QCA.news - Quad Cities news and view from both sides of the river
Saturday, May 16th, 2026 | |
 | St. Ambrose graduates walk the stage at commencement ceremonyLocal college students walked across the stage at Vibrant Arena to receive their degrees as St. Ambrose University hosted their spring commencement ceremony. |
 |  Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy loses in Republican primary, does not advance to runoffSen. Bill Cassidy is one of few remaining Republican senators who voted for President Trump's impeachment after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Trump endorsed his opponent, Rep. Julia Letlow. |
 | Thousands attend protests in Selma and Montgomery for voting rightsCorey Minor Smith of Canton, Ohio holds a “Black Voters Matter” sign while marching over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on May 16, 2026. Faith leaders gathered in Selma Saturday for a prayer event as part of the “All Roads Lead To The South” protests, aimed at mobilizing voters amid Republican efforts to eliminate majority-minority districts. (Ralph Chapoco/Alabama Reflector)Thousands of people joined demonstrations in Selma and Montgomery on Saturday to protest redistricting by southern Republican state legislatures targeting Black Democratic members of Congress. An afternoon rally in Montgomery that drew over 5,000 people featured politicians, activists and civil rights dignitaries as of the All Roads Lead to the South campaign, aimed at organizing voters to offset the advantages Republicans may gain from redistricting. “Our democracy is on the line,” said Victor Coar, who traveled from Birmingham to Montgomery. “Our rights are on the line. They are trying to take it all away. They are suppressing our vote, trying to keep us quiet, trying to silence our vote.” SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. The events on Saturday deliberately invoked the Civil Rights Movement in cities that featured some of its most famous moments, and came just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court targeted one of its major legacies. In Louisiana v. Callais, decided last month, the nation’s high court weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which bans racial discrimination in voting and election laws, by saying plaintiffs challenging maps under Section 2 would have to prove intentional discrimination, a significantly higher standard than the prior one. The court’s decision led Republican-controlled legislatures across the South to introduce redistricting legislation targeting Black majority districts. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use a 2023 congressional map it had previously ruled racially discriminatory. Gov. Kay Ivey set special primary elections in four congressional districts for August, though plaintiffs in the state’s major redistricting case, known as Allen v. Milligan, have continued litigation. A federal court Friday set a hearing in the case for Friday. A woman raises a fist as protestors march on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama as part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally on May 16, 2026. The two rallies, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector) Earlier on Saturday, faith leaders gathered at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma and offered prayers, criticisms of the Supreme Court and President Donald Trump and calls for voting rights protections for vulnerable communities. After an hour, 400 people then marched silently from the church to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where civil rights protestors were attacked on March 7, 1965, an assault that eventually led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. “I know how important moments like these are, and I am here because I know that one of us can go far but we cannot go far enough,” said Rev. Cece Jones-Davis, who traveled from Washington, D.C. to participate in the day’s events, in an interview after the march. “It is going to take all of us, and so I am just here to add my voice to the collective.” At the Montgomery rally, speakers spoke to several grievances aimed at the Trump administration and at the U.S. Supreme Court regarding voting rights, but also urged the crowd to have resolve during the current political climate. Bernice King, the daughter of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and CEO of the King Center, harkened to the past as a rallying cry for the present. “Today we return to the very grounds where my parents and freedom families stood, when Black voter registration was scarce, when discrimination was the norm, and when violence was the price for seeking dignity. Their sacrifice opened the door to the Voting Rights Act,” she said. Protestors step on a marker on Dexter Avenue in Montgomery, Alabama marking the extent of the crowds in the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march during the All Roads Lead to the South rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector) Now, she said, people are called once again to act. “Because the recent Supreme Court rulings demand our presence,” she said. “It was not only a legal decision, it is a moral disgrace and a shameless assault on Black political power.” Lawmakers from Alabama took the stage to urge the crowd to continue their efforts to mobilize the vote. “Sometimes I wonder what would I have done if I had been present and alive during the movement,” said Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove. “Would I have marched? Would you have marched? Would I have participated in a boycott? Would you have done that? Would I be one of the lawyers who filed one of those lawsuits? Would I have been a freedom singer, singing and moaning for the movement like my grandfather? We are here to tell you, you don’t have to wonder anymore. This is our time, right now, and we are fired up and ready to go.” Then Alabama’s congressional delegation and their colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives took the stage to rally the audience and to meet the moment. Changing Alabama’s congressional maps will significantly threaten the re-election prospects of U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, and could eventually put U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, at risk. “It is time to show up and show out, not just in one state capital, not just for one election but we need you to step up and show up for every one of our state legislators who are trying to get out the vote,” Sewell said. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, said that the freedom that we enjoy also requires responsibility. Protestors enter the All Roads Lead to The South Rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector) “We also stand here with the understanding that the freedoms we inherited from our ancestors are not possessions that we hold, they are rights that we hold in trust,” he said to the crowd. “That we were given to be stewards of. A lot of people are drinking deeply from wells of freedom and liberty that they did not dig. They are eating from banquet tables prepared for them by their ancestors, sitting back, getting dumb, fat and ugly, and happy and comfortable. This is one of moments where we understand our blessings come with obligations.” Khadidah Stone, one of the Allen v. Milligan plaintiffs, criticized Ivey’s decision to schedule the special session during an interview at Saturday’s event in Montgomery. “I would really like those legislators to focus on the quality of life of Alabamians,” Stone said. “We have a lot of rural hospital closures, we have the highest maternal mortality rate in the country, 50,000 Alabamians just lost SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, and most of the recipients are the elderly and children.” Figures said after the rally that he was “inspired by what we see.” “It is an incredibly humbling experience to see thousands come out and, in essence, help defend my seat, and defend Congresswoman Terri Sewell’s seat, so we can’t help but be overwhelmed by gratefulness and humility by what we are seeing, and encouraged because we think this is going to carry over until November,” he said. Figures, however, said that he felt there were factual differences between the Callais case and the Milligan case, and expressed confidence that the Milligan plaintiffs could still win. “The dispute with our district goes all the way back to the 2020 census, and the original maps that the state Legislature redrew, and the three-judge panel, two of whom were appointed by Trump and one by (Ronald) Regan originally, they found that the state had engaged in intentional discrimination in how they drew those maps.” Several of those who attended the afternoon rally criticized attempts by the various legislatures to reconfigure their district maps. U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile (third from left, in Blue shirt) addresses a crowd attending the All Roads Lead to the South rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector) “It is important for folks to understand what folks are getting taken away from them, and they are getting taken away their right to representation,” said former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination to be governor, in an interview at the event in Montgomery. “We have come so far in the state of Alabama. We have 60 years of progress that has been thrown backwards by the Supreme Court and the Legislature just a few blocks from here.” Reginald Mason, who also traveled from Birmingham, said voting is what matters. “People who don’t actually vote are not informed, they don’t know about the struggle that our ancestors went through,” Mason said. “I never thought I would be standing here today fighting for what they have already fought for me.” Religious and faith leaders expressed many of the same concerns when they led congregants in prayers prior to the morning march across the Edmund Pettus bridge. “What I realize is that it is just our turn, and freedom is not fought for once, freedom has been fought for many times,” Jones-Davis said. “We are here to do our part.” Faith leaders in the Tabernacle Baptist Church In Selma, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event was part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, which drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, addresses the Tabernacle Baptist Church In Selma, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event was part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, which drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, addresses the Tabernacle Baptist Church In Selma, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event was part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, which drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, addresses the Tabernacle Baptist Church In Selma, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event was part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, which drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, addresses the Tabernacle Baptist Church In Selma, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event was part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, which drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, addresses the Tabernacle Baptist Church In Selma, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event was part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, which drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, addresses the Tabernacle Baptist Church In Selma, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event was part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, which drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, addresses the Tabernacle Baptist Church In Selma, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event was part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, which drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)A speaker addresses the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The service was part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans. The events drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors gather in Selma, Alabama as part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally on May 16, 2026. The two rallies, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors march in Selma, Alabama as part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally on May 16, 2026. The two rallies, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors march in Selma, Alabama as part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally on May 16, 2026. The two rallies, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors march in Selma, Alabama as part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally on May 16, 2026. The two rallies, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors march in Selma, Alabama as part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally on May 16, 2026. The two rallies, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors gather in Selma, Alabama as part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally on May 16, 2026. The two rallies, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors march in Selma, Alabama as part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally on May 16, 2026. The two rallies, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors march toward the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama as part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally on May 16, 2026. The two rallies, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)A woman raises a fist as protestors march on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama as part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally on May 16, 2026. The two rallies, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors march on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama as part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally on May 16, 2026. The two rallies, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors march on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama as part of the All Roads Lead to the South rally on May 16, 2026. The two rallies, protests against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors attend the All Roads Lead to the South rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors attend the All Roads Lead to the South rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors attend the All Roads Lead to the South rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors enter the All Roads Lead to The South Rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors attend the All Roads Lead to the South rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors attend the All Roads Lead to the South rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Protestors step on a marker on Dexter Avenue in Montgomery, Alabama marking the extent of the crowds in the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march during the All Roads Lead to the South rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, addresses a crowd attending the All Roads Lead to the South rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. To the right is Dee Reed of Black Voters Matter. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, addresses a crowd attending the All Roads Lead to the South rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. To the right is Dee Reed of Black Voters Matter. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)Montgomery Mayor Steven Reedaddresses a crowd attending the All Roads Lead to the South rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector)U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile (third from left, in Blue shirt) addresses a crowd attending the All Roads Lead to the South rally in Montgomery, Alabama on May 16, 2026. The event, a protest against redistricting efforts by southern Republicans, drew over 5,000 people. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector) Courtesy of Alabama Reflector |
 |  Clinton WWII hero Henry Langrehr honored with display of wartime artifactsThe Rock Island Arsenal Museum unveiled a new glass case featuring personal items from Langrehr’s World War II service. |
 | Iowa farmers face uncertainty as fertilizer prices surge amid Iran war, fear looming farm crisisDES MOINES, Iowa – The ongoing war with Iran is driving up more than just the cost of oil. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have restricted fertilizer supplies that farmers desperately need. As a fourth-generation corn and soybean farmer, Steve Kuiper understands what it takes and what it costs to be a farmer. Managing his 4,000 acres, while also serving as the first vice president of the Iowa [...] |
| |  Napoleon Solo holds off Iron Honor to win the PreaknessIt's the colt's first victory of the year. Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo's exit from the race left the field of 14 horses wide open to contest the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. |
 | The Monkey's Pawn: “Obsession,” “Is God Is,” “In the Grey,” and “Marty, Life Is Short”There are so many smart, promising ideas floating around in the comedic horror of Obsession that it almost doesn't matter that few of them feel properly explored, and that writer/director/editor Curry Barker doesn't seem to have entirely figured out either his principal characters or his film's overall tone. |
| | Even warmer (or hotter) Sunday and MondaySaturday turned very warm and humid after the pre-dawn storms. It'll be even hotter and more humid the next two days. Scattered showers and storms are possible Sunday, but we'll see a better chance of widespread showers and severe storms later Monday. Here's your full 7-day forecast. |
| | Master agreement struck between Arconic and United Steel WorkersThe three-week negotiation was extended for 24 hours and set to expire today. Both sides have now confirmed a 3-year master agreement has been struck. |
| | Rock Island Arsenal Museum unveils exhibit honoring World War II veteran and Clinton nativeThe Rock Island Arsenal Museum unveiled an exhibit honoring World War II veteran and Clinton, Iowa native, Henry Langrehr. |
| | Federal permit delays pause construction at Knox County wind farmAround 300 workers expected to build a wind farm in rural Knox County for the next year. Now, they're removing work they've already done. |
 | Former Thomson prison employee found guilty of sexual acts with inmatesThe former FCI Thomson cook supervisor is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 14. |
| |  RECALL: Ice cream sold in Iowa, Illinois, other states may contain metal fragmentsCheck your freezers! |
| |  A new Ebola outbreak has already killed 87 peopleHealth officials are working to contain a new Ebola outbreak in the DRC of a virus strain with no known vaccine. |
| |  North America poised for light display of aurora borealisThe splashy nighttime phenomenon will be best observed on Saturday and Sunday nights |
| | Perfect weather + fast cars adds up to great night at Davenport SpeedwayBeautiful weather and fast race cars made for an enjoyable evening Friday at Davenport Speedway. The second points night of the 2026 season yielded only one repeat winner from the season opener. Cruz Birkhofer dominated The Outhouse/Storage to Go - IMCA Late Models. Birkhofer started seventh in the feature and would not see the lead [...] |
| | Arconic, union, agree to temporary extension while talks continueAccording to a Facebook post from USW Local 105, the contract between Arconic and the union is temporarily extended while bargaining continues Saturday, May 16. "We continue to bargain to reach a fair tentative agreement today," the post says. "Keep reporting to work as scheduled. Stay safe and stay tuned." |
| |  Quad City Bank & Trust Riverfront Pops concert returns in August, to feature music from ‘The Who’The music for this year’s Riverfront Pops concert has been announced. |
| |  Niabi Zoo to offer extended summer hours on 4 dates with ‘Zoo Nights’Last entry will be at 7 pm. on the extended hours nights, officials said. |
| | Officials: Arconic contract negotiations underway, contract set to expire SaturdayTime is running out as union workers at Arconic are in negotiations over a new contract. |
| |  Sonia Citron scores 30 as Mystics top Fever 104-102 in OT despite Caitlin Clark’s heroicsSonia Citron scored 30 points, Kiki Iriafen had 25 points and 13 rebounds, and the Washington Mystics edged the Indiana Fever 104-102 on Friday night after Caitlin Clark forced overtime with a dramatic 3-pointer and 17 points in the fourth quarter. |
| |  Dog saved by Iowa State vet students and doctors surprises everyone at commencementA dog who was brought in with devastating injuries after being hit by a car on Christmas Eve made a surprise appearance at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine commencement ceremony to watch the students who helped save her life graduate. |
| | Davenport crews to re-stripe traffic lanes through mid-JuneA heads up to drivers in Davenport as public works crews will be working to re-stripe traffic lines. |
| |  Timmy the humpback whale found dead off Danish coastA humpback whale found dead this week off a Danish island has been identified as the animal released two weeks ago in a spectacular and controversial rescue effort after repeatedly becoming stranded off Germany's Baltic Sea coast, Danish authorities said Saturday. |
| | John Cole’s Tennessee: Three biggest liesCourtesy of Tennessee Lookout |
| |  Which states have the highest gas taxes?There's a lot of talk about suspending the federal gas tax. But how much are state gas taxes costing drivers? |
| | Alaska Legislature nears final approval of smaller city councils, budget training for school boardsSen. Robert Yundt, R-Wasilla, is seen Thursday, May 14, 2026, during a joint session of the Alaska Legislature. (James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon)Alaska’s smallest towns and villages would be allowed to shrink their city councils under a bill that neared final passage Friday in the Alaska Legislature. Senate Bill 143 decreases the minimum city council size to three members for second-class cities with 1,000 or fewer residents. It also allows local governments to lengthen or shorten the terms of school board members. Currently, state law requires school board members to serve three-year terms. Another section, added by a floor amendment from Rep. Julie Coulombe, R-Anchorage, mandates the state Department of Education and Early Development provide budget and ethics training to all new school board members statewide. The state House approved SB 143 in a unanimous 40-0 vote on Friday, an act that sends the bill back to the Senate, which approved a prior version by a similarly unanimous 20-0 vote in April. The Senate is expected to approve the House’s changes to the bill and send it to Gov. Mike Dunleavy for final enactment or veto. Sen. Robert Yundt, R-Wasilla, wrote the original version of SB 143 after several years on the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly. That local government shifted its elections to November several years ago and lengthened the terms of its mayor and assembly members from three years to four so local elections would correspond with state and federal ones. Because state law requires three-year school board terms, he couldn’t do the same with school board elections, and as a result, off-year elections now see much lower turnout, he said Friday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. If school board elections take place at the same time as other votes, he said the election results will be more representative of the will of the community. At the request of the Alaska Municipal League, legislators amended SB 143 earlier this year to allow three-person city councils in small second-class cities that have had trouble filling their rosters. Current state law requires five-member or seven-member councils. SB 143 would allow them to choose three, five or seven members. “Think about all the communities in Alaska that are 200, 300, 400 people — do they really need to have five or seven city council members?” Yundt asked. When the bill reached the House floor, Coulombe suggested amending it to require mandatory training for school board members. That suggestion followed several significant budget errors in Juneau, Ketchikan and other school districts. Coulombe’s amendment passed unanimously, 40-0. Another amendment, which would have given the state’s education commissioner authority over local school district budgets, failed to be adopted. Courtesy of Alaska Beacon |
| | For a Boise family of medical providers, Idaho criminal trans bathroom ban was the last strawMichael and Dr. Angie Devitt reflect on their decision to move from Idaho after years of the Legislature and the governor approving anti-LGBTQ+ bills. (Photo by Kyle Pfannenstiel/Idaho Capital Sun)The Devitts have seen the Idaho Legislature and the governor approve a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ bills in recent years. Michael and Dr. Angie Devitt, both medical professionals, watched their trans daughter, Eve, testify against a bill years ago that outlawed gender-affirming care for minors. But this year’s criminal transgender bathroom ban — described by advocates as the most extreme in the nation for extending to private businesses — was the couple’s last straw. So early this month, Michael Devitt notified patients that his practice, Focus Physical Therapy, would shut down at the end of August as his family prepared to move out of Idaho. “Obviously, this law is a disaster for families like ours,” he wrote in a letter. “We can no longer take a road trip across our beloved state, or even enjoy a family night out at a restaurant, or a movie, without running the risk of Eve being charged and sent to a prison merely for using the facilities.” Michael said he and his wife — who is the president of a large group of doctors, called the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians — draw the line at human dignity. He’s heard next year’s legislative session will be even worse. “We say ‘We’re in an abusive relationship with the state of Idaho’ — all people with transgender relatives, or all transgender people. And you always think, ‘Oh, they’ll stop hitting me.’ But they’re not gonna,” Michael said. In addition to the bathroom ban, the Republican supermajority-controlled Idaho Legislature and Gov. Brad Little approved a bill to require teachers and doctors to out transgender children to their parents, and to re-ban local and state government agencies from flying the LGBTQ+ pride flag. The city of Boise already found a workaround to the latest ban: Making the flagpoles themselves rainbow colored. Idaho’s anti-LGBTQ+ bills this year follow a trend Three became law: The trans bathroom ban, the bill requiring forced outing of youth, and the expanded flag ban. The bills follow years of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Idaho. In 2020, Idaho became the first state to ban transgender girls and women from competing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. In 2023, state lawmakers made it a felony for doctors to provide gender-affirming health care to transgender youth. In 2024, lawmakers expanded the ban to apply to taxpayer funds and government property, which forbids Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care. And for more than a decade, efforts to add anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people to state law have failed. “Over the last several years, legislators have gone from refusing to protect us to actively targeting us,” Nikson Mathews, a trans man who serves as chair of the Idaho Democratic Queer Caucus, said at a news conference in February. He was among nine protestors arrested for trespassing after a sit-in protest over anti-trans bills at the governor’s office early this month. Nampa Republican Rep. Bruce Skaug pushed for several of the bills — including this year’s bill to require teachers and doctors to out trans kids to their parents. He says he’s trying to protect traditional families. “I know that some people have sent me emails … saying ‘Why are you so genital focused?’ Well, I’m trying to protect families and children from those who are genuinely genital focused. And that would be the transgenders and those who would go after our children,” Skaug told the Sun. Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, asks a question during a Senate Health and Welfare Committee hearing on March 10, 2025, at the Idaho Capitol Building in Boise. (Phot by Pat Sutphin / Idaho Capital Sun) Some see these bills as a distraction. “I think what we see nationally and here in Idaho is lots of money being used to manufacture outrage and a crisis around trans people, rather than focus on the issues that really matter to Idahoans,” ACLU of Idaho’s LGBTQ+ Rights Strategist Jenna Damron told the Sun. Boise Democratic Sen. Melissa Wintrow sees it similarly, arguing that the Republican party has chosen the LTBTQ+ community as a scapegoat while things aren’t going well. “While we’re worried about toilet seats and bathrooms, we’re going to pilfer the coffers over here and take the money that is the public wealth, and we’re going to give it all the way back. We’re going to give it back to rich corporations and wealthy folks,” she said. Why some call Idaho’s trans bathroom ban the nation’s most extreme House Bill 752 criminalizes transgender people using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, including in private businesses. The law takes effect July 1. A first offense carries a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison. A second offense within five years is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. Only three states — Utah, Florida and Kansas — have criminal bans on trans people using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group. Mathews, a trans man with a beard, told a House committee earlier this year that the bathroom bill would force him to use the women’s restroom. “Every single day when I’m out in public, I have to decide: Do I feel like going to jail today, or do I feel like being attacked,” Mathews told lawmakers. Nikson Mathews, chair of the Idaho Democratic Queer Caucus, joined activists and local elected officials to push back against anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the Idaho Legislature in a news conference on Feb. 16, 2026. (Photo by Kyle Pfannenstiel/Idaho Capital Sun) House Bill 752 criminalizes transgender people using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, including in private businesses. The law takes effect July 1. A first offense carries a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison. A second offense within five years is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. Only three states — Utah, Florida and Kansas — have criminal bans on trans people using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group. Mathews, a trans man with a beard, told a House committee earlier this year that the bathroom bill would force him to use the women’s restroom. “Every single day when I’m out in public, I have to decide: Do I feel like going to jail today, or do I feel like being attacked,” Mathews told lawmakers. Skaug said he supported the bill to protect women in women’s spaces. He said it has nothing to do with transgender people’s rights, citing conversations with the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Cornel Rasor, R-Sagle. ACLU of Idaho Legal Director Paul Carlos Southwick told the Sun that the ban is the most extreme in the nation mainly because it applies to places of public accommodations, which includes many private businesses, like grocery stores, restaurants and movie theaters. “Most places that people would go about in their ordinary life are going to be impacted by this bill,” he said. A 2025 study by the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute found “no evidence of increased harms to people who are not transgender when transgender people are allowed to use restrooms and other gendered facilities according to their identity.” But when trans people are refused access to facilities that align with their gender, the study found that trans people report verbal harassment and physical assault. Little signed the bill into law on Trans Day of Visibility. Bill to force teachers, doctors to out trans kids to parents takes effect July 1 House Bill 822 forces teachers and doctors to out transgender minors to their parents, or face lawsuits. The law takes effect July 1. Supporters argued the bill protects parental rights. But critics say it risks exposing some trans youth to abuse from parents. Major medical groups say gender-affirming care is medically necessary and safe. The American Medical Association last month reiterated that gender-affirming care is “medically necessary.” Some European nations are tightening standards for gender affirming-care. Idaho Rep. Bruce D. Skaug, R-Nampa, listens to proceedings on the House floor at the State Capitol building on Jan. 9, 2023. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) The bill was brought by Skaug. The lawmaker led efforts to criminalize gender-affirming care for all minors in Idaho and expand the ban to taxpayer funds, which prevented Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care and prompted an eastern Idaho clinic to halt offering gender-affirming care. Skaug told the Sun he got started on the bill years earlier, when he pushed for the bill to outlaw gender-affirming care for minors. He said he encountered parents whose children were secretly transitioned. Skaug dismissed concerns that his bill could risk trans kids’ safety. “I don’t know what that situation could possibly be. If Billy wants to be Sally, that’s a pretty serious mental health issue that any parent should know about, first and foremost,” he said. “So I don’t know of a situation where that has actually occurred, where there’s an abusive parent that is going to harm their child because they want to change their sex.” Boise quickly found another workaround to another ban on the LGBTQ+ pride flag After the governor signed a bill to fine cities for flying flags that aren’t on the Legislature’s pre-approved list, the city of Boise took down an LGBTQ+ pride flag that flew in front of its City Hall. Just blocks away from the state Capitol, Boise had flown a pride flag for more than a decade. The city council declared it an official flag of the city to workaround a flag ban law passed last year. A pride flag flies in front of Boise City Hall, just blocks from the Idaho Capitol. The flag flies below the city’s own banner and in April shared the flagpole with a flag honoring organ donation. The city also displays the U.S. flag, a POW/MIA flag and a state of Idaho flag. (Photo by Erika Bolstad/Stateline) But House Bill 561 this year made it clear that the pride flag can’t be flown. It banned city flags made official after 2023. Eagle Republican Rep. Ted Hill has said his bill is meant to target the city of Boise. But less than two weeks after the bill became law, Boise found more workarounds, KTVB reported: Adorning the flag pole with rainbow wrap, hanging a pride banner on the front of city hall, and decking the building with lights colored after the trans pride flag. Michael Devitt bets there’ll be a bill next year to regulate what color government flagpoles can be. What’s next for the Devitts The Devitts aren’t sure how soon they’ll move. Their daughter, Eve is now 20 years old, attending college in New York City. But what about when she comes to Boise to visit? Her dad worries she could be subjected to a physical exam. “How do you navigate a community like that when we literally are penalizing people for their presence more than we would penalize somebody for assault, more than we would penalize somebody for, oh say, manslaughter,” Michael Devitt said. “I mean, there are all kinds of things you can do in Idaho that will get you prison time that are less than the second offense for using the bathroom that aligns with your gender identity.” In a book about raising their trans daughter in Idaho, Michael and Dr. Angie Devitt chronicle Eve’s growth, and the couple’s frustration with the Legislature’s hyperfocus on “persecuting transgender people.” “I recently had someone tell me they were sick and tired of hearing about transgender people all of the time,” they wrote toward the end of their book, “Finding Eve,” which is written from Michael’s perspective. “I told them, speaking for every parent of a trans kid in Idaho, that I am sick of it too, and so is Angie. Every time we turn around our legislature or governor are talking about transgender people and how the state of Idaho is working to make their lives more difficult.” Dr. Angie Devitt said she’ll keep seeing patients, and may even continue to work in Idaho while she lives in another state. But part of what hurts so much as a physician testifying in the Legislature, she said, is seeing local experts, like doctors who took time out of their day to testify, be passed over as committees rush through bills. That happened at the House hearing on the bill to force teachers and doctors to out trans kids, where no doctors testified, but several people not from Idaho were allowed to speak. As she waits to be called to testify, Dr. Angie Devitt said she’s often juggling treating patients. “I tell my patient, ‘I’m doing two things right now, and if I get called, because I’m signed up, and you never know — if I get called, I’m going to take two it’s only two minutes, unless they ask questions, and I’m going to step out,’” she said. One bill that didn’t pass is coming back. It would repeal local LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination protections. Some anti-LGBTQ+ bills didn’t pass this year, like an attempt to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling that legalized gay marriage across the U.S. But that doesn’t mean they won’t return. The gay marriage repeal resolution is at least the second version introduced in the Legislature in recent years. A bill to repeal local policies that protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination is coming back, one lawmaker confirmed. House Bill 557 passed the House, but never got a committee hearing in the Senate. Skaug, who sponsored the bill, says he’s planning to carry the bill again next year. The bill was written by the Idaho Family Policy Center, a conservative Christian lobbying group. The bill would prevent local governments in Idaho from having or enforcing antidiscrimination policies that go beyond state law. The bill comes after more than a decade of failed efforts in the Legislature to add LGBTQ+ discrimination protections to state law. More than a third of Idahoans — over 720,000 people — live in Idaho communities with local nondiscrimination ordinances, the ACLU of Idaho estimates. Since 2011, 12 Idaho cities and towns passed nondiscrimination ordinances including Boise, Idaho Falls, Moscow, Lewiston, Meridian, Ketchum, Hailey, Bellevue, Driggs, Victor, Pocatello and Coeur d’Alene. In 2020, Ada County, home to Boise, passed its own. A separate trans bathroom ban — which would have let people sue to enforce it, instead of allowing prison sentences — never got a hearing in the Senate after passing the House. The bill, House Bill 607, was also written by the Idaho Family Policy Center. But Michael Devitt doesn’t think the bathroom ban that passed is going to work as intended. “They say, ‘Oh, we don’t want men in women’s bathrooms.’ Well, guess what? That’s what you’re going to get, because you’re going to get people who look very much like the gender they identify with,” he said. Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com. Courtesy of Oregon Capital Chronicle |
| |  Former Thomson prison employee convicted of sexually abusing inmatesA Lanark man is found guilty of sexually abusing two inmates at Thomson prison. |
| | Aquatic Center, Muscatine, prepares to open for the seasonThe City of Muscatine is preparing to welcome residents back to the Muscatine Aquatic Center at Weed Park. Parks. Recreation staff have completed the annual pool filling and are finalizing water‑quality balancing and pre‑season maintenance ahead of opening day on Saturday, May 23. The Aquatic Center will be open from noon–8 p.m., weather permitting. The [...] |
| | The ‘principled’ stand that almost cost taxpayers an $87 million return on their investmentWorkers lay fiber-optic cable at a broadband expansion site near Colton, South Dakota, in 2023. The 2026 Legislature came close to rejecting $87 million in federal broadband expansion funds. (Photo by Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)During the legislative session, we’re often witness to lawmakers taking a stand on principle. This can take many forms. Some want to make one of the harshest abortion laws in the nation even tougher. Some want to beat back South Dakota’s urge to find more ways to gamble. Some want to clamp down on access to medical marijuana. Some want to solve the national debt by returning $87 million to the federal government. Wait, what? That’s what came dangerously close to happening in the final weeks of the legislative session. Deficit hawks in the state Senate voted to return $87 million in federal funds earmarked to help pay for the installation of high-speed broadband in areas of the state underserved by the internet. South Dakota looks to space for final stretch of high-speed internet access initiative This isn’t the first time this kind of foolishness has taken hold in the Capitol. During the pandemic, Gov. Kristi Noem told the Legislature that she considered giving back all the money that the federal government was piling on states in its effort to bolster the economy. Surely the federal government couldn’t afford this kind of largesse. Even a tea party darling like Noem knew in her heart of hearts that refusing federal funding didn’t mean that the money would be safely squirreled away in a federal savings account or used to whittle away at the national debt. She knew it would just get spent anyway in Nebraska or Iowa or, worse yet, North Dakota. This year, enough state senators were more concerned about the national debt than they were about their neighbors’ inability to get on the internet. They voted 22-12 on whether to accept the federal money, short of the two-thirds majority needed for legislation dealing with appropriations or an emergency clause. During the debate, Sen. Taffy Howard, a Rapid City Republican, said enough was enough. The state had already spent $84 million on broadband expansion with another $88 million from the feds and a like amount invested from private enterprise. “Government is encroaching on more and more areas of our economy,” Howard was quoted in a story from The Dakota Scout. “I mean, heaven help us, how did we survive before the federal government decided to do everything for us from cradle to grave?” It’s hard to see it as government intrusion when it partners with the state on a needed project. If Howard had her way, South Dakota taxpayers who dutifully paid their taxes to the federal government wouldn’t get to see a return on their investment. Sen. John Carley, a Piedmont Republican, called broadband old technology. He said satellite services like Starlink could easily provide internet service at a fraction of the cost. Carley may be right, but when the next conflict between superpowers comes, the first targets will be the opponents’ satellites. Who’s more likely to have internet service in the next big war: the guy with the buried cable or the one who relies on an orbiting machine in space that’s sporting a bull’s-eye? Let us know what you think... Sen. Ernie Otten, a Tea Republican, made an apt comparison when he called for the Senate to spend the money. He likened the coming of broadband internet to rural areas to the effort that brought electricity to farms. “It’s because there was a need, and everybody recognized there was a need,” Otten said. “And with the internet, it’s going to be the same thing.” Otten is right. Like the project that lit up farms across the nation, reliable, high-speed internet is a game-changer for rural South Dakota. No longer will our young people need to leave home to seek their fortunes and build their futures in big cities. Remote work on the internet, and the decent salaries that go with it, will keep young people in Kennebec, Freeman and Milbank. Supplying high-speed internet to rural areas in this state where it’s not currently available has what Sen. Carl Perry, an Aberdeen Republican, called “unintended benefits.” It will help attract new business and industry, bolster telehealth and help schools offer a more well-rounded education. Eventually cooler heads prevailed. The Senate reconsidered the bill and it garnered the two-thirds majority needed on a 24-10 vote. Perhaps the lesson in this episode is that state lawmakers who want to do something about the national deficit should run for Congress. In the meantime, they shouldn’t let their principles stand in the way of their constituents reaping the benefits of the federal government’s willingness to invest in all of us having access to high-speed internet. Courtesy of South Dakota Searchlight |
| | Clinton Public Library adjusts hours, transitions to online catalog systemThe Clinton Public Library will experience service changes and adjusted hours between Wednesday, May 20, and Monday, June 8, as the library transitions to a new online catalog system and installs new furniture, according to a news release. Wednesday, May 20 through Monday, June 8: New library cardholder impact People who sign up for a [...] |
| |  Muscatine Aquatic Center set to open May 23Muscatine is preparing to welcome the public back to the Muscatine Aquatic Center at Weed Park with opening day on Saturday, May 23. |
| |  Elephants eat their crops. Farmers strike back. It's a war that's only getting worseIn Sri Lanka, the islanders revere elephants. But for farmers, there's rising tension that's leading to more fatal encounters — for both humans and hungry pachyderms. |
| | Geneseo School Board takes harder look at solarWHAT WE KNOW: The Geneseo School Board heard a presentation on a 300-kilowatt solar project at the middle school at its March meeting. |
| |  Moline High School History Club earns national recognition for third timeThe Moline High School History Club has been recognized as a National History Club of the Year for the 2025-2026 school year, according to a news release. Moline’s History Club is one of six chapters (out of 500) in the United States to receive this recognition from the National History Club. This is the third [...] |
| |  QC Symphony Orchestra will play at new WIU performing arts centerThe Quad City Symphony Orchestra has announced a special run-out performance next spring at the newly constructed Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts on the campus of Western Illinois University (WIU) in Macomb. (A "run-out" performance means the orchestra will play away from its usual venues just for this particular concert.) The concert, scheduled for Monday, April 5, 2027, marks the [...] |
| |  Memories of Muscatine: Battle of Wilson's CreekThis week for Memories of Muscatine: A chromolithograph from 1893. |
| | Charges dismissed in Scott County sex abuse case over statute of limitationsA Scott County District Court judge ruled Wednesday that under state law in place at the time of the alleged offense, the statute of limitations had run out. |
| | 'Rock Island Knows Tractors' series gathers steam at Downtown LibraryRock Island has a long history of tractor manufacturing,. Learn more about it with “Rock Island Knows Tractors,” a new history series starting next week at the Rock Island Downtown Library. "Rock Island Knows Tractors" kicks off at 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, with “From Steam to Gasoline, The Very Beginning,” in the Downtown Library [...] |
| | Darkness VisibleThis is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.For several years in the 1980s, there was a night janitor at a local college library who was as interesting as any of… |
| |  Do gas tax holidays actually bring relief at the pump?Trump wants to suspend the federal gas tax, but state-level gas tax breaks could have a bigger impact at the pump, says one expert. |
| |  The townspeople of Vilseck, Germany, worry that Trump may pull out 5,000 U.S. troopsPresident Trump's troop withdrawal threat rattles residents of a small Bavarian town reliant on U.S. military personnel and their families for both income and friendships built over decades. |
| | How a 19th century law, central to a national telehealth abortion case, could impact VirginiaSeveral boxes of mifepristone, a medication used to induce abortions and expel the remains of miscarriages. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)The Supreme Court temporarily preserved telehealth access to the abortion drug mifepristone Thursday until an appeals court can rule on a legal challenge to the medication the state of Louisiana filed against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The result could have national implications by outlawing the mailing of mifepristone — even in states without abortion bans, like Virginia. While the Supreme Court has allowed mifepristone to continue to be mailed for now, one of the dissenting justices, Clarence Thomas, cited a long-dormant 1873 law that blocks mailing “every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use.” Abortion opponents have long considered that law, dubbed the Comstock Act, as a possible vehicle to enact a national ban of the procedure. One of them, activist Mark Lee Dickson, has traveled the country to persuade local governments to pass ordinances to apply defunct law. “If enforced, it would have the same impact as a national ban on abortion,” he said in 2024. “That is because it is a de-factor national abortion ban.” The mailing of mifepristone “could easily be described as the largest drug-trafficking operation in the history of the United States,” Dickson said last week, adding that mailing the medication should cease in order to “restore the rule of law in this country.” Meanwhile, telehealth company Hey Jane can continue to operate for the time being. The company launched in Virginia in 2023 and currently serves 23 states. In an email, co-founder Kiki Freedman described their role as a crucial conduit for people seeking reproductive healthcare. “For many patients, especially those facing cost, travel, or privacy barriers, it is the only way they can access care,” she said. “When telehealth access is restricted, countless patients are left without care altogether.” Legal limbo nationally, some state certainty pending Abortion rights signs seen during a Democratic Election Night Party in Richmond in 2023. (Photo by the Virginia Mercury) Though further action by the appeals court, FDA or Supreme Court could affect mifepristone specifically, Virginia’s pending amendment, if passed, would still protect other avenues to abortion. Abortion is currently legal in Virginia but it is not constitutionally protected. Embedding the right to the procedure into the state constitution would make their access less subject to partisan turnover in state politics. It would also mean that if telehealth abortions are outlawed federally, Virginians and people who travel could still get abortions. But the referendum, too, is mired in lawsuits. One challenges the ballot language as “misleading” to voters and seeks a rewrite ahead of November. Another claims that the constitutional amendment process was not fully followed in advancing the referendum, but a new post-facto law could invalidate that claim. With the stay rooted in a lower court’s ruling on the mifepristone challenge’s merits, and other legal challenges, and the Food and Drug Administration’s new review of mifepristone, things could change in the months or year ahead. State Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, who sponsored the amendment, said it’s “exactly why” Democratic state lawmakers had pressed for the referendum. “We cannot rely on the federal government anymore to protect us,” she said. Repeal efforts U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury) Though it’s unlikely to advance this year amid GOP majorities in Congress, U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond is again leading an effort to repeal Comstock Act provisions. In 2024, she and now-Gov. Abigail Spanberger — then still a member of congress — had carried legislation to remove abortion components from the act. Theirs joined four previous unsuccessful attempts. “We will still try,” McClellan said in a call last week. She emphasized the health implications of continuing some pregnancies and how mifepristone is also used for safe miscarriage management to prevent deadly infection. She added that defending reproductive healthcare access is a “campaign issue” amid congressional midterms this year. Virginians will soon be able to weigh in on the pending constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion, contraception and fertility treatment access, which McClellan had also worked for years to advance as a state senator before joining Congress. “Sometimes it takes years and years to get policy changed,” Boysko said. Virginians will choose their congressional representatives Nov. 4, and on the same day will decide the fate of the reproductive rights amendment. Early voting will run from Sept. 18 to Oct. 31. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Courtesy of Virginia Mercury |
| |  How Tamara Rojo is remaking balletFrom championing women choreographers to upending classics, the former Royal Ballet star turned artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet doesn't play it safe. |
| |  This Republican voted to convict Trump. Now he's up for reelection. Can he survive?Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy was one of seven Republican senators who voted to impeach President Trump. Now he's running for reelection in a race that will test Trump's hold on the GOP. |
| |  We've seen Isaiah Rashad exposed. Now he's ready to bare his soul.In the five years since his last album, the Chattanooga rapper retreated from the public eye after a very private betrayal. He emerges with raw new music in pursuit of a warts-and-all self-acceptance. |
| | From medieval plague ships to hantavirus: How outbreaks at sea shaped the public health systemPassengers on the the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius watch epidemiologists board the boat in Praia, Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026. (AP Photo)Cruise ships are convenient floating hotels by which to see far-flung parts of the world — but as an epidemiologist, I know they are also everything an infectious pathogen could want: thousands of strangers packed into enclosed spaces for days or weeks, sharing dining rooms and high-touch surfaces such as elevator buttons and handrails, breathing recirculated air. Each new port of call where passengers can explore for a few days is an opportunity for germs to embark — and once they do, they encounter a highly efficient setting for hopping from host to host. The MV Hondius confirmed this well-known fact in April 2026, when an outbreak of Andes hantavirus began aboard the Dutch-flagged expedition vessel carrying 147 passengers and crew from 23 countries. The Andes virus is one of several species of hantaviruses. It is the only one known to spread from person to person, though it doesn’t do so very efficiently. It is far less contagious than COVID-19 or the measles. As of May 14, a total of 11 cases, including three deaths, have been reported in the Hondius outbreak. Outbreaks at sea are one of the oldest problems in public health. From medieval plague quarantines to modern times, they have repeatedly tested the ability to control infectious disease — and have played a key role in shaping the international public health framework in place today. That interconnected public health system, however, depends on the cooperation of countries around the globe. From harbor quarantine to global disease control The word “quarantine” was first documented in the English language in 1663, in the Oxford English Dictionary, which defined it as a period of 40 days during which people who might spread a contagious disease are kept isolated from the rest of the community. The first official quarantine, though, came earlier, in 1377, when the Republic of Ragusa — modern-day Dubrovnik, Croatia — ordered ships from plague-affected ports to anchor offshore for 30 days before anyone could disembark. A quarter-century later, Venice extended this period to 40 days — hence the “quarantine” term, which stuck. In 1423, Venice officially opened the world’s first permanent quarantine island, the Lazzaretto Vecchio, specifically to manage the problem of the plague arriving by sea. The system worked during the medieval era because a single authority usually controlled most harbors. Ships waited because they recognized states’ authority to detain them. For centuries, maritime quarantine operated on this principle. Harbor officials wielded broad public health powers over incoming vessels. In the 19th century this practice continued in the United States. Cholera ships — a nickname for trans-Atlantic vessels carrying migrants and troops that were breeding grounds for cholera and other diseases — arrived from Europe and the Mediterranean and sat offshore in New York for weeks. At quarantine stations on Ellis Island and ports across the Atlantic seaboard, ships were inspected, passengers isolated and captains overruled by public health officers who had the legal authority to isolate passengers for extended periods. The system was crude and often brutal. Ships of the medieval period were floating sickrooms with poor conditions: putrid water in the casks, bread full of worms, and passengers packed into pitch-sealed berths with lice in the bedding and the bilge stinking under them. Many people died on board. But the system rested on a foundation of recognized, enforceable authority over the vessel and everyone on it for the purpose of protecting the city from disease. International cooperation As maritime trade and travel became increasingly globalized, however, no single port or government could manage outbreaks alone. Also, advances in vaccines, antibiotics and sanitation led many countries to downsize the maritime quarantine systems that had once defined disease control at sea. This forced quarantine systems to evolve from local harbor control into international frameworks for coordination. The World Health Organization was established in 1948, and the International Health Regulations were created in 1969 to manage disease across borders. Countries agreed to share information, notify one another of outbreaks and coordinate responses at ports and borders. The responsibility no longer fell on a sole harbormaster, but the system was designed to perform a similar coordinating function across an increasingly interconnected world. Even within that system, however, cruise ships remain unusually vulnerable outbreak environments. A highly visible example was a COVID-19 outbreak that occurred on the Diamond Princess in 2020. The cruise ship, which was anchored off the coast of Yokohama, Japan, produced weeks of confusion between Japanese authorities, the British cruise operator and a dozen foreign governments as they struggled to coordinate responsibility for the 3,700 passengers and containment measures. Some analyses later suggested the shipboard quarantine may have amplified transmission. At the time, most observers treated it as a crisis specific to the early chaos of the pandemic. But the Hondius outbreak suggests the problem runs deeper. Ships cross borders — so too do pathogens Cruise ships combine dense social mixing, international mobility and fragmented legal authority in ways that continue to challenge modern disease-control systems — even decades after the creation of international public health frameworks designed to coordinate them, and even for diseases like Andes hantavirus that are extremely unlikely to cause a pandemic. As the cruise industry has grown, it has expanded into more remote and epidemiologically unpredictable environments — expedition voyages to Antarctica, the Amazon, Alaska. Alongside the industry’s ambitions, disease risk has also increased. These trips routinely bring large groups of passengers into contact with wildlife, pathogens and ecosystems they may have little prior exposure to and then seal travelers together for weeks. Nevertheless, the United States chose in January 2026 to withdraw from the World Health Organization, the primary institution administering the framework designed to coordinate responses when disease crosses the borders that cruise ships cross as a matter of routine. The Trump administration framed the exiting of international organizations as a means of protecting U.S. sovereignty. In practice, it meant that when the Hondius needed a response, the U.S. participated from outside the systems it had spent decades helping to build. A crack in the system In the outbreak on the Hondius, the international system still functioned. The WHO still issued risk assessments and guidance. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control still coordinated the response across Europe. And in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention belatedly issued a health alert to physicians. What changed is that the U.S. moved from being a central participant in the international public health system to operating more from its edges. Who can say whether the next big outbreak will come from a disease spread on a cruise ship — or whether the pathogen involved will be one that spreads more efficiently between people than the Andes strain of the hantavirus does. Whatever its source, outbreak response depends on cooperation between major governments, rapid information sharing and coordinated logistics. When a country as globally connected as the U.S. steps back from those systems, managing international health emergencies becomes slower, more fragmented and more dependent on ad hoc negotiations. Ultimately, this may make the world less safe. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Katrine L. Wallace holds a PhD in epidemiology and also has professional experience in science communication, infectious disease and cancer epidemiology, epidemiological research methods, and biostatistics. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here. Courtesy of Kansas Reflector |
| |  Trump says Islamic State group leader was killed in a joint U.S.-Nigerian missionTrump announced the joint operation in Africa's most populous country in a late-night social media post. He said Abu Bakr al-Mainuki was second in command of the Islamic State group globally. |
| | Democratic challengers say Georgia commissioner should do more to hold insurers accountableGeorgia's commissioner of insurance oversees the state-run system for the Affordable Care Act exchange in Georgia, which is called Georgia Access. Ariel Hart/Georgia RecorderNo Georgia official is more directly tied to affordability than the state’s commissioner of insurance. And that job is on the ballot this year, starting with Tuesday’s primary. The commissioner’s main job is to make sure Georgia insurance companies don’t charge policyholders too much for their coverage like health and auto policies. And that after the consumer pays their premiums, the companies cover what they’re supposed to. The field to unseat the incumbent, Republican John King, is packed with five Democratic challengers. Those who answered questions for this story say King is not doing enough, and they’ll do more. On the Republican ballot, King stands unchallenged and points to his record of levying millions in fines to the companies. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. The Democratic contenders include Clarence Blalock, a Paulding County business owner; Ambuj “A.J.” Jain, former chief underwriting officer at an insurance company; DeAndre Mathis, an insurance agent with degrees in accounting; and Keisha Sean Waites, a former Georgia state representative and well-known candidate in elections across the Atlanta area. The candidates with insurance experience say they’re the ones who know how to stop insurance companies from gaming consumers. A fifth candidate, Thomas Gabriel Dean, did not provide contact information to the state. Calls to a phone number associated with his name were not returned, and at a visit to a Stone Mountain address associated with his name, neighbors said Dean kept to himself. “This race may not receive the same attention as contests for Governor or U.S. Senate, but its consequences are deeply personal and financial for Georgia families,” Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, said in a written statement. “The next Insurance Commissioner will help shape how much Georgians pay for coverage, what protections they can rely on when care is denied, and whether consumers have a strong advocate when insurers fall short.” The position is titled the commissioner of insurance and safety fire. It’s elected statewide. Duties also include investigating complaints, inspecting elevators and others. One of its main initiatives in recent years was creating Georgia’s Obamacare marketplace, a state-run system for the Affordable Care Act exchange in Georgia. It’s called Georgia Access. Rather than skimping, King’s office hired a company well known for working with ACA-friendly states to create competent systems. At the same time, he has worked to distance himself and the state from the Obamacare label. One facet that made GeorgiaAccess.gov distinct from the federal healthcare.gov is its more prominent platforming of private insurance agents as opposed to neutral “navigators” to consumers trying to choose a plan. Insurance agents are incentivized by commissions paid by companies. In any case, navigator funding has been slashed by the federal government under the Trump administration. Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King speaks at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s Eggs and Issues event in Atlanta early in the 2025 legislative session. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder King argues he’s set the standard for using the office to protect consumers. All while facing state laws that he says tamp his power. “I have issued a record number, and record amount, of fines since becoming Insurance Commissioner, to the tune of more than $42 million,” King said in a written statement. “We need to be able to do more, but the truth is that the Insurance Commissioner’s office is extremely limited when it comes to the fines we can issue. We fought to change that this year but it went nowhere in the Senate. That’s not going to stop me though. I’ll continue fining insurance companies as much as I can and I’m going to make another push for more oversight next year.” When an insurance company files their proposed rate plans for the coming year, it’s up to the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance to vet the proposals. It determines whether the plans have enough doctors and hospitals in a plan’s network. The rates must not be “excessive,” according to state law. That’s not always easily determined, especially when hospitals are charging record rates and hurricanes threaten billions in damage that home insurers might have to pay for, like Helene narrowly missing Atlanta in 2024. Like other advocates who responded to the Georgia Recorder’s questions, Georgians for a Healthy Future said they do not take a position on candidates. GHF is a patient advocacy organization that helps people enroll in Georgia’s Obamacare exchange, Georgia Access, and has argued for full Medicaid expansion. But those advocacy organizations also made pointed comments on what the job ought to do, calling for “independent leadership” willing to prioritize consumers over the insurance industry when they conflict. “I just want that person to enforce the laws that we have on the books,” said Jonathan Marquess, a longtime leader of independent pharmacists and interim president of the Georgia Pharmacy Association. Independent pharmacies in Georgia have long complained that health insurance companies in Georgia get away with underpaying independent pharmacies and overpaying their own business partners, eventually costing patients more overall. Roland Behm is co-founder of the Georgia Mental Health Policy Partnership and past chair of the Georgia chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Behm said that the state’s new law mandating the same level of coverage for mental health as for physical health was not being adequately enforced. “For a large insurance company, a $1 million fine is not a serious deterrent. It is a modest cost of doing business,” Behm said. “A penalty that does not compensate patients, change insurer behavior or force the use of lawful medical standards is not enough. It may be enforcement theater.” The CEO of the Georgia Association of Health Plans, Jesse Weathington, said in a text message that the association doesn’t endorse candidates, and did not address policy questions. DEMOCRATIC BALLOT Clarence Blalock Residence: Paulding County Occupation: Small business owner, running analysis and making maps for schools across Georgia. Education: Jacksonville State University, B.S. in geography, 2003; M.S. in environmental science, 2006. Previous political experience: Blalock served as one of the campaign managers for Peter Hubbard, a 2025 Democratic candidate who flipped a Georgia Public Service Commission race, drawing national attention. Has twice run unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress in Georgia. Notes: Blalock emphasizes that he himself is on an Affordable Care Act health plan. Quotes: “Two of my rivals also come from the industry. In addition two out of four of the last Insurance Commissioners are in prison and they were also part of the insurance industry, we need someone who is not affiliated with big insurance in this pivotal role.” Thomas Gabriel Dean Residence: DeKalb County Occupation: Driver Dean didn’t provide information beyond his residence in DeKalb County and profession as a “driver.” Dr. Ambuj “AJ” Jain Residence: Atlanta Occupation: Former chief underwriting officer in insurance; charity founder; member, Fulton County Audit Committee. Education: Bachelor of commerce, University of Allahabad, India, 1980; master of commerce, Delhi School of Economics, 1982; MBA, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1985; Ph.D., SUNY Buffalo, 1990 Previous political experience: First-time candidate Notes: Wants to require insurance companies to justify rate hikes beforehand; crack down on unfair claims denial; and ban letting a person’s zip code or credit score factor into their premium price. Quotes: “The job of insurance commissioner is about more than keeping a website running. Premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs continue to squeeze working families across our state.” DeAndre Mathis Residence: City of South Fulton Occupation: Insurance Agent; co-chair of City of South Fulton Zoning Board of Appeals, an appointed position with a term ending in 2027. Former accountant at Ernst & Young. Has an office in East Lake. Notes: U.S. Navy veteran in Operation Desert Storm. Wants to improve safety inspections and fire code standards for apartment buildings, and bring transparency to insurance rates. Wants to ban the use of zip codes and credit scores in setting insurance prices. Quotes: “Georgians are being crushed by spiraling premiums.” Keisha Sean Waites Residence: Atlanta Occupation: Former state legislator Education: Waites attended Georgia Southern University, Atlanta Metropolitan State College and Georgia Perimeter College, and holds degrees in criminal justice and political science. As an elected official she completed an elected leader certification at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Previous political experience: Atlanta City Council member 2022-2024; Georgia House of Representatives member for three terms, 2012-2017. She has run unsuccessfully for other races including U.S. House of Representatives. Notes: Waites and Clarence Blalock meet again in this race. Waites ran in last year’s election for a Public Service Commission seat, and lost to a candidate that Blalock worked for. Waites says she wants to ban the use of ZIP codes and credit scores in setting insurance rates. Quotes: “I’ve spent my career fighting for Georgia families.” REPUBLICAN BALLOT John King Residence: Fulton County Occupation: Georgia Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire Education: B.A., criminal justice and public administration, Brenau University; master’s in strategic studies, U.S. Army War College. Previous political experience: Commissioner of Insurance since 2019. Last summer withdrew from the U.S. Senate race when Gov. Brian Kemp backed a different candidate. Notes: Was chief of police of Doraville and a major general in the Army. Took over the insurance commissioner’s position in the wake of two predecessors who’d been jailed. Quotes: “I have issued a record number, and record amount, of fines since becoming Insurance Commissioner, to the tune of more than $42 million. We need to be able to do more, but the truth is that the Insurance Commissioner’s office is extremely limited when it comes to the fines we can issue.” Courtesy of Georgia Recorder |
| |  120k children's tower stools recalled after 8 injuries reportedYou should put these away from kids immediately. |
| |  The Eurovision Song Contest reaches its grand final with pop and protestsThe final of the Eurovision Contest arrives Saturday, with tight security and rainy weather failing to dent the enthusiasm of fans, or the opposition of critics who think Israel shouldn't be invited. |
| |  Gaza airstrike targeted Hamas military wing leader, Israel saysAn Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Friday targeted the leader of Hamas' military wing, Israeli officials said, but it wasn't immediately clear if Izz al-Din al-Haddad was killed or injured. |
Friday, May 15th, 2026 | |
| |  Fulton tops West Carroll 10-0 to secure the NUIC titleFulton softball topped West Carroll 10-0 in six innings to secure the NUIC conference title. |
| |  Steamwheelers beat Tucson 40-38The Quad City Steamwheelers snap a four game skid after defeating the Tucson Sugar Skulls 40-38. |
| |  Central DeWitt, Dubuque Wahlert track teams honor late teacher Trisha BrookinsOne month after the Central DeWitt School District lost teacher Trisha Brookins, two track teams came together to honor her memory. |
| | DeSantis and Ladapo tout ‘freedom’ as measles rages“The reality is that Americans are increasingly adopting a more dismissive mindset in the way they view vaccine efficacy. Skepticism, rather than hesitancy, is a more accurate term to describe America’s perception of vaccines — and it shows no sign of slowing down.” (Photo by Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)“Convenient mythologies require neither evidence nor logic.” — Edward S. Herman, “Manufactured Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Media” In a number of articles on its website, PEN America explains in striking detail the right-wing Trojan horse of “parental rights,” illuminating the threat caused by policymakers focused on this theater in the culture war. PEN — which has gained a global reputation for standing “at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide” — argues that “parents’ rights” is not a source of freedom as claimed, but the crux of an ideological rigidity exercised by MAGA Republicans. Replace the terms “books” and “literature” with “vaccinations” in the narratives, and the poisonous effects of “parents’ rights” and “medical freedom” on Florida’s public health system becomes clear. Under the guise of “freedom,” the DeSantis administration including Surgeon General Joe Ladapo has established policies that have directly contributed to the measles outbreak that has spread across the state. Yet, despite the proliferation of this disease, which has placed Florida fourth in the United States with 152 confirmed cases in 2025-26 and 145 confirmed cases so far this year, state officials have acted as if “there’s nothing to see here.” Collier County is the center of an outbreak that began in January at Ave Maria University. The number of reported cases out of Collier has remained steady at 106, with most cases affecting those aged 15 to 24. According to the Florida Department of Health, Florida is up to 150 cases this year as of the week ending May 2. Officials note that there is “a continuing slowdown in infections after outbreaks earlier this year.” Contagion Measles is one of the most contagious communicable diseases on record. With the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, measles is easy to control. The MMR vaccine is credited with saving the lives of millions of people globally over the past 50 years. Traditional medical experts warn that unvaccinated children need to stay home after measles exposure to stop transmission of this highly contagious disease. If not, chances of a prolonged outbreak increase significantly. Among unvaccinated people, nine of 10 who’re exposed will get infected. Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republican legislators, and some health officials might have avoided the outbreak had they treated it as a strictly health-related issue not a politically charged one. And if DeSantis and Ladapo weren’t so cavalier about tossing around inaccurate data, taking problems out of context, or selectively presenting information, Florida wouldn’t be in this situation. Experts point to vaccine hesitancy and fear sown by MAGA Republicans as reasons why fewer parents are interested in vaccinating their children. According to Politico, vaccine hesitancy has “evolved into a central pillar of the MAGA movement’s health policy, often blending medical skepticism with a desire to dismantle public health regulations.” Skepticism of COVID-19 vaccines, and a growing distrust of traditional childhood vaccines, are “closely tied to the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda led by figures such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,” Politico writes. The publication cites a 2023 Morning Consult poll showing that “as the number of voters more doubtful of vaccines has risen — despite scientific evidence that they’re safe and effective — it has come almost exclusively from one political party. While opposition to more established vaccines is still far from a majority position among Republicans, significant numbers question their safety and say Americans shouldn’t be encouraged to get them.” Hubris Katelyn Jetelina and Kristen Panthagani capture perfectly the hubris surrounding Florida’s widening measles epidemic. Jetelina, an epidemiologist, and Panthagani, an emergency physician at Yale University, have written that by ignoring common sense and medical advice, Florida’s health officials risk a mushrooming measles outbreak. Negligence by Lapado, DeSantis, and the MAHA crew has endangered citizens and inflamed the outbreak. “This is happening in a state with a growing skepticism of vaccinations and an ongoing debate between individualism and the good of the larger population that came to a head during the COVID pandemic,” the authors write in a 2024 opinion piece in Scientific American. “But containing measles, which can spread quickly, should not be up for debate. Yet this is what is happening in Florida, and it’s putting children’s health at risk.” A 2025 study from the Cureus Journal of Science and Medicine, published in PubMed, examines how “declining vaccine uptake and growing vaccine hesitancy created pockets of susceptibility that enabled the outbreak.” DeSantis and Lapado are vigorously pushing to make it easier for parents to opt their children out of mandatory school vaccines — a proposal the Florida House refused to pass in the 2026 regular session and the just-completed special session. ‘Parental rights’ “Since 2021, the Sunshine State has led the country in advancing the parental rights agenda. Contrary to its name, this agenda has used fuzzy, coded language to manufacture moral panic, and to deliver control over what students can read and learn in schools not into the hands of all parents but to a particular segment of citizens — some not even parents but community members,” PEN America officials and researchers said. “The cumulative effect has been to privilege some parents’ ideological preferences above all others, tie the hands of educators, and limit students’ access to information through curricular prohibitions and book bans.” The same dynamic applies to health care and vaccines. In its report on “parental rights” legislation, PEN cautioned that despite the fact that encouraging greater parental involvement in schools can seem like common sense, “these bills have an ulterior motive driving them: to empower a vocal and censorship-minded minority with greater opportunity to scrutinize public education and intimidate educators with threats of punishment.” In Florida, the DeSantis administration and Republicans in the Legislature have taken up the battle cry. Ladapo and DeSantis announced in a press conference their intention of eliminating childhood vaccine mandates. Medical experts note that all 50 states enforce childhood vaccine mandates, with all states allowing medical exemptions and more than half — including Florida — allowing religious exemptions Lyndon Haviland of the CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy blames the “perfect storm” of vaccine skepticism, failed leadership, and broken trust as the core reasons for the outbreak. The eruption of measles in Texas, Florida, and elsewhere, she contends, aren’t isolated events. Manufactured distrust “Cases have also surfaced in Alaska, California, New Mexico, New York City, Georgia, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Concern that reports will continue to grow is rising,” she writes. “It’s especially worrisome considering that the measles virus was completely eliminated in the U.S. as recently as the year 2000. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed this achievement to a “highly effective vaccine program in the United States, as well as better measles control in the Americas region.” So, how did we get here? “The answer: distrust. Distrust in health experts, who years ago were revered as national authorities on serious medical issues. Distrust in public health agencies, the CDC, and the Food and Drug Administration specifically, once respected as credible information resources. Distrust in the strength and rigor of vaccine testing protocols, the pharmaceutical industry itself and the broader politicization of public health.” Haviland and other health experts fear ‘America, which was once considered a world leader in public health, has lost decades of progress in preventing the spread of a deadly disease with a provably safe therapy that has successfully saved millions of American lives.” The focus on vaccine hesitancy “underplays the significant backlash against vaccines and the flood of anti-vaccine misinformation to which many Americans have been subjected,” Haviland continues. “The reality is that Americans are increasingly adopting a more dismissive mindset in the way they view vaccine efficacy. Skepticism, rather than hesitancy, is a more accurate term to describe America’s perception of vaccines — and it shows no sign of slowing down.” A certain arrogance There is a certain arrogance the MAGA multitude carry. They act as though they have a direct line to God and the divine right to determine what’s best for the rest of us. Hence, the series of seemingly endless toxic, selfish crusades that former youth pastor and author John Pavlovitz argues “amplify baseless anti-science propaganda.” This poisonous mindset has a human cost. Almost 90,000 people in the Sunshine State have died because of COVID; others have succumbed to preventable diseases like the flu. There’s no telling when this measles outbreak will end but many in health circles and elsewhere will not stop fighting to protect America’s people against this destructive public health crisis. Kevin Griffis, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy’s director for media relations and public affairs, in an April 22 opinion piece wrote, “Americans can handle hard truths. What they should not have to tolerate is selective concern dressed up as science. … Public health depends on trust. Trust depends on honesty.” “When the nation’s top health official pretends otherwise — or claims ignorance when it is politically convenient, so as not to raise the ire of MAHA activists — it is not public health leadership. It is yet another example of politics and ideology trumping evidence.” Courtesy of Florida Phoenix |
| | Federal permit delays pause construction at Knox County wind farmAround 300 workers expected to build a wind farm in rural Knox County for the next year. Now, they're removing work they've already done. |
| | Three people injured in multi-vehicle crash in Davenport FridayThe crash occurred at 11:11 a.m. on northbound U.S. 61 at Interstate 280. |
| | 1 injured after crash involving semi truck, 3 carsA woman has life-threatening injuries after a crash Friday morning on Highway 61 near I-280 exit. |
| | Coast Guard Auxiliary shares boating safety tips ahead of summer seasonNational Safe Boating Week runs from May 16 to May 22. Here are some simple ways to keep you and your family safe on the water this summer. |
| |  "It's about time." Iowa shelters react to new animal-torture lawA new law written to enforce stricter punishments on animal abusers grants a sigh of relief to shelters in Iowa. "It's about time," said Deb Mock, an employee at King's Harvest Pet Rescue in Davenport. "We're always last at everything ,I feel like." "It's been a long time coming for it, for sure," said Celina [...] |
| | OQC Crime Watch: man faces charges after assault of 88-year-old: Episode 66Watch crime reporters Linda Cook and Sharon Wren talk about crime and courts in our area with the latest episode of the Our Quad Cities Crime Watch Podcast. In this episode Linda and Sharon discuss updates on: A man who faces charges after an assault in Eldridge that left an 88-year-old woman injured After three [...] |
| |  ‘Cop on a Rooftop’ raises over $1.28 million for Special Olympics in Illinois, IowaPolice departments and Dunkin’ teamed up Friday for “Cop on a Rooftop,” an annual fundraiser benefiting Special Olympics athletes across Illinois and Iowa. |
| | Maryland launches ‘one-stop’ resource website for new, expecting parentsThe state this week unveiled a one-stop website that offers new families information on health insurance, parental leave and support services to make sure children get a healthy start in life. (Stock photo by John Fedele/Getty Images)New families in need of health insurance, parental leave and other resources can look up that information on a new state website launched Thursday. Resources for expecting and new parents was announced by the Governor’s Office for Children as a “one-stop” resource hub to not only support families, but also as a way to make sure children have a healthy start to their lives. “Welcoming a child should be a moment of joy, but without adequate access to support and resources, starting or growing a family can be an economic hurdle,” said a statement from Carmel Martin, special secretary in the Governor’s Office for Children. “By streamlining access to these critical supports, we can boost economic mobility for families and make government work better for Marylanders.” For instance, the site has a link to the state’s Maternal Health Innovation Program that connects to a state map. On the right side of the page, a person can click on an icon to find the location for a variety of services, such as food resources, housing assistance and clinics for women, infants and children. The site also has a link to the state Department of Health’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau with guidance on a safe sleeping environment for babies. It provides background information on infant care, established by House Bill 177 in 2024 sponsored by Del. Robbyn Lewis (D-Baltimore City), that requires hospitals to give parents and guardians oral and written resources on how to do that. Maryland lawmakers ‘disheartened’ by persistent inequities in Black maternal health outcomes There’s information on early childhood learning, that helps parents and guardians find a Head Start program by location. Clicking the link brings up a list of organizations throughout the state that includes Head Start of Washington County, Montgomery County Community Action Agency and Community Development Institute Head Start in St. Mary’s County. The site also provides a link for parents to apply for the state’s popular child care scholarship program, even though enrollment has been frozen since May 1, 2025. But lawmakers allocated $20 million for the program, which is expected to cut the current waiting list of more than 5,000 families by more than half in the next fiscal year. The new parent resource guide was worked on by state agencies in the Maryland Children’s Cabinet, which is part of the governor’s mission to reduce the number of children living in poverty. To assist those with limited access to a computer or other forms of technology, the governor’s office said printed copies will be distributed at hospitals, local departments of social services and Patty Centers that provide health and education services for parents with children up to age 3. “Ensuring every family has access to helpful information and reliable support is essential to their success,” said Health Secretary Meena Seshamani. “This new guide serves as a vital bridge for families and caregivers from pregnancy through early childhood, making sure that essential healthcare, nutrition, and early education resources are always within reach to support them at every step.”SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Courtesy of Maryland Matters |
| | Home destroyed, residents displaced after fireA home was destroyed and residents were displaced after a fire Friday in Galesburg. |
| | Davenport’s strategy plan prioritizes housing, roads, public-safety transparencyThe Davenport City Council finalized its 2026-2027 priorities, focusing on infrastructure, housing, animal control, and improved public safety incident reporting. |
| |  House passes bill allowing year-round E15 gasoline salesThe U.S. House has passed a bill that would allow year-round sales of E15 gasoline across the country. Supporters say the ethanol blend could boost demand for corn and help farmers during a tough time for agriculture. |
| | Federal court sets May 22 hearing on new Alabama congressional mapThe front of Hugo L Black Courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama on August 15, 2023. The Northern District scheduled a preliminary injunction for the Milligan case May 22. (Jemma Stephenson/Alabama Reflector)A federal court Friday set a hearing for May 22 on a motion for plaintiffs to block Alabama’s use of a 2023 congressional map the court previously declared racially discriminatory. The court is reconsidering the map after the U.S. Supreme Court earlier lifted a permanent injunction against the map and sent the case, known as Allen v. Milligan, back to the lower court. The justices ordered the court to reconsider its ruling in light of its ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, a ruling last month that weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and made it harder for plaintiffs to challenge maps on the basis of racial discrimination. U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco wrote in her ruling that “appropriate relief, if any, will be issued in time for Alabama’s 2026 election to occur according to a lawful map.” SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday set special primary elections in four congressional districts to take place in August under the boundaries of the earlier map, which will likely reduce Alabama’s Black representation in the U.S. House. Plaintiffs Friday filed motions in Allen v. Milligan and in Alabama State Conference of the NAACP v. Allen, a 2021 case that led to the redrawing of two state Senate seats in the Montgomery area. The motions, which seek to block new primaries under laws approved in a legislative special session earlier this month, argue that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais does not apply to the Northern District rulings in the two separate cases and it is too late for Alabama to revert to the maps created by Republican lawmakers in time for the primary election happening in a few days. “During this time, Alabamians voted and labored under the understanding that the Remedial Map would be used in the 2026 election,” the plaintiffs said in their motion for a preliminary injunction on Friday. “For months, election officials and candidates laid plans, spent money, and engaged voters based on the remedial map’s districts. And, for seven weeks, Alabama voters cast ballots under the remedial map.” In the case of the state Senate maps, the plaintiffs stated in their motion that, “Now, the Secretary seeks the Court’s eleventh-hour intervention to change the map in the middle of that same election despite the mass confusion it will create, and the legitimate votes it will nullify.” The state appealed the verdict on the state Senate districts in NAACP v. Allen to the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. As of Friday evening the court had not ruled in the case. The Allen v. Milligan plaintiffs have also filed a motion for a temporary injunction. In both filings the plaintiffs in the two cases said that changing the electoral maps would disenfranchise voters due to confusion over the rightful candidates. “Moreover, granting a preliminary injunction to preserve the congressional districts approved by this Court is the only way to prevent the disenfranchisement of the thousands of Alabama voters who have already returned their absentee ballots,” the Milligan plaintiffs said in their motion. “Courts have long recognized that the denial of ‘the opportunity to vote in an election’ constitutes ‘an irreparable harm.’” Plaintiffs also said earlier in the appeals process before the maps were changed that the state should not be forced to change election rules by moving to a new map because it would create problems in an election that was months away. “The secretary’s prior representations in this matter conflict with his present ones,” the plaintiffs said in their motion regarding the state Senate districts. “At the start of the remedial phase, he represented to this court that any remedial map needed to be in place more than six months prior to the May 19 primary election to avoid calamitous effects on election administration. The secretary said that it was ‘not possible to provide a date and say with confidence that Alabama can implement a remedial map entered by that date without disruption and confusion.”’ Plaintiffs also said that changing maps violates an amendment to the Alabama Constitution approved by voters in 2022 that bans election law changes in a six-month period prior to an election. That deadline was May 3; the special session started on May 4. The plaintiffs also said their maps do not violate the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Callais, which stated that plaintiffs that allege discrimination cannot use race when they propose new maps and that they must consider the state’s other interests. Plaintiffs said the new maps were drawn without considering race and that the maps conformed to the state’s guidelines. Several groups support the preliminary injunction filed by the plaintiffs in Milligan. “Alabama’s rush to discard ballots in order to force the use of a congressional map that intentionally discriminates against Black Alabamians and dilutes their votes—as already determined by a federal court—is a craven and shameful attack on our democracy, and on the rights of all Alabama voters,” said Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Redistricting Foundation. Courtesy of Alabama Reflector |
| |  Limited-edition bobbleheads celebrate Hawkeyes, Cyclones graduatesLimited-edition bobbleheads celebrate graduates from the University of Iowa and Iowa State, according to a news release from The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. The Iowa Hawkeyes bobblehead will be individually numbered to only 1,847, and the Iowa State Cyclones bobblehead will be individually numbered to only 1,858. he bobbleheads, which are expected [...] |
| | Quad Cities big band marks 25th anniversary with free Frank Sinatra concertThis year marks the 25th anniversary of "Josh Duffee and His Orchestra," which has brought swinging big band music from the 1920s through the 60s to our region. |
| | No injuries after partial roof collapse in Galesburg fireNo injuries were reported following a a partial roof collapse at a fire in Galesburg. According to a release, the Galesburg Fire Department responded to a structure fire in the 400 block of N. Broad St. May 15 at approximately 10:01 a.m. Upon arrival, crews encountered heavy smoke and flames visible from a two-story home. [...] |
| | Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre launches fundraiser for upgradesThe Orpheum Theatre in Galesburg is raising $100,000 for upgrades that would unlock a matching tourism grant from the State of Illinois. |
| | Davenport police release dash cam in crash involving 2 squad carsNo injuries were reported, and no civilians were involved in the crash. |
| | It’s ‘midpoint’ in budget negotiations and chambers take a breakSen. Ed Hooper (L) and Rep. Lawrence McClure (R) will work throughout the weekend to have negotiation offers ready for Monday. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix) Florida legislators wrapped up the first week of their budget special session Friday far apart on multiple spending priorities for schools, healthcare — and even whether Gov. Ron DeSantis deserves a security detail after he leaves office. “We’re at the midpoint in the negotiations,” Rep. Jason Shoaf of Port St. Joe, House budget chair for transportation and economic development, told reporters. The only bill the Legislature is required to annually pass is the General Appropriations Act, the state budget. For the second time in as many years, Republican lawmakers were unable to finish that work during the 60-day regular session that ended in March. When the Legislature cannot accomplish its work on time, it increases costs for taxpayers. 2025 extended session cost Florida taxpayers more than $259K The House and Senate did last month reach an agreement on the overall spending amounts for the new budget, and they have since Tuesday been trying to bridge differences on individual spending items. Some of those items include whether to break out how much the state spends to help families send their children to private schools; how much money should go to DeSantis priorities such as his “job growth grant fund” that lets the governor award economic development grants; and how much the state spends on healthcare for the poor, elderly, and disabled. For the past few days, budget conference committees have exchanged offers contained on spreadsheets. The Senate made a budget offer this week to have the state’s top law enforcement agency provide the governor and his family with security for the year following DeSantis’s departure from office in January. Seeking Rents investigative reporter Jason Garcia first broke the news on social media. The House, which has been at odds with DeSantis, for the last two years under Speaker Daniel Perez of Miami, hasn’t agreed to the idea. There was no price tag with the budget offer because the details needed to make those assumptions, such as where he will live and what he will do, aren’t known. Now the process changes. The next round of negotiations will involve the top budget chairs for the House and Senate. Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez said in memos Friday that Sen. Ed Hooper and Rep. Lawrence McClure will work on offers throughout the weekend but they would not formally swap any offers until next week. Courtesy of Florida Phoenix |
| |  Sisters reunite after Middle East deploymentMore than 100 members of the Iowa National Guard returned home Thursday after nearly a year deployed in the Middle East. |
| | Celebrating 25 years of the Quad Cities big band, 'Josh Duffee and His Orchestra'The group has been a staple at QCA jazz fests, outdoor concerts and museum events. They're marking their anniversary with a free Frank Sinatra concert. |
| |  Supreme Court is death knell for Virginia's Democratic-friendly congressional mapsThe new map was drawn by Democrats and approved by Virginia voters, but the state Supreme Court declared the referendum null and void because lawmakers failed to follow the proper procedures to get the issue on the ballot. |
| |  Alternating Currents reveals first 2026 lineupAlternating Currents has released its first wave of artists for its 2026 festival. They're set to perform in Downtown Davenport, Rock Island, and Bettendorf from August 13th to August 16th. The artists include: 7ArkAchromatic of TimeAdam Greuel & The Space BurritosAlbornAmerican Devil SoundAndrew HoytAngela MeyerBarefoot & SunshineBCMCBeth Lizano BandBig Head ModeBlack Note GraffitiBurntMCMelbaToastCamp RegretChris OtepkaCJ [...] |
| | Dash cam video shows crash involving 2 Davenport police cars on April 24No injuries were reported, and no civilians were involved in the crash. |
| | Davenport releases footage of crash between two squad carsTwo squad cars crashed on April 24 at about 9 p.m. while responding to a 911 call reporting a burglary in progress in the 1500 block of West Third Street. |
| | Dash cam video shows 2 Davenport police cars crashing while responding to incidentNo civilians were involved. News 8 edited the two separate dash cam videos together. Police said the second video cuts off due to a power failure from the collision. |
| | Rivermont Collegiate appealing potential suspension of ISACS accreditationWhile the school determines the future of its ISACS accreditation, it still maintains Cognia accreditation. |
| | Behind the scenes of Amazon's new last-mile facilityAmazon says the facility can process 26,000 packages every day and as many as 40,000 in busier times of the year. |
| | NM U.S. Sens. Heinrich, Luján seek answers on federal Agriculture Department research movesUSDA Secretary Brooke Rollins on April 23, 2026, announced the USDA was restructuring its research mission and relocating research projects across the country. (Julia Goldberg / Source NM)New Mexico’s United States senators this week joined 22 other Democrats in seeking more information from the federal Agriculture Department on how a recently announced “restructuring” will impact the department’s research and innovation mission. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins in late April said the department would be relocating some positions and otherwise refocusing the department’s Research, Education and Economics mission area, which is dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge related to agriculture, according to the department. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Rollins’ statement stressed that the changes were not a “reduction in force” that would result in mass layoffs, but instead aimed to reduce complexity and bring scientists closer to the communities they’re serving. That will mean the decommissioning of the Maryland-based Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and “relocating research programs to facilities across the country better aligned with regional agricultural needs,” according to the USDA. U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, both New Mexico Democrats, said they are concerned Rollins is actually reducing the USDA’s research capacity. They and other Democratic senators sent her a letter Thursday that noted previous staff relocations by federal agencies resulted in mass resignations from employees unable to quickly uproot and move cross country. “This effort will erode the capacity of USDA’s research agencies and threaten their ability to deliver innovation and timely economic data for farmers, ranchers and rural communities,” the letter reads. The letter asks Rollins to provide detailed descriptions of how the USDA intends to minimize disruptions to farmers, ranchers and researchers, including how they plan to address existing collective bargaining agreements with public sector labor unions. “Proactive and ongoing engagement with these employees will be necessary to prevent major disruptions to research, data collection, and education,” the senators write. In addition to the USDA’s research shakeup, the USDA is also relocating the United States Forest Service’s headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Salt Lake City, Utah. Environmentalist groups have raised similar concerns about staff reductions that result from that move. Courtesy of Source New Mexico |
| | Scuttled sale of nonprofit care facility in Des Moines sparks litigationCalvin Community, a 188-unit continuing-care facility on Des Moines’ Hickman Road. (Photo via Google Earth)A federal lawsuit has been filed seeking to force the owners of Des Moines’ Calvin Community nursing home and assisted living center to sell the nonprofit facility to a group of New York investors. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, seeks to compel the sale of the 188-unit continuing-care facility on Des Moines’ Hickman Road to Everview Group, which is a trio of New York-based investors who allege they have spent almost a year negotiating a purchase of the property. Court records indicate the Everview partners and potential buyers of Calvin Community are Isaac Moskowitz, David Herskowitz and Jeffrey Arem. Calvin Community is currently operated as a nonprofit entity and is one of Iowa’s larger retirement communities. The campus includes a 59-bed nursing home and an array of independent-living apartments and assisted-living units. According to Everview’s newly filed lawsuit against Calvin Community, plans for the sale involved Everview acting as a “placeholder” buyer, with management of the facility eventually transferred to a separate, fully vetted “high-quality successor operator” that would run the operation. As the planned date of closing drew near, Everview alleges, Calvin Community “abruptly sought to manufacture a termination of the parties’ agreements” so that it could accept “a more lucrative alternative offer received from a third party.” The lawsuit seeks an injunction blocking such a sale, in part to “protect the continuity of care for the facility’s residents.” The lawsuit also seeks a court order that would compel Calvin Community “to take all actions necessary to consummate” the planned sale to Everview. Price slashed due to ‘physical condition’ of buildings The lawsuit claims Everview and Calvin Community first entered into a purchase agreement in May 2025, through which the property was to be sold for $9.4 million. Separately, the lawsuit alleges, the two parties also entered into an “operations transfer agreement” that was intended to ensure uninterrupted, high-quality care for the residents, with Everview securing a third-party entity to take over management of the facility at the closing of the sale. At the same time, the lawsuit claims, Calvin Community collected a $250,000 deposit from Everview, which was to remain in escrow until the closing of the sale. Over the following 10 months, the parties engaged in what the lawsuit calls a “sustained and collaborative effort to navigate the complex regulatory and operational hurdles” related to transferring both ownership and management of a large continuing care retirement community. In November 2025, the two parties agreed to a sale-price reduction of $636,591 in return for Everview assuming more than $700,000 in liabilities related to “entrance fees” that Calvin Community allegedly owes to current residents of the facility. In January 2026, the agreed-upon sale price was dramatically reduced from $9.4 million to $6 million, the lawsuit alleges, “to account for the facility’s physical condition,” and to “account for funds previously mishandled” by Calvin Community. The price reduction, combined with the $636,591 in assumed liabilities, resulted in an agreed-upon final sale price of $5,363,409, according to the lawsuit. Everview claims that in early March 2026, Calvin Community’s CEO, Billy Meyers, hosted prospective third-party operators for tours of the facility. According to the lawsuit, the planned sale to Everview went south almost immediately thereafter, with Calvin Community notifying Everview’s partners on March 20, 2026, of its intent to terminate their contractual agreements. Lawsuit: Nonprofit now seeks ‘lucrative windfall’ Calvin Community, Everview now alleges, had been “secretly negotiating with — and has potentially reached an agreement with — a third-party buyer to sell the property” for more than what Everview had agreed to pay. The lawsuit characterizes this as “a transparent effort” by Calvin Community to “escape its contractual obligations to Everview to pursue a more lucrative windfall.” Everview claims it had secured Bonvera Health as the successor operator of Calvin Community and that Bonvera had been “ready, willing, and able” to take over if Calvin Community hadn’t scuttled the deal. In addition to an injunction blocking Calvin Community’s efforts to “shop the property and the facility to third-party buyers to secure a more lucrative deal,” the lawsuit also seeks damages and legal fees for alleged breach of contract. Calvin Community has yet to file a response to the lawsuit. The Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable Friday to reach either the home’s administrator or its attorney for comment. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Iowa Capital Dispatch |
| | Vigil to be held for 3-year-old killed in hostage standoffA public vigil for the 3-year-old who was shot and killed during a hostage standoff near Princeton, IL will be held Sunday, May 17. |
| | How to make sure you're staying safe while boating this summerNational Safe Boating Week starts on Saturday, May 16, shining a light on boater safety and the risks encountered on the water. |
| | DPHHS hosts disability employment summitLieutenant Governor Kristen Juras, right, delivers opening remarks during the annual Disability Employment Summit. Also pictured is sign language interpreter Cheryl Lund (DPHHS photo)The Department of Public Health and Human Services recently hosted its fourth annual Disability Employment Summit in an effort to increase job access for Montanans. DPHHS reported there are around 79,000 Montanans with disabilities aged 18 to 64. There are about 41,000 Montanans with disabilities in the workforce and an additional 3,000 that are in the labor force but are currently unemployed. “The summit is an excellent opportunity for Montana businesses to learn from experts about the value of employing individuals with disabilities,” Montana Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras said in a press release. “Across Montana, people with disabilities are already contributing in numerous ways, and many more are ready and eager to put their talents to work for employers.” More than 35 organizations signed up for the conference, which connected business leaders with ways to navigate workplace accommodations. The event also fit in with an effort by Gov. Greg Gianforte, the 406 JOBS initiative, which seeks to modernize the state’s workforce. DPHHS has a Disability Employment and Transitions Division, which helps to connect businesses with people with disabilities who are seeking employment. “We support businesses with a wide array of services, resources, and solutions related to disability employment,” Chanda Hermanson, a DPHHS administrator in that program, said in a press release. “Our team provides no-cost assistance to help employers recruit skilled candidates, retain quality staff, improve workplace accessibility, and access tools that save time and money.” Courtesy of Daily Montanan |
| | Davenport police release dashcam videos of squad car crashThe Davenport Police Department has released dashcam video of a squad car crash from April. |
| | Board: Pharmacist failed to report vaccinations for 15 yearsState regulators have issued a warning to an Iowa pharmacist who was alleged to be incorrectly reporting vaccinations and immunizations to the state for 15 years. (Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce/ For the Virginia Mercury)An Iowa pharmacist who was alleged to be incorrectly reporting vaccinations and immunizations to the state for 15 years has been issued a warning by state regulators. The Iowa Board of Pharmacy recently charged pharmacist Ellen Bridget Overholtzer-Strait of Malvern with failing to order and dispense medications as required by regulations and statewide protocols. The regulations cited by the board required that pharmacists, after the administration of a vaccine, report the vaccination to Iowa’s Immunization Registry Information System, more commonly known as IRIS. The board alleges that after two different patients, on two different occasions, went to a pharmacy in Glenwood for vaccinations, it was discovered that both patients had already received those vaccinations from a different pharmacy where Overholtzer-Strait worked, and that those vaccinations were not reflected in IRIS. The board alleges that when Overholtzer-Strait was contacted after a complaint was filed with the board, she asserted she kept records of all the vaccinations she had administered but was unaware they weren’t somehow automatically reported to IRIS. According to the board, she then worked to manually enter into IRIS all of the missed immunizations and vaccinations, including some that dated back to 2011. The disciplinary case was resolved recently with a settlement agreement that calls for Overholtzer-Strait to pay a $500 civil penalty. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Iowa Capital Dispatch |
| | Arconic employee union votes in favor of potential strikeNegotiations continue as the existing contract expires on Saturday. That contract covers roughly 3,400 workers, with 1,800 of those in the Quad Cities. |
| | Arconic employee union votes in favor of potential strikeNegotiations continue as the existing contract expires on Saturday. That contract covers roughly 3,400 workers, with 1,800 of those in the Quad Cities. |
| | Former medical director of Ames health spa faces more sanctions(Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)The former medical director of an Ames health spa is facing sanctions from a second state licensing board. In January 2025, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy charged advanced registered nurse practitioner Antoinette Thompson of Pleasant Hill with failing to maintain a separate registration for each business that makes use of controlled substances; committing acts that would render her Controlled Substances Act registration inconsistent with the public interest; obtaining, possessing or administering controlled substances without lawful authority; distribution of drugs for illegal purposes; failing to comply with federal laws and regulations related to the storage of controlled substances, and failing to immediately notify the board of any theft or significant losses. Court records indicate Thompson served as the medical director and nurse for the Live Hydration Spa in Ames until she was terminated when the business closed in September 2024. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. The Board of Pharmacy alleged its charges were based on complaints that Thompson had prescribed controlled substances using the wrong CSA registration, used a CSA registration to a specific business after she had left employment there, and had written prescriptions for patients by providing her own phone number and address as that of the patients. The board also alleged, without explaining or elaborating, that Thompson “filled prescriptions under patients’ names for which were subsequently used as office stock supply to be used for other patients.” To resolve the matter, Thompson and the board recently agreed to a settlement that calls for the indefinite suspension of her CSA registration. Board of Nursing also took action In 2025, the Iowa Board of Nursing charged Thompson with failing to evaluate, document or report the status of a patient; committing an act that might adversely affect a patient’s welfare; misappropriating medications or supplies of a patient; being involved in the unauthorized manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance; prescribing, dispensing or distributing drugs in an unsafe manner; prescribing, dispensing or distributing drugs without accurately documenting the act or without evaluating the patient; willful or repeated failure to practice nursing with reasonable skill and safety, and failure to query and reviewing the Prescription Monitoring Program database prior to prescribing or dispensing of an opioid. In April 2026, the Board of Nursing and Thompson agreed to a settlement that has resulted in the suspension of her nursing license for a minimum of one year. According to a civil-court filings by Live Hydration, Thompson’s termination was based on her “actions resulting in imminent danger to patient health and safety.” The company also alleged Thompson violated her franchise agreement with Live Hydration by opening a competing business that offered IV vitamin therapy, injections, hormone replacement therapy and Botox treatments. Thompson denied all of the company’s allegations, and is currently suing Live Hydration for breach of contract and defamation, alleging the company tried to “starve” her franchise and mount a hostile takeover of the Ames location — charges the company denies. A trial is scheduled for Dec. 15, 2026. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Iowa Capital Dispatch |
| | NU officials celebrate opening of medical school, expanded rural health teaching complex in KearneyPhilanthropist Ruth Scott stands with Doug Kristensen, former chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Kearney. This week they and others celebrated the ceremonial opening of the second teaching structure on a rural health education complex newly named in honor of Kristensen. (Courtesy of UNK Communications) LINCOLN — The latest $95 million structure to open on a rural health education complex in Kearney is expected to double the number of health care students on the campus, to about 625. That three-story, 110,000-square-foot building opens to full occupancy this month and will enable the University of Nebraska Medical Center to offer — for the first time — medicine, pharmacy and public health programs on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus. A May 14 ceremonial event marked the formal opening of a second building on a rural health education complex on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus. (Courtesy of UNMC) It joins the original $19 million Health Science Education Center I, which opened in 2015 and focuses on allied health and nursing. Together, the two buildings will be known as the Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex, a name revealed publicly this week. Lead donor, the William and Ruth Scott Family Foundation, requested the complex be christened in honor of the former UNK chancellor. UNK and UNMC, the state’s only public academic health science center, in a news release described the expanded Kearney complex as the largest rural healthcare teaching facility in the country. Dr. Jeffrey Gold, president of the NU system, said it was “historic” for the state in that the campus will “significantly improve” the state’s ability to provide a healthcare workforce. Currently, 83% of Nebraska’s practicing healthcare providers are located in metropolitan areas, while only about 65% of the state’s population lives in those communities, state officials said. “Students no longer must leave central Nebraska to access a world-class healthcare education,” UNK Chancellor Neal Schnoor said. “They can learn here, train here and ultimately build their careers and lives here.” He said that matters not only for students but for the future of rural Nebraska, where a strong healthcare workforce can serve as a catalyst for economic growth. Nebraska officials expect UNMC healthcare enrollment in Kearney to grow to about 625 students, nearly doubling its current presence at the state campus. The newest building, Gold noted, is the result of a public-private partnership boosted by $60 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding allocated by the Nebraska Legislature. The City of Kearney allocated $5 million and Central Community College, $1.5 million. The philanthropic community committed $28.5 million to support construction. So far an additional $5.8 million has been committed to support the UNK Endowed Fund for Rural Health Initiatives, which includes an effort to recruit students from smaller Nebraska cities and prepare them to practice healthcare in rural areas. Overall, officials said, the Kristensen complex will host 14 academic programs: cardiovascular interventional technology, diagnostic medical sonography, magnetic resonance imaging, medical laboratory science, medical nutrition, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, radiation therapy, radiography (all UNMC programs) and speech-language pathology (a UNK program). UNMC interim chancellor H. Dele Davies said in a statement that a Thursday celebration at the Kristensen complex marked more than the official opening of the second teaching building. “This new health sciences complex stands as a promise: the promise that students should be able to pursue their dream of becoming a healthcare professional close to home, near the communities that shaped who they are.” SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Courtesy of Nebraska Examiner |
| | Bernice King, members of Congress expected at Saturday redistricting protestsA group of protestors hold a banner saying "Black Voters Matter" with a quote from Allen v. Milligan, a 2023 case that required Alabama to draw a second congressional district to give Black voters an opportunity to elect their preferred leaders, on May 4, 2026 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Protestors plan rallies on Saturday in opposition to the state's efforts to redistrict congressional seats. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)Thousands of people are expected to attend two rallies in Selma and Montgomery on Saturday to protest what organizers call a concerted Republican effort to dilute the voting power of Black voters throughout the South. The All Roads Lead to the South National Day of Action is response to attempts by southern state legislatures to reconfigure their electoral maps to increase Republican majorities in Congress and in state assemblies in the region. “Now we are seeing unprecedented assaults on our generation, on those rights that were paved for in the blood of our ancestors,” said U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, at a media briefing Friday. “We take this seriously, and we know it is not just about Black folks because democracy is not secure for anyone if it is not secure for everyone.” Booker will be one of scores of dignitaries and leaders scheduled to attend the event. Others scheduled to participate include Democratic U.S. Reps. Terri Sewell of Birmingham and Shomari Figures of Mobile, Alabama’s two Democratic House members. The state is attempting to adopt a map that would redraw their districts. Figures is considered particularly vulnerable should that take place. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais in April, which weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, preventing racial discrimination in voting laws, Gov. Kay Ivey called a special session for the passage of a law allowing special primary elections in in congressional and legislative districts under injunction by the courts for Section 2 violations. The federal courts blocked a 2021 state Senate map and a 2023 congressional map for not giving Black voters an opportunity to select their preferred voters. After the Legislature passed the law, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday lifted an injunction against the congressional map, though plaintiffs continue to fight it in lower court. Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday set special primaries in the districts for August in anticipation of the use of maps. Lawmakers from other states are also expected, including U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia. Rev. Bernice A. King, CEO of the King Center, is scheduled to attend. A morning gathering will be held in Selma, where peaceful civil rights protestors were attacked by law enforcement on March 7, 1965. The event, known as Bloody Sunday, led to the Selma-to-Montgomery march and was a catalyst for passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Faith leaders will march from Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma to the Edmund Pettus Bridge and pray, not only for the day’s events but also for other gatherings that will happen in the coming months. “We are walking silently, because we are being contemplative, we are being in prayer,” said LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, at Friday’s media briefing. “We are grounding in the memory and (paying) homage to those who have laid the foundation, but also consecrating ourselves for what we know is a long road ahead.” That will be followed by a mass rally in the afternoon in Montgomery near the Alabama State Capitol, where the Selma-to-Montgomery march concluded in 1965. Organizers expect at least 5,000 people to attend. “We have got every sector of our movement who will be represented, from labor and young people to social justice organizations, to education groups that will come,” Brown said. “We also have people coming from all over the country.” Organizers said the gatherings will kick off a slate of events aimed at mobilizing voters in opposition to mid-decade redistricting and to preserve the voting rights of vulnerable communities. Courtesy of Alabama Reflector |
| |  Amazon dedicates last-mile Davenport facilityAmazon dedicated its last-mile facility in Davenport. The facility opened in October, but it has now ramped up to full operations. The last-mile facility serves a radius of 60 miles, allowing more addresses to be included in the free two-day shipping.The move means Amazon employs over 3,000 people between the two facilities on Division St., [...] |
| | Alaska Legislature approves plan for mental health education in schoolsA.J. Dimond High School in Anchorage seen on Feb. 23, 2025. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)The Alaska Legislature passed a bill requiring the state to develop guidelines for mental health instruction in Alaska school districts. The aim is to place mental health education for K-12 students on par with physical education. House lawmakers passed Senate Bill 41 by a 27 to 13 vote late Thursday night, and the bill now heads to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s desk for consideration. The bill instructs the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development to develop guidelines for schools to offer developmentally appropriate mental health curriculum in partnership with the Alaska Departments of Health and Family and Community Services, along with regional tribal health organizations and representatives of state and national mental health organizations. Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage, speaks in support of her bill that would add mental health instruction to public school curriculum on the Senate Floor on March 6, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) Sen. Elvi-Gray Jackson, D-Anchorage, sponsored the bill and said the initiative helps to address mental health needs of students. “This bill recognizes the importance of mental health education as an essential component of a comprehensive K-12 curriculum,” she said in a statement introducing the bill. “And (it) aims to create a balanced approach to health instruction by placing mental health education on par with physical health education.” The bill also would require school districts to give parents and guardians at least two weeks’ notice of upcoming mental health classes, and allow families to opt students out. Alaska students and school officials testified to lawmakers in February about the need for lawmakers to address what they said is a growing crisis of student mental health challenges and a lack of counselors, resources and support services. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Several testifiers spoke about the devastating impact of student suicides on schools and communities. Alaska has the highest rates of suicide of any state in the nation — a pervasive trend for decades — with the highest rates among youth ages 15 to 24. Kay Andrews, a school board member from the Southwest Region School District, which includes eight schools spanning across the Bristol Bay region, described the impact to lawmakers in February. “Our region recently experienced another suicide, which deeply affected our students and our only regional counselor,” Andrews said. “Schools are more than our classrooms. They are community centers. They are safe places for our children, yet, schools are being asked to do more with less.” House legislators debated the bill and the proposed mental health education in schools over several days on the floor this week. Proponents said the new guidelines and curriculums would provide support not only for students, but also much-needed support and training for teachers and staff already engaging with students struggling with mental health. Opponents said a new curriculum would further burden schools, and mental health support and conversations should take place with parents and in family settings. Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, spoke on the House floor Thursday night and said he was unsure about the effectiveness of a new curriculum, but acknowledged that two students of Soldotna High School had died by suicide this year. “I’m torn. I agree with many of the members that say I’m not certain that this bill is going to do enough. I don’t think this bill is going to change much,” he said. “But we’re losing too many of our kids, and for a whole host of reasons, our communities are struggling. We’re losing access to things that used to bring people together in a healthy way. We got to start addressing some of those things. I hope the curriculum addresses that.” Rep. Nellie Jimmie, D-Toksook Bay, acknowledged the students from her district who traveled to the Capitol in March to advocate for legislation to fund the 988 crisis line and behavioral health services. Brothers Johnny Nicolai and Jacob Nicolai of Toksook Bay speak at a news conference with advocates at the Alaska State Capitol to raise awareness around suicide and urge state support for the 988 crisis line on Mar. 19, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon) “In my district, there are no therapists down the road, no crisis counselors in every school. When something breaks in a child in rural Alaska, it usually breaks quietly, and we always see how that ends up — we always find out too late. We are losing kids,” she said. “This bill puts mental health alongside physical health in every K-12 classroom in this state, developed with tribal health organizations at the table, so rural Alaska is not written as a footnote. The kids already did their part, they showed up, they spoke up. Now we do our part.” If approved by the governor, it would take some time before mental health curriculums are implemented and students participate in new mental health classes. The bill would allow two years for the state Department of Education to develop the guidelines and submit a report to the Legislature on the process used to develop them. Lawmakers also debated and approved an amendment that says the mental health curriculum guidelines may not include “any political, ideological, or advocacy-oriented content that is unrelated to student mental health.” But several members of the all-Republican Minority caucus opposed the bill, including Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, who said mental health should be addressed by parents. “Parents just don’t want this in the classroom, they want the classroom to focus on academics and leave all of this that has to do with the well-being of their child to them, and not exempt the other parents from that same responsibility,” she said. Ketchikan Republican Jeremy Bynum urged support for the bill, amid widespread efforts to combat stigmas around mental health nationwide — particularly among veterans — and address ongoing needs of students. “Imagine being a kid, not knowing who to go talk to, not knowing what to do. This provides teachers an opportunity — with parental approval — to think about these things,” he said. “If this helps one kid in my school district, if this would have helped one kid in my school district… it’s worth doing.” The bill is now before Dunleavy to approve, veto or allow it to become law without his signature. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Courtesy of Alaska Beacon |
| | Conservative organizations file briefs in support of WV families challenging school vaccine mandatesA child under 12 years old receives a dose of Pfizer vaccine as part of the COVID-19 immunization campaign on Jan. 18, 2022 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. (Photo by Pedro Vilela/Getty Images)Conservative organizations — including one that helped with the West Virginia Legislature’s passage of a 2023 religious freedom law — have filed briefs arguing the law does in fact add religious exemptions to the state’s strict school vaccine mandates. The Alliance Defending Freedom and the Heritage Foundation are among the organizations that have filed amicus briefs in the case of M. Guzman and C. Hunter v. the West Virginia Board of Education, which is before the state Supreme Court of Appeals. Amicus briefs are arguments filed by entities that are not party to a particular case but have a strong interest in its outcome. Raleigh County parents Guzman and Hunter are asking the high court to uphold a November Raleigh County Circuit ruling that required schools to allow children admission with a religious or philosophical objection to the state’s school vaccination requirements. Judge Michael Froble ruled that the West Virginia and Raleigh County school boards’ policy not to accept religious exemptions is a violation of the state’s Equal Protection for Religion Act of 2023. States generally require school students to be vaccinated against a series of infectious diseases, like polio, chickenpox and measles. West Virginia is one of only five states with laws that do not allow families to opt out of the requirements based on their religious objections to the shots. Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order his first day in office requiring the state to allow religious exemptions based on the state’s 2023 Equal Protection for Religion act. In its amicus brief, conservative legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom wrote that it supported the passage of the Equal Protection for Religion Act, which former Gov. Jim Justice signed into law in 2023. “ADF and its associated entities also draft and support legislation designed to prevent government actors from burdening religious exercise or treating religious conduct less favorably than non-religious conduct,” the organization wrote. “As relevant here, ADF supported the enactment of West Virginia’s Equal Protection for Religion Act, the statute central to the disposition of this appeal.” EPRA’s lead sponsor, Del. Jonathan Pinson, R-Mason, said through a House of Representatives spokeswoman Friday that ADF did not draft the legislation, but the organization provided guidance to Pinson related to the bill. The Alliance Defending Freedom and other groups argue that EPRA applies to the school vaccine law and that the vaccine policy should have religious exemptions. “The Equal Protection for Religion Act places firm limits on all ‘state action’ that substantially burdens religious exercise or treats religious conduct more restrictively than comparable non-religious conduct,” the Alliance Defending Freedom wrote in its brief. “All ‘state action’ means anything done by, or fairly attributable to, any arm of the government of the State of West Virginia, its political subdivisions, and those entities’ officials. “Yet Appellants maintain that their enforcement of vaccine requirements is not subject to the EPRA’s requirements. That’s wrong,” they wrote. The Heritage Foundation is a right-wing conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. It helped author Project 2025, a set of far-right conservative priorities that has served as a blueprint for many of President Donald Trump’s policies during his second term. “This case presents the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia’s first opportunity to interpret the Equal Protection for Religion Act,” the Heritage Foundation wrote in the brief filed this week. “How it uses this opportunity will determine whether the law means something or nothing at all.” The organization argues that the West Virginia Equal Protection for Religion Act is designed to create religious exemptions to all non-excepted state law, including the vaccine requirements. The Equal Protection for Religion Act, like the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act that it’s based on, is a “super statute” that displaces other laws and requires that laws have religious exemptions, they write. The state and Raleigh County school boards officially filed their appeal to the Supreme Court in March. Earlier this week, attorneys for the two Raleigh County families filed their response to the school boards’ argument. In it, attorneys for the family said E.G., one of the children in the case, is a 17-year-old who lacks only one vaccine — a booster for the meningococcal vaccine required for high school seniors. “Plaintiff Hunter did not previously have religious objections to vaccinating E.G.,” the attorneys write. “However, after a period of thoughtful prayer and scripture reading, Mrs. Hunter’s religious objections to vaccinating E.G. were cemented after she concluded vaccinating E.G. would be ‘spiritually impure.’” The attorneys argue that the families’ religious beliefs and practices have been “substantially burdened” by the vaccine policy. They also argue that state schools do not mandate that teachers and other adults working in the school system be vaccinated, despite working closely with children, and that the schools do not mandate vaccination for events like athletic games or for homeschooling families, microschools or learning pods. Besides the conservative organizations, Morrisey has supported the families in an amicus brief filed this week. The school board will have until June 1 to write a reply to the families’ argument. After June 1, the Supreme Court may decide the case on its merits or schedule oral arguments in the case. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of West Virginia Watch |
| |  Man charged with firearm, drug possessionAlexander Delgado, 30, has been charged with firearm and drug possession. |