Around the nation

News from every state.

ALABAMA Birmingham:

The state has issued its first licenses to out-of-hospital midwives since 1976.

ALASKA Ketchikan:

The city’s young people have a new venue to make their voices heard, with “KTown: A Youth Podcast,” which premiered its first episode Friday.

ARIZONA Tusayan:

Work on an offgrid housing development in this town outside the Grand Canyon has stopped because the town lacks approval to build in a flood plain.

ARKANSAS Little Rock:

All five of the state’s medical marijuana cultivation facilities are under construction.

CALIFORNIA Rancho Mirage:

Nine giant aluminum bunnies sitting in front of The Atrium, gleaming in the sun in jelly-bean shades, are part of the installation “Desert Warren,” the work of local pop artists Karen and Tony Barone and an experiment in funding public art.

COLORADO Denver:

Excluding undeveloped area around the airport, nearly half the land in the city limits is now paved or built over – up from less than 20 percent in the mid-1970s, a Denver Post analysis found. And that figure could approach 70 percent by 2040.

CONNECTICUT Hartford:

The death of a teenager who accidentally shot himself with his friend’s father’s gun has spurred his parents to advocate for tougher federal and state laws on safe gun storage. Versions of “Ethan’s Law” were introduced this month in the U.S. Senate and Connecticut House of Representatives and would require gun owners to take steps to prevent unauthorized users from accessing their weapons.

DELAWARE Bethany Beach:

Dogwalkers are about to have a harsher punishment if they don’t pick up their pet’s poop. Officials voted Friday to increase the town’s fine to $100 for the first offense and $200 for any offense after that.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington:

The district’s restaurant week has been extended another week because of the federal government shutdown, WUSA reports.

FLORIDA Fort Myers:

Florida Gulf Coast University is hoping to secure more than $9 million from the state to launch a multidisciplinary research initiative that will focus on red tide.

GEORGIA Atlanta:

Residents are celebrating the renaming of Confederate Avenue to United Avenue amid nationwide debate over Civil Warthemed monuments and symbols.

HAWAII Hilo:

A health official says the number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers has declined over the past four years in the state.

IDAHO Boise:

The blue turf that brought fame to Boise State University’s athletic stadium will be refreshed this year, at no small cost.

ILLINOIS Chicago:

Medical cannabis dispensaries are getting ready as the state prepares to roll out a pilot program to offer patients access to marijuana as an alternative to opioids.

INDIANA South Bend:

The University of Notre Dame will cover murals in a campus building that depict Christopher Columbus in America, the school’s president said, following criticism that the images depict Native Americans in stereotypical submissive poses before white European explorers.

IOWA Des Moines:

British metal royalty Ozzy Osbourne celebrated 37 years since biting the head off a bat at a Des Moines concert by releasing a collectible plush toy bat – complete with removable head.

KANSAS Kansas City:

A new study says Kansas goes further than any other state in limiting state and local agencies from influencing policy about food nutrition labels and portion sizes.

KENTUCKY Louisville:

The Muhammad Ali Center says its programming for Black History Month will include the screening of documentary “Mr. Temple & The Tigerbelles” and film “Long Time Coming.”

LOUISIANA New Orleans:

Scientists plan to tag 3,000 to 5,000 red snapper during April and May, as part of a study to estimate just how many of the popular sport and table fish live in the Gulf.

MAINE Westbrook:

The giant spinning ice disk that quickly gained international fame survived the weekend winter weather that pummeled New England and now has its own webcam.

MARYLAND Annapolis:

A group of state senators have introduced a bill that would bar people granted probation before judgment on stalking charges from owning guns.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston:

Uber says legislation calling for higher fees for ride-hailing companies would place an unfair burden on residents and result in Massachusetts riders paying the highest tax in the country on ride-hailing services.

MICHIGAN Detroit:

Wayne State University plans to move the 19thcentury home of its founder to make way for a campus development project.

MINNESOTA Byron:

Byron High School has received a $45,000 grant to give students the experience of running a food truck business.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson:

The Mississippi Transportation Commission has approved 163 projects to repair or replace crumbling roads and bridges.

MISSOURI St. Louis:

The state attorney general’s office is partnering with the U.S. attorney’s office in St. Louis to address high rates of violent crime in the city.

MONTANA Helena:

The state would switch permanently to an auction system to award liquor licenses under a proposed bill. Long-term, a bidding process is estimated to generate up to $4 million more than the lotto system for the state’s general fund.

NEVADA Las Vegas:

The skies around Nevada’s largest cities are about to see more drone aircraft, after federal agencies picked the state for testing remote-controlled vehicles in urban airspace.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord:

Students have one more chance to enter an art contest celebrating the bicentennial of the Statehouse. Submissions are due March 29.

NEW JERSEY Red Bank:

JBJ Soul Kitchen, a restaurant owned by musician and New Jersey native Jon Bon Jovi, served 71 free meals to furloughed federal employees and their families Monday.

NEW MEXICO Santa Fe:

A state lawmaker is proposing a prohibition on the use of state land to extend the wall on the U.S. border with Mexico.

NEW YORK Rochester:

Jeff Goldblum, Patti LaBelle and Marc Cohn with special guest vocalists The Blind Boys of Alabama will join the 2019 CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival’s headliner series lineup. Tickets go on sale Friday.

NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh:

More than 40 families have filed complaints against a recently shuttered company that trained service dogs. WRAL-TV reports Attorney General Josh Stein called the complaints against Ry-Con Service Dogs “deeply troubling” and said his office is investigating.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck:

The state’s Game and Fish Department is making 607 any-deer bow licenses available to out-of-state hunters this year.

OHIO Columbus:

The stole worn by Father Tom Hagan for Gov. Mike DeWine’s inaugural weekend was a way to involve the governor’s beloved late daughter in the celebration. First lady Fran DeWine sewed the garment from pieces of fabric cut from her late daughter Becky’s clothing.

OKLAHOMA Talihina:

The chair of Oklahoma’s House Veterans and Military Affairs Committee says the panel probably won’t hear a bill that aims to end a $100 million state construction project and keep a veteran’s center in this small town.

OREGON Bend:

The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative, which oversees the state’s bottle deposit program, says about 90 percent of the containers covered by the plan were returned and redeemed in 2018.

PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia:

It took 335 years for the city to erect its first public monument honoring an African-American. Just 18 months later, it’ll notch another milestone: its first statue of an African-American girl. This spring, Smith Recreation Center will become home to a bronze of a middle-schooler playing basketball.

RHODE ISLAND Newport:

National Grid began the painstaking process Tuesday of going door-to-door to restore natural gas service to about 7,000 customers in the state.

SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia:

The final Confederate flag to fly at the Statehouse has quietly been put on display at a museum.

SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls:

Fourteen city firefighters added “daddy duties” to their list of responsibilities this past year.

TENNESSEE Nashville:

Lawmakers say the state House has added a new feature to online bill tracking that will add more public transparency into tracking amendments to bills.

TEXAS Fort Worth:

Trisha Ruiz and her husband drew their favorite franchise’s attention when they built a Whataburger-themed chicken coop in their backyard.

UTAH Cedar City:

Southern Utah University is stepping in to help clean at Zion National Park as the federal government shutdown wears on.

VERMONT Burlington:

Branbury State Park, on Lake Dunmore, is the state’s busiest park, officials say.

VIRGINIA Richmond:

The sculpture of a Native American that’s peered over edifices in the city for over three decades may soon have a new home. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the owners of the Lucky Strike Building had the fiberglass sculpture “Connecticut” removed Friday.

WASHINGTON Everett:

Alaska Airlines says it will delay the start of commercial passenger service at Paine Field by at least three weeks due to the government shutdown. Some lawmakers want to end the state’s lifetime ban on food stamps for people convicted of drug-related felonies.

WISCONSIN Milwaukee:

The home of the Milwaukee Brewers will be renamed when MillerCoors’ naming rights expire following the 2020 season. MillerCoors says the rights will go to American Family Insurance.

WYOMING Jackson:

The Jackson Hole Airport in western Wyoming had its busiest year on record in 2018.