Across the nation
News from every state.
ALABAMA Birmingham: Researchers are trying to determine whether the state’s Black Belt region has a problem with intestinal parasites called hookworm. A study led by University of Alabama at Birmingham is recruiting participants for a program that will screen hundreds of children in Wilcox and Perry counties.
ALASKA Bethel: The Mulchatna Caribou herd has decreased to less than half its numbers three years ago.
ARIZONA Phoenix: The city will no longer use red-light and speed-enforcement cameras at intersections starting with the new year.
ARKANSAS Fayetteville: All University of Arkansas students are being required to have up-to-date vaccinations in order to attend classes amid a mumps outbreak on campus.
CALIFORNIA Arroyo Grande: Cal Fire alleges fast food chain In-N-Out was responsible for a 2017 wildfire in this rural city, according to a lawsuit filed in San Luis Obispo Superior Court.
COLORADO Denver: A survey of passengers who use the metro area’s regional transit system shows 59% would be willing to see service cuts if it leads to more reliable travel amid a historic labor shortage.
CONNECTICUT Mystic: A proposal to import five whales from Canada has sparked a standoff between animal welfare groups and Mystic Aquarium.
DELAWARE Rehoboth Beach: More than 150 people are praying the city reverses course on a ban that prohibits the display of a Nativity scene on city property. The mostly Catholic protesters gathered outside City Hall to ask officials to allow the display.
FLORIDA New Port Richey: J.W. Mitchell High School has begun using synthetic frogs for dissections. Pasco County Superintendent Kurt Browning says it’s the first school in the world to use the technology.
GEORGIA Social Circle: A state agency says it has money available to help fund projects that give people a closer view of the state’s wildlife. The Department of Natural Resources is taking applications for Wildlife Viewing Grants Program through Jan. 15.
HAWAII Hilo: The Federal Transit Administration has awarded the state a $6.5 million grant to purchase new buses for Kauai and Hawaii Island.
IDAHO Boise: The U.S. Forest Service has agreed to complete environmental reviews of 20 water diversions in the Sawtooth Valley that a conservation group says could be harming imperiled salmon.
ILLINOIS Chicago: A planned oneday strike Tuesday by some 2,200 nurses at the University of Chicago Medical Center has been called off.
INDIANA Indianapolis: A foundation is investing up to $50 million to help low-income residents move up the economic ladder. The Lilly Endowment Inc., based in Indianapolis, says the funding will boost programs and projects aimed at improving city residents’ economic footing and move them toward self-sufficiency.
IOWA Albia: Artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II recently finished painting his 87th rock, leaving 12 rocks remaining on his Freedom Rock Tour of the state. Sorensen is honoring veterans by painting military-themed murals on large boulders in each of the state’s 99 counties, the Sioux City Journal reports.
KANSAS Kansas City: Universities in the state are cutting general education requirements so more students graduate on time and make room for classes in their majors.
KENTUCKY Frankfort: Outgoing Gov. Matt Bevin has appointed three of his staffers to the University of Louisville and University of Kentucky boards of trustees.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: Disney’s “Frozen” inspired an assignment for a Louisiana State University class in modeling the marine atmosphere. The question: If the sea froze while the air temperature was well above freezing, could it bring on wintry weather? The answer was that, under some circumstances, such a change would be possible.
MAINE Portland: Two heating oil distributors in the state are letting consumers order quickly by phone. The Portland Press Herald reports the first such startup was Heatable, followed by Order Oil Online.
MARYLAND Annapolis: Letting a balloon float away would draw a fine of $250 under a bill sponsored by state Sen. Clarence Lam.
MASSACHUSETTS Stow: The state is honoring its best and bravest firefighters at the 30th annual Firefighter of the Year awards Tuesday.
MICHIGAN Lansing: Health officials say the state’s drug overdose deaths declined last year for the first time in several years.
MINNESOTA Minneapolis: Democrats say the decision by the Republican leader in the state House of Representatives to join a Washington, D.C.-area government relations firm is a conflict of interest. Rep. Kurt Daudt told the Star Tribune he will not be lobbying or working on any Minnesota issues in that job.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Hardy Middle School now has a mural of the late, prominent author Margaret Walker Alexander. WAPT-TV reports it was dedicated last week.
MISSOURI St. Louis: The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri has elected an openly gay man, the Rev. Deon Johnson, as its next leader.
MONTANA Bozeman: Yellowstone National Park officials report significant progress in reducing unwanted lake trout in Yellowstone Lake.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is releasing rooster pheasants at 14 wildlife management areas in time for the Thanksgiving weekend.
NEVADA Las Vegas: A team of school motorcycle officers is getting attention online. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the school zone enforcement unit dubbed the “Fab Five” is racking up traffic stops while providing comedic commentary geared to a Twitter crowd.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Another turkey will live free, not die, after a successful pardon plea Monday by Gov. Chris Sununu.
NEW JERSEY Trenton: Gov. Phil Murphy says the state has made a deal to buy a 1,400-acre farm in Millville to protect endangered species. He says the farm has the “largest concentration of endangered species” in the state, and the land will help mitigate climate change.
NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: A top official with the state’s court system says bail reforms are working. Artie Pepin, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, points to a study by the University of New Mexico’s Institute for Social Research that shows the majority of people released pending trial show up for later court hearings and aren’t committing new crimes.
NEW YORK Rochester: An intruder didn’t count on an 82-year-old woman living alone being an awardwinning bodybuilder. Willie Murphy tells WHAM she clobbered him with a table, poured shampoo in his face and was beating him with a broom when police arrived.
NORTH CAROLINA Asheville: Despite bouts of rain over the weekend, the Cold Mountain Fire that broke out Thursday was still burning and only 15% contained Monday.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: An 18-week-old turkey got an official Thanksgiving pardon from Gov. Doug Burgum on Monday.
OHIO Canton: The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission says it is now providing free, reliable public Wi-Fi inside all its service plazas.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The Oklahoma Health Care Authority has hired a consultant to help devise a state Medicaid program as an alternative to Medicaid expansion.
OREGON Newport: The carcass of a giant blue whale that’s been submerged off the coast for more than three years is being hauled to the surface so it can be reassembled, studied and put on public display.
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: State lawmakers, judges and top executive branch officials will collect another annual salary increase, with the governor passing $200,000 and rankand-file lawmakers passing $90,000.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: A Christopher Columbus statue has been vandalized for a second time in recent weeks.
SOUTH CAROLINA Anderson: A judge has ruled a school board member couldn’t cancel his resignation by sending another email three days later. Anderson County School District 2 Trustee Stu Shirley sent an email to the board saying he was resigning immediately May 14.
SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: Some tribes in the state are laying the groundwork to begin growing hemp in the next year as Gov. Kristi Noem and the Legislature continue their stalemate over legalizing the crop.
TENNESSEE Gatlinburg: More than 40 insurance companies are suing the U.S. government over its handling of a 2016 wildfire and seeking over $450 million for claims paid after high winds swept flames from a wildfire in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park into surrounding areas.
TEXAS Austin: Central Texas could be on pace for a ninth straight year of record-setting home sales, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.
UTAH Provo: Wildlife officials say the number of reported human encounters with black bears in the state has almost doubled since last year.
VERMONT Middlebury: High school students are seeking a patent for an invention they think will help the maple syrup industry. Mynbc5.com reports technical education students at the Hannaford Career Center created a device that measures sap flow.
VIRGINIA Lorton: The Lucy Burns Museum is scheduled to open in January to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
WASHINGTON Seattle: Officials say it’s safe to eat squid caught in Puget Sound for eight to 12 meals a month.
WEST VIRGINIA Fayetteville: Sportsmen’s groups say they are not happy that they could lose about 4,800 acres of hunting land if the New River Gorge National River is designated a national park and preserve.
WISCONSIN Milwaukee: A report shows the state’s job growth dropped dramatically in the first half of 2019, although economists aren’t worried.
WYOMING Casper: Rules calling for disciplinary action against Republicans who break from state party leadership’s views have exposed a rift between state and county leaders.