Across the nation
News from every state.
ALABAMA Montgomery: The state’s infant mortality rate has reached a record low, but racial disparities have persisted, state health officials say.
ALASKA Anchorage: Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed a state budget that would rely heavily on savings, after a push for deep cuts in his first year in office resulted in fierce public backlash that fueled a recall effort.
ARIZONA Phoenix: Alice Cooper will join three surviving original bandmates at his 18th annual Christmas Pudding concert Saturday at the Celebrity Theatre.
ARKANSAS Highfill: The airport serving northwest Arkansas will be renamed Northwest Arkansas National Airport, dropping a “regional” moniker, airport authority board members decided Wednesday.
COLORADO Denver: A civilian oversight group says the Denver Sheriff Department hasn’t maintained a required list of deputies found to have credibility issues.
CONNECTICUT Killingly: Adults’ heated debate over whether to bring back Killingly High School’s Native American-themed mascot, the Redmen, rather than the student-approved Red Hawks has left the school without an official athletic nickname days before the football team plays in a state championship game Saturday.
DELAWARE Wilmington: A bitter, drawn-out labor dispute between the city and its fire union has resurfaced over a proposal for a new shift schedule that would require firefighters to work 13 additional days a year.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: D.C. Council member Robert White is spearheading an effort demanding Mayor Muriel Bowser quicken the pace of testing lead in playground rubber, WUSA-TV reports.
FLORIDA Tallahassee: The state has been accepted to the Electronic Registration Information Center, a multistate network aimed at improving voter registration systems’ accuracy.
GEORGIA Atlanta: The U.S. Department of Agriculture is putting up nearly $1.5 million to help control the state’s wild hog population.
HAWAII Honolulu: A pilot project to test the use of artificial turf on road median strips on Oahu has had mixed results, officials say. Some of the 3-year-old turf has been damaged, but in one spot it looks so realistic that a resident used a riding mower to cut it, an official says.
IDAHO Boise: The Ada County Sheriff ’s Office is asking a judge to hold the Department of Correction in contempt for failing to quickly remove state inmates from the county jail.
ILLINOIS Chicago: Two Chicago Park District workers escaped without serious injury after a salt truck on an icy bike path slid into Lake Michigan.
INDIANA West Lafayette: Purdue University is looking for pets to volunteer as participants in a national study looking at the general health and wellness of dogs.
IOWA Des Moines: As of Thursday, felons who discharge their sentence from a prison in the state or complete their parole will be given a nearly completed application to restore their voting rights. Each felon in Iowa must still apply individually to the governor’s office to have their voting rights restored – one of the most restrictive processes in the country.
KANSAS Topeka: The State Board of Education has unanimously voted to encourage school districts to pass strict vaping bans.
KENTUCKY Frankfort: The state’s education commissioner, a staunch supporter of charter schools, submitted his resignation Thursday.
LOUISIANA New Orleans: A state law that automatically transfers 15-year-old suspects to adult court if indicted by a grand jury for certain violent crimes was upheld Wednesday by the state Supreme Court.
MAINE Augusta: The state Department of Labor is reminding workers and employers that changes to state and federal minimum wage and overtime laws take effect Jan. 1.
MARYLAND Baltimore: The state would invest millions of dollars to fight violent crime and strengthen penalties for repeat gun-violence offenders and witness intimidation, under a package of initiatives announced by Gov. Larry Hogan.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: The City Council has imposed new limits on police in immigration matters in response to revelations the department has been closely coordinating with federal authorities for years despite a sanctuary city policy.
MICHIGAN Escanaba: A 59-year-old who told his lawyer he wanted to rob a business so he could return to prison may be locked up for the rest of his life. Mark Wilson was sentenced to at least 25 years in prison.
MINNESOTA Duluth: The city is the latest to consider banning conversion therapy aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation.
MISSISSIPPI Gulfport: A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a military family who says they were sickened by toxic mold at Keesler Air Force Base.
MISSOURI Patton: The school district was flooded with complaints over the latest school-sponsored raccoon hunt, a 37-year tradition.
MONTANA Hamilton: Bitter Root Humane Association is caring for 39 huskies found on a property in western Montana.
NEBRASKA Shelton: A fire Wednesday morning destroyed historic Zion Lutheran Church.
NEVADA Reno: The city is either buying or saying goodbye to the Space Whale, which has been a centerpiece of downtown’s City Plaza since 2017. Principal artist Matt Schultz says he has offered the city the two life-sized, stained glass whale sculptures at the price of $500,000.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Charlestown:
The Episcopal Church of New Hampshire is launching a new training program to make becoming a priest easier.
NEW JERSEY Trenton: The process of placing marijuana legalization on the 2020 ballot is officially underway. The Assembly Oversight Committee on Thursday held a public hearing on the constitutional amendment that, if placed on the ballot and passed, would make New Jersey the 12th state to legalize weed for recreational purposes.
NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: Records show state agricultural officials are approving fewer licenses for the use of cyanide bombs – a device deployed by ranchers to kill coyotes.
NEW YORK Albany: The state is prohibiting the aerial spraying of an agricultural pesticide that can harm the nervous systems of infants and young children.
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: The state has made little progress providing every child “an opportunity to receive a sound basic education” since the state Supreme Court declared the constitutional mandate in 1997, according to a report released this week.
NORTH DAKOTA Fargo: A group of women who farm or work in agriculture recently attended a unique, one-day class at North Dakota State University to learn about the ins and outs of farm commodities, Minnesota Public Radio News reports.
OHIO Toledo: Two birding groups filed a federal lawsuit trying to block a planned wind farm in Lake Erie, saying the project poses a danger to migrating songbirds.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Scissortail Park, the city’s new downtown green space, is planning its inaugural holiday celebration, the Sugar Plum Promenade, on Friday and Saturday.
OREGON Salem: Some 200 handblown glass ornaments have been hidden in the Willamette National Forest to kick off the Willamette Valley Visitors Association’s second annual ornament hunt.
PENNSYLVANIA Bloomsburg: A farm that supplies vaccine manufacturers is donating nearly 100,000 surplus eggs to a food bank that’s scrambling to get them to needy families.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: The state Board of Elections is advancing a proposal that would allow candidates to use campaign funds to pay for child care expenses, as federal candidates now can.
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: One of the state’s most liberal lawmakers and one of its most conservative are uniting to revive the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre: A new “Hemp. We’re On It.” website is taking aim at Gov. Kristi Noem’s opposition to legalizing industrial hemp. The Libertarian Party of South Dakota created the website onhemp.org and “Hemp. We’re On It.” logo, both of which mirror Noem’s recent antimeth campaign “Meth. We’re On It” and website onmeth.com that went viral in November.
TENNESSEE Knoxville: Knox County has voted against creating new rules for Bible Release Time and similar programs, despite concerns about what happens when some students are pulled from their classrooms for religious studies.
TEXAS Austin: The percentage of the state’s youngest children without health insurance has increased since 2016, finds a report out Wednesday.
UTAH St. George: The population of Washington County has risen more than 30% since 2010, making it the county with the most rapid rate of growth in the state, according to a report from the University of Utah.
VERMONT Montpelier: City officials say they hope the ice rink on the Statehouse lawn will be open for the holidays. The Times Argus reports preparations for its installation have been underway this week.
VIRGINIA Richmond: Gov. Ralph Northam is pushing for tuition-free community college for low- and middle-income students who pursue degrees in high-demand fields.
WASHINGTON Seattle: The City Council has unanimously approved a $34 million contribution to a new Ocean Pavilion at the Seattle Aquarium, which could cost up to $120 million total.
WEST VIRGINIA Glen Jean: Visitor center hours have changed for the season at New River Gorge National River, the National Park Service says.
WISCONSIN Milwaukee: Tiny bubbles will get the beer festival treatment at All Fizzed Up, the state’s first hard seltzer event, March 28 at Turner Hall Ballroom.
WYOMING Daniel: Two sheriff’s deputies channeled their inner cowboy and lassoed a deer flailing in a frigid pond after it fell through thin ice, authorities said Wednesday.