50 ★ States

ALABAMA Dothan: An event that bills itself as the world’s largest celebration of the peanut is underway in the city. The National Peanut Festival, now in its 76th year, opened Friday and continues through next Saturday with rides, exhibits, music and agricultural competitions.

ALASKA Fairbanks: Local teacher Amy Gallaway has been named 2020 Alaska Teacher of the Year, an honor revealed in a recent surprise ceremony at West Valley High School.

ARIZONA Prescott: A boulder that mysteriously disappeared two weeks ago from a national forest is back, and authorities aren’t asking any questions. Prescott National Forest officials said a forest employee on patrol Friday noticed that the 1-ton boulder dubbed “Wizard Rock” had been returned to a site along State Route 89.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: Markers for 12 men convicted of murder and sentenced to death, before eventually being released, in connection with the Elaine Race Massacre will be placed along the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail. They are to be unveiled Tuesday.

CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: Authorities say a dam could fail during an extreme storm and send water flooding into Mojave Desert communities that are home to about 300,000 people. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday that it’s changed its risk characterization of the Mojave River Dam from low to high urgency of action. The earthen dam was built in the 1970s near the San Bernardino Mountains.

COLORADO Aurora: A middle school dean has pleaded not guilty after authorities accused him of bringing a handgun to school and threatening administrators in April. The Sentinel reports 31-year-old Tushar Rae, of Aurora West Preparatory Academy, was charged with three felonies and one misdemeanor.

CONNECTICUT East Hampton: A police officer has retired after a civil rights organization raised concerns about his membership in the Proud Boys, a far-right group known for engaging in violent clashes at political rallies, a town official said Friday. Officer Kevin P. Wilcox retired from the East Hampton Police Department on Oct. 22, according to Town Manager David Cox.

DELAWARE Blades: Federal officials are recommending that a residential area in this town where high levels of toxic chemicals were discovered in municipal wells be added to the Superfund list, a national priority list of environmental cleanup sites.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: Nationals fans rejoiced Saturday at a parade marking Washington’s first World Series victory since 1924.

FLORIDA Tallahassee: A commission investigating last year’s Parkland school shooting wants state lawmakers to boost funding for mental health services.

HAWAII Wailuku: Hundreds of fish died in Maui’s Wailuku River last week as the state was implementing measures to improve their habitat. Department of Land and Natural Resources Director Suzanne Case said her agency regrets the situation and offered its sincere apologies.

IDAHO Lewiston: The University of Idaho has anticipated more budget cuts as tuition revenue is estimated to drop $8 million by 2022.

ILLINOIS Chicago: A city official says hundreds of overdue books have been returned in the three weeks since the city eliminated overdue fines at public libraries. Library Commissioner Andrea Telli told City Council members Wednesday that the number of returned books has increased by 240% since Oct. 1.

INDIANA Oxford: An autopsy has determined a woman found with an 8-foot-long python wrapped around her neck was killed by the reptile. The woman was found unresponsive Wednesday on the floor of a home containing about 140 snakes.

IOWA Ankeny: A state board has approved post-traumatic stress disorder and intellectual disability with aggression to the list of medical conditions that can legally be treated by medical marijuana but rejected two other conditions petitioners had requested – opioid dependency and Alzheimer’s disease.

KANSAS Topeka: The state is reporting it collected nearly $37 million more in taxes than anticipated in October.

KENTUCKY Mayfield: A prominent painter whose works capture the state’s rural, small-town culture is turning 100. Helen LaFrance visited a church in Mayfield on Saturday to celebrate her birthday with an unexpectedly large group of friends and family. A documentary about her also was shown at a separate church in town.

LOUISIANA Lafayette: A man was sentenced to two years’ probation Friday for killing one of the state’s oldest whooping cranes. Gilvin P. Aucoin Jr., of Ville Platte, shot the endangered whooping crane in July 2018 in Evangeline Parish.

MAINE Portland: A federal judge is considering a request to put on hold a state law requiring cable companies to offer channels on an a la carte basis. Comcast, joined by Disney, Fox Cable and NBC/Universal, is seeking a temporary restraining order to delay the law.

MARYLAND Baltimore: A community vigil, art workshops and a poetry-writing workshop were among many peace-themed events aimed at promoting nonviolence during “Baltimore Ceasefire” weekend.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Contests that involve the hunting of predator or fur-bearing animals like coyotes would be banned under a proposal being considered by state wildlife officials.

MICHIGAN Mount Pleasant: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is ordering state agencies to step up collaboration with Native American tribes. She signed an executive directive Thursday affirming commitment to the sovereignty and right of self-governance of Michigan’s federally recognized tribes.

MINNESOTA Minneapolis: Environmental groups and activists in Minneapolis and Duluth are advocating for a new strategy on plastic bag restrictions. Minnesota Public Radio News reports advocates are pushing for fees for paper and plastic bags in the cities. They want customers to think about whether they’re needed.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: A federal judge ruled Friday that he will not immediately block the state’s unique, multistep process for electing a governor and other statewide officials, which was enacted at a time of Jim Crow segregation to maintain white rule.

MISSOURI St. Louis: A bill requiring gun dealers to alert police when a firearms purchase is denied because of a criminal background check is the latest step in addressing violence in a city beset by gun crimes. St. Louis aldermen unanimously gave final approval to the bill Friday.

MONTANA Billings: An environmentalist has found plastic pollution in half of the water samples collected statewide this summer. The Billings Gazette reports Environment Montana Research & Policy Center director Skye Borden traveled across the state collecting 50 samples at fishing access sites.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: A former superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol wants to carry a concealed firearm and is suing the patrol to get it. Bradley Rice was fired by Gov. Pete Ricketts in June 2017 amid a review that found evidence that high-ranking patrol staffers interfered with the agency’s internal investigations.

NEVADA Reno: A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to outlaw the state’s legal brothel industry. Chief U.S. District Judge Miranda Du ruled that the allegations made against the state were insufficient “on their face to invoke federal jurisdiction.”

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: The state’s congressional delegation is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to level the playing field for producers of biomass energy. The four-Democrat delegation says New Hampshire’s biomass power industry has been directly threatened by the agency’s failure to include electricity in the Renewable Fuel Standard program.

NEW JERSEY Maurice River: State environmental officials are moving to protect a lighthouse on Delaware Bay considered one of the most vulnerable in the nation to rising seas and storm surges. The Department of Environmental Protection said Friday that it will begin this week to protect the East Point Lighthouse with giant, sand-filled synthetic fabric tubes meant to keep the waves and tides at bay until a long-term solution can be found.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: Many state lawmakers say they want to build up the government workforce, but the vacancy rate in the state’s executive branch has clung to about 22% even after pay raises and recruitment efforts. The Albuquerque Journal reports state agencies are competing with strong demand in the private sector for workers.

NEW YORK New York: A measure on the city’s ballot Tuesday seeks to let voters rank their choices in primaries and special elections for mayor, city comptroller, public advocate, borough president and City Council starting in 2021.

NORTH CAROLINA Asheville: Cold weather is hitting western North Carolina, boosting the need for homeless shelters, but in recent years, a number have said they would no longer host men. The shelters cite growing security concerns and an inability to ensure the safety of women and children. They also say they need more support from local police.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Gov. Doug Burgum is asking for federal help for farmers and ranchers struggling with wet harvest conditions.

OHIO Cincinnati: An analysis has found a growing number of small towns in the state have disbanded in recent years. The analysis of statewide election results found 12 small towns have gone defunct in the past 15 years. Residents of Newtonsville and Amelia in southwestern Ohio’s Clermont County will vote Tuesday on whether to dissolve those villages.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: A former four-term Democratic congressman from the state is quitting his position as a member of the National Rifle Association’s 76-member board, citing the organization’s “mounting troubles.” In his resignation letter, Dan Boren suggests some current members have lost trust in the NRA.

OREGON Salem: Many users of natural gas will see an increase in their bills starting in November. The Oregon Public Utility Commission has approved rate hikes for the state’s three gas utilities.

PENNSYLVANIA Pocono Manor: A fire has destroyed much of a centuryold Poconos resort. No injuries were reported in the blaze Friday at Pocono Manor Resort, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: The state has officially taken control of the city’s struggling school district.

SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: Officials have confirmed seven more cases of mumps at the College of Charleston, bringing the total number of cases to 18 since the state declared an outbreak in September.

SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre: Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline are pointing to a significant oil spill in their neighbor to the north. A handful of water permits were up for consideration last week before the state water management board. The meetings were contentious enough that the process will be extended to December. As those meetings were underway, a spill of about 383,000 gallons was reported on the Keystone pipeline in northeastern North Dakota.

TENNESSEE Nashville: Three condemned inmates in the state have chosen to die by electric chair in the past year, claiming Tennessee’s lethal injection method is even worse. The state has three executions scheduled and nine more in the works.

TEXAS Austin: The University of Texas chapter of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity has been shut down following a university investigation into hazing allegations. The probe found fraternity pledges were shot with airsoft guns and forced to eat spicy soup made with ghost peppers and cat food. Officials said pledges competed in relay races where they would run back and forth while chugging milk mixed with hand soap, laundry detergent or vinaigrette.

UTAH Salt Lake City: Gov. Gary Herbert has asked the White House to send more refugees to the state. The Republican governor says Utah has the resources and space for refugees.

VERMONT Killington: The town is going to have to repay the federal government more than $137,000 it received to help pay for repairs caused by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene. But Killington won’t have to repay an additional $197,000 after it won an appeal to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

VIRGINIA Roanoke: Nearly 5,000 acres of woodlands in northern Botetourt County are to become part of the Jefferson National Forest. The Roanoke Times reports the U.S. Forest Service used money from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund to buy the site for $5 million in what it calls one of the largest purchases for conservation in Virginia.

WASHINGTON Snoqualmie: The Snoqualmie Tribe has purchased the Salish Lodge & Spa and the acreage surrounding Snoqualmie Falls, marking a major victory in its pursuit to reclaim land it considers sacred.

WEST VIRGINIA Huntington: Marshall University says it plans to open a commercial compost facility in January.

WISCONSIN Madison: Gov. Tony Evers says it’s “astonishing” that Republicans want to fire his agriculture secretary. Evers appointed Brad Pfaff to lead the agency in January, but the Senate has not voted to confirm him. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has asked Evers to withdraw the nomination, citing a lack of support.

WYOMING Cody: Yellowstone National Park officials say that despite the challenges of managing visitors eager to photograph wildlife in the park, creating “large bear jams,” the number of conflicts involving humans and bears was low in 2018.