Electric car corridor, underwater gravestone search, scooters in canal: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Athens: The third Saturday in October will be more than just a football weekend this year, The News Courier reports. Inspired by a love for 1980s slasher films and college football, writer and director Jay Burleson is putting a new twist on the weekend in his latest project, “The Third Saturday in October Part V.” The weekend is typically known as the day of the Alabama-Tennessee rivalry game, and the movie is set in 1994. When it came time to bring Burleson’s script to life, producer Frank Crafts knew just where to look for filming locations: his hometown of Athens. “We kept looking at the neighborhoods,” Crafts said. “The feel of the neighborhoods was so much like ‘Halloween’ or ‘Nightmare on Elm Street.’ It was so attractive.” Crafts said several locations throughout Athens and Limestone County were used in the film, including Catfish Cabin, Athens-Limestone Hospital and 11 private homes. He thanked Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks and the multitude of business owners and homeowners who helped during the five-week film schedule. “It’s gonna be neat when it premieres because Athenians are going to recognize the streets, the businesses, and of course, lots of local extras are in the film as well,” Crafts said.

Alaska

Juneau: Substance misuse has cost the state about $3.5 billion in 2018 in resulting health care, productivity loss, criminal justice, traffic accidents and other services, a yearlong study found. The McDowell Group, contracted by the state Mental Health Trust Authority, found that $2.4 billion was related to alcohol abuse and $1.1 billion to drug abuse, the Juneau Empire reports. Health officials define substance misuse as the use of illegal drugs or inappropriate use of alcohol or prescription drugs. Alaskans consumed 14 million gallons of beer, 2.4 million gallons of wine and 1.8 million gallons of liquor during the one-year survey period, the study said. About 22,000 residents who reported using illegal drugs in the previous year were also surveyed. Of those, 14,000 reported using cocaine, 5,000 using methamphetamine and 3,000 using heroin, the study said. Marijuana is legal in the state.

Arizona

Flagstaff: A Northern Arizona University forestry expert who was ahead of his time in urging communities across the West to thin dense stands of trees and set fire to the landscape as a way to ward off catastrophic wildfires has retired from his position at the school. Members of Congress, state legislators, the U.S. Forest Service and countless others looked to Wally Covington for science-based advice on how to restore forests to a condition when natural fires regularly would burn the undergrowth and small trees. Covington retired in late January as executive director of NAU’s Ecological Restoration Institute, which he founded, after about 45 years at the school. He started there as an assistant professor of forestry. Covington, 73, told the Arizona Daily Sun that he plans to spend time in Flagstaff and in Oklahoma still working on forest restoration. He also hopes to work in South America and with Native American fire crews, he said.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The state Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a man who fatally shot a U.S. Army soldier and wounded another outside a recruiting station. The ruling first reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette says Abdulhakim Muhammad’s appeal is without merit. Muhammad, 34, was sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty to the 2009 fatal shooting of Pvt. William Long of Conway and wounding of Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula of Jacksonville outside the Little Rock Army-Navy Career Center. In an interview with the Associated Press shortly after his arrest, Muhammad, who changed his name from Carlos Bledsoe, said he didn’t consider the killing a murder because U.S. military action in the Middle East made the killing justified. Serving as his own attorney, Muhammad said in a handwritten appeal that Pulaski County Circuit Court “lacked jurisdiction to try this case based on the fact federal courts not state courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all offenses over laws of the United States.” The state’s highest court disagreed.

California

Sacramento: Three years after the Oroville Dam spillway broke apart, driving hundreds of thousands of people from their homes over fears of catastrophic flooding, only 22 of 650 major dams in the state have finalized emergency plans, according to a report by the California state auditor. State Auditor Elaine Howle said in her report issued Thursday that the vast majority of California’s major dams aren’t adequately prepared for an emergency, the Sacramento Bee reports. “Water infrastructure remains a high-risk issue,” she wrote. The Legislature required the plans after the crisis at Oroville’s flood-control spillway prompted the evacuation of 180,000 downstream residents in February 2017. According to the auditor’s report, hundreds of dam operators have submitted emergency plans, but state officials have kicked the proposals back to them for changes or are still reviewing them.

Colorado

Fort Carson: Any people quarantined at Fort Carson because of the coronavirus outbreak will be housed in a location away from the living and working areas of soldiers, their families and civilian workers, the Army post says. Fort Carson is one of four military facilities approved as possible quarantine sites by the Pentagon on Saturday. Americans returning from Hubei province, the center of the outbreak, will be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine under an order signed Friday by President Donald Trump. The Department of Health and Human Services asked the Defense Department to provide facilities to accommodate up to a total of 1,000 people who may have to be quarantined. HHS would be responsible for all care, transportation and security of the evacuees, according to the Defense Department.

Connecticut

Wallingford: After decades of receiving meeting agendas by a police courier, town officials have switched to email. Wallingford Town Clerk Barbara Thompson told The Record-Journal the delivery system, which had been used for decades, has stopped, and town councilors opted to receive meeting agendas and packets of supplemental materials by email. Police Chief William Wright said that although there was no cost associated with the police courier delivery system, it tied up police resources by taking officers away from other duties. The Wallingford Town Council chairman, Vincent Cervoni, suggested the change in December. “I think we are all digitally capable at this point,” Cervoni said in an email. Some councilors opted to also receive paper copies, now made available to them at Town Hall.

Delaware

Rehoboth Beach: It was a dreary, rainy Sunday, but thousands of people still braved the cold and ran to the water for the 29th annual Lewes Polar Bear Plunge, breaking records in the process. With air and water temperatures at 42 degrees, a record-setting 3,733 people dunked themselves into the surf, raising money for Special Olympics Delaware. This year, the plunge raised a total of $1,018,000 for the organization, the highest fundraising amount in the event’s history. The money will go toward providing year-round sports training and athletic competitions for more than 4,200 children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Since its inception in 1992, the Plunge has raised for than $13 million for Special Olympics Delaware. “Our polar bears continue to support this fabulous event year after year,” said Ann Grunert, executive director of Special Olympics Delaware.

District of Columbia

Washington: When the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial was dedicated in October 1991, it displayed the names of 12,561 officers who died in the line of duty through the end of 1990, WUSA-TV reports. Today, the memorial in D.C. holds the names of 21,183 fallen officers, but it’s running out of room, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service. When the memorial was first designated, enough space was provided on the walls to add names annually though the year 2100, based on an average of 153 line-of-duty deaths each year. Over the past 10 years, an average of 158 officers have died in the line of duty every year, along with the continued discovery of historical names and deaths linked to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the nation. Officials now say the memorial could run out of space by 2029. The National Capital Planning Commission is meeting Thursday to discuss a proposal to expand the memorial.

Florida

Odessa: Archaeologists will soon start the search for Keystone Memorial Cemetery, believed to have been forgotten 70 years ago among the 130 acres that today make up Bay Tree Farm. But remnants of the all-black burial ground may already have been found recently – by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office dive team. Members of the team pulled three possible markers and pieces of three others from Lake Twitt in Odessa, near where the cemetery was established. Bay Tree Farm owner Carolyn Wilson purchased the property in 1981 and later heard there might have been a burial ground somewhere on the property. She also heard college fraternities used to send pledges to the lake at night in search of grave markers. Upon learning from the Tampa Bay Times about interest in Keystone cemetery from descendants of those buried there, Carolyn Wilson reached out to the University of South Florida for help.

Georgia

Peachtree City: Police were called to an Atlanta-area church after someone found a gun inside, but it turned out to have been left by a woman who thought it would be safer there than at her home. Officers were called Saturday to Holy Trinity Catholic Church after a member found a rifle under a jacket in the chapel, according to a Facebook post Sunday from the Peachtree City Police Department. “Investigators worked diligently through the night” to identify the owner, according to the statement. Police said the gun was left in the church by a mentally ill and mentally disabled woman who lives with the rifle’s owner. “She informed investigators that she was uncomfortable with the rifle in the home, so she discarded the rifle at a location where she believed it would be handled safely,” police said. Investigators found no indication she intended to use the rifle or participate in any sort of violent activity.

Hawaii

Hilo: A pair of bills would remove restrictions on wild pig hunting on the Big Island to control the feral pig population and protect local plant life. The measures were introduced by multiple Hawaii Island senators and representatives on behalf of Mark Hanson, a Mountain View resident who says his sandalwood trees have been destroyed by uncontrolled feral pig populations scouring the mountain, The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports. Hanson is the founder of the Hawaiian Reforestation Program, an organization dedicated to planting native plants on public land, including sandalwood trees that are attractive to the animals, he said. The proposed legislation allows anyone with a valid hunting license to hunt for wild pigs on Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano west of Hilo, officials said. The proposed bills would remove all bag limits and permit the use of dogs within an 18-mile area, officials said.

Idaho

Boise: Lawmakers have approved a new administrative rule for the state’s prison system designed to ensure secrecy surrounding the source of lethal injection drugs. It’s not yet clear if the rule will interfere with an ongoing lawsuit brought by University of Idaho Professor Aliza Cover, who sued the Idaho Department of Correction seeking access to lethal injection documents under Idaho’s public records law two years ago. Cover largely won at the state court level, but the department appealed, and the Idaho Supreme Court is expected to hear the case at some point this year. Like previous versions, the rule forbids the Idaho Department of Correction from disclosing “under any circumstance” information that department director Josh Tewalt determines could jeopardize the department’s ability to carry out an execution. The new version also specifically forbids the release of information that could potentially identify past or future suppliers of lethal injection drugs.

Illinois

Springfield: The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has developed a 12-week, paid internship program for students in technical fields who want to see regulatory work in the field. Agency Director John Kim says the Engineering, Science and Law Internship Program is open to college juniors and seniors and those pursuing graduate studies in engineering, chemistry, natural science and other science disciplines, as well as in law. There are internships available in four IEPA areas: six in engineering and two each in chemistry and related fields, natural sciences, and the legal department. The internships have been developed by scaling down the former Governor’s Environmental Corps program into a smaller, more intensive experience for students close to moving into permanent employment. All internships will be at the IEPA’s headquarters or laboratory in Springfield. Applications must be received by Feb. 28.

Indiana

Nappanee: A popular tourist attraction in northern Indiana that provides a glimpse into the life and history of the Amish is going on the auction block this week. It’s not clear if Wednesday’s auction will mean that Amish Acres in Nappanee will continue in the form it has for the past 50 years. It’s located some 30 miles southeast of South Bend and includes historical cabins, barns and other structures, most of which date back to the 1800s. It also includes the 400-seat Round Barn Theatre. Richard Pletcher and other family members have built up the brand to the point that it draws 150,000 visitors each year. But he says keeping it going is “a year-round effort,” and they’re “all exhausted.” With no sure offers for the whole complex, Pletcher chose to auction parts and parcels of Amish Acres off. Pletcher’s hope and that of local businessmen is that, even if there are different owners in the future, it can continue to operate as a single entity.

Iowa

Des Moines: Police arrested a man Monday on charges that he broke into the state Capitol over the weekend and caused some damage, authorities said. Surveillance cameras recorded images of the man as he entered the building about 2:55 a.m. Sunday. The nature and extent of the damage he caused hasn’t been released. On Monday, the state Division of Criminal Investigation said officers charged Matthew McCoy Parker, 20, with one count of criminal trespass and one count of criminal mischief. Parker is from Pleasant Hill, a Des Moines suburb. The Iowa State Patrol had said the man might have suffered injuries to his hands and arms in the break-in, and a mug shot released by police showed scrapes on Parker’s face. Police haven’t indicated a reason behind the break-in.

Kansas

Topeka: Harcros Chemicals Inc. pleaded guilty Friday to violating clean air rules and is expected to pay a $1 million fine for its role in a chemical gas cloud that formed over Atchison in 2016, causing more than 140 people to seek medical treatment. The Kansas City, Kansas, company pleaded guilty to negligently violating the federal Clean Air Act, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said in a news release. The plea agreement calls for both sides to recommend no probation when Hacros is officially sentenced May 27. Another company, MGP Ingredients Inc., of Atchison, pleaded guilty to the same charge in November and is also expected to pay a $1 million fine. On Oct. 21, 2016, a greenish-yellow chlorine gas cloud formed over Atchison when 4,000 gallons of sulfuric acid were mistakenly combined with 5,800 gallons of sodium hypochlorite at MGP’s plant.

Kentucky

Aurora: Federal and state officials are using an experimental fishing method at Kentucky Lake in an attempt to reduce the infestation of Asian carp. The three-week joint effort by federal and state Fish And Wildlife officials and the Tennessee Valley Authority began Monday. Officials said public boating access to Smith and Pisgah bays will be affected. The fishing method is inspired by a traditional Chinese fishing technique. It involves setting a series of nets, underwater speakers and electrofishing gear to corral the carp. The Asian carp infiltrated the Mississippi River in the 1970s after getting loose from fish farms and have spread in freshwater areas. They are considered an invasive species.

Louisiana

New Orleans: Tulane University has acquired the complete archives of bestselling author Anne Rice, who was born and raised in New Orleans and whose books, including “Interview with a Vampire,” often drew inspiration from her hometown. The collection was a gift from Stuart Rose and the Stuart Rose Family Foundation to the university’s Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, the university said in a statement. “That Tulane has provided a home for my papers is exciting and comforting,” Rice said in a statement. “All my novels – in a career spanning more than 40 years – have been profoundly influenced by the history and beauty of New Orleans, and by its unique ambience in which my imagination flourished even in early childhood.” The collection at Tulane will also include materials from her late husband, Stan Rice, and her sister, Alice Borchardt, who was also a writer.

Maine

Augusta: The total valuation of real and personal property in the state has increased by more than 5.5%, to nearly $10 billion, from the previous year, according to officials. Maine Revenue Services announced Thursday that it has finalized the state’s 2020 valuation and found the highest rate of growth since 2008. The yearly state valuation process takes about 18 months to complete, and the 2020 report reflects property in the state as of April 1, 2018. The growth in value “shows that Maine’s economy continues to move in the right direction,” said Kirsten Figueroa, the state’s Department of Administrative and Financial Services commissioner. State agencies use the valuation information for purposes such as determining state revenue sharing to municipalities.

Maryland

Crisfield: An Eastern Shore business is testing the limits of regional flavors. Smith Island Baking Co. now offers a vanilla Smith Island cake topped with an Old Bay buttercream frosting. The treat was an instant hit after the bakery announced its creation online. “It is delicious! Sampled it at their bakery,” Kathy Crockett wrote on Facebook. Fellow Facebook user Anne Smith went as far as saying, “To heck with the hot sauce! We need this cake!” – a reference to a new, limited-edition Old Bay hot sauce. Smith Island Baking Co. even had a humorous but polite response to one naysayer. “Why would you want Old Bay icing on cake,” asked Brooke Bobbitt. “This is the most Maryland thing Maryland has done.” In response, the bakery wrote, “I think that’s our new slogan. ‘The most Maryland thing Maryland has done.’ ”

Massachusetts

Boston: Gov. Charlie Baker is proposing to change how the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority handles fare evaders. The Republican governor wants to reduce fines and make it illegal to arrest riders for fare evasion – changes advocates called for out of concerns about minority and low-income riders being unfairly targeted for enforcement, according to The Boston Globe. Baker included the proposals in a supplemental budget plan Friday. If approved by lawmakers, the new fare evasion fines could start at $10 and increase to $250. Fines currently start at $100 and increase to $600 for repeat offenders. Transit Police issued 2,300 fare evasion citations in 2018. Social justice and transit advocacy organizations have been pushing for lower fines as the MBTA prepares to move to a cashless fare collection system. Riders will be asked more frequently to show that they paid for their tickets. The system is expected to be in place by 2024.

Michigan

Detroit: Several dozen apartments meant mainly for homeless members of the LGBTQ community are being developed, The Detroit News reports. The more than $10 million project should be completed in the middle of next year. The 43-unit, mixed-use housing is a collaboration between the Ruth Ellis Center and a Chicago-based nonprofit developer, Full Circle Communities. The executive director of the Ruth Ellis Center, Jerry Peterson, says a variety of services will be offered, including access to primary care doctors and mental health counseling. Peterson says the target group for the units is LGBTQ people between 18 and 25. Peterson says there’s “a special emphasis on providing stable housing for transgender women of color.” Vouchers will cover most of the expenses for residents in 34 of the units. Eight units will be offered at low cost, and one will be set aside for a live-in specialist.

Minnesota

St. Paul: Families in a state welfare program are seeing their benefits increase this month for the first time in 33 years. The maximum cash grant will increase by $100 a month for participants in the Minnesota Family Investment Program. The program provides temporary support and employment to more than 29,000 families with children per month who are experiencing poverty. The increase will raise the maximum payment for a typical family of three to $632 a month. The 2019 Legislature approved the increase at the urging of Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov Peggy Flanagan, who called an increase long overdue. The cost of living has more than doubled since the state last raised the cash assistance in 1986. And the increase comes at a time of rising rents and declining food stamp benefits. “It’s better than nothing, but it’s not nearly enough,” said Tori Boyer, a mother of three in the program.

Mississippi

Natchez: Visitors to the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians will soon be able to see exactly how the Natchez Indians lived in the 18th century, with the help of 21st-century technology. Mississippi Department of Archives and History officials will offer a new virtual reality exhibit in March, The Natchez Democrat reports. Using cellphones, visitors will get a 3D, interactive view of the site’s Indian mounds and other landmarks. The virtual reality tour is part of an effort to broaden the visitor experience at the state historical site, Grand Village Director Lance Harris told the Natchez-Adams Economic Development Council. Harris and MDAH Executive Director Katie Blount detailed plans for the Grand Village and other state sites at a weekly meeting of area economic leaders.

Missouri

Springfield: Mike Sutherland, who has been assistant director of the state’s park system for more than two years, was named parks director Friday. He replaces former director Ben Ellis, who retired from the post in November. Sutherland, an avid hiker, backpacker, mountain biker and kayaker, said he knows people want Missouri State Parks to open Bryant Creek, Ozark Mountain, Jay Nixon and Eleven Point state parks as soon as possible, so that will be a priority. All four were added to the state park system under former Gov. Jay Nixon but remain closed as state park officials prepare management plans and hear public comments about them. Sutherland said 2,917-acre Bryant Creek State Park, southeast of Ava, is furthest along in that process. Planning for the 1,011-acre Ozark Mountain State Park north of Branson is also ongoing and will be next in line for park officials to focus on, he said.

Montana

Helena: A game farm is under quarantine after an elk tested positive for chronic wasting disease, the state Department of Livestock reported. The brain wasting disease hasn’t been identified in domestic deer or elk in the state since 1999, officials said. The elk appeared healthy and was slaughtered for meat, but the illness was discovered in testing required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Herd Certification Program. State officials did not identify the game farm involved or say where it was located, citing confidentiality requirements. The Livestock Department placed the herd under quarantine while the cause of the infection is investigated. Montana law requires CWD-positive game farm herds to be quarantined for five years or for all the animals to be killed and tested for the disease. CWD is a progressive, fatal disease that affects the nervous system of deer, elk and moose.

Nebraska

Omaha: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has allocated nearly $109 million in federal funds in the aftermath of last year’s devastating historic floods, a news release from the agency said. The Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds will help support Nebraska’s disaster relief, long-term recovery and restoration efforts following the floods. The Nebraska Department of Economic Development has already begun an approximate six-month process to determine distribution of the disaster funds to areas affected by flooding. Local governments are eligible recipients under the program. Funding will not be made available directly to individuals, businesses or homeowners. The state is required to perform a number of steps before it can begin to distribute the funds, such as preparing and receiving HUD approval for an implementation plan and action plan.

Nevada

Las Vegas: Interstate 15 crossing southern Nevada from California to Arizona has become the first route in the U.S. West to be designated as an electric vehicle corridor with charging stations available at least every 50 miles, state officials said. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak marked what he called a successful collaboration among state agencies, utilities and private industries at a ceremony last week at a truck stop charging station in Mesquite, some 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas. A similar facility opened in November in Jean, about 42 miles southwest of Las Vegas. “This federal designation is not just the first for Nevada but the first interstate in the Intermountain West,” the Democratic governor said. “Electrifying Nevada’s highways paves the way forward to transportation decarbonization.” Prices vary, but the Nevada Department of Transportation said an average charge will cost $4.50, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

New Hampshire

Concord: The state has added four properties including a chapel and an inn to the state register of historic places, the Division of Historical Resources says. Among them are St. John’s on the Lake Chapel. Built in 1898, it is known for its mix of Gothic, Rustic and Shingle architectural styles and was purchased by the Episcopalian Diocese in 1926 to serve Meredith’s summer residents. The second site is the Nutmeg Inn, a tourism fixture in Meredith for nearly 200 years. The inn has been a tavern, an inn, a boarding school and a dinner theater and is currently a bed and breakfast. From 1927 to 1937, it served as regional headquarters for the Girl Scouts. The third site is the Parish House in Lee, built in 1873. Durham’s Wagon Hill Farm, which remained an active farm for nearly 300 years, is the fourth site. The 1804 farmhouse is a federal style building with later Greek Revival details that retains interior woodwork and fireplaces.

New Jersey

Trenton: Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order Monday creating a task force aimed at preparing the state to deal with potential fallout from a virus that has spread to more than 20 countries and infected more than 17,000 people. Murphy, a Democrat, said in a statement that Newark Liberty International Airport will serve as one of 11 major airports in the country authorized to receive travelers from China, requiring extra screening for the virus. Since December, the virus has sickened thousands, mostly in China. Symptoms include fever, cough and in more severe cases shortness of breath or pneumonia. The task force, which will be chaired by Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli and includes other members of the governor’s Cabinet, will coordinate with the federal government and the Newark airport “to ensure effective communications and dissemination of information,” according to the governor.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: Medical marijuana producers in the state can claim a tax deduction for prescription medication, a move that could affect prices for thousands of enrolled patients, according to a state Court of Appeals ruling. The 11-page ruling means lawmakers must soon set aside funding to cover the tax claims, which could carry a multimillion-dollar price tag for the state Taxation and Revenue Department, the Albuquerque Journal reports. The agency has reviewed the ruling and is weighing legal options, tax department officials said. The department has until Feb. 27 to appeal the ruling. Medical marijuana providers paid about $24 million in gross receipt taxes during a recent almost three-year period, officials said. Those taxes are paid by providers but usually passed on to patients, who could see a drop in prices for medical cannabis products because of the ruling, department officials said.

New York

New York: A state park in Brooklyn will be named after LGBTQ activist Marsha P. Johnson, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says. He announced the renaming of East River State Park during the Human Rights Campaign’s greater New York gala Saturday. “New York state is the progressive capital of the nation, and while we are winning the legal battle for justice for the LGBTQ community, in many ways we are losing the broader war for equality,” Cuomo told the gathering. The Democratic governor said attacks against African Americans, Jewish people, Muslims and members of the LGBTQ community motivated by “fear and intolerance” have risen. Johnson, who died in 1992 at age 46, is considered a pioneer of the movement for the rights of transgender people, although the term “transgender” was not widely used during her lifetime. Some witness accounts say Johnson was a leader of the Stonewall rebellion of 1969.

North Carolina

Asheville: Organic grocery chain Earth Fare says it is closing all its stores, saying it can’t refinance its debt and faces sales challenges. The Asheville-based chain said Monday that workers at its stores across the South and in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio have been notified of the pending closures as part of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Earth Fare, which started in 1975, has tried “numerous strategic initiatives aimed at growth and expansion and enhancing the customer experience” in recent years, the company said. But it was not enough. “While many of these initiatives improved the business, continued challenges in the retail industry impeded the company’s progress as well as its ability to refinance its debt,” it said in a statement.

North Dakota

Bismarck: Officials in the heart of the state’s oil patch are turning to drones to make better decisions about when to restrict traffic on the region’s gravel roads. This spring, pilots from ISight RVP Services will fly drones over McKenzie County’s roads after rainy weather. The aircraft’s cameras will pick up images of the road conditions. The pilot project’s supporters say that should make closure decisions more strategic. “If it rains more than a half an inch in a 24-hour period, we may have road issues,” County Commission Chairman Tom McCabe told the Bismarck Tribune. “The longer it rains, the softer the ground will get.” The Grand Forks-based company plans to establish an office in Watford City with two pilots and two assistants who will begin using the drones in May. The initial action is to fly drones over the roads in good weather to get a baseline that can be used for comparison following future storms.

Ohio

Oxford: A university professor who was suspended when school officials learned an African tree that grows roots with hallucinogenic qualities was being cultivated in the plant conservatory he directed has been given permission to resume teaching classes. Dan Gladish, a tenured biology professor at Miami University for 25 years, agreed in a settlement last week to a presidential reprimand and to resign at the beginning of 2024. He will no longer serve as the conservatory’s director. Gladish was suspended with pay when the school learned in late 2018 that a shrub-like iboga tree was growing in the conservatory at the school’s satellite campus in Hamilton. Chewing the iboga tree’s roots or bark can produce hallucinations. Ibogaine, a drug produced from the tree, is a federally controlled substance. Miami University accused Gladish of violating the school’s drug-free work policy and other rules.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: City crews have uncovered 28 rentable Lime-S electric scooters in the mile-long Bricktown Canal after draining 3 million gallons of water. Parks and Recreation crews also found four skateboards, a bicycle and a wheelchair while performing the canal cleanup, as the city aims to do every three years. “It is quite the haul,” said Scott Copelin, natural resources manager for Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation. The crews also found several wallets, cellphones, dozens of orange safety cones and a camera tripod. As for the dozens of fish found in the canal, they were moved to continue their swimming journeys elsewhere. The municipal H.B. Parsons Fish Hatchery relocated about 50 catfish to the Oklahoma River. Garden Ponds Unlimited in Moore stepped in to relocate nearly 30 goldfish and koi to a display pond where they will be monitored for a few months, according to Lauri Lucas, co-owner of the pond contractor.

Oregon

Salem: The Legislature convened its 2020 session Monday, with majority Democrats saying their top priority is legislation aimed at stemming global warming. The environmental debate over a so-called cap and trade bill will likely dominate the 35-day session. The new measure largely authored by Senate Democrats includes changes designed to assuage critics in the manufacturing and utility sectors and to create fewer impacts for rural Oregon but maintains a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases by certain percentages below 1990 levels. The new bill splits the state into three geographic zones that would be phased in separately for rules that would likely increase gas and diesel prices, with Portland being affected first, then other large urban areas and finally rural regions. That approach is designed to address concerns that last year’s failed measure would have disproportionately affected rural communities.

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia: Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty has been cleared of allegations that he assaulted a 13-year-old boy during a photo shoot, police said. Chris Greenwell and his son Brandon met the hairy, googly-eyed mascot at a November event for season ticket holders. Brandon patted Gritty on the head after he and his father posed for a photo with him at the Wells Fargo Center, Greenwell has said. Greenwell said that as Brandon walked away, Gritty ran out of his chair and “punched my son as hard as he could.” Greenwell, who has said he only wanted an apology and something special for his son, filed a complaint with police Dec. 21. But police announced Monday that their investigation determined that “the actions of the individual portraying the Flyers’ mascot did not constitute physical assault as alleged.”

Rhode Island

Providence: The company that operates the state’s two casinos has selected a new site for its headquarters, it announced Monday. Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc. announced it had entered into a letter of intent to occupy 12,000 square feet on the sixth floor of the Wexford Innovation Complex in Providence, where it would house the executive, legal, finance, technology and human resources sectors. If the conditions of the letter of intent and lease are satisfied by June 30, the company that operates casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton hopes to occupy the space early next year. Twin River’s announcement comes days after the company unveiled a partnership with rival IGT to supply the casinos with video gambling terminals, at the same time setting aside to its objections to a proposed 20-year contract extension for IGT to run the state lottery.

South Carolina

Orangeburg: South Carolina State University plans to unveil bronze busts of three students killed by bullets fired by officers during a 1968 civil rights protest. The busts will be dedicated Saturday as part of the 52nd anniversary commemoration of what has come to be known as the Orangeburg Massacre. Samuel Hammond Jr., Delano Middleton and Henry Smith were shot to death Feb. 8, 1968, by state troopers during a tense encounter after three days of protests over a segregated bowling alley. The troopers claimed someone shot at them first, but no evidence of anyone firing other than officers was ever found. The university said in a press release that it will also mark the anniversary of the shooting with a screening and discussion of the film “Orangeburg: A Town, A Team, An American Tragedy.” South Carolina State football coach Buddy Pough will be part of Friday’s discussion along with filmmaker Jim Fabio.

South Dakota

Pierre: A state senator wants to reduce ingesting illegal drugs from a felony to a misdemeanor. Democratic Sen. Craig Kennedy has filed a bill to change ingestion to a misdemeanor for the first two offenses. But it would remain a felony for a third conviction with 10 years. Kennedy says putting people in prison where drug treatment is limited, if available at all, isn’t a good way to deal with those with a chemical dependency. “You break up families, you end up with children in Social Services’ custody and care, and the felony on someone’s record is a scar they’ll carry forever,” he said. “It affects their ability to get employment. It affects their ability to get housing.” The bill also creates an incentive for prosecutors to divert people from the criminal justice system into treatment. Kennedy said he modeled his legislation on the state’s juvenile diversion program.

Tennessee

Memphis: Music legend and Bluff City native Harold Beane has died at age 73. The guitarist, who helped define the early records of Isaac Hayes, later went on to play with Funkadelic and worked with others including Little Richard and Rufus Thomas, died Saturday. Jeff Kollath, executive director of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, confirmed the news. Beane had been hospitalized for the past week. A Memphis native, with roots in the Soulsville neighborhood, Beane attended Hamilton High School and got his early guitar tutelage from his neighbor, Larry Lee, later a sideman for Jimi Hendrix and Al Green. In the mid-’60s, Beane worked in Stax’s Satellite Records shop and eventually got his break working with one of the label’s stars, William Bell. In 1969, Beane achieved guitar immortality, laying down the iconic fuzz-drenched solo on Hayes’ revolutionary R&B rendition of “Walk on By.”

Texas

Gilchrist: The last fish are leaving Rollover Pass. Four months after the Texas General Land Office began filling in the popular fishing site with sand and dirt, the pass’s last residents are being targeted for removal. Crews from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department used nets to gather fish, crabs and other marine life from shallow pools of muddy water in the newly filled north side of the pass, The Galveston County Daily News reports. The removal work is among the more unusual aspects of the sometimes controversial project, which has been the target of lawsuits and protesters who argue the popular fishing spot should have been left open. Despite those objections, work has continued steadily and without any major interruptions for nearly four months. One of the things that could slow the work is the presence of animals in the construction site. The land office is required to safely remove marine life found in the construction site and place animals in a safe location, officials said.

Utah

Ogden: A local bar has confirmed it was one of the sites used to film a Super Bowl commercial for Bud Light Seltzer featuring singer and rapper Post Malone. Brewski’s Bar in Ogden said it was closed for a short time to film the commercial, The Standard-Examiner reports. The ad was also filmed at locations in California. The recording artist, whose real name is Austin Post, lives in Utah and is frequently spotted around the state. He has been a spokesman for Bud Light for several years. The advertisement features Malone in a convenience store trying the new seltzer. He is also featured in another ad for the drink. Brewski’s was the only site in Utah used to film the ad, according to a representative for the advertising firm that oversaw the commercial.

Vermont

Montpelier: The Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development has announced $80,000 in grant funding for group efforts to attract more visitors or potential residents and businesses to the state. Eligible applicants include chambers of commerce, Regional Development Corporations, downtown organizations and business groups, the agency says. “Combatting Vermont’s demographic crisis is going to take the work of many, bringing new ideas and fresh perspectives from every corner of the state,” Gov. Phil Scott said in a statement. The deadline for applications is Feb. 15. Applicants must provide funds matching the amount requested.

Virginia

Richmond: The state Senate blocked one of Gov. Ralph Northam’s top gun-control bills Monday, adding to the list of measures the Democratic governor supports that may not pass the Legislature. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted against a bill that would make it a felony to “recklessly leave a loaded, unsecured firearm” in a way that endangers a minor. It’s one of eight gun-related proposals Northam has urged lawmakers to adopt. Virginia has become ground zero in the nation’s raging debate over gun control and mass shootings as a new Democratic majority seeks to enact strict new limits. Last month, tens of thousands of guns-rights activists from around the country flooded the Capitol and surrounding area in protest, some donning tactical gear and carrying military rifles. Two moderate Democrats – Sens. Creigh Deeds and Chap Petersen – joined with Republicans to defeat the bill over concerns law-abiding gun owners could be unfairly punished.

Washington

Seattle: A local cannabis farm owner was accused of operating a Ponzi scheme that took in $4.85 million from at least two dozen investors in Washington, Arizona, California and Texas. Robert W. Russell, 60, of Duvall was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with civil violations of federal securities law, The Seattle Times reports. No criminal charges were filed in the case involving Green Acre Pharms near Anacortes. An SEC complaint filed Jan. 21 in federal court alleges investors were enticed by promises of enormous profits from Russell’s farm. Russell and his California partner, 40-year-old Guy Scott Griffithe, spent $3.5 million of the investors’ money on luxury cars, a yacht and other “extravagant luxuries, inappropriate personal expenditures, and unrelated business ventures,” the SEC complaint said. The farm that closed in December was never profitable, authorities said.

West Virginia

Charleston: Like Capt. Quint in the movie “Jaws,” Aaron Yeager needed a bigger boat, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports. Now he has one, and with it he’ll be able to create more and bigger fish habitat in some of the state’s most popular lakes. The boat, a former U.S. Army Corps of Engineers utility barge, was recently fitted with a tilting platform that, in essence, turns it into a floating dump truck. Yeager and his Division of Natural Resources colleagues plan to load trees onto the platform and sink them into the lakes to create structures that not only attract fish but also give young fish places to hide from predators. West Virginia’s large reservoirs, created from the late 1940s through the 1980s, were not built with fish in mind. Their primary function was to control floods, and it still is. Before the lakes were filled, contractors cut and hauled away all the trees that would have been flooded. It made for a clean lake, but it also made for poor fish habitat.

Wisconsin

Madison: University of Wisconsin System regents will consider raising tuition for nonresident students and graduate students at a pair of meetings this week. The regents’ business committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to impose increases ranging from 1.5% to 25% at Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Platteville, River Falls, Stevens Point and Whitewater beginning this fall. The schools say the new revenue would cover rising costs of instruction, pay raises, recruiting, technology and training clinical professionals. Committee approval would send the proposal to the full Board of Regents on Friday. Republican lawmakers have kept tuition frozen for in-state undergraduates since 2013. System officials have complained the freeze has hamstrung them financially and have tried to make up the lost revenue by raising out-of-state and graduate students’ tuition.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: Environmental groups have filed a new lawsuit against the feeding of elk on a wildlife refuge in the state, saying the U.S. government should act sooner to curtail the practice. Workers at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole put out alfalfa pellets during most winters to supplement natural forage and help elk survive until spring. The timing of feeding each year depends on the weather; elk don’t get fed during mild winters or might be fed through a prolonged period of heavy or icy snow covering the vegetation they naturally eat. Hunters and guides support the feeding as a way to keep elk numbers up, but others worry the practice encourages the spread of disease similar to mad cow disease in humans. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan released Dec. 31 would delay feeding each winter so that elk could gradually become accustomed to surviving without human help.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports