STATE-BY-STATE
ALABAMA Athens: State prison officials are investigating how a Limestone Correctional Facility inmate fell 12 feet from a second-tier level at the prison, The News Courier reports. The inmate died of his injuries.
ALASKA Anchorage: The Alaska Zoo’s beloved Ahpun polar bear is dead. The bear, orphaned as a cub, was about 20 years old.
ARIZONA Lukeville: Authorities found nearly 2,500 pounds of marijuana hidden in a motorhome at this southern Arizona border crossing.
ARKANSAS Little Rock: The Pulaski County Sheriff ’s Office says a man who was cited for public intoxication and then released from custody died in the jail’s lobby.
CALIFORNIA Bakersfield: Authorities say a child about 4 or 5 years old died in a fire inside a storage unit where a family of five was living in Kern County, KABC-TV reports.
COLORADO Vail: A think tank says the average age of a low-wage Colorado worker is 34, and many are female minorities, The Vail Daily reports.
CONNECTICUT Manchester: A cook and his girlfriend face charges in the fatal shooting of a fried chicken restaurant manager. Authorities say a workplace dispute at the Bonchon Chicken led to the fatal shooting.
DELAWARE Georgetown: The Sussex County Council has postponed a right-to-work vote after a contentious five-hour hearing on the measure that would bar workers from being compelled to join labor unions.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The recent cold spell has brought out ice skaters to the frozen solid Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. The National Park Service said ice skating is allowed but urges visitors to use caution.
FLORIDA Miami: Nine people were hospitalized with minor injuries aftere a car rear-ended a commuter bus, The Miami Herald reports.
GEORGIA Cartersville: At least 63 people attending a lingerie party celebrating a 21st birthday were arrested on marijuana possession charges, The Cartersville Daily Tribune reports.
HAWAII Honolulu: Prosecutors are investigating allegations against a homeowner suspected of killing at least four nene geese with a BB gun. The federally protected birds are native to Hawaii.
IDAHO Hailey: Blaine County commissioners have withdrawn from the state’s Capital Crimes Defense Fund that helps cover the cost of death penalty trials. The commissioners say the move is intended to stop local prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, The Idaho Mountain Express reports.
ILLINOIS Normal: Illinois State University’s famed Circus Collection just got bigger. A Florida collector donated more than 250,000 items, from costumes to clown props. INDIANA South Bend: The more than century-old pipe organ at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church is back in full working order after a $450,000 restoration, the South Bend Tribune reports.
IOWA Vinton: A Benton County sheriff who was killed in the line of duty nearly 80 years ago is being memorialized. A bust of Leland Fry was unveiled last week, KCRG reports. Fry died in 1938 while trying to arrest someone who escaped from custody.
KANSAS Wichita: Herington Elementary School is ending the free distribution of Bibles to students after complaints about the practice, The Wichita Eagle reports.
KENTUCKY Louisville: Jail officials say cold temperatures are hobbling the heating system, leaving many Louisville inmates shivering in their cells, WFPL-FM reports.
LOUISIANA Slidell: The maintenance man at Louisiana’s Indian Hills Nudist Park wants you to know: “We ain’t stupid.” When it turns arctic cold, the clothes get put on, and in layers.
MAINE Augusta: The White House has approved federal disaster relief for damage caused by an October windstorm that knocked out power to half of Maine’s population.
MARYLAND Washington: The University of Maryland is getting a $288,000 grant to support of Chesapeake Bay and state coastal waters restoration.
MASSACHUSETTS Well
fleet: A shark conservation group says four thresher sharks have been found frozen off the coast, the Cape Cod Times reports. MICHIGAN Lansing: The Spare Time Entertainment bowling complex is reviewing its dress code amid complaints that the policy targets black men. A sign prohibits excessively baggy pants and hoodies, the Lansing State Journal reports.
MINNESOTA Duluth: Nine lake freighters are stacked up in Duluth harbor as the time nears for the Soo Locks to close for the winter, KBJRTV reports.
MISSISSIPPI Waynesboro: The town’s 60 employees remain in limbo while officials argue over rehiring them in one vote or one by one, WDAM-TV reports. Town employees face rehiring whenever a new mayoral term begins.
MISSOURI St. Lou
is: A St. Louis Zoo cheetah named Bingwa gave birth to eight cubs in late November, the largest litter of cheetah cubs ever delivered at the zoo.
MONTANA Laurel: Mayor-elect Dave Waggoner was supposed to be sworn in at last week’s Laurel City Council meeting. But he didn’t show up, The Billings Gazette reports.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: About half of the more than 3,000 known letters penned by novelist Willa Cather have been compiled, digitized and annotated, The Lincoln Journal Star reports.
NEVADA Carson City: Sales of recreational marijuana are underway in the state capital, The Nevada Appeal reports.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Sargent’s Pur
chase: Authorities say two people were injured when they lost control of their snowmobile and crashed into trees near the Jefferson Notch area.
NEW JERSEY Trenton: The daughter of a former mayor of Brick was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of stealing $941,354 from the township’s health insurance program, NJ.com reports.
NEW MEXICO Las Cruces: City officials have approved funding to install temporary shading, information kiosks and a welcome sign aimed at boosting economic development, The Las Cruces Sun-News reports.
NEW YORK Massena: Authorities say a freighter carrying soybeans was stuck in ice in a St. Lawrence Seaway lock, blocking four other vessels last week.
NORTH CAROLINA Rose
Hill: State investigators say no foul play is suspected in the fire that destroyed Rose Hill United Methodist Church.
NORTH DAKOTA
Minot: Matt Lizotte is the winner of the North Dakota state poker championship, The Daily News reports. The Minot man took home the $30,000 first prize.
OHIO Uhrichsville: A teenager who launched his campaign for city council while still in high school has taken office, WEWS-TV reports. Eric Harmon, 19, is now a student at Kent State’s Tuscarawas campus.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The state Department of Health has proposed layoffs and program cuts to reduce costs, The Oklahoman reports. The proposal would lay off nearly 200 employees.
OREGON Salem: Gov. Kate Brown has expressed confidence in the investigation that ended with no charges against an elk hunter who told police he killed a wolf in selfdefense.
PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: La Salle University is selling 46 art pieces from its museum collection to help fund its five-year plan. The auction is tentatively set for March.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: Police say two children, a year old and 10 days old, were in a home that was hit by gunfire on New Year’s Day, killing a man inside. Neither child was injured.
SOUTH CAROLINA Camden: Kershaw County deputies rescued a man they were chasing when he crashed his car into the Wateree River and yelled that he couldn’t swim.
SOUTH DAKOTA Rapid City: The City Council has tightened regulations on who is allowed to operate pawnshops, The Rapid City Journal reports.
TENNESSEE Knoxville: The historically black Knoxville College that lost accreditation in 2015 has filed paperwork to begin re-enrolling students, The Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The school lost accreditation in 2015 after enrollment fell to 11.
TEXAS Houston: A 4-year-old boy who authorities believe was living in a closet told investigators “his friends” were rats and roaches, WTRK-TV reports. He’s in temporary custody of child welfare officials.
UTAH Salt Lake City: The state Highway Patrol says the number of arrests related to drunken driving dropped during the weekend before New Year’s Day compared with the year before, KUTV-TV reports. Officials say troopers are seeing more people relying on a sober friend or ridesharing service for rides home.
VERMONT Burlington: A doctor concluded that a man accused of killing his wife with a cleaver is competent to stand trial, The Burlington Free Press reports.
VIRGINIA Mount Vernon: George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate has reopened its 105-seat Revolutionary War Theater after a $2 million renovation.
WASHINGTON Seattle: Developers of a coal-export terminal proposed on the Columbia River have sued the state, complaining of permit delays and denials.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: A man who hijacked a taxi, forcing the driver out of the vehicle at gunpoint, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
WISCONSIN Madison: Brown County’s new 0.5% sales tax has drawn a legal challenge. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty argues that counties can impose such taxes only if the revenue is used to reduce property taxes. WYOMING Casper: The Environmental Protection Agency has partially removed the Mystery Bridge/ U.S. 20 Superfund site off its national priorities list after soil and groundwater cleanup.