STATE- BY- STATE

ALABAMA Birmingham: A 19- day- old infant from Auburn became one of the youngest recipients of a Berlin artificial heart at Children’s of Alabama, AL. com reported.

ALASKA Fairbanks: Visitors can can immerse themselves in the state sport at the International Dog Mushing Museum, newsminer.com reported. The museum offers mushing items and information from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Finland, Russia and Japan.

ARIZONA Phoenix: Author Kent Haruf didn’t know how much time he had left after being diagnosed with a fatal disease, so he did what writers do: He wrote, finishing his last novel, Our Souls at Night, days before his death. Haruf’s final work will be discussed at the next meeting of the Republic’s First Draft Book Club on Wednesday at Changing Hands Phoenix.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: Four laws aimed at curbing domestic violence go into effect Wednesday, Arkansas Online reported.

CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: Superior Court Judge James Chalfant asked a group of nuns, the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to work out their differences with the archdiocese over the proposed sale of their convent to pop star Katy Perry before seeking more drastic legal measures, the Times reported.

COLORADO Grand County: A 64- year- old man from Indiana who first called for help using a personal locating beacon Sunday was rescued a day later after using a mirror to signal a passing search plane, KUSA- TV reported.

CONNECTICUT Hamden: An investigation is underway after a 3- year- old girl was found in the middle of Warner Street, crying for her mother, the New Haven Register reported.

DELAWARE Wilmington: Four people have been charged over the last two weeks with illegal shark fishing, The News Journal reported.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The Washington Post reported several sightings of Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael as they appeared around the area to benefit the urban- gardening group City Blossoms and the No Kid Hungry non- profit group. They played the Footloose theme at Old Town Alexandria’s Sugar Shack in return for a free doughnut. FLORIDA Melbourne: The Florida Wildlife Hospital Sanctuary released seven orphaned otters into Lake Washington after rehabilitating them for several months, Florida Today reported. GEORGIA Hall County: A federal lawsuit challenging coach- and teacher- led prayer at high schools was dismissed, The Atlanta Journal- Constitution reported. The American Humanist Association, which filed the suit, said the dismissal was the result of an out- ofcourt agreement reached with the school district. HAWAII Lihue: Kauai police issued 539 tickets to people using cellphones while driving, an offense that can come with a $ 300 fine for first- time lawbreakers, The Garden Island reported. IDAHO Salmon: Authorities are scaling back a search for a 2- yearold boy who went missing earlier this month during a family camping trip, KTVB- TV reported. ILLINOIS Chicago: Now that happy hour has been reinstated, the Tribune compiled a list of eating and drinking establish- ments that will offer such specials, including the Commonwealth Tavern and the Landshark Beer Garden.

INDIANA Indianapolis: Longtime police chaplain John Robert Fiers, 53, has been charged with two counts of patronizing a prostitute and one count of intimidation, the Indianapolis Star reported.

IOWA Sioux City: A woman was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated after allegedly hitting a tandem bicycle during a week- long bike ride across the state known as RAGBRAI. The Wisconsin couple riding in the event, which attracts thousands of cyclists each year, were hospitalized with non- life- threatening injuries, The Des Moines Register reported.

KANSAS Manhattan: Kansas State University has received $ 141.5 million in gift pledges in the fiscal year that just ended, the

Topeka Capital- Journal reported.

KENTUCKY Louisville: Kentucky Kingdom unveiled plans for a new hybrid steel and wooden roller coaster that will open to the public in spring 2016, The

Courier- Journal reported. Storm Chaser will be the second roller coaster to be built at Kentucky Kingdom since it reopened 14 months ago.

LOUISIANA Lafayette: University of Louisiana Coach Mark Hudspeth is keeping the identity of his starting quarterback a secret until Sept. 5, the Ragin’ Cajuns’ season opener against Kentucky, The Times- Picayune reported.

MAINE Rangeley: Saddleback Maine, the ski resort in western Maine, will not open for next winter’s ski season unless it can secure $ 3 million within two weeks to replace one of its aging chair lifts, the Portland Press

Herald reported.

MARYLAND Pocomoke City: Department of Justice investigators are expected to visit here to probe whether the firing of a popular African- American police chief was motivated by racism, WUSA- TV reported. Former chief Kelvin Sewell was fired June 29 after he backed black officers who had filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

MASSACHUSETTS Fall River: The Battleship Cove museum is seeking to raise $ 12 million to preserve USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., The Boston Globe reported. The historic vessel has long been docked here and was a part of a blockade during the Cuban missile crisis and a recovery team for several Gemini spacecraft missions.

MICHIGAN Carrollton Township: Jerry Powers of Clio has been working for six years to restore his 1936 Packard Eight Club Sedan, one of only 4,004 Packard Eight luxury models manufactured in 1936, The Saganaw News reported. Upholsterer John Town rebuilt most of the car’s interior, scouring the Internet for parts he could adapt.

MINNESOTA St. Cloud: Poultry farms are slowly getting back to normal as it has been six weeks since any news cases of avian influenza have been confirmed in the state, the St. Cloud Times reported.

MISSISSIPPI Corinth: The city expects to spend $ 4 million on streets and bridge improvements for a primary corridor to the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center, The Daily Corinthian reported.

MISSOURI St. Joseph: Northwest Missouri has seen a rise in fatal wrecks, and authorities are alarmed because most of the victims weren’t wearing seat belts. A Missouri State Highway Patrol troop for the area reports a 54% increase in vehicle fatalities for the year, the St. Joseph News-Press reported.

MONTANA Fishtail: The Tippet Rise Art Center is slated to open in 2016 on a ranch in the Beartooth Mountains. Philanthropists Cathy and Peter Halstead conceived of the property as a place for musical performances and sculptures, wildlife and restored creeks, the Billings Gazette reported.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: Authorities say books have been stolen from six Little Free Libraries here in less than a week, the

Lincoln Journal Star reported.

NEVADA Reno: Tesla Motors won’t say if its recent purchase of thousands of additional acres of land in northern Nevada means the company will build a bigger gigafactory, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported. Storey County records show Tesla bought land at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center last spring, nearly tripling the site’s original 1,000 acres.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Portsmouth: Former Mayor Steve Marchand has launched a website aimed at increasing civic engagement in the city, The Portsmouth Herald reported.

NEW JERSEY Trenton: Nearly 2,900 public school teachers in the state, about 3%, have been deemed ineffective or partially effective and are in need of support to improve, the Asbury Park

Press reported.

NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: While New Mexico promotes Naloxone as a way to decrease overdose deaths, the state’s Board of Pharmacy is working to increase regulation of the drug. The state’s overdose deaths increased by 20% last year, the Santa Fe New

Mexican reported.

NEW YORK Valhalla: Six inmates are to be charged with promoting contraband at the Westchester County jail after 13 inmates fell ill over the last eight days in apparent drug overdoses,

The Journal News reported.

NORTH CAROLINA Wake

County: Lori Riley Whitley, 38, a third- grade teacher facing charges of running a meth lab in her north Johnston County home and endangering a child, resigned her position at Wendell Elementary School, The News & Observer reported.

NORTH DAKOTA Grand Forks: The University of North Dakota broke ground Monday for a new headquarters for its College of Engineering and Mines.

OHIO Columbus: Less than a month after a tanker truck caught fire destroying a bridge on Interstate 70 east over an I- 270 ramp, the roadway reopened Tuesday, WCMH- TV reported. Contractor Shelly & Sands Inc. will receive a $ 240,000 bonus for completing the project early, much to be used for overtime.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Gov. Fallin spent more than $ 1 million on events for her second inauguration earlier this year, The Oklahoman reported.

OREGON Pendleton: A local home is sporting a fresh coat of paint brushed on by dozens of volunteers in response to a local man’s Facebook post, the East Oregonian reported. Paint and supplies were donated by companies including Tum- A- Lum Lumber, Pendleton Bottling, Doug’s Septic and Sherwin- Williams.

PENNSYLVANIA Doylestown: A man who pleaded guilty to making a false report during a manhunt has been sentenced to 111⁄ 2 to 24 months in prison, The Intelligencer reported.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: Eleven mothers filed complaints with the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office against local jeweler Mommy-Milk Creations for extensive delays, WPRO- AM reported.

SOUTH CAROLINA Greenville: The Greenville City Police Department found insufficient evidence to establish probable cause or prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bob Jones University employees failed to report knowledge of criminal sexual conduct against juvenile students, The Greenville News reported.

SOUTH DAKOTA Brookings: A woman is out of more than $ 300 after a con artist claiming to be a police officer demanded that she wire him money, KBRK- AM reported.

TENNESSEE Mountain City: The Northeast Correctional Complex here remains on lockdown after a Sunday incident in which an officer was injured, the Johnson City Press reported.

TEXAS Austin: The state Board of Education voted to consider GED test options other than the expensive, computer based test currently in place. The board could start soliciting proposals in October, The Texas Tribune reported.

UTAH Kanab: The Bureau of Land Management is considering changes to the permit system to hike The Wave, a famous undulating rock formation on the Utah/ Arizona border. Only 20 hikers are allowed to The Wave each day and the BLM is now inviting public comment on possible changes to how those permits are rewarded, The Spectrum reported.

VERMONT Essex Juntion: Neil Young’s concert Sunday at the Champlain Valley Exposition was the singer’s first- ever headlining show in Vermont, and was driven by his support for the state’s law requiring food manufacturers to label products containing genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, the Burlington Free Press reported.

VIRGINIA Richmond: Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, one of the area’s most popular homegrown craft breweries, plans a major expansion in Goochland County, the Times- Dispatch reported.

WASHINGTON Seattle: The U. S. Army proposed using an off- base mountain training area over the North Cascades for helicopter pilots to practice flyovers and landings, The Seattle Times reported.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Erin Deegan, 29, whose leg was amputated above the knee in January 2000, was chosen by UNYQ, a San Francisco- based company, as a model for prosthetic leg coverings, the Gazette- Mail reported.

WISCONSIN Ashwaubenon: A growing deer population has prompted the village to relax its limits on deer hunting on private property. Landowners can bow hunt on their own property without obtaining a neighbor’s permission, provided the hunting is done more than 50 yards from a structure on the neighbor’s land, the Green Bay Press- Gazette reported.

WYOMING Cheyenne: Kim Parfitt, a science teacher at Central High School, was chosen by the White House and the National Science Foundation as a winner of the nation’s top award for science and math teachers.