took part in former President George W. Bush’s annual Warrior 100K bike ride last weekend at his Texas ranch. Three buses brought 52 soldiers to Bush’s Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford for the seventh annual event.

UTAH Brian Head: Authorities say a man died when he was hit by mulch dropped from a helicopter during rehab work on land that burned in a wildfire. Iron County officials say Bryan Burr, 58, was struck on the head.

VERMONT Montpelier: The University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington is working with the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to expand helicopter ambulance service by basing one helicopter at the Vermont facility.

VIRGINIA Norfolk: Virginia’s largest health insurer will restrict where customers can get CT scans and MRIs in non-emergency situations, The Virginian-Pilot reports. The change will occur in March for people insured by Anthem. It does not include X-rays or mammograms.

WASHINGTON Spokane: A federal judge says the Spokane Transit Authority violated the First Amendment when it refused to allow the union that represents bus drivers to buy ads on buses, The Spokesman-Review reports. The ads said: “Do you drive: Uber? Lyft? Charter Bus? School Bus? You have the Right to Organize!”

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The Richwood City Council and the city’s mayor disagree over who is carrying out the mayor’s duties amid a state auditor investigation into misuse of taxpayer money, The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports. Mayor Bob Henry Baber is challenging being put on administrative leave.

WISCONSIN Madison: State wildlife officials are looking to relax minimum elk population requirements in hopes of starting a hunt sooner. Rules call for the Clam Lake herd to have at least 200 elk, but as of July it had about 165. The Jackson County herd minimum is 150; it had about 60.

WYOMING Cheyenne: Revised K-12 education standards with a new Native American history component could be ready for state review early next year, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports. Public comment was taken during the summer, and teachers are being surveyed about what they think should be updated.