Around the nation
News from every state.
ALABAMA Gulf Shores: The sugarwhite sand here is the state’s most popular half-mile stretch of public beachfront. So city officials made the beach smoke-free.
ALASKA Anchorage: The Anchorage Daily News reports the Tour of Anchorage, a cross-country ski race, will add fat-tire bike racing this year.
ARIZONA Scottsdale: A “Maverick Mural” honoring the late Sen. John McCain is on hold after pushback from some City Council members.
ARKANSAS Little Rock: A state panel has named 32 companies it intends to license to sell medical marijuana, two years after voters approved it.
CALIFORNIA Palm Springs: Last year was the hottest ever in the Coachella Valley, according to an analysis of federal data.
COLORADO Fort Collins: Budweiser’s iconic Clydesdales have returned to Anheuser-Busch’s brewery here and will be in the city through Jan. 21.
CONNECTICUT Groton: A ceremony to commission the Navy’s newest attack submarine is scheduled for next month at the base in Groton.
DELAWARE Dover: Miles the Monster is about to get his very own beer. The Dover International Speedway’s mammoth mascot can be found on cans of the new Splash and Go lager, a brew made by Dover’s Fordham & Dominion Brewing Co. to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the racetrack.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washing
ton: A food bank in the nation’s capital says it is seeing an influx of furloughed and unpaid government workers as the federal shutdown drags on.
FLORIDA Jacksonville: A critically endangered forest antelope has been born at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. The Florida Times-Union reports the Eastern bongo weighed 50 pounds at birth last month.
GEORGIA Atlanta: A coalition of civil rights groups in the city is using this year’s Super Bowl to help kick off a renewed “war on the Confederacy,” in a fight to remove Confederate monuments around the nation. The groups announced a planned Feb. 2 rally on the eve of the championship football game being hosted in Atlanta.
HAWAII Hilo: A Big Island dairy farm has agreed to a timeline for ending its operations in a settlement reached with a community group and an environmental organization.
IDAHO Boise: In a state where no regulations exist for bounty hunters, Gooding-based 208 Bail Recovery Services is illustrating why some Idahoans still want that to change. Its owner pleaded guilty to carrying a weapon onto school property, court documents show, and the bounty hunter has begun the questionable practice of livestreaming its searches for and captures of fugitives.
ILLINOIS Springfield: State officials have accepted a more than $10 million bid from a contractor to repair the deteriorating Illinois State Fair Coliseum.
INDIANA Indianapolis: Pistachio, an 8-month-old rescue dog from the city, is the smallest competitor in this year’s Puppy Bowl.
IOWA Des Moines: The school board is changing its schedule starting this fall to give students more time in the classroom and teachers more time to prepare. Des Moines Public Schools officials hope by eliminating “earlyout Wednesdays,” they can achieve both goals.
KANSAS Leavenworth: Mayor Jermaine Wilson, who was recently elected after serving three years in prison, has spent his first day in office helping qualified ex-offenders get their criminal records expunged.
Maker’s Mark and a cigar company are suing each other in federal court over the bourbon business’ iconic red wax design. Maker’s alleges Ted’s Cigars, owned by Theodore “Ted” Jackson Jr., is profiting off the brand’s reputation by continuing to use its trademarks in selling and promoting its bourbon-seasoned cigars.
Louisville:
LOUISIANA Youngsville: Where’s the best place to live in Louisiana? That would be Youngsville, according to a weighted index that 24/7 Wall St. created.
MAINE Augusta: The last governor wanted businessmen to feel at home in Maine. The state’s new chief executive wants everyone to. Maine is moving forward with plans to replace its “Open for Business” highway sign with one that reads, “Welcome Home.”
MARYLAND Baltimore: Singer Billy Joel will perform at Camden Yards this July, the first concert to be held at the Orioles’ home ballpark since it opened in 1992.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Environmental groups are criticizing state government for spending more than $1 million on bottled water for state employees last year.
MICHIGAN Detroit: As part of a yearlong celebration of Motown’s 60th anniversary, the Motown Museum is launching “Archive Dives,” an online video series that will reveal little-seen items from the museum’s trove of artifacts.
MINNESOTA St. Paul: Gov. Tim Walz has signed his first executive order, establishing a council on diversity, inclusion and equity.
MISSOURI Kansas City: The Kansas City Chiefs will take on the Indian- apolis Colts at home Saturday, and when the local CBS affiliate went out to grab some aerial shots of Arrowhead Stadium, it stumbled upon somebody playing Mario Kart at the adjacent Kauffman Stadium on the Crown Vision board. According to the Royals, it was part of a fundraiser for kids.
MONTANA Great Falls: The state’s congressional delegation has reintroduced legislation that would grant federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
NEBRASKA Omaha: A real estate company has proposed to turn a vacant former Grace University dormitory into apartments for homeless veterans.
NEVADA Las Vegas: Officials marked the installation of two new Nevada Supreme Court justices with a ceremony showcasing the emergence of a female majority on the state’s highest court.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Woodstock: Ice castles that have been under construction for weeks are opening Friday. The ice is embedded with color-changing LED lights set to a musical soundtrack.
NEW JERSEY Newark: There’s no place in the U.S. where craft beer is booming faster than the Garden State, according to a new study by research company C+R.
NEW MEXICO Taos: The Historic Taos Inn is changing ownership. It opened in 1936 as the Hotel Martin.
NEW YORK New York: Mayor Bill de Blasio says he will push to make the city the first in the country to mandate paid vacation days.
NORTH CAROLINA Asheville: An advertising display of Jonas Gerard’s work at the Asheville Regional Airport was vandalized multiple times since the weekend. Gerard has been accused of sexual assault, which he denies.
NORTH DAKOTA Fargo: More than 10,000 people have signed an online petition asking President Donald Trump to merge North Dakota and South Dakota into a single state called “MegaKota.”
OHIO Cincinnati: The new baby blue penguin at the Cincinnati Zoo officially has a name. “Pierogi” got the most votes among the zoo’s Facebook and Instagram followers.
OKLAHOMA Checotah: A woman looking for love got more than she bargained for when she unwittingly shared her exhilaration about illegally shooting a “bigo buck” on a dating app with a state game warden.
OREGON Portland: A bar is suing one of its bartenders for $115,000, claiming that’s the amount it will lose when its taps run dry because the bartender broke liquor regulations.
PENNSYLVANIA Bethlehem: Just Born Quality Confections, the company responsible for Peeps, is offering candy lovers the opportunity of a lifetime: the first-ever public tour of its factory. All it takes to enter the contest is a $5 donation to United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: Two lawmakers and the state’s general treasurer have introduced a bill to expand teaching of personal finance in the state’s public high schools.
SOUTH CAROLINA Greenville: The Harlem Globetrotters will perform Saturday at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: Aidan O’Hara will have already helped run a business before he starts pursuing his business degree next fall. The Harrisburg High School senior is one of a handful of students behind Tiger Balloons, launched in November.
TENNESSEE Memphis: Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler’s philanthropic project, Janie’s Fund, gave about $500,000 to renovate a home for abused and neglected girls in Bartlett.
TEXAS El Paso: A “surge” of migrants into the city has dropped from more than 2,000 a week to fewer than 100 dropped off a day by immigration authorities, Annunciation House executive director Ruben Garcia says.
UTAH Salt Lake City: Republican state Sen. Allen Christensen tells The Salt Lake Tribune the state’s Medicaid expansion plan needs “guardrails” in place to avoid cost overruns.
VERMONT Montpelier: Republican Gov. Phil Scott is calling on state lawmakers to find common ground and inspire a renewed faith in government that will give hope to everyone.
VIRGINIA Springfield: More than 100 praying mantises popped out from under the branches of Molly Kreuze’s Christmas tree, WJLA-TV reports. In some homes, the creatures might have met with a rolled-up magazine. But Kreuze, a veterinarian, captured them and is feeding them fruit flies.
WASHINGTON Seattle: A new report estimates nearly 100 percent of the city’s new tax on the distribution of sweetened beverages has been passed on to consumers.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Democratic state Sen. Richard Ojeda told news outlets he’s resigning as of next week because he doesn’t want his seat to sit empty while he’s campaigning for president in 2020.
WISCONSIN Kenosha: The dating service “It’s Just Lunch” is helping run an inaugural chairlift dating event at Wilmot Mountain.
WYOMING Jackson: The Town Council has voted to ban plastic bags.