QCA.news - Quad Cities news and view from both sides of the river

Friday, June 5th, 2026
	Boil order issued in Milan Boil order issued in Milan.
	New Channel Cat dock opens in Davenport The new Lindsay Park dock for the Channel Cat water taxi is open to the public.
	Officials investigating drone incidents at Eastern Iowa Airport, local drone operator recommends preparation to stay safe Federal aviation officials are investigating two drone incidents at the Eastern Iowa airport that might be tied to nearby data center construction.
	Better Health Foundation grants help improve wellbeing in QCA The Better Health Foundation (BHF) has awarded $956,575 to five nonprofit organizations whose community-informed projects will improve the health and well-being of the greater Quad Cities region as part of its 2026 Innovation grant program. BHF has awarded over $6.27 million for prevention and wellness programs and services since it was organized in 2023. “As [...]
	Nick Jonas steals Paul Rudd's 'Power Ballad' in a profound story about art and honesty In 'Power Ballad,' a wedding singer played by Paul Rudd writes a hit — and a popstar makes it his.
	Boil order issued for parts of Milan A boil order has been issues for parts of Milan. According to a release from the Village of Milan, due to a water main break, a boil water order is in effect for the 400 and 500 blocks of Blackhawk Ave. All drinking and cooking water should be boiled for five minutes prior to use.
	Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea next week in first visit since 2019 The announcement was made by both countries Friday a day after North Korea unveiled a new facility to produce nuclear fuel.
	National Doughnut Day 2026: How to get free doughnuts All the freebies we could find for National Donut Day.
	Bears: We’re moving forward with Indiana for stadium plans The Chicago Bears voted Thursday to continue talks with Hammond, Ind., for a new stadium, the team announced Friday.
	QCA volunteer fire departments receive federal grants The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has awarded $495,000 in federal grants to 73 volunteer fire departments statewide to help them buy new equipment or pay for fire training. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service funds the Volunteer Fire Capacity (VFC) grant program. It provides matching funds to assist fire departments in buying [...]
	2 young directors strike big at the box office with 'Backrooms' and 'Obsession' Backrooms, by 20-year-old filmmaker Kane Parsons, is set in a mysterious maze of abandoned offices. Curry Barker, 26, tells a horror story about consent and male loneliness in Obsession.
	Iowans eligible for MLB’s Field of Dreams ticket lottery MLB opened registration for the Field of Dreams ticket lottery on Thursday, which is exclusively available to Iowa residents through June 11.
	Some Scott County roads impacted by hot mix asphalt projects Starting on Friday, June 5, several roadways in Scott County will have lane restrictions as crews perform hot mix asphalt patching projects. Flaggers and pilot cars will maintain traffic and drivers should be prepared to stop and expect traffic delays. Lane restrictions may occur Monday – Friday between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. and the [...]
	Clinton drafting development rules for all data center proposals The city is drafting new regulations to address resident concerns over utility, noise, and environmental impacts of a potential new data center.
	A look inside the growing Australian truffle tourism industry, where dogs sniff and schnapps follow A look inside the growing Australian truffle tourism industry, where dogs sniff and schnapps followThere was a time when vacation meant sand between your toes, saltwater on your lips and a margarita by the pool. But travel in 2026 is changing. Many tourists are seeking longer, immersive activities that engage all the senses and provide a stronger understanding of place.And since few know their natural environment better than farmers, it’s sensible that agritourism—taking trips to farms or ranches—is trending in 2026. Data from vacation rental site VRBO shows a 300% spike in farm-stay interest from May 2023 to April 2024 versus May 2024 to April 2025. According to VRBO, 84% of travelers expressed interest in a farm-stay vacation, wanting to stay on a property with nature trails, animals, and fresh fruit and produce.One popular form of agritourism throughout regions all around the world is truffle foraging, an old-world European tradition. The tradition began in ancient Mesopotamia, and in recent history became associated with top producers like Italy and France, but is now happening in countries like Australia.Black truffles are among the rarest edible fungi, known for their unmistakable, woodsy aroma, often described as nutty and slightly musky. They grow entirely underground near the roots of certain trees and remain invisible from the surface. Trained dogs that can sense their scent beneath the soil help detect the truffles’ locations, at which point the lucky guest gets to dig them up and enjoy.Australia has become the world's fourth-largest black truffle producer since planting its first host trees in 1995. Truffle-farm experiences are also cropping up for visitors. Tourists can join guided truffle hunts during peak season in the country’s colder months from June to August. The setting is usually quiet forest or farmland, a scenic haven away from the city. In Australia, one of the most unexpected places to experience this is in Canberra, the country’s capital city, where cool winters create ideal growing conditions.Here, VisitCanberra gives a look inside the sensory experience, which visitors can experience with just a short drive from Parliament House, the seat of Australia's national government in the heart of the Australian Capital Territory.What to expect on your first truffle hunt VisitCanberra Truffle hunting begins in the hours after frost loosens its grip on the ground, says Alice O’Mara, co-owner of boutique truffle destination Beltana Farm in Canberra, Australia, which offers both rural charm and proximity to the city center. That way, trained dogs—often English springer spaniels, border collies or the Italian Lagotto Romagnolo, a fuzzy, endearing breed that somewhat resembles the lumpy truffles they were trained to retrieve—have the best chance of smelling the black gold below the soil.Sometimes, guests need to warm up, too, though not from frost, but to the truth about truffle’s flavor complexity. Fresh truffles taste richer than the oil that comes on top of truffle fries and truffle potato chips, but those trendy snacks are sometimes the only previous experience guests have with truffles before joining a foraging tour. "People come in thinking they don't like truffles because they've had truffle oil at restaurants. Then they smell the real thing and realize it's nothing like what they expected,” said O’Mara.Soon enough, though, they start digging. For an hour, guests crouch over, squatting or kneeling to follow their guide dog’s nose. Here, O’Mara takes the opportunity to give guests an oral history lesson and explain how the truffles are cultivated. As dogs move ahead, following the odor, they scan the ground. A dog detects something and stops to signal the specific spot. Guests then kneel and brush away soil.What comes out of the ground is small and black as an inkwell, almost knotted-looking and uneven in shape. It’s the Tuber melanosporum, the Périgord truffle. And then comes the smell. VisitCanberra Smelling and describing truffle aromas“It really hits you in the face,” said O’Mara. “I like it pungent, almost diesely-smelling. Some people think of asparagus; that is a quite common thing that we hear. Or beetroot, that earthy scent. They're probably the three key smells that people tell us when they're having a sniff.”That’s the benefit of truffle hunting in groups: You can compare truffle smells, but also compare the “smell palettes” each person’s nose picks up. In this way, truffle hunting is almost like an exceptionally interactive wine tasting, but with truffle aromas. Foragers learn about the way smells can vary depending on ripeness, as well as what kind of tree the truffles grew beside—oak, hazelnut or other varieties. Blue cheese is another common aromatic note, says O’Mara. The two foods share chemical compounds alike. After the search, truffle tourism experiences often continue the fun in the kitchen. Some farms serve meals made with freshly foraged truffles, shaving them over dishes so the flavor pops. Others may continue the hands-on theme and segue the group right into cooking demonstrations using finds from the day’s harvest.“People are wanting a bit more of a connection to land, a bit more of an understanding of where their food is coming from,” said O’Mara. Beltana Farm has a full-service restaurant on site that presents a seasonal menu with local ingredients like oysters from Australia’s South Coast, cuttlefish-ink-cured meats, desserts drizzled with caramelized wattleseed—an aboriginal Acacia seed—and, of course, truffles foraged by guests’ own hands“If guests are going to have a meal, why not make it a really unique experience?” O’Mara said.The euphoria of agritourismFinding one’s first truffle can bring about what O’Mara describes as “almost a euphoric state.” The combination of learning a new skill and building anticipation by getting down on the ground to dig with a trowel makes the moment tourists pull their truffle from the soil feel “like you've won the biggest prize in the world.”According to O’Mara, even very buttoned-up adults smile in glee when given the chance to follow their forager instincts and commune with nature on an outdoor excursion.At the end of the day, after the hunt and meal, a swig of truffle schnapps makes for the perfect aperitif to cleanse the palette. The truffle essence gives the drink an earthy undertone, but the schnapps adds complex sweetness.“People love it,” said O’Mara about the truffle schnapps. “It's great over ice cream. But as a shot it also works.”Unlike wineries, where visitors tend to arrive with a clear sense of what the visit will involve, O’Mara notes that many guests come to truffle farms with little prior understanding of the process. Unless they are already truffle enthusiasts, she says, most are encountering the experience for the first time.This lack of expectation sets truffle hunting apart from more familiar food and wine experiences. “Guests are always just so excited and blown away with watching a dog work and learning about how nature creates these amazing things,” O’Mara said.Wine tastings operate year-round, but truffle season arrives once annually for just a few months, typically June through August in Canberra. Nature’s short window for truffle hunting is part of what makes the activity so coveted. One week they’re there, the next they’re gone. But the knowledge and the memories last much longer.This story was produced by VisitCanberra and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	‘Die! Die! Die!’: New details revealed in Peoria stabbing murder A Peoria woman accused of stabbing another woman to death will have to wait another day to see if she stays in jail.
	Whirlpool ending second-shift production in Amana Whirpool says it will be ending second-shift production in Amana in July.
	Cedar Rapids looks to start feral cat program after scrapping plan volunteers called ‘not doable’ If you’ve ever spotted a stray cat wandering your neighborhood, you’re not alone.
	Davenport woman gets 20 years for trying to steal baby from home A Davenport woman who admitted to burglary and child stealing has been sentenced to consecutive prison terms totaling 20 years.
	How the AI-enabled race for taxpayer money starts in a superintendent’s inbox How the AI-enabled race for taxpayer money starts in a superintendent’s inboxStrange meetings keep appearing on Heidi Sipe’s Google calendar.The superintendent for the Umatilla School District in eastern Oregon never requested these meetings. But sales representatives selling education technology have found their way onto her calendar anyway. Sipe says it’s the latest tactic from education technology companies racing for her district’s business.Every week, Sipe roots through these unwanted invites and hundreds of other messages in her inbox from these companies. They offer her and her 1,500-student district “transformative experiences,” “memorable strategies,” and “research-backed answers.” There is seemingly no limit on buzzwords or emails. But her budget for software, online training, AI tools, and curriculum is far from infinite.Sipe isn’t the only school superintendent who says their inbox is bursting at the seams. Chalkbeat asked her and four other superintendents from New York to Oregon to share the sales pitches emailed to them in one day in March. In total, they shared 90 messages from 79 companies offering everything from 3D frog dissection simulations to AI training to student fingerprint scanning. The sheer avalanche of options makes the task of finding a quality tool that much harder. The superintendents also said they’ve found the flood of emails takes away their time and attention.While the endless march of marketing emails is a familiar irritation for Americans, ed tech companies are targeting taxpayer dollars. Pandemic relief dollars once fueled a surge in spending on tech in education, but districts are operating on more constrained budgets these days. Ed tech companies, meanwhile, don’t seem to be slowing down — industry leaders say entrepreneurs now face fewer obstacles to creating new products, because they can use AI to quickly spin up a new tool and the marketing emails to promote it.The backdrop to all this is a confusing moment for education and technology. School district leaders are thinking about how to rapidly adapt to the AI boom at the same time pressure is growing for them to scale back on screen time in the classroom.“It’s just a lot of energy drain that goes towards responding to this, in my opinion, instead of being focused on providing what students really need,” said Wendy Birhanzel, superintendent of the Harrison School District in Colorado Springs, and one of the five superintendents who shared pitches with Chalkbeat.AI fuels flood of ed tech marketing emailsChris Ryan, who worked in ed tech sales for decades and now works as a consultant helping districts navigate the purchasing process, said new AI-powered and advanced online marketing tools are part of the problem. They’re “finding ways in, faster than we realized.”Sales representatives have more tools at their disposal to reach more districts than they used to, he said. And these more aggressive tactics are magnified for smaller districts, where superintendents are already strapped for time. He recalled once making a sales call to a superintendent of a rural district in Texas who had to leave the call to drive a school bus, because the driver didn’t show up.“I don’t know that vendors understand how demanding that role is,” he said.Ryan thinks he might know why Sipe is suddenly getting unsolicited calendar invites.Recently, he sent a district staff member an unsolicited calendar invite. It was an accident, done through AI email marketing software and what Ryan admits was his sloppy prompting.Birhanzel said the sales pitches often feel scattershot, advertising to solve problems her district doesn’t have.For instance, she gets a lot of marketing for data collection. But she doesn’t need more data collection. In one day, she got emails from companies separately touting student academic data collection, employee data collection, and visitor data collection.“Many of these sales people haven’t done their research,” she said.And sometimes the promises companies make don’t add up. Several superintendents said they’ve bought tools that flopped.Birhanzel said her 12,000-student district once backed out of a contract after a data company failed to even transfer district data to its service. Curtis Finch, superintendent of the Deer Valley Unified School district in Phoenix, said in his early days as a district administrator, he didn’t push companies enough about whether their products would integrate into a district’s existing system.Because Deer Valley is a relatively big district, Finch has an instructional technology team to talk to app developers to truly see if a new technology will fit in the district. With 4,000 employees serving 31,000 students, not vetting products well can be a costly mistake.“If I’m changing a thing that impacts 4,000 people, I have to train everyone on this new system, and it takes years to get everybody up to speed,” he said.Ed tech marketing overload makes leaders’ jobs harderChalkbeat attempted to email every company that emailed the five superintendents. Most did not respond to a request for comment. A few emails bounced back. One company’s automated email system only succeeded in directing a reporter back and forth between a form and an email address.Some of the companies that did respond acknowledged that there’s a lot of competition in the ed tech industry, but that they try to be relevant and useful in the marketing they send.One of the emails that ended up in a superintendent’s inbox was from a company called Digitability. The message advertised a “financial ‘slam dunk’” — this was March, a peak time for college basketball — and the company’s financial literacy program, with a link to download a March Madness-themed financial literacy activity.Digitability’s founder, Michele McKeone, is a former special education teacher who built the company out of frustration that there weren’t enough tools to equip students with disabilities with practical skills. She said Digitability’s slam dunk email went to prospective customers on the company’s mailing list, indicating the superintendent may have already engaged with their website.“Most of our customers find us in some meaningful way.”But crowded inboxes and a glut of choices — in an industry where there’s little regulation — isn’t helping school district leaders make smart choices, superintendents said.In some states, districts can turn to other government authorities for help.Alicia Gallegos Butters, director of educational technology at the San Diego County Office of Education doesn’t keep a list of products to recommend, but tries to assess a district’s need when pointing them to a particular product.The federal government’s guidance recommends schools consider four tiers of evidence when deciding on a new tool. It outlines what would be considered strong evidence, as well as when a tool might have less evidence behind it but still demonstrates a strong-enough rationale to use. But that framework fails to address some key concerns in ed tech, like data collection and student privacy issues.Richard Culatta, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education, or ISTE, said his organization has developed an index of ed tech products denoting whether a tool is evidence-based to help superintendents and instruction officers make more informed decisions, in part because it’s clear that they’re overwhelmed.The index — an ongoing project — uses a combination of validations from third-party organizations and ISTE’s own seal. Companies can submit their own research, but ISTE also reviews the product to verify claims, a spokesperson wrote in an emailed response to questions. Proving whether something is evidence-based can be imprecise, because the criteria across education for what is considered evidence-based varies so widely.“There’s no way to browse the options,” Culatta said. “I think if that existed … schools could go and say, ‘here’s what I need.’ And you wouldn’t have to be in this case where they’re relying on these weird dysfunctional behaviors to get stuff in front of them.”As for Sipe? She just wants fewer emails.“If I’m seeking something, I’m not going to find it from an unsolicited email,” she said. Edited by Erica Meltzer and Andrew UjifusaDevelopment and data analysis by Thomas WilburnThis story was produced by Chalkbeat and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	South Africa rolls out game-changing HIV shot amid funding shortfalls A new twice-yearly HIV prevention injection could transform South Africa's fight against the epidemic — but U.S. aid cuts and limited doses threaten to slow its impact.
	FORC Side Thrill Ride offers challenging terrain FORC’s (Friends of Off-Road Cycling) Side Thrill Ride is the group’s most popular race event of the year. The ride will be on Sunday, June 14 at Sunderbruch Park, 4675 Telegraph Road in Davenport. The park was once voted as the “Number One Mountain Bike trail in Iowa” by Singletrack.” Click here for more information [...]
	HR’s biggest challenges in 2026 and how organizational mental health can help HR’s biggest challenges in 2026 and how organizational mental health can helpEvery day, HR teams are supporting employees through burnout, financial stress, family pressures, global uncertainty, and rising mental health needs.At the same time, they’re being asked to defend every investment, manage tighter budgets, and show how their benefits programs contribute to business performance.That’s not easy, because some of HR’s most valuable work is preventative. It’s the resignation that didn’t happen. The leave that was avoided. The manager who got support before a team issue became a business issue. The employee who found care before stress turned into a crisis.This work matters. But to secure budget and leadership support, HR has to make that value visible.What are HR’s biggest challenges in 2026? In this article, Spring Health explores that question and outlines how you can address those challenges with both support and business results.HR’s biggest challenges in 2026In early 2026, Spring Health asked HR and benefits professionals what keeps them up at night. This research informed Spring Health’s 2026 Workplace Mental Health Annual Report that was published last month.Their top answers were:Retaining top talent in a competitive market: 44%Pressure to demonstrate ROI on benefits programs: 38%Rising burnout and mental health challenges among employees: 37%Budget pressures impacting benefits decisions: 37%Increasing disability and leave of absence claims: 29%Lack of leadership buy-in for mental health investment: 28%Managing mental health needs across a diverse, global workforce: 22%These are some distinct challenges, but many of them are intertwined. For example, demonstrating ROI will help secure leadership buy-in for benefits investment. Reducing burnout among employees should also help you retain employees.Breaking down HR’s unique challengesLet’s explore each of these unique challenges and how the right mental health solution can impact each.1: Retaining top talent in a competitive marketWhy this mattersNearly 7 in 10 organizations say it’s difficult to recruit for full-time openings, per a Society for Human Resource Management survey. That’s meaningful when you consider how much time HR professionals spend on recruitment and retention. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans stay with employers for an average of 3.9 years as of January 2024, which is the lowest number recorded since 2002.On top of that, replacing an employee is a significant cost for employers when you factor in covering for the departing employee, finding a new one, and training that new one. Employee Benefit News estimates that losing an employee costs about one-third of that employee’s salary.How a mental health solution helpsAs mentioned in Spring Health’s 2026 Workplace Mental Health Annual Report, 69% of employees say mental health benefits are very or extremely important to their job decisions. For 18-to-34-year-olds and 35-to-44-year-olds, those numbers are even higher: 83% and 78%, respectively.When employees have access to the right care before challenges escalate, they’re more likely to get better, stay better, and feel cared for. That, in turn, should encourage them to stay or want to be a part of your organization.2: Pressure to demonstrate ROIWhy this mattersThe ROI pressure becomes as much a finance exercise as it is a “do right for my people” exercise. But if you’re challenged to prove the ROI of your mental health solution, you’re not alone. Only 9% of HR professionals in Spring Health’s research said that their solution clearly drives down health plan spend.How a mental health solution helpsThe best mental health solutions can show more than just utilization rates. ROI should be an expectation when investing in mental health, and savings should clearly show up in the form of reduced health plan spend. And those savings should be independently verified so they have the credibility you and your finance leaders need when making that investment.3: Rising burnout and mental health challengesWhy this mattersEmployee burnout isn’t always visible, and it can be hard to spot. At the same time, burnout can also be the overlooked driver of many challenges that do show up from a business perspective, such as employee turnover and leave-of-absence claims. Within Spring Health’s research, 61% of HR and benefits professionals said employee burnout had increased in the past year.How a mental health solution helpsThe right solution can help employers identify risk earlier and give employees a faster path to support, before higher-acuity needs emerge. Early assessments, one-to-one navigation, self-guided tools, and manager-specific mental health training are all critical tools in reducing burnout.4: Budget pressures impacting benefits decisionsWhy this mattersNearly 3 in 5 employers were planning to make cuts to their health benefits plans in 2026 in an effort to combat rising costs, according to research by Mercer. However, what might get overlooked in making proactive cuts is the downstream cost impact of pulling back on proactive support.How a mental health solution helpsThe right solution should make care easier to access while helping reduce downstream costs tied to untreated or undertreated mental health needs. Those costs can include:Medical claimsPharmacy spendEmergency room visitsAbsenteeismPresenteeismEmployee turnoverDisability claimsLeaves of absenceWhen HR can connect mental health support to cost containment, the conversation shifts. The question becomes less about whether the organization can afford better mental health support and more about what untreated mental health needs are already costing the business. At that point, you are better equipped to secure budget.5: Increasing disability and LOA claimsWhy this mattersSpring Health’s research also found that 61% of HR and benefits professionals say their mental health leaves have increased in the past year, with 16% of all respondents saying they’ve increased by 25% or more.Leaves of absence provide organizational strain in a variety of ways. The employee on a leave of absence is clearly feeling the strain, but so are the managers and colleagues who are filling the void left by that employee. On top of that, if the employee doesn’t truly get better, then your organization could face repeat leaves or regrettable attrition.How a mental health solution helpsThe best mental health solutions can provide end-to-end support, including evaluations, documentations, personalized care plans, and return-to-work support.6: Lack of leadership buy-in for mental health investmentWhy this mattersBusiness leaders have many priorities to juggle. While investing in a mental health solution might seem like a slam dunk, organizations have many needs. To make this need a priority, HR leaders need to clearly articulate the need, the potential ROI of the investment, and also the cost organizations are paying by not investing.How a mental health solution helpsModern mental health solutions can help HR leaders frame mental health as more than just “the right thing to do” by providing data on measurable impact, such as ROI, clinical outcomes, and productivity.7: Managing diverse, global mental health needsWhy this mattersEmployee mental health needs can vary widely. A frontline worker may face different barriers to care than an employee who works at a desk. Employees with large families may have different needs than employees who live alone. And then there are different ages, races, cultures, genders, and income levels also coming together in the office, all of which influence top barriers to care and impact your utilization rates.When mental health goes under-utilized, your employees aren’t reaping the benefits and your ability to build the business case for it becomes more challenging.How a mental health solution can helpModern solutions should be globally consistent and locally relevant. That means culturally responsive care, language access, diverse provider options, flexible care modalities, support for dependents and families, and reporting that helps HR understand which populations are engaging and which may be getting missed.This is especially important for large employers with complex workforces. A strong mental health solution should help HR leaders manage centrally while still adapting to local needs, cultural differences, and population-specific barriers.3 takeaways to address your biggest challengesEvaluate whether employees can actually find and start care. Ask whether employees know your current EAP or mental health solution exists, do they trust it, and can they start care without friction. If awareness is low, access is confusing, or appointments take weeks, the benefit may be failing before care even begins.Pressure-test whether your solution supports the full range of employee needs. Many programs work for low-acuity stress but fall short when employees need more specialized care, medication management, crisis support, family support, or help navigating leave. Evaluate whether your current solution can support employees across the full spectrum of need.Ask whether your current reporting can support a budget conversation. If your current solution can only show utilization, you may not have enough evidence to defend the investment. Look for solutions with reporting that connects mental health support to outcomes that HR and finance care about.MethodologySpring Health surveyed 500+ HR/benefits professionals and 1,500+ full-time employees across five countries (United States, Canada, Mexico, India, and the United Kingdom) in early 2026. The HR survey was submitted to a variety of HR roles, from chief human resource officers and vice presidents of benefits to benefits managers and human resource directors. HR professionals must have been actively employed within those roles at organizations with at least 500 employees. The full-time employee survey included anyone 18 years of age or older who was actively employed full time. This research informed Spring Health’s 2026 Workplace Mental Health Annual Report that was published in April 2026.This story was produced by Spring Health and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Two Davenport men sentenced in 2025 downtown shooting case Two Davenport men avoided immediate prison time after pleading guilty in connection with a 2025 downtown shooting that struck a vehicle and apartment building.
	The U.S. adds 172,000 jobs as the labor market picks up steam U.S. employers added jobs for the third month in a row in May, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%. But wage gains softened and likely failed to keep pace with rising prices.
	The U.S. adds 172,000 jobs. Many are in restaurants, bars and hotels U.S. employers added jobs for the third month in a row in May, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%. But wage gains softened and likely failed to keep pace with rising prices.
	Another round of storms tonight After waking up to a warm and wet Friday in the Quad Cities, things are looking to clear up for most of the afternoon. However, we are watching for a second round of some showers and potential thunderstorms for late into the evening with a slight risk of severe weather. One of the risks we [...]
	Payroll accuracy is now a retention strategy Payroll accuracy is now a retention strategyEmployee experience has become a defining priority for human resources leaders. SHRM’s 2026 State of the Workplace report shows that employee experience is one of the top priorities workers believe HR departments should focus on in 2026. Organizations are investing in culture, benefits, flexibility, and career development to attract and retain talent in a competitive market.But payroll, one of the most fundamental aspects of employment, remains a persistently leaky faucet, according to The State of Payroll Report from Paylocity, a payroll, HR, and finance software provider. The report examines results from an early 2026 survey of 776 human resources and finance leaders.A LendingClub survey asked 3,252 U.S. consumers whether their next paycheck would cover their monthly spending; 62% answered yes. And more than 1 in 3 workers (34%) are living paycheck to paycheck, according to Bankrate’s Living Paycheck to Paycheck Survey.In a world where so many employees are living paycheck to paycheck, getting paid accurately is critical. And when it goes wrong, the impact is immediate and can severely damage morale.The State of Payroll Report reveals that payroll issues are more common than many organizations expect. The issues with payroll often stem from breakdowns that occur well before payday.Payroll Is More Than a Back-Office TaskFor employees, payroll is one of the few direct, recurring interactions they have with their employer’s systems. And they expect those systems to work so they can be paid correctly, every time.Most of the time, that expectation is met, so payroll stays invisible. When it’s not, it becomes one of the fastest ways to erode trust.The State of Payroll Report highlights that over one-third of organizations report payroll errors at least occasionally each year. That statistic may sound small from an operational perspective. But when an employee isn’t paid properly, the damage is rarely viewed as minor from their perspective.A single payroll error can create financial stress, especially for employees living paycheck to paycheck. It can also raise broader questions about the organization’s reliability.Making sure everyone is paid correctly every time is key to an organization’s credibility.The Real Problem Starts Before PaydayPayroll issues originate well before paychecks are issued, often upstream in the platforms and processes that feed into payroll.Paylocity’s report highlights that IT, finance, and HR frequently rely on fragmented, siloed systems, 69% of organizations report using at least two systems to manage payroll inputs and 40% cite manual processes as a primary source of payroll errors.This fragmentation creates a ripple effect: Data moves between systems through manual workflows or loosely connected integrations, increasing the likelihood that errors in one system carry through to the next.As a result, HR and payroll teams spend valuable time identifying and correcting issues, leaving less capacity for higher-value work. Nearly half of HR teams spend five or more hours per payroll cycle fixing errors or reconciling data, according to the report.By the time payroll is processed, the employee experience has already been compromised.Payroll as a Retention StrategyPayroll is rarely framed as a retention strategy. But while companies tend to emphasize engagement, culture, and career growth, payroll errors risk undermining even the strongest culture initiatives.The State of Payroll Report points out that organizations with more unified systems report fewer errors. They experience less manual work and usually have smoother payroll processing. A lack of avoidable errors builds trust over time, reduces friction in the employee experience, and creates a sense of reliability that supports broader engagement efforts.In this sense, payroll is no longer just an operational, back-office function. It is a retention lever.And if payroll is part of the employee experience, it needs to be managed that way, which starts by addressing the root cause of most issues: fragmentation.According to the study, this may mean rethinking payroll's position within the organization. Instead of being treated as a downstream task, it should be integrated into the full employee lifecycle, ensuring data is accurate from the moment it enters the system.The Bottom LineEmployee experience is shaped by everyday moments. Some are high-impact and visible, like career growth or recognition. Others happen in the background, but are just as important. Payroll lands here.Payroll carries real consequences when things go wrong. And The State of Payroll Report shares that 9 in 10 organizations use fragmented systems to pay their employees. The survey findings reinforce that fragmented payroll environments lead to greater reconciliation work and higher payroll leakage. Organizations operating on combined HR and finance platforms report lower payroll leakage and spend fewer hours correcting payroll issues each month.It’s clear that getting an incorrect check directly affects how employees feel about their organization. Companies that recognize the importance of consistent, perfect payroll, invest in modern, unified systems and treat payroll as part of their experience strategy will be better positioned to build trust and retain talent.This story was produced by Paylocity and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Reagan Mass Transit will expand to Whiteside County Reagan Mass Transit District, the Dixon-based provider of rural public transportation serving Lee County and Ogle County, has announced plans to expand its service area to include Whiteside County effective July 1. The mass transit district currently provides curb-to-curb rural transit services across Lee, Ogle, and rural Winnebago County, completing more than 91,000 passenger trips [...]
	The organic media mix: The strategy document every CMO should be building right now The organic media mix: The strategy document every CMO should be building right nowFor decades, the media plan has been the definitive artifact of marketing strategy. Channels on the left, budget on the right, allocations mapped across the year. When the CEO asks where the money is going, the media plan is the answer. It forces rigor, makes tradeoffs explicit, and aligns teams.Ask organic teams for something similar and the response is usually silence.That gap is becoming harder to justify. According to ChannelEngine's Marketplace Shopping Behavior Report 2026, 58% of consumers now use AI tools when researching products, based on a survey of 4,500 online shoppers across five countries. Meanwhile, Bain research finds that 60% of searches in traditional search engines now end without a click, as AI summaries answer queries directly on the results page.The sources shaping how AI models represent a brand extend far beyond its website: Reddit, YouTube, review platforms, third-party editorials, and influencer coverage all contribute to the picture AI systems build. And right now, most brands are managing that portfolio with no plan at all.As Brainlabs explains in this article, that is the problem the organic media mix is designed to solve.What is the organic media mix?The organic media mix (OMM) is a strategic framework for allocating effort, resources, and budget across organic channels based on where AI systems are actually citing a brand's category, and where there is a realistic chance of influencing those citations.The output is a one-page strategic view: the document that shows which organic channels are being prioritized this quarter, makes tradeoffs explicit, aligns cross-functional teams, and gives leadership a clear picture of where organic investment is going and what it is expected to deliver.No two OMMs look alike, and the differences between them are not small. The mix for a CPG brand is fundamentally different from a B2B technology company. And within the same brand, the picture changes depending on which AI model is being analyzed. That variability is the point.Step 1: Pull the citations reportA citations report shows where AI models are sourcing their answers in a given category. When a user asks a question relevant to a brand, such as a product question, a comparison, or a recommendation, what sources does the AI cite? Does it point to the brand's own site? Or does it cite a Reddit thread, a TechCrunch article, or a YouTube review?Most AI visibility platforms, including Profound, seoClarity, and AirOps, can generate this data. The process involves defining a prompt set covering the questions prospective customers are actually asking, running those prompts across the AI models that matter (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews), capturing which sources are cited in the responses, and categorizing those sources by type: owned site, YouTube, third-party editorial, Reddit, review platforms, Wikipedia, influencer content, retail listings.The result is a map of where authority currently sits in a category, not where a brand wishes it sat, but where AI models actually go to answer questions about it and its competitors. Brainlabs The citations report will produce surprises, and the surprises are different for every brand. In one category analyzed, Reddit did not appear in the top 100 citation sources. In another, it represented 21% of all citations and was three times larger than the second most cited individual domain. Whether Reddit matters for a given brand is not a general question. It is an empirical one, and it cannot be answered without the data. A strategy built on one platform's data alone will miss how a significant portion of customers are actually searching.Step 2: Score each channel across four dimensionsRaw citation volume shows what is happening. It does not show where to invest. For that, each channel needs to be weighted across four dimensions.Degree of influence: How much control does the brand have over what appears on this surface? An owned website sits at one end: A brand writes it, publishes it, and updates it without asking anyone. Wikipedia sits at the other extreme. Reddit, review sites, and digital PR all fall somewhere in the middle.Difficulty of implementation: Some channels require a single team and a content calendar. Others require developer resources, agency relationships, legal sign-off, or long editorial cycles. Scoring implementation difficulty allows the roadmap to be sequenced realistically.Prompt commercial proximity: Not all citations carry equal weight. A citation earned from a general informational query matters significantly less than one earned from a high-intent commercial query close to a buying decision. Citations from high purchase proximity prompts should be weighted more heavily in the analysis.Sentiment: A mention is not a win if it is negative. Favorable citations, especially from trusted third-party sources, carry significantly more weight than neutral or critical ones. A forum thread that cites a brand unfavorably in a heavily cited context is an active liability, not a neutral data point.Step 3: Build the mixWith the citations report categorized and channel scores in hand, the organic media mix can be built.Consider a hypothetical consumer health brand. Before running the citations analysis, the team assumed owned content was doing most of the work and had allocated accordingly. The data told a different story. Third-party editorial was the single largest citation driver, with high commercial proximity and consistently positive sentiment, but the brand had almost no structured investment in it. The team had been treating digital PR as a brand awareness play, not an AI visibility play. The OMM reframed that conversation and unlocked budget reallocation. Brainlabs Step 4: Assign resources, teams, and ownersThe OMM only has value if it drives decisions. It should answer three questions concretely.Who does what? AI visibility is not an SEO-only discipline. It is a marketing team sport. Executing an OMM requires SEO practitioners for owned content and technical infrastructure, PR and comms teams for digital PR and editorial coverage, social teams for organic social and community, and potentially influencer or affiliate leads for video and third-party advocacy. The OMM is the document that forces a cross-functional conversation about ownership.What is the budget? Organic is not free. Content production, outreach, PR agency retainers, community management tooling, and influencer partnerships all have costs. The OMM makes those costs explicit and ties them to expected citation outcomes, the same way a paid media plan ties spend to impression and conversion targets.What is the sequencing? Not everything can happen at once. Difficulty scores and citation gap analysis help sequence the roadmap: high-priority, low-difficulty items first, with long-lead infrastructure investments planned in parallel. Brainlabs Bridging organic and paidOne of the most underused applications of the OMM is using it to connect organic intelligence to paid investment decisions.If the citations report surfaces a Reddit thread that is heavily cited and consistently favorable to a brand, that is not just an organic signal. It is a paid opportunity. Can the paid social team place a targeted placement in that thread or adjacent community to amplify the content?The same logic runs in reverse. If a paid campaign is driving awareness around a specific use case, the organic team should be building citation coverage for the same queries, so the brand appears across multiple trusted sources, not just its own site.Paid and organic have historically been managed in silos. The OMM creates a shared language that makes bridging them practical.The document your CMO is missingToo many AI visibility strategies are built on vertical-agnostic assertions: what worked for traditional SEO and intuition about what should work now. The organic media mix is the document that replaces that with something defensible. It starts with data, weights channels against criteria that drive real outcomes, and ends with a structured framework for allocating resources, owners, and priorities.Every OMM will look different. The channel mix, the model variation, and the sentiment picture are all specific to a brand and its category. That specificity is the advantage. Generic organic strategy is why most brands are invisible in AI-mediated search. If a CMO can hand a board a media plan showing where every paid dollar is going, they should be able to hand them an OMM showing where every organic dollar is going too.This story was produced by Brainlabs and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	A deadly bacteria is creeping up the Atlantic Coast. How worried should you be? A deadly bacteria is creeping up the Atlantic Coast. How worried should you be?Bailey Magers and Sunil Kumar cut strange figures on Pensacola Beach. Bags of disinfectant solution surrounded them on the white sand; their gloved hands juggled test tubes while layers of rubber and plastic shielded their skin from the elements. As the two organized their seawater samples on the popular Florida shoreline last August, an older woman wearing a swimsuit walked over to ask what they were doing.“We’re just actively monitoring water quality,” they told her, but she pressed on.“Are you looking for that flesh-eating bacteria?”“We’re looking into it,” they replied, hoping not to frighten her. The woman turned back toward the ocean, her curiosity satisfied. As she walked away, Kumar noticed that she had scrapes and bruises on her body. A few minutes later, he watched her step into the waves. He shook off a chill and returned to the task at hand.Magers and Kumar study a bacteria called Vibrio, part of a lineage of ancient marine species that likely emerged sometime around the Paleozoic Era, Grist reports. Enormous, shallow seas flooded the massive, interconnected supercontinents that constituted the Earth’s landmass at the time, and complex marine ecosystems developed that thrived in these temperate, freshly-formed bodies of water. Researchers think there are more than 70 Vibrio species in the environment today, hundreds of millions of years later. The organisms float in warm, brackish water, attaching themselves to plankton and algae and accumulating in prolific water-filtering species like clams and oysters.A small number of Vibrio species can sicken and even kill. In worst-case scenarios, a person who has been exposed to the most dangerous of them — by swimming in brackish water with an open wound or ingesting a piece of raw shellfish that is contaminated with the tasteless and odorless toxin — may find themselves with only hours before the flesh on one or more extremities starts to bruise, swell, and decay. Without the quick aid of powerful antibiotics, septic shock can set in and lead to death. Anyone can get infected, though it is much more likely in people who have liver disease or are immunocompromised, elderly, or diabetic.Climate change is making the world’s oceans, which have absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gas emissions, more hospitable to Vibrio. Research shows that temperature and salinity are the largest predictors of how widespread Vibrio bacteria are. As water temperatures rise, so does the concentration of Vibrio in seawater — boosting the risk of infection for beachgoers and shellfish consumers. The bacteria start getting active in water temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit and multiply rapidly as coastal waters warm throughout the summer.In recent years, scientists have documented Vibrio expanding into places that were once too cold to support the bacteria, pushing as far north along the U.S. East Coast as Maine and appearing with more prevalence in temperate seas around the world.Vibriosis infections in general are the leading cause of shellfish-related illness in the U.S. They have increased “more than any other illness caused by a pathogen in the U.S. food supply” since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, started keeping tabs on such illnesses in 1996, according to a 2019 analysis by the International Association for Food Protection. The report attributed the precipitous rise to a “perfect storm” of factors that include climate change, food handling practices, expanding globalization, a patchwork of regulatory oversight, and improved diagnosis.On their conspicuous expeditions to Pensacola and other Sunshine State beaches, Magers and Kumar are trying to understand where, and when, harmful Vibrio species are present across the state. The research they’re doing is part of an ongoing effort by a laboratory at the University of Florida to create a Vibrio early warning system for the eastern United States — a program that can alert public health departments to high Vibrio concentrations in any given area a month in advance.How many limbs would be saved, Magers wonders, if doctors and nurses could be warned ahead of time that their emergency rooms would soon see an uptick in these chronically underdiagnosed infections?The work serves more than one purpose: As Vibrio bacteria spread north into cooler waters, they serve as a first warning signal of changing marine conditions — giving researchers a heads-up that the familiar composition of marine species in their local waters may be starting to shift. In Europe’s Baltic Sea, for example, a spike in Vibrio infections in July 2014 closely mirrored a heatwave that rapidly warmed the shallow sea.The incident showed researchers that Vibrio spikes herald unusually warm marine conditions — and they have since been utilized as barometers for ocean heatwaves and sea-surface warming patterns, not just food safety.“We see Vibrio as the indicator for climate change,” said Kyle Brumfield, a microbiologist at the University of Maryland who has been studying the bacteria for a decade. “We can use the presence of Vibrio and Vibrio cases as a proxy for water health in general.” Courtesy of Natalie Larsen The CDC estimates that about 80,000 cases of vibriosis occur in the U.S. every year, resulting in about 100 deaths. Of those 80,000 cases, most are caused by a Vibrio called parahaemolyticus, which most commonly results in gastroenteritis, or food poisoning. The vast majority of the deaths, however, are caused by a type of Vibrio called vulnificus — the Latin word for “wound-making.”Vulnificus is so potent it can squeeze through a pinhole-sized cut in the skin and lead to death in just 24 hours. In the last five years, the CDC registered 429 such vulnificus cases, plus 136 foodborne cases. But even though foodborne cases are less numerous, the patients who contract vulnificus by eating contaminated shellfish are more likely to die than those infected via open wounds. Thirteen percent of those nonfoodborne cases died, compared to 32% of people who got the infection from eating seafood. Most cases occur in the Gulf and Atlantic coastal regions.As far as infectious diseases go, vulnificus is exceedingly rare: The CDC reports between 150 and 200 cases a year. The sexually-transmitted disease chlamydia, by comparison, one of the most common bacterial infections in the U.S., infects northward of 1.5 million Americans annually. But vulnificus’ astonishing speed and high fatality rate — 15-50%, depending on the health of the person exposed and the route of infection — makes it a unique public health threat, particularly as climate change grows its pathways of exposure.Vulnificus is not the kind of pathogen you’d want behaving erratically, but that’s exactly what it’s been doing since the late 2010s. Across the Eastern Seaboard, local and federal health officials have been reporting “unusual increases” in vulnificus prevalence — jagged spikes in infections that appear to correspond to extreme weather events like hurricanes and marine heatwaves.In 2022 and 2024, years when the brackish water that Vibrio bacteria thrive in was pushed inland by major hurricanes, Florida’s public health department reported 17 and 19 deaths, respectively, linked to vulnificus exposure via open wounds. North Carolina, New York, and Connecticut also saw small clusters of infections during a record-breaking heatwave in the summer of 2023. “As coastal water temperatures increase,” the CDC warned in its investigation of those outbreaks, “V. vulnificus infections are expected to become more common.”A 2023 study that analyzed a 30-year database of confirmed vulnificus infections from outdoor recreation along the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts found the northern boundary of infections has moved north by a rate of 30 miles per year since 1998. The study noted that “V. vulnificus infections may expand their current range to encompass major population centers around New York,” and that annual case numbers may double as temperatures rise and America’s elderly population grows.“In the 1980s, Vibrio abundance would increase in the late spring and stay high through the summer and drop in the middle of October,” Brumfield, who conducts research on Vibrio in Maryland, said. “Now … we can pretty much find them almost year-round.”Just how worried we should be about the changing dynamics of Vibrio bacteria depends on who you ask and what you read. The gruesome and fast-acting nature of the vulnificus infection makes it enticing fodder for local and national news media, fueling a spree of terrifying reports every time a new severe infection or death surfaces.“Virginia dad wades in calf-high water, dies 2 weeks later of flesh-eating bacteria that ‘ravaged’ his legs,” read a recent headline in People magazine. “2 dead after eating oysters, contracting flesh-eating bacteria, officials say,” per a 2025 web story about two deaths linked to oyster consumption in Louisiana and Florida. Like many others in their mold, neither story mentions how rare the bacteria are.The press is bad news for some in the seafood industry, which does not welcome a national conversation about the rise in vibriosis cases, vulnificus in particular. Shellfish farmers and industry representatives that Grist spoke to in Florida and New York argued that media attention on the safety of their products is unwarranted. “‘Flesh-eating bacteria,’” said Leslie Sturmer, a researcher who works for the University of Florida’s shellfish aquaculture extension program and consults with the shellfish industry on research and regulation — “the media loves it.”Paul McCormick, an oyster farmer in Long Island who sells 750,000 oysters a year, thinks all press is bad press. “Even if the title of your article says ‘New York oysters are the safest oysters in the universe,’” he told me on the phone from his office in East Moriches in January, “you’ve already created a problem.” Zoya Teirstein // Grist Zoya Teirstein // Grist In unrefrigerated oysters left out in warm conditions, Vibrio bacteria reproduce every 20 minutes. But in 2010, states began deploying strict protocols known as “Vibrio control plans,” which require harvesters to rapidly cool their catch onboard and then refrigerate it at a shellfish processing facility within a set number of hours. The measures have proven effective at stopping the growth of Vibrio in harvested shellfish and preventing disease.The fact that infections can happen in one of two ways — shellfish consumption and seawater exposure — makes it easy to shift blame and point fingers. Consumers have more control over how much exposure they have to Vibrio than they have with E. coli, for example. A person with a kidney condition can choose not to eat oysters on the half shell. E. Coli, often found in raw vegetables, is far trickier to avoid. Likewise, someone with an open wound can opt not to bathe in brackish waters if they are aware of the risks lurking in the surf.For shellfish industry representatives, personal responsibility is the primary way to bring caseloads down. “The person is the risk,” said Sturmer. “Not the climate, not the water, not the bacteria.” Implicitly, this appears to be the government’s position as well: There is currently no numerical threshold at which state public health agencies will “shut down” a beach for outdoor recreation, though states will issue public advisories and, very rarely, close beaches if they happen to find high levels of Vibrio in the water.But that perspective doesn’t account for the rapid marine changes brought on by climate change, the patchiness of vibriosis awareness, and the fact that Americans often make personal decisions that are at odds with their own health and safety.The shellfishers Grist spoke to fully acknowledged the research underpinning Vibrio’s spread. McCormick studied environmental science in college, and Sturmer is running her own climate experiments in a laboratory, pictured below, in the fishing town of Cedar Key, Florida, putting different kinds of clams and oysters through heat stress tests to determine which species are best equipped to weather the decades ahead. Zoya Teirstein // Grist Marine mollusks are uniquely threatened by rising ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, and sea level rise, issues that can lead to thin shells, low crop yields, and mass die-offs on farms. A detailed understanding of climate science, in other words, is good business for those who make their living fishing.The problem, according to Sturmer, is that shellfishers have been unfairly singled out for a health issue that doesn’t affect most consumers and is more often contracted by ocean bathing rather than raw oyster consumption. While beaches stay open even when Vibrio bacteria are present in the water and lead to infections, a small number of foodborne vibriosis cases can trigger state closures of shellfish harvesting areas and product recalls. The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science noted that these precautions “erode consumer confidence and likely decrease sales.”The panic that ensues after media reports of Vibrio infections has a similar effect: A 2024 study asked more than 350 shellfish consumers in Rhode Island — a state that relies heavily on its shellfish industry, particularly in summer months when people vacation along the coastline — to bid on entrees of raw oysters and clams. After showing study participants a real newspaper article about a 2015 Vibrio outbreak linked to an oyster farm in Massachusetts, the researchers reported that the news had a “significant negative impact” on participants’ willingness to bid on oysters. It had a depressive effect on clam sales, too.“You should really be out there beating the drum on botulism or salmonella or E. Coli,” Sturmer told me on a recent visit to her lab in Cedar Key. “Why worry about [vulnificus] when the number of cases are so minimal?” Sturmer is quick to point out that even the term “flesh-eating bacteria” is a misnomer. She’s right, in a sense: The bacteria doesn’t “eat” tissue; it destroys it. But it’s hard to say whether someone who has survived a bout of necrotizing fasciitis, the medical term for what vulnificus does to the flesh, would care to dispute the difference.Protecting consumers from being sickened by the bacteria isn’t as simple as trusting people with underlying medical conditions not to eat shellfish. Americans consume 2.5 billion oysters every year, half of which are eaten raw. Vibrio infections, which most often resemble food poisoning, are still underreported and underrecognized, even among individuals who are most at risk of developing a severe infection. Vulnificus infections are also underreported, but much less so than other Vibrio-related infections because they often require a hospital or emergency room visit.“I’ve cared for many people with salmonella infections and water-borne infectious processes, but this is the one that is likely the most serious,” said Norman Beatty, an associate professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine who is also a practicing infectious disease doctor in Gainesville, and has seen limbs and lives lost to vulnificus.When it comes to preventing Vibrio infections, the work Magers and Kumar (pictured below) are doing could take some of the onus off of individual responsibility. The researchers are identifying which parts of the eastern U.S. coastline will be most risky for overall vibriosis infections, and vulnificus specifically, as waters warm. Alongside a group of microbiologists from the University of Maryland, including Brumfield, the scientists have developed a computer model that can predict how high the vibriosis risk will be in any given coastal county on the Gulf or East coasts a month in advance. The team trained their model by pairing the CDC’s count of Vibrio-related foodborne and waterborne illnesses from 1997 to 2019 with satellite data that measures the conditions that fuel Vibrio growth, such as water temperature and salinity. Zoya Teirstein // Grist The system is far from perfect. When the model was first trained and evaluated, it was only 23% precise in pinpointing high-risk counties, meaning just one in four of the counties the program labeled as high-risk actually ended up seeing a vibriosis case in a given month. But it was very good at determining which counties were low-risk, capturing those regions with 99%precision. And it improved over time as the quality of the data they fed it got better. When they had the model do a test run on data collected by the Florida Department of Public Health from 2020 to 2024, 72% of total cases occurred in counties the tool flagged as high-risk for vibriosis.Perhaps most significantly, the model was especially adept at predicting high-risk counties ahead of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024 — more than 80% of the vibriosis cases that occurred in Florida in the aftermath of those hurricanes were reported in counties the model had already flagged as high-risk.The tool is geared toward predicting water-borne infections, but it may also provide useful information to the shellfishing industry, though the system isn’t a replacement for the established protocols farmers already use — protocols that have proven to be effective, particularly in states that are aggressive about enforcing them. What the new tool could do, however, is supplement those Vibrio control plans, especially when an upcoming weather pattern deviates from the historical norm — something that has been happening a lot lately.States currently use a rolling five-year average illness rate to calculate how many minutes or hours harvested shellfish can stay on a boat before moving into indoor refrigeration. In February, for example, Florida shellfishers have to get their oysters into refrigeration by 5 p.m. on the day of harvest. In July, they have no more than two hours, or they have to cool their catch in ice slurries on board. But these timetables don’t account for sudden temperature anomalies.“It’s going to be 80 degrees this week in Alabama,” Andy DePaola, a Gulf Coast oyster farmer, told me in February. “Yet I can keep my oysters out for, like, 14 hours, because the rolling five-year average is 20 degrees less than that anomaly.” (DePaola is also a microbiologist who worked on Vibrio at the FDA for the better part of 40 years, and is the author of the 2019 analysis that diagnosed the “perfect storm” for Vibrio spread.)But the shellfish industry doesn’t appear enthusiastic about the idea of assigning counties a risk category based on Vibrio prevalence. Vibrio researchers, by their own admission, haven’t done a good job of reaching out to shellfishers to find out how such a tool would work best for them. At an August meeting of the Delaware Bay Section of the New Jersey Shellfisheries Council last year, the director of a shellfish research laboratory brought up the idea of using Vibrio predictive models to “determine optimal days to harvest to reduce the transfer of infection to humans.” A lengthy discussion ensued. The consensus, ultimately, was that the model was a bad idea, and could be “used against the industry.”Not all shellfishers are dead set against the kind of work Magers and Kumar are doing. “If Vibrio is an indicator of global warming, then that’s just an unfortunate bad luck scene for us,” McCormick, the Long Island oysterman, said. But it’s hard for him to see what relevance that research has to an industry that already has its own methods of controlling Vibrio. “In my mind, that exists in one realm, and the safety of our oysters is a whole different thing.”As we move deeper into the 21st century, however, those two realms will have more overlap. If countries keep up their current pace of greenhouse gas emissions, most coastal communities along the East Coast will be environmentally primed for vibriosis outbreaks during peak summer months by midcentury. It won’t be a question of if there will be more vibriosis cases — it will be a matter of how to manage them. That’s the scenario Magers and Kumar are preparing for.“In 30, 40, 100 years, these models won’t even matter because the risk is so high,” said Magers, the lead author of the predictive modeling study. “When it gets to that point, it would probably be a different kind of modeling strategy where we’d be modeling case numbers instead of infection risk.”This reporting initiative is made possible thanks to support from the Wellcome Trust.This story was co-published with States Newsroom.This story was produced by Grist and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Preservation Iowa gives one of 7 awards to Muscatine project Preservation Iowa has announced its annual Preservation at Its Best Awards to honor individuals, organizations, projects, and programs whose work demonstrates a commitment to excellence in historic preservation, a news release says. The awards, which include were presented as part of the 2026 Preserve Iowa Summit held in Ankeny, Iowa, on June 2-3. “Preservation Iowa, [...]
	Muscatine Chamber leader graduates from chamber institute The City of Muscatine and the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GMCCI) have announced that Brad Bark, president & CEO of GMCCI, has graduated from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Organization Management, earning the IOM Graduate Recognition, a news release says. This national designation reflects Bark’s completion of 96 credit hours [...]
	Broadway at the Adler Theatre, Davenport, announces upcoming season The Adler Theatre and Nederlander National Markets have announced the 2026-2027 Broadway at the Adler Theatre season, according to a news release. The season kicks off with the two-time Tony Award-winning hit musical SIX, a high-energy reimagining of "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" as global pop icons. Up next is the new musical "A [...]
	Man with 39 IDOC disciplinary tickets is deemed still dangerous by judge John C. Rumley Jr., 54, who has been incarcerated since he was 24 will remain in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections.
	Kewanee man charged with sex-related offenses Joseph A. Hardy, 19, is charged in one case with Class 1 felony soliciting child pornography and Class 3 felony unlawful possession of child pornography.
	The World Cup vs. bugs, germs and heat: Here's the game plan Despite a diminished federal presence, public health departments are preparing for common ailments that could afflict fans who gather for the event — and are keeping an eye on the Ebola outbreak, too.
	Senate Republicans pass immigration funding after overnight vote After a marathon 18-hour vote, the Senate has funded immigration enforcement. The GOP bill funds ICE and the Border Patrol for three years.
	PEEHIP board approves retiree trust withdrawal to close FY27 benefit gap The Public Education Employees Health Insurance Plan board approved a $380 million budget request increase at its quarterly meeting on Sept. 3, 2025, in the RSA building in Montgomery, Alabama. The Legislature this spring appropriated approximately $180 million, so the board on Wednesday approved a $200 million withdrawal from the retiree trust fund to cover the rest of the benefits. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)The Public Education Employee Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP) Board on Wednesday voted to withdraw money from its retiree trust fund after the Legislature approved a benefit funding level less than what the board requested. PEEHIP currently provides $904 per member per month, an estimated $814.8 million, to the Education Trust Fund (ETF) budget. Amid rising healthcare costs, the PEEHIP board requested $1,209 per member per month, an estimated cost of $1.09 billion to the ETF, for fiscal year 2027. Gov. Kay Ivey asked the Legislature to appropriate $1,073 per member per month, an estimated $966.4 million cost to the ETF. In the final version of the ETF, lawmakers appropriated $1,048 per member per month, an estimated $180 million cost to the budget, leaving the PEEHIP board to fund the rest. The board unanimously approved a withdrawal from the trust for up to $200 million to cover the rest of its members’ benefits for fiscal year 2027. Jo Moore, the deputy director of administration for the board, said at a PEEHIP meeting on Wednesday that running a healthcare program is “one of the most difficult plans to administer.” “We don’t control our members’ health, we don’t control their need for health services, and we don’t control the cost of those health services,” she said. “But nevertheless, we have approximately 360,000 individuals that are depending on us to provide them with quality healthcare. We do the best that we can with what we’ve got, and we will continue to do so.” SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Growing economic pressures on the state’s budget have led to conservative budgeting and warnings from the legislative fiscal officers about future budgets. Kirk Fulford, legislative fiscal officer, told legislators in January that fiscal year 2028 would be “a rock fight.” As of Thursday, the ETF’s revenues, most of which comes from the state’s income tax, were up 0.79% from this time last year, according to the Legislative Services Agency. Neah Scott, PEEHIP’s legislative counsel, said at the meeting that the board “did pretty good” in the current fiscal year and FY 2027, which begins on Oct. 1, but said it would be more difficult as “the growth slows and there’s more pressure and demands.” Diane Scott, chief financial officer for PEEHIP, said Wednesday that as of Monday there was about $2.9 billion in the retiree trust fund. “PEEHIP faces funding shortfalls due to the escalating cost of providing healthcare benefits based upon a change in Medicare funding. Even with additional funding from the Alabama legislature, PEEHIP anticipates a shortfall of up to $200 million for fiscal ’27,’” she said, reading a motion presented to the board. The CFO said that if the Legislature’s rate stays the same for fiscal year 2028, the board will have to withdraw up to $293 million from the retiree trust, and up to $468 million for fiscal year 2029 if costs continue to increase and membership is stagnant at about 104,000 people. “We’re not going to deal with those today. We need to deal with what we’re going to do the rest of this year and what we’re going to do with ’27,” she said. “Get that anchor down and let the process naturally occur. But again, that’s consistent with those increases in costs that we’re seeing.” David Bronner, CEO of the Retirement System of Alabama, said those in attendance should ask political candidates “are you going to support us or not? “Then we know where we stand at least,” he said. “Are you going to support us for our pensions? But we also need to know, are you going to support healthcare for teachers? Or are you going to ask teachers without any meaningful raises, are you going to ask them to pay more for their healthcare?” Courtesy of Alabama Reflector
	Father Al This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.When it comes to saints, we Scandinavian Lutherans around Rock Island have a poor track record. We have only one—Saint…
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	Putin says Russia will bolster air defenses in response to Ukrainian drone attacks President Vladimir Putin says Russia will strengthen its air defenses to counter recent Ukrainian drone attacks, which have reached deep inside his country and cast a cloud over his showcase economic forum in his hometown of St. Petersburg.
Thursday, June 4th, 2026
	Muscatine fundraiser supporting local mental health services Empowering Mental Health Together will take place at Home Base Muscatine on Saturday, June 6 at 11 a.m.
	Muscatine fundraiser supporting mental health services in the community Empowering Mental Health Together will take place at Home Base Muscatine on Saturday, June 6 at 11 a.m.
	Galesburg getting $2 million to revamp Standish Park The one-block park sits between the Knox County Courthouse, Knox College and City Hall.
	Donahue man facing 20 sexual exploitation of a minor charges A Donahue man is facing 20 sexual exploitation of a minor charges after deputies say he created and told a teenager to create child sexual abuse material.
	Cook review: 'Pressure' builds as meteorologists - and war - heat up screen Just because you know the overall outcome doesn't mean the true World War II film "Pressure" won't leave you in suspense. Rather than being an action-packed film with scenes of warfare - which it does contain, especially at the end - this is the story of waging war and the delicate factors - including weather [...]
	Knight's Pizza: Detroit-style pizza gains popularity in the QCA Just a few short years ago, Caden Knight was working full time at Your Pie Pizza. He had just given up on college to focus on making delicious pies. "I have pizza sauce in my veins," said Knight. Last year, he decided to take a leap of faith and leave his full-time job to create [...]
	Illinois bill to regulate how kids use social media A bill to regulate how kids use social media is on Gov. JB Pritzker's desk. The Children's Social Media Safety Act (House Bill 5511) intends to prevent anyone younger than 18 from being exposed to harmful content and addictive features. The bill would require social media companies to confirm a user's age. It wouldn't prevent [...]
	Cook review: A24''s 'Backrooms' brings weirdness to a new dimension Bizarre, disturbing and fast-paced, "Backrooms" will appeal to fans of "Obsession" - in fact, in a genius move, a local drive-in is showing the two films as a double feature.. Director Kane Parsons has a field day with visual perspective, off-putting angles and the constant tension of something, or someone, possibly lurking around a corner. [...]
	19-year-old facing felony child sexual abuse, assault charges Joseph Hardy, 19, of Kewanee was arrested Tuesday after an investigation involving two victims.
	35th Avenue temporarily closed between New Liberty Rd/260th St in Scott County Beginning Thursday, June 4, 35th Avenue was closed to through traffic between Highway 130 (New Liberty Road) and 260th Street for a bridge replacement project in Scott County, according to a news release. The closure is expected to remain in place until Sept. 18,. Drivers are encouraged to use an alternate route and should expect [...]
	Climate change brings drought and flooding risks to Iowa While parts of Iowa continue to deal with drought conditions, experts say climate change is also leading to more intense rainfall events and flooding risks.
	Firefighters extinguish shed fire on Quad-Cities hospital campus Bettendorf crews extinguished a shed fire on the MercyOne Genesis campus Thursday afternoon. The cause of the 2 p.m. fire is under investigation.
	The Heart of the Story: Honored through music Our Quad Cities News is partnering with award-winning journalist Gary Metivier for The Heart of the Story. Each week, Gary showcases inspiring stories of everyday people doing cool stuff, enjoying their hobbies and living life to the fullest. Stories that feature the best of the human condition. Performers takes many stages with their craft, and [...]
	Second meeting of Knox County Courthouse Task Force set for June 11 The courthouse is nearly 140 years old and recently suffered a sewer collapse beneath the building.
	Moline officer rescues fawn from roadway As a police officer, not every call is an adrenaline dump of excitement but some are cuteness overload, according to a post on the Moline Police Department's Facebook page. On Thursday, Officer Aucutt was dispatched to a report of an injured fawn in the roadway near 41st Street and 15th Avenue. The fawn was walking [...]
	Republicans' sweeping election overhaul fails in the Senate The SAVE America Act, a far-reaching Republican election overhaul that President Trump said should be his congressional allies' top priority, has failed in the Senate.
	Muscatine shooting victim had just fulfilled childhood dream, fiancée says The fiancée of one of the six people killed in a shooting spree Monday is remembering a man who brought joy to everyone who knew him.
	Days before primary, Jackson and Shah spar over outsider attack ads, abortion views Troy Jackson addresses attack ads against him at a press conference in Portland. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/Maine Morning Star)After months of mostly avoiding direct attacks, Democratic gubernatorial candidates Troy Jackson and Nirav Shah spent Thursday denouncing a pair of outside attack ads, though largely standing by the criticisms those ads raised about their opponent. Both ads were paid for by out-of-state political groups that have committed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Democratic primary. At back-to-back press conferences, Jackson and Shah denounced the negative turn the race has taken while making it clear they still believed each other’s records and campaigns were fair game for attack. The ad targeting Jackson, paid for by Washington, D.C.-based political action committee 314 Action, questioned the former Maine Senate president’s record on abortion rights, alleging his support for abortion access has shifted over time. The ad targeting Shah was funded by the Working Families Party, a progressive minor political party based in Brooklyn, and attacked the former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director over his ties to outside interests and wealthy donors. “My aversion, and the tactics that I am particularly calling up, are these 10-second ads that are snippets and headlines rather than substance and fact,” Shah said at a press conference in Portland Thursday. “They are designed to scare, they are designed to divide, they are not designed to educate.” Jackson was more upset about what he called “outright lies” about his record on reproductive rights than the attack ads, which he said are to be expected because of the recent University of New Hampshire poll showing that he was practically tied with Shah for first place. “Mainers just can’t trust Troy Jackson on abortion,” the ad states, pointing to his 100% approval rating from a pro-life group earlier in his political career and his prior admission that he had struggled with the issue. The ad also makes the claim that Jackson “even stuck to his pro-life position after Roe v. Wade was overturned,” without acknowledging that he has since sponsored and supported several bills enshrining access to abortion, and has also received a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. Jackson said he has not tried to hide his previous votes, “but what I have been very clear is, for the last 10 years I have been right there, being the one that time after time held up abortion access for people in the state.” He also accused Shah and his backers of trying to distract from other campaign issues. “The same dark money, anti-labor special interest groups attacking me are backing Dr. Nirav Shah, because he represents, in my opinion, more of the same,” he said. “The same old rigged game that makes the rich, the well-connected, richer on the backs of working Mainers.” Shah and Jackson have been at odds with each other before. Jackson and two other allied candidates — Shenna Bellows and Hannah Pingree — denounced another ad supporting Shah that was partially paid for by pro-school choice group Education Reform Now, in addition to 314 Action. Reproductive rights records Nirav Shah addresses attack ads against him and other candidates on Thursday in Freeport. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/Maine Morning Star) Over the past decade, the former Senate president has mostly been a staunch supporter of abortion rights. He co-sponsored a 2023 law that allows patients to access abortion care later in pregnancy when it is deemed necessary by a medical professional. In 2022, he introduced legislation that became law that requires state-regulated insurance plans to cover prescription contraceptives. Pointing to those successes as well as his support for Maine’s recently enacted shield law protecting healthcare providers, Jackson said, “my record’s been sterling over the last 10 years.” “In fact, I’ve been the person that’s been fighting the hardest on these issues while he wasn’t even in the state of Maine,” he added, referring to Shah’s time working in the Biden administration. In their campaigns for governor, both Jackson and Shah have expressed support for enshrining reproductive rights in the state constitution. Jackson also said he plans to add funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion healthcare providers directly into the state budget if elected. Shah recently announced a day one executive order that, among other things. will enforce Maine’s shield law that protects providers, publish a public reproductive health access guide, and review insurance barriers to reproductive care. Healthcare professionals defend candidates Dr. Emily Hill, a family medicine and palliative physician in Portland, spoke at the press event besides Jackson. She said that she’s “saddened in a race that has been cordial and kind that certain groups have to stoop to new lows that are outright false and spread misinformation about healthcare access and delivery here in our state.” “I know that we can trust Troy Jackson on abortion,” she said. During his press conference, Shah denounced the ad by 314 Action for its negative tactics, but said he still has questions about his opponent’s support of reproductive rights. He pointed to Jackson’s prior record, pointing to the 100% ratings he received from pro-life group Maine Right to Life in 2003 and 2010 and his votes for bills establishing fetal personhood and a 24-hour waiting period for abortions in 2011, in addition to his admission of “struggling with abortion” to Maine Public in 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision rolling back the federal right to abortion. “I think it’s a relevant inquiry as to where Sen. Jackson is with respect to abortion rights,” Shah said. “Until I was asked yesterday, I had not commented upon his record around reproductive health and reproductive freedom thus far, but this is a reasonable line of inquiry.” Eliza Lee, a Shah supporter and mental health professional, said at the event that she respects that Jackson “changed his opinion on abortion.” “I’m glad he came around, but I think it’s just all about voters having the full history, and being able to ask questions and have all the information that we deserve as voters, and especially as women, around abortion,” Lee said, who noted that she had a late-term abortion.“But I just always am a little skeptical when politicians switch, as a woman who has been through it personally.” SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Maine Morning Star
	Rat poison ban clears both chambers of RI General Assembly A rodenticide bait box seen on Atwells Avenue in Providence in May 2026. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)A bill by Providence Democratic Rep. Rebecca Kislak to limit the availability of certain rodenticides statewide passed the House in a 56-8 floor vote Wednesday. While the bill would narrow the range of rat poisons available to consumers, Kislak assured her colleagues on the House floor that she is no lover of the rodents and is “perfectly happy to kill them.” “I am saying this as a peaceful vegan: Kill the rats,” Kislak said during Wednesday’s floor discussion. “But what we’re doing right now isn’t working. If these poisons actually work to kill the rats, we would not have so many rats, and instead, what they’re doing is killing the predators of the rats.” Kislak has submitted the legislation for several years in a row, spurred by the knowledge that owls, hawks and other predators that naturally prey upon rat populations can also die from the anti-clotting drugs used in rodenticides. Last year, Kislak’s bill died in committee, while a companion bill in the Senate by Sen. Melissa Murray, a Woonsocket Democrat, passed the Senate floor. This year, Murray once again submitted the companion bill, which unanimously passed the Senate on May 26. Now, each chamber needs to pass the other chamber’s bill before the legislation can head to Gov. Dan McKee’s desk. Larry Berman and Greg Paré — spokespeople for the House and Senate, respectively — said on Thursday afternoon that concurrence votes were not yet scheduled but “will happen in the coming days.” Rodenticides kill more than rodents. Providence lawmaker sponsors bill to ban their use. The legislation prohibits the sale of anticoagulants, starting with those developed before 1970 known as first-generation drugs that kill rats through prolonged internal bleeding. The well-established class of drugs are also known for their utility as human medicines like warfarin, or Coumadin. Along with chlorophacinone and diphacinone, warfarin is one of three first-generation anticoagulants OK’d for rat and mice control in the states. Should the legislation become law, first-generation anticoagulants would be banned for consumer sales in Rhode Island starting March 1, 2027. An explicit ban on newer, more potent second-generation anticoagulants — which were developed starting in the 1970s and are registered only for use by pest professionals — would be codified in state law starting Jan. 1, 2028. By Jan. 1, 2029, both first- and second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides would be banned statewide — even for pest control companies, albeit with some exceptions for use in public health, agriculture, food production and certain types of facilities. Quotation I am saying this as a peaceful vegan: Kill the rats. – Rep. Rebecca Kislak, a Providence Democrat, on the pest control motivations behind her rodenticide-regulating bill The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes on its website that second-generation agents “pose greater risks to nontarget species that might feed on bait only once or that might feed upon animals that have eaten the bait.” That’s because these stronger drugs take fewer feedings to kill, but they also stay in a rodent’s body longer, making a poisoned rat toxic for a longer time — an unwelcome side effect for any unknowing creature that may feast on it. Municipalities could also participate in a voluntary pilot program that would help them test integrated pest management strategies, such as improving sanitation measures, natural predator populations, or other nonchemical methods of shrinking a city’s rat demographics. “When I first had this bill four or five years ago, I didn’t know how to spell rodenticide,” Kislak said on the House floor Wednesday. “I didn’t know about the different kinds of rat poison…I did think that rats are kind of gross, and I know they’re also living beings, and all living beings have value, and all of that.” But, Kislak continued, she now sees it this way: “It’s not killing the rats, it’s making them slower. It’s slowing them down. And then the beautiful raptors, who are their natural predators, are eating the rats, and it bioaccumulates.” A bald eagle with its young at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia and Tinicum Township, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bill Buchanan/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region) ‘I’d like to kill the rats’ Horror stories about birds of prey presumed to have ingested these poisons popped up at committee hearings on Kislak’s bill, largely from Sheida Soleimani, founder and executive director of Congress of the Birds, a wildlife rehabilitation clinic in Providence and Chepachet. Kislak said on the House floor that Soleimani’s clinic rescued 246 raptors in 2025, many believed to have been likely poisoned by the rodenticides targeted in Kislak’s bill. The most vocal opponent of Kislak’s bill in the House came from Minority Whip and Burrillville Republican Rep. David Place. “We’re making a choice between animals and people, right?” Place asked his colleagues on the House floor. “We kill the rats because the rats are a threat to our health and safety.” Place then compared the debate to that on DDT, a pesticide which he said “saved lives” and “almost eliminated malaria across the world,” before environmental policies “made the decision to save the environment and sacrifice people’s lives.” “I’d like to kill the rats,” Place said. “They evolve, rats evolve, they get survival of the fittest.” The bill sponsor also fielded a question from Democratic Rep. Charlene Lima of Cranston — a city whose rat problem was so pronounced it played a starring role in the city’s 2024 mayoral debates. What would kill the rats instead, Lima wondered? Kislak said one option is birth control for rodents. “I really want to know how that’s going to work,” Lima replied. “Do the little rats go monthly to get their birth control filled at Walgreens?” Kislak replied that, instead of putting poison in the bait boxes, exterminators would place birth control meds instead. “They eat the birth control, and then they don’t reproduce,” Kislak said, noting such programs have had “mixed results” but have been “working pretty well in Arlington, Massachusetts.” Kislak offered some other ideas: “Good old-fashioned snap traps, making sure that garbage is closed.” SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Courtesy of Rhode Island Current
	East Moline Library offers free digital art classes for tweens, teens In June and July, the East Moline Public Library invites tweens and teens to free digital art classes, a news release says. The East Moline Public Library was awarded the Project Next Generation grant which gave thelibrary the opportunity to purchase a set of iPads for programming. The library will host digital art classes throughout [...]
	NM Health Care Authority announces $76M in federal rural healthcare funds New Mexico’s Health Care Authority on June 2, 2026, announced it was preparing to distribute $76 million in federal funding for rural healthcare it received from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (Getty Images)The New Mexico Health Care Authority on Wednesday announced it would soon distribute about one-third of the federal funding it recently received through the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” to address shortfalls in rural healthcare in the state. The authority will provide $76.2 million to six “regional hub organizations” that help communities implement rural healthcare projects as part of its Health Horizons program. When fully implemented, the program aims to reduce long wait times, chronic disease risk factors and readmission rates to rural hospitals — all problems that plague roughly one-third of New Mexicans who live in rural areas. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX.The funding recipients won’t provide care directly, according to the Health Care Authority, but instead will try to increase virtual consultations, especially for specialty and maternal care, as well as expand the use of rotational clinics in areas lacking healthcare access.. New Mexico and all other states applied for and received funding from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” last November as part of the federal Rural Health Transformation Fund. The state received a little more than $211 million, which is the 13th highest amount in the country. The state’s application noted that 26 of New Mexico’s 33 counties are rural, and their residents tend to have higher rates of heart disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease than their urban counterparts, while often being forced to travel between 50 and 100 miles for basic healthcare services. Eight of 27 rural New Mexico hospitals risk closing, according to a 2025 analysis the application cited, with four facing “immediate risk [of closure] absent intervention.” Four other federally qualified health centers have closed in recent years, as well. The Healthy Horizons is one of five initiatives for which the state received federal funding. Others aim to increase the number of community health programs; train more healthcare workers; reduce financial strain on hospitals; and establish a rural health data-sharing platform. Despite the new wave of federal funding totaling $50 billion over the next five years, independent estimates show the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” will cut rural Medicaid spending overall by $137 billion over the next decade, including $3.54 billion in New Mexico. Elisa Wrede, the HCA’s acting rural health director, was not available for an interview with Source NM this week, according to a spokesperson, though she said in a statement Wednesday that the Health Care Authority is “investing in regional partners who can bring providers, Tribal health programs, community organizations, public health leaders, and others together to improve access to care in practical ways.” Applications for the funding, which will be distributed to each regional hub based on healthcare need and readiness, are due by July 2, according to the authority. Recipients must use at least 90% of the funding to support local healthcare projects. Courtesy of Source New Mexico
	Bettendorf Public Library kicking off free summer concert series The concerts are on Thursday nights at Faye's Field, across from the library.
	Muscatine's Lighthouse owners retire after 26 years; permanent closure imminent The owners of the Lighthouse Grill and Bar in Muscatine say they plan to retire at the end of this season, which means the waterside restaurant and marina could close for good. The Lighthouse is one of only a few dockside spots left of its kind. "We've been here for 44 years, just a ma-and-pop [...]
	DROUGHT returning to Quad Cities area After a rainy April, the drought had disappeared around the Quad Cities. Now, it's back. May rainfall was well below normal and that has placed a large part of our area in an early drought situation. We do have the chance for some showers and storms early Friday, and that could combat some of the [...]
	Father launches QC Park Finder website to help families discover local parks From Maquoketa to Coal Valley and Port Byron to Walcott, you can look up different parks and even sort them by amenities. Plus, you can add parks not yet listed.
	Aledo's famous Rhubarb Festival runs Friday and Saturday Thousands of people will descend on the "Rhubarb Capital of Illinois" to get their hands on treats made from the tart and sour vegetable.
	Davenport parks director departing for position in Georgia Davenport's parks and recreation director, Chad Dyson, will depart the city June 10 for another position in Georgia.
	No injuries reported following Bettendorf fire Nearby medical buildings were deemed safe following a fire in Bettendorf. According to a release from the City of Bettendorf, the Bettendorf Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a structure fire in the 2200 block of 53rd Ave. June 4, 2026, at 2:05 p.m. Crews found a small shed fully engulfed in flames [...]
	Davenport Parks and Recreation director resigning City officials said Chad Dyson, who has worked in the department since 2018, will be taking a new job out of state after his departure.
	Clinton updates consideration of data-center development The City of Clinton has sent an update about a potential data-center development in an industrially zoned area of the community. According to the statement, the city remains in the preliminary fact-finding stage. No formal development application has been submitted, no site plan has been submitted, no development agreement has been presented, and no final [...]
	Former CEO of Addiction Recovery Care federally indicted Addiction Recovery Care building in Louisa, photographed June 27, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Matthew Mueller)To locate recovery services in Kentucky, visit https://findhelpnow.org/ky. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has a 24/7 helpline for people in need of mental health or substance use support: 1-800-662-4357. Tim Robinson, former chief executive officer of Addiction Recovery Care, was indicted in federal court on Thursday on wire transmission and “monetary transaction in criminally derived property” in “unlawful activity” charges. The indictment, which was filed in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Kentucky, says Robinson “knowingly, and with intent to defraud, devised and intended to devise a scheme to defraud and obtain money by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and concealment of material facts.” ARC said in a statement Thursday that Robinson “is stepping down as CEO” immediately and “Cassandra Webb will be stepping in as Interim Chief Executive Officer while remaining in her position as President & Chief Operating Officer of Addiction Recovery Care.” “ARC continues to operate normally. All facilities, programs and services remain open and fully operational. Our leadership team, employees, and clinical staff remain committed to delivering high-quality care and support to the individuals and families we serve,” the ARC statement said. “Our commitment to our clients, employees, and communities remains unchanged, and we will continue carrying out our mission of helping individuals find recovery, healing and hope.” They needed treatment. Kentucky company may have used them to commit fraud. The indictment says Robinson acted “in order to unlawfully enrich himself.” Robinson “shall forfeit to the United States any and all property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the violation.” the indictment states. In January, Angelica Capital Trust sued Addiction Recovery Care, Kentucky’s largest provider of addiction treatment, alleging it committed “massive fraud” in Medicaid and Medicare billing. In April, the Lexington Herald Leader and ProPublica reported an investigation into ARC’s transactions and its “alleged billing scheme.” According to the Thursday indictment, penalties can include imprisonment, fines of $250,000 and supervision, plus forfeiture and restitution. Read the indictment ARC indictment SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Courtesy of Kentucky Lantern
	Crime Stoppers: Man wanted in Rock Island Co. for missing court date on drug charges Kyler Pickett-Williams, 25, is wanted by the Rock Island County Sheriff’s Office for failure to appear in court.
	Crime Stoppers: 7 guns stolen in Rock Island Co. could be part of string of burglaries Seven stolen firearms are loose after a Taylor Ridge vehicle burglary that police believe may be linked to a wider crime spree across Moline.
	Crime Stoppers: Man wanted by Iowa Dept. of Corrections for probation violation Authorities in Scott County and the Iowa Department of Corrections are searching for 29-year-old Cody Hinden on probation violations.
	Davenport City Council considers land purchase for future animal shelter The current agreement with the Humane Society of Scott County concludes at the end of the month. A proposed agreement would aid in the transition of service responsibilities. That includes up to one year of animal control services and up to three years of shelter services as the city mulls a new animal shelter on North Pine Street.
	Celebrate a jazz legend at the Bellson Music Fest Celebrate a legend from the QCA with world-class music and community spirit honoring jazz history. Melinda Jones joined Our Quad Cities News with details on the Bellson Music Fest. For more information, click here.
	Invasive pest that threatens livestock, pets found in Texas calf as Kansas tracks situation The New World screwworm is spread through fly larvae that enter open wounds in livestock, pets, wildlife and, more rarely, humans and birds. (U.S. Department of Agriculture)TOPEKA — Scientists identified a case of New World screwworm in a Texas calf, ramping up concerns nationwide about stopping the invasive parasite that can destroy livestock herds. The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Animal Health is educating state ranchers and others about the pest, which was previously eradicated in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. “NWS is not a contagious disease that spreads from animal to animal, but is the infestation of a parasitic fly,” a Kansas agriculture news release said. “NWS poses a direct economic threat to the livestock industry, but it is important to note that this does not impact food safety.” NWS affects livestock, pets, wildlife and, less commonly, people and birds, the release said. In Kansas, the agriculture department is educating veterinarians and livestock producers about the fly larvae that burrow into open wounds on warm-blooded animals and can be deadly if untreated. Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids questioned Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins Wednesday about steps the government is taking to prevent movement of NWS into the United States from Mexico. Rollins blamed illicit cartel movement of cattle and open border policies for the problem. The government has been fighting the proliferation of the screwworm for the past year as cases of NWS grew in Panama, Mexico and other countries, she said. “When we got here in 2024, the models predicted that it would be on our side of the border, nothing could stop it, by last summer,” Rollins said. “We deployed a significant amount of resources and personnel into Mexico as well as south Texas, where the real threat is, almost immediately while breaking ground and building facilities that will produce the sterile flies.” Male sterile flies are released into the wild and mate with the female flies, causing the population to die off. Rollins said with the current infestation, 400 million to 500 million sterile flies are needed each week and right now, they only produce 100 million sterile flies weekly. Because the country has been preparing, Rollins said the government expects the cases of NWS that show up in the United States to be manageable. “We do not believe this will be an infestation. We’ll be able to isolate each case,” she said. Justin Smith, Kansas Animal Health commissioner, said the confirmed Texas case is a “serious concern,” but echoed Rollins’ in saying the country has been preparing for at least a year. “NWS is a treatable condition, so early identification is critical to the health of the infested animals, which is why monitoring and reporting play a key role in managing this threat,” the state agriculture department release said. If cases of NWS reach Kansas, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association recommends that ranchers stop or limit procedures that create wounds that make it easier for flies to enter, such as dehorning, branding or shearing. Courtesy of Kansas Reflector
	Quad City Back the Blue Flight supports law enforcement Active and retired law enforcement in the QCA are gearing up for their own honor flight. Greg Keller and Amy Larson spoke with Our Quad Cities News with details on the Quad City Back the Blue Flight. For more information, click here.
	Ski Bellevue kicks off new season on Saturday Ski Bellevue is one of only four ski show teams in Iowa and the only one to perform on the Mississippi. Brand new this year, there will be food trucks at the shows!
	Afterschool demand outpaces supply, advocates say, even as state scores high in access Students in the Sioux Falls School District play on a playground. (Courtesy of Sioux Falls School District)South Dakota parents who want afterschool care for their kids have better access to it than they do in nearly any other state, according to a national nonprofit organization, and the kids in those afterschool programs spend an outsized number of hours taking part. Even so, about two-thirds of the South Dakota kids who could be in afterschool care aren’t. Childcare advocates in South Dakota say the state’s rankings in the national report highlight both a growing need for programming outside of school hours and that programming’s value to taxpayers. Drops in absenteeism and improvements in academic performance for kids in an expanded afterschool program in Sioux Falls are promising, said Billy Mawhiney, director of the South Dakota Afterschool Network, but “the demand is still outgrowing the supply.” “Yes, we’re doing great things, and this is still happening,” Mawhiney said. “We still have more work to do.” SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. The network’s own report, titled “Practical Pathways for Supporting Working Families Through Out-of-School Time,” was released last week. Child care is “essential for working families” in South Dakota, the report says, because about 78% of kids in the state live in homes where all available parents work. What’s needed, it concludes, is more access to afterschool care, particularly in rural areas, as well as more mapping on where gaps in care may be and a coalition of pro-childcare lawmakers willing to stump for steady government funding. South Dakota’s standing The network leaned on data from a state-by-state “America After 3 p.m.” report from the Washington, D.C.-based Afterschool Alliance to build its own report and recommendations for the future of childcare in South Dakota. The D.C. group surveyed families and providers in every state. It found that around 22,000 of the 64,000 kids whose parents want after school or summer care in South Dakota are getting it, that the average cost of that care is $3,300 per year per kid, and that pay of less than $15 an hour for staff members contributes to high turnover at afterschool programs. The barriers to uptake were tied to the expense and access to quality programming. But the report also found that South Dakota fares better than most states in some ways. Weighing several factors, the nonprofit ranked the state third nationwide in afterschool program participation, behind Washington, D.C., and Hawaii. The state ranked fifth in access to programming, behind Washington, D.C., Kansas, New Mexico and Alaska. In Washington, D.C., the report says, high rankings for participation and access are both tied to municipal investment in afterschool programming. In Hawai’i, the scores are linked to the use of federal and state grants to expand programming and participation. Influence of four-day weeks South Dakota’s high ranking in participation wasn’t tied as closely to the raw number of kids participating. By that metric, South Dakota is above average, with 14% of the kids whose parents want afterschool programming participating in it at the time parents were surveyed. But the nonprofit’s methodology for participation also factors in the “dosage rate,” meaning the number of hours per week that kids are in afterschool care. In South Dakota, that figure is 7.7 hours a week. The national average is 5.3. That’s a unique path to a top 10 participation score, according to Nikki Yamashiro, research director for the Afterschool Alliance. But the dosage rate is meaningful, she said, as it offers nuance and acts as a nod to the significance of the amount of time kids spend with experienced caregivers. “When we think about ranking for participation, it’s not just someone who goes one hour a week,” Yamashiro said. “We wanted to include that in our calculation. Because South Dakota has such a high average for number of hours a week that kids participate compared to the other states, that’s what bumps it up.” That high number may be tied in part to four-day school weeks, the report says, based on the interviews with South Dakota afterschool advocates that helped guide its findings. For the 2024-25 school year, 45 of the state’s 159 public school districts had four-day weeks, according to the state Department of Education. That trend has pushed some school districts to open their doors to Friday afterschool programs run by outside entities. That, in turn, may have helped push the number of hours kids spend in afterschool programs. Survey finds many South Dakota parents unable to enroll children in afterschool programs The “America After 3 p.m.” report’s addendum on high-performing states cited the Burke School District, which got a $211,000 grant from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development in 2024 to help launch an afterschool program that runs for a full-day on Fridays, when school is out. Kelsea Sutton, a banker who helped her county secure the startup grant, said the program is now self-sustaining and funded by parents’ tuition fees. “The school provides a free satellite location,” for the nonprofit child care center that staffs the afterschool program, Sutton said, “which has been essential to the partnership.” “It would not work if the school hadn’t been a good partner,” she said. Sutton noted that communities like hers didn’t have much choice but to expand out-of-school programming. The same has been true for childcare in smaller communities, she said, where businesses, cities and schools have cobbled together options to keep families working. Out-of-school care in Burke still costs more than many parents can afford, she said, and the staff still don’t make enough money. “What’s been going on for a really long time is that working moms are figuring it out in their communities, and just busting their asses to fundraise, go to board meetings, hire staff at poverty wages, all so that people can get to work,” Sutton said. “That’s what is continuing to happen.” Success story in Sioux Falls “America After 3 p.m.” links South Dakota’s high ranking for access to efforts by group’s like Mawhinney’s to map programs and connect parents to them. But it also pointed to a reworked afterschool program in the state’s largest city that’s grown the number of kids getting care. For years, the Sioux Falls School District operated an in-house afterschool program that competed with outside providers. Many of those providers would collect kids from the playground and truck them to their own buildings for afterschool care, making space in facilities used for younger kids all day long. In 2023, the school district disbanded its program and brought the largest of those nonprofit care providers into all 22 of its elementary schools. The afterschool programs, now called Community Learning Centers, are staffed by the providers, who no longer need to pay for transportation or find space in their own facilities for older kids. ‘We can’t exist without child care’: Rural towns use state funding to open local centers The school district offers its buildings, maintains a small team to manage enrollment and billing and shares information on individual student needs and in-school performance with the providers. The model expanded into middle schools in 2024. Middle school students nationwide are less likely to have access to afterschool care, the national report says. Additional funding also expanded access. Families can get subsidies for afterschool care from the state Department of Social Services if they make up to 209% of the federal poverty guidelines. For the Sioux Falls program, families with incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty guidelines are eligible for scholarships, funded through a combination of funding from federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants and money from the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation. The federal funding also pays for additional tutoring time for students who struggle academically. But there’s only so much scholarship money, said Rebecca Wimmer, coordinator of community partnerships and afterschool programs for the Sioux Falls School District. Schools that serve more lower-income families tend to have openings in their afterschool programs — even as other schools have waiting lists. “We max out our budget every year, as far as scholarships go,” Wimmer said. “If we had more resources, we could certainly enroll more kids.” The current federal grants expire next year. The school district and its partner providers have separately applied for more, Wimmer said, but don’t know if they’ll get it. Hope for funding, and a corrections connection Because the schools hold both afterschool participation data and data on academic performance, Wimmer’s team has been able to crunch numbers and show improvements in those areas for the kids who stick around after the closing bell. Particularly when tutoring is directed in the areas where teachers say kids need it most, Wimmer said, “what we’re seeing is that these best practices are actually resulting in differences.” Wimmer hopes the district’s data encourages more collaborative models across the state, and can help draw in funding from municipal and philanthropic sources. Mawhiney, the afterschool network’s director, also sees the data as a way to reopen the funding conversation at the state level. Chronic absenteeism and low academic engagements are some of the most reliable markers for kids who wind up involved in the criminal justice system, he said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The state’s decision to invest $650 million in a new men’s prison in Sioux Falls was wise for public safety, Mawhiney said, but he’d like to see the state invest in programs that help prevent kids from growing up and going there. “If we’re going to be honest, the kids that are in that category, where we’ll be covering that cost of incarceration later, are the kids who are not getting that afterschool care,” said Mawhiney. State Sen. Tim Reed, R-Brookings, sponsored a trio of bills in 2025 meant to expand access to childcare. One of them passed both the state Senate and House of Representatives, but failed to override a veto from Gov. Larry Rhoden. The others didn’t make it that far. Reed didn’t attempt to revive those bills this year, but said the need for both early childhood education and afterschool care remains. The next time the issue comes up, Reed said, he and the other lawmakers who support state funding need to point to data from Sioux Falls as proof of a return on investment. “It is the place to go, to talk about this in an upstream kind of way,” Reed said. “And then you actually start talking about it in terms of kids doing better in school.” Courtesy of South Dakota Searchlight
	Local father launches QC Park Finder website to help families discover area parks From Maquoketa to Coal Valley and Port Byron to Walcott, you can look up different parks and even sort them by amenities. Plus, you can add parks not yet listed.
	Firefighters extinguish shed fire on Genesis Hospital campus in Bettendorf Bettendorf crews extinguished a shed fire on the Genesis Hospital campus Thursday afternoon. The cause of the 2 p.m. fire is under investigation.
	Every Cochise County police agency will soon use the same iris scanners ICE deploys (Photo via Getty Images)Every law enforcement agency in Cochise County will soon be using the same iris-scanning technology as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This week, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office announced that, with the support of the Western States Sheriff’s Association, it and every municipal police department in the county would be adopting the biometric tech. “This is about accuracy, safety and accountability,” Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannells said in a statement. “By ensuring every law enforcement agency in Cochise County is connected to the same secure biometric identification system we are protecting our deputies, our partner agencies and the public by making sure the right person is identified every time.” The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to questions about how the technology will be deployed and if ICE or other federal agencies will also have access to its data. Earlier this year, the company that makes the software Cochise County law enforcement will be using landed a lucrative sole-source contract with ICE for the exact same technology. Massachusetts based BI² Technologies’ $10 million ICE contract is for the Inmate Recognition and Identification System, or I.R.I.S., software. The company claims to already have a database of upwards of a million scans of irises, and even has a mobile platform that purports to allow police officers to use their cellphones to scan the irises of people they encounter in order to verify their identities. ICE has been purchasing the mobile units for their deportation efforts, according to reporting by 404 Media. The contract also states that ICE intends to allow “agents and 287(g) partners to quickly authenticate the identity of subjects during field operations.” A 287(g) agreement is one in which local sheriffs or police departments can partner with ICE to train officers to identify and flag people who may be eligible for deportation during routine traffic stops or jail bookings, even if charges against them haven’t been proven. Cochise County entered into a 287(g) contract in August 2025. Shortly after President Donald Trump was elected to a second term in 2024, the company hired lobbyists from a firm with connections to Trump’s second administration. Ballard Partners was opened in part by Susie Wiles, who is now Trump’s chief of staff, and former Attorney General Pam Bondi used to work there, according to reporting by the Project on Government Oversight Investigates. POGO Investigates also found that BI² Technologies offered border sheriffs free use of the IRIS technology for three years during the first Trump administration, and an investor in the company attempted to get a meeting between the CEO and an advisor to Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, according to The Intercept. While Dannels has touted the technology as a way to ensure “accuracy” and “safety,” historical uses of biometric technology have shown that it is not as foolproof as proponents say. In 2012, researchers showed that iris scanners could be tricked with synthetic irises. A 2012 National Institute of Standards and Technology report also found that the miss rate for the technology can be between 2.5% to 20%. While the technology has often been touted as the most secure way to identify an individual, it has been proven to be able to be bypassed or have errors. Prior to its use by American police agencies, the technology was used by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan. The biometric data in Afghanistan was abandoned during the United States’ withdrawal, leading to not just biometric data but data connecting individuals to family members, work history and more in the hands of the Taliban. In 2022, a military biometric device was sold on eBay with the information still on it. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Arizona Mirror
	Weakened public health powers raise outbreak risks Some jurisdictions have weakened their public health authorities in response to criticism of lockdowns, school closures, mask mandates, vaccine requirements and other COVID-era restrictions.
	Epstein survivor, advocates hold human trafficking awareness event in Topeka International Public Policy Institute director and survivor advocate Sharon Sullivan speaks with survivor and advocate Lisa Phillips on a panel June 2, 2026. (Photo by Maya Smith for Kansas Reflector)TOPEKA — As survivor and advocate Lisa Phillips shared her story of sexual abuse by financier Jeffrey Epstein to a large crowd, she asked the audience to “bear with her” as she spoke. A crowd member shouted from their seat that she was in a safe space. Phillips spoke alongside other anti-human trafficking advocates during a conversation about trafficking and support for survivors at Washburn on Tuesday night. “We all have survivor stories in us,” Phillips said. “The people who endure unimaginable things and still choose to keep going. There’s so much strength. That’s the place I want survivors to get to.” Phillips is a former model who was sexually abused by Epstein in her early 20s while working for a modeling agency for which Epstein recommended her. Phillips now says it was one of his first grooming tactics. She was sexually assaulted by Epstein on his private island, with the abuse continuing for multiple years until Phillips moved across the country. Phillips did not speak publicly about the abuse until after the businessman’s death in 2019. “Every conversation was another layer, and with every layer came another realization,” Phillips said. “How many opportunities weren’t opportunities at all? How many introductions were actually transactions?” Phillips is now an advocate for survivors, lobbying lawmakers in the United States and United Kingdom to release all files connected to Epstein and co-conspirators. Lisa Phillips hugs a community member after speaking at a trafficking awareness event in Topeka. (Photo by Maya Smith for Kansas Reflector) Organizer and sponsor Dennis Taylor began the event by saying he was pleased with the large turnout. Taylor and his wife, Karen, saw Phillips on TV and immediately knew they wanted her to visit Kansas. The panel featured Phillips, as well as Center for Safety and Empowerment Director Christina Chavez and professor and director of Washburn Children and Family Law Gillian Chadwick. The panel was moderated by International Public Policy Institute director and survivor advocate Sharon Sullivan. “We have got to work with our survivors in our community and state to make things better,” Sullivan said. “In Topeka, we’re doing a good job. We’re getting better.” Phillips, who calls fellow Epstein victims “survivor sisters,” said when she began telling her own story in 2019, she went looking for “people to care,” saying it was the decision of her life to come forward. “We realized that we probably won’t ever get justice, but we can hold people accountable and have hearings,” Phillips said. “We can do everything we can. We’re owning our stories.” Questions to the panel covered children’s online safety, believing survivors and how trafficking can look different. Members also discussed concerns about children’s access to the online world through social media games such as Roblox. “It’s so important that we continue to talk to our friends, our kids, our families, about online safety. The internet’s not going anywhere,” Chavez said. “The internet is part of their life, so we have to teach ourselves and each other how to be safe.” Phillips said that even though she has three sons, she emphasizes the importance of safety at a young age. “I talk to my boys to try to get them to understand what’s going on,” said Phillips. “But I also don’t want to scare them too much. There is no way to kind of prevent these things without context.” Courtesy of Kansas Reflector
	Ski Bellevue kicks off new season on Saturday, June 6 Ski Bellevue is one of only four ski show teams in Iowa and the only one to perform on the Mississippi. Brand new this year, there will be food trucks at the shows!
	Nursing home takes regulators to court over resident’s eviction Sunny View Care Center in Ankeny has filed a lawsuit challenging the state's position that it improperly evicted a resident from the facility for using marijuana. (Photo via Google Earth)An Iowa nursing home is challenging the state’s position that it unfairly evicted a resident from the facility for using marijuana. In a lawsuit filed recently in Polk County District Court, Ankeny Health Care Enterprises, which operates the 91-resident Sunny View Care Center in Ankeny, says it evicted, or involuntary discharged, a resident of the home earlier this year. The company alleges that on Jan. 16, 2026, the woman used marijuana at the care center and had no legal basis to possess or use or the drug. When confronted, the lawsuit contends, the woman admitted to the illicit drug use. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. On Jan. 18, 2026, the woman was transported to a hospital for treatment of a urinary tract infection, the home claims. Two days later, Sunny View initiated an emergency involuntary discharge, and the woman filed an appeal, hoping to remain in the facility. After a Jan. 30, 2026, hearing before an administrative law judge, a proposed decision was issued in the resident’s favor. Sunny View appealed, and on April 2, 2026, interim director of the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, Aaron Baack, issued a final decision in the matter, reversing the emergency discharge Sunny View had initiated. According to the lawsuit, Baack found the discharge was unwarranted in two respects: the notice given to the resident informing her of the planned discharge was defective, and the woman’s alleged one-time use of marijuana was insufficient to support the conclusion that an emergency transfer was warranted to protect the health, safety or well-being of other residents and staff. Sunny View is now taking DIAL to court over the matter, arguing Baack’s decision is not supported by substantial evidence in the record and that the decision is wholly irrational. Sunny View is asking a Polk County judge to reverse DIAL’s decision that the emergency involuntary discharge was invalid. In its formal response to Sunny View’s court petition, DIAL has stated that its decision “speaks for itself” and asserted that Sunny View has failed to state a claim upon which any relief may be granted by the court. A court hearing on the matter is scheduled for Aug. 21, 2026. Inspectors: Woman ‘stuck’ at hospital State inspection reports indicate the resident is afflicted with progressive neurological conditions, multiple sclerosis, anxiety disorder, depression and functional quadriplegia. According to the state inspectors’ reports, the woman’s written care plan at Sunny View referenced chronic pain due to muscle spasms caused by her multiple sclerosis, and the fact that she at times used “medical marijuana” off site. Inspectors reported that in September 2025, a marijuana pen used for vaping was found in the resident’s bag and the resident admitted to the charge nurse she had given another resident “a few hits” on the device. According to the inspectors, in January 2026, while the resident was hospitalized for treatment for her urinary tract infection, the facility’s administrator and director of nursing went to the hospital and hand-delivered the woman her emergency discharge notice from Sunny View, saying only they had “a letter” for her. Inspectors visited the woman in the hospital on Feb. 10, 2026, at which the time the woman reportedly indicated she was “just stuck” at the hospital with nowhere to go because the home refused to take her back despite the administrative law judge ruling in her favor. The inspectors alleged the woman said she was “devastated” by the planned discharge and was scared and anxious about her future. She said she cried each time she read the discharge notice, inspectors reported. Sunny View was cited, but not fined, for failing to complete a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of a resident for readmission to the facility, and for failing to have the appropriate documentation in the medical record prior to issuing an involuntary discharge notice. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Iowa Capital Dispatch
	NTSB says United jet was too slow and too low in Newark landing accident Federal investigators say the captain flying the United 767 from Italy was too slow and too low before landing last month at Newark, N.J. The jet struck a light pole, damaging a truck on the turnpike.
	Cops ‘n Kids book drive ensures ‘something for everyone as they come to library’ The 2026 Cops 'n Kids book drive is collecting children's books on Friday at Brady Street to stock the Lincoln Center’s free library.
	As Drake rules the charts, the 'song of the summer' race heats up No discussion of the midyear pop charts would be complete without a breakdown of contenders for the honorific "song of the summer."
	In rush to meet federal deadline, Minnesota cuts funding to 60% of providers in 13 Medicaid programs The Elmer L. Andersen Human Services Building in St. Paul, MN Thursday Jan. 15, 2026. (Photo by Alyssa Chen/Minnesota Reformer)The Minnesota Department of Human Services cut off funding to more than 3,000 care providers across 13 Medicaid services in its sweeping “revalidation” effort — a four-month screening of roughly 5,500 providers made in response to heightened federal scrutiny over fraud in Minnesota’s social services. Providers that had payments terminated range from smaller businesses serving a few dozen people to well-established companies such as Dungarvin, a national, decades-old human service organization with over 2,000 impacted Minnesota clients. The state faced a May 31 deadline from the Trump administration to screen providers by reviewing their documents and conducting unannounced site visits, after which it cut off providers that still had in-process revalidations. Providers and their advocates say the process was rushed and has left legitimate providers unable to get paid for delivering services to vulnerable Minnesotans. While they are able to appeal the funding cuts, some say they’ll struggle to stay in business that long. Out of thousands of organizations cut off from funding, just 59 were referred to DHS’ Office of Inspector General for further investigation. The 13 Medicaid programs include personal care assistance, better known as PCA, services to help children with autism and services to transport people on Medicaid to their appointments, among other kinds of services. The programs, along with a housing service that was shut down, were deemed “high-risk” to fraud, waste and abuse by the state in October. It’s not the first time providers of the “high-risk” services have been caught, en masse, in the Walz administration’s anti-fraud dragnet: The state’s Department of Human Services abruptly delayed all payments to providers of those services in December, which providers said put their businesses and clients at risk. Payments came back after a few weeks, but advocates say that some smaller providers, who operate on thin margins, are still struggling from the financial impacts of the now-permanent two-week delay in payment. The Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure on the state’s Medicaid program since then, repeatedly threatening to cut billions in federal Medicaid funding, purportedly to put pressure on the state to clean up fraud in the high-risk programs. In February, Minnesota agreed to a May 31 deadline to “revalidate” roughly 5,500 providers in the high-risk Medicaid services — a massive undertaking usually done gradually over 3 to 5 years. Providers are now going through another ordeal not unlike the December payment pause, where many legitimate providers are getting cut off from payments that may eventually resume after an appeals process, though it’s unclear when. Tight timeline for an ‘unprecedented’ effort Then-DHS Deputy Commissioner John Connolly called the effort to revalidate providers all at once “unprecedented” when it was announced in February. The agency had to recruit state employees, some from other agencies such as the state’s pollution control agency, to conduct site visits. Such a large undertaking, which DHS committed to doing in roughly four months, may have been too much for the agency to handle. Out of the 5,583 providers of the 13 Medicaid services required to revalidate, DHS confirmed in a Thursday press release that only 2,061 — less than 2 in 5 — are able to continue providing services without interruption. Out of the remaining providers, which were all disenrolled, 2,491 were cut “due to submissions of incomplete paperwork and documentation.” In a Thursday video call with providers, a DHS employee said that the agency sent termination letters for revalidations that were not completed by the May 31 deadline. That appears to include cases in which DHS did not review applications in time. In the call, the message with the most likes came from Carrie Guida, the executive director of a group home provider in Cass and Crow Wing counties: “I think it is very disingenuous for DHS to post a new release that they ‘finished a comprehensive top-to-bottom review … on time on May 31’ when clearly they have not. Many providers were terminated simply because DHS ran out of time to complete this process in its entirety.” Guida gave the Reformer screenshots showing that her business, Pine River Group Home, has had a revalidation “pending review” since March 2. On May 31, Pine River Group Home received a termination notice from DHS saying that it had failed to revalidate. “We didn’t fail to revalidate. They failed to process our revalidation request,” Guida said. Pine River Group Home got a termination letter on May 31 after its revalidation was pending review for over 2 months. (Letter from Minnesota Department of Human Services) Other providers say they were terminated because of bureaucratic minutiae and misunderstandings — not evidence of potential fraud. For instance, Sam Major’s mental health services business, Apollo Counseling, was terminated for purportedly failing to disclose the company’s COO as a managing employee. Major told the state employee who conducted a site visit about his COO, who is a contractor not an employee, and asked if she should be listed as a managing employee. The state employee didn’t know, Major said, so he guessed he should leave the COO off. He found out he guessed wrong nearly two months later when he received a termination letter from DHS. “There aren’t clear standards that anyone can point to and say, ‘This is why I terminated you,’” Major said. “This is all vibes.” Sam Major’s business, Apollo Counseling, was terminated after he failed to disclose a contractor as a managing employee. Major said he asked about the contractor during DHS’ site visit. (Letter from Minnesota Department of Human Services) In another case, a provider was cut off because of an apparent glitch in the state’s web portal. Josh Berg, an outspoken provider advocate and the director of services at assisted independent living provider Accessible Space, said that several of his organization’s board members, who had been listed in the screening portal for years, were somehow deactivated when he added a new one. An Accessible Space site was terminated due to what Josh Berg, the organization’s director of services, described to be a technical error. Berg said all four board members had been listed in the state’s web portal for years. (Letter from Minnesota Department of Human Services) Minnesota didn’t ask for an extension, fearing political backlash The state has told providers they can appeal their terminations within 60 days, but Guida and other providers say two months without payments puts their businesses in jeopardy. “I’m moving some emergency cash around to cover payroll next week — I don’t have 60 days worth,” Guida said. More than 800 providers have appealed their terminations, the DHS spokesperson said. Matthew Bergeron, the lawyer and lobbyist for the Residential Providers Association of Minnesota, said that he suspects that the 60-day appeal process is a way for DHS “to get more time without drawing the ire of the feds.” “I think they just hit a hard deadline, and with the federal oversight of that process, anything where not every ‘i’ was dotted and ‘t’ was crossed resulted in termination,” Bergeron said, adding that he expects “probably the overwhelming majority” of providers to be reinstated after appealing. The federal government offered DHS the option to request more time in its March letter. A DHS spokesperson said in an email the agency didn’t because it’s “working to safeguard the $2 billion in threatened cuts by the federal government.” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz “communicated from the start that he felt the department was not moving fast enough,” the DHS spokesperson said. Sue Schettle, the CEO of the Association of Residential Resources Minnesota, said DHS leadership also told her that they didn’t ask for an extension earlier because they thought they wouldn’t need it. State officials have said that the federal funding freezes could deliver a serious blow to the state’s budget, health facilities and Medicaid enrollees. Medical Assistance, which is what Minnesota calls its Medicaid program, cost $18 billion in 2024, with 60% paid by the federal government. Berg said that he is “extremely frustrated” that the state didn’t ask for an extension in spite of the possible political ramifications. “What I feel is missing from our agency, from the administration, is nobody’s fighting for Minnesota right now,” Berg said. Courtesy of Minnesota Reformer
	How to choose the right corporate credit card for employees How to choose the right corporate credit card for employeesCorporate credit cards give your team the purchasing power they need while keeping your finance department in control. Instead of chasing down reimbursement requests or worrying about rogue spending, you can get real-time visibility, built-in controls, and automated expense tracking, all tied to a single payment platform, Ramp reports.Whether you're issuing your first batch of employee cards or rethinking your current program, choosing the right corporate card can save your team hours of manual work each month and reduce out-of-policy spend.What is a corporate credit card?A corporate credit card is a company-issued payment card that employees use for authorized work expenses such as travel, office supplies, software subscriptions, and client entertainment. Unlike personal or small business credit cards, the company, not the employee, is typically liable for repayment.Corporate cards come with features designed specifically for finance teams: granular spend controls, automated expense tracking, real-time transaction visibility, and rewards programs that put cash back into your business. They eliminate the need for employees to front their own money and wait weeks for reimbursement.How corporate cards workYour company applies for a corporate card program, issues cards to employees, and pays the bill directly. Here's how the process typically works:Application: Your company applies using business revenue, cash flow, and credit history, not individual employee credit scores.Card issuance: Finance distributes physical or virtual cards to approved employees based on role and need.Spending controls: Admins set per-card limits, category restrictions, and merchant blocks for each cardholder.Expense tracking: Transactions auto-categorize and sync to your accounting software as they happen.Payment: Your company pays the card issuer directly, so employees never need to file for reimbursement.This setup gives your finance team centralized oversight while giving employees the autonomy to make purchases without jumping through hoops.Corporate cards vs. business credit cardsThese two card types serve different needs, and the distinction matters when you're choosing the right fit for your company.Corporate cards are built for mid-market and enterprise companies that need to issue cards at scale with tight controls. Business credit cards are designed for smaller companies and often require the owner to personally guarantee the balance. Ramp If you're managing more than a handful of cardholders and need per-employee controls, a corporate card is likely the better choice. If you're a smaller operation with a few employees making occasional purchases, a business credit card may be sufficient.Best corporate credit cards for employeesNot all corporate cards are created equal. The right one depends on your company's size, spending patterns, and how much automation you need from your expense management workflow.Benefits of corporate expense cards for employeesCorporate cards aren't just a convenience. They help solve real operational challenges for both finance teams and employees. By reducing out-of-pocket spending and simplifying expense tracking, corporate cards make it easier for employees to follow company spending policies and submit accurate expense information. This can lead to stronger policy compliance, better visibility into company spend, and less administrative work for finance teams.Eliminate out-of-pocket expenses and reimbursementsCorporate cards let team members make authorized purchases without fronting personal funds, and they eliminate the paperwork and wait times associated with reimbursement cycles.Set granular spending controls by employeeCorporate cards that offer spend controls help companies know where spend is going before it happens and give finance leaders peace of mind that cardholder expenses remain in-policy.Spend controls available with modern cards include the ability to:Set card spend limits at the daily, monthly, or per-transaction level.Prevent big-ticket charges above a set threshold.Block entire merchant categories or specific vendors.Adjust limits in real time as roles or projects change.Decentralizing oversight saves time and empowers employees without adding risk.Track spending in real timeYou don't have to wait for month-end statements to understand where your money is going. Corporate cards with real-time tracking let you see transactions as they happen, catch policy violations immediately, and make faster decisions about budget adjustments.Automate receipt capture and expense categorizationCompanies that issue corporate cards can save money because they can use fewer tools to manage employee expenses. That tech stack consolidation is especially valuable when budgets are tight.Transactions auto-categorize based on merchant data, and receipt matching reduces the manual data entry that bogs down your accounting team.Simplify accounting software integrationCorporate cards with expense management capabilities sync directly to platforms such as QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite. That means accurate, up-to-date financials without the extra legwork of manual reconciliation.Protect employee personal creditCorporate liability means your employees' credit scores aren't affected by company spending. Most corporate cards don't require a personal guarantee, so your team can make work purchases without any effect on their personal financial standing.How to choose a business corporate credit cardWith several strong options on the market, the right card depends on your specific needs. Here are the key factors to evaluate.Spending limits and controlsCan you set individual limits per employee? Can you restrict purchases by category or merchant? The more granular the controls, the less time you'll spend policing spend after the fact.Accounting software integrationsCheck whether the card syncs natively with your accounting platform. Compatibility with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, or Sage can save your team hours of manual reconciliation each month.Rewards and cashback structureCompare flat-rate cashback against category bonuses. If your spending is concentrated in a few categories, such as travel or software, a category-based card might earn more. If your spending is spread across many vendors, flat-rate cashback is simpler and often more predictable.Fee structure and annual costsReview annual fees, foreign transaction fees, and per-employee card fees. Some corporate cards charge nothing; others charge per user or per card. Factor these costs into your total cost of ownership.Liability modelUnderstand who's on the hook for charges. Corporate liability means the company pays; individual liability means the employee pays and gets reimbursed; joint liability splits responsibility. Most true corporate cards offer corporate liability, but it's worth confirming before you sign up.Employee cardholder experienceA card is only useful if employees actually use it correctly. Evaluate the mobile app, receipt submission process, and how quickly you can issue new cards. If onboarding a new cardholder takes days instead of seconds, that friction adds up.Common challenges with company credit cards for employeesCorporate cards solve a lot of problems, but they're not without friction. Here are the most common pain points finance teams run into.Receipt tracking and policy complianceEmployees forget receipts, submit incomplete documentation, or ignore expense policies altogether. Missing receipts create audit risks and slow down reconciliation. Automated receipt capture and real-time policy reminders help, but they require the right platform.Preventing fraud and card misuseUnauthorized personal purchases, duplicate charges, and friendly fraud are real risks. Real-time transaction alerts and merchant-level controls reduce exposure, but you also need clear policies and consequences to deter misuse.Scaling your corporate card programIssuing cards to new hires, adjusting limits for role changes, and offboarding departing employees all require attention. Manual processes break down quickly as your team grows. Look for platforms that let you automate card issuance, adjust controls in bulk, and deactivate cards instantly.Best practices for managing business corporate cardsA corporate card program is only as good as the processes around it. These six steps will help you run a tighter program.1. Create a clear corporate card policyDocument what's allowed and what's not. Specify approved expense categories, spending limits, receipt requirements, and consequences for misuse. A written policy removes ambiguity and gives you something to point to when issues arise.2. Set role-based spending limitsNot every employee needs the same budget. Sales reps traveling weekly need higher limits than office staff ordering supplies. Assign limits based on job function and adjust as roles evolve.3. Enable real-time transaction alertsNotify both finance and cardholders when purchases happen. Real-time alerts let you catch issues before they snowball into month-end surprises.4. Automate receipt capture and matchingUse a platform with a mobile app that lets employees photograph receipts on the spot. Auto-matching receipts to transactions eliminates the most tedious part of expense. management.5. Review spending reports weekly or monthlyRegular reviews help you catch anomalies, identify savings opportunities, and confirm policy compliance. Don't wait for quarter-end to look at the data.6. Train employees on proper card usageDon't assume employees know the rules. Provide onboarding training when you issue a card and send periodic reminders about policy updates. A five-minute walkthrough up front prevents hours of cleanup later.Who is liable for corporate credit card purchases?Liability is one of the most important and most misunderstood aspects of corporate cards. There are three models to know. Corporate liabilityThe company assumes full responsibility for all charges on the card. This is the most common model for corporate cards. Employees aren't personally liable, and their credit isn't affected.Individual liabilityThe employee is responsible for charges and must submit expenses for reimbursement from the company. This model is less common with true corporate cards, but it still exists in some programs.Joint liabilityBoth the company and the employee share responsibility. The company typically pays for approved business expenses, while the employee may be liable for personal or policy-violating charges.This story was produced by Ramp and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	New York City reshapes mass transit system to handle World Cup, NBA finals crowds New York transit officials are preparing to handle up to 100,000 extra travelers a day as fans arrive in New York and New Jersey for FIFA World Cup matches.
	Children suing WV over troubled foster care system win appeal, suit will move forward (Greenleaf123/Getty Images)Foster children suing West Virginia officials over the state’s troubled child welfare system will have another chance to pursue legal action following a successful appeal. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed and remanded a decision last year made by U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin dismissing the lawsuit meant to improve West Virginia’s long-troubled foster care system. “Now is the time to get back to work and effectuate real change. The children of West Virginia deserve better,” said Richard Walters, a partner with Shaffer & Shaffer who is representing children in the case. The 2019 class-action lawsuit brought by foster children sought to address pervasive issues, including a shortage of Child Protective Services workers and safe homes for children. Kids were left to linger in the system for years with no plans for permanent homes or ending up in abusive group homes, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit also alleges that the state violated the constitutional rights of thousands of children in foster care. A Better Childhood, a New-York-based nonprofit legal firm, and West Virginia attorneys representing the children hoped to force the state to improve foster care and wanted to put a monitor in place to enforce the proposed changes. In his 2025 dismissal, Goodwin didn’t refute the lawsuit’s allegations against the state but said, “This court cannot take over the foster care system of West Virginia.” The judge said, “The blame squarely lies with the West Virginia state government.” The appeals court ruled that Goodwin erred in ruling that federal courts did not have power to grant relief for systemic issues in foster care. Circuit Judge Henry F. Floyd, writing for the court, stated “federal courts not only have the authority, but also a duty, to remedy systemic constitutional rights violations.” The case will now head back to the district court with guidelines to follow the appeals court decision and continue to hear this case to final judgment. “The dismissal from the district court was an inexplicable interruption to much-needed reform efforts,” said Marcia Lowry, executive director of A Better Childhood, in a news release. “The state continues to ignore desperately needed changes to protect the vulnerable foster children of this state. When the court dismissed the case, we were only months away from the trial. Since the Legislature and the leaders of the agency have again failed to take action to protect these children, we look forward to getting to trial as quickly as possible to seek relief from the court.” The lawsuit was originally filed against previous Gov. Jim Justice and former foster care officials then continued under Gov. Patrick Morrisey. It was previously thrown out in 2021 then revived by an appeals court in 2022. In 2023, U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston recused himself from the case after Mountain State Spotlight, a nonprofit newsroom, pointed out ethical concerns regarding Johnston’s communication with lawmakers and the former Department of Health and Human Resources about legislation impacting foster care and possibly the lawsuit. The next year, a federal judge ordered sanctions against the state after finding that the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources failed to preserve foster care leaders’ emails and other electronic communications related to the case. The sanctions were proposed to cost $172,000. Walters said they were pleased with the Fourth Circuit’s decision that the District Court can grant relief for children that he and other lawyers requested in 2019. “Both the District Court and the Fourth Circuit agree that children in the custody of the state’s foster care system have suffered far too long,” he said. There are more than 5,900 children in West Virginia’s foster care system. Courtesy of West Virginia Watch

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