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

Saturday, May 9th, 2026
	Bobby Cox, Hall of Fame manager of Atlanta Braves, dies at age 84 The Braves announced Cox's death on Saturday. He managed the team to prominence during the 1990s and the team's only championship in 1995, before retiring after the 2010 season.
	Is there a treatment for hantavirus? Health officials in numerous countries are working to contain the spread of illnesses linked to a hantavirus outbreak traced back to a now-deceased passenger on a Dutch cruise ship.
	CDC says threat of widespread outbreak of hantavirus remains low As hantavirus has dominated headlines, sparking fears of another debilitating pandemic, the CDC stressed that the risk of sweeping contagion was small.
	13-year-old Muscatine boy arrested for allegedly committing thefts, burglaries The teen is accused of multiple crimes that occurred between April 25 and May 6.
	6th annual Sip & Shop event to take over Downtown Muscatine in June The Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry along with downtown businesses will host the 6th annual Sip & Shop event later this spring.
	Galesburg’s Discovery Depot, Judy’s Cafe partner to launch new interactive exhibit Discovery Depot Children’s Museum and Judy’s Family Cafe are partnering to bring a new and interactive exhibit to town.
	Work to improve Bettendorf’s State Street begins Tuesday To ensure the safety of the traveling public and the construction workers onsite, there will be lane closures that move from day to day on State Street.
	QC Community Foundation announces record $856,327 in scholarships The Quad Cities Community Foundation has announced the recipients of $856,327 in scholarship awards, the largest total dollars awarded in the organization’s 60-plus-year history, a news release says. The awards are made possible by the generosity of donors to scholarship funds at the Community Foundation. “Behind every scholarship is a personal motivation,” said Sue Hafkemeyer, [...]
	Rock Falls Tourism seeks works for Park Sculpture Walk and Outdoor Art Gallery Rock Falls Tourism has announced two calls for artists for the 2026 Art in the Park Sculpture Walk and Outdoor Art Gallery, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 29, in the RB&W District in Rock Falls, a news release says. These opportunities invite artists to showcase their creativity through a juried outdoor gallery and a year-long public [...]
	Be Downtown family-friendly celebration scheduled for Bettendorf The Downtown Bettendorf Organization (DBO) has announced expanded programming for Be Downtown on Saturday, June 6, offering a full day of fun that transitions from a family-friendly outdoor festival to an evening of live music throughout downtown Bettendorf. The day kicks off with a free outdoor festival from noon-7 p.m. at 15th Street Landing, 15th [...]
	Trials of the Centuries: “The Skin of Our Teeth,” at Augustana College through May 10 You should see the groundbreaking comedy classic The Skin of Our Teeth at Augustana College. I’ll explain why in a moment, while also trying not to ruin your experience with too many details. But just by reviewing director Jeff Coussens' perfectly cast production, I will be spoiling it a bit.
	Monster Jam takes over Vibrant Arena at The MARK Monster Jam is set to take over the Vibrant Arena at The MARK this weekend.
	Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards over $260,000 in Illinois literacy grants The Dollar General Literacy Foundation has announced the award of more than $260,000 in literacy grants to Illinois nonprofit organizations, libraries and schools, a news release says. The funds contribute to a record-setting, single-day total of nearly $16 million in grants nationwide - supporting adult, family and summer literacy programs in the 48 states where [...]
	Pickleball courts in Muscatine to close temporarily for cleaning The Musco Sports Center will close its hard-surface pickle-ball courts on Monday, May 11, to complete a scheduled deep cleaning, a news release says. The work is expected to take one day, with courts reopening for play on Tuesday, May 12. The facility’s synthetic turf field will remain open on Monday for both free-time use [...]
	Bettendorf approves hiring IMEG to create master plan for I-80 and Middle Road area Bettendorf will do a master plan of an area it’s eyeing for future growth north of Interstate 80 and Middle Road.
	Why saying hello to strangers can be good for you A study establishes that "social ties" — a fancy way of saying being nice to other, even those you don't know — has benefits. A teacher asked her students to test the thesis in real life.
	Scott County Supervisors approve records policy; decline to take up local control resolution The policy comes after the Scott County attorney's office settled an open records complaint filed with the Iowa Public Information Board over a six-month delay in producing a large request to a frequent requester.
	Memories of Muscatine: Giffrey's European Cafe This week for Memories of Muscatine: A photo of Giffrey's European Cafe.
	The Gas Spot in Davenport to feature Iowa products The Gas Spot at 303 W. Locust Street, near St. Ambrose University, will soon feature an Iowa made section.
	Three Seeds This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island. I know a story about three magic seeds, far more powerful than Jack and his beans that grew up to the clouds.One…
	How the 1994 World Cup kicked off America's love affair with soccer Soccer — or football as it's known around the globe — was far from mainstream in the U.S. leading up to the 1994 World Cup. But in the end, the tournament was considered a resounding success. How exactly did that happen?
	They graduate to six figure salaries, and grueling work Cadets from the nation's Merchant Marine academies are finding lots of demand and great salaries because of a shortage of licensed mariners.
	Moscow marks Victory Day with a Red Square parade under tight security Security was tight in Moscow as Putin and several foreign leaders attended the parade, even as a U.S.-brokered three-day ceasefire eased concerns about possible Ukrainian attempts to disrupt the festivities.
	What is a radical? It's the question of M.I.A.'s vexing career Fans who danced to "Paper Planes" might hardly recognize the conspiracy-touting artist before them today — but in a certain way, she's the same button-pusher as ever.
	National mood is against Republicans, but redistricting could help prop them up The national political landscape looks bad for President Trump and Republicans, but recent wins in the redistricting fight could soften the blow they might have suffered without them.
Friday, May 8th, 2026
	Wisconsin Examiner takes home 12 Milwaukee Press Club awards with six first-place finishes Examiner staff at the Milwaukee Press Club Awards dinner on Friday, May 8. Left to right: Frank Zufall, Andrew Kennard, Henry Redman, Isiah Holmes, Baylor Spears, Ruth Conniff and Erik GunnThe staff of the Wisconsin Examiner won 12 Milwaukee Press Club Awards for Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism in the online category Friday evening. Editor Ruth Conniff took first place for Best Multi-story Coverage of a Single Feature Topic or Event for her series, Midwest-Mexico Connections on Mexican farmworkers and Wisconsin dairy farmers. Deputy Editor Erik Gunn won the first place award for Best Long Hard Feature Story for his piece Wisconsin legislators pause to remember former colleague Jonathan Brostoff Isiah Holmes took home the first-place gold award in the Best Investigative Story or Series category for How the Milwaukee Investigative Team protects officers when investigating police shootings. Top honors went to Baylor Spears for Best Coverage of a Single News Topic or Event for her series about public schools and the struggle over Wisconsin’s budget. Spears also took first place in the Best Short Hard Feature Story category for ‘What is the bar?’: Wisconsin Legislature divided as it passes resolution honoring Charlie Kirk. Criminal Justice Fellows Andrew Kennard and Frank Zufall won gold in the Best Public Service Story category for Shredding of legal mail by Wisconsin prisons worries advocates Conniff also won the second-place silver award for Best Single Editorial, Statement of Editorial Position or Opinion for her column We need a populist, pro-democracy movement, not more gerrymandering, and third place for Best Columnist for her 2025 columns. Gunn won third place in the Best Short Hard Feature Story category for People with autism and their families find Trump-Kennedy autism message harmful and wrong. Holmes won the the second-place silver award for Best Long Soft Feature Story for UW psilocybin study gives man second chance after 10-year opioid addiction and the bronze award in the Best Explanatory Story or Series category for Biodiversity in Wisconsin amidst the 6th great mass extinction. Spears won bronze for her Best Short Soft Feature Story Wisconsin Democrats want to say ‘Bye Bye Baby’ to unfair ticket selling practices and another bronze award for Best Coverage of a Single News Topic or Event, including Breaking News for a series of stories over five months about the defunding of a Wisconsin veterans housing program, and the conflicting attempts to revive that funding. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Courtesy of Wisconsin Examiner
	ABC argues Trump administration is trying to chill free speech In a filing, ABC accuses the Trump administration of trying to chill its constitutionally protected free speech. The point of contention: "The View," and whether it's subject to equal time rules.
	Grow Clinton opens new visitors center as city sees business boom A new tourism center has opened in Clinton. The organization Grow Clinton cut the ribbon on the building Thursday. The visitor center has pamphlets, maps and other information about the area. There's also Clinton-themed merchandise for sale. Managers say the small city has seen the tourism push succeed in recent years. "It's kind of that [...]
	St. Ambrose preparing to host and play in NAIA Men’s Golf Championships The 74th annual NAIA men’s golf championships return to the Quad Cities next week at TPC Deere Run with Visit Quad Cities and St. Ambrose hosting the event.
	7th annual Life is Bigger than Sports event Muscatine team presents jersey to Coach David Gamble at Life is Bigger than Sports tournament.
	Trump says Russia and Ukraine have agreed to his request for a 3-day ceasefire President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Yuri Ushakov, President Vladimir Putin's foreign affairs adviser, both confirmed the agreement for a three-day ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners.
	No deal yet between Arconic and United Steelworkers USW announced Friday it would hold a strike authorization vote. This doesn't guarantee a strike will take place.
	Man arrested in Clinton after allegedly shooting 2 vehicles Larry Stauffer III has been charged with reckless use of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a domestic assault offender and intimidation with a dangerous weapon.
	Suspect shot by police in Peoria Illinois State Police said a suspect was shot while Peoria police responded to reports of a domestic disturbance.
	Davenport Central reflects on year one of cell phone restriction policies Davenport schools say cell phone restrictions will continue next year after officials and some students reported improved focus in classrooms.
	East Moline police ask for help locating missing teen East Moline police are asking for the public’s help locating 15-year-old Matthew Theuninck, who was last seen on May 3.
	Local transit agencies offering free rides for cyclists during Bike to Work Week If you are participating in Bike to Work Week, local transit agencies will provide free rides all week for bike riders.
	Visit Quad Cities expects boost in tourism during the second half of May The list is long for major events coming to the Quad Cities during the second half of May. There's everything from collegiate national championships to aviation competitions, and even a farmers convention. Visit Quad Cities research says there's more than 9,000 participants coming to the Quad Cities for those upcoming events and even more fans [...]
	Teachers warn GOP union-busting bill could worsen Arizona’s near-last school funding rank Public school teachers gather in downtown Phoenix on May 8, 2026, to speak out against Republican legislation targeting their ability to organize and advocate for better working conditions. The GOP-backed ballot referral would ask Arizona voters to decide whether to ban schools from negotiating contracts with unions and if teachers should be penalized for striking. (Photo by Gloria Rebecca Gomez/Arizona Mirror)Just a few dozen former and current public school teachers showed up for an announced union rally in downtown Phoenix against Republican efforts to legislate the state’s largest teachers union out of existence because it is spearheading a ballot measure to sharply curb the state’s universal private school voucher program. Decked out in bright red — the unofficial color of Arizona Education Association — and shouting chants like “Union busting, that’s disgusting!” the group marched a short distance in Friday afternoon’s 101-degree heat from the Renaissance Hotel to Symphony Hall. Under the shade of trees, speakers denounced GOP lawmakers, who are considering placing a measure on the November ballot that targets the teachers union and could eliminate the collective bargaining rights of teachers altogether. The proposal seeks to push union activity out of schools, barring teachers from using emails, printing flyers in school libraries or gathering in classrooms during school hours to discuss union goals or recruit new members. And it would prohibit school districts from deducting union membership fees from employee paychecks — even though doing so is at the employee’s request. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Republicans have long sought to chip away at the ability of teachers to organize politically. And the proposal has been criticized as a bid to punish the AEA for trying to overhaul the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program. The legislation was unveiled less than two weeks after the union announced its plan to send a ballot initiative to voters in November that would dramatically reform the state’s universal school voucher program. The voucher program is the centerpiece of the GOP education agenda and Republicans have adamantly resisted regulating it, even as it has ballooned to an annual cost of more than $1 billion. An amendment added by Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, among the most far-right members of the legislature, would go even further to blunt the utility of unions for teachers and other school employees. It forbids schools from negotiating with unions about employment terms and punishes teachers who strike or join an “organized work stoppage” against their school by stripping them of their employment benefits and reemployment rights. That ban on “organized work stoppage” and the subsequent penalties could be triggered if just two teachers coordinated their plans. The provision was pulled from a separate bill that is likely to be vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs, which has been widely regarded as a Republican attempt to censure teachers who joined anti-ICE protests and walkouts in January. The backing the proposal has won in the GOP-controlled legislature has alarmed the teacher’s union, because unlike most legislation that is hostile to public education, it won’t face a quick death via the governor’s veto stamp if it passes. Ballot referrals approved by the legislature go straight to the voters, circumventing Hobbs altogether. But it will be several more weeks before Republicans have a chance to do that: Lawmakers are on break until June 1, in the middle of an acrimonious standoff with Hobbs over how to fund the state for the next year. On Friday, teachers warned that making it harder for them to organize would only worsen the already dismal state of Arizona’s public education system. Last week, the National Education Association released a public school funding analysis that ranked the Grand Canyon State one place away from dead last in the country for spending on students. That same report found that teachers fare significantly better in states where they have unions to advocate on their behalf; teachers who work in states with active unions have an average top salary that’s more than $15,000 higher than teachers who don’t have collective bargaining. Linda Somo, a retired public school teacher who taught in Arizona schools for more than three decades, said that it was immediately apparent to her that having a union to speak for her was much more effective than trying to get results on her own. “I quickly found out when I was a first year teacher that the only way I could have a voice in my profession was to be part of the union,” she said. “The only way I could influence what was best for my students was to be part of a union. The only way I could influence what I got compensated for my profession was through my union.” Jesse McKinley, a computer science engineering teacher in the Madison School District, joined the rally because he said he values the contributions of his local union and is concerned about the impact of the ballot referral if it becomes law. To show his support for the right of teachers to organize, he wore a black bucket hat and sneakers adorned with red flashing light strips. McKinley said he isn’t confident that teachers would be able to improve their working conditions on their own, without the power afforded to them by the union, which represents multiple voices calling for the same goals. “It takes a village,” he said. “We all come together with the same concerns, the same issues and we all sit down and work together, instead of one of us.” Republican lawmakers have framed the union-busting proposal as a bid to protect taxpayer dollars. During a hearing in the Senate Government Committee on March 25, Rep. Justin Olson, R-Mesa, who sponsored the bill’s underlying language and now champions the new version restraining the teacher’s union, dismissed concerns that it violates the constitutional rights of teachers. “What this merely does is says that we’re not going to use public resources to subsidize a private organization,” he said. But teachers and union members disagree. Geneva Fuentes, the spokeswoman for the AEA, said that the legislation would imperil multiple agreements that were adopted to improve school conditions for both teachers and students. One Phoenix area union, she shared, helped negotiate an accessible playground for students with special needs in their district. Fuentes added that unions are a critical part of the state’s efforts to keep teachers in the classroom, securing retention bonuses or planning periods during the school day that help convince them to stay. And that’s important, because Arizona has struggled with a teacher shortage for nearly a decade. During the 2024-2025 academic year, 4,242 teacher positions were vacant one full month into the school year. In the end, Fuentes said, the legislation targeting the AEA is nothing more than an “attack on all working people.” “Lawmakers may be coming for teachers first, but this is an old playbook of attacks on unions,” she said. “And if this is able to get through, it should send a message to the working people across Arizona that the legislature is opposed to the rights of working people to come together and advocate for each other.” Fuentes said that the union has emphasized the negative consequences of the legislation to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, but lamented that much of it has fallen on “deaf ears.” But she said the group will continue to highlight why unions are beneficial for teachers in the hopes of stopping the proposal from ever making it onto the ballot. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Arizona Mirror
	Quad Cities Bicycle Club offering free breakfasts during Bike to Work Week Breakfast items will be served at each location from 6 to 9 in the morning, with those hours extended to 10 on Friday.
	Woman found with multiple knife injuries, man found dead in Good Hope home he allegedly set fire to A woman was found with multiple knife cuts Friday morning on U.S. 67.
	Harrison Elementary teacher wears 63 tattoos for school fundraiser Kids have been able to buy temporary tattoos for their teachers as a way to raise funds for the school’s PTA.
	Nearly $3 million to be used to fund levee system at Davenport plant The funding will go towards a levee system at the Davenport Water Pollution Control Plant.
	Garage fire in Muscatine causes estimated $30,000 in damage, officials say Firefighters battled a garage fire in Muscatine Friday afternoon.
	Clinton man arrested in connection with two shooting incidents A Clinton man has been arrested in connection with two shootings in the city, police said.
	13-year-old charged in connection to thefts, break-ins The incidents happened between April 25 and May 6, police said.
	Omaha’s UNMC to quarantine, monitor 17 Americans from cruise ship hit by hantavirus A look at the quarantine unit inside the Davis Global Center on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus in Omaha. (Courtesy of UNMC)OMAHA — A group of 17 currently healthy Americans from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship in the Canary Islands soon will be monitored at the Omaha-based University of Nebraska Medical Center. The passengers will be isolated in the campus’ National Quarantine Unit — which UNMC said is the only federally funded unit designed specifically to safely house and observe people who may have been exposed to high-consequence infectious diseases. The Davis Global Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus holds the National Quarantine Unit. (Courtesy of UNMC) A local medical team spoke at a news conference Friday afternoon, underscoring that none of the passengers headed to Omaha has exhibited symptoms of infection. In individual hotel room-like chambers with negative airflow, each will be delivered food and have at their disposal exercise and daily living accommodations. The quarantine process allows for careful observation during the incubation period to reduce the risk of potential spread. “I want to make very clear these are individuals that were on this ship, that they have been potentially exposed but not known to be infected with hantavirus,” said Dr. Angela Hewlett, an infectious disease specialist. Should someone develop symptoms, she said that they’d be moved to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit to receive treatment ranging from clinical monitoring to critical care. That unit, activated in 2014 to treat American Ebola patients evacuated from Africa, has a voluntary staff of select nurses, doctors and infectious disease specialists. Both quarantine and biocontainment units were activated locally in 2020 for the care and management of U.S. citizens from Wuhan, China, and from the Diamond Princess Cruise ship who were exposed to COVID-19. Dr. Michael Ash, CEO of Nebraska Medicine, said the UNMC and Nebraska Medicine team is “prepared for situations exactly like this” and is proud to support the national effort. The request from federal agencies to help in the effort reflects trust in the Nebraska medical team, said Dr. H. Dele Davies, interim chancellor of UNMC, which also is working with the Douglas County Health Department and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions vessel that carried passengers from multiple countries is expected to reach the Spanish island of Tenerife Sunday, with more than 140 passengers and crew members still on board. At least three passengers have died and several other people have been infected, according to media accounts. Some left the ship after the first fatality. Hantavirus is usually spread by the inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings and isn’t easily transmitted between people. Hewlett said the hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship involved a more rare strain, the Andes virus, known for its capacity to spread from human to human. The World Health Organization has said the risk to the wider public is low. There is no specific cure for hantavirus, according to Harvard Medical School. Early symptoms include fatigue, fever and muscle aches. About half of those infected suffer dizziness, chills and abdominal problems. Coughing and shortness of breath can appear as lungs fill with fluid. Officials who spoke to reporters Friday made distinctions between COVID-19 and hantavirus, which they said is not a new virus. The two are “extremely different viruses with different transmission patterns,” said Hewlett, medical director of the biocontainment unit. “You really need to be up close and personal with somebody” to transmit hantavirus, as opposed to COVID-19, which was airborne. Also speaking at the event was Dr. John Lowe, director of the Global Center for Health Security, Dr. Michael Wadman, director of the National Quarantine Unit and Ashley Neilmeyer, director of public health for state DHHS. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Courtesy of Nebraska Examiner
	Man charged with theft after stolen UTV found spray painted black Zachary Adcock, 30, faces multiple charges including felony theft and burglary.
	Fire severely damages garage at Muscatine home Muscatine firefighters are investigating the cause of a blaze that severely damaged a garage on Friday.
	Moline man arrested for allegedly possessing child sex abuse materials A Moline man has been arrested for allegedly possessing child sex abuse materials.
	No injuries reported following Muscatine fire No injuries were reported following a fire in Muscatine. According to a release from the Muscatine Fire Department, the Muscatine Joint Communications Center (MUSCOM) received a 911 call May 8 at approximately 3:35 p.m. for a fire in an unattached garage in the 1000 block of Lincoln Blvd. Fire crews encountered heavy smoke and flames. [...]
	Muscatine garage fire remains under investigation A Muscatine garage fire remained under investigation Friday afternoon, according to a news release from the Muscatine Fire Department. About 3:35 p.m. Friday, May 8, the Muscatine Joint Communications Center (MUSCOM)received a 911 call for fire in an unattached garage on the 1000 block of Lincoln Boulevard. Fire crews saw heavy smoke and flames. A [...]
	Here's how you can celebrate mom in the Quad Cities region this weekend Mother's Day is this Sunday, and several local businesses and organizations are hosting special events to celebrate the women we look up to.
	Alabama Attorney General files motions with U.S. Supreme Court seeking to redistrict Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall speaks at a news conference in Montgomery, Alabama last month. The Alabama Attorney General's Office Friday filed motions in the state's congressional redistricting case with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to consider overturning the lower court ruling for the second time after the Callais decision. (Ralph Chapoco/Alabama Reflector)The Alabama Attorney General’s Office Friday filed motions in three separate cases seeking to lift a federal court’s injunction against the state changing congressional district lines before 2030. The office used the same motion in the filings with the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting the justices reconsider its ruling in light of last week’s Louisiana v. Callais that significantly narrowed the scope of Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. “It is irreconcilable with Louisiana v. Callais,” the Attorney General’s Office said in the motion. “For that reason and others, Alabama is highly likely to succeed in its pending motion that this Court vacate the injunctions and remand the cases in light of Callais.” SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX In the majority opinion in Callais, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the court’s ruling did not affect the opinion in Allen v. Milligan, the main Alabama redistricting case before the court. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas set a deadline for Monday for the plaintiffs in Milligan and the two other cases to file their response to the Attorney General’s request. Since some have already voted by absentee and with the primary election a couple of weeks away, the Attorney General’s Office is seeking the court to stay the injunction that is in place by May 14 at 10 a.m. because the justices will not have another conference until May 18, one day before the primary election is scheduled. Friday’s request came hours after Gov. Kay Ivey signed bills allowing special primaries if the state prevails in the redistricting case. It also came on the heels of another appeal filed by the Attorney General’s Office at the end of April to have the court expedite the state’s request to overturn the 2030 injunction. The Attorney General’s motion states that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais requires any proposed map meant to address racial discrimination in voting alleged by the plaintiffs must also consider the state’s interest. The AG’s Office added that the remedial map that the district court ordered Alabama to use, in fact, sacrifices some of the state’s interests. “The district court forced the State to sacrifice a variety of valid goals, such as maintaining the Gulf Coast community of interest in one district, maintaining the Black Belt in two districts, and protecting incumbents,” the Attorney General’s motion states. The remedial map also incorporated race that the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited when it wrote in the majority opinion in Louisiana v. Callais to “disentangle race from politics.” The Attorney General’s Office also said that the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision suggests that the state did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment. In Callais, Louisiana is prohibited from creating another majority-minority district. “That’s what Alabama did, and the district court punished it—not for violating the preliminary order, but for having the gall to enact a better map, present a better record at trial, and ultimately try ‘to ‘find another argument’ to persuade’ the district court that there was no Section 2 violation,” the motion states. Plaintiffs in the cases said that it is too late to revert to the 2023 maps because the primary election is in a couple of weeks and that absentee voting has already started. The attorney general’s motion said that was a question “for the state legislature to decide.” A three-judge panel on Friday rejected a request filed by the Alabama Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday to stay a 2023 order permanently blocking the state from using a proposed map that court ruled had discriminated against Black voters. The court ordered a new map that included a second opportunity district for Black voters. On Tuesday, the Attorney General’s Office requested the three-judge panel lift its injunction, indicating that the Callais decision requires the plaintiffs to prove the government had intended to create maps that are discriminatory whereas before the standard was that the maps only had to have discriminatory intent. Based on the Callais decision, the Attorney General argued that Alabama could succeed on the merits of its case. The plaintiffs across the three congressional redistricting cases filed a response on Wednesday and argued that it is too late to use the 2023 map that the Legislature created because it is too close to the primary election. “Granting a stay in this case would unquestionably be wrong—harming voters, election officials, and all candidates,” the plaintiffs said in their response. The panel cited a lack of jurisdiction, saying it had no authority to do and that only the U.S. Supreme Court could address the issues raised. “Our injunction is the status quo in Alabama. Indeed, our districting map has been the status quo since we and the Supreme Court declined to stay it in September 2023, and pursuant to the orders of this Court, the Secretary used our districting map for Alabama’s 2024 congressional elections and is using it for the 2026 congressional elections that are occurring now,” the three-judge panel stated in its order. Courtesy of Alabama Reflector
	Moline's Wharton Field House gets major interior refresh A major restoration project is underway as crews repaint the iconic gym’s ceiling while working to preserve the building’s historic character.
	Davenport man sentenced to 100 years in prison for sexually abusing four children A Davenport man who was found guilty by a Scott County jury of sexually abusing four children under the age of 12 has been sentenced to 100 years in prison.
	Clinton police arrest suspect after gunfire incident A 31-year-old man was being held Friday in Clinton County Jail after gunfire rang out in Clinton, according to a news release from the Clinton Police Department. Shortly before 2 p.m. May 6, Clinton police responded to a report of a gunfire in the 200 block of Main Avenue in Clinton. The preliminary investigation indicated [...]
	Mother's Day looks pretty good (weatherwise) in the Quad Cities It's a big weekend for moms all around the Quad Cities (and beyond) and the weather looks pretty good here at home! We'll see some sunshine and highs in the 70s Saturday and then in the 60s Sunday.
	Lawmakers take aim at Alaska’s chronic problems with abandoned and loose dogs Dr. Eli Butler, a visiting veterinarian, holds a dog named Jack at the Nome Animal House on April 10, 2026. Butler, a graduate of the University of Alaska Fairbanks-Colorado State University partnership program, was in Nome for the week to provide services to local dogs and cats. Jack is owned by one of the staff members at the Nome Animal House. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)Rural Alaska has long struggled with an abundance of stray and loose dogs and high rates of dog bites, with young children as the most frequent victims. Pending state and federal legislation aims to chip away at that problem by improving access to veterinary care, currently difficult to obtain in wide swathes of Alaska. Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks, talks to reporters on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, in the Alaska State Capitol. Stapp’s bill to establish a state spay and neuter fund has attracted three cosponsors and support from animal-care groups. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) At the state level, House Bill 258, sponsored by Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks, would establish a state fund to help cover spay and neuter services. Money for the fund, intended to fill gaps in currently available care, would come from sales of specialized license plates, which other states offer, and donations. The fund would also generate its own investment income. The intent is to relieve the stresses on animal welfare, people and communities, including local shelters that are “overwhelmed by the costs of animal control and care,” Stapp wrote in a statement explaining his sponsorship of the bill. “This legislation takes a preventative, fiscally responsible approach to an issue that affects communities throughout Alaska,” the statement concludes. The bill has attracted three cosponsors and support from the animal-care community, Alaska Veterinary Medical Association and the Alaska Municipal League, among other groups. At the federal level, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is pushing for legislation to get veterinary care included in the duties of the Indian Health Service. At present, the agency does not have the authority to pay for veterinarian care. Murkowski’s bill has three Democratic cosponsors, from New Mexico, Hawaii and Minnesota, all states with significant Indigenous populations that are served by the IHS. It passed the Senate in December and is now pending in the House. A nearly identical measure sponsored by Murkowski and the same Democratic colleagues passed the Senate in late 2024, but it died before time ran out on that Congress. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The bill has support from Native organizations — including the Alaska Federation of Natives, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation and the Navajo Nation, which is coping with problems in its tribal areas that are similar to those in Alaska. It is an approach backed by experts as part of the “One Health” framework that considers human, animal and environmental health as linked. “Veterinarians play an integral role in One Health because animals both impact and are impacted by people and the environment,” the American Veterinary Medical Association says on its website. Human health impacts Dogs are part of life in Alaska, where travel by dogsled is an aspect of Indigenous cultures. But problems caused by abandoned, stray and loose dogs are myriad. Alaska consistently has the nation’s highest rate of dog bites, according to state officials. The rate of dog-bite cases treated in hospitals has been especially high in rural areas; a 2014 epidemiology report said that rate in Southwest and Northern Alaska was two to three times the national rate. Children are at particular risk. And 2009 research, albeit dated, found that Alaska had the highest per-capita rate of fatal dog maulings among all states, with a rate more than 16 times the national average. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks on Oct. 18, 2025, at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage. Behind her is a screen projeting her image as she speaks. AFN is one of the Native organizations supporting her bill to add veterinary care in the duties of the Indian Health Service. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) The Navajo Nation has also struggled with strays. After a 13-year-old girl was killed in a dog mauling in 2021, the tribal government made a push to boost animal control services. The tribe’s senior animal control officer estimated at the time that there were 500,000 domestic and feral dogs on the Navajo Nation and that a single pair of mating dogs could create up to 5,700 new dogs in five years. Several diseases are associated with loose dogs, notably parvovirus. Endemic in Alaska dogs, parvovirus can kill pets and, if spread to people, cause serious health problems for those who are pregnant or immunocompromised. Rabies, endemic in wild canines in Alaska, is a perennial threat, notably to sled dogs that might be attacked outdoors. Human cases have been rare in Alaska, but they are serious; rabies is always fatal to people once the virus reaches the brain. To prevent that spread, exposed people get rabies shots as quickly as possible. The risk of tick-borne diseases is increasing in Alaska as climate change enables northward tick expansion, according to state health officials. Alaskans may be under the mistaken impression that ticks are not a problem in the state and may thus underestimate their dogs’ vulnerabilities, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has warned. Feral cats can spread diseases, too. A feral cat was implicated in the first recorded fatality from borealpox, a newly discovered and highly rare disease that was initially called Alaskapox; the victim was a Kenai Peninsula man who had cared for a stray cat before dying in early 2024. Emotional costs There are associated mental health problems as well. In rural villages where there are limited management options, stray dogs are sometimes killed, which is “cruel and inhumane,” Christine Witzmann, a board member with Alaska Rural Veterinary Outreach Inc., told the House Resources Committee at a Feb. 16 hearing. “It is also traumatic for the children, who suffer deep emotional scars when they witness how their favorite stray dog is killed,” said Witzmann, whose organization is one of many nonprofits around the state that provide subsidies for spay and neuter services. There can be similar trauma in urban areas, where workers in overcrowded shelters are sometimes tasked with euthanizing animals, another expert said in hearing testimony. “That’s a terrible job that we don’t ever think about. The people who actually have to do the euthanizing, that’s mentally traumatizing to them,” Angie Fitch of the nonprofit Alaska Rural Veterinary Inc. told the committee. A display at the Nome Animal House, seen on April 10, 2026, provides information about Tigaraha Pet Resources, a Nome-based nonprofit that helps pet owners pay for spay and neuter services and other veterinarian care. Spay and neuter services can cost hundreds of dollars, and several nonprofits around the state have programs to help people afford those procedures. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) Her organization has provided animal care in more than 100 rural communities over the past 14 years, she said. But despite efforts like that, she and representatives of other nonprofits said, resources to support the volunteer work are scarce and needs remain unmet. Veterinarian shortages exist around the country, but they are acute in rural Alaska. Shortages are particularly dire in Western Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim region. Residents there generally cherish their dogs — 94% of survey respondents in the Yukon-Kuskokwim respondents reported having dogs, and the human-dog relationship has been part of Indigenous culture for centuries — but large majorities identified stray dogs as a problem, a source of community fear, according to a Colorado State University study published in July. Dog owners in the region reported that only 62% of their animals had been vaccinated against rabies and only 53% had undergone full sterilization procedures, according to the study. Service to rural Alaska often relies on traveling veterinarians. Dr. Eli Butler is one of them. Originally from Kenai and a graduate of the collaborative University of Alaska Fairbanks-Colorado State University veterinary medicine program that has been operating for the past decade, Butler was in Nome for a week in early April. Although she had traveled to other parts of Alaska, it was her first time in Nome, which is famous for its sled dogs and is the site of the finish line for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Butler did some spay and neuter procedures during her stint working at the Nome Animal House, a local pet care center. But she was busier with dental care, she said. Poor tooth health can be a problem for dogs, especially older animals, she said. “It is great to be able to come out here and help an area that really, really needs it,” she said. Feral dilemma Stapp’s bill stops short of authorizing any kind of birth control for animals that are already feral. A provision would have allowed municipalities to have trap-neuter-release programs for stray animals, as are carried out in other states. But that was stripped from the bill because it would conflict with state wildlife regulations. It is illegal to release animals into the wild except in certain specially permitted situations, said Ryan Scott, director of the Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Wildlife Conservation. Feral animals do a lot of damage to wildlife populations, killing birds, small game mammals and other native creatures, he said. A trap-neuter-release program would do little to address that problem as long as people continue to abandon unwanted dogs and cats, he said. A flier posted at the Nome Recreation Center, seen on April 8, 2026, warns about rabies in wildlife in the Norton Sound region. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) “That particular animal is not going to reproduce. However, you’ve got to get them all,” he said. Ideally, he said, stray dogs and cats would be adopted out if they are captured, spayed, neutered — and vaccinated, something that pets need periodically. There are organizations that try to accomplish that but it takes a lot of work. In 2020, for example, the nonprofit Bethel Friends of Canines worked with other organizations to capture all the stray dogs in the Yukon-Kukokwim village of Tuntutuiak and prepare them for adoption. Rabies threats Murkowski’s bill does contain a section that concerns nondomestic animals – specifically, addressing the circulation of rabies in Arctic wildlife. Her bill has a provision that would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to complete a feasibility study on possible delivery of oral rabies vaccines to wildlife species known to be reservoirs of the rabies virus in the Arctic region, notably Arctic foxes, which spend much of their lives on sea ice. Climate change is expected to have mixed impacts on rabies in Alaska. Because Arctic foxes have been the main reservoir, and because the icy habitat for that species is diminishing, it is likely that the prevalence will decrease, according to a 2018 study by UAF scientists. But red foxes, which are bigger, bolder and more likely to lurk around communities, are expanding into territory previously used by Arctic foxes and may become the primary rabies carriers, scientists have said. Red foxes are implicated in most of the known rabies cases in what has been a significant late-winter outbreak in rural Alaska communities. From early February to early March, there were 10 confirmed cases and two more suspected cases, said Dr. Kimberlee Beckmen, veterinarian for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. That compares to last year’s total 11 rabies cases in wild animals, Beckmen said during an online webinar held March 10 by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s Local Environmental Observer Network. “Now we’ve surpassed that in just one month,” she said. Rabies infections can spread beyond canines. A river otter in Kuskokwim River village of Nightmute tested positive for rabies last year, Beckman reported in her presentation. In 2021, a river otter in Nome also tested positive for rabies, the first such case in Alaska since 2000, when a river otter in the Aleutians East Borough was found to be infected, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. A red fox trots across the rocky tundra in Bering Land Bridge National Preserve looking for something to eat. Red foxes are implicated in most of the recent wildlife rabies cases that have been documented in Alaska. (Photo provided by the National Park Service) In 2023, an aggressive moose that entered the Inupiat village of Teller north of Nome was also found to be infected with rabies. It was Alaska’s first documented case of a rabid moose, and it was presumed to have been bitten by an infected fox. Prospects for passage Murkowski said the chances of her bill winning final passing are unclear. Success will probably depend on getting it combined with broader health legislation, she said. “Passing a standalone bill anymore is just hard unless it is absolutely, 100% noncontroversial,” she said. “People are going to look at it and say, ‘Well, I don’t understand it, so there must be something in here that I should object to.’” The bill has been sitting in the U.S. House since Dec. 15 without any action. The bill, if passed, would impose some new costs. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that adding veterinary care to the Indian Health Service’s mission, as proposed in the bill, would cost $3 million to $4 million a year. Stapp’s spay-and-neuter fund bill would also create some new costs. The program would be administered by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation at a cost of $536,200 in the first year and $331,300 every year after that, according to the Department of Revenue’s analysis. There is no way to know how much of that cost would be offset by the fundraising mechanism established by the bill, the analysis said. As with Murkowski’s bill, the prospects for Stapp’s bill are unclear as the legislature’s scheduled May 20 adjournment deadline looms. Still, it is a popular measure that has touched a nerve in the public, lawmakers acknowledge. “Thank you for bringing forward a bill that fills up my mailbox, my email box,” Rep. Jeremy Bynum, R-Ketchikan, quipped to Stapp at a May 7 House Finance Committee hearing. “There’ll be plenty more emails, and they’ll keep coming until the vote improves there, Rep. Bynum,” Stapp responded. This article was produced as a project for USC Annenberg’s Center for Health Journalism and Center for Climate Journalism and Communication 2025 Health and Climate Change Reporting Fellowship. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Courtesy of Alaska Beacon
	Muscatine garage fire causes an estimated $30K in damage The Muscatine Fire Department responded to an unattached garage fire on the 1000 block of Lincoln Boulevard.
	78 Rock Island seniors to be awarded scholarships from Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation The scholarships are worth more than $215,000 in total.
	Monster Jam roars into the QCA You can see some of your favorite monsters trucks in action as they roar into the QCA! Grave Digger driver Matt Cody joined Our Quad Cities News to talk about Monster Jam at Vibrant Arena at The MARK. For more information, click here.
	Davenport police investigate shots fired incident near St. Ambrose University Davenport police are investigating a shots fired incident that occurred between two vehicles near the campus of St. Ambrose University on Friday.
	Muscatine to honor fallen officers on Peace Officers Memorial Day The City of Muscatine and the Muscatine police Department will be observing Peace Officers Memorial Day on Friday, May 15th. The day also falls on National Police Week which runs from May 10th to May 16th. The City will be honoring officers: Thomas D. Moore - A patrolman who passed at age 31 on July [...]
	Beaux Arts Fair spring edition returns to fairgrounds this weekend The spring edition returns to Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds on May 9 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and May 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission and parking for the all-outdoor, pet-friendly show are free.
	Man charged after firing gun at vehicles twice in one week, police say Larry Stauffer, III, has been charged after police said he shot at two vehicles within the same week.
	Proposal links Arkansas library funding to limiting access to ‘sexually explicit materials’ From left: Arkansas State Library Director Jennifer Chilcoat, State Library Board Chairman Clay Goff and board member Lynlee McMillan listen to discussion of proposed rules for libraries to receive state funding at the board's quarterly meeting on May 8, 2026. (Photo by Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)The Arkansas State Library Board on Friday proposed requiring libraries to restrict children’s access to ‘sexually explicit’ materials in order to receive state funding. The board unanimously accepted a revised draft of the proposed rules after discussing them with library directors and Department of Education officials for more than two hours at its quarterly meeting Friday. Arkansans will have 30 days to provide feedback on the proposal. If approved by the board and a legislative panel, the rules would require libraries to ensure that children under 16 cannot check out “sexually explicit materials,” which depict or describe sexual contact and behavior as defined by federal law. It would also restrict access to materials that contain images or descriptions of human genitalia. Such materials would have to be placed in sections of the library designated for patrons 18 years and older. Board members suggested that libraries update their software, if possible, to prevent library cardholders under 16 from checking out certain books without parental permission. The rules include an exception for children 11 and older to access “age-appropriate information designed to prepare minors for the sociology of puberty” with parental consent. Federal judge declares sections of Arkansas’ library obscenity law unconstitutional The restrictions are similar to ones that were included in Senate-backed legislation to abolish the Arkansas State Library that died in a House committee last year. They also follow a federal judge’s 2024 ruling striking down parts of an Arkansas law that would have imposed criminal penalties on librarians for providing materials deemed “harmful” to minors. The case is under appeal. The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas was still analyzing the board’s proposal late Friday afternoon but repeated its opposition to state restrictions on library content. “At a time when Arkansas faces serious challenges that demand governmental attention, continued political intrusion into library collections represents a troubling erosion of the free speech and intellectual freedom rights protected by the Constitution,” spokesperson Megan Bailey said in a statement. Library directors on Friday said some libraries are too small to relocate certain materials so children can’t reach them. They also said policing cardholders’ access to digital materials would be difficult. Central Arkansas Library System Executive Director Nate Coulter also questioned whether libraries agreeing to the condition would receive additional money for the expenses it would require. “That is a huge hand of the government involved in the parenting relationship and in censoring the library,” he said in an interview Friday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The rules would also require libraries to “not knowingly promote or advertise sexually explicit materials.” Board member Emmaline Pilkington of Knoxville said this was a higher priority for her than what libraries stock on shelves. “I don’t want to have to explain Pride Month to my five-year-old,” she said. Promoting Pride Month is not sexually explicit, said Clare Graham, director of the five-county Mid-Ark Regional Library System. She and other library directors said they already keep sexually explicit fiction, such as romance novels, in sections aimed at adults. Board vice chair Sydney McKenzie of Rogers asked if the rainbow symbol associated with LGBTQ+ issues might be appealing to children. Graham said this is “based on community standards.” Coulter said tying state funding to the content of libraries’ book displays is viewpoint discrimination, which was one basis for the court ruling that blocked the law to change how libraries handle content challenges. “I understand their viewpoint is hostility to queer people and any writers or any content that deals with those topics, but we have judicial indications that that’s not something that the state should do,” said Coulter, one of 18 plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit. Pilkington mentioned that LGBTQ+ book displays in Arkansas libraries have led to controversy. Those displays include one at Craighead County’s libraries that prompted a measure backed by conservatives in 2022 that cut the libraries’ funding in half. Arkansas Senate approves State Library Board overhaul after dissolution bill fails It was the first of several local disputes over library content and funding throughout Arkansas in the past few years. The entire State Library Board’s lineup changed last year after the Legislature passed a measure dismissing the panel. Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed the board’s current six members. They include McKenzie and Pilkington, who are both married to Republican state representatives, and former GOP state Rep. Jack Fortner. Libraries saw a brief delay in their regular quarterly funding earlier this year after board members asked for clarity on how to ensure libraries are spending state money responsibly. The rules made public Friday spawned from members’ past confusion. Board members and library directors agreed Friday that parents are ultimately responsible for supervising their children’s use of the library. “It’s our goal to restrict those books to the people they are written for, not for children,” Fortner said. Board chairman Clay Goff of Beebe said he expects a special State Library Board meeting sometime after June 7, the end of the public comment period for the draft rules. After the board approves the rules, the Arkansas Legislative Council and its rules subcommittee will have to review the rules before they go into effect. Goff said he hopes the new standards are in place by Sept. 30. He also said the rules should not have any loopholes while still taking into account that Arkansas is “as diverse as any state in the nation.” SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Arkansas Advocate
	Muscatine police arrest 13-year-old for burglary, criminal mischief On Thursday, May 7, a 13-year-old Muscatine boy was arrested by Muscatine police for crimes that occurred between April 25 and May 6, according to a news release from the Muscatine Police Department. The boy is accused of stealing alcohol from Maverik Convenience Store, 1429 Park Ave., about 10:38 p.m. April 25. He also is [...]
	Multiple upcoming events planned across the Quad Cities Civil War reenactment, Monster Jam, Taco and Margarita Festival, Putnam Palooza and Big Brothers Big Sisters’ annual plant sale to be held in the Quad Cities.
	Davenport flood mitigation project receives $3M in federal funding City officials say the project was developed after the historic flooding of 2019, when river levels came dangerously close to impacting the facility.
	Man arrested in Clinton after allegedly shooting 2 vehicles Larry Stauffer III has been charged with reckless use of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a domestic assault offender and intimidation with a dangerous weapon.
	Gunfire damages car in St. Ambrose, Davenport, parking lot A car in a St. Ambrose University parking lot at Gaines and Lombard streets, Davenport, was damaged by gunfire Friday afternoon, according to Davenport police. After the incident, which happened shortly before 3 p.m., students gathered around the four-door sedan to see the damage. Our Quad Cities News crew saw broken glass near the car. [...]
	Iowa researcher exploring how untreated anxiety can lead to moments of rage in parents Have you ever experienced 'mom rage'? It turns out you're not alone, and it can impact mothers and fathers. Here's what research has found that could help reduce it.
	Man sentenced to 100 years in prison on sex abuse charges Daryl Guinn, 55, was charged in 2024 with four counts of sex abuse in the second degree for the sexual abuse of four children.
	Bird's-eye views from across the Quad Cities region during the week of May 8, 2026 Sit back, relax and enjoy these scenes captured by the News 8 drone from across the Quad Cities region this week.
	Civil War reenactments and annual quilt show coming to Bishop Hill next weekend You can enjoy a weekend of quilts, music, speeches and Civil War reenactments May 15-16.
	Man arrested after Davenport stabbing 49-year-old Maruion McDowell has been charged with willful injury causing serious injury, domestic abuse assault and possession of a controlled substance.
	Big Brothers Big Sisters' annual plant sale returns Every purchase helps fund the nonprofit's youth mentoring programs across the QCA.
	Shots fired in St. Ambrose parking lot on Friday afternoon University officials said the incident appears to have been perpetrated by people not affiliated with SAU and was not targeting the college.
	Pillen requests federal disaster declaration for Nebraska wildfire damage Fire crests a hill and approaches houses on the north side of Lake McConaughy, just west of the Lake McConaughy dam, looking north in March 2026. (Courtesy of Jake Wyatt/Nebraska Rural Radio Association)LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen has requested President Donald Trump issue a major disaster declaration to receive funding to address wildfires that impacted parts of the state during March and April. Gov. Jim Pillen signs federal request for a major disaster declaration regarding Nebraska’s spring wildfires. (Courtesy of the Governor’s Office) The funding would assist with covering the cost of damage to public infrastructure that occurred as a result of the Morrill, Cottonwood, Ashby and Minor fires. More than 821,000 acres burned in those four fires, according to a state press release. The Pillen request to the White House and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) includes Arthur, Garden, Grant, Lincoln and Morrill counties and would help cover damage to roads, bridges, and public power infrastructure. Power infrastructure was reported to be the most impacted, with fires burning through electricity transmission corridors and distribution systems. Preliminary damage estimates by FEMA and Nebraska’s Emergency Management Agency have reached nearly $9.7 million, with state officials saying federal assistance is needed to support long-term recovery. “Since these fires, we’ve been blessed beyond measure to see the outpouring of support — and load after load of hay — cross county and state lines to support ranching families and communities in the Sandhills,” Pillen said in a statement. “Nebraskans are tough as nails, and we’ll get through this moment together.” SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Courtesy of Nebraska Examiner
	Officials: ‘No ongoing threat’ after gunfire at St. Ambrose University Preliminary information shows the people involved are not connected to the university, officials said.
	First Army honors Quad Cities World War II hero with exhibit at RI Arsenal Museum First Army will honor one of the Quad Cities most respected World War II heroes with an exhibit worthy of his contributions to a grateful nation, according to a news release. The Henry Langrehr family will donate military items to First Army headquarters and the Rock Island Arsenal Museum, in honor of Henry Langrehr, who [...]
	Ayotte wades into wraparound mental health services debate “Insurers like Anthem keep claiming that they're negotiating in good faith," Gov. Kelly Ayotte told reporters Wednesday, "but they're clearly stalling." (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin)After a New Hampshire House committee voted to kick the can down the road on whether to compel insurance companies to cover wraparound mental health services for children, Gov. Kelly Ayotte was “outraged.” “I was incredibly flabbergasted and disappointed by the House vote on this,” Ayotte told reporters in her office following the vote on Wednesday. “Insurers like Anthem keep claiming that they’re negotiating in good faith, but they’re clearly stalling because they don’t want to cover mental health coverage for children, and it’s wrong.” Ayotte was referring to the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee’s vote on Senate Bill 498, in which lawmakers recommended, 14-4, sending the bill to interim study. If the full House agrees with that recommendation, the bill would be sidelined for at least a year, ostensibly so lawmakers can study the issue further. Wraparound services seek to connect disparate and complicated care systems, including mental healthcare, special education, and child protective services so they can work together seamlessly for those experiencing a mental health crisis. In New Hampshire, the state-run FAST Forward program offers the care. The issue has been a perennial debate for lawmakers for several years. In 2025, a similar measure (Senate Bill 128) aimed at requiring insurers to cover wraparound mental health services died in the Senate and a subsequent effort to attach the measure to the larger budget legislation failed. Mental health advocacy groups — including the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Connected Families NH, and New Futures — have long pushed for the legislation. The insurance companies oppose the measure, arguing that it will force them to increase premiums, and some conservative activists have characterized the coverage requirement as a hidden tax on all insurance customers. Indeed, lawmakers on the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee have adopted that language in arguing against the bill. “The assessment is flat out a tax,” Rep. Carry Spier, a Nashua Democrat, said during the committee meeting Wednesday. Ayotte, who put out a statement Tuesday before the meeting urging lawmakers to approve the measure, doesn’t buy those arguments or any of the insurance companies’ claims. “I don’t know why any House member would listen to what they say about this,” Ayotte said. “It’s unbelievable to me that they think that it’s more important to support the insurance companies than it is to support the children of this state when it comes to a critical issue like mental health.” Ayotte said this isn’t a tax; it’s “a coverage issue.” “Anthem keeps saying that they’re negotiating in good faith,” she said. “But all it has been is a dilatory tactic, them trying to delay, to get the legislation off the table. We wouldn’t need legislation if Anthem and other insurers agreed to cover this mental health for children.” Jim Turner, a spokesperson for Anthem, wrote in a statement to the Bulletin that the company is “disappointed in Governor Ayotte’s comments this week regarding Anthem and our position on SB 498.” Turner said the company had met with state officials on multiple occasions to work toward a resolution and signed onto a joint letter from several insurers to Ayotte “demonstrating a shared commitment to continue working on this matter.” Ayotte argued that the insurers “just want to give us a bunch of language that means nothing. It is not a commitment, and I find that completely unacceptable.” Turner said the company specifically takes issue with a board the bill would establish to be in charge of assessing fees on companies in order to fund the care. “We have been clear with all stakeholders about our concerns with SB 498,” Turner said. “It would create a nonprofit board to assess new fees on commercially insured customers. The fees would fund undefined mental health services with two Medicaid-contracted care-management entities, or CMEs. Because these CMEs provide services for Medicaid and not commercially insured members, Anthem is continuing to work in good faith with them on a path forward.” Still, SB 498 isn’t entirely dead. The committee’s vote serves only as a recommendation. The bill will soon go to a vote of the full House, where lawmakers have the option to reject the committee’s guidance. As such, Ayotte said she’s not giving up on the issue this year. “We’re going to continue to push this even though the committee voted it down,” Ayotte said. “I’m not going to let up on this. We need to do the right thing.” Courtesy of New Hampshire Bulletin
	Free summer meals available for kids in Bettendorf The school district and the city parks and recreation department are collaborating to provide free breakfast and lunch for kids while school is out.
	Court affirms Montana’s Constitutional amendment to protect abortion Protestors outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021 as the high court considered a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks (Photo by Jane Norman for the Daily Montanan).For the third time in a row, a conservative group along with a Republican legislator have had their challenge to the state’s abortion protection law, now enshrined in the Montana Constitution, shot down by a court. This decision was the first by a district court, and was an attempt to litigate the constitutional amendment voters approved in 2024, which allows abortion up to the point of fetal viability. Yellowstone County District Judge Thomas Pardy ruled against state Rep. Amy Regier and the Montana Life Defense Fund, which had made several attempts to challenge the way the amendment, known as Constitutional Initiative 128, was placed on the ballot. Ultimately, the measure received overwhelming support from Montana voters, with 345,070 votes in favor, while 252,300 were opposed. The Montana Life Defense Fund had twice filed challenges with the Montana Supreme Court, alleging that the process used by supporters and state election officials violated the Montana Constitution. Because the Montana Supreme Court hears challenges to the constitutional amendment process, those challenges are often heard at the state’s highest court. However, in both cases, the Montana Supreme Court said that while the issue focused on the already-approved constitutional amendment, Regier and the fund had not provided a reason why a district court would be unable to decide the matter. Moreover, since the amendment had passed and it became law, there was no impending election or deadline that would necessitate expediting the matter in the courts. The justices also pointed out that even if a district court judge decided against the Montana Life Defense Fund and Regier, they’d still be able to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court. So, the fund took the case to Yellowstone County District Court where Pardy issued the ruling. It’s unclear whether they’ll challenge Pardy’s ruling. As in the other cases, the fund argued that the constitutional amendment was invalid because the text of the entire initiative was not printed on the ballot, thereby robbing voters of the ability to fully consider the measure. However, a five-page ruling by Pardy said that the rules for a constitutional initiative do not require the full printing of the text on the ballot itself. In analyzing the Montana Constitution, Pardy said the full text is required to be submitted to the Secretary of State, but is not required to be printed in full on the ballot. The judge reasoned that if the framers of the 1972 state constitution would have wanted the full text, they would have required it. “There is no factual basis upon which the petitioner could recover based on the claim before this court,” Pardy said in his order. Dr. Samuel Dickman, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana, Forward Montana and the American Civil Liberties of Montana had intervened in the lawsuit to argue, along with the State of Montana, that the initiative passed muster. In addition to legal representation by the ACLU of Montana, Raph Graybill and Rachel Parker of the Graybill Law Firm led the legal efforts to respond to Regier and the Montana Life Defense Fund. “In November 2024, Montanans went to the polls and overwhelmingly voted ‘yes’ to keep personal medical decisions – especially those related to pregnancy and abortion – between a patient and their doctor,” said Akilah Deernose, the executive director of the ACLU of Montana. “Today’s ruling builds on that electoral victory. But if the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that the struggle for civil rights is never truly over.” Courtesy of Daily Montanan
	Davenport receives $3 million for wastewater flood protection project City officials say the project was developed after the historic flooding of 2019, when river levels came dangerously close to impacting the facility.
	Thompson Center expansion to be ‘stepping stone’ for advancing Autism care in Missouri The Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment executive director Connie Brooks cuts a ceremonial ribbon with the center's founders Bill and Nancy Thompson to open a new building in Columbia on Friday. State officials, such as former governor Mike Parson, joined in the celebration (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).The University of Missouri Health Care’s Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment unveiled a 74,000 square-foot building Friday its leaders say will pave the way for better autism care in Missouri. In a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Columbia, the center’s top advisors and staff joined state officials to showcase the facility and the launch of the center’s intensive outpatient program. The center’s executive director Connie Brooks heralded this new offering as the first of its kind in Missouri for its ability to serve children with extensive needs with a multidisciplinary approach. “Few centers nationally bring together this level of expertise in one truly integrated model of care,” she said to a room full of donors, University of Missouri-Columbia staff and healthcare professionals. The Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment was launched after a $8.5 million donation from Bill and Nancy Thompson in 2005 and currently serves over 4,000 families. From 2013 to 2025, the center had patients from all but three of Missouri’s counties. The expansion, Brooks said, is the result of philanthropic efforts, a partnership with the University of Missouri-Columbia and support from state officials. University of Missouri President Mun Choi speaks at a grand opening of the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment’s new building in Columbia on Friday. The center is a partner with University of Missouri Health Care (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent). Former Gov. Mike Parson, who pushed for a $31.5 million appropriation for the center in 2022, said giving that money to the center is “one of the best things (he) has ever done for the State of Missouri.” “The facility represents a significant commitment to the public,” said Ron Ashworth, the center’s board president. “The center is here in the long-term and is here to serve the extensive health needs in the neurodevelopmental field.” The day, he said, marked “a stepping stone for the future,” allowing for continued expansion. The building is expected to allow the Thompson Center to more than double the number of patients seen, though work is ongoing to staff the facility to its full potential. “The needs of children and families continue to grow and so must we,” Brooks said. “The Thompson Center team is up for the challenge, and we remain deeply committed to continuing our growth as a world-class destination center.” She told reporters that the center has been recruiting health care providers and support staff for a couple years, bringing in an additional 40 employees prior to the new building’s opening. But there are “many, many open positions” during a nationwide shortage of behavior analysts, speech-language pathologists, psychiatrists and other health professionals integral to treating neurodevelopmental conditions. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry estimates that in 2038, Missouri will have 57% of the number of child and adolescent psychiatrists needed to meet demand. This rate is far above nearby like Kansas and Indiana with projections of 38% and 29% respectively, but falls a few points below estimates for Illinois and Nebraska. The center’s leaders hope the new facility will bolster recruitment efforts and attract physicians and researchers from other states. The Thompson Center’s previous building was retrofitted to serve children with neurodevelopmental conditions. But the new location was built with them in mind, with a sensory-friendly design that includes soundproofing in ceilings to soften loud noises and a river pattern beginning on the sidewalk outside and guiding families through the building. The intensive outpatient program has spaces catered to children learning to overcome aggressive communication styles, including weighted chairs in some therapy rooms that cannot be thrown and a space designed to help children who frequently run away from their parents. Ali Ducharme, the program’s director, told The Independent the program is designed to help kids learn better in therapy sessions and in their school classrooms and accomplished just that with its first patient. The intensive outpatient program will eventually serve multiple children, working with them five days a week for 16 weeks. While other health care providers offer outpatient therapy programs, the Thompson Center’s stands out, she said, for incorporating physicians of multiple disciplines to help the child in one space. The new building, she said, gives therapists a lot more tools to work through patients’ biggest hurdles. Previously, the center did not have a playground. But now, the play space allows children to practice transitioning from recess to learning. While Friday marked a key moment in the Thompson Center’s 20 years, many spoke of the new building as fuel for greater patient care and research to come. “We want this space to foster the kind of collaboration that keeps advancing what is possible, where expertise and compassion exist side by side,” Brooks said. “And this beautiful new facility opens the door to what comes next and allows us to think bigger and reach farther, to see more families and to change more lives.” SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Courtesy of Missouri Independent
	Summer’s coming, and data show measles cases are rising Measles begins with a blotchy red rash that typically appears on the face and then spreads to the body of the person infected. (Photo by Natalya Maisheva/Getty Images)As summer vacations nears and the opportunity for travel increases, measles cases in Florida and across the United States continue to rise. Florida Department of Health data show that between the start of the year and May 1, 150 suspected and confirmed measles cases were reported to state health officials. Fourteen of Florida’s 67 counties have reported confirmed or suspected measles cases. Collier County has 107 reported cases, more than any other county. Measles started to spread in the county in late January at Ave Maria University, a Roman Catholic college. There have been no new measles cases in that county for the past three weeks. Nearly every measles case in Collier County was spread locally — just three were categorized as “imported.” About 40% of the Florida cases are in the 15- to 19-year-old age cohort but people of all ages have been infected, the data show. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Measles vaccines were first introduced in the United States March 1963. Thirty-seven years later, the disease was eliminated from the United States. Elimination doesn’t mean there were no cases but that there were no domestically contracted cases for more than 12 months. But there’s been a resurgence of measles outbreaks amid growing skepticism about the safety of vaccines. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Florida Department of Health Secretary Joseph Ladapo are both vaccine skeptics. Ladapo, whose boss is Gov. Ron DeSantis, likened mandatory vaccines to “slavery” last year and announced plans to eliminate all vaccine mandates from Florida statutes. But he hasn’t been able to get his plan — which targets mandatory school vaccines only — through the Republican Legislature. DeSantis has vowed to continue his efforts on the vaccine front before being term-limited out office next January. At least 95% of the population needs to be vaccinated to keep the disease under control, which is HHS’s Healthy People 2030 goal. But just 10 states reported coverage levels at 95% or above in 2024-2025, according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Just 89% of Florida children entering kindergarten in the 2024-25 academic year had been vaccinated. Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through coughing and sneezing. Symptoms include a red bumpy rash, high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes. Measles can lead to serious complications, such as pneumonia, encephalitis (or swelling of the brain), and even death. There were three measles-related deaths nationally in 2025. No deaths have been reported this year. Nationwide, there have been 1,842 cases of confirmed measles, according to data published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. South Carolina leads the nation in cases with 669, followed by Utah with 439 cases and Texas with 182. Florida has the fourth highest number of confirmed measles cases, according to the CDC’s data, which include only confirmed cases and is based on data through May 1. CDC data shows Florida has had 135 confirmed cases as of May 7. The CDC also reports there have been 25 new outbreaks in 2026. Outbreaks are defined as three or more related cases. The United States is not alone seeing a rising number of measles infections. Most measles infections in the United States are contracted internationally, according to the CDC. Given the tandem of increasing infections and decreasing vaccination rates, the CDC last summer issued a Level 1 travel advisory recommending that international travelers be fully vaccinated against measles. “The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones is by getting the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. If you haven’t been vaccinated or don’t know your vaccination status you should plan to be vaccinated before traveling internationally,” the CDC said. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); Courtesy of Florida Phoenix
	Following ‘devastating’ crop freeze, state leaders call for federal aid State officials visited Cherry Hill Orchards in Lancaster County on May 8, 2026, calling for federal aid following a damaging April crop freeze. (Photo from PACast)State officials, speaking from an orchard in Lancaster County on Friday, called for the federal government to provide disaster assistance to farmers whose crops were damaged by an April freeze. Early estimates put economic losses for the commonwealth’s special crop industry between $150 million and $200 million. “My Administration has prioritized Pennsylvania agriculture from day one because we know farming powers our economy, feeds our communities, and sustains our rural communities. Right now, Pennsylvania farmers are facing catastrophic losses through no fault of their own, and they deserve a federal government that moves with urgency,” said Gov. Josh Shapiro in a release. “We will continue to have the backs of our farmers and make sure we explore every option at our disposal to help them through this crisis,” he continued. Mental health in the Pennsylvania Farm Show spotlight as feds abruptly terminate grant funding Shapiro and others highlighted Cherry Hill Orchards, the hosting Lancaster County farm, which doesn’t expect any revenue until the Fall of 2027 after near-total losses this year. “Fruit farming is a year-round investment of time, labor, and faith in the season ahead, and after a freeze like this, you can see months of work and planning impacted in just a few hours,” said Corey McCleaf, owner of the orchard and a fifth-generation grower. “For operations like ours, these losses affect not just this year’s crop, but the employees, families, and local communities that depend on Pennsylvania agriculture.” SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Shapiro requested a federal disaster designation following an April 21 freeze that followed “several weeks of warm weather … that pushed blossoms on fruits and ornamental trees.” Temperatures in the low 20s harmed fruit operations — including peaches, cherries, apricots, pears, strawberries, grapes and apples — “that were well into blossom and in the early stages of producing fruit.” Other crops, including Christmas trees, were similarly damaged. For some farmers, including those who have closed their doors for the season, losses could be as high as 100%. For some farmers, losses could be as high as 100%. Lancaster County’s Cherry Hill Orchards’ owner Corey McCleaf, left, shows Gov. Josh Shapiro tree damage on May 8, 2026 as state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding looks on. (Photo from PACast) “This freeze didn’t just damage crops – it jeopardized years of hard work and the future stability of family farms across Pennsylvania,” said state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “Cherry Hill Orchards’ story is one we are hearing in every corner of the Commonwealth. Growers are facing heartbreaking losses that will ripple far beyond the orchard or field, impacting local economies, farm markets, processors and packagers, and the families who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.” Shapiro’s letter includes missives from several companies and industry associations, detailing the scale of the “devastating” freeze in Pennsylvania. In addition to the disaster designation, which would open up opportunities for assistance, Shapiro also asks for faster damage assessments to help growers file crop insurance claims. The state is also working with Penn State Extension to collect early industry assessments. Lawmakers vowed to work on legislation to support farmers and asked Pennsylvanians to support local farmers with their produce purchases. The state’s release pointed to long-term solutions funded under the Agricultural Innovation Grant Program, which can help farmers prepare for severe weather. Ridgetop Orchards in Bedford County, for example, received $58,964 for wind machines that provide freeze protection. The freeze comes on top of a myriad of other challenges for farmers, including the rising cost of diesel fuel and fertilizer as the Iran War strangles critical imports. Growers and farmers seeking more information and resources related to the freeze, including reporting losses, business planning and risk management, can visit agriculture.pa.gov. Courtesy of Pennsylvania Capital-Star
	Health officials monitoring two NJ residents possibly exposed to hantavirus New Jersey health officials are monitoring two residents who may have been exposed to the hantavirus that killed three on a cruise ship. (Photo by Anne-Marie Caruso/New Jersey Monitor)New Jersey health officials said Friday they are monitoring two residents who may have been infected with hantavirus after being on a plane with someone who was a passenger on the Dutch cruise ship now experiencing a deadly outbreak. The state Department of Health said the risk to the general public remains low and neither of the New Jersey residents has reported any symptoms. The two were not passengers on the ship. No hantavirus cases have been confirmed in New Jersey, and there is no history of cases in the Garden State, health officials said. The state health department said public health agencies in several other states are conducting similar monitoring. It said it would continue to coordinate with local public health offices — the entities frequently responsible for tracking disease outbreaks — and federal partners. Hantaviruses are commonly carried by rodents but can be deadly to humans if infected, following exposure to the animals or their droppings or urine, according to the World Health Organization. A South American strain called the Andes form, the only version known to pass from human to human, was discovered among passengers on a Dutch cruise ship earlier this week. The WHO said symptoms can appear one to six weeks after hantavirus infection and they are similar to those from other viruses: fever, nausea, vomiting, and head and muscle aches. While there is no specific treatment for the infection, supportive medical care, like fluids, fever reducers, and pain relief, can improve outcomes and save lives, it said. While hantavirus is rare in humans, fatality rates range between less than 1% to 15% in Asia and Europe and up to 50% in the Americas, the WHO said. Worldwide, as many as 100,000 cases are reported annually, it said. Human to human transmission of the Andes version is rare and it requires extended close contact, said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the acting director of the WHO’s Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Management, in a video posted online. Kerkhove’s team has been advising those involved with the cruise ship response. “This is not COVID, this is not influenza. It spreads very, very differently,” she said. Three people have died and others have fallen ill on the cruise ship, the MV Hondius, according to the AP, and at least five cases of the Andes virus have been confirmed, including among two people who were evacuated on Wednesday. The 150 remaining passengers were removed from the ship once it reached the Canary Islands, placed in isolation and transported by air to Amsterdam, where they will be monitored at area hospitals, the Associated Press reported Friday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Courtesy of New Jersey Monitor
	Iowa’s Coach McCollum getting contract extension, ESPN reports Iowa’s success in the NCAA Tournament is reportedly earning Ben McCollum a new contract.
	The new agentic AI battleground: The case for unified architecture The new agentic AI battleground: The case for unified architectureThis is an all-too-common scenario: An organization is excited about the possibilities of AI. There’s tremendous internal buzz about the launch of an AI pilot. After the launch, though, there’s not much news about any real results. Eventually, the pilot winds down with little fanfare, and things go back to normal, except for a lingering company-wide fear that the organization is further behind in the AI race.According to an IDC report, approximately 88% of AI proofs of concept (POCs) launched by surveyed enterprises never reach production. The report states, “The high number of Al POCs but low conversion to production indicates the low level of organizational readiness in terms of data, processes and IT infrastructure.” MIT Media Lab’s “State of AI Business 2025” report produced an even more stark finding: 95% of generative AI pilots in enterprises have delivered no measurable ROI.Why is this happening? Teradata, an autonomous AI knowledge platform, suggests that AI pilots stall and fail to scale because of fragmented data silos and architectures that are designed for static reporting instead of dynamic intelligence.The unstructured data gap enterprises can't afford to ignoreEnterprises are looking to extract insights, but they’re not taking the steps to handle structured data alongside the torrent of unstructured data like images, audio, PDFs and customer chats. They must come to grips with the fact that unified data architecture is not merely a technical preference for AI, but a strategic prerequisite.Structured data is relatively easy to query, parse, and analyze because it’s organized in databases with strict structures and predefined fields. But unstructured data is fueling this new era of LLMs — and to a greater extent, agentic AI.Gartner notes that unstructured data is growing rapidly, often at a rate of 40% to 60% per year. They further estimate this unstructured data, including documents, emails, images, audio and video files, comprises 70% to 90% of enterprise information.To understand why this gap matters, consider an airline trying to analyze customer feedback through unstructured channels such as emails, chat logs, and qualitative surveys. They tried to use an external LLM and strong prompt engineering. That approach worked well enough in development, but it broke down at scale.They solved the problem by using open-source models to convert customer messages to vector embeddings. Vectoring is a way to numerically represent pieces of unstructured data so AI models can parse them.)Then, they were able to match conversation based on topics and sentiment, rather than simply with keywords.The external model that the airline initially tried to use may have been perfectly capable, but the barrier to moving it into production was a data architecture problem that they had to solve first. The lesson is that many AI failures are not model failures. They are architecture failures. And solving them requires enterprises to rethink the way their data environments are built.Traditional data pipelines were built to move information from one place to another. Agentic AI requires something much more dynamic.From information pipelines to intelligence architectureInformation pipelines, along with extract, transform, load (ETL) processes that move structured data, are no longer sufficient. Today’s enterprise data also depends on an intelligence architecture comprising knowledge, context and measurable outcomes.Dynamic context engines handle constant uncertainty, unpredictability and variability, particularly within the context of an enterprise’s own knowledge. Even the most advanced model is only as useful as the context it can access.A unified knowledge layer is necessary to integrate important business context with data and insights to make data actionable — one where AI systems can reason, decide and act. Alongside measurable business outcomes, there must also be a governance layer built into the architecture, so enterprises can experiment and work safely, with built-in compliance and security.All of this has to happen at speed, not just at scale, especially in environments where decisions must be made in real time and governance cannot be compromised. One example is defense, where structured and unstructured data needs to be processed in real time within strict security protocols. For example, if military organizations need to determine the survivability of given camouflage applications in real time, troops on the ground can use secure apps to take images of camouflaged assets and send them to be analyzed.Combining structured and unstructured data in a single, governed database allows the system to process images alongside data such as terrain patterns and threat signatures and deliver guidance to soldiers in situ.The agentic AI opportunity, and the gap between ambition and executionGartner predicts that 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by 2027, “due to escalating costs, unclear business value or inadequate risk controls.” Regardless, enterprises need to invest in foundational capabilities to build towards implementation, which Bain reports could demand 5% to 10% of technology spending over the next three to five years.The Capgemini Research Institute pegs the economic value generation of agentic AI at $450 billion by 2028, even though just 2% of organizations surveyed are currently at full-scale deployment. And the Futurum Group predicts that as agentic AI replaces data pipelines, and enterprises move from experimental pilots to production, the data market could reach $541.1 billion in 2026 — and $1.2 trillion by 2031.The market opportunity is enormous, and there are numerous real-world examples of where a unified, context-rich architecture enables agentic AI to have an impact.The enterprises that move beyond AI pilot projects into production will be those who solve their data readiness challenges — unifying structured and unstructured data with agentic AI capabilities across any environment, and without compromising on governance.This story was produced by Teradata and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	4 Your Money \| Running on Empty For all the turbulence in the economy in recent months, American households have proved to be resilient but there are areas to watch. John Nelson, Financial Planner at NelsonCorp Wealth Management, shares the current auto loan delinquency rates that may indicate the first signs of consumer stress.
	UFO files spanning decades are released by Defense Department Cold War reports of mysterious rotating saucers; recent sightings of metallic elliptical objects floating in mid-air. Those and other reports of unidentifiable anomalous phenomena or UAPs — the military's term for UFOs — are described in documents released Friday.
	Judge denies Missouri AG’s bid to immediately halt 7-OH kratom sales by American Shaman Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announces the state's lawsuit against American Shaman in a press conference outside her office March 31, 2026 (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).A Jackson County judge on Friday denied Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s attempt to immediately stop Kansas City-based CBD American Shaman and several affiliated companies from selling kratom products. The motion for a temporary restraining order, which was filed alongside the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, took particular aim at the more potent 7-OH products, which Hanaway argues are “hazardous opioids” banned by state and federal law. Jackson County Circuit Judge Charles McKenzie’s ruling Friday stated there are “competing affidavits” from experts on both sides of the argument, following a hearing on the motion earlier this week. “The court cannot find, based on the oral argument of the parties, the respective competing affidavits presented and the pleadings, whether the plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits at this juncture in the proceedings in order for the court to grant relief in the form of a temporary restraining order,” McKenzie’s order states. Hanaway’s argument was backed by sworn statements from an undercover narcotics officer with the highway patrol who said 7-OH is being used to cut fentanyl and a woman whose brother died from a kratom overdose. Her office also submitted a FDA report that points to 7-OH as “a potent opioid that poses an emerging public health threat” and state health data showing synthetic 7-OH was involved in at least 197 Missouri deaths. American Shaman submitted statements of its own from five toxicology and addiction experts, who largely said there wasn’t enough evidence to show that 7-OH and kratom posed a public health risk. One who researched narcotics said she had never heard of 7-OH being used to cut fentanyl. Company owner Vince Sanders’ statement detailed how he came up with the idea to create 7-OH products, which now has an “enormous” demand particularly among people who need pain management. Sanders could not be reached for comment about the ruling Friday. McKenzie denied a temporary restraining order “without prejudice,” meaning that he would like to see more evidence. “It is because of this finding that the court determines it necessary to hold an additional hearing,” he wrote, “where it can consider the parties respective positions with the potential of testimonial evidence and other properly introduced evidence, all as more fully developed by the parties, in order to further analyze these issues.” The judge will consider “other injunctive relief sought in the pleadings at a future hearing to consider the issues,” the order states. Hanaway filed a similar lawsuit Thursday against Relax Relief Rejuvenate Trading LLC, and its owners Dustin Robinson and Ajaykumar Patel. The group received a warning letter from the FDA for producing 7-OH products last year similar to one received by Shaman Botanicals. “This is another step in our ongoing crackdown on kratom manufacturers who flout the law and try to justify endangering Missourians in the name of profit,” Hanaway said in a press release Thursday. “Our mission is to safeguard Missourians from unregulated and addictive substances, and we will continue to pursue every legal tool available to protect public health and safety.” Courtesy of Missouri Independent
	20th Cyclone Tailgate Tour comes to Davenport May 18 The 20th annual Cyclone Tailgate Tour comes to Rhythm City Casino, 7077 Elmore Avenue in Davenport, on Monday, May 18. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and a program from Iowa State staff and head coaches starts around 7 p.m. Each Cyclone Tailgate Tour stop is free and open to fans of all ages. These family-friendly events let [...]
	Man sentenced on indecent contact with a child, drug charges Robert Joiner, 48, was sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday on two indecent contact with a child charges and two drug distribution to a minor charges,
	From idle cash to active investing: How CFOs are unlocking hidden value From idle cash to active investing: How CFOs are unlocking hidden valueEconomic jitters and political shifts are hitting C-suites hard right now. You’d think CFOs would just hunker down, tighten the belt, and wait for the storm to pass—standard procedure when consumers are this nervous. But the actual numbers tell a much weirder story.Instead of locking the safe, finance leaders are actually getting more aggressive. Industry analysts are seeing a massive move away from old-school cash hoarding. As this article from Plains State Bank examines, recent industry reports confirm that these power players are pivoting toward an active, investment-heavy model, effectively betting on new tech to carry them through the current market volatility. Plains State Bank A Surprising Surge of ConfidenceDeloitte’s latest CFO Signals survey, conducted in Q1, offers a look at this strange trend. Usually, these reports are full of talk about defensive cash-piles, but this time, investment is the focus. About 52% of the executives surveyed are still sweating internal costs and supply chain mess, but nearly half—48% specifically—are being pushed to spend big on new tech rather than just trimming the fat. It is a total rejection of the classic playbook of sitting on capital and waiting for better weather.AI is driving a lot of this. Companies aren't just looking for shiny toys; they want process automation that actually works. The upfront costs are high, but the promise of long-term efficiency makes the expense worth it. However, they aren't buying the "agentic AI" hype just yet. Only 20% of CFOs think agentic tools are vital for their cost-management plans. Around 40% are sticking with the broader AI ecosystem because it feels safer and more predictable.There is a clear preference for cloud-based budgeting and data analytics over "do-everything" platforms. CFOs want humans at the wheel. They aren't trying to let an algorithm run the whole show. This cautious stance shows that even with digital transformation moving fast, financial oversight is still too complex to leave entirely to a machine. These tools are being used to help human teams, not replace the strategic frameworks they have spent years building.The survey also found a massive disconnect between the money and the company culture. CFOs are ready to invest, but the rest of the company isn't always on board. Around 38% said their corporate strategy didn't actually line up with their cost plans. Even worse, a full third of respondents said their organization has no real culture of watching costs at all. This misalignment makes "unlocking value" much harder than it looks on a spreadsheet.Safety Still MattersAnother useful source of CFO sentiment data is the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) and its most recent Liquidity Survey from 2025. It finds that safety is the main driver of investment decisions for 61% of organizations, unsurprisingly given the aforementioned market-wide uncertainty. At the same time, this study still shows a degree of confidence, with almost 30% of companies planning to switch up investment policies in the coming year, indicating a desire to take bold action and unlock value rather than resting on their laurels.In terms of the types of financial products that are the focal point of business investments, banks still lead the pack here. However, organizations are moving away from traditional bank products like CDs and deposits toward Money Market Fund ETFs to gain yield without sacrificing the immediate liquidity needed for rapid investment. So again, investment innovation is the name of the game, not doing things the old-fashioned way.A Strategic Pivot Toward Long-Term ValueWhat’s clear from research into CFO sentiment and market movements is that financial decision-makers remain intimately familiar with where things stand and where they’re headed, both for their individual organizations and the wider economy. How they’re tackling uncertainty and disruption with active investing rather than passive cash hoarding should signal that they’re familiar with the ongoing risks as well as the opportunities that come with them.While the scale of tech investment varies by organization size, the underlying shift toward active value creation remains a consistent theme across the corporate spectrum. Corporate CFOs at multinational organizations may possess greater leeway for aggressive tech bets, yet the objective of identifying and unlocking hidden value is increasingly prioritized by leadership at firms of all sizes as a means of navigating ongoing economic disruption.This story was produced by Plains State Bank and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Why people still worry about EV range Why people still worry about EV rangeFor years, range anxiety has cropped up as a major factor holding people back from switching to an EV (electric vehicle). In dealer showrooms, family group chats, comment sections and road trip planning chats alike, questions are asked: Will it get me there? What do I do if things do not go to plan?Those concerns have not vanished, but it’s also no longer a simple conversation about how far an EV can drive on a single charge, or whether there will be a charger at the destination. EV technology has come a long way; the range anxiety conversation now hangs on a person's personal experience (or lack thereof) of owning an EV.MyNRMA's car battery and roadside team explores why range anxiety persists for prospective EV buyers and what the data and firsthand experience suggest about overcoming it.What is EV range anxiety?The old version of range anxiety was fairly straightforward. Early EVs often had shorter driving range, unreliable range status “guess-o-meters”, patchy charging options, and few EV trip-planning tools. If you were nervous, there was usually a good reason.Today, many EVs can comfortably cover daily driving and then some. There are more EV chargers around, and this is on the increase. Yet range anxiety still crops up – but why?Is range anxiety still a purchase barrier?For most drivers, daily travel is well within the capability of a modern EV. Commuting, school runs and local errands are rarely the issue. The anxiety tends to appear aroundexceptions: the annual road trip, a busy holiday weekend, extreme weather, towing, or the possibility that a charger may be occupied or out of service.That is one reason range anxiety still shows up strongly in consumer research. People may say they are worried about range, but the deeper concern is often whether the whole trip will feel easy and predictable.Recent studies backs that up. In EY's research on global consumers' enthusiasm for EV's, 29% of respondents cited range as a top reason they would not buy an EV. At the same time 28% of respondents cited a lack of charging infrastructure as another concern that would impact the realities of day to day life for an EV owner.This is not unique to Australia, though Australia provides a useful example. It combines long-distance driving conditions with a highly urbanized population whose day-to-day travel is usually modest. In other words, it is a place where modern EVs make sense for many households, but where concerns still flare around edge cases such as remote travel, school holiday traffic and less frequent regional charging.Why do people feel range anxiety?The same pattern can be seen elsewhere. In many countries, people are comfortable with the idea of an EV for city driving, but may be less certain about longer trips or homes without easy charging access. Apartment residents, renters and first-time EV users often have different concerns from households with a driveway and the ability to charge overnight.That helps explain who feels range anxiety most strongly. It is often highest among people who have never owned an EV or have had little direct experience with one. An apartment dweller, for example, may be navigating unfamiliar charging apps, public chargers and battery use for the first time. Even if the route is manageable, the experience can feel more complicated than a gas stop.Drivers can also overestimate how much range they need. Someone who usually travels 20 or 25 miles a day may still feel uneasy unless the car has several hundred miles in reserve. That does not always reflect actual driving needs. It reflects habit. Gas-powered cars taught drivers to refuel quickly and infrequently. EVs ask for a different mindset: charge more often when convenient, and plan longer trips a little differently.That learning curve is part of the story. So is the wider public narrative around EVs.Stories about broken chargers, queues or failed road trips tend to travel further than ordinary success stories. A difficult charging stop claims more of our memory’s real estatespace, even if thousands of uneventful trips happen every day. Some buyers are also still working from outdated assumptions based on earlier generations of EVs, when driving range was shorter and public charging was harder to find.This is why range anxiety can be thought of in three broad ways. There is the technical side, which includes actual driving range, weather, terrain and charger availability. There is the psychological side, which is about confidence, habits and perceived risk. And there is the public narrative side, shaped by headlines, media tropes and second-hand stories.All three matter, but they do not require the same solution.Is there a cure for range anxiety?Improving battery range remains helpful, especially for buyers who travel long distances. Charger coverage matters too, as does reliability, visibility, simple payment systems and accurate in-car route planning.Experience also matters. Longer test drives, EV rentals, workplace fleets and public education programs can make a real difference because they replace assumptions with familiarity. A review of NRMA’s EV Drive Days in collaboration with the DEECCW (The NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water) found that many participants felt less worried about range after first-hand exposure, although some still wanted more time behind the wheel. That points to a simple truth: information helps, but experience is often more powerful.For the next wave of EV buyers, the challenge is not necessarily building cars with longer range. It is making the whole ownership experience feel normal, visible and dependableThis story was produced by MyNRMA and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Golden visa rules changed in 7 popular investor residency destinations Golden visa rules changed in 7 popular investor residency destinationsThe original golden visa marketing pitch was straightforward: Invest enough money, usually in real estate, and get residency. That pitch has aged badly.Spain killed its program outright in April 2025. Portugal kept the wrapper but ripped the real estate, filling out two years earlier. Greece raised its property thresholds high enough that the old 250,000 euro entry point now buys very little. Malta lost a separate citizenship program at the European Court of Justice. Italy, which never really fit the property-purchase template anyway, is suddenly the awkward technical option for people who never wanted a beachfront apartment in the first place. The UAE built a sprawling long-term residency framework that bears almost no resemblance to a European visa. Cyprus settled into a quieter permanent-residence niche that confuses everyone expecting a passport.Two pressures drove most of this. The European Commission's January 2019 report on investor citizenship and residence schemes flagged risks around security, money laundering, tax evasion, corruption, and weak oversight, and pushed member states to tighten programs. Layered on top of that was the housing-affordability politics in Spanish and Portuguese cities, which turned investor visas into a domestic political problem rather than an administrative footnote. Movingto reports on what's actually open today, what changed, and where investors keep getting confused.Spain: Closed for new applicantsSpanish law (the amendment to Law 14/2013 published in the Official State Gazette on Jan. 3, 2025) abolished residence visas for investors, effective from April 3, 2025. Spain should not be on a comparison shortlist for anyone seeking residency through investment.The pre-abolition program let non-EU buyers qualify with 500,000 euros of property, or larger amounts in capital, government bonds, or business projects. Real estate dominated the inflows, which is why the closure had domestic political bite. Anyone interested in living in Spain now has to look at nonlucrative residence, work permits, the digital nomad visa, family reunification, or entrepreneurship routes — different rules, different timelines, different proof requirements.The unglamorous lesson from Spain: A popular golden visa can vanish on a few months' notice. Confirm the route is open before paying advisers, reserving property, or wiring funds anywhere.Portugal: Still open, but no longer a real estate playPortugal remains one of Europe's better-known residency-by-investment markets, but its program has been reshaped. The current rules, set by Law 56/2023 ("Mais Habitação," October 2023), are tracked in Movingto's Portugal Golden Visa guide. The 2023 housing reforms scrapped real estate-linked routes and pushed the program toward nonreal-estate collective investment undertakings, business capitalization, scientific research, cultural support, and job creation. AIMA's official guidance is now explicit that qualifying investment activities cannot be intended directly or indirectly for real estate.That clause matters more than it sounds. A fund branded "Portugal golden visa eligible" is not automatically clean. Investors now have to look at what the fund actually owns, how it's structured, and whether anything in the underlying portfolio could be construed as real estate exposure. A live Portugal funds database makes that side-by-side comparison easier when there are dozens of options to filter through.Portugal still appeals because it offers EU residency with light physical-stay requirements relative to most immigration routes. The legal review just got more technical. The question used to be whether an applicant had enough capital. Now, the question is whether a specific investment structure survives the post-2023 rulebook.Greece: Still property-driven, but the bar movedGreece is one of the few European programs where direct real estate purchases remain central. The old, easy 250,000 euro version is largely gone.Under the updated framework, the minimum investment is generally 800,000 euros in high-demand areas, including Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini (Thira), and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants. In other parts of Greece, the minimum is 400,000 euros. The same circulars also impose a 120-square-meter minimum size for properties bought under the 400,000 and 800,000 euro tiers. The lower 250,000 euro route survives in narrow categories such as specific property conversions or restoration cases. Recent legal commentary on ministry circulars also highlights stricter single-property and size requirements.Greece is still active. The product is just very different from what it was three years ago. A property that looks eligible in a sales brochure can fail on location, type, size, use, or conversion status. The legal details now matter as much as the headline price.Malta: Residency, not a passport shortcutMalta's main residence-by-investment route is the Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP). Residency Malta describes it as a program for non-EU, non-EEA, and non-Swiss nationals seeking permanent residence in Malta, built around four components: property, a government contribution, an NGO donation, and an administrative fee. Multitiered due diligence applies to every applicant.Current regulations set a qualifying owned property threshold of 375,000 euros or a qualifying rented property threshold of 14,000 euros per year. The rules also include a 60,000 euro administration fee for the main applicant and a 37,000 euro contribution requirement, reflecting Malta's 2025 fee harmonization that replaced the previous split between purchase and rental contributions.Malta should not be confused with a passport-by-purchase route. The country's separate citizenship-by-investment program was struck down by the European Court of Justice in April 2025 and abolished by Maltese law later that year, leaving the MPRP as Malta's principal investment migration route. For families seeking long-term European residence, the program may be relevant. Anyone expecting an immediate Maltese passport is in the wrong country.Italy: An investor visa, not a property golden visaItaly's investor route looks different from the property-led programs people typically associate with the term "golden visa." The official Investor Visa for Italy is a two-year visa for non-EU citizens investing in strategic assets for Italy's economy and society. Qualifying options include 2 million euros in Italian government bonds, 500,000 euros in an Italian limited company, 250,000 euros in an innovative startup, or 1 million euros in a philanthropic initiative.Italy therefore suits investors who want exposure to Italian companies, startups, public debt, or philanthropy. It is the wrong route for someone who simply wants a holiday home and assumes the purchase would deliver residency.Italy also illustrates a separate trend: Investor visas are increasingly tied to sanctions and geopolitical screening. Italy's official investor visa site notes the program is suspended for Russian and Belarusian citizens, including certain dual passport holders, in line with EU recommendations.UAE: Long-term residency expanding beyond investorsThe United Arab Emirates is not a European program, but it has become one of the most visible long-term residency destinations globally.The UAE's Golden Residency offers eligible applicants long-term residence ranging from five to 10 years, renewable for the same duration, so long as the applicant continues to meet eligibility, and there is no need for a sponsor. Eligible categories include investors, real estate investors, entrepreneurs, exceptional talents, outstanding students, humanitarian pioneers, and frontline workers. For real estate investors, official guidance refers to property ownership valued at 2 million dirham or more.The UAE program is broader than a classic property golden visa. It is designed to attract capital, talent, founders, specialists, and high-performing students all at once. For investors weighing Europe versus the Gulf, the strategic difference is large: The UAE delivers long-term residency and business access in a major commercial hub, but it should not be evaluated as though it were an EU residence or citizenship pathway.Cyprus: Permanent residence by investment remains activeCyprus continues to offer a permanent residence route for qualifying investors. Official Cypriot migration materials describe an investor immigration permit requiring an investment of at least 300,000 euros in eligible categories. These include a newly built house or apartment bought from a developer, other real estate (new or used), shares in a Cyprus company that employs at least five people locally and has a physical presence on the island, or units in a Cyprus collective investment fund. Applicants must also show secured annual income from abroad of at least 50,000 euros, with 15,000 euros added for a spouse and 10,000 euros for each minor child. Following 2023 reforms, parents and parents-in-law can no longer be included on the application.Cyprus is often presented as a relatively straightforward permanent residence option, and that framing is roughly accurate. Investors still need to review income requirements, source-of-funds rules, property eligibility, family inclusion rules, and ongoing maintenance obligations.As with Malta, the distinction matters. Permanent residence is a real, valuable status. It is a separate legal animal from a passport.5 things to check before paying anyoneThe golden visa market has become more legalistic in the last few years. That is good for consumer protection. It also makes shortcuts more dangerous than they used to be.Before signing an engagement letter, reserving a property, or subscribing to a fund, investors should confirm five things.First, determine whether the program is still open to new applicants. Spain shows why this cannot be assumed even six months out.Second, find out whether the specific investment qualifies under current law. Portugal's shift away from real estate and Greece's tiered property thresholds are the obvious examples of why marketing claims need to be verified against the latest rules and circulars.Third, ask who is actually giving the advice. Investors should distinguish between licensed lawyers with firms like Golden Visa Lawyers, which specialize in this area, immigration consultants, real estate agents, fund promoters, and introducers. Conflicts of interest are common when the same party sells the investment and assesses the legal risk on the same call.Fourth, find out what happens after approval. Renewal rules, physical-stay obligations, family-member eligibility, tax residency consequences, and exit conditions can be just as important as the initial application — and far more expensive to fix later.Fifth, determine whether the route actually leads to the outcome the investor wants. Residency, permanent residence, long-term renewable residence, and citizenship are four different legal statuses. Treating them as interchangeable is one of the most expensive mistakes in investment migration.The new realityGolden visas are becoming more selective, more regulated, and harder to compare like for like.Spain closed its investor visa. Portugal redirected its program away from real estate. Greece kept property investment but raised the bar substantially. Malta and Cyprus remain focused on residence rather than instant citizenship. Italy emphasizes strategic investment in companies, debt, or philanthropy. The UAE built a broader long-term residency framework around capital, talent, and entrepreneurship. These shifts have rolled out on a staggered timeline: Cyprus ended its citizenship-by-investment program in late 2020, Portugal removed real estate in October 2023, Greece raised property thresholds in September 2024, and Spain's abolition and the European Court of Justice ruling against Malta's citizenship program both landed in April 2025.The right starting question for an investor is no longer "which golden visa is cheapest?" Better questions are whether the route is still open, whether the specific investment satisfies current law, whether the post-approval obligations fit the family's actual life, and whether the legal status at the end is the one the investor needs. Anyone who can answer all four with documents — not marketing brochures — is already further along than most applicants.This story was produced by Movingto and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

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