Delaware’s dinosaur, wayward dolphin, ‘Duck of Justice’: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Montgomery: The Poarch Band of Creek Indians said they are issuing a special stipend to all Wind Creek Hospitality employees and moving to flexible schedules as workers deal with rising costs and child-care issues. Wind Creek manages three casino resorts in Alabama, five other casinos around the world, and racetracks in Alabama and Florida. The amount of the stipend was not announced. The tribe said details of the stipend and the flexible schedules will be shared with team members later this month.

Alaska

Juneau: The state plans to begin distributing this year’s oil-wealth fund check and a special energy relief payment to residents on Sept. 20. The timeline was announced Friday by Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state Department of Revenue. The combined payout for the dividend and energy relief payment is estimated to be about $3,200 a person; a final figure is pending. Residents will receive the money as one payment, the department said. The energy relief payment was intended by lawmakers as a one-time benefit to help residents with high energy costs. Most Alaskans get a dividend. There is a yearly application and residency requirements to qualify. Dividends traditionally have been paid using earnings from the state’s oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund. They are typically paid in the early fall. But Dunleavy said this year’s distribution will be a bit earlier.

Arizona

Flagstaff: Gov. Doug Ducey has ordered members of the Arizona National Guard to help with flash-flood mitigation efforts across Coconino County. A recent monsoon dropped lots of rain on wildfire burn scars in the Flagstaff area. About 30 members of the Guard helped fill sandbags Saturday, with 60 other members assisting Sunday and 40 more members staying until Friday. Maj. Kyle Key, an Arizona National Guard spokesman, said the goal is to have up to 600,000 sandbags filled by Friday. He said most of the Guard members were already in the Flagstaff area doing annual training.

Arkansas

Fort Smith: The U.S. Drought Monitor reported Arkansas is in an abnormally dry stage of drought, with areas surrounding the River Valley in moderate drought. The sudden lack of rain in the past month is also being called a flash drought by meteorologists. Burn bans have been issued in Sebastian County and nearly the entire state.

California

Yosemite National Park: Containment continued to grow on a wildfire burning for more than a week and residents of the mountain community of Wawona began returning to their homes Sunday, officials said. The fire was 51% contained after scorching 7.6 square miles of forest land, according to an incident update. Residents and property owners can return to Wawona, but only with escorts during specific times, officials said. The area remains under a fire advisory. The blaze began July 7 in Yosemite and is now burning into the Sierra National Forest. How the fire started remains under investigation but officials suspect people were the source.

Colorado

Fort Collins: The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office has lifted all mandatory evacuations related to a fire burning in Red Feather Lakes. The fire began in Lone Pine Court and was contained to two homes there, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said in a tweet. The sheriff’s office, as well as Red Feather Lakes and Crystal Lakes fire departments, responded.

Connecticut

Norwich: A wayward dolphin has been swimming in the Thames River after making its way upstream from Long Island Sound. The dolphin was first spotted Thursday morning by fishermen along the river. A video posted to Facebook showed the dolphin jumping around near the Norwich Marina, about 15 miles from the Sound. Eventually, the animal rescue team at Mystic Aquarium was notified. They have been monitoring the situation along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The ocean mammal was spotted in the same area again on Friday morning. The dolphin appears to be small and might be a juvenile, said Alexandra Cojocaru, the aquarium’s animal rescue technician. It’s possible it was looking for food or got turned around and separated from its pod, she said.

Delaware

Wilmington: The state Senate recently passed a bill to recognize the Dryptosaurus as the state’s official dinosaur. Students at Shue-Medill Middle School drafted House Bill 390 for the Dryptosaurus. State Rep. Paul Baumbach is the primary sponsor of the bill. Some neighboring states already have dinosaurs including Maryland (Astrodon johnstoni) and New Jersey (Hadrosaurus foulkii). “Dryptosauridae bones have been found in the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal,” according to the written synopsis for HB 390. The Dryptosaur was a predator that was about 25 feet long (nose to tip of tail) and probably would have stood 6 to 8 feet tall. It weighed about 1.7 tons. The prehistoric creature was related to the Tyrannosaurus rex. The Dryptosaur roamed Delaware between 65 million and 67 million years ago.

District of Columbia

Washington: A family from Connecticut is asking for the public’s help in finding a lost stuffed animal at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, WUSA-TV reported. The family said the stuffed monkey named Mocha belongs to their 3-year-old child, who is heartbroken by the loss. The family is offering a reward for Mocha’s safe return. Anyone who spots the stuffed animal should contact the National Zoo at (202) 633-2614.

Florida

Orlando: An amusement park where a teenager fell from a ride and died earlier this year has paused a new sniper-like laser shooting game amid criticism following a recent spate of mass shootings. The Bullseye Blast game let riders of the 400-foot Wheel at ICON Park pay an extra $5.95 to shoot laser blasters at 50 targets strategically placed along rooftops throughout the park. In a statement issued Saturday, park officials said although the ride had been “well-received” by customers, some had questioned whether it was appropriate following mass shootings at a July 4 parade in a Chicago suburb, an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

Georgia

Macon: The state will issue electronic debit cards by October for women and children who benefit from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. Commonly called the WIC program, it provides food for low-income women during and after pregnancy, as well as children 5 and younger. Georgia Public Broadcasting reported the state is one of the last to quit using paper vouchers after a 2020 mandate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for states to switch to electronic methods. The state’s electronic pilot program began earlier this month in the district. Mobely said all beneficiaries should have a card by the end of October, giving them greater freedom to manage their spending. Beneficiaries will also be able to check their balances online. Roughly 200,000 women and children in Georgia take advantage of WIC benefits every year, and that number has the potential to increase with a switch to the debit cards.

Hawaii

Honolulu: A hiker who lost visibility because of cloud cover on the Kaau Crater Trail on Sunday afternoon in Palolo was rescued by the Honolulu Fire Department, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

Idaho

Coeur D’Alene: Six of the 31 members of a white supremacist group who were arrested near a northern Idaho pride event last month were scheduled to be in court Monday afternoon, facing misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to riot. The Patriot Front members were arrested June 11 with riot gear after a tipster reported seeing people loading up into a U-Haul at a hotel parking lot in Coeur d’Alene, police said. Scheduled to appear in court Monday were Josiah Buster and his brother Mishael and Connor Moran, all of Watauga, Texas; Derek Smith of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Dakota Tabler of West Valley City, Utah; and Justin O’Leary, of Des Moines, Washington. Each had posted $300 bail and been released after their arrest.

Illinois

Rolling Meadows: A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to 57 years in prison for shooting an Illinois state trooper in the arm in 2019 as the officer was serving a warrant at his home. Volodymyr Dragan, 46, was sentenced Friday by a Cook County judge after being convicted in March of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated assault. Prosecutors said Dragan shot a trooper in the arm, causing a nonlife-threatening wound, in August 2019 as officers were serving an arrest and search warrant for Dragan at his home in Wheeling. The warrant included allegations Dragan committed aggravated assault on a police officer during a traffic stop earlier the same day where another state trooper had pulled Dragan’s motorcycle over for speeding. Police said Dragan was seated in the back seat of a trooper’s squad car when he pulled a handgun and aimed it at the trooper before fleeing the scene on his motorcycle. The wounded trooper, who has since returned to full duty, asked the judge to impose the harshest penalty on Dragan.

Indiana

Indianapolis: A $76 million plan to expand the parking garage at Indianapolis International Airport, put on hold at the onset of the pandemic, is now moving forward. The five-story expansion is expected to begin construction this fall and open in early 2024, giving the airport an extra 500 public parking spots and 1,000 rental car spaces. The airport’s existing parking garage, which opened in tandem with the new terminal in 2008, has 5,900 public parking spaces and 1,200 rental spaces. The expanded garage will also have more electric vehicle charging ports. The airport’s board of directors recently approved a $1.3 million contract to build more, with a goal of 2% of spaces having charging capability. By the time the project is complete, that would amount to 172 spaces.

Iowa

Altoona: Safety concerns and supply chain issues have caused the new owners of the Adventureland theme park to close multiple rides this summer. Officials said in a Facebook post Saturday the park’s tallest ride, the Storm Chaser, will be closed for the remainder of the 2022 season. The Sidewinder, Sky Ride and Raging River are also closed. The post didn’t say what issue kept the 260-foot-tall Storm Chaser from operating. The Storm Chaser, which opened in 2014, can reach spinning speeds up to 35 mph. It was manufactured by a company named Mondial in the Netherlands and cost about $3 million.

Kansas

Topeka: Several northeast Kansas nonprofit organizations have been chosen to participate in A Community Thrives, an annual fundraising campaign. Helping Hands Humane Society, Topeka Common Ground, the Topeka Genealogical Society, Topeka Performing Arts Center Inc., and Veronica’s Voice, of Kansas City, Kan., are five community organizations that will have the chance to receive a share of $2 million in grants, which will be spread among organizations nationwide. A Community Thrives is a grant-making and crowdfunding program sponsored by Gannett, the parent company of The Topeka Capital-Journal and the USA TODAY Network. It has been supporting groups that address social issues since 2017.

Kentucky

Frankfort: The Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice is recruiting applicants for more than 160 job openings at 24 facilities across the state, officials said. As part of the recruitment efforts, a job fair is being held Wednesday at Jefferson Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Louisville, the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet said in a statement. The agency is looking for people who will invest in youths to help prevent them from returning to custody and to help them become more productive citizens. Open positions include youth workers, nursing, administration, counseling/mental health and food service. The department oversees prevention programs for at-risk youth, confinement, pretrial detention, residential placement and treatment and other services.

Louisiana

Shreveport: A bill pending in the state Senate would give control of a state office building in Shreveport to a local government agency, part of a plan to consolidate state workers in a new downtown home. KTBS-TV reported a Senate committee is scheduled to vote this week on House Bill 773, which passed the House earlier. Under the bill, the state would transfer its current office building to the Shreveport Implementation and Redevelopment Authority, with the state getting 30% of any sales price. The state is planning to move workers from the Mary Allen State Office Building, an eight-story art deco structure just south of downtown Shreveport, to a building the state plans to renovate in the city’s downtown. The state bought a long-vacant downtown building, which formerly housed federal workers, for $1.75 million in April. That eight-story building will be gutted and rebuilt with modern offices, providing room for the more than 350 employees now based at Mary Allen, as well as workers from elsewhere in northwest Louisiana. State employees will continue to work in the Mary Allen building for several years until the renovation is complete.

Maine

Bangor: Lt. Tim Cotton, a detective who created the viral “Duck of Justice” when he rescued a faux waterfowl headed for the trash bin, is retiring to write a book. Cotton, 59, combined his sense of humor with the Bangor Police Department’s social media account to show the human side of police work. His “Duck of Justice” became a viral sensation as the fowl appeared in various locations before finding a permanent roost in the police department, where author Stephen King and others have stopped by for photos. Along the way, Cotton helped put the city of 30,000 on the social media map with 330,000 Facebook followers – including many outside Maine. Cotton will continue posting to the Duck of Justice’s Facebook page for the police department while pursuing his writing career. He already has published two books.

Maryland

Piney Point: Crews searched for a 10-year-old girl who disappeared while swimming in southern Maryland on Sunday night, officials said. Two children and an adult were swimming in the Potomac River near Camp Merryelande when the current swept them away, St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Cpl. Julie Yingling said Monday. The adult was able to swim to shore and one child was taken to shore by a person on a paddleboard, she said. A 10-year-old girl was last seen struggling while swimming, officials said. She was last seen wearing a white shirt and sweatpants. The U.S. Coast Coast and agencies from Maryland and Virginia are involved in the search. Crews searched for the girl through the night and continued their search Monday, Yingling said.

Massachusetts

Boston: A Connecticut ophthalmologist has pleaded guilty to receiving kickbacks in a scheme in which he ordered hundreds of medically unnecessary brain scans that resulted in millions of dollars in fraudulent billing to health insurers, federal prosecutors said. Dr. Donald Salzberg, 67, conspired with an alleged accomplice at a medical diagnostic company in the scheme that ran from 2014 through 2019, the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston said. Salzberg, whose practice is in West Hartford, Connecticut, used false patient diagnoses to order the brain scans and the other person would submit claims to Medicare and other insurance companies for payment, prosecutors said. Salzberg was paid cash kickbacks of $100 to $125 per test that he ordered, as well as sham administrative services fees, while more than $3 million in fraudulent claims were submitted to Medicare and private insurance companies, prosecutors said. Salzberg pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to receive kickbacks. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Michigan

Detroit: Michigan motorists are paying $4.63 a gallon for gasoline on average, a drop of 18 cents from a week ago and 56 cents from a month ago, according to AAA. But, the even bigger news is the auto club predicted prices will continue to decline. Gas demand dropped from 9.41 million barrels of oil a day to 8.06 million, and total domestic gas stocks increased by 5.8 million barrels of crude oil, according to the Energy Information Administration. The decrease in demand and declining oil prices helped to push pump prices down.

Minnesota

St. Paul: The third dog that went missing when a Minnesota dog day care was burglarized last week has been found, but no arrests have been made. Railroad workers in St. Paul found Cooper, the miniature pinscher, Saturday morning. The dog had been missing since a burglary was reported Thursday at the St. Paul Paws dog day care. Owner Nicole Campbell said Cooper seems to be OK, but her family will take him to the vet for a checkup to make sure. Police said all the dogs that went missing during the burglary have been accounted for. Fourteen dogs were being boarded at the facility at the time of the burglary. St. Paul police said investigators are reviewing surveillance video from the burglary and chasing several leads to try and identify a suspect.

Mississippi

Aberdeen: Work has begun to renovate a northeast Mississippi federal courthouse long infested with mold. WTVA-TV reported interior demolition began last week at the Thomas G. Abernethy Federal Building in Aberdeen. The U.S. General Services Administration announced in 2020 it would spend $24.3 million to fix the building’s problems. That came after the GSA ordered the Tennessee Valley Authority to halt a $12 million replacement of the building’s climate control systems when it was found that the project wouldn’t reduce energy use enough to pay for itself over 20 years. Judges and clerks left the building in 2017 when it was found to be uninhabitable. The Aberdeen post office has continued to operate on the bottom floor. Some federal court offices are temporarily located in Amory. Aberdeen Mayor Charles Scott said most changes will be inside the 1973 building because the exterior has historic protection. Officials hope to reopen the federal court in April 2024.

Missouri

Springfield: A Missouri man said in a class-action lawsuit against Bass Pro that the outdoor outfitter is refusing to honor its lifetime warranty on its socks. Kent Slaughter of Springfield said after years of exchanging his “Redhead Lifetime Guarantee All-Purpose Wool Socks” every time they wore out the Springfield-based company changed its policy in 2021 before he tried to return four pairs of socks. Instead of getting another pair with a lifetime warranty, Slaughter said he was given socks that only carried a 60-day warranty, according to the Springfield News-Leader. A Bass Pro representative said the company won’t comment on pending litigation.

Montana

Great Falls: Samuel Grisak, 15, of Great Falls caught a state record golden shiner on July 3 on Giant Springs Pond at Giant Springs State Park. Grisak’s fish weighed .03 pounds and measured 4.41 inches in length with a girth of 2.6 inches and was caught on a dry fly, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Golden shiners are members of the minnow family and don’t usually grow much larger than a big goldfish.

Nebraska

Lincoln: The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Nebraska Farm Real Estate Report showed overall farm prices in the state rose 16% this year to a record $3,360 an acre, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

Nevada

Las Vegas: Joey Gilbert, a candidate for governor who lost the Republican primary in June, is contesting the results in a lawsuit. Gilbert is challenging a primary election victory by Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo and was filed with state District Court in Carson City, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Saturday. Lombardo beat Gilbert by 11 percentage points, our about 26,000 votes, in a crowded field. Gilbert already paid for a statewide recount that did not change the outcome. Gilbert – who was outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot – is alleging in his lawsuit that election results were erroneous and that corrections would show he won by a wide margin.

New Hampshire

North Conway: Investigators were unable to pinpoint the cause of a fire that damaged a popular North Conway resort, New Hampshire Fire Marshal Sean Toomey said. The determination came after officials examined the scene and interviewed guests after the April 30 fire at the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort, Toomey said in a statement. Although the cause of the fire couldn’t be determined, there was no evidence or information that led investigators to believe that a crime had been committed, he said. Three people including two firefighters were injured but none of the injuries was life-threatening.

New Jersey

Green Creek: A small plane crashed into a field near an airport in southern New Jersey on Saturday, killing the pilot, authorities said. The Federal Aviation Administration said the single-engine Piper PA-12 went down shortly after 9:30 a.m. Saturday in Green Creek near Paramount Air Airport. Middle Township police said the pilot, 22-year-old Thomas Gibson of Ocean City, was pronounced dead at the scene. The FAA said he was the only person on the aircraft. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.

New Mexico

Carlsbad: Oil and gas operations in Eddy and Lea counties in southeast New Mexico’s Permian Basin oil fields accounted for almost a quarter of the state’s tax revenue, according to the New Mexico Economic Development Department. Those numbers reflected tax revenue from matched taxable gross receipts for the third quarter of fiscal year 2022 – January, February and March.

New York

New York City: A man who was sleeping on the beach at Coney Island was struck and killed by a city parks department truck early Monday, police said. The unidentified man was lying in the sand when he was hit by the vehicle shortly before 3 a.m., police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver remained at the scene. The death is under investigation.

North Carolina

Blowing Rock: A western North Carolina town has issued a boil water advisory after a major water line break led to low pressure, as well as a loss of water. According to the website for the town of Blowing Rock, public works employees are trying to find the source of the problem, which was reported about 3 a.m. Monday. The town said it’s not known when the water will be restored. The American Red Cross has set up a distribution point for one case of bottled water per family, and the town also said summer camp has been canceled for the day. Residents who have any water have been advised to boil it for 15 minutes before using it. With the water off, residents were also advised to turn off their water heaters by turning off the breaker. Blowing Rock is approximately 90 miles northeast of Asheville.

North Dakota

Bismarck: Authorities said they have caught a man wanted for attempted murder and terrorizing in Bismarck. The 38-year-old man had been on the run since July 12, when police said he fired a gun at a vehicle. Officials said he was taken into custody Sunday night at a residence in Mandan by the U.S. Marshals Service with assistance from local police and the North Dakota Highway Patrol. Two days after he was accused of firing a gun at a vehicle, he led officers on a chase through Bismarck. Police broke off the pursuit for safety reasons.

Ohio

Cleveland: A Cleveland police officer claims another officer panicked and “blindly” shot her when they confronted a man standing in a boarding house bathroom with a gun, according to a federal lawsuit. Jennifer Kilnapp’s lawsuit, filed last week, said her rookie partner in July 2020, Bailey Gannon, fled down the stairs after opening the second-floor bathroom door without a warning, where a man stood with a handgun at his side, pointed at the floor. Gannon “blindly” fired a shot from over his head as he retreated and shot Kilnapp, who was standing near the top of the stairs, according to the lawsuit. The bullet “ripped through her forearm before fragmenting in her bicep and chest, lodging near her spine,” according to the lawsuit. “She believed she was going to die.” Two years later, Kilnapp has nerve damage that causes pain in her dominant arm and wrist, the lawsuit said. She has not been able to return to duty because of her injuries and PTSD, and, according to the lawsuit, it’s unknown when she will.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Longtime civil rights landmark the Freedom Center is getting an overhaul as part of efforts to remember and maintain the vision of hose who fought for equality and an end to discrimination in the city. The building, at 2609 N Martin Luther King Ave., was originally a Mobil gas station before being purchased and transformed into the home of the NAACP Youth Council. It was there that school teacher Clara Luper guided efforts to take the 1964 Civil Rights Act from the law of the land and make it a reality. Once completed, the Freedom Center will be home to a permanent physical archive of the city’s civil rights movement that will include the desk and office where Luper worked, the public amplifier and speaker used at protests, and two pianos used as part of organizing rallies.

Oregon

Salem: Nearly 20 years after a fire sent it into a state of disrepair, the Illinois River National Recreational Trail is again ready for hikers to travel roughly 30 miles from start to finish. Completely burned during the 2002 Biscuit Fire, and torched again by the 2017 Chetco Bar and 2018 Klondike fires, endless hours of work went into making the 30-mile pathway that begins south of Grants Pass and ends outside Gold Beach fully passable again.

Pennsylvania

Lancaster: Authorities announced an arrest in the stabbing death of a 19-year-old woman in Pennsylvania almost a half-century ago, crediting advances in DNA technology and genetic genealogical research. Lancaster County prosecutors and Manor Township police said Monday a criminal homicide charge had been filed against 68-year-old David Sinopoli in the December 1975 murder of Lindy Sue Beichler. Biechler, a flower shop clerk who had gotten married about a year earlier, was killed in the living room of her suburban Lancaster apartment after she returned from grocery shopping. She was stabbed 19 times; prosecutors said evidence at the scene suggested a sexual motive and investigators believed the killer knew her. Sinopoli was arrested at his Lancaster home Sunday and was being held without bail on a charge of criminal homicide. Court documents don’t list an attorney representing him; a message seeking comment was left at a number listed in his name.

Rhode Island

Providence: The state has sued five more landlords who rent properties in which children with lead poisoning live, the state attorney general said. The three properties in Providence, one in Central Falls, and one in Newport all contain “significant lead hazards” and the landlords have failed to comply with state lead poisoning prevention laws, Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement. The attorney general has filed 17 lawsuits since last fall against landlords who have failed to fully address alleged lead violations on their properties. The lawsuits seek court orders to remediate lead hazards, provide tenants adequate alternative housing during remediation, and penalties of up to $5,000 a day.

South Carolina

Spartanburg: A woman under police suspicion for months has now been charged with the murder of her former boyfriend. Local news outlets reported Jessica Marie Stachan, 28, was charged Friday with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Sheriff’s investigators said she killed Devantae Griffin, who was reported missing on March 30 and his was body was found in a shallow grave near Spartanburg in late April. Strachan was already in jail when the new charges were brought, and it’s unknown if she has an attorney. A circuit judge will consider bail at a later date.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: Billionaire banker and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford plans to ask the South Dakota Supreme Court to bar the release of affidavits used to issue search warrants into a child pornography investigation, his attorney said Friday. The notice came after Judge James Power refused to first release the affidavits to Sanford’s legal team before they became public. Sanford attorney Stacy Hegge argued they couldn’t evaluate whether to appeal unless they reviewed the documents, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported. The Argus Leader and ProPublica have been working to get the documents for two years.

Tennessee

Chattanooga: The U.S. Coast Guard plans to conduct a large-scale drill Tuesday morning involving a vessel on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, officials said. The maritime incident readiness drill will be held at the Riverpark boat ramp in Chattanooga, the Coast Guard said. The operation will involve a passenger vessel operated by Chattanooga Riverboat, officials said. The purpose is to help law enforcement and fire-rescue personnel who might respond to a maritime incident occurring along the Tennessee River regional area, officials said. Drills will involve multiple agency boats responding and will include displays of flashing lights and emergency operations near the vessel on the Tennessee River mile marker 469 near the Highway 153 bridge.

Texas

Amarillo: Faith City Mission announced its campaign titled Least of These to help fund and build a women and children’s shelter on the church’s property. The church kicked off its campaign last week and is hoping to raise $975,000 to build the facility and begin accepting women and children for the space by the fall of 2023. So far, the church has raised a little more than $70,000 for the campaign. The facility will include three separate areas, including a women’s dormitory that will sleep 10 with a community bathroom; and two family rooms, where mothers and their children can stay that will each sleep six individuals and includes a personal bathroom in the room. The third area will include a multipurpose room to help accommodate for the rise in the number of individuals attending the church for meals. For more information or to make a donation, contact Faith City Mission at (806) 373-6402 or by dropping off or mailing your donation to the church located at 600 N. Taylor St.

Utah

Provo: A wrongful death lawsuit filed after an 11-year-old autistic boy was left in a hot car while under the watch of a care facility in Utah has been settled. The lawsuit filed against Roost Services and some of its employees in April stemmed from the July 2021 death of Joshua “Joshee” Hancey, who was left in a car for nearly 3 hours in American Fork south of Salt Lake City as temperatures reached the mid-90s, KSL-TV reported Sunday. Police Lt. Josh Christensen told reporters at the time that the car’s windows were up, the doors were closed and the engine was off. Terms of the settlement have not been released.

Vermont

Williston: Trucking firm LandAir has shut down without notifying the state and leaving an unknown number of employees without jobs. A person in the office of the company confirmed Friday morning it has closed, but declined to be named, saying employees had been told not to talk to the media. Calls to the company number were not answered. Reports of the closure began circulating in trade publications for the trucking industry earlier in the week, saying that employees were “blindsided.” LandAir has not communicated with the state Department of Labor or Agency of Commerce and Community Development concerning any job losses, according to DOL spokesman Kyle Thweatt. Thweatt said there are federal and state requirements for companies with 100 or more employees to give notice well in advance of mass layoffs. The company’s website said it has 450 employees.

Virginia

Staunton: Parts of Gypsy Hill Park remained closed to the public Monday as cleanup efforts continued from last week's devastating storm that impacted the city. Winds of up to 60 mph produced the damage, the National Weather Service said. A city official said Monday that initial numbers showed the storm caused more than $750,000 in damage.

Washington

Spokane: A former caregiver charged in connection with the 2019 poisoning death of a developmentally disabled woman has been acquitted of felony assault. Fikirte T. Aseged mistakenly gave cleaning vinegar instead of colonoscopy prep medicine to her 64-year-old client Marion Wilson. Spokane County Superior Court Judge Harold Clarke rendered his verdict through an Ethiopian language interpreter, Northwest News Network reported. The judge said Aseged’s actions met the definition of criminal negligence, but he couldn’t find the vinegar was wielded as a weapon – a requirement for conviction based on a previous Supreme Court finding. Clarke also noted that when Aseged gave Wilson the vinegar, she was 13 hours into a 16-hour double-shift.

West Virginia

Charleston: A man has been charged with trying to kill his sister, who recently awakened from a two-year coma and identified him as her attacker, authorities said. News outlets reported that Wanda Palmer was found unconscious with serious head injuries at her home in Jackson County on June 10, 2020. Palmer was in a coma in a nursing home for two years. Her brother, Daniel, had been identified as a suspect, but investigators did not have enough evidence to file charges, court documents said. Daniel Palmer, 55, has been charged with attempted murder and malicious wounding, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook. Online court records showed Daniel Palmer is being held in jail on $500,000 bail. It was not immediately known Sunday if he had an attorney.

Wisconsin

Madison: Republican gubernatorial hopeful Tim Michels’ campaign is reworking a flyer that falsely claimed he won the National Rifle Association’s endorsement, saying the declaration was a mistake. Michels is locked in a three-way GOP primary with former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and state Rep. Tim Ramthun. Michels has secured former President Donald Trump’s endorsement and a nod from the NRA would have marked another significant victory for him heading into the Aug. 9 primary. The winner will face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in the Nov. 8 general election.

Wyoming

Sinclair: The HF Sinclair oil company said 32 employees at the refinery in Sinclair were laid off this week and 55 others would be laid off as of September, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 50 States