50 ★ States

News from across the USA

ALABAMA Montgomery: A toddler was found dead in a small pond after he walked away from a home in Alabama, officials said.

ALASKA Juneau: The U.S. Forest Service and Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced that this year’s U.S. Capitol Christmas tree will be supplied by Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, Alaska Beacon reported.

ARIZONA Phoenix: Members of 14 Maricopa County Public Library systems will now have access to more books after the announcement of MAX, a countywide book-sharing service between public libraries.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: In a legal complaint filed late last month in federal court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, two students, their parents and one teacher of African American Studies from Little Rock Central High School challenged Arkansas’ LEARNS Act, calling it “an unconstitutional law that violates plaintiffs’ First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights.”

CALIFORNIA Sacramento: Anyone tired of answering emails and calls from their boss after work may soon be protected by law in California. A bill has been introduced in California legislature that would give employees the “right to disconnect” from their jobs during nonworking hours.

COLORADO Fort Collins: Rocky Mountain National Park is hoping to have its most popular campground reopened by early summer. The park’s Moraine Park Campground has been closed since late May due to a major renovation to modernize the campground, some of which dates to the 1960s. Parks spokesperson Kyle Patterson said the park is being cautious about when it will reopen for reservations.

CONNECTICUT Norwich: What started outside at an inn in Putnam 25 years ago has grown to an institution in need of its own home. While The Connecticut Renaissance Faire is expected to be at the Lebanon Fairgrounds this year, organizers hope to find a new, permanent home for the seven-weekend event for 2025.

DELAWARE Wilmington: Leaders of Make Us Visible Delaware, a group that launched last fall with the mission to push more Asian American history to infuse with K-12 curricula in Delaware, are backing a bill hitting the floor in the Delaware General Assembly – a call to create a state commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage and Culture. This bill would create a nine-member commission, fit to provide the governor and lawmakers consistent recommendations “to promote the welfare and interests of all people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent.”

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s proposal to ban menthol flavored cigarettes in the United States faced another setback, according to anti-tobacco advocates who noted that White House officials have missed another deadline to issue a final rule on a ban.

GEORGIA Atlanta: A contentious immigration bill requiring law enforcement to partner with federal immigration forces passed in the Georgia House in the final hours of the 2024 legislative session, while a bill that would impose financial penalties on municipalities that adopt “sanctuary city” policies failed to resurface before the Sine Die deadline.

HAWAII Honolulu: Classes began at the new temporary campus for an elementary school in Lahaina, Hawaii News Now reported.

IDAHO Boise: The trial of Chad Daybell, the man accused of killing his two stepchildren and late wife in a widely followed series of murders involving “doomsday” religious beliefs, began with jury selection on Monday, months after Lori Vallow Daybell, the children’s mother, was sentenced to life in prison.

ILLINOIS Springfield: Tom Homan, former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, will be the keynote speaker at the 120th annual Sangamon County Republican Party Lincoln Day dinner.

INDIANA Indianapolis: The Biden administration awarded three Indiana companies millions of dollars to cut carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

IOWA Indianola: Just a week before its grand reopening, the National Balloon Museum and U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame in Indianola was damaged by a fire Friday. Now the museum’s reopening is “postponed indefinitely” as investigators work to find a cause of the fire and staff creates a plan for repairs, said board president Eric Martens.

KANSAS Topeka: A compromise plan to address staffing challenges for rural ambulance service was tossed out last week by state lawmakers, leaving in doubt how the Legislature will address the issue.

KENTUCKY Louisville: After a failed attempt last year, Republicans succeeded this legislative session in passing a bill that could lead to the splitting of Kentucky’s largest school system. The “Efficient and Effective School District Governance Task Force” will meet twice a month to study several aspects of Jefferson County Public Schools after a House resolution passed on the Senate floor.

LOUISIANA Houma: Louisiana’s first celebration of twins will be held in Houma. Twinfest encourages all twins, multiples, their friends and family to come out for a day of music, entertainment and games.

MAINE York: A foot of snow could hit interior York County and inland Seacoast, New Hampshire, communities in an early April storm that could feature rain, power outages and minor coastal flooding. A meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, forecasts most of Maine and New Hampshire will be affected by the storm beginning Wednesday and stretching into Thursday, followed by rain Friday.

MARYLAND Salisbury: Last week, Salisbury University and NASA doubled down on their partnership by signing a landmark agreement that will provide the next generation of employees through coursework and professional development.

MASSACHUSETTS Wellfleet: A 2-year-old child was flown to a Boston hospital after being bitten by a pit bull mix dog at a Wellfleet home, according to police.

MICHIGAN Detroit: Michigan will lift its ban on compensated surrogacy agreements after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bills expanding options for those in Michigan who wish to have children but cannot do so through traditional means.

MINNESOTA St. Cloud: Downtown St. Cloud could be the home of the Inspiration Mock Orbiter, a NASA-built model of the space shuttle. The model has been housed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida but now NASA is hoping to put that space to use.

MISSISSIPPI Hattiesburg: The University of Southern Mississippi is preparing to launch its new Physician Assistant Program with plans to introduce its first class in fall 2025.

MISSOURI Columbia: Local organizations aiming to promote or supplement their Juneteenth-related events have received grant awards from the city of Columbia.

MONTANA Great Falls: Great Falls city commissioners are contemplating whether to raise city utility rates for the second year in a row, part of the annual budgeting process that can be difficult for both city officials and residents.

NEBRASKA Schuyler: Nearly 50 Schuyler Community Schools teachers have decided to leave their roles and not return for the next school year, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

NEVADA Reno: With a March that kept on giving snow, Lake Tahoe ski resorts reported as much as 2 feet of new snow over the Easter weekend. Some resorts have extended closing dates until the end of May, and others have teased that if it keeps snowing in April, projected closing dates could change.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Exeter: The town’s Select Board voted unanimously to approve a proposal by the Parks and Recreation Department to acquire robots to mow the lawn and to line the town fields.

NEW JERSEY Newark: Rutgers medical faculty union leaders are crying foul at the latest development as the university proceeds with merging its two medical schools – a move that would make a newly minted Rutgers Medical School one of the largest in the country once it passes accreditation.

NEW MEXICO Las Cruces: The Camino Real Regional Utility Authority, under increased scrutiny from the state and facing a lawsuit from southern Doña Ana County residents, failed a recent unannounced New Mexico Environment Department arsenic sampling at its Industrial Park drinking water distribution system.

NEW YORK Albany: New York veterans and their families will now have free access to state parks and other amenities throughout the state.

NORTH CAROLINA Asheville: Break out your tackle boxes – 600,000 trout are coming to 1,000 miles of North Carolina waters this spring courtesy of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s yearly contributions.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Democrat Travis Hipsher announced that he is dropping out of North Dakota’s gubernatorial race, the Bismarck Tribune reported.

OHIO Columbus: The Ohio State Highway Patrol is conducting stepped-up enforcement of distracted driving laws during the first eight days of April to kick off National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The initiative began Monday and will continue through next Monday, April 8, focusing primarily on texting while driving, drivers under 18 using cellphones, and other distracted driving violations.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Oklahoma’s second-largest tribe has worked out a tobacco tax-sharing agreement with the state. The 10year compact became public Monday after Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt both signed on.

OREGON Salem: Ten licensed paralegals were sworn into the Oregon State Bar on Friday in one of the first programs of its kind, to provide legal help in family law or landlord-tenant matters, two areas with the largest unmet need, according to the state bar.

PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: Police in Pennsylvania said a man wearing a mask worn in the horror movie “Scream” used a knife and a chain saw to kill his next-door neighbor and then watched a movie. The alleged killer said he was just trying to scare his neighbor, but eventually admitted he killed him instead, Pennsylvania State Police reported.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: Incidents of white supremacists spreading propaganda decreased in Rhode Island last year, although such activity increased nationally, reaching another record, according to a report from the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL recorded 99 incidents in Rhode Island last year, compared with 142 in 2022.

SOUTH CAROLINA Greenville: As trees begin to bloom, Upstate residents who want to add more greenery to their yard can receive two trees for free. TreesUpstate, an organization dedicated to planting and protecting trees in the northwestern part of South Carolina, is partnering with Duke Energy to give out trees through April as part of the Energy Saving Trees Giveaway Program to help strengthen tree coverage and assist residents with energy savings.

SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: Augustana University has had five students declare their major as criminal justice this spring, the first full semester the major’s been available after a 35-year hiatus.

TENNESSEE Nolensville: The Nolensville special census that was launched in October got 97% household participation, officials announced. Prior to this count, the city hadn’t had an accurate count since 2020. Back then, there were 13,000 residents. Now, Nolensville has about 15,000, according to public information officer Brandi Najm.

TEXAS Austin: The mayor of Uvalde abruptly resigned Monday after only three months in office, citing unspecified health concerns.

UTAH Cedar City: A 2.5-magnitude earthquake hit Utah around 2:30 a.m. local time, according to the United States Geological Survey. The earthquake hit about four miles northwest of Cedar City and about 220 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. According to the USGS, some weak to light shaking was felt around Cedar City and Enoch. No damage or injures were immediately reported.

VERMONT Burlington: As part of its strategy to deal with the constant crush of patients that has kept the University of Vermont Medical Center at or near capacity since the pandemic, the hospital sent out a news release recently reminding residents of various options for medical care. The hospital broke down the options according to ailments as a way to guide people to an option other than the medical center.

VIRGINIA Petersburg: The city school system is refusing to release the entire text of Dr. Tamara Sterling’s resignation letter, saying it contains information that would divulge “identifiable individuals.”

WASHINGTON Spokane: A former high school teacher accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of her students pleaded guilty to the crime but will face no jail time under an agreed plea bargain, court records show.

WEST VIRGINIA Martinsburg: A local West Virginia man scored $50,000 in the Powerball drawing a week ago, according to the Maryland Lottery.

WISCONSIN Madison: Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed a Republican bill that would have created a revolving loan program for child care providers for renovations.

WYOMING Casper: The Natrona County Board of County Commissioners recently voted to continue funding the SkyWest Airlines flight from the Casper-Natrona County International Airport to Salt Lake City through June 30, the Casper StarTribune reported.