Cast of Blues, wedding dress scare, rhino escape: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Huntsville: The state attorney general’s office is trying to revive its lawsuit over the removal of a Confederate monument from outside a courthouse in the city. The state claimed in court documents that a judge shouldn’t have dismissed the suit just because someone anonymously paid a $25,000 fine that was owed by Madison County for removing the statue nearly a year ago, WHNT-TV reports. Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office contends the county should be required to pay the penalty itself. A judge scheduled a hearing for Friday afternoon on the state’s bid to reinstate the lawsuit. The state sued the county last year seeking a $25,000 penalty that’s mandated under a state law that makes it illegal to remove or alter monuments. Madison County asked a judge to end the state’s suit after someone deposited $25,000 into a court account to pay the fine Aug. 27. The county says the money isn’t from taxpayers or Madison County but hasn’t said where it came from. Circuit Judge Claude Hundley dismissed the suit, but the state argues it needs to know who paid the fine to end the case. It also says the judge still needs to rule on its claim that Madison County broke the law by moving the monument, erected in 1905 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, to a city-owned cemetery.

Alaska

Newtok: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the pace of moving residents from a community threatened by erosion to another village, officials said. Money also has been an issue. Nine homes in the new village of Mertarvik that were started last year remain unfinished, and no one has moved from Newtok to Mertarvik since 2019, KYUK Public Media reports. Newtok had an estimated 220 residents last year. “We couldn’t get any cabinets because of this COVID thing,” said Phillip Carl, Newtok acting tribal administrator. Patrick LeMay, who is leading the building effort in Mertarvik, said shortages for materials have persisted. “We got 48 lights that are trapped somewhere in Tennessee floods, to finish the lighting. There’s a shortage of fire extinguishers in the nation,” LeMay said. “The supply chain has been a disaster.” Many of the workers building homes in Mertarvik are Newtok residents. LeMay said three workers from Newtok contracted COVID-19 in August. Many remaining laborers chose to stop working due to concerns about an outbreak, KYUK reports. Newtok recently experienced its biggest outbreak since the pandemic began, with 32 residents testing positive for the coronavirus last month. About 42% of its population is vaccinated. Meanwhile, Carl said Newtok has lost over 100 feet of its coast since April.

Arizona

Phoenix: State Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Tuesday that Tucson’s vaccine mandate for its employees is illegal, giving the city 30 days to repeal it or risk losing millions of dollars in state funding. Democratic-led Tucson has repeatedly clashed with the state’s Republican leadership over the city’s aggressive efforts to control the spread of COVID-19. City Manager Michael Ortega said he put the mandate on hold while Tucson develops its legal position in response to the attorney general’s decision. Brnovich, who is running for U.S. Senate in a crowded Republican primary, cited a state law approved this summer that bans local governments from mandating vaccines for employees, though it doesn’t take effect until later this month. He also cited an August executive order signed by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. “Adhering to the rule of law in Arizona is not optional,” Katie Conner, a spokeswoman for Brnovich, told reporters. Tucson Mayor Regina Romero suggested Brnovich’s decision was motivated by his Senate campaign. “This report reads more as a campaign speech filled with political commentary rather than a fact-based legal opinion,” the Democratic mayor said in a statement. City officials are reviewing their options, Romero said, and the next step will have to be decided by her and City Council.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The state reported 38 new deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday as the capital city launched a new incentive program to boost vaccinations. The Department of Health said the state’s death toll from the pandemic now totals 7,108. The state reported 583 new coronavirus cases, and COVID-19 hospitalizations rose by eight to 1,228. Arkansas ranks 10th in the country for new cases per capita, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The state’s top health official has warned he expects to see a surge in cases following the Labor Day weekend, and Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday said he expected an increase as well. “We have fewer cases from the Labor Day weekend, but we’ll see the effects of the holiday weekend later this week and into the next,” Hutchinson tweeted. Little Rock launched its incentive program tied to vaccination clinics it is holding, starting Saturday at the Southwest Community Center. Those who get shots at these clinics will receive a $50 VISA Rewards Card from U.S. Bank for both their first and second doses of vaccine received at a participating clinic. Those who provide proof of having gotten a first vaccine dose elsewhere and choose to get their second dose at a participating clinic, or those who receive a single-dose vaccine at a participating clinic, can receive a $100 Rewards Card.

California

Sacramento: Lawmakers have moved to make the state the first to outlaw “stealthing,” which is removing a condom without permission during intercourse. Legislators sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill Tuesday adding the act to the state’s civil definition of sexual battery. It makes it illegal to remove the condom without obtaining verbal consent. But it doesn’t change the criminal code. Instead, it would amend the civil code so that a victim could sue the perpetrator for damages, including punitive damages. Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia has been pushing for the legislation since 2017, when a Yale University study said acts of stealthing were increasing against women and gay men alike. Her original bill attempted to make it a crime. But legislative analysts said at the time that the act could already be considered misdemeanor sexual battery, even if it isn’t specifically referenced in the criminal code. Even so, the analysts said it is rarely prosecuted, if only because of the difficulty in proving that a perpetrator acted intentionally instead of accidentally. Analysts this year said Garcia’s bill would remove any ambiguity in civil law. Garcia said the act can cause long-term physical and emotional harm to its victims.

Colorado

Denver: The city has closed Civic Center Park, one of its historic landmarks that has become a hot spot for homeless people to camp, because of safety and public health concerns, city officials said in a statement Tuesday. City officials said the park and surrounding areas have become a “hotspot for violence, crime, drug sales and substance misuse, jeopardizing the public’s ability to safely enjoy one of Denver’s treasured outdoor spaces.” Officials cited concerns about rodents, disease spread, impacts on water quality, discarded needles and other drug paraphernalia in a statement in which Mayor Michael B. Hancock said conditions had reached a “tipping point.” “This cannot and will not be allowed to continue,” Hancock said. The park was closed to the public starting Wednesday. Officials called it temporary but did not provide an exact date for its reopening. The city said it plans to restore the park’s greenery and historical stone structures that have been damaged by graffiti and fires and will require professional restoration. The park faces the state’s Capitol building and Lincoln Park, which was fenced off last summer after the city cleared a large camp of homeless people who were living there. Officials had cited health and safety concerns for issuing Lincoln Park’s cleanup, also referred to as “homeless sweeps” by local housing advocates.

Connecticut

Bridgeport: An independent investigator will look into allegations of racial discrimination within the police department including unfair discipline of Black officers and a hostile work environment, city officials said. The probe is in response to claims against acting Police Chief Rebeca Garcia made by the Bridgeport Guardians, a group that represents minority officers on the force, Hearst Connecticut Media reports. City Council President Aidee Nieves said Bridgeport will be hiring an outside attorney to review the allegations. The Guardians, however, are continuing to insist that federal government officials investigate the department. Davon Polite, president of the Guardians, said there are concerns that city officials will hire a lawyer who will produce the results they want. “A federal investigation is the only way to get an impartial, fair investigation,” Polite said. The Guardians and the local NAACP branch recently requested federal oversight of the department and an investigation, alleging a widespread pattern of racial discrimination within the agency. The Guardians accuse Garcia of subjecting minority officers to disparate treatment and a hostile work environment. The group has called for her removal. The city police union voted no confidence in Garcia in March.

Delaware

Wilmington: A Chancery Court judge ruled protests may continue outside the house of Delaware Deputy Attorney General Mark Denney, denying the state’s request for a temporary restraining order. The proposed restrictions, made by the state Department of Justice after it perceived threats against the agency’s Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust head, sought to keep protesters 300 feet from Denney’s home. Demonstrators would also have to notify New Castle County Police at least 24 hours before they protested. In making her ruling Tuesday, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick said there was not enough for her to go on to issue a temporary restraining order. She attributed that to the speed at which the proceedings were brought to her on Sunday of Labor Day Weekend. But she said the motion to expedite the proceeding could move forward. A date for the next hearing was not provided. Keandra McDole Ray, one of the people targeted by the motion, viewed the ruling as a positive outcome for demonstrators, who have been protesting that Denney “do his job” in the matter of Lymond Moses – a 30-year-old man killed during a Jan. 13 interaction with New Castle County Police in Wilmington.

District of Columbia

Washington: One of the biggest rock bands in the world will take the stage at D.C.’s 9:30 Club on Thursday night as the final part of the venue’s reopening week celebration, WUSA-TV reports. The club, which had been teasing a surprise musical guest for a few weeks, posted on social media Wednesday that the Foo Fighters had been tapped to help welcome fans back. This won’t be the first venue Dave Grohl and company have helped to reopen from long pandemic-induced closures. Back in June, the band reopened New York’s Madison Square Garden with a little help from D.C. native Dave Chappelle. But the 9:30 Club has a special connection to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band’s leader. As a teenager, Grohl played drums in a band called Dane Bramage at the 9:30 Club. “As a kid growing up in the D.C. punk rock scene, your first show at the 9:30 Club might as well have been Royal Albert Hall or Madison Square Garden,” Grohl told the Washington Post in a 2010 article celebrating the venue’s 30th anniversary. The 9:30 Club is one of several D.C. venues requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative coronavirus test within 72 hours of an event.

Florida

Islamorada: A 148-year-old Florida Keys lighthouse could get a new life now that a community organization is poised to take ownership and begin a massive preservation project. U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has approved a recommendation from the National Park Service that Islamorada-based Friends of the Pool Inc. be granted ownership of Alligator Reef Lighthouse under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. The nonprofit announced the approval Tuesday. “Alligator Reef Lighthouse has stood since 1873,” project organizer Rob Dixon said. “It’s an important part of Islamorada’s local history. It’s our Statue of Liberty and needs to be saved.” Dixon said the restoration project is likely to take five to seven years and cost up to $9 million. “We’re going to need a lot of fundraising help and a lot of technical help,” he said. Friends of the Pool hosts an annual 8-mile swimming race to the offshore lighthouse and back to fund collegiate scholarships. The effort to save the lighthouse and start the “Swim for Alligator Lighthouse” event was conceived by Larry Herlth, a local metal artisan who created detailed replicas of Alligator Reef Lighthouse and other Keys lighthouses. “The six lighthouses off the Florida Keys are the biggest collection of iron piling lighthouses anywhere in the world,” Herlth said. “The history is just phenomenal.”

Georgia

Atlanta: A metro-area school district is switching to virtual learning, after two school bus drivers and a bus monitor died from COVID-19 in recent weeks. The 9,700-student Griffin-Spalding County school system, on the southern fringe of suburban Atlanta, made the announcement late Monday, citing a disruption in student transportation. Districts across Georgia are struggling to line up enough drivers and monitors to keep buses running. In Savannah, some bus drivers staged a sickout for the second day Tuesday after a similar protest Friday. At least 210,000 Georgia students in 54 districts and charter networks have had their school schedules disrupted because of COVID-19. Some districts have taken days off, some shifted to every-other-day schedules, and some sent home individual schools or grades. That’s over 12% of Georgia’s 1.7 million public school students. The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals remains above 6,000, the highest level since the start of the pandemic. The number of newly reported deaths continues to rise sharply, with Georgia currently averaging more than 80 deaths a day, totaling more than 23,000 since the pandemic began. More than 34,000 coronavirus cases have been reported among children ages 5-17 in the two weeks ended Sept. 2, state Department of Public Health data shows.

Hawaii

Honolulu: A resort in the famed tourist mecca of Waikiki will be the first in the state to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for all employees and guests. Starting Oct. 15, ’Alohilani Resort will require its employees, patrons and guests to show proof they’re fully inoculated. The requirement will also apply to the six other Waikiki properties owned or operated by Highgate, a real estate investment and hospitality management company. It’s the right thing to do as Hawaii grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations because of the highly contagious delta variant, said Kelly Sanders, senior vice president of operations at Highgate Hawaii. There were an average of 706 newly confirmed infection cases per day across Hawaii between Aug. 30 and Sept. 5 across Hawaii, according to the state Department of Health. Hawaii’s vaccination rate was 64%. “So I think we will be the safest hotel in Hawaii, at least for now,” Sanders said Wednesday. “And hopefully that helps our business and doesn’t hurt our business.” John De Fries, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, called the move a step in a the right direction and said he hopes other hotels follow suit.

Idaho

Boise: The state’s move to “crisis standards of care” is allowing some hospitals to ration health care as they struggle with an onslaught of coronavirus patients, and officials are warning the procedures could spread statewide. But the main hospital affected by the designation was already operating under extreme conditions, officials said. “Unfortunately we haven’t been really at our normal standards for some time,” said Dr. Robert Scoggins, the chief of staff for Kootenai Health, the largest hospital system in the northern half of the state. The Coeur d’Alene facility has had to move patients into a conference center, “doing things that were not normal – way outside of normal – at times,” Scoggins said. Newly confimed coronavirus infection cases are surging, and Idaho has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the U.S. At Kootenai Health, some patients are treated in converted lobbies and hallways. Urgent surgeries are on hold, and critical patients must often wait long periods of time for intensive care beds, Scoggins said. “Almost every day at this point we are having cardiac arrest from patients when their oxygen levels dip too low, and we can’t supply them with enough oxygen,” he said. An entire floor of the hospital has been turned into a COVID-19 ward, meaning medical staffers must put on full protective gear before they enter the floor.

Illinois

Chicago: Former U.S. Sen. Adlai Stevenson III has died at his home on Chicago’s North Side. He was 90. His son Adlai Stevenson IV, who confirmed the Illinois Democrat died Monday, said his father had dementia. Before his health declined, Stevenson kept active organizing presentations and speakers for the Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy in Libertyville, Illinois. He also worked on the family farm in Hanover, Illinois, raising cattle, growing corn and hay for their feed, and chopping wood. “He just faded away,” his son said. Stevenson ran for governor of Illinois twice, losing his 1982 run by just 5,074 votes to Republican Gov. Jim Thompson – the closest election for governor in modern Illinois history. Stevenson was the great-grandson of former Vice President Adlai Stevenson, who served in the role for the second of President Grover Cleveland’s nonconsecutive terms. His father, Adlai Stevenson II, was a former Illinois governor and two-time presidential candidate. When running for the Senate, where he was first elected in 1970 to serve out the remainder of the late Sen. Everett Dirksen’s term, the third Stevenson asked then-Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley for advice. “My advice to you is don’t change your name,” Daley told him, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Stevenson was reelected in 1974 but decided not to run again in 1980.

Indiana

Indianapolis: The Indiana Secured School Safety Board has approved more than $19 million in state grants, marking a third consecutive year the General Assembly has allocated funds for school safety investments. The awards will allow the board to fund projects proposed by 392 schools in their applications to the Secured School Safety Grant program. The program issues matching grants for school resource officers and law enforcement officers in schools, active event warning systems, firearms training for teachers and staff, threat assessments, and other safety technology and support services. Schools then match those funds at a certain level, based on average daily membership of the school district, the total amount of the project or what the request covers. “Hoosier students and staff should be able to go to school with the confidence and comfort of knowing they are safe and protected from harm. This program represents the state’s commitment to that mission,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a statement. The allocation of funds for the fiscal year includes roughly $13.4 million for school resource officers, $4.9 million for safety equipment, $642,000 for student and parent support services programs, $43,000 for active event warning services, and $6,200 for training.

Iowa

Marshalltown: The city’s public schools will become the new owners of the historic Orpheum Theater for the basement-bargain price of $1. Marshalltown Community School District Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved a letter of intent to buy the theater on Main Street, the Times-Republican reports. The school district will pay the current owners, Iowa Valley Community College District, $1 for the building at closing. The closing date has been set for June 16 or sooner. The school board also approved a $20,000 purchase of a parking lot immediately east of the theater. The Orpheum closed last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Iowa Valley Community College District Chancellor Kristie Fisher said her school views the sale as more of a transfer of property from one school to another, and she’s proud the theater will remain an educational facility. “We knew it was a great community asset and so important to the greater Marshall County community that we wanted to make sure we were maximizing it,” Fisher said. She said that while the $1 sale doesn’t appear to be a money-maker for the community college district, it will save the institution the costs of operating the theater, freeing up funds for other priorities. The downtown Orpheum Theater was built in 1948.

Kansas

Wichita: After months of advocacy by activists, the City Council has voted to establish a board to advise the council and city staff on environmental concerns, climate change and economic vitality. The council voted unanimously Tuesday to support Wichita’s Sustainability Integration Board, which will advise in such areas as reducing emissions and finding economic growth that is environmentally friendly. The council had listened to 27 Wichita citizens during the past six months who spoke about climate change concerns, The Wichita Eagle reports. As currently planned, the board will have 14 members and meet quarterly. Some of the advocates and some council members said the board was too big and should meet more often. The board will be able to create its own bylaws and procedures, including determining how often members meet. “I think this is a great first step forward, and I don’t think we should let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” Mayor Brandon Whipple said.

Kentucky

Frankfort: Republican lawmakers took initial steps Tuesday to block statewide mask mandates, showing their preference for local decision-making on the issue as they reconvened for a special session to assert their dominance in shaping Kentucky’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a daylong burst of action, a Senate committee advanced a measure to nullify the state school board’s requirement that anyone in a public K-12 school wear a mask. The bill would leave it up to local school boards to decide face-covering policies for their districts. A House panel advanced another bill to prevent the governor from issuing any new statewide orders requiring mask-wearing. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear previously used a mask mandate to combat the coronavirus’ spread. He lifted it but has said he would have reinstituted a requirement to counter a recent COVID-19 surge if he still had the authority. The session marks a dramatic power shift in coronavirus-related policymaking in the Bluegrass State. Since the pandemic hit Kentucky, Beshear mostly acted unilaterally in setting statewide virus policies, but the state Supreme Court shifted those decisions to the Legislature in a landmark ruling. Dozens of school districts have paused in-person learning because of virus outbreaks as the state sets records for new cases and hospitalizations.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: State health officials said Tuesday that they are revoking the licenses of nursing homes that evacuated residents to a warehouse where seven died amid deteriorating conditions deemed too squalid to be safe after Hurricane Ida. The seven homes – all owned by one person – “clearly failed to execute their emergency preparedness plans to provide essential care and services to their residents,” Department of Health Secretary Courtney Phillips said in a statement. Authorities found some nursing home residents lying on mattresses on the floor, without food or clean clothes, and detected strong odors of urine and feces throughout the warehouse, located in the town of Independence. Piles of trash were on the floor. Water entered the building, and generators at least temporarily failed, according to officials. Health department lawyer Stephen Russo called the conditions “inhumane.” State health officials and Attorney General Jeff Landry have launched investigations into the deaths. A police official said the Tangipahoa Parish warehouse was equipped to handle 300 to 500 people but ultimately took in more than 800. Officials said the owner, Bob Dean, failed to contact them for help and threw inspectors from the agency off the property when they arrived to review the conditions onsite after receiving reports of problems.

Maine

Augusta: The late founder of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center has become the first Black Mainer to be inducted in the state’s Franco-American Hall of Fame. Alain Jean Claude Nahimana, who died at age 49 last year, was one of three people inducted posthumously during the ceremony Tuesday at the Maine State House. The son of a Burundi ambassador who fled political turmoil, Nahimana was educated in Burundi and Switzerland before moving to Maine in 2010. He served as the president of the Burundi Community Association and as coordinator of the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition before launching the immigrant welcome center. There were a dozen inductees, including former House Speaker John Martin, of Eagle Lake, and state Sen. Susan Deschambault, of Biddeford. Dignitaries who attended the event included the French ambassador to the United States, Phillippe Etienne, along with Senate President Troy Jackson and House Speaker Ryan Fecteau. Gov. Janet Mills, who studied abroad for a year in Paris as a college student, delivered remarks in both French and English. She noted that more than a third of Maine residents have a Franco heritage.

Maryland

Annapolis: A commission on congressional and state legislative redistricting has announced 12 public hearings. Ten of the hearings will be held in different parts of the state. The first will be Sept. 20, and the last is scheduled for Nov. 18. There also will be two statewide virtual hearings. The panel, which includes leading Democrats who control the General Assembly as well as two Republican legislative leaders, will draw maps for the state’s eight congressional districts as well as the 188 seats in the Legislature, based on new census data. Maryland’s current congressional map has been criticized as having some of the most gerrymandered and oddly-shaped districts in the nation. In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1, Democrats hold a 7-1 advantage in its U.S. House delegation. Karl Aro, the former executive director of the Maryland Department of Legislative Services who is chairing the commission, said the geography should look “prettier” this time in how the maps are drawn. He noted that in the past “things have gotten pretty free-hand-drawing like.” Aro said he’s hopeful people will not feel like their communities have been “carved 16 different ways.”

Massachusetts

Boston: A shortage of bus drivers in the city’s public schools has been raising concern among parents who fear some students could be left behind when the district starts a new year Thursday. Acting Mayor Kim Janey and Superintendent Brenda Cassellius have told families to expect significant delays or bus cancellations, but details were not being provided to families until Thursday morning, The Boston Globe reports. The shortage is so severe that a union for bus drivers last week urged the district to postpone the start of classes. The district’s bus fleet was short more than 60 drivers at the time, and few had been added by this week. Families and advocates worry some students could end up stranded at home or at bus stops Thursday. The Boston Special Education Parent Advisory Council has raised concerns about students who need special education services including door-to-door transportation or individual bus monitors. “I honestly don’t know what to expect now and am concerned for families that don’t have the work flexibility, income, or resources to secure alternative transportation,” said Roxi Harvey, who chairs the council.

Michigan

Lansing: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday proposed spending $200 million in federal pandemic relief funding to replace lead water pipes across the state, where aging underground infrastructure was exposed by Flint’s disaster. The plan, if approved by the Legislature, would set aside $20 million to replace all the lines in Benton Harbor in five years. The majority-Black city in the state’s southwestern corner has been exceeding the federal lead limit since 2018. That year, Michigan began enforcing the nation’s strictest rules for lead in drinking water in the wake of the crisis in Flint, another impoverished city with a majority-Black population. The regulations will result in replacing every lead service pipe statewide by 2041 unless a utility can show regulators it will take longer. The proposal would expand upon a water plan Whitmer announced nearly a year ago, including $102 million to replace lead service lines in disadvantaged communities. In June, Republicans who control the Senate unveiled a $2.5 billion water infrastructure proposal that would be funded primarily with federal COVID-19 aid. Their plan includes $600 million for pipe replacements, triple what the governor is seeking. Whitmer said more money is needed to replace all pipes but noted an infrastructure agenda pending in Congress.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: A prominent GOP donor who is charged with multiple counts of sex trafficking is now being sued by an underage girl who says he used her for sex acts, then offered her money to keep her from talking about it. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court alleges that Anton Lazzaro’s attorneys offered $1,000 in hush money to the girl and her parents to keep them quiet and asked them to sign a nondisclosure agreement. The girl’s father refused and instead went to law enforcement, said their attorney, Jeff Anderson. The lawsuit, which also lists the girl’s parents as plaintiffs, alleges Lazzaro used his “power, wealth, influence, connections, and resources to recruit children … so that he could prey on them. When it became clear that Lazzaro had committed serious crimes, he attempted to coerce his victims and their families into keeping silent.” Lazzaro, 30, was charged in August with five counts of sex trafficking of minors, one count of attempted sex trafficking of a minor, one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors and three counts of obstruction. His attorney has said he is being falsely accused. St. Thomas University student Gisela Castro Medina, 19, the former chairwoman of the school’s Republican Party chapter, also faces criminal charges for allegedly recruiting girls for Lazzaro.

Mississippi

Hattiesburg: An exhibit about blues legends and juke joints is opening soon, designed to appeal to the eyes, hands and ears. A Cast of Blues will be on display starting Saturday and running through Oct. 9 at the Historic Eureka School in Hattiesburg. It features 15 resin-cast masks of blues legends and photographs of blues performers and juke joints made by Mississippi artists. Sharon McConnell-Dickerson created the resin-cast masks, and the photographs were taken by Ken Murphy. McConnell-Dickerson, who is visually impaired, said the casts are like 3-D photographs for people who are blind. “It captures the flesh, muscle, bone, hair and subtle expressions of emotion,” she said. “I wanted to discover the faces behind the music I love, so I went to Mississippi to map out the visages of the real Delta blues men and women.” The exhibit features Braille labels, a music playlist and a closed-captioned film about the Cast of Blues project. Visitors are encouraged to touch the masks, McConnell-Dickerson said. Among the artists spotlighted are Bo Diddley and Bobby Rush. The exhibit is also accompanied by the 2008 documentary film “M for Mississippi: A Road Trip through the Birthplace of the Blues.”

Missouri

St. Louis: Several people have been treated in emergency rooms after taking the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin, even as experts warn of dangerous side effects and a lack of proof that it helps treat COVID-19. Dr. Steven Brown told KMOV-TV that cases of ivermectin toxicity have occurred at Mercy hospitals across the state. “People who are relying upon ivermectin and remaining unvaccinated are under a tremendous false sense of security,” Brown said. “I have seen people with ivermectin toxicity in the emergency room from taking the animal formulation. I’ve seen people who relied on ivermectin to prevent themselves from getting COVID who are on ventilators and who have died.” This week, the American Medical Association and two pharmacist groups urged physicians, pharmacists and other prescribers to warn patients against using ivermectin, a decades-old drug used to killed worms and other parasites in humans and animals. Large studies are underway in the U.S. and overseas to determine if the drug has any effect on preventing or reducing the effects of COVID-19. Ivermectin has been promoted by GOP lawmakers, conservative talk show hosts and some doctors, amplified via social media to millions still resistant to vacines. It has also been widely used in some other countries such as India and Brazil.

Montana

Helena: The state’s Republican attorney general is asking a court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood last month seeking to block four new laws that would restrict access to abortion in the state. The laws, set to take effect Oct. 1, would ban abortion after 20 weeks of gestation; restrict access to abortion pills; require abortion providers to ask patients if they would like to view an ultrasound; and prohibit insurance plans that cover abortion procedures from being offered on the federal exchange. The lawsuit filed in Yellowstone District Court names Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen as a defendant. The state is represented in the case by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group. The state asked Tuesday for the court to reject Planned Parenthood’s request to block the laws before they take effect, saying the laws will “help minimize the medical risks” during pregnancy. But medical experts and abortion advocates broadly dispute that the new laws would make the procedure safer. The suit claims the laws violate the Montana Constitution, which protects access to abortion before the fetus is viable, generally at 24 weeks gestation. It says the laws will reduce the number of locations where abortion services are offered and threaten providers with civil and criminal penalties.

Nebraska

Omaha: A segment of the Henry Doorly Zoo was cleared out and visitors were warned to remain inside buildings after a 5,000-pound rhinoceros briefly escaped its enclosure, officials there confirmed. The incident happened Tuesday afternoon, when zookeepers spotted an Indian rhino named Jontu outside his enclosure grazing on grass in an area adjacent to the rhino barn that’s not open to the public, the Omaha World-Herald reports. Visitors were asked to leave the area or shelter in buildings, and the zoo’s carousel and aviary were cleared of guests as a precaution. Dan Cassidy, the zoo’s vice president of animal management, said staff quickly pulled in trucks to serve as a barricade around the area to keep the rhino from wandering and used apples and leafy greens to lure him back in the barn. In all, the rhino was outside the enclosure for about 40 minutes, Cassidy said. The animal never showed any signs of aggression while outside the barn, and the public was not in danger, Cassidy said. Vets were on hand with tranquilizer guns to be used as a last resort if needed. Zoo officials believe Jontu used his nose to push open a latch on a door that wasn’t locked properly. Cassidy said staff will critique the process of corralling the rhino and are considering changing the lock on the door from which he escaped.

Nevada

Las Vegas: The president of the school board for metro Las Vegas says she’s received death threats since the district approved a requirement for employees to get COVID-19 vaccinations. Clark County School District Board of Trustees President Linda Cavazos said on Twitter that the threats had “very disturbing images” but that she and her colleagues were continuing to do their jobs, KVVU-TV reports. “We have no time for hate,” she said. The district board voted Sept. 1 for a vaccination requirement that the district superintendent will draft and implement. The district hasn’t yet released details of the mandate. As approved by the board, the plan will include a process for requesting accommodations for medical conditions or for sincerely held religious beliefs. Amid talk of a protest against the mandate, the district said Tuesday that staff member absences were about double from the day after Labor Day in 2019. The district said the callouts accounted for less than 5% of the CCSD workforce and noted that staff could have called out for a variety of reasons.

New Hampshire

Stratham: A family that lost a nearly 185-year-old barn on their farm that’s been the backdrop for political events for Republican politicians has sunflowers in the spot for now and recently celebrated a grand reopening. The fire burned down a four-story, 80-foot-long barn at the Scamman Farm in Stratham in May. “It’s just so beautiful, and we’ve been getting a lot of phone calls through the summer asking if they can come take photos in the sunflower patch,” farm manager Sue Fernholz said. “It shows that there’s beauty in life after tragedy.” Fernholz said the sunflowers were planted to pay tribute to the sister of a family friend who died last year. The farm, which reopened last week, also features corn mazes, hayrides, pumpkin patch and other attractions. The family still plans to rebuild the barn once two other buildings are repaired. “We’re going to take the winter to figure out what our needs are (for the new barn),” Kirk Scamman said. Former Presidents George W. Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush, had visited the farm. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, launched his campaign there, and Republican Scott Brown announced his U.S. Senate run there in 2014.

New Jersey

Fair Lawn: One school district is getting creative with ways to allow students to get mask-free fresh air during the day. The Fair Lawn district has set up 32 tents at its 10 schools for outdoor lunch, and at Fair Lawn High School, two additional tents are available for outdoor classes, said Superintendent Nicholas Norcia. The first day of school last Friday had a delayed start because of flooding, and the schools have been closed this week until Thursday for the Rosh Hashana holiday. The principals will be working with teachers to determine a schedule for outdoor classrooms so that everyone can get a chance to use them, Norcia said. On Friday, Norcia visited a few schools. “The students were excited to be outside in beautiful weather, eating lunch,” he said. “They were having the best time ever, and it was so great to see.” As of now, the schedule will allow for half the students to eat lunch outside while the other half are inside, and they will rotate. While in the tents, students don’t need to wear masks, Norcia said. Meanwhile, some school districts along the Jersey shore have been lifting mask mandates, citing excessive heat and insufficient air conditioning in classrooms.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: An expansion of nonmerit scholarships to college and greater spending to safeguard abandoned oil wells in the state are among the governor’s new spending priorities, amid a windfall in income linked to federal pandemic relief and petroleum production. September marks the outset of the Legislature’s grueling budget-writing process for the year beginning July 1, 2022. Several executive agencies overseen by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham are making the case for expanded services. Lujan Grisham spokesman Tripp Stelnicki said Tuesday that the inclination is to “aim high” and “make the most of the opportunity we have to finish the work of rebuilding state government services after so many years of forced austerity.” The Human Services Department is suggesting a $100 million spending increase on Medicaid and related mental health services alone, for total annual general fund spending of $1.26 billion on the program. State income for the coming fiscal year is expected to outpace routine annual spending obligations by $1.4 billion, or 19% of annual general fund spending obligations. That leaves lawmakers more money than ever before to spend on education, roads, public safety and other government programs.

New York

New York: The remains of two people who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack at the World Trade Center were positively identified this week, as officials continued the difficult and heart-wrenching task of returning victims to their families. The announcement came days before the 20th anniversary of an attack that killed nearly 3,000 people when hijacked commercial jets flew into the twin towers, struck the Pentagon and crashed into a Pennsylvania meadow. “No matter how much time passes since Sept. 11, 2001, we will never forget, and we pledge to use all the tools at our disposal to make sure all those who were lost can be reunited with their families,” said Dr. Barbara A. Sampson, the chief medical examiner of the city of New York. Technicians in the medical examiner’s office have been working for years to match thousands of body fragments recovered from the World Trade Center rubble with known victims but haven’t been able to extract useable DNA in many cases. The identifications announced Tuesday were the first since October 2019. One set of remains was linked to Dorothy Morgan, of Hempstead, New York, who was a broker for Marsh & McLennan. Officials also matched remains recovered in 2001, 2002 and 2006 to a single victim, whose family asked that his name be withheld.

North Carolina

Raleigh: President Joe Biden approved a request Wednesday for federal funds to be made available to residents of western North Carolina who saw major flooding last month due to Tropical Storm Fred. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper sought the emergency declaration for federal assistance to seven counties nearly two weeks ago. “This federal disaster declaration will help provide assistance for Western North Carolina communities to rebuild stronger and smarter, and I appreciate the president’s approval of our request,” Cooper said in a statement. The storm claimed the lives of six people in Haywood County, caused major damage to more than 200 homes and led to nearly $19 million in estimated damages to public infrastructure. The Cruso community was among those hardest-hit by the flooding. Wednesday’s approval from Biden and the Federal Emergency Management Agency frees up money to residents of Buncombe, Haywood and Transylvania counties. State, tribal and eligible local governments and certain nonprofit organizations also qualify for federal funds on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work performed in the three areas, as well as Avery, Madison, Watauga and Yancey counties.

North Dakota

Fargo: State health officials took to an internet town hall Tuesday to promote certain treatments for COVID-19 and discourage use of an anti-parasitic medicine. Ivermectin has a limited scope for human treatment, sometimes prescribed for worms, scabies and head lice. It is more popular in veterinary form as a treatment for parasitic infections and infestations in cows and horses. North Dakota health officials say data on ivermectin sickness is limited, and poison control has only documented a couple of such cases. But Dr. Joshua Ranum of West River Regional Medical Center said the stories are out there. “The ivermectin issue is interesting,” Ranum said. “We of course live out in farm and ranch country. I’ve had a lot of people tell me that the cows didn’t get their full dose of ivermectin because some of it accidentally went down the hatch.” The veterinary form of ivermectin has high concentrations of the drug because of the high body mass of horses and cows. Adverse effects in humans include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, decreased consciousness, confusion, hallucinations, seizures, coma and death. There are better and safer options, according to Ranum and state Health Department spokesman Kirby Kruger. They pointed to monoclonal antibody drugs, steroids and antivirals like remdesivir.

Ohio

Columbus: Republican lawmakers plan to unveil their version of a newly drawn map of legislative districts Thursday morning, with a vote planned later in the day on a final version, the state Senate president said. The Ohio Redistricting Commission, charged with drawing a map good for as long as 10 years, missed its Sept. 1 deadline, triggering an extension until the middle of the month. Senate Democrats submitted their proposed map last week. The map to be presented Thursday morning was created by House and Senate Republicans, said Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima. Some of the GOP map is almost identical to the Senate Democrats’ version, he said. The commission will vote on a final version of its proposed map Thursday afternoon, Huffman said. The commission held nine public hearings around the state earlier this month looking for input on a new map, which is meant to end the current gerrymandered maps. Voters approved constitutional amendments in 2015 and 2018 that created a new process for drawing both state legislative and congressional district maps this year and set up the independent commission. Creating a 10-year map requires a majority vote of the commission, including both Democrats. Creating a four-year map requires a simple majority without both Democrats.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Gov. Kevin Stitt has removed the only two physicians from the board that oversees the state’s Medicaid agency, just a week after the board voted 7-1 to delay implementing rules on Stitt’s plan to privatize some Medicaid services. Dr. Jean Hausheer said Tuesday that both she and Dr. Laura Shamblin, an Oklahoma City pediatrician, were informed Saturday by a staffer in the governor’s office that they were being removed from the governing board of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. Hausheer, an ophthalmologist from Lawton, said neither she nor Shamblin was told why they were being removed, and Stitt spokeswoman Carly Atchison didn’t immediately respond to questions about his decision. “The governor has my cellphone number … it is kind of odd that he didn’t contact me himself,” Hausheer said. “I’m going to presume it was because of our last board meeting.” Hausheer and Shamblin were among seven members of the board who voted last week to delay implementing rules on Stitt’s plan to outsource case management for some Medicaid recipients to private insurance companies. Stitt’s managed care proposal has faced bipartisan opposition in the Legislature and was ruled unconstitutional in June by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Oregon

Portland: Because of new guidance, city officials may need to exempt the police bureau from an order that all employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk losing their jobs. The city attorney’s office said Tuesday that the order requiring police to be inoculated is now legally dubious because of new guidance from the Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports. Under state law, local municipalities can only issue vaccine mandates for police officers if a federal or state rule requires it. The city believed Gov. Kate Brown’s vaccination mandate issued last month for state health care workers covered officers because they receive some medical training. But the new guidance related to Brown’s vaccine mandate said law enforcement was “probably not” subject to the governor’s orders, as providing medical care was “likely not a fundamental part of their job.” The city’s police union previously said a vaccine requirement would lead to mass resignations. The Portland Police Bureau has said it does not track vaccination rates for its officers. The city as of Tuesday had not publicly announced any change in policy regarding the vaccination mandate. Multnomah County, like Portland, has ordered all employees to be vaccinated by Oct. 18, including the sheriff’s office.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: A statewide mask mandate for schools went into effect Tuesday, with some districts in open defiance of the Wolf administration, while GOP leaders in the state House planned to come back to Harrisburg early to mount a legislative response. The state health secretary’s order that students, staff and visitors at K-12 schools and child care facilities are required to wear masks while indoors, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, has provoked outrage from some parents, students and school board members who say the decision should remain local. Some districts faced anti-mask protests as students returned to class after the long Labor Day weekend. Meanwhile, the Tamaqua Area School Board in Schuylkill County flouted the mask mandate by voting to keep face coverings optional. The superintendent of Hamburg Area School District in Berks County said masks would remain optional pending the outcome of a special school board meeting to discuss the statewide mandate. Late Tuesday, the board voted 5-3 to adhere to the Department of Health order and require masks, WFMZ reports. In central Pennsylvania, the Central York School Board expressed disdain for the mask mandate and said it would give a “grace period” for students to come into compliance.

Rhode Island

Providence: Local police organizations are questioning Mayor Jorge O. Elorza’s judgment after he hired a civilian with no experience in law enforcement to be the city’s first-ever police major instead of considering the Black officers who applied for the position. Elorza chose Michael Stephens, who has no experience in law enforcement, aside from graduating from the citizens academy in 2016. Stephens was a recreation director and NCAA referee before his appointment as police major, The Boston Globe reports. The National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers Chairman Charles Wilson said the mayor’s decision in appointing a civilian without experience over qualified Black law enforcement officers was demeaning. Stephens is also Black. Stephens will manage oversight on police training and be responsible for the recruitment and training of police recruits. According to Wilson, three Black officers applied for the major’s position. The mayor chose Elorza instead. Providence City Council President John Igliozzi proposed that the mayor change the job title from police major to public safety community-police liaison because of the backlash from the police organizations.

South Carolina

Charleston: Authorities shut down a road for more than an hour Tuesday to investigate a bomb threat that turned out to be a wedding dress, Charleston Police said. Someone who saw a woman cram an oversized package into a mailbox called 911, Charleston Police spokesman Charles Francis said in a statement. Officers responded and determined the package contained a wedding dress that a woman was trying to return by mail, Francis said. The road was reopened after more than an hour. The statement did not say if the wedding dress was damaged.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: The City Council has capped the number of retail stores that can sell medical marijuana at five. The council signed off Tuesday night on a proposal coming from Mayor Paul TenHaken’s office. But council members halved the $100,000 license fee that City Hall wanted and will allow the licenses to be sold on the secondary market. “The Sioux Falls City Council, by making a license worth $50,000 and transferrable, has just made dispensary licenses into liquor licenses,” Drew Duncan, a Sioux Falls attorney and lobbyist for clients in South Dakota’s gambling and alcohol industry, said via social media following the 7-1 vote. A new liquor license in Sioux Falls costs about $200,000, but a state-set cap on the number of them has driven up the price on the secondary market to $300,000 or higher. TenHaken and supporters of barring the transfer of dispensary licenses worry that allowing them to be sold on the secondary market will give them an artificial value, just as has happened with liquor licenses. But the majority of the council decided without allowing a license to be owned outright, the city’s medical marijuana rules would unduly restrict a retailer’s ability to grow their business.

Tennessee

Nashville: A panel has approved $65 million in state incentives for Oracle Corp. as the company plans to bring 8,500 jobs and an investment topping $1 billion to the fast-growing capital city over the coming decade. The State Funding Board’s approval of the FastTrack grant came during a meeting Tuesday. In April, Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s office announced that the Austin, Texas-based computer technology company plans to build the new campus with 1.2 million square feet of office space. Documents show the jobs will have an average salary of $110,000. Oracle paid $254 million for 60 acres and is offering $175 million upfront for public infrastructure, including a pedestrian bridge over the Cumberland River, environmental cleanup, a sewer pump station and a riverfront park, the mayor’s office has said. Half of Oracle’s future property taxes – which the company estimates will be roughly $18 million annually when the project is fully built – would reimburse the company for the upfront investment, without interest payments, with the other half going into the city’s general operating fund, Cooper’s office has said. The move would surpass the expansion of Amazon, which in 2018 announced it would bring 5,000 jobs through a $230 million investment.

Texas

Dallas: Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday defended a new state law banning most abortions that also does not provide exceptions for cases of rape or incest, saying it does not force victims to give birth – even though it prohibits abortions before many women know they’re pregnant. Abbott, a Republican, said Texas would strive to “eliminate all rapists from the streets” while taking questions during his first press conference since the law took effect last week. The comments drew new criticism from opponents of the biggest curb on abortion in the U.S. since the medical procedure was legalized a half-century ago. The Texas law prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, which is usually about six weeks into a pregnancy. Though abortion providers in Texas say the law is unconstitutional, they say they are abiding by it. “His comments are confusing to me because they certainly do not seem to reflect the realities of this law,” said Amy Jones, the chief executive officer of the Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center. Recent surveys by the U.S. Department of Justice found that most rapes go unreported to police. “Certainly it is in our mission statement to work to end sexual violence – that is why we exist – but we are also very aware that that is an aspirational goal that yes, we do believe that this is a preventable crime, but it if it were that easy, rape would no longer exist,” Jones said.

Utah

Brian Head: In the midst of record tourism statewide, Gov. Spencer Cox helped park staff and charity partners break ground Tuesday on a new visitor center at Cedar Breaks National Monument. The center has been a decade in the making, built with a combined $6 million in funds from fees, donations, and funding from Iron County, the National Park Service, the Zion Forever Project charity and organizations. Superintendent Kathleen Gondor did a “happy dance” as she opened the groundbreaking ceremony near the popular Point Supreme overlook, which is currently closed to the public because of the construction. “It’s just going to give us that sense of place instead of a bunch of pullouts along the road,” she said, echoing a sentiment that Cedar Breaks is a “drive-thru” park. Cox said there was “every right to be excited,” and he was glad to see partnerships work as visitation soars in the lesser-known park. “So many people even in Utah don’t know about it, still,” he said. “Americans are rediscovering America, and Utahns are rediscovering Utah.” But with increased visitors comes an increased responsibility to make sure those visitors have a good experience and recreate responsibly, something Cox said he hopes the visitor center will help people to do.

Vermont

Waterbury: Three state troopers who are accused of being involved in a scheme to create fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards have resigned, state police said Tuesday. Troopers Shawn Sommers and Raymond Witkowski resigned Aug. 10, a day after a fellow trooper told supervisors about the alleged scheme. Trooper David Pfindel resigned Sept. 3 following further investigation, according to a state police news release. The three ex-troopers are suspected of having varying roles in the making of fraudulent vaccination cards, according to the release. “The accusations in this case involve an extraordinary level of misconduct – a criminal violation of the law – and I could not be more upset and disappointed,” Col. Matthew T. Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, said in the release. “If these allegations are proved to be true, it is reprehensible that state troopers would manipulate vaccination cards in the midst of a pandemic, when being vaccinated is one of the most important steps anyone can take to keep their community safe from COVID-19.” Sommers and Witkowski both joined the Vermont State Police in July 2016. Pfindel was hired in January 2014, police said. Federal authorities are investigating the allegations.

Virginia

Danville: A part of southside Virginia that has relatively lower rates of vaccination against COVID-19 is seeing increasing interest in the shots. The Danville Register & Bee reports that it appears the most recent surge in infections has spurred more residents to roll up their sleeves in the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District. Data from the Virginia Department of Health shows that inoculations jumped about 50% in August compared to July. Nearly two-thirds of the almost 5,700 shots were first doses. “Numbers of vaccinations are increasing as of late, which we welcome and consider a positive step by the community,” Dr. Scott Spillmann, director of the local health district, told the newspaper. “We ask everyone who is not yet fully vaccinated to do so as soon as possible.” Southside Virginia trails the rest of the state when it comes to vaccination rates. As of Friday, 51% of adults in Danville were fully inoculated. In Pittsylvania County, 47% of adults were fully vaccinated. Statewide, more than two-thirds of adults have received a full COVID-19 vaccine series. Meanwhile, Danville and Pittsylvania County combined are seeing about 52 new coronavirus infections a day because of the delta variant.

Washington

Longview: A recent increase in COVID-19 deaths has overwhelmed a southwest Washington county’s storage capacity, prompting the coroner to ask the commissioners to declare an emergency to allow the county to bring in a refrigeration trailer. Cowlitz County commissioners agreed Tuesday to the request to help expand capacity until the new morgue is ready for staff to move into in about a month. The Daily News reports Cowlitz County Health and Human Services data for the past week is incomplete, but at least eight county residents died due to COVID-19 between Aug. 31 and Sept. 6. The residents ranged in age from their 40s to 90s, and seven of the residents had been hospitalized. Coroner Tim Davidson said the morgue and the county’s funeral homes are maxed out on capacity, and they are “being creative” to maintain cold storage. All together, the facilities can typically hold 45 bodies and right now have about 65, he said. “We’re just doing our best that we can to preserve the dignity of the deceased from this point forward until they can be processed for their families,” Davidson said. The morgue can hold 10 bodies but is currently “way above that,” using gurney tables in the cooling rooms to handle the increase, he said. The new morgue under construction will be able to hold 50 in cold storage.

West Virginia

Fayetteville: The state’s largest annual festival will require most people in attendance to wear masks when Bridge Day is held this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic in America’s newest national park. Tens of thousands of people typically show up on the third Saturday of October to watch parachutists, zip liners and rappellers on the 876-foot-high New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville. Masks will be required at the festival regardless of vaccination status, and social distancing must be observed whenever possible, the Bridge Day Commission said in a statement. People come from across the world to attend the event. Festivalgoers typically line the center of the 3,000-foot-long bridge shoulder-to-shoulder trying to get a good look at parachutists catapulting themselves off the nation’s third-highest bridge. Exceptions to the mask mandate include those at the time of their participation – be it in the air, during a 5-kilometer run, while rafting in the New River or on a zip line. But they’ll have to mask up before and after, the statement said. Social distancing will be next to impossible on the crowded bridge itself, but organizers said it will be required on the festival’s perimeters. Bridge Day is the only day of the year the bridge is open to pedestrian traffic. The pandemic forced last year’s event to be canceled.

Wisconsin

Madison: A new report suggests people are buying dramatically more alcohol as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on. Revenue from state excise taxes on alcohol during the fiscal year that ended June 30 totaled $73.8 million, up almost 17% from $63.3 million the previous year, according to preliminary data from the state Department of Revenue cited in the report from the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum. If the preliminary data holds, the increase would be the biggest proportional increase the state has seen since 1972, the report said. The rise in alcohol tax collection exceeded 2.4% in only one year between 2009 and 2020, the report said. Alcohol excise taxes in Wisconsin are based on the volume sold, not price. Beer is taxed at about 6.5 cents per gallon. Wine is taxed at 25 cents per gallon if it has an alcohol content of 14% or less. The report did not examine sales tax revenue on alcohol. Most states have seen a bump in alcohol tax revenues during fiscal year 2021. The report said increased alcohol consumption is “perhaps unsurprising” given rising stress related to personal health, job losses, school challenges and a lack of leisure activities during the pandemic.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Michael K. Davis plans to retire in January, opening the way for Gov. Mark Gordon to make his first appointment to the high court. Davis plans to retire Jan. 16 after a decade on the state’s highest court, Chief Justice Kate M. Fox said in a statement Tuesday. Davis served as chief justice for three years, stepping down from that role July 1. He was a state district judge for four years before being named to the Supreme Court. He previously was an attorney in private practice. He graduated with honors from the University of Wyoming law school in 1980. Former Gov. Matt Mead, a Republican, named all five current justices over his two terms in office. Gordon, also a Republican, will choose the next justice from a list of three names submitted to him by the state Judicial Nominating Commission. The commission plans to accept expressions of interest from qualified people through Oct. 1. Wyoming requires Supreme Court justices to be at least 30, “learned in the law,” a judge or attorney for at least nine years, a U.S. citizen and a Wyoming resident for at least three years.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cast of Blues, wedding dress scare: News from around our 50 states