Around the nation
News from every state.
ALABAMA Huntsville: Workers are getting ready to repaint one of the tallest structures in Alabama – a full-size model of a Saturn V moon rocket on display in Huntsville. WHNT-TV reports work will start this week repainting the more than 360-foot-tall rocket mock-up outside the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.
ALASKA Anchorage: A credit union is launching a pilot program to begin serving marijuana businesses in the state, giving the cash-reliant industry a financial option after banks shunned the industry.
ARIZONA Phoenix: There’s a new way to get around metro Phoenix, or at least its circumference. Maricopa County has completed a 315-mile hiking and biking trail that circles the city and most of its suburbs.
ARKANSAS Midway: Officials say a fire that caused a mysterious burning hole in September was intentionally set and not the result of a meteorite, methane or work of the devil.
CALIFORNIA San Francisco: A chef in the city has become the first woman in the United States to be awarded three stars from the Michelin Guide. Dominique Crenn celebrated the honor on Instagram with her staff at Atelier Crenn, posting “congratulations to my amazing team.”
COLORADO Colorado Springs: A popular tourist attraction that takes riders up to the summit of Pikes Peak will reopen again after its fate was in question. The Gazette reports the Pikes Peak Cog Railway is slated to reopen in May 2021 following a nearly $100 million reconstruction next year.
CONNECTICUT Bethel: The community will decide whether to allow an atheist banner wishing people “happy holidays” to be erected in a town park where a nativity scene is being displayed.
DELAWARE Dewey Beach: When the University of Delaware football team lost its playoff game last month, UD fans had a new way to drown their sorrows: Ass Kicken Chicken beer. The new Dewey Beer Co. brew caused quite a commotion among fans of the Fightin’ Blue Hens.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washing
ton: The year-old nonprofit Sacred Spaces Conservancy has started quantifying the disappearance of houses of worship in the district’s most intensely developed neighborhoods. Using city data, the group found that between 2008 and 2018, Capitol Hill has lost about 40 percent of buildings owned by congregations of various faith backgrounds and used regularly for worship.
FLORIDA Naples: A conservation group is questioning a plan to develop thousands of acres in southwest Florida that are currently home to the endangered Florida panther.
GEORGIA Brunswick: As homeowners decorate for the holidays, one Georgia county is trying to help residents plot tours of their local Christmas lights. Glynn County on the Atlantic coast has launched an online map of Christmas displays.
HAWAII Honolulu: People could soon have access to see the aftermath of the Kilauea volcano eruption on the Big Island after a beach park reopens. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports Big Island officials are planning to reopen the Isaac Hale Beach Park this week, as well as dismantle the security checkpoint into Leilani Estates.
IDAHO Lewiston: Fishing outfitters, business owners and community members from two towns have come together to insert themselves into negotiations or maneuverings that could stop the pending closure of the state’s steelhead fishing season or lead to an earlier reopening.
ILLINOIS Chicago: Bono will speak about his efforts to combat AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa. The lead singer of Irish rock band U2 is scheduled to appear at an Economic Club of Chicago dinner meeting Thursday.
INDIANA Muncie: Officials are moving ahead with plans to turn a former Muncie middle school into a jail despite some complaints about the project’s symbolism.
IOWA Templeton: A new whiskey is hitting store shelves just in time for the holiday season. Templeton Rye Whiskey recently announced the launch of a new limited-edition whiskey in celebration of the people and rich history of its hometown.
KANSAS Pretty Prairie: The annual Kansas Cattle Drive in Reno County is moving to Pretty Prairie next year. The drive, which draws thousands of people, will be held Feb. 16.
KENTUCKY Frankfort: Seventeen people spoke at a public hearing Thursday about Kentucky’s proposed minimum high school graduation requirements. All but one opposed the new standards, which would require students to meet college- and career-readiness standards and demonstrate minimum competency in math and reading.
MAINE Portland: One of the state’s most beloved birds is continuing a steady rebuild of its population. Maine Audubon says the results of its 2018 loon count yielded the second-highest estimate of adult loons recorded since the count began in 1984.
MARYLAND Easton: A police dog who was missing after taking off after some deer on the coast has been found. Maryland State Police spokesman Ron Snyder says a tipster spotted Gunner, a bloodhound, not far from where he went missing.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: The mayor is vetoing landmark status for the city’s iconic Citgo sign, but it isn’t going anywhere soon. Its future has been in doubt since BU sold the building on which the 3,600square-foot sign sits to developers.
MICHIGAN Ironwood: An Upper Peninsula river will be featured in a new set of postage stamps highlighting scenic rivers. The Ontonagon River will be one of 12 stamps to be released in 2019.
MINNESOTA Minneapolis: The outgoing Republican speaker of the Minnesota House had the power to silence debate with the push of a button. His Democratic successor says one of the first things she’ll do is remove the master mute button. Melissa Hortman says every other speaker in state history was able to maintain decorum with a gavel.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: The capital city is receiving a $1 million grant for public art focusing on access to fresh food. The money comes from Bloomberg Philanthropies, run by billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg.
MISSOURI Jefferson City: The votes won’t be cast for another four years, yet Democrats already appear likely to gain seats in Missouri’s Republican-dominated Legislature in 2022. The reason: a one-of-its kind redistricting initiative approved by voters in the recent midterm elections. Missouri will be the first to rely on a new mathematical formula to try to engineer “partisan fairness” and “competitiveness” in its state legislative districts.
MONTANA Billings: A federal official says reports of grizzly bear attacks on livestock are up in 2018, but coyotes remain the top killer of domesticated animals.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: A decade ago, billionaire bison rancher Ted Turner said his appetite for buying more grazing land in Nebraska was likely satisfied. But now the state’s largest private landowner – and second-
largest individual landowner in the U.S. – has surprised some by purchasing another Sand Hills ranch, pushing his holdings in Nebraska past the half-million-acre mark.
NEVADA Reno: Drivers have hit and killed 34 bears on Nevada roads so far this year, marking the seconddeadliest year for bears on record, according to state data.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: New Hampshire tourism officials are anticipating that upward of 2.5 million travelers will spend just over $1 billion dollars in the state this winter. The projections from the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development would be about a 3 percent increase in both visitation and spending compared to last winter.
NEW JERSEY Montville: A school district is apologizing for a substitute teacher who told first-grade students that Santa Claus isn’t real. Cedar Hill School Principal Michael Raj sent a letter to parents following the incident Thursday at the school in Montville.
NEW MEXICO Las Cruces: A District of Columbia clerk and a supervisor refused to accept a New Mexico man’s state driver’s license as he sought a marriage license because she and her supervisor believed New Mexico was a foreign country. Gavin Clarkson said that after approaching the clerk for a license and showing his New Mexico ID, Clarkson said the clerk told him he needed an international passport to get the marriage license. Clarkson said he protested to a supervisor, who also told him that he needed a foreign passport. The clerk finally concluded New Mexico was a state after Clarkson objected three times.
NEW YORK New York: Pioneering lawmaker Shirley Chisholm will be honored with a statue in the New York City borough she served as the first black woman elected to U.S. Congress. City officials announced a monument to Chisholm will be installed at the entrance to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Federal authorities say they’ll extend their review of red wolf management in the state after a judge ruled a plan to shrink the territory of the animals’ only wild population violates endangered species protections.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: The North Dakota Geological Survey is expanding its well-received fossil dig program. After attracting people from 31 states last year, the program doubled in size this year. North Dakota fossil scientists now plan to spend 46 days in the field next year to help people find prehistoric fossils, the Bismarck Tribune reports.
OHIO Cleveland: Radio station WDOK-FM says it has stopped playing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” after listeners said the song on countless holiday playlists is inappropriate.
OKLAHOMA Tulsa: A recent court ruling that permits an injured worker to receive compensation benefits with a positive drug test could set a precedent for such cases at a time when medical marijuana may soon
be widely available in the state. The Oklahoman reports that the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals ruled Nov. 16 that “the presence of an intoxicating substance in the blood does not automatically mean that person is intoxicated.”
OREGON Portland: The Oregon Department of Transportation is examining the possibility of charging tolls on a 7-mile stretch of Interstate 5 near downtown Portland. Department officials say it’s too early to say how much the tolls will cost.
PENNSYLVANIA Chadds Ford: The convenience store franchise Wawa says it is partnering with a suburban Philadelphia brewery to create a limited edition beer. Wawa’s Winter Reserve Coffee Stout, brewed by 2SP Brewing Co., blends Wawa’s Winter Blend coffee into a stout beer. The beer will be launched Thursday at a Wawa store in Chadds Ford – the only Wawa in the state that sells beer.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: The Rhode Island National Guard has canceled its annual air show, one of the most popular events in the state in the summer. The Guard says it expects more than 500 troops will be deployed in 2019 during the traditional time frame of the Open House Air Show in Quonset.
SOUTH CAROLINA Greenville: South Carolina is getting its first Lego store. The new store opened Friday at Haywood Mall in Greenville, near the center court of the mall, not far from where Santa Claus is sitting.
SOUTH DAKOTA Rapid City: The Black Hills National Forest is creating its first trail ranger positions as recreational all-terrain vehicle use gains popularity on the trail system. Deputy Forest Supervisor Jerry Krueger tells the Rapid City Journal that forest officials will begin accepting applications for the five trail-ranger jobs soon.
TENNESSEE Nashville: 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of Dolly Parton becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry – and in October, the country music legend will return to the show’s famous stage to celebrate. The Opry has revealed plans for a weeklong celebration in 2019 dubbed “Dolly Week,” which will conclude with two shows Oct. 12 featuring Parton and a cast of special guests.
TEXAS Snyder: Big fans of unusual art may have to squint in order to check out 120 pieces of tiny artwork in West Texas. An exhibit called “Tiny Art!” is running through Dec. 22 at the 1818 Arthouse, a gallery in Snyder.
UTAH Washington: Utah leaders are resigned to the fact that they’re likely never to be repaid the nearly $1 million the state spent in 2013 to keep its popular national parks open during a government shutdown. The Salt Lake Tribune reports it would take an act of Congress to get repaid.
VERMONT Montpelier: A newly carved sculpture of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, is standing on top of the Vermont Statehouse.
VIRGINIA Lynchburg: Students at Liberty University, the country’s largest evangelical Christian university, have started an independent news site where articles won’t have to be approved by school officials.
WASHINGTON Seattle: The crew of a Coast Guard icebreaker have returned to their homeport in Seattle following the ship’s annual arctic deployment.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Some West Virginia cities don’t want any rain on their parades and are changing the dates of their annual Christmas displays.
WISCONSIN Green Bay: Researchers hope to reduce the cost of fish fry dinners by working with a local nonprofit to set up breeding tanks for yellow perch, which is becoming hard to find in the wild. Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and The Farmory hope the project will reduce prices, increase quality and get young people involved in locally sourced food options.
WYOMING Jackson: Grand Teton National Park has been recognized for increasing park access for visitors with disabilities. The Jackson Hole News & Guide reports that the park won a 2018 National Park Service Architectural Design Accessibility Achievement Award for its Jenny Lake Renewal Project.