Around the nation

News from every state.

ALASKA Anchorage: Nenana Ice Classic organizers have announced this year’s winner for the annual guessing contest. Ice Classic manager Cherrie Forness says Anchorage’s Patricia Andrew was the only person to guess the exact time the ice officially went out on the Tanana River.

ARIZONA Flagstaff: An experiment to change the flow of water from Glen Canyon Dam has boosted the number of aquatic insects that fish in the Colorado River eat. Scientists hope to better understand those results with a second bug flow experiment that will run through August.

ARKANSAS Springdale: The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has received a nearly $1 million grant to help pay for the state’s newest nature center. The $980,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation was announced Thursday for the facility under construction in Springdale.

CALIFORNIA Avalon: The mountaintop runway on Santa Catalina Island has reopened after five months of construction. A World War II-era DC-3 touched down on the new runway at the Airport in the Sky to mark the occasion Friday, the Orange County Register reports.

COLORADO Bellvue: Fish now have another couple of miles to wander freely on the Poudre River. A recently completed fish ladder at the Watson Lake dam reconnects 2 miles of stream, giving fish freedom to swim upstream in search of deeper water, shade, food or spawning habitat.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: The state’s Lemon Law Program is being credited with providing consumers more than $2.6 million in refunds or returns last year for problematic new vehicles.

DELAWARE Dover: Democratic lawmakers have again introduced legislation allowing school districts to raise taxes without voter approval.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Mayor Muriel Bowser has proposed a bill to locally legalize the sale and distribution of recreational cannabis, despite a federal budget provision barring the city from enacting marijuana legislation.

FLORIDA Tallahassee: The state will establish an agricultural hemp program under a bill sent to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday.

GEORGIA Atlanta: A group that advocates for saving historic homes and places has planned events throughout the state in May to celebrate National Preservation Month. The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation kicked off the month with walking tours of some of Macon’s prized historic homes and gardens over the weekend.

HAWAII Honolulu: A new study finds coral reefs provide more than $835 million in flood protection for the state annually.

IDAHO Boise: State prison officials are appealing a judge’s order that they turn over documents revealing the source of the lethal injection drugs used in a recent execution.

ILLINOIS Geneva: A former Marine is trying to locate, repair and catalog 100 years’ worth of historical items at an American Legion Post here ahead of its centennial celebration. Matthew Lutz, 34, says he’s excited to find items from past battles and has already discovered a beret that belonged to a Geneva native who survived Pearl Harbor.

INDIANA Franklin: A county that was once a powerhouse in the canning industry is taking a look back in a new exhibit. “Pick, Peel, Preserve: Canning in Johnson County” runs through mid-October at the Johnson County Museum of History.

IOWA Des Moines: A giant, inflatable, colorful, kooky and confettifilled wonderland is coming to the city. The world’s largest adult-friendly bounce house is coming to Southridge Mall on June 7-9.

KANSAS Topeka: Lawmakers who support expanding Medicaid blocked passage of the next state budget Friday in a high-stakes standoff designed to force the Legislature’s conservative Republican leaders to allow an expansion plan backed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

KENTUCKY Louisville: The University of Louisville has won a $1 million grant for researching the manufacture of thin solar panels by repurposing printing presses.

LOUISIANA New Orleans: This year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival celebrates 50 years of spotlighting the state’s culture and musical traditions. The nonprofit Jazz & Heritage Foundation – which owns the festival – is marking that milestone by directing festival profits to a range of annual programming, including free after-school music classes for students and $1 million in project grants.

MAINE Augusta: Wildlife authorities say the state has already received more than three dozen complaints this spring about nuisance bears, which are emerging from their dens hungry for food.

MARYLAND Baltimore: The new mayor has vowed to clean up the city after being thrust into office by his predecessor’s resignation amid corruption investigations, but he inherits serious, long-standing problems that have plagued previous administrations. Bernard “Jack” Young, a longtime leader of the City Council, says he intends to serve only the remainder of former Mayor Catherine Pugh’s term.

MASSACHUSETTS New Bedford: A 2-year-old red panda is the newest attraction at Buttonwood Park Zoo. “Jacob” was introduced to visitors Friday.

MICHIGAN Holland: Two pairs of oversized wooden shoes displayed as part of an art competition that were stolen ahead of the city’s annual Tulip Time Festival have been recovered by police.

MINNESOTA Minneapolis: Some nonprofits in the state are embracing communal housing as a way to address affordable housing shortages despite the model being long rejected as contributing to urban blight. Minnesota Public Radio News reports Alliance Housing has been trying to get Minneapolis to rethink boarding houses as a solution to the affordable housing crisis.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: A photographer who captured iconic images of black students challenging segregation is donating his camera to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. In a state Department of Archives and History news release, Jerry W. Keahey Sr. says he hopes his camera will be displayed near his photos in the museum’s exhibition about the Tougaloo Nine.

MISSOURI Springfield: Actor Sean Astin talked about his mother’s mental illness at Missouri State University last week as the keynote speaker for the school’s second annual Impact Summit, which raises awareness about college students’ mental health needs. Astin starred in “The Goonies,” “Encino Man,” the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “Rudy,” as well as appearing in the most recent season of “Stranger Things.” His mom, Academy Awardwinning actress Patty Duke, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982 and wrote about it in her 1987 autobiography. She died in 2016.

MONTANA Helena: Gov. Steve Bullock signed a bill Friday for the Montana State Lottery to oversee wagering on sports through kiosks and mobile devices.

NEBRASKA Plattsmouth: Two local companies are helping to prevent a summer bummer after the city suffered flood damage to its water facilities and can’t fill the community’s pool. The Omaha World-Herald reports severe flooding in March damaged the Plattsmouth water treatment and wastewater facilities, forcing the city to impose restrictions. Mayor Paul Lambert says there just isn’t enough city water available for Twin Rivers Water Park. Fast Grass sod farm is donating its well water, and Liquid Trucking is hauling it to the water park.

NEVADA Las Vegas: Southern Nevada consistently ranks high for STD rates, but health officials are stepping up public education campaigns now that Clark County has the nation’s highest syphilis rates.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed a bill Friday to repeal the state’s death penalty for a second time. Lawmakers are likely to override his decision in the fall.

NEW JERSEY Barnegat Light: The state will spend $10 million on projects to prevent storm water pollution from entering the ecologically fragile Barnegat Bay, authorities said Friday.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque:

College students are using drones to help map the location of dinosaur tracks at a state park. The Albuquerque Journal reports New Mexico State Parks is teaming up with Central New Mexico Community College students and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science to map out the footprints at Clayton Lake State Park.

NEW YORK Niagara Falls: The Maid of the Mist boats that bring tourists to the base of Niagara Falls are going electric. The company on Friday announced plans to launch two zero-emission passenger vessels during the coming tourist season.

NORTH CAROLINA Greenville: “Rock the Bus,” an annual exhibit that has become a vehicle of expression for Pitt County Schools visual arts teachers, opened Friday at Emerge Gallery and Art Center. The works will be on display through May 30.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: The state plans to invest $33 million in the unmanned aircraft systems industry in an attempt to establish the state as a premier location for drone research, testing and commercialization. Gov. Doug Burgum is expected to sign a bill authorizing the investment in a ceremony Monday with state leaders.

OHIO Columbus: Children in kindergarten through fifth grade have the chance to design an anti-bullying license plate. A contest to create the logo and slogan for “Stop Bullying” plates is a joint effort of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Ohio Education Association.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Beef lovers need not fret about what to eat in this state where cattle outnumber people. Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday signed into law a bill making the ribeye the official steak of Oklahoma.

OREGON Salem: U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are sponsoring the Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act, which would create new recreation areas around the Rogue and Molalla rivers, expand the Wild Rogue Wilderness and ban mining on 100,000 acres in southwest Oregon.

PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: The city has launched a new street sweeping pilot program in a handful of neighborhoods, hoping to sweep away the nickname Filthadelphia.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: A selfdriving shuttle service is launching in the city. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo and state Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti say the “Little Roady” autonomous vehicle pilot program is scheduled to begin May 15.

SOUTH CAROLINA Mountain Rest: The state’s record for most rainfall in a year has been broken. The State Climate Extremes Committee voted that the 123.45 inches of rain recorded at the Walhalla State Fish Hatchery in northern Oconee County in 2018 was a valid measurement.

SOUTH DAKOTA Pine Ridge Reservation: The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council has unanimously decided Gov. Kristi Noem is no longer welcome on the reservation. The council says Noem is not to set foot on Pine Ridge unless she rescinds support for her two bills aimed at Keystone XL pipeline protesters that would codify “riot boosting” in state law and allow the state to sue any person or organization for “riot boosting.”

TENNESSEE Pigeon Forge: You may have walked, hiked and biked in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but now you have a chance to see it while riding in a decked-out pink Jeep Wrangler. Pink Jeep Tours held a grand opening for its Pigeon Forge location last week.

TEXAS Houston: More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are stuck on an organ transplant wait list. But 20 per day will die before receiving the organ they need, the Houston Chronicle reports. Imagine, then, if scientists could just print one for them using a method similar to 3D printing. Jordan Miller, a Rice University bioengineer, and his team now have found a way to 3D-print living tissue using human cells and a water-based solution. This discovery was published Thursday in the journal Science.

UTAH Orem: Graduation gowns worn by Utah Valley University graduates saved an estimated 70,000 plastic bottles from landfills this year. The Daily Herald reports the gowns for the school in Orem came from Oak Hall Cap & Gown, which uses recycled plastic bottles to make regalia.

VERMONT Montpelier: One of the most historic buildings in the capital city has been declared a public safety hazard. The Montpelier City Council made the declaration for the former farmstead of Col. Jacob Davis, who founded the state capital.

VIRGINIA Danville: The Danville Register & Bee reports filmmaker Steven Spielberg visited the town in April to talk to former Dan River Inc. employees about the influence the textile mill had in the region before being shuttered more than a decade ago. Workers say they did not know why he was gathering information.

WASHINGTON Seattle: A man dubbed the “Barefoot Bandit” for a series of plane thefts he committed as a teenager is trying to get out of probation early. Colton Harris-Moore, now 28, asked a U.S. District Court judge in April to end his federal probation four months early so that he can become a motivational speaker.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: A federal investigation of Gov. Jim Justice has widened to include a range of tax documents on the governor’s expansive business portfolio, according to a subpoena sent to his administration.

WISCONSIN Oak Creek: A tabby cat has new back legs, with the help of some University of Wisconsin-Madison students and a 3D printer. “Sgt. Stubbs” received the legs Thursday.

WYOMING Cheyenne: One of the world’s biggest and most powerful steam locomotives is chugging to its big debut after five years of restoration work. Big Boy No. 4014 rolled out of a Union Pacific restoration shop in Cheyenne on Saturday morning as hundreds of spectators looked on.