Egg roll, valedictorian delay, Sunflower Summer: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Huntsville: The U.S. Space and Rocket Center is marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 16 lunar mission and looking ahead to the next U.S. spaceflight to the moon. A member of the Apollo 16 crew, former astronaut Charlie Duke, will be on hand in Huntsville on Wednesday as the space museum looks back on the April 1972 mission. The Apollo 16 capsule, nicknamed “Casper,” is housed at the museum, which cleaned up the spaceship earlier this year ahead of the celebration. Duke and NASA officials are among those who will participate in an event that also will focus on the space agency’s upcoming test of its new, 30-story Space Launch System rocket. NASA is targeting June for a test flight to send the rocket to the moon without a crew. The administrator of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Jody Singer, and James Free, NASA’s associate administrator for exploration development, will discuss the space agency’s work to return to the moon. After the first launch in NASA’s Artemis program, the agency plans to send astronauts around the moon in 2024. A lunar landing attempt is planned for as early as 2025. People last walked on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.

Alaska

Fairbanks: The final two F-35A Joint Strike Fighter jets have arrived at Eielson Air Force Base, completing the full complement of 54 aircraft. Col. David “Ajax” Berkland of the 354 Fighter Wing at Eielson called it “a really significant day for us in terms of the buildup of Eielson Air Force Base.” The base near Fairbanks was selected in 2016 to host F-35s, spawning a base expansion that cost more than a half-billion dollars and includes 36 new buildings and 54 housing units for the F-35s, Fairbanks television station KTVF reported Saturday, a day after the two final jets arrived. The Air Force says the fifth generation F-35 represents a “quantum leap” in air combat capability. Combined with two squadrons of F-22s at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, will have more operational fifth generation assets than anywhere else in the world, Eleventh Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. David A. Krumm, told Air Force Magazine. Krumm is the senior military official in Alaska. “Gen. Billy Mitchell talked about it in the 1930s that whoever holds Alaska holds the world. So the strategic importance of competing and securing our nation’s interests, which were there then, remains as much now as ever,” Berkland told KTVF. The expansion also includes personnel, with about 3,500 new active-duty airmen and their dependents stationed at the base.

Arizona

Phoenix: A cannabis dispensary is offering tourists traveling through Sky Harbor International Airport a free shuttle directly to its doors starting Wednesday. The Mint dispensary in Guadalupe is calling the shuttle the #420 and offering it to people 21 and older. The Mint has long captured attention with its kitchen serving marijuana-infused pizza, burgers and other snacks and by offering free marijuana products to people who visited for a COVID-19 vaccination. The Arizona-based dispensary chain is kicking off the service Wednesday, a pseudo-holiday for cannabis consumers sometimes referred to simply as “4/20.” “National Cannabis Day gives us the opportunity to celebrate how much our industry has evolved and grown,” CEO Eivan Shahara said in a statement. “It’s also a great day to make history by delivering more innovation and excitement, while also finding ways to thank our patients, customers, visitors, and the community at large for their support.” The shuttle will pick up at all three Sky Harbor terminals during certain hours, and travelers can reserve a seat online at mintdeals.com/shuttle. Other marijuana-themed airport shuttles exist for a fee in places like Denver, but The Mint claims the free service is the first of its kind.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The state Supreme Court has reversed a judge’s decision to block a school district’s mask mandate that was implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Justices on Thursday reversed the temporary restraining order issued against the Bentonville School District’s mask requirement. Bentonville was among dozens of districts that imposed the requirement last year after a state law banning such mandates was blocked in a separate case. A group of parents had sued challenging the mandate. The court said that Arkansas’ laws give schools broad authority to determine their policies. “Based on this precedent, we conclude that the district properly authorized its policy,” Chief Justice Dan Kemp wrote in the court’s ruling. A spokeswoman said the district has no plans to reinstate the mask requirement at this time. In a separate opinion, Special Justice Howard Brill said parents have a right to be informed and to be heard on issues such as whether masks should be worn. But, Brill wrote, that doesn’t mean they have the right to “micromanage” schools. “If parents are dissatisfied with the school board decisions, they have a remedy,” wrote Brill, who was appointed to hear the case after Justice Rhonda Wood recused. “It is the ballot box.”

California

Sacramento: A Northern California woman pleaded guilty Monday to faking her own kidnapping and lying to the FBI about it, leaving her motive unanswered in the carefully planned hoax that set off a massive three-week search before she resurfaced on Thanksgiving Day in 2016. Sherri Papini, 39, of Redding, offered no explanation for her elaborate hoax during the half-hour court hearing. “I feel very sad,” she said tearfully when Senior U.S. District Judge William Shubb asked her how she was feeling. “Were you kidnapped?” he asked her later in the hearing. “No, Your Honor,” she replied. “Did you lie to government agents when you told them you were kidnapped?” Shubb continued. “Yes, Your Honor,” she responded. Papini agreed to plead guilty in a deal with prosecutors reached last week and is scheduled to be sentenced July 11. Prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence on the low end of the sentencing range, estimated to be between eight and 14 months in custody, down from the maximum 25 years for the two charges.

Colorado

Denver: The state’s high school athletics authority has ambitious plans to expand esports into half of Colorado high schools. Rashaan Davis, who oversees esports for the Colorado High School Activities Association, said this year’s season is the busiest yet. “There are over 100 teams playing multiple titles across our state,” Davis said. “We offer League of Legends, Rocket League, Madden and (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate).” Gamers have traditionally been labeled as socially awkward geeks. Harrison High coaches Tom McCartney and Sean Hart want to break that stigma. When they were in high school, they found comfort in video games, but schools didn’t tolerate gaming on school grounds, much less encourage it. As teachers, and now coaches, they want to foster a safe environment for those awkward geeks to develop and build their talents. “Those are the people who ended up being the entrepreneurs, the vanguards for new ideas and opportunities and waves,” said McCartney, an English and drama teacher. “Let’s build their confidence now, so they don’t have to wait until 33 or 34 when they find themselves and accept themselves to finally get started with building a new world.”

Connecticut

West Haven: Members of a state oversight board have decided they need greater control over the finances of the city, which has been under the microscope after a former state representative and others were accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds awarded to the municipality. The Municipal Accountability Review Board voted Thursday to recommend that West Haven, which is currently under a level of state oversight known as Tier III, be upgraded to Tier IV. That means the state board would have additional management tools, including the ability to hire a financial manager for the city. It will ultimately be up to Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont to decide whether to approve the stepped-up oversight, following a 30-day public comment period. City officials, including the mayor, opposed the move. They argued that West Haven, which has a long history of financial struggles, has made progress in recent years since working with the state board. Michael Last, the city’s treasurer, said he didn’t think the city of more than 55,000 people met the criteria for such a severe step. Board members countered that the alleged theft would not have occurred if proper financial safeguards recommended by the board were put in place.

Delaware

Wilmington: People living in the shadows of Croda’s New Castle-area manufacturing plant say it’s not a matter of if but when the plant has another dangerous leak along the Route 9 corridor. And it’s an even bigger concern now, as ethylene oxide, a highly flammable and explosive chemical that has been linked to various types of cancers, was found to be 30 times more cancerous for adults than previously thought, according to a report published by the Environmental Protection Agency’s independent Office of Inspector General. This chemical is the same one that leaked nearly 3,000 pounds into the air in 2018, shutting down the Delaware Memorial Bridge and scaring residents who were told to shelter in place as the flammable chemical leaked from the plant about a mile from their homes. “We’re living with a time bomb in our community – it already exploded one time,” said Jakim Mohammed, a local activist and Dunleith resident, as he stood within eyeshot of the plant. These concerns brought Croda, community members, and state and federal officials together Wednesday for a virtual meeting to discuss the company’s production of ethylene oxide and what that means for the health and safety of nearby residents. The meeting is one of the first sessions officials have held to update residents about the new risks associated with ethylene oxide since the federal watchdog urged the EPA to “promptly” hold public meetings in New Castle and 16 other locations across the country in March 2020.

District of Columbia

Washington: Undaunted by soggy skies, President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, kicked off the first White House Easter Egg Roll since before the coronavirus pandemic Monday, welcoming some 30,000 kids and adults for the all-day event. The president encouraged one young egg-roller, coaching the child: “Go. You got it.” “My job is to keep it from raining for another two minutes,” he said in opening remarks on the South Lawn. The theme for the day was “egg-ucation.” The first lady, a community college professor, turned the South Lawn into a school community with a variety of educational stations. Besides the egg roll and an egg hunt, the event included a schoolhouse activity area, a reading nook, a talent show, a place to teach about farming, a photo-taking station, a physical “egg-ucation” zone with an obstacle course, and a “cafetorium” where children learned to make treats. The COVID-19 pandemic led the White House to cancel the Easter Egg Roll in 2020 and 2021. But the event is back this year, as the outbreak of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths has eased. “This year we’re finally getting together again, and it’s so special,” the president told the guests. “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, singer Ciara and actor-singer Kristin Chenoweth were set to add a dash of celebrity splash to the event, which dates to 1878.

Florida

Lake Buena Vista: A baby zebra died at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom after running full speed into a gate when it was spooked by two ostriches Thursday, a television station reports. WESH reports it spoke with a family who witnessed the incident and was told it happened after the enormous birds were released into the same enclosure. The family said the experience was upsetting and sent the station cellphone video of Disney employees trying to save the animal. “We are heartbroken over the loss of our Hartmann’s mountain zebra that passed away yesterday, and we ask that you keep our dedicated animal care Cast Members in your thoughts,” a Disney spokesperson said in an email to the station.

Georgia

Jekyll Island: A pair of rare sea turtles have returned to the ocean after veterinarians spent nearly a year nursing them back to health on the Georgia coast. The adult female loggerhead turtles were released into the surf Friday on the beach at Jekyll Island. Both had been patients at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, the island’s hospital for sick and injured sea turtles. One was admitted last May after getting struck by a boat, according to a Jekyll Island news release. The other arrived in July after being found anemic and covered in barnacles and leeches. A few hundred people, including children on school trips, turned out to bid the sea turtles farewell. It was the first time the Georgia Sea Turtle Center had held a turtle release publicly since 2019. The turtles returned to the wild just before the nesting season for loggerhead sea turtles begins in Georgia on May 1.

Hawaii

Honolulu: The head of training at the state Department of Public Safety pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges accusing her of lying about her educational background. Public Training Officer J. Marte Martinez pleaded not guilty to perjury, tampering with a government record and unsworn falsification to authorities, according to her attorney Birney Bervar. Trial is set for June, Bervar said, declining to comment on the allegations. A complaint filed in court said Martinez made false statements about her educational background while testifying under oath before the Hawaii Labor Relations Board. The alleged false statements included having a liberal arts degree from a Virginia university. Martinez is also accused of submitting a transcript to the public safety department purported to be from an Oregon university, “which was falsely made, completed, or altered,” the complaint said. When applying for positions in the public safety department, she submitted an application that contained “statements about her educational background that she did not believe to be true,” the complaint said. The Department of Public Safety oversees Hawaii's jail and prisons, along with law enforcement divisions, including sheriffs.

Idaho

Boise: The National Rifle Association on Monday endorsed Gov. Brad Little ahead of the Republican primary. NRA Idaho State Director Aiobheann Cline said in a statement that the endorsement reflects Little’s A-plus rating in the group and his support of Second Amendment issues during his first term. “Our members will interpret your ‘A+’ rating and endorsement as being a solid pro-gun/pro-hunting candidate who is a staunch defender of the Right to Keep and Bear Arm,” Cline said in the endorsement. Little has signed into law a number of gun-rights bills. Those include legislation protecting gun makers, sellers and weapons carriers during declared emergencies, along with another making it easier for nonresidents to carry firearms in the state. “With me, Idahoans have a governor who will always protect our Idaho way of life, and that includes my unwavering support for upholding our rights established in the Second Amendment,” Little said in a statement. His main challenger in the May 17 Republican primary is Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, who has been endorsed by ex-President Donald Trump.

Illinois

Springfield: Almost four decades after a Black student graduated from Springfield High School at the top of her class, she’s finally been recognized as valedictorian. Tracey Meares, now a top legal scholar at Yale College of Law, was denied that honorific for 38 years until Saturday. Springfield School District 186 Superintendent Jennifer Gill presented Meares with the valedictorian medal and certificate after the screening of the documentary “No Title for Tracey” before a crowd of hundreds at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Gill, who was a freshman at SHS when Meares was a senior, personally dug through old records, some on microfiche, to verify the ranking. “My first reaction is that it’s incredibly gratifying, but it’s also a lot to process,” Meares said after the presentation. Many, including Meares’ parents, believe systemic or institutional racism was behind the snub. The school typically had a valedictorian and a salutatorian, but as graduation neared in 1984, it opted for “top students” for Meares and a white student. It didn’t start naming valedictorians and salutatorians again until 1992. “It was not an individual act,” mother Carolyn Blackwell said. “That’s what makes it systemic.” The Southern Illinois University Institute for Plastic Surgery announced it had set up the “Tracey Meares Representation Matters” scholarship in her honor.

Indiana

Indianapolis: An upcoming Netflix documentary will take a closer look at a local fertility doctor who for years inseminated patients with his own sperm without their knowledge. Years ago, several Indiana residents found out their father – whom some had believed to be an anonymous sperm donor or the man who had raised them – was actually their mother’s doctor: Donald Cline, once well respected in his field in Indianapolis. Those biological children will soon tell the story in their own words in “Our Father,” coming to the streaming service May 11. Cline’s secret was discovered in 2014, when Jacoba Ballard took a DNA test, expecting to have one or two donor half-siblings, but discovered seven whose mothers had all gone to Cline. He’d told them they’d be inseminated with material from anonymous donor, whose sperm would not be used more than three times to conceive a child. Ballard told the Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee in 2019 that she’s discovered at least 46 half-siblings. A fertility fraud bill to prevent a similar situation was passed and signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb that year. Cline’s license was revoked by the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana in 2018, but he did not spend any time in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice after lying to officials.

Iowa

Davenport: Armed with grant money, Humility Homes and Services plans to buy 60 housing units in its bid to end homelessness in the Quad Cities, nearly doubling the social service organization’s housing portfolio. In all, Humility Homes received more than $4.2 million from various agencies to help address an affordable housing shortage documented by several area organizations. “This is an important step in addressing the gap we have,” said Leslie Kilgannon, director of the Quad Cities Housing Council. “We have about 6,600 units we need in that extremely low-income category.” The bulk – 35 – of Humility Homes’ new housing units will be supportive housing, which combines services such as help with physical disabilities or health needs as well as mental illness or substance abuse treatment. The goal is to keep people who face challenges qualifying or keeping other housing in a stable place while they transition from an emergency shelter to more permanent housing. To provide the 35 supportive housing units, Scott County awarded Humility Homes $3.1 million from its allotment of federal COVID-19 relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The other 25 units will provide more permanent affordable housing options for low-income families, some that rely on federal housing vouchers to pay rent.

Kansas

Topeka: A popular program for children to get free admission to some of the state’s coolest attractions is coming back this summer. Sunflower Summer – a Kansas State Department of Education initiative that gave over 70,000 residents free access to museums, parks and other attractions around the state in 2022 – is funded for the next few summers, Education Commissioner Randy Watson said. “We’re going to be doing it again, and we’re excited about it,” Watson told the Kansas State Department of Education. The department had used federal COVID-19 relief funding to start Sunflower Summer in 2021, in an effort to make sure all Kansas students had access to summer enrichment opportunities. This year, Gov. Laura Kelly decided to reallocate unused federal relief funds for private schools to the education department so it could continue to offer the program. To get free admission to Kansas attractions, parents or other adults download the Sunflower Summer app on their phone and register themselves and their children. The app then provides a single-use, free ticket for the child, as well as free tickets for up to two accompanying adults, to attend attractions around the state. In 2021, about 70 sites participated, including the Kansas Cosmosphere, Kansas Children’s Discovery Center and Eisenhower Presidential Library.

Kentucky

Frankfort: A judge on Monday blocked Republican-backed measures that would weaken Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s contracting authority and prevent him from challenging laws in court. The two new laws were temporarily blocked by Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas D. Wingate after the GOP-dominated Legislature passed them last week over Beshear’s vetoes. One of the laws being challenged would designate Kentucky’s attorney general as the only statewide constitutional officer allowed to spend taxpayer funds on litigation challenging a bill’s constitutionality. The other contested measure would shift decision-making authority over executive branch contracts to a legislative committee. Both laws took effect immediately. In his order, Wingate said the plaintiffs, including the governor, had “more than sufficiently demonstrated that their rights are being or will be violated.” “Of particular concern to the court is that plaintiffs have alleged that under HB248 their access to the courts has essentially been blocked,” the judge wrote. The governor claims that both measures violate Kentucky’s Constitution. The lawsuit continues the long-running legal fight between Beshear and Republican lawmakers over measures seeking to rein in his executive authority. Wingate will hear arguments in the latest case May 31.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: The state says its weekends-only red snapper season for anglers will start May 27 in state and federal waters, with a daily limit of three of the popular sport and food fish. The season will run Fridays through Sundays except for three holiday weekends – Memorial Day, which opens the season; the Fourth of July, and Labor Day. Those three weekends extend through Monday. Each licensed angler may take up to three red snapper a day, with a minimum length limit of 16 inches, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said in a news release. The catch limit has been two fish a day for years but was raised to four during a 2021 year-end reopening. The department said anglers went nearly 7,000 pounds over the private recreational allocation last year, so that amount was taken from this year’s total limit. The agency said this year’s season will remain open until recreational landings approach or reach 809,316 pounds. LDWF also reminded anglers that amberjack and gray triggerfish season will overlap the red snapper season on the opening Memorial Day weekend but be closed from June 1 through July 30. Resident and nonresident recreational anglers who fish for offshore species must have both Louisiana basic and saltwater recreational fishing licenses, plus the free recreational offshore landing permit.

Maine

Augusta: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined an appeal by the Penobscot Indian Nation in its fight with Maine over ownership and regulation of the tribe’s namesake river. It was a bitter defeat for the tribe that sued a decade ago, claiming the Penobscot River is part of its reservation. Penobscot Chief Kirk Francis said it was a disappointing outcome in a legal case that goes to the “core identity of the Penobscot Nation.” “We see this as a modern day territorial removal by the state by trying to separate us from our ancestral ties to our namesake river,” Francis told the Associated Press. A federal judge previously ruled that the reservation includes islands of the river’s main stem but not the waters. There were appeals to a panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of appeals and then to the full appeals court. On Monday, the nation’s top court, without comment, declined to hear the tribe’s appeals over river regulation. The ruling came as the Maine Legislature was considering several measures that relate to tribal sovereignty. The Penobscots, whose reservation is on an island in the river, sued in 2012 after then-Attorney General William Schneider issued an opinion that the tribe’s territory was limited to islands. The tribe said the lawsuit was necessary to protect tribal authority over its ancestral river and ensure sustenance rights.

Maryland

Jessup: The first cohort of students in Georgetown University’s degree program for prisons in Maryland has begun classes, officials announced. In-person classes at the Patuxent Institution, in Jessup, started Feb. 14 for the 25 students accepted into the program. Officials announced the liberal arts degree program last spring as an expansion of the Prison Scholars Program that Georgetown offers at the D.C. jail. Students completing the program will earn bachelor’s degrees from the university. Officials said they expect 125 students to enroll within the next five years in the 120-credit interdisciplinary program. The university’s admissions process for the program began last fall with the help of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, officials said. After more than 300 applied from throughout the state prison system, those selected from other facilities were transferred to Patuxent Institution. Cultural humanities, interdisciplinary social science and global intellectual history are the program’s three available majors, officials said. Students this semester are taking introductory classes in writing and philosophy. The program will take about five years for most students to complete.

Massachusetts

Lawrence: A wind-fueled blaze that damaged several homes Friday night displaced more than 70 people but resulted in no injuries, with one local leader calling it an “Easter miracle.” In all, 73 people belonging to 17 different families are residing in temporary housing following the blaze, Lawrence officials said Saturday. Fire officials said they believe the fire started on the third-floor balcony of a home in Lawrence before spreading to five other nearby residences. They said high winds helped the fire spread quickly in the densely settled neighborhood. All residents were safely evacuated, and no injuries were reported. No pets were reported missing or injured either. “An Easter miracle,” said City Council President Marc Laplante. “It’s amazing that we were able to walk away from this.” Crews from fire departments in Massachusetts and New Hampshire worked for more than three hours to extinguish the fire. The Red Cross is providing housing and assistance to the occupants of the damaged homes, and local community groups are helping to coordinate donations.

Michigan

Grand Rapids: Funeral services have been scheduled for Patrick Lyoya, an unarmed Black man fatally shot following a traffic stop and struggle with a white police officer. The Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy Friday in Grand Rapids for Lyoya, according to Sharpton’s National Action Network and the office of attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Lyoya’s family. Services will begin at 11 a.m. at Renaissance Church of God in Christ in Grand Rapids. Lyoya, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was facedown on the ground April 4 when he was shot in the back of the head. Video footage released Wednesday by the police department showed the officer straddling Lyoya’s back at the time of the shooting. Video also showed the officer stopping Lyoya for driving with a license plate that didn’t belong to the vehicle, Lyoya’s attempt to run away before being tackled to the ground, and a struggle over the officer’s stun gun. The officer could be heard repeatedly ordering Lyoya to “let go” of his stun gun, at one point demanding: “Drop the Taser!” Michigan State Police are investigating the shooting and the events that led up to it. Police Chief Eric Winstrom, citing department policy, said he only would release the officer’s name if and when he is charged. Lyoya’s family and Crump have demanded that the city identify the officer.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: Researchers plan to study a group of Minnesotans who dunk themselves in icy Lake Harriet every winter day. The Star Tribune reports researchers from Rockefeller University’s Cohen Laboratory of Molecular Metabolism are studying so-called brown fat that generates heat in cold conditions in humans. They’re currently investigating possible links between controlled exposure to cold such as ice water dips or cold showers and improved health. They’re also investigating blood biomarkers of brown fat in young New Yorkers using cooling vests. The researchers want to validate the study in a larger group of people, so starting this summer they’ll collect blood from a group of 70 people who dip themselves in Lake Harriet at least twice a week for a month in winter. The researchers hope to compare molecules in their blood during the summer and winter months as well as their responses to anxiety, stress and depression. The Minneapolis Park Board allows people to swim in lakes Harriet or Cedar during the winter if they apply for a permit and sign a waiver. Data from the waiver system indicates about 1,000 people have taken dips in the lakes since December 2021.

Mississippi

Jackson: The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is granting the public access to additional papers from the late author Eudora Welty, including letters written by members of her family. The release came Wednesday on the 113th anniversary of Welty’s birth. She died July 23, 2001. According to her will, the family correspondence was to remain private for 20 years after her death. Welty, who lived most of her life in Jackson, was known for the lyrical quality of her short stories and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for her short novel “The Optimist’s Daughter,” published in 1972. While establishing herself as a writer, Welty photographed scenes of everyday life in Mississippi during the Great Depression for the Works Progress Administration. Welty’s niece, Mary Alice White, said in a news release from the archives department that the newly released letters begin with the courtship of Welty’s parents. White said they also include correspondence with relatives and papers and letters from others in the family. The Eudora Welty Collection was established in 1957, when she donated manuscripts, photographs and correspondence to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

Missouri

Springfield: Hoping to end the tyranny of the Bradford pear tree, the state Department of Conservation is offering free replacements to residents who cut them down. The Bradford pear, also known as the Callery pear, can create unpleasant smells and, more importantly, is invasive and destructive to other plants and animals. While beautiful in bloom, it multiplies quickly and crowds out native plants, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. “The Callery pear became a popular ornamental landscape tree in the 1960s because it was inexpensive, it grew fast, and provided those eye-catching blooms in the spring,” said MDC Forestry Program Supervisor Russell Hinnah. “But that’s where its benefits end. Different varieties of the tree were planted close to each other, which resulted in cross-pollination, and they took over natural areas.” The Bradford pear also has a poor branch structure, so the trees don’t fare well in storms. MDC encourages homeowners and landscapers to grow native when picking a tree to plant. “There are many great trees to substitute,” Hinnah said. “Serviceberry trees produce similar showy white blooms in the spring and have small red fruits that attract wildlife.” Other great alternatives include American plum, hawthorn, eastern redbud and Missouri’s state tree, the flowering dogwood.

Montana

Ennis: Instead of only responding to 911 calls, some emergency responders in the state are working with patients in their homes to prevent unnecessary medical emergencies. Community paramedicine services can range from home check-ins between doctor visits to follow-up care with discharged hospital patients, Montana Public Radio reports. According to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services, 10 emergency medical service agencies across Montana are doing this work as part of a pilot program established by the 2019 Legislature. The state received federal funding to help set up a training program at Missoula College that could offer its first class later this year. DPHHS also plans to use a separate $5 million federal grant to expand community paramedicine services in Montana. Nicole Steeneken, who works in the state health department’s EMS and trauma section, said the new federal grant will train nearly 50 first responders in community paramedicine services. The grant will also pay for those emergency responders’ salaries for a year and half. “We’re trying to hit at least two providers within each county and then build upon that with larger organizations that might fill in the gaps,” Steeneken said. Nearly 30 EMS agencies in Montana have submitted applications to take part in the program.

Nebraska

Lincoln: Gov. Pete Ricketts signed a law Monday that will allow the state to move forward with plans to build a canal in Colorado to divert water out of the South Platte River because of fears about its neighbor’s increased water use. Ricketts proposed the canal project to help protect Nebraska’s water rights as the population of Colorado’s Front Range increases, although Colorado officials have questioned the need for it. “Water is our most important natural resource after our people. We need to continue to manage, protect and steward it here in our state,” Ricketts said. The law will allow Nebraska to begin work on the roughly $500 million canal, but the measure includes only $53.5 million to design the project and potentially secure purchase options on land that might be used for it in the future. Officials estimate it will take eight to 10 years to complete the project, and the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources will have to return to the Legislature next year to obtain additional funding. Ricketts, a Republican, has said the South Platte River Compact agreement that was approved by Nebraska, Colorado and Congress in 1923 gives Nebraska the right to build the canal. That would give Nebraska the right to claim some of the water in late fall, winter and early spring and store it for use in drier times.

Nevada

Las Vegas: Officials who run elections are worried supply shortages could bring delays as they order the paper and envelopes needed for upcoming primary and midterm elections. The dilemma is the result of global supply chain issues coupled with an increase in demand for paper brought on by the pandemic, leaving ballot vendors worried about not getting their supply in time for the elections, the Las Vegas Sun reports. Lawmakers in Nevada, which has almost 1.8 million active registered voters, passed a law last year directing election officials to send every registered voter a mail-in ballot unless they choose to opt out. Some counties, such as Nye, are also pushing for 100% paper ballot elections. Both processes will require election officials to increase their paper supply to print ballots. The Nevada Secretary of State’s Office has known about the shortage for months and reached out to county officials to recommend they confirm with their ballot suppliers that they will get their supply in time. Joe Gloria, registrar of voters in the Las Vegas area, said he confirmed with the county’s vendors that the paper shortage would not affect Clark County in printing ballots or sample ballots for the 2022 election. The county, with more than 1.2 million active registered voters, has two different vendors, he said.

New Hampshire

Concord: Three people have pleaded guilty to wire fraud in opening accounts at financial institutions in their names or in the names of churches to allow another person to use the accounts to sell virtual currency. They pleaded guilty in federal court last week and await sentencing in July. Additional counts of wire fraud and conspiracy were dropped as part of a plea agreement. Two admitted to opening accounts in the names of the Crypto Church of NH and the Church of the Invisible Hand. The accounts were not used by churches but by Ian Freeman to trade virtual currency, prosecutors said. The third person signed blank checks and gave Freeman the login information or those accounts, they said. “Each of the defendants was aware that banks would close these accounts if the banks knew the accounts were used to operate an unlicensed virtual currency business,” the U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release Monday. Freeman and two others are scheduled for trial Nov. 1. He’s pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud, money laundering, operating a continuing financial crimes enterprise, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Freeman is a leader of the libertarian Free Keene group and hosts a radio show.

New Jersey

Trenton: Legislation that proposes a later school start time statewide would not be ideal for all, say some educators who are advocating for the decision to be left up to local districts. Students who participate in after-school activities and sports or have part-time jobs would be at a disadvantage with the later start, some educators said, especially during the shorter days of winter. Some argue the change also won’t be ideal for those parents who have to drop off their children at school on their way to work. The bill introduced last month by Senate Education Committee Chair Vin Gopal and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin proposes requiring all New Jersey public high schools to start later in the morning to benefit students’ mental health. The bill proposes later start times, no later than 8:30 a.m, beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. Currently, most of the state’s high schools start between 7:30 a.m and 8:30 a.m. The choice should be left to individual districts and their school boards, said the New Jersey School Boards Association. Despite “well-documented research indicating that adolescents are not getting sufficient sleep for their health and well-being,” NJSBA spokesperson Janet Bamford said a potential law must deal with practical hurdles such as transportation costs and family schedules.

New Mexico

Albuquerque: Organizers of a festival held on the date known for celebrating marijuana have had two permits denied by local police. The 420 Fest, scheduled for Wednesday in downtown Albuquerque, had submitted permit requests for streets to be blocked off. Melissa Thompson, New Mexico 420 Fest organizer, told KOB-TV she and her team have been communicating with the city about this since June. Police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the request was rejected because the department doesn’t have the manpower to block off streets in the middle of the workweek. Officers already have to shut down roads in the same area at night because of traffic around the bars. The 420 Fest has been an ongoing event for six years but was shelved during the pandemic. Thompson said thousands of people are expected to show up. While recreational cannabis is now permitted in New Mexico, attendees won’t be able to buy or consume any because they’ll be out in public. This month the state joined 17 others that have legalized recreation pot without significant legal challenges. The change came 15 years after the state first began offering medical marijuana.

New York

New York: A lawyer for recently resigned Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin said Monday that the Democrat has “very lively” legal issues from which to challenge corruption charges brought against him. Attorney Barry Berke told a Manhattan federal judge he expects to challenge on legal grounds the charges brought against Benjamin last week based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s skepticism toward criminal cases against politicians built solely on political contributions. In a statement issued after the hearing, Berke and defense attorney Dani James wrote: “This case is an unprecedented attempt to criminally charge an upstanding state leader for routine fundraising and support of a non-profit providing needed resources to Harlem public schools.” Benjamin’s arrest on charges alleging he promised to trade his political influence for a real estate developer’s campaign contributions created a political crisis for Gov. Kathy Hochul, seven months after she teamed up with Benjamin and pledged to restore order after ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, another Democrat, resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal. Hochul had been lieutenant governor under Cuomo. Benjamin is free on $250,000 bail after he pleaded not guilty last Tuesday following his arrest on multiple charges including bribery, fraud, conspiracy and falsification of records.

North Carolina

Harkers Island: A newborn wild horse will be raised as a domesticated animal after well-meaning tourists took it with them as they left a barrier island, officials at a national park said. The foal followed a group of visitors on Shackleford Banks for two hours March 26 with no other horses around, according to a Monday news release from the Cape Lookout National Seashore. When the visitors moved their boat to leave the island, the young horse tried to follow them. The park said the tourists were worried the newborn would drown, so they lifted it into their boat and left. The tourists were cited for removing the horse, and the park said it’s working with them to assist with future educational opportunities and community service projects that will benefit the banks and its horses. A stallion trying to protect its group of mares might drive them away from where a foal is sleeping, according to the national park. The stallion’s goal is to keep a mare from going back to get her offspring because he doesn’t want to lose her. The newborn might lose its harem in such cases. Dr. Sue Stuska, the park’s wildlife biologist, said in the news release that young horses will follow other horses or even people when separated from their mothers. But visitors shouldn’t come closer than 50 feet to wildlife.

North Dakota

Bismarck: McKenzie County residents are lukewarm on federal efforts to rename a hamlet on the Montana border. A federal task force is working to replace the names of more than 660 geographic features nationwide that American Indians find derogatory. One of the features is Squaw Gap. The Bismarck Tribune reports the hamlet is little more than a community hall and an old schoolhouse. The community is named for a rock formation that was said to resemble an Indian woman carrying a child, according to the book “North Dakota Place Names” by Douglas A. Wick. McKenzie County Commission Vice Chair Kathy Skarda, who grew up in the Squaw Gap area, said her friends and family thought the renaming effort was a joke. She said she doesn’t think the name was ever meant to deride any ethnicity. People will have to live with the name change, she said, but the area will always be Squaw Gap to residents. Possible replacement names include Spring Creek, One-O-One Creek, Phillip Draw, West Fork Badlands Draw and Phillip Spring. The task force will forward recommendations to the Board on U.S. Geographic Names in the coming months. Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation Tribal Chairman Mark Fox said he supports removing the term from place names. “It really causes serious and strong emotions and resistance to that term,” Fox said.

Ohio

Columbus: State regulation of streams that flow temporarily after rainfall would be restricted under proposed legislation months in the works. Construction companies, the mining industry and other business groups say removing so-called ephemeral streams from regulation would make Ohio’s practice consistent with federal law. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency created a permitting system for development projects affecting ephemeral streams after the government removed them from federal oversight in 2020 and left their regulation up to states. The EPA says about 36,500 miles of the state’s 115,200 miles of primary headwater streams are ephemeral streams. Environmental groups largely oppose the legislation, saying the streams play an important role in maintaining water quality. They also question why Ohio would remove the streams from regulation at the same time it’s spending millions to improve water quality under Gov. Mike DeWine’s H2Ohio initiative. The state Senate approved the measure late last month along partisan lines. Some environmental groups softened their criticism after the Senate revised the bill to focus only on streams not already regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: A former Kay County corrections officer faces up to 10 years in prison after a federal jury convicted him of excessive force and placing Black detainees in harm’s way by moving them into the same cell row as white supremacist inmates. Matthew Ware, 53, was found guilty of willfully depriving two pretrial detainees of their right to be free from a corrections officer’s deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of serious harm and of willfully depriving a third pretrial detainee of the right to be free from a corrections officer’s use of excessive force. Prosecutors said while Ware was serving as lieutenant at the Kay County Detention Center in Newkirk on May 18, 2017, he ordered lower-ranking corrections officers to move D’Angelo Wilson and Marcus Miller to a cell row housing white supremacist inmates who Ware knew posed a danger to Wilson and Miller. Ware later ordered the officers to unlock the jail cells of Wilson and Miller and the white supremacist inmates at the same time the following morning, prosecutors said. When the cells were unlocked, the white supremacist inmates attacked Wilson and Miller, causing injuries to both, including a facial laceration to Wilson that required seven stitches, prosecutors said.

Oregon

Ontario: Planned Parenthood is renting medical office space in a town on the Oregon-Idaho border. Planned Parenthood has not confirmed its plans for the space but has said it’s preparing for an influx of out-of-state patients seeking abortions in Oregon because of multiple legal challenges to abortion rights, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports. Earlier this year the group successfully lobbied the Oregon Legislature to set aside $15 million in an unrestricted fund for reproductive health equity. “No matter what happens, we will be there for our in-state and out-of-state neighbors and continue to meet the needs of our patients,” said Kenji Nozaki, the chief of affiliate operations at Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette. “We are prepared to support anyone who seeks their legal right to decide whether and when to become pregnant.” The office space Planned Parenthood is renting in Ontario was previously home to the Four Rivers Health Clinic, a nonprofit serving people without health insurance. Joe Recla, the group’s executive director, said Four Rivers will use the rental income to continue to support uninsured patients. A Planned Parenthood clinic in Ontario could be a significant high desert outpost for access to abortion and other reproductive health care services. The town is about an hour’s drive from Boise, Idaho.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: The state’s acting health secretary is leaving the job, and Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday that his physician general will take over leadership of the department. Wolf said Keara Klinepeter’s last day is Friday. He plans to name Dr. Denise Johnson to succeed her as acting health secretary. Klinepeter has been acting secretary since her predecessor, Alison Beam, left at the end of 2021. Klinepeter has been deeply involved in the government’s handling of COVID-19, including as special adviser to the secretary and executive deputy secretary. Johnson said she was honored to lead the Health Department during what she called a transformative time in public health. Wolf spokeswoman Beth Rementer said Johnson will also continue to serve as physician general.

Rhode Island

Providence: More than 70 employees at Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort are accusing the company of violating federal and state fair labor laws by failing to pay them adequate overtime wages and systematically undercutting their weekly paychecks. Three employees sued Bally’s Twin River last month in U.S. District Court, alleging the casino was willfully and repeatedly miscalculating its pay for hourly, tipped workers. Dozens more employees who worked at Twin River in the past three years are seeking to join the class-action lawsuit. Those affected include dealers and servers and other tip-based employees. “We think there’s substantial money involved,” Chip Muller, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said Friday. The state-operated casino is privately owned. Patti Doyle, a spokeswoman for Twin River, said the company declined to comment because the matter involves personnel and pending litigation. According to the suit, the employees worked more than 40 hours some weeks but were paid 1.5 times an hourly rate that fell below the required state minimum wage. Federal fair labor and state laws require the employer to pay an hourly rate of 1.5 times the regular rate, which cannot be lower than the state minimum wage, for any overtime hours.

South Carolina

Hampton: Authorities are investigating a shooting at a nightclub early Sunday that wounded at least nine people. It was the second mass shooting in the state and the third in the nation during the Easter holiday weekend. No one was reported killed in the violence at Cara’s Lounge in Hampton County, roughly 80 miles west of Charleston, according to an email from South Carolina’s State Law Enforcement Division, which is investigating the shooting. A phone call to the nightclub was not answered. Gunfire had erupted Saturday at a busy mall in the state capital, Columbia, about 90 miles north of Sunday’s nightclub shooting. Nine people were shot, and five people sustained other kinds of injuries while trying to flee the scene at the Columbiana Centre, Columbia Police Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook said Saturday. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73. None faced life-threatening injuries. “We don’t believe this was random,” Holbrook said. “We believe they knew each other, and something led to the gunfire.”

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: The chief federal prosecutor in the state announced Monday that he’s retiring. U.S. Attorney Dennis Holmes spent more than 43 years as a prosecutor in South Dakota. The Custer native began his career as a prosecutor in 1978 as an intern in the Pennington County States Attorney’s Office while he was still in law school at the University of South Dakota. He went on to serve as an assistant state attorney general, rising to become chief deputy attorney general. He joined the U.S. attorney’s office in Pierre in 1988 and moved to the Sioux Falls office in 1995, where he prosecuted a wide array of cases ranging from large-scale drug conspiracies to environmental crimes. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him as U.S. attorney for 120 days in December following U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons’ resignation.

Tennessee

Knoxville: Demolition of the largest house in the state began Monday. The teardown of the 40,000-square-foot, 86-room Villa Collina is expected to take several days. Total Demolition Services is leading the work. The extravagant structure was purchased by LView Properties LLC for $6.5 million last October, according to Knox County property records. The property will be split into three lots for University of Tennessee board of trustees Chair John Compton, Jimmy and Dee Haslam, and David and Annie Colquitt. Mike and Deane Conley were the first owners of the Italianate-style mansion and built the house in stages between 1993 and 2000. It is the largest house in Tennessee and the 84th largest in the country, according to the Villa Collina website. The mansion has eight bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a commercial-grade kitchen and a three-story library, among other audacious amenities. Perhaps the most jaw-dropping room is the $5 million master suite, featuring Swarovski crystal chandeliers and $200,000 doorknobs. In December, an auction that gained the interest of people from around the country was held to sell items in the home before demolition. From stained-glass panels to decorative bathroom fixtures, the auction was full of unique, luxury items.

Texas

Dallas: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the conviction of death row inmate Kristopher Love, who claimed his trial was improperly influenced by racial bias after a juror said he believed nonwhite races were more violent. No reason was given for rejecting Love’s appeal, but the court’s three liberal justices issued a dissenting opinion saying the inmate’s claim deserved closer scrutiny. “Racial bias is odious in all aspects, but especially pernicious in the administration of justice,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a dissent joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan. The legal challenge by Love, a Black man, focused on the jury selection portion of his 2018 trial in Dallas, where a potential juror said he believed nonwhite races were “more violent races,” citing statistics seen in news reports and in criminology classes he had taken. Defense lawyers tried unsuccessfully to strike the man from Love’s jury. Sotomayor criticized the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which upheld Love’s death sentence in a unanimous ruling, finding last year that any error made at Love’s trial was harmless because the judge had given defense lawyers two extra peremptory strikes that let them reject potential jurors for any reason. Those two extra challenges, however, had already been used.

Utah

St. George: The drought-stricken state continues to see below-normal levels of snowpack, and Utah water officials said Friday that they don’t expect the annual spring runoff to provide nearly enough water to refill the state’s reservoirs. Some late-season snow provides some help, but 99% of the state remains in severe drought, according to the Utah Division of Water Resources. Some 95% of the water supplies used by state residents comes from snowmelt that flows into state reservoirs. “Utah has been in drought eight of the last 10 years, and this year’s disappointing snowpack is not going to pull the state out of drought,” said Brian Steed, executive director of the state Department of Natural Resources. “The recent snowstorms were beneficial, however, they added less than an inch of water to our snowpack.” Of the 95 measured streams, 51 are flowing below normal despite spring runoff. Eight streams are flowing at record-low conditions. The statewide snow water equivalent, or how much water would be in the snowpack if it melted, peaked at 12 inches this year, which was 75% of the typical median peak of 16 inches. Twenty-eight of Utah’s largest 45 reservoirs are below 55% of available capacity. Overall statewide storage is 58% of capacity. At this time last year, reservoirs were about 67% of capacity.

Vermont

Pawlet: The owner of an unpermitted firing range is facing jail time if he won’t allow town officials to visit the property within 30 days, a judge said Monday. The town has been working for years to get Daniel Banyai to comply with its zoning regulations and later orders from the state Environmental Court. During the remote hearing, Environmental Court Judge Thomas Durkin also told Banyai that he must sign a contract within 10 days with a surveyor to complete an assessment of the 30-acre property in West Pawlet to determine what is located there. “I will caution Mr. Banyai that if you do not abide by this interim order in any respect I will then immediately … consider any request made by the town of Pawlet to have you jailed until you comply,” Durkin said. During the three-hour hearing, Banyai’s lawyer Robert Kaplan said he only began representing Banyai last month, but he would work with town officials and his client to find an acceptable date for a site visit. Banyai bought the 30-acre property known as Slate Ridge in 2013 and sometime in 2017 began operating what he calls a firearms training facility. The property is only permitted to have a garage with an apartment. Slate Ridge neighbors have complained for some time about gunfire at the facility and what they claimed were threats and intimidation by Banyai and his supporters. Many of the neighbors of Slate Ridge are afraid to talk publicly because of fears for their safety.

Virginia

Bedford: Local officials are citing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers among reasons for selling a county-owned nursing home in southwestern Virginia. The Bedford County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold a special meeting to consider selling the nursing home. The nursing home was established as the County Poor Farm in 1831. The News & Advance reports that county officials are considering selling the facility to Roanoke-based American HealthCare LLC. County officials released a statement saying that with an increasing regulatory environment surrounding nursing homes, industry experts who specialize in health care compliance, rather than local government officials with no such expertise, are in a better position to make decisions. The statement also noted that the COVID-19 pandemic further prompted local officials to explore their options, and that the vaccine mandate for health care employees is “contrary to the positions of all board members” and has complicated uniformity in how county employees are treated.

Washington

Renton: After years of protest, moratoriums and delays, King County has granted approval for a proposed asphalt plant to be built on the banks of the Cedar River. The county’s Department of Local Services ruled Thursday that the project, which has been fiercely opposed by neighbors and environmental groups, “does not pose a probable significant adverse impact to the environment,” as long as the company takes mitigation measures. The decision comes six years after Lakeside Industries bought the 25-acre parcel on Highway 169 and nearly four years after Lakeside, which has a dozen asphalt plants in Western Washington, first applied to build the plant, the Seattle Times reports. The county also said an environmental impact statement – which had been requested by the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and others – was not necessary. The site sits about 50 yards from the Cedar River, separated by a five-lane highway and bike path. A traffic study found the plant will require 460 truck trips each weekday. The site was rezoned in 2008, in a little-noticed amendment to a massive piece of mandatory legislation. It was shifted from rural, with only one home allowed every 5 acres, to industrial. Lakeside bought the site in 2016 for $9.5 million, five times its assessed value.

West Virginia

Charleston: State residents have until close of business Tuesday to register to vote or update their registration for the May 10 primary. It is especially important for voters who have moved to a different address, changed their name or want to change political party to update registration, Secretary of State Mac Warner’s office said in a news release. Registration can be completed online at GoVoteWV.com by close of business Tuesday; by mailing a paper application to the county clerk, postmarked by Tuesday; or in person at the offices of the county clerk, secretary of state, Division of Motor Vehicles, pubic assistance, agencies serving people with disabilities and military recruiting agencies, the release said. More information on the primary election is also available at GoVoteWV.com.

Wisconsin

Madison: Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway wants to spend $425,000 to design a system to filter PFAS chemicals out of a city well. The Wisconsin State Journal reports the mayor said the system would be the first in the state designed to filter the so-called forever chemicals out of drinking water. Rhodes-Conway and Alderwoman Nasra Wehelie said they’ve drafted a resolution authorizing city water officials to contract with AECOM for up to $375,000 in design and engineering services for the system. The resolution includes another $50,000 for staff time. City officials say a no-bid contract is necessary in order to submit the project for state grants in October. The money is part of $143 million the state is receiving through the infrastructure aid bill Congress passed last year. The bill provides $12.8 million in each of the next five years for projects targeting emerging contaminants in drinking water. Competition for the grants is expected to be stiff. The city’s water quality manager, Joe Grande, said the filtration likely would cost about $670,000 to install and between $136,000 and $300,000 annually to operate depending on the level of PFAS contamination allowed. The city closed Well 15 in 2009 after tests showed elevated levels of PFAS, likely stemming from the Dane County Regional Airport.

Wyoming

Casper: In honor of National Donate Life Month, Donor Alliance is inviting residents to celebrate the gift of life by raising awareness for organ, eye and tissue donation at events across the state. Ranging from the upcoming Wyoming Donor Dash event – a 5K walk/run April 23 at the Tate Pumphouse in Casper – to celebrations at Driver Services and hospitals across Wyoming, there are plenty of opportunities for Wyoming residents to honor the lives of donors, celebrate the lives of recipients and raise awareness for those still waiting for a lifesaving transplant. “Wyoming continues to make an incredible impact when it comes to residents who have signed up as organ and tissue donors,” said Jennifer Prinz, president and CEO of Donor Alliance. “As we honor National Donate Life Month in Wyoming, we’re aiming to grow awareness and support of the generous gift of organ and tissue donation.” In honor of Blue and Green Day on Friday, twenty-one of the state’s Driver Services offices in addition to hospitals across Wyoming are honoring the day with celebrations and office decorations. Residents are encouraged to join the celebration by dressing in blue and green to raise awareness for organ, eye and tissue donation.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Egg roll, valedictorian delay: News from around our 50 states