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

Thursday, July 9th, 2026
	A Florida airport is officially renamed for Trump. What does he stand to gain? Trump is the first president to have an airport named after him while in office. The Trump Organization says he won't get royalties from the renaming, but legal experts see potential loopholes.
	How England's class divide shaped Andy Burnham, the U.K.'s likely next prime minister As mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham brought growth to the postindustrial city. Can he scale that nationally as the next prime minister?
	Campaign staffers keep trying to bet on races despite push to curb insider trading Kalshi says it has blocked "dozens" of trades from campaign insiders, but experts say the company's approach leaves lots of potential loopholes. NPR has found at least one trade that slipped through.
	Recent recalls may impact you: What to know It's been a busy summer for recalls. Here are some you may have missed.
	Egypt complains officials were biased in World Cup loss to Argentina The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said Wednesday it "cannot remain silent" after what it believes was unfair and biased officiating in Egypt's 3-2 round of 16 loss against Argentina on Tuesday.
	Trump flies partway home from Turkey in an old Air Force One President Trump flew partway home from a NATO summit on an old Air Force One plane instead of the new Qatari-gifted plane, a surprise swap that came as the U.S. and Iran began trading strikes again.
	Trump wraps NATO summit on a positive note, after meeting Zelenskyy President Trump capped a NATO summit in Turkey meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and saying that the U.S. will give Ukraine a license to make Patriot air defense systems.
	U.S. launches new airstrikes on Iran and Tehran fires back at Gulf Arab states The United States launched new airstrikes against Iran early Thursday, and Tehran responded by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar in crossfire that again threatened an interim deal intended to help end the war.
	Special Weather Statement until THU 1:15 AM CDT Strong Thunderstorm Warning: Gusty Winds Impacting Western Scott and Surrounding Areas
Wednesday, July 8th, 2026
	Rock Island Public Library holds reading of the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago today, Colonel John Nixon gave the declaration's first public reading outside the state house in Philadelphia.
	Sony to stop producing physical video games: what that means for the secondhand market A Quad Cities resale store says people save money on new video games by buying secondhand.
	'Right to repair' secured in court A settlement with Deere and Co. requires that Deere gives farmer and repair providers access to equipment repair resources, including software.
	Illinois State Police release body cam footage in fatal Bureau County police shooting of 3-year-old Three-year-old Damian Camacho was shot and killed when officers responded to a hostage situation in rural Princeton on May 10.
	Durant, Louisa-Muscatine softball pick up quarterfinal wins Durant and Louisa-Muscatine softball picked up quarterfinal wins Wednesday night.
	Steamwheelers head coach Cory Ross named to Nebraska Football Hall of Fame Quad City Steamwheelers head coach Cory Ross has been named to the 2026 Nebraska Football Hall of Fame class.
	Cook review: 'Maternal Instinct' is unforgettable real-life horror show You can't imagine anything like this story could happen in real life until you see what unfolds in "Maternal Instinct," a true-crime story that's one of the best documentaries in recent years. Taylor Parker is pretty, vivacious and fun. When she meets Wade Griffin, who makes a living selling feral hogs, at a rodeo,it seems [...]
	Inside Iowa Politics: What is Iowa’s America’s Harvest Festival? Gov. Kim Reynolds announced "America's Harvest Festival" will take place October 24th as part of the 250th birthday celebration of the United States.
	No charges for Princeton officer in fatal shooting of 3-year-old boy A special prosecutor has recommended no charges be filed against a Princeton police officer involved in a stand-off that resulted in the death of a 3-year-old boy.
	First Army deactivates two divisions, welcomes new senior enlisted leader at Rock Island Arsenal In a ceremony at Rock Island Arsenal, the First Army deactivated two divisions amidst a restructuring move and appointed new Command Sgt. Maj. Randolph Delapena.
	Iowa had twice the drinking water violations for nitrate in 2025 as in 2024 A report from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources shows Iowa had 36 nitrate-related drinking water violations in 2025, which is more than double the number reported in 2024.
	2nd man faces charges after fatal shooting at Rock Island apartments A second man faces charges in connection with a June 16 fatal shooting at Crowne Forest Apartment, East Moline, according to a news release. On Tuesday, July 7, East Moline Police detectives obtained criminal charges through the Rock Island County State’s Attorney’s Office on Derion L. Craig, 21, for his involvement in a homicide at [...]
	‘So far, we’re looking good:’ Scott County farmer talks this year’s corn While farmers say things are looking good across the immediate area with this year’s crop, too much rainfall has been an issue in some areas, even locally.
	Graham Platner drops his bid for Senate after facing an allegation of rape Platner's campaign to unseat GOP Sen. Susan Collins in Maine was marked by repeated scandals. It came to a crashing halt after the allegation led top Democrats to withdraw their support.
	Steamwheelers looking for a win to keep playoff hopes alive The Steam Team and the Fishers will kick off on Saturday at Vibrant Arena.
	Grass tennis courts set to open in Moline, bringing rare surface to QC The Quad City Tennis Club is opening grass tennis courts Thursday — one of the only surfaces of its kind in the Midwest. Officials say it took nearly four years to get them ready.
	Davenport Central puts on first alumni show Davenport Central High School will debut its first alumni show this weekend. A cast made up of graduates dating back to 2017 will perform the show "Next to Normal." The show focuses on themes of mental illness, grief and family. The school put on the show in 2017 and has several returning cast members. The [...]
	41st Moonlight Chase and Eldridge Summer Festival set for busy weekend The Eldridge Summer Festival and 41st Annual Moonlight Chase return July 10–11 with a full weekend of family activities, a community parade and evening races, all supporting local organizations through annual grant funding.
	First Iowa measles case of 2026 confirmed Officials have identified multiple potential exposure locations in the Des Moines metro and Webster City.
	Gray Matters Collective and the QC Labor Federation partner for suicide prevention via bridge barriers The Quad City Federation of Labor and The Gray Matters Collective are fighting for barriers to be installed on the I-74 bridge to help keep people from attempting suicide by jumping off the bridge. "I think because the bridges here are the most accessible means of suicide, we have a responsibility to do something about [...]
	No criminal charges to be filed in shooting that killed 3-year-old No criminal charges will be filed in a shooting that killed a 3-year-old, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
	Rock Island bar liquor license on the line: Commission considers tavern incidents A July 4 shooting was among the factors city leaders discussed Wednesday as the Rock Island Liquor Control Commission discussed alleged liquor-license violations at DeAnna's Place, 2730 5th Ave., Rock Island. The commission met Wednesday to consider whether the bar's liquor license should be suspended.. For more than four hours, the commission and supporters watched [...]
	No injuries reported after Wednesday morning Davenport house fire Crews responded to the 6200 block of Deere Creek Lane just after 7 a.m. on July 8.
	Retirements, hirings and other Davenport schools personnel news from June 22 See the personnel items from the June 22 agenda of the Davenport Community School District.
	Moline City Council approves AI interpreter software for police body cameras The council passed an economic incentive agreement with developer Scout Capital Group, which is seeking to build a Texas Roadhouse next to I-74 and John Deere Road. The council also passed a first reading agreement selling city property, the former Catfish Charlie's, to Pretasky Roach Properties LLC.
	Illinois State Police release body camera footage in fatal Bureau County police shooting of 3-year-old boy Three-year-old Damian Camacho was shot and killed when officers responded to a hostage situation in rural Princeton on May 10.
	IDOC worker pleads guilty to padding the payroll of her correctional officer husband An Illinois Department of Corrections payroll worker admitted in federal court Wednesday that she falsified her correctional officer husband’s overtime and holiday pay, defrauding the state of nearly $125,000.
	The Family Credit Union appoints Bob Hoepfner to Senior Vice President of Lending Bob Hoepfner brings more than 30 years of lending experience to The Family Credit Union.
	Humility Homes and Services to break ground on new supportive housing development When completed, the Davenport development will offer 11 units of housing. One, two and three-bedroom units will all be available.
	Quad City Tennis Club bringing back traditional grass courts to the region The club says lawn courts were the norm for decades before giving way to concrete in the 1970s. Now, three outdoor tennis lawns are open in the Quad Cities to members and the public.
	Davenport man charged with attempted murder of rival gang member An alleged Davenport gang member has been charged with attempted murder of a rival gang member in connection with a July 4 shooting.
	Humility Homes announces 11-unit supportive housing project in Davenport A new supportive housing project in Davenport will offer 11 units and wraparound services for people experiencing housing instability in the Quad-Cities.
	State releases video of police shooting that killed child A video released Wednesday by state police show officers kicking down a door and firing into a room with children during a standoff that ended with one child dead.
	Have you seen these suspects? Crime Stoppers wants to know! Crime Stoppers of the Quad Cities wants your help catching two fugitives. It’s an Our Quad Cities News exclusive. You can get an elevated reward for information on this week’s cases: LAROY COOPER, 48, 5'8", 165 pounds. Wanted by Iowa Department of Corrections 7th District High Risk Unit for probation violation on domestic abuse and [...]
	A new proposal for organ donation sparks concern Should patients who choose euthanasia be able to die by having their vital organs removed for donation? The ethical concerns are substantial.
	Galva passes resolution in support of a carbon capture moratorium The proposed Lapis Carbon Solutions project remains under review, but Galva's City Council has joined the county in calling for a pause.
	Davenport man on federal release facing attempted murder charge after shooting A Davenport man on federal release faces attempted murder charges after police say he fired near two children on the Fourth of July.
	Why the death of MS student-athlete Nolan Wells is capturing national attention NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks to Anita Lee, reporter for the Sun Herald, about the growing national attention in the case Nolan Wells, a teenager found dead off of Mississippi's gulf coast.
	Should you sign your kids up for Trump Accounts? Four things to consider Families can still benefit even if their children aren't eligible for the free $1,000 contribution from the federal government.
	Tactical response follows report of armed individual in downtown Davenport Davenport Police Department responded to a report of an armed individual and executed search warrant at nearby duplex.
	Trial rescheduled in Davenport Open Records lawsuit following settlement discussion Attorneys for the City and plaintiff Ezra Sidran negotiated a settlement, but the City said it didn't know those discussions were happening.
	Bettendorf man accused of abusing 1-year-old daughter A Bettendorf man is accused of physically abusing his one-year-old daughter in six recorded incidents.
	Rock Island’s ‘2nd Saturdays’ brings free family activities to downtown Rock Island’s free “2nd Saturdays” event series continues through October, offering fitness classes, live music, games, pop‑up shops and the QC Farmers’ Market each second Saturday of the month to encourage activity and support downtown businesses.
	Which states have the biggest gap between home sleep therapy need and access Which states have the biggest gap between home sleep therapy need and accessSleep has become one of the most tracked health categories among Americans, with nearly half (48%) using wearable devices to track sleep, up from 35% in 2023, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Nearly three-quarters of the same respondents (76%) have lost sleep due to sleep problems. Sleep matters more to people than ever, and most still aren't getting enough.Paying attention to sleep and being able to treat its disorders are two different things. A new analysis by Vitality Medical, The Sleep Apnea Access Index, ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia to answer one uncomfortable question: Where are people struggling with poor sleep while the system for home treatment is the thinnest?Hawai‘i lands at the top with a score of 78.7 out of 100. Almost half (45.4%) of adults living in Hawai‘i report fewer than seven hours of sleep a night, the highest short-sleep rate in the country, yet Medicare spending on home airway-pressure devices sits at just $3.56 per beneficiary. The state has a high sleep burden but a low spending per beneficiary. This combination may point to potential unmet sleep therapy needs. And it lands at a rough moment for the people who depend on these machines.How Home Sleep Therapy Actually Reaches PeopleBefore the rankings make sense, it helps to walk the path a person travels from poor sleep to a working machine at home. It is rarely a single step.It usually starts with symptoms: loud snoring, gasping awake, daytime exhaustion. A primary care visit leads to a referral, then a sleep study, either in a lab or with an at-home test. If that study returns a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, a physician writes a prescription for positive airway pressure therapy, the category that includes CPAP and BiPAP machines. From there, the prescription goes to a durable medical equipment (DME) supplier, the business that actually delivers the device. Insurance, often Medicare for older adults, has to approve coverage. Then the machine is set up, fitted with a mask, and the person begins therapy.The machines also need updates. Masks wear out, cushions degrade, tubing needs replacing, and filters have to be swapped on a schedule. Ongoing resupply is what keeps the therapy working month after month. A gap anywhere along that chain (a missed diagnosis, a denied claim, a supplier a person cannot reach, a resupply that never arrives) can leave someone with apnea untreated, even when the technology to help them is decades old and widely available.The Sleep Apnea Access Index looks for places where the signals along that chain appear mismatched. It combines how much short sleep a state reports, how much Medicare spends on PAP devices per beneficiary, and how often people search for CPAP and sleep apnea terms. Where reported sleep burden runs high, but the spending and demand signals run low, the Index flags a possible gap between the people who might need home therapy and the support reaching them.Key FindingsHawai‘i ranks #1 (78.7/100): The nation's highest short-sleep rate (45.4%) meets one of its lowest device-spending figures ($3.56 per beneficiary).A fourfold spending gap divides the country, from $3.29 per beneficiary in New Jersey to $13.33 in Utah.The Northeast spends the least on home PAP therapy ($4.51 per beneficiary) while reporting roughly average short sleep. Ten of its 12 states rank in the top 30.The South sleeps the least, with a regional short-sleep rate of 38.2% and 10 of 14 states in the top half.The Dakotas and Mountain West rank lowest, pairing better sleep with the highest device spending in the country.Nationwide, 35.6% of adults report fewer than seven hours of sleep a night.Hawai‘i: The Country's Sharpest MismatchHawai‘i captures the whole pattern in one state. Its short-sleep rate tops every other state, a sign of real strain on sleep health across the islands. Its Medicare PAP spending runs among the lowest anywhere, $3.56 per beneficiary against a national average of $7.54.That combination is what pushes Hawai‘i to the top of the Index. Heavy need, low home-therapy spend, and steady search interest in CPAP terms add up to a place where people may be carrying the weight of poor sleep without much support for treating it at home. No other state shows the pattern this plainly.The numbers also sit against a shifting policy backdrop. For 2026, CMS finalized its Medicare Physician Fee Schedule with a 2.5% efficiency adjustment to many services, and sleep medicine groups have warned that the rule continues a pattern of underpayment for sleep care. Medicare has also been steadily expanding the categories of home equipment that require prior authorization before they are covered, adding approval steps along the path from a physician's order to delivery. A state like Hawai‘i, where home-therapy spending already runs low, those added pressures may be worth watching.The Northeast: A Spending-Side GapIf Hawai‘i combines high burden with low support, the Northeast shows what a gap driven mostly by spending looks like. As a region, its short-sleep rate of 35.1% sits just below the national average of 35.6%, though its largest states run higher. This isn't a region that sleeps unusually badly. What stands out is the spending. Vitality Medical The Northeast records the lowest home PAP spending of any region through Medicare, an average of $4.51 per beneficiary, with New Jersey ($3.29) and New York ($3.66) at the very bottom of the national range.The result shows up in the rankings: 10 of 12 Northeastern states land in the top 30 of the Index. It's a reminder that a gap doesn't require unusually bad sleep to open. In the Northeast, ordinary sleep burden paired with the country's lowest home-therapy spending is enough to surface a potential mismatch, and it does so in a region with some of the nation's highest-ranked hospital systems.The South: A Burden-Side GapIf the Northeast's gap comes from thin spending, the South's comes from the sheer weight of need. The South and Southeast post the country's highest regional short-sleep prevalence at 38.2%, with 10 of the region's 14 states in the top half of the rankings. Vitality Medical West Virginia (No. 2), Louisiana (No. 6), and Arkansas (No. 9) each report short-sleep rates above 38% while their Medicare PAP spending stays below the national average.These states also carry some of the country's heaviest chronic-disease burdens. West Virginia, Louisiana, and Arkansas all fall within what researchers call the "diabetes belt," a Southern cluster where diabetes rates run well above the national average. Poor sleep tends to travel with those same conditions; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists sleep apnea among the risks tied to obesity, alongside Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. Where the underlying burden runs this high, even average home-therapy support may leave a meaningful share of people underserved.Context: A Recall and a Tighter SystemThe state and regional gaps sit on top of two national pressures worth naming carefully. Neither is captured in the Index, and neither falls on one state more than another. They describe the environment every state is operating in.Supply has gotten shakier. The recall of one of the most dominant CPAP and BiPAP makers, Philips, created uneven ground across the market. Philips agreed to a consent decree restricting future sales as part of a settlement with regulators, after a recall that covered an estimated 15 million devices worldwide. When a dominant manufacturer pulls back, the resupply chain that keeps therapy working can tighten for everyone who depends on it.Access is only one part of the picture. Before access is gained, many cases are never identified at all: an estimated 80% of sleep apnea cases remain undiagnosed, which the AASM attributes in part to limited awareness among the public and health care professionals.These two forces don't change the rankings, but they raise the stakes behind them. A potential gap is easier to close when devices are plentiful, and diagnosis is routine. Right now, neither is guaranteed, which means the places the Index already flags, where sleep burden looks high, and support signals look thin, are the places with the least margin if the broader system gets harder to navigate.The Other End of the MapThe bottom of the Index is just as telling as the top. South Dakota (No. 51), Montana (No. 50), Nebraska (No. 49), Utah (No. 48), and Colorado (No. 47) close out the rankings, and they share a profile: low short-sleep rates paired with higher Medicare PAP spending. Utah spends $13.33 per beneficiary, nearly four times what New Jersey spends.A low score suggests that short-sleep rates and Medicare PAP spending appear more aligned within the index. The Index is a measure of potential unmet need, so the states doing better land lower. That fourfold spending spread, from $3.29 in New Jersey to $13.33 in Utah, is the single clearest sign of how unevenly home sleep therapy is reimbursed across the country. Vitality Medical Top 5: The Widest Gaps Between Need and SupportThese five states show the largest mismatch between how much people are struggling with sleep and how much home-therapy support is reaching them.Hawai‘i (78.7): The nation's highest short-sleep rate (45.4%) paired with one of its lowest PAP spending figures ($3.56 per beneficiary).West Virginia (61.3): A short-sleep rate of 41.3%, second-highest in the index, against below-average PAP spending of $5.92.Maryland (58.0): A 38.1% short-sleep rate with PAP spending of $4.07, among the lowest in the country.New York (58.0): A 38.4% short-sleep rate paired with $3.66 in PAP spending per beneficiary.New Jersey (56.9): The lowest Medicare PAP spending per beneficiary in the country at $3.29, alongside a 37.5% short-sleep rate.Bottom 5: Where Need and Access Appear to Line UpThese five rank lowest because their sleep burden is comparatively low and their home-therapy spending is high, a sign that the support system is roughly meeting demand.South Dakota (12.7): The lowest score in the index, with a 30.2% short-sleep rate and $12.81 in PAP spending per beneficiary.Montana (15.8): A 31.6% short-sleep rate against $12.29 in PAP spending.Nebraska (17.3): A 31.3% short-sleep rate with $11.40 in PAP spending per beneficiary.Utah (18.9): The highest PAP spending per beneficiary in the country at $13.33, with a 34.2% short-sleep rate.Colorado (18.9): A 30.9% short-sleep rate paired with $10.63 in PAP spending. SummaryThe map this study draws doesn't follow the lines you'd expect. Wealthy Northeastern states and hard-pressed Southern ones land near each other at the top, for opposite reasons, while much of the Midwest and Mountain West sits at the bottom because the signals there appear to align. Geography seems to shape how sleep burden and Medicare PAP spending line up.What stays with you is the human shape under the numbers. Behind the 45.4% in Hawai‘i and the $3.29 in New Jersey are people sleeping badly, while, for some, the device that might help sits a few more steps down the path than it should. Those steps are not getting easier: payment pressures and added approval requirements are pulling in the wrong direction. Short sleep is a proxy, not a diagnosis, and the study is careful not to claim otherwise. But proxies point somewhere, and this one points toward a lot of people who could rest easier than they do.The work ahead is unglamorous: clearer coverage, shorter waits, a steadier supply of machines, and the masks and tubing that keep them running. None of it makes headlines on its own. For a person relying on home PAP therapy, those basics can shape whether treatment stays on track.MethodologyTo understand how Americans access home sleep therapy, we built the Sleep Apnea Access Index across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Index combines three signals into a single 0-100 score, where a higher score reflects greater potential unmet need for home-based sleep therapy support.Short-sleep prevalence (40% of the score) comes from CDC PLACES data based on the 2022 BRFSS survey, measuring the share of adults reporting fewer than seven hours of sleep per night, aggregated to the state level. Medicare PAP device spending (35%, inverted) comes from CMS Medicare Part B Durable Medical Equipment data for 2023, covering CPAP and BiPAP device codes (E0601, E0470, E0471), divided by the state's original Medicare fee-for-service enrollment; lower spending per beneficiary raises a state's need score. Google Trends search demand (25%) averages state-level interest across five terms (CPAP machine, sleep apnea treatment, CPAP mask, sleep apnea symptoms, and CPAP supplies) over the trailing 12 months. Each component was min-max normalized across the 51 locations before weighting.A few limits are worth stating plainly. Short sleep is a proxy for sleep-health burden, not a confirmed sleep apnea diagnosis; many factors shorten sleep, and the Index makes no clinical claim about actual apnea rates by state. The Medicare DME data covers fee-for-service beneficiaries only, so Medicare Advantage claims aren't captured, and the fee-for-service share varies by state. Spending is attributed to the referring physician's state, which can introduce minor misattribution in border or rural areas.This story was produced by Vitality Medical and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Federal Grad PLUS loan program eliminated for new borrowers as of July 1: How to navigate the changes Federal Grad PLUS loan program eliminated for new borrowers as of July 1: How to navigate the changesEarning a graduate degree can advance your career and increase your earning potential, but it might come with a high price tag. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of a Master’s degree is $62,820, and about half of graduate students take out student loans to cover costs.And as of July 1 2026, the federal Grad PLUS loan program was eliminated for new borrowers, reports College Ave, a private student loan company. New borrowers can still access federal Direct unsubsidized loans, but they’ll have new borrowing limits, and given these new borrowing limits and the elimination of Grad PLUS loans, federal loans may not cover the full graduate school cost of attendance and you may need to look for other ways to fill the funding gap.If borrowing student loans is part of your financial plan, it’s important to find a student loan with reasonable borrowing costs, repayment flexibility, and borrower protections. Before signing on the dotted line, it’s important to take time to compare options and find a loan that best fits your financial situation.Here’s how to find a graduate student loan so you can get the financing you need without overpaying in the long run.Review your student loan optionsUnderstanding your student loan options is the first step. Graduate students typically have two main financing options: federal student loans and private student loans. Here’s a quick comparison between the two: College Ave Start with federal student loans firstFor most graduate students, federal student loans are the best place to start. They come with fixed interest rates, flexible repayment options, and various protections, including deferment and forbearance. Plus, federal loans are eligible for forgiveness programs, like Public Service Loan Forgiveness.You also don’t need a minimum credit score to qualify for a federal Direct unsubsidized student loan. You simply must meet requirements for federal financial aid, which include citizenship criteria and enrolling in an eligible program.As of July 1, 2026, the Grad PLUS loan program was eliminated for new borrowers, and while new borrowers can still access Direct unsubsidized loans, they’ll have new borrowing limits:Up to $20,500 per year with a lifetime limit of $100,000 for graduate studentsUp to $50,000 per year with a lifetime limit of $200,000 for professional students, such as law, medical, and dental studentsTo take out federal student loans, you’ll need to fill out and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It’s generally wise to max out your federal student loan options before turning to a private loan.Consider private student loans to fill a gap in fundingGiven the new borrowing limits for Direct unsubsidized loans and elimination of Grad PLUS loans, federal loans may not cover your full graduate school cost of attendance. If you have a gap in funding, you might consider a private student loan.Private student loans come from private lenders, such as banks, credit unions and online loan companies. Rates and terms vary, but lenders often offer the lowest rates to borrowers with the strongest financial profile, especially in terms of credit.If you have a high interest rate, you may be able to lower it in the future through refinancing, especially if market rates drop, you improve your credit, or both.How to find the best private student loan for graduate schoolPrivate graduate school loans are available from a variety of lenders, so it can be challenging to narrow down your options. Here are some tips for finding the best private student loan for grad school.1. Improve your creditUnlike federal student loans, private student loans generally involve a credit check and income review. Lenders review your credit to see how you’ve handled debt in the past and assess your risk as a borrower.If you have weak credit, you might not get approved or receive a higher interest rate. That’s why it’s worth improving your credit score before you apply.Some steps you can take include:Pay all your loans and credit cards on time, as your payment history affects 35% of your credit scoreReduce your credit utilization, which impacts 30% of your credit score. Paying down your credit card balances can help.Avoid closing old credit accounts; the length of your credit history affects 15% of your score.Don’t apply for lots of new loans or credit cards at once, because hard credit inquiries can lower your score.Dispute any errors you find on your credit report. You can order free weekly copies from AnnualCreditReport.com.If you don’t have time to improve your credit, applying with a creditworthy cosigner may help you get approved for a loan or qualify for a lower interest rate. A cosigner shares equal responsibility for the loan, which reduces risk for the lender.Keep in mind, however, that a cosigner’s credit will be impacted by how you pay back your loan. On-time payments can help improve credit, while late payments will drag it down.2. Shop aroundPrivate lenders can vary quite a bit in terms of interest rates, repayment options, and eligibility requirements. It always pays to shop around and find your best offer on a graduate school loan.You can often check your rates online through private lenders prequalification, a process that won’t impact your credit score. Prequalifying gives you the chance to compare potential rates and terms before you commit.Reading over customer reviews could be helpful, too. Find out what other borrowers have to say about their experience with the lender and its customer support team.3. Compare interest rates and feesWhen comparing loan offers, finding one with the lowest interest rate is a top priority. Even a small change in your rate could mean the difference of hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest charges.Let’s say, for example, you take out a $15,000 loan. At a 12% interest rate, you’d pay $10,825 on a 10-year repayment term. But if you found an 8% interest rate, you’d pay $6,839 in total interest charges, nearly $4,000 less.Consider whether the interest rate is fixed, meaning it stays the same over the life of the loan, or variable, meaning it can change with market conditions. You’ll have more predictable costs with a fixed rate, but a variable rate may lead to savings if it’s lower and you can pay your loan off quickly.Keep an eye out for any fees that could add to your borrowing costs, as well, such as origination or application fees. Many private lenders don’t charge these fees, but review the fine print to make sure.4. Go over repayment termsBefore you borrow a loan, make sure you understand how repayment will work. This includes how long you’ll have to repay the loan and what your monthly payment will be.Many lenders let you choose terms between five and 20 years. A shorter term will mean higher monthly payments, but you’ll accrue less interest. The opposite will be true for a longer term – lower monthly payments but higher interest costs overall.Also, find out when repayment will begin. Some lenders offer a grace period that extends six or nine months after you graduate. You may also have the option of postponing or reducing payments during a graduate residency or fellowship.All of these details are important when choosing a student loan that will fit your budget now and after you graduate.5. Find out about borrower protectionsPrivate student loans typically don’t have as many protections as federal loans do, such as income-based repayment or student loan forgiveness. But many private lenders offer hardship options to pause payments through temporary deferment or forbearance if you lose your job, go back to school or enter a residency, fellowship or clerkship.Alternative ways to pay for graduate schoolWhen it comes to student loans, it’s always wise to keep borrowing to a minimum. Before taking on debt, consider some alternative ways to pay for graduate school:Grants and scholarships: Both grants and scholarships are a form of gift aid that you don’t have to pay back. You can find them through your school and private organizations. Even small awards can help reduce how much you need to borrow.Income from work-study or a part-time job: If your schedule allows, consider working part-time during graduate school to earn money. You might qualify for work-study or a graduate assistantship or find a part-time job on- or off-campus.Employer assistance: Some companies offer tuition reimbursement to qualifying employees who want to go back to school.Savings: Saving up money before graduate school could lower how much you need to take out in student loans.Make graduate school loans work for youTaking out graduate school loans is a commitment, so review your options carefully. Start with federal loans, which typically offer more flexibility than private student loans and are easier to access.If you need additional funding, private student loans can fill the gap. Shop around with multiple lenders and review rates, fees, and repayment options before you pick an offer.Finally, consider how you’ll pay back the loan based on your career path and expected income. By taking this informed approach, you can use graduate loans to reach your goals without creating unnecessary financial stress.This story was produced by College Ave and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	First Army honors outgoing leader, welcomes successor at Arsenal ceremony Cannon fire marked a leadership transition as First Army welcomed a new command sergeant major at Rock Island Arsenal.
	Illinois, Deere settle right-to-repair antitrust lawsuit Illinois AG Kwame Raoul announced a major antitrust settlement with Deere and Company over right to repair farm equipment.
	MidAmerican Energy wants natural gas delivery charge increase in Iowa MidAmerican Energy has requested a delivery charge increase for natural gas, raising average monthly bills for Iowa customers starting July 17.
	Davenport man charged with attempted murder in July 4 shooting A Davenport man faces attempted murder and other felony charges after police say he shot another man during a gang-related incident on July 4.
	Motorcyclist taken to hospital after crash in Jo Daviess County The crash took place on West Stagecoach Trail on Tuesday night after the motorcyclist drifted off the roadway. They were flown to a hospital for their injuries.
	Supreme Court financial disclosures reveal how their books add to their income The Supreme Court annual financial reports shed light on the justices' gifts, travel and personal lives.
	How AI is changing the insurance claims process and what it means for accident victims How AI is changing the insurance claims process and what it means for accident victimsWhile a car crash once meant days of phone calls, inspection appointments, and back-and-forth paperwork, some insurance claims can now begin with a smartphone photo, a telematics record, or an automated estimate generated before an adjuster ever sees the damaged vehicle.That shift is changing one of the most stressful parts of an accident: the period after the crash, when injured people are trying to document what happened, get medical treatment approved, repair or replace a vehicle, and understand what an insurer is willing to pay. In 2023, there were an estimated 6.1 million police-reported traffic crashes in the United States, resulting in more than 2.4 million people injured and 40,901 killed, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.To better understand how claims technology is changing the experience after a crash, Law Offices of Pius Joseph, a personal injury law firm, examined federal crash data, insurance regulatory guidance, and recent consumer-protection actions involving artificial intelligence and driving data.AI is already part of the insurance life cycleArtificial intelligence is not limited to chatbots or customer-service tools. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners says AI is being used throughout the insurance life cycle, including underwriting, pricing, policy servicing, claim management, and fraud detection. In claims, NAIC says insurers use AI for accident image analysis, estimating ultimate claim settlement values, and fraud detection.A 2026 NAIC Journal of Insurance Regulation article reviewing insurer surveys found that more than 70% of automobile, homeowners, and health insurers surveyed were already using, planning to use, or exploring AI. Among life insurers, 58% reported current or expected future use.For accident victims, that can mean faster processing in straightforward cases. A damaged bumper, uploaded photos, a police report, and repair-shop data can all be routed through automated systems that identify damage, compare it with historical claims, flag inconsistencies, and generate estimates.But claims after serious crashes are rarely just a repair estimate. They can involve medical bills, wage loss, long-term care needs, liability disputes, and questions about whether a settlement reflects the full cost of an injury. Those are the cases where speed may matter less than whether the system is accurately weighing the person’s circumstances.Faster claims can still leave gapsThe clearest benefit of AI is efficiency. Algorithms can sort documents, read photos, identify missing information, detect duplicate bills, and route claims to the right department. For insurers handling large volumes of auto, health, property, and liability claims, automation can reduce administrative time.That matters because crash claims are only one part of a much larger system. NHTSA’s 2023 crash data shows that millions of people each year move through some version of the postcrash process (police reports, repairs, medical treatment, and insurance filings).However, the same tools that speed routine steps can create new problems if they are used to make or heavily influence decisions without enough human review. A model may estimate vehicle damage from photos but miss hidden structural damage. A claims tool may flag a medical bill as unusual without understanding why a specific injury required additional care. A fraud-detection system may detect a pattern that looks suspicious but has a reasonable explanation.Insurance regulators have increasingly focused on those risks. Insurers remain responsible for complying with existing insurance laws when using AI, including rules related to fairness, accuracy, consumer protection, and the avoidance of unfair discrimination. They also emphasize that state regulators may require insurers to explain how AI tools are used in claims and other decisions.Driving data is becoming part of the claims and pricing debateOne of the biggest changes for accident victims is that vehicles themselves can now generate data that may become relevant after a crash. Connected cars can record location, speed, hard braking, acceleration, mileage, and other driving behavior. That information may help reconstruct an accident, but it can also raise privacy and fairness concerns.In January 2025, the Federal Trade Commission announced action against General Motors and OnStar, alleging the companies failed to clearly disclose that they collected precise geolocation and driving-behavior data and sold it to third parties, including consumer reporting agencies, without consumers’ consent.The FTC finalized its order in January 2026. The agency said GM and OnStar would be barred for five years from sharing consumers’ geolocation and driving behavior data with consumer reporting agencies. The order also requires stronger consumer control, including consent requirements and the ability to access or delete certain data.The FTC’s complaint alleged that some consumers discovered the data sharing only after adverse action notices from insurance companies indicated their coverage was denied, canceled, or their premiums increased because of driving-behavior reports.For accident victims, the lesson is broader than one automaker or one enforcement action. A modern claim may involve more than just a police report, a witness statement, and a repair estimate. It may also involve data generated before, during, or after the crash, some of which the driver may not realize exists.Medical claims face their own AI guardrailsCrash-related insurance claims often overlap with medical coverage. An injured person may be dealing with auto insurance, health insurance, disability coverage, or Medicare Advantage, depending on the circumstances. AI is increasingly part of those systems, too.In February 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services clarified that Medicare Advantage plans may use algorithms or AI tools to assist with coverage determinations, but those tools cannot replace the required review of an individual patient’s circumstances. CMS said an algorithm’s prediction alone cannot serve as the basis for terminating post-acute care services; the patient’s condition must be reassessed before services are ended.California has also moved to limit how AI can be used in health coverage decisions. State guidance issued in 2025 addressed the use of AI, algorithms, and software tools in utilization management following the passage of SB 1120, which requires health plans and disability insurers that use these tools to meet specific standards.Those health-coverage rules do not govern every auto or personal injury claim. But they show the direction of policy debate: AI may assist, but regulators are increasingly wary of systems that deny, delay, or reduce benefits without meaningful review.The claims process is becoming more technicalFor accident victims, the practical result is that the claims process may feel less visible. A person may not know whether a settlement estimate came from an adjuster, a software tool, a photo-analysis model, or a combination of all three. They may also not know whether a medical bill was reviewed by a clinician, an automated utilization-management tool, or both.That lack of visibility matters because claims decisions affect real financial outcomes. A delayed approval can postpone treatment. A low repair estimate can leave a vehicle owner paying out of pocket. A denied medical claim can create debt before liability is resolved. A settlement offer based on incomplete information may not reflect future medical needs, lost income, or long-term impairment.NAIC’s guidance emphasizes that insurers using AI should be able to govern, test, document, and explain their systems. The association says human oversight remains important in insurance decision-making, especially where AI affects consumers.What accident victims can watch for as claims become automatedAs AI becomes more common in claims handling, accident victims may need to be more careful about documentation. Photos should be complete and taken from multiple angles. Medical symptoms should be reported consistently. Repair estimates, diagnostic records, wage documentation, and correspondence with insurers should be saved.Consumers should also pay attention to adverse action notices, denial letters, and explanations of benefits. These documents may reveal whether a decision was based on driving data, medical necessity criteria, repair estimates, or other factors. If a claim decision appears incomplete or inaccurate, the notice may also explain how to appeal or request more information.The technology behind claims may continue to change, but the central issue remains the same: After an accident, the claim should reflect the facts of the crash, the evidence available, and the person’s actual losses, and not only what a model can infer from a photo, a form, or a data point.This story was produced by Law Offices of Pius Joseph and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	15 housing markets where sellers still call the shots 15 housing markets where sellers still call the shotsThe housing market looks very different this summer than it did just a few years ago. In many parts of the country, buyers finally have more room to negotiate as inventory rises and homes take longer to sell. Nationally, existing-home sales are mostly flat year over year, while housing inventory continues to grow and affordability is improving across every region, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).But some markets are still moving much faster.Many of the country’s hottest summer housing markets are concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest, where inventory remains tight and competition is strong. HomeLight’s latest Top Agent Insights survey, conducted in April, found that sellers continue to hold the most negotiating power in those two regions, even as market conditions soften elsewhere. “When the right house hits the market, competition absolutely still exists,” says Robyn Nasuti, a Massachusetts real estate agent.Using a mix of housing market data and local expertise gleaned from a network of nearly 30,000 top-rated real estate agents, HomeLight shares 15 housing markets where sellers continue to have the upper hand this summer.A note about the data:The median sale price is the midpoint of the prices of homes sold in each market. For reference, NAR reports that the national median sale price for single-family homes is $434,300.Days on market refers to the typical number of days a home is listed for sale before an offer is accepted (from listing to contract). Nationwide, homes spend about 29 days on the market.Months of inventory estimates how long it would take to sell all homes currently on the market at the current sales pace. A balanced housing market typically has 4-6 months of inventory. Nationwide, inventory sits at 4.5 months.15. Akron, OhioMedian sale price: $239,900Typical days on market: 39Months inventory: 1.9Akron stands out this summer as one of the Midwest markets where buyers can still find comparatively affordable homes without sacrificing access to jobs and major amenities. The area’s healthcare, education, and manufacturing sectors continue supporting steady buyer demand, while some buyers priced out of nearby Cleveland are looking to Akron for lower home prices.Even as many housing markets around the country cool, Akron remains a seller's market. Inventory is limited, and home values continue rising. In fact, NAR data shows the Akron metro posted one of the nation’s largest annual home price increases in the first quarter, with prices climbing 12%.“Today’s sellers are focused on pricing correctly from day one, investing in presentation like staging and professional marketing, and understanding buyer expectations in a competitive market,” says Akron agent Tina White. “Even with shifting interest rates, well-prepared homes are still generating strong interest and multiple offers.”White expects buyer demand to stay strong through the rest of 2026: “Many buyers have been sitting on the sidelines, and as soon as they feel even a slight sense of stability, they’re jumping back in — creating bursts of competition.”14. Charlotte, North CarolinaMedian sale price: $425,000Typical days on market: 45Months inventory: 3.3Unlike many of the hot housing markets concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest, Charlotte is one of the few Southern metros still seeing strong competition despite rising inventory. The region’s banking, healthcare, and tech industries continue to attract new residents, especially younger professionals and first-time buyers.More homes are hitting the market than a year ago, giving buyers more choices than they’ve had in recent summers. Even so, Charlotte remains a competitive market. Inventory is still relatively limited, and desirable homes continue attracting strong interest while sellers receive close to their asking price on average.“Move-in-ready homes with modern layouts sell faster and command the highest prices,” says Daniel Fisher, a Charlotte agent.“Pending sales are up across all tiers. High-net-worth buyers remain active, however, because of the fact that we have lots of new townhomes being built across our city and all over our region,” says Joan B. Goode, president of the Canopy Realtor Association. She says the additional supply could make homeownership more attainable for everyday buyers as well.13. Milwaukee, WisconsinMedian sale price: $381,450Typical days on market: 20Months inventory: 1.4Milwaukee is dealing with a major shortage of homes for sale, even as more listings come onto the market this year. Inventory sits far below balanced-market levels, helping keep prices rising and competition strong for desirable homes.“Supply remains tight, so we really need to see consistent reductions in mortgage rates for affordability to improve,” says Tom Larson, president of the Wisconsin Realtors Association.Even with higher mortgage rates, buyers are still moving quickly when well-priced homes become available. Milwaukee attracts buyers looking for more affordable home prices than many larger metros, while the area’s healthcare, manufacturing, and education sectors continue supporting housing demand.“Buyers are wishing prices would fall based on rate increases, but the lack of available inventory is raising prices and costing buyers who wait to pay more for a home,” says Jim Geracie, a Milwaukee agent with nearly 50 years of experience. “We tell our buyers the sooner you buy, the less you will pay.”12. Richmond, VirginiaMedian sale price: $454,000Typical days on market: 17Months inventory: 1.5Richmond continues attracting buyers with its mix of job opportunities, relatively affordable home prices, and convenient central location. Even as some Virginia markets see more homes come on the market, buyers in the Richmond area are still competing for a relatively limited supply.Compared with a year ago, the number of homes for sale fell nearly 14%, while pending sales increased almost 8%, signaling continued buyer demand. Homes are also selling faster than they were last year, and sellers are still receiving slightly more than their asking price on average.“While mortgage rates remain sensitive to global events and inflation pressures, the underlying demand in Virginia is still very strong,” says Virginia Realtors Chief Economist Ryan Price.Major employers in healthcare, finance, technology, and government help keep demand steady across the region. With inventory still tight, well-priced homes often receive multiple offers and move quickly, particularly in sought-after neighborhoods like the Fan District or Church Hill.11. Worcester, MassachusettsMedian sale price: $522,000Typical days on market: 37Months inventory: 2.1Worcester is drawing plenty of buyer interest this summer as more people search for lower prices outside the Boston area. Buyers looking for more space and slightly better affordability are continuing to push into Central Massachusetts, where competition for desirable homes remains strong.More listings have started hitting the market compared to the past few years. “But that said, inventory is still historically tight, especially for well-priced homes that we consider under the mid-600s in the Worcester area,” says Nasuti. Prices continue to rise as buyers compete for the limited number of homes available.Nasuti notes that, compared to past summers, buyers today are more cautious. “Interest rates have changed how people shop, so they're analyzing their monthly affordability much more carefully.” Some buyers are widening their search for better value, while others are turning to condos and townhomes for lower price points and maintenance costs.“It's a very good time in the market for sellers if the home is priced and presented correctly. For buyers, there's finally a little bit more breathing room, but more opportunity to negotiate than we've seen in years past,” says Nasuti.10. Lancaster, PennsylvaniaMedian sale price: $363,500Typical days on market: 19Months inventory: 1.32Lancaster attracts buyers seeking more space and lower housing costs than they can find in many larger East Coast cities. Its location also appeals to people who want to stay within reasonable driving distance of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other major job centers.Even as inventory improved this spring, buyer demand remains strong. Properties are selling for nearly 103% of the asking price, showing that buyers are still willing to compete for the right home. In many neighborhoods, well-priced homes are moving quickly, helping Lancaster maintain seller momentum this summer."Lancaster County remains a highly competitive and desirable housing market," says Christina Diehl, president of the Lancaster County Association of Realtors. "Buyer demand continues to be strong, and we are seeing home values hold steady as inventory gradually improves."Local agents say sellers continue to hold an advantage, especially when homes are priced and presented thoughtfully. “Selling is more intentional, and homeowners are staying put longer,” says Kelley Hughes, an agent in the area. She adds that buyers waiting for prices to cool may end up paying more later.9. Springfield, MassachusettsMedian sale price: $360,000Typical days on market: 25Months inventory: 1.6Springfield has become an increasingly popular choice for buyers searching for lower housing costs while remaining close to major job centers like Boston and Hartford.Compared to many other parts of Massachusetts, Springfield is relatively affordable. While the statewide median sale price is $645,400, Springfield homes sell for far less, helping sustain buyer demand even as mortgage rates remain elevated.“Properties that are well-priced and show nicely and are in great locations, per se, are still getting multiple offers in this situation … even though we have a shortage of housing,” says Judy Nevarez, president of the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley.Springfield has less than seven weeks of housing supply, leaving buyers with limited choices. Sellers are still receiving more than their asking price on average, a sign that competition remains active.Local agents say the market is moving just as quickly as it did in past summers. “It was competitive then, and it’s competitive now,” says Elaine Evans, a Massachusetts agent with nearly 30 years of experience. “That hasn’t changed.”8. Providence, Rhode IslandMedian sale price: $449,000Typical days on market: 33Months inventory: 2.1Providence stands out as one of the Northeast’s hottest housing markets. Even with high mortgage rates, buyers continue competing for a limited number of homes. During the spring market, median sale prices surged as much as 35% year over year. While appreciation has cooled, home prices continue to trend upward.“The interest by investors in multifamily homes continues to raise prices. Though properties are staying on the market a little longer and buyers have more listings to choose from, many Rhode Islanders are shut out of that market altogether due to affordability issues,” says Mike Pereira, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.Part of what keeps Providence attractive is its location. Buyers can stay within commuting distance of Boston while finding lower home prices than they might farther north. The city’s walkable neighborhoods, universities, healthcare systems, and access to commuter rail also appeal to both local and out-of-state buyers.Even as more homes slowly come onto the market, Providence is still seeing strong buyer activity, with limited inventory putting pressure on prices across much of the area.7. Columbus, OhioMedian sale price: $306,500Typical days on market: 25Months inventory: 2.2Columbus continues drawing buyers this summer with its growing job market and expanding tech sector. The metro posted 1.5% annual job growth, helping support a large and steady buyer pool. Major employers like Ohio State University and Intel’s massive semiconductor project are fueling demand, while home prices still look more manageable than in many other fast-growing cities around the country.Inventory has improved from the extremely tight conditions of recent years, but supply still isn’t keeping up with buyer interest. Home prices continue to rise, and sellers are still receiving close to their asking price on average, showing that competition remains strong this summer.Columbus Realtors President Gloria Alonso Cannon says that bidding wars are becoming increasingly more common. “I will be surprised if this does not hold through the summer, but gone are the years that we're seeing 20 and 25 offers on a home. But we are still in houses that are very well-prepared and are priced where they should be priced.”Deanna Stevens, a local agent, expects inventory to increase. “I think there are going to be more homes on the market, but I’m not sure that the prices will come down.”6. Grand Rapids, MichiganMedian sale price: $282,000-$305,000Typical days on market: 18Months inventory: 1.0Grand Rapids is seeing tight inventory this summer, with buyers competing for homes across much of the metro. Prices are rising, and in suburbs like East Grand Rapids and Rockford, attractive listings often receive multiple offers within the first few days on the market.“The sellers winning in this market aren't just listing a house, they're launching a product. That mindset shift is everything,” says Mark Brace, a Grand Rapids agent with more than two decades of experience.Part of the demand is coming from buyers relocating from larger, pricier metro areas. The region’s healthcare, manufacturing, and education employers are also bringing new residents into West Michigan, while ongoing downtown development has added to the area’s appeal.Brace says the market could heat up even more if mortgage rates ease later this year. “There's an enormous amount of pent-up demand sitting on the sidelines in West Michigan: buyers who are qualified, ready, and waiting for a payment that pencils out.”5. Kenosha, WisconsinMedian sale price: $361,500Typical days on market: 27 Months inventory: 1.4Kenosha has become one of the Midwest’s fastest-moving housing markets, with strong buyer demand colliding with a limited supply of homes. Inventory has struggled to keep up as more buyers move into the region.“We in Kenosha County, similar to a lot of communities across the country, had pretty significant stagnation in new housing developments really since the recession,” says Nicole Ryf, president of the Kenosha Area Business Alliance.Part of Kenosha’s appeal is its location between Chicago and Milwaukee. Many buyers from Illinois are crossing the border in search of lower housing costs and more space while staying close enough to commute to the Chicago area.“We know the cost of living there is significantly higher than it is here; I will say that does drive up our prices here a little bit,” says Ryf. “That being said, we are still very competitive compared to these larger metro areas.”New manufacturing and industrial growth across southeastern Wisconsin is also bringing more workers into the area. Even as prices rise, desirable homes are still selling quickly when they hit the market.4. Buffalo, New YorkMedian sale price: $267,278Typical days on market: 28Months inventory: 1.8With one of the tightest housing markets in the Northeast, Buffalo is experiencing another competitive summer. Buyer demand is still strong, but there aren’t enough homes on the market to fully meet it, especially for move-in-ready properties in popular price ranges. Even as inventory improves, the region still has less than two months of housing supply, and sellers are receiving nearly 105% of their asking price on average.“Our market is still very competitive,” says Lori Adams, president of the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors. “You have 3,400 agents competing for 600 homes.”Buffalo’s home prices still look relatively affordable compared to many larger East Coast cities, even after several years of price growth. The area’s healthcare, education, and manufacturing sectors continue bringing stability to the local economy and housing market.“Our housing stock is affordable compared to other places, but it's not necessarily affordable for people's salaries here in Buffalo,” Adams says. However, she adds that well-priced homes are still selling quickly, particularly when they show well.3. Rochester, New YorkMedian sale price: $195,000Typical days on market: 7Months inventory: 1-2 monthsRochester offers some of the lowest home prices in the Northeast, making it an attractive option for first-time buyers and anyone looking for more house for their money. Even with mortgage rates remaining elevated, buyers continue to target the area because housing costs are still far lower than in many larger cities.That affordability has not translated into an easy market for buyers. Inventory fell 25% from a year ago, leaving shoppers with even fewer homes to choose from. While closed sales also declined, the typical home spends just days on the market before going under contract.“We’re short supply, and locally that shows up in predictable ways: bidding wars, affordability pressure, and sellers holding historically low mortgage rates with little incentive to move,” wrote Rochester agent Mark Siwiec in the Rochester Business Journal.Rochester's large healthcare systems, universities, and technology employers continue bringing people to the area. Combined with relatively affordable home prices, those factors help keep buyers active and competition strong for well-priced homes across much of the market.2. Manchester, New HampshireMedian sale price: $461,750Typical days on market: 17Months inventory: 0.9Buyers continue to pour into the Manchester area as they search for more affordable alternatives to Greater Boston without giving up access to job centers and city amenities. That popularity has helped keep Manchester among the country’s hottest summer housing markets, with listings attracting nearly 3.5 times the national average number of views per property.Even as inventory has improved slightly from the extreme lows of recent years, supply remains far below balanced-market levels, helping homes sell quickly and keeping pressure on buyers. As a result, homes are selling for more than 104% of their asking price on average.“We’re seeing a market where demand remains very strong, even as buyers continue to navigate limited inventory,” says Josh Greenwald, president of New Hampshire Realtors.Pending sales in Manchester rose 7.8% year over year in May, while closed sales also increased. Greenwald is optimistic that this points to more sales in the months ahead.1. Hartford, ConnecticutMedian sale price: $443,000Typical days on market: 18Months inventory: 1.7The Hartford metro area has become one of the country’s most competitive housing markets, driven by a chronic inventory shortage, strong buyer demand, and fast-moving sales. Hartford continues to attract buyers looking for more space and relatively affordable homes within driving distance of both Boston and New York City, making it difficult for the housing supply to keep up.That competition remains intense this summer. Homes are still selling quickly, bidding wars are common, and buyers are frequently offering above asking price. Federal Housing Finance Agency data also shows the Hartford metro has experienced some of the strongest home value growth in the Northeast over the past several years.“Today’s sellers are focused on pricing precision, timing the market, and maximizing exposure from day one,” says Michael Calabro, a Hartford agent with more than 30 years of experience.Limited new construction continues to keep inventory tight, while many existing homeowners remain reluctant to give up low mortgage rates and move.Looking ahead, Calabro predicts that days on market will vary widely depending on a home’s condition and pricing. “Turnkey, well-priced homes will still move quickly, while overpriced or outdated properties will sit longer than sellers expect.”How sellers can make the most of today’s marketWhether you live in one of the nation's hottest summer housing markets or a market that's beginning to cool, success often comes down to preparation and pricing. As Nasuti puts it, “If we price homes appropriately, then they sell fast.”Having the right guidance can make a difference long before a listing goes live. “Sellers who partner with an experienced agent and take a proactive approach are seeing the best results,” says White.Working with a knowledgeable local agent can help sellers understand their market, price strategically, and prepare their home for buyers. For those planning a move, buy-before-you-sell programs can also offer flexibility by allowing homeowners to purchase their next home before selling their current one.Markets may look very different from one city to the next, but one thing hasn't changed: Buyers still show up for homes that are priced right. For sellers who do their homework and plan ahead, this summer could be a good time to make a move.This story was produced by HomeLight and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Police charge second man in Crowne Forest Apartments killing East Moline police have arrested a second man in connection with the June 16 killing at Crowne Forest Apartments. Here's what investigators say.
	Settlement announced in Deere antitrust lawsuit Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a coalition of five attorneys general, announced a settlement in their antitrust lawsuit against Deere and Company (Deere). The settlement resolves allegations that the farm equipment manufacturer used unlawful practices to limit farmers’ and independent repair providers’ ability to repair Deere farm [...]
	5 people, 2 pets safe after early morning Rock Island house fire Five people and two pets escaped safely after an early morning house fire on 23rd Avenue in Rock Island. The Red Cross is assisting.
	States where tourists may face higher injury risks and the industries most often liable States where tourists may face higher injury risks and the industries most often liableTourists cross state lines each year for beach trips, national parks, conventions, ski weekends, theme parks, casinos, and city breaks. Most return home without incident. But when visitors are injured away from home, the circumstances often involve the same broad categories: transportation, recreation, lodging, entertainment venues, restaurants, retail spaces, and other public-facing places that depend on tourist traffic.Tourism’s footprint is large enough that even rare incidents can add up. The Bureau of Economic Analysis says its travel and tourism accounts measure goods and services sold directly to visitors, including lodging, airfare, souvenirs, and other travel-related purchases. The agency reported that real travel and tourism output rose 7% in 2023, following a 20.8% increase in 2022.Yet visitor safety is harder to measure than visitor spending. Federal injury systems generally track where and how injuries occurred, or which product or setting was involved, not whether the injured person was a tourist.To learn where travel-related injury risks most often emerge, THE702FIRM Injury Attorneys, a Las Vegas personal injury law firm, examined federal injury, recreation, transportation, tourism, and civil court data to identify the states and industries where visitor-facing risks are most visible.States where tourists face the highest injury exposure1. NevadaPrimary risk drivers: hospitality, casinos, nightlife, rideshare/taxi traffic, pedestrian corridors, hotels, poolsLikely liability categories: premises liability, transportation, negligent security, product/equipment claimsWhy it ranks here: High visitor concentration in Las Vegas creates dense exposure to hotels, casinos, restaurants, entertainment venues, sidewalks, rideshares, and alcohol-adjacent nightlife. This risk is reflected in premises-liability verdicts such as a $3.4 million slip-and-fall award against a casino, underscoring how heavily trafficked hospitality environments can generate significant injury exposure when property hazards are alleged.2. Hawai‘iPrimary risk drivers: beaches, ocean recreation, hiking, hotels, rental carsLikely liability categories: recreation, premises liability, transportation, rental equipmentWhy it ranks here: Tourism is central to the state economy, and visitors often encounter unfamiliar water, trails, roads, and resort environments. Drowning is one of the main causes of tourist fatalities in Hawai‘i.3. FloridaPrimary risk drivers: theme parks, beaches, boating, pedestrian corridors, hotels, rental carsLikely liability categories: premises liability, transportation, recreation, product/equipmentWhy it ranks here: Florida combines very high visitor volume with amusement, water, lodging, nightlife, and road exposure. Reports in 2025 include fatal injuries sustained in amusement parks.4. ArizonaPrimary risk drivers: desert heat, hiking, national parks, long-distance drivesLikely liability categories: recreation, transportation, premises liabilityWhy it ranks here: Visitors often travel to outdoor destinations where heat, terrain, hydration, and access to emergency care matter. The Grand Canyon illustrates these risks especially well: Despite its popularity and established infrastructure, reporting has identified it as one of the deadliest national parks, underscoring how quickly extreme heat, steep terrain, dehydration, falls, and delayed access to rescue can turn outdoor recreation into an emergency.5. ColoradoPrimary risk drivers: skiing, hiking, altitude, mountain roads, rental equipmentLikely liability categories: recreation, transportation, product/equipmentWhy it ranks here: Outdoor recreation and winter tourism create injury exposure tied to terrain, weather, equipment, and transportation.National park data illustrates why outdoor-heavy states often appear in injury-risk discussions. The National Park Service’s mortality dashboard covers deaths reported in national parks from calendar years 2014 to 2019 and identifies motor vehicle crashes, drownings, and falls as the top three causes of unintentional deaths in parks.Industries most often tied to tourist injury liabilityBuilding on the preceding analysis of states where tourists face the highest injury exposure, the table below summarizes the industries most frequently associated with tourist injury liability. THE702FIRM Injury Attorneys Transportation remains the largest legal risk categoryWhen tourist injuries turn into civil claims, transportation is often the most common pathway. That includes rental cars, rideshares, taxis, shuttle buses, tour vans, pedestrian crashes, bicyclist injuries, airport transfers, and highway crashes near major attractions.The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that automobile accident cases accounted for nearly 60% of tort trials in state courts of general jurisdiction in 2005, the most recent broad national civil-trial dataset of its kind. Medical malpractice accounted for 15%, premises liability for 11%, and product liability for about 2%.For tourists, this makes roads and transportation systems central to the risk of injury. Visitors are often driving on unfamiliar routes, walking through dense commercial corridors, relying on rideshares, or traveling on rural roads near parks and resort areas. In destination states, that mix can bring together out-of-state drivers, pedestrians, commercial vehicles, buses, bikes, scooters, and taxis in the same high-traffic areas.Premises liability follows visitors indoors—and onto sidewalks, pools, and event spacesPremises liability is the legal category most directly connected to hotels, casinos, restaurants, retail stores, amusement venues, parking lots, sidewalks, and other properties open to visitors. BJS defines premises liability as alleged harm from inadequately maintained or dangerous property.For tourists, these risks are often ordinary rather than dramatic: a wet hotel lobby floor, broken stairs, uneven walkway, poor lighting, unsecured pool area, crowded venue, falling object, or unsafe parking lot. These cases also depend heavily on facts: whether the hazard existed, whether the business knew or should have known about it, whether warnings were posted, and whether the injured person’s own actions contributed to the incident.That last issue appears prominently in civil trial data. BJS found that in two-fifths of premises liability trials with a plaintiff winner, compensatory awards were reduced because of the plaintiff’s own negligence.Recreation and entertainment create a different kind of exposureRecreation-heavy states face risks less tied to sidewalks and more to terrain, water, weather, equipment, crowd management, and emergency access. National parks, ski areas, beaches, lakes, amusement parks, nightlife districts, and large events all bring people into environments where unfamiliarity can increase risk. National Park Service The National Park Service says its mortality dashboard is used to identify leading causes of death, activities associated with deaths, populations at risk, and contributing factors, including environmental, mechanical, and behavioral issues. The same NPS summary notes that parks use this data to prioritize safety projects and injury prevention.For a tourist-facing injury analysis, recreation and entertainment should not be treated as one category. A beach drowning, a ski collision, an amusement ride injury, a nightclub fall, and a hiking-related heat illness may all involve visitors, but they point to different prevention issues and potentially responsible parties.Product-related injuries are smaller but still relevantProduct liability accounts for a smaller share of civil trials than auto or premises claims, but it can still matter in tourist settings. Rental equipment, amusement devices, scooters, bicycles, helmets, boating gear, furniture, elevators, escalators, and recreational products can all be part of visitor injury cases.The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) is especially useful here because it collects emergency department data associated with consumer products and can generate national estimates from sampled hospital records.Risk follows where visitors goThe states that rank highest in a tourist injury risk analysis are not necessarily the most dangerous places to visit. More often, they are the places where visitor volume, transportation networks, outdoor recreation, lodging, nightlife, and public-facing businesses overlap.That overlap makes the risk of tourist injury difficult to isolate. A fall at a hotel, a crash in a rental car, a boating injury, or a heat-related emergency on a trail may all involve visitors, but those incidents are usually recorded by injury type, location, or product, not by whether the injured person was traveling.For tourists, the clearest pattern is that risk tends to follow exposure. States with dense entertainment districts, busy roads, major parks, beaches, ski areas, and large hospitality economies create more opportunities for injuries to occur.For businesses and public agencies, the same data points to where prevention efforts are most visible: safer walkways, clearer warnings, better-maintained equipment, stronger crowd management, and transportation systems designed for people unfamiliar with local roads.This story was produced by THE702FIRM Injury Attorneys and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	What landlords in high-migration cities pay for professional property management, and why it’s worth it What landlords in high-migration cities pay for professional property management, and why it's worth itPopulation growth is reshaping rental markets across the South and West, where fast-growing cities and nearby counties are absorbing many of the country’s newest movers. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that cities across all regions grew from 2023 to 2024, with Southern and Western cities seeing accelerated growth; Princeton, Texas, topped the list of fastest-growing cities with a 30.6% growth rate, while Houston had one of the largest numeric gains.That growth is not just happening inside city limits. Census data also shows that since 2021, counties in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas have increasingly topped domestic migration rankings, with places near Dallas, Atlanta, Austin, and San Antonio standing out in recent years.To determine what rental owners in these markets may pay for day-to-day oversight, Faranesh Real Estate and Property Management, a property management company in Las Vegas, examined data on professional property management costs.What professional property management typically costsProfessional property management is usually priced as an operating expense tied to rent, not as a flat national standard. A Montana Department of Revenue rental income and expense survey defines a management fee as an agency fee paid by an owner to a management company to oversee day-to-day operations, typically based on a percentage of collected rent.Public examples show how math is commonly modeled. Hawai'i’s Department of Taxation uses an example in which a managing agent collects $1,000 in rent and deducts a $100 management fee, while California’s Board of Equalization uses a 7% management cost in an income-approach valuation exercise.Using those public examples as an illustrative 7% to 10% range, the monthly management fee on a two-bedroom rental would vary widely across high-growth markets.Property management services are commonly used by landlords to reduce vacancy time, handle maintenance requests, and manage tenant communication. In high-growth rental markets, these services can help streamline operations as rental demand and turnover increase.How monthly fees compare across high-migration metrosUsing the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for a two-bedroom unit and an illustrative 7% to 10% management-fee range, estimated monthly costs vary by metro area. Faranesh Real Estate and Property Management These figures are estimates, not quoted market rates. They show how even the same percentage-based fee can differ across fast-growing rental markets because the underlying rent base varies.Why the percentage fee is only part of the costThose estimates do not include every possible charge. Some management agreements may also include leasing fees, renewal fees, inspection fees, maintenance coordination fees, or markups on vendor work.For landlords comparing options, the percentage of monthly rent is only one part of the cost structure. The larger question is what duties are included, how vacancies are handled, how maintenance is documented, and how quickly rent is collected.What property managers do for rental ownersThe value proposition is tied to the number of tasks property managers take off an owner’s plate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says property, real estate, and community association managers oversee many aspects of residential and commercial properties, including maintenance, operations, rent collection, inspections, repairs, contractor coordination, complaints, records, budgets, and compliance with antidiscrimination laws. The occupation’s median annual wage was $66,700 in May 2024, and the BLS projected employment to grow 4% from 2024 to 2034, with about 39,000 openings per year.For an out-of-state landlord or a small investor with one or two rentals, labor can become more valuable in high-migration markets, where tenant turnover, pricing decisions, maintenance demand, and leasing speed can change quickly.Managers may advertise vacant units, suggest rent levels, track occupancy rates and lease expirations, prepare financial reports, and make sure rent, taxes, insurance, and maintenance bills are paid on time.How tax treatment factors into the decisionTax treatment is another factor. The IRS notes that owners who receive rental income may deduct ordinary and necessary expenses for managing, conserving, and maintaining a rental property, including operating expenses, repairs, maintenance, advertising, utilities, insurance, taxes, and related costs.That does not mean a management fee pays for itself, and landlords still need to evaluate cash flow after mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, repairs, vacancies, and reserves. But it does mean management costs are treated as part of the operating picture rather than as a personal convenience expense.The trade-off for landlords in growing citiesIn fast-growing rental markets, the trade-off is often between paying a visible monthly fee and absorbing less visible costs: vacancy days, missed rent increases, slow repairs, poor tenant screening, late notices, incomplete records, or noncompliance with local and federal housing rules.A $150 monthly management fee on a two-bedroom rental may look small compared with a month of lost rent, but it may look large to an owner already facing higher insurance, taxes, and repair costs.For landlords, the clearest comparison is not simply “self-manage or hire a manager.” It is whether the owner has the time, local knowledge, vendor network, documentation habits, and legal awareness to operate the rental consistently in a market where new residents are changing demand.In high-migration cities, professional management is most likely to be worth the cost when it reduces vacancy time, improves rent collection, prevents maintenance from being deferred, and provides owners with cleaner records for financial and tax decisions.This story was produced by Faranesh Real Estate and Property Management and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
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	Statement lighting: A defining feature of modern luxury architecture Statement lighting: A defining feature of modern luxury architectureIn luxury architecture, soaring spaces can feel grand or cavernous—the critical difference lies in statement lighting. These fixtures function simultaneously as sculptural art and functional systems, solving the architectural challenge of filling vertical voids while shaping occupant experience. Modern statement lighting achieves this through both bold design and sophisticated technology: advanced dimming, scene personalization, and smart building integration.For architects and designers, statement lighting serves a dual purpose beyond aesthetics. These pieces act as focal points that anchor the eye, define zones without walls, and establish human scale in expansive volumes. They're as much technological assets as design elements—engineered systems that combine visual impact with performance.The most successful luxury interiors recognize this. Bees Lighting, specialists in commercial, industrial, and residential LED lighting, explored how statement lighting serves as both a functional necessity and a technological asset, unifying dispersed architectural elements while establishing spatial coherence. Mita Stock Images // Shutterstock Statement Lighting as Sculptural ArtStatement fixtures take several primary forms: cascading multistory chandeliers, bold drum and dome pendants, sculptural geometric mobile fixtures, and oversized wall sconces. Each combines aesthetic design with functional illumination; the visual composition of the fixture structures how light distributes throughout the space.Different fixture types serve distinct architectural purposes. Multistory cascading chandeliers function as vertical anchors in open-concept entries and central stairwells. These fixtures establish focal points that anchor spatial perception across multiple ceiling heights, counteracting the visual disconnection of large vertical volumes.Architectural linear suspensions, characterized by a long horizontal profile, serve the inverse function. These fixtures anchor linear spaces such as formal dining tables, expansive kitchen islands, and boardroom tables. Typical designs incorporate ultraslim integrated LED profiles, raw material bars (hand-carved alabaster or solid brass), or continuous loops of light engineered to provide high-lumen downward task lighting alongside ambient upward diffusion.Smart Integration and Control SystemsModern luxury lighting fixtures function as integrated electronic systems rather than passive lighting elements. Contemporary large-scale fixtures incorporate sophisticated control architectures designed to enhance performance, longevity, and operational flexibility.These systems serve multiple functions. Some protect electrical components and infrastructure from premature failure. Others facilitate control and automation of lighting across distributed spaces. The following features represent standard capabilities in high-end lighting systems.Scene PersonalizationScene personalization enables creation of automated lighting presets that adjust brightness and color temperature based on specific triggers: time of day, available natural light, or designated occasions. Once programmed, these adjustments execute automatically, providing consistent lighting conditions without manual intervention.Superior Dimming ExperienceStandard LED fixtures often exhibit visible flickering at reduced brightness levels, a result of outdated phase-cut dimming technology. High-end lighting systems employ advanced digital protocols—0-10V, DALI, or DMX—to isolate control signals, eliminating flicker and ensuring stable operation across the full brightness range.Building Automation IntegrationLuxury lighting fixtures integrate into broader building automation platforms, functioning as part of interconnected smart home or smart building ecosystems. This integration allows lighting systems to coordinate with climate control, security systems, automated shading, and other networked building technologies.How Statement Lighting Defines Luxury ArchitectureSoaring ceilings, double-height entryways, and expansive open-concept floor plans are foundational to luxury architecture. Without focal points to anchor spatial perception, these expansive volumes create visual disconnection between floor and ceiling planes.Statement lighting addresses this challenge. The scale and geometric form of these fixtures are engineered to fill the vertical void of high ceilings, establishing visual continuity and preventing the spatial fragmentation common in large, multilevel interiors.The Dual-State Focal PointStatement lighting fixtures serve a functional dual role: sculptural form and light source. During daylight hours, these pieces function as stand-alone physical sculptures. Their design, geometry, and material composition—hand-cast bronze, alabaster, or raw quartz—interact with natural light and frame interior sight lines.After dark, these same fixtures function as primary lighting elements. Light reflecting off high-end wall textures, highlighting architectural features, and creating shadow patterns establishes visual depth and defines the spatial character of the room.Spatial Flow and PurposeModern luxury design emphasizes open-concept layouts with minimized interior walls. Without physical boundaries, lighting becomes the primary tool for spatial zoning.Positioned strategically—a large architectural linear suspension above a kitchen island or a sculptural mobile above a seating area—these fixtures define functional zones and anchor circulation patterns without disrupting architectural sight lines.Make a Statement With LightStatement lighting solves a fundamental architectural problem: Expansive spaces risk feeling visually disconnected without strong focal points. In large interiors where architectural elements are dispersed across multiple levels and zones, statement fixtures create visual anchors that establish spatial hierarchy and guide occupant circulation.A grand hotel lobby demonstrates this function clearly. Strategic wall sconces and overhead fixtures establish visual coherence across the entry, creating way-finding cues that orient guests and define the primary circulation path. Similarly, a multistory chandelier in a shopping mall staircase anchors the eye and creates a landmark that structures movement through the space.In luxury interiors, statement lighting serves a dual function: It unifies dispersed architectural elements while solving the practical challenge of making expansive volumes feel spatially cohesive rather than fragmented. This effectiveness stems from treating these fixtures as engineered systems, not decorative additions.This story was produced by Bees Lighting and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Defusing the Q-bomb: How to assemble your quantum-ready team Defusing the Q-bomb: How to assemble your quantum-ready teamQuantum risk starts with readiness. And that means understanding where cryptography lives, deciding what needs to change, and coordinating the work across teams, ZeroTier reports.“Harvest now, decrypt later” (HNDL) threats mean adversaries don’t need a quantum computer today to cause damage tomorrow. They can capture encrypted data now, wait for quantum computers to mature, and come back for anything still valuable. That puts traditional security mainstays in the blast radius, including: digital signatures, identity systems, transport layer security (TLS) communications, and the trust models enterprises rely on every day.The fix starts with a Cryptographic Center of Excellence (CCOE) framework, or a cross-functional team built to find cryptographic debt, set policy, pressure vendors, and manage the transition to quantum-safe standards before attackers get the better timeline.What is the first step toward quantum readiness?The first step is assessing your cryptographic blast radius. For example, for an enterprise with 1,000 team members, there are likely thousands of internal applications, legacy databases, and microservices all running different security protocols. To tackle this without halting production, a “nuts-and-bolts” framework can be used to categorize your risk.The good news? Symmetric cryptography, like AES, remains secure for the foreseeable future when deployed correctly. If your team is already using AES-256 for data at rest, leave it alone for now. That’s not your immediate fire. The urgent risk sits in asymmetric cryptography like public key encryption, signatures, certificates, identity, authentication, and key exchange. This is the foundational plumbing keeping your team securely connected, including TLS sessions, API keys, SSH access, and code-signing certificates. If asymmetric encryption fails, your entire internal network trust model collapses.A practical way to prioritize across a massive corporate footprint is to look at data value over time. Think of it in a basic data shelf-life formula. Ask yourself: How long must this data remain confidential? If the data loses value before 2026, your current controls may be enough. If it stays valuable past 2027 (such as standard financial records), start strengthening classical keys, hashes, and certificate practices now by mandating longer key lengths across all business units. If it stays valuable beyond 2029 (such as core intellectual property, long-term trade secrets, or healthcare records), you must move it toward NIST-approved post-quantum cryptography immediately.That means planning for standardized algorithms that your developers can actually implement. Instead of allowing 1,000 different teams to guess what "quantum-safe" means, give them a concrete list of the new standardized building blocks to swap into their code:ML-KEM (formerly CRYSTALS-Kyber): Use this for key establishment, securing the initial handshake when two systems talk to each other.ML-DSA (formerly CRYSTALS-Dilithium): Use this for digital signatures, proving an identity or verifying that software code hasn't been tampered with.SLH-DSA (formerly SPHINCS+): Use this as a specialized alternative where stateless hash-based signatures make technical sense, such as signing firmware or boot images for long-lived embedded devices, including industrial controllers, medical hardware, vehicles, that must stay verifiable for 10-20 years in the field.The old names still show up in the market, but your roadmap should align with the finalized standards. By breaking this down into clear use cases, you turn an abstract quantum threat into a standard, operational ticket in an engineer's regular development queue.Who belongs on a quantum-ready team?A cloud center of excellence (COE) is an operating model that rests on four pillars: executive sponsorship, policy and oversight, discovery and metadata, and implementation discipline. Let’s break them down.The first pillar is executive sponsorship. Your board, CEO, CIO, and CISO need to treat quantum readiness as an enterprise risk program, not a niche security project. That mandate is what secures a dedicated budget, enforces realistic corporate timelines, and establishes an operational cadence for regular progress reviews. Without it, every business unit will make its own cryptographic choices. That’s how drift turns into debt.The second pillar is policy and oversight. This means a CISO-led strategy executed through cross-functional implementation. Let’s be real: In a large enterprise, a CISO isn’t the direct boss of every department. Instead, they act as a cross-functional orchestrator. While the CISO drives the high-level strategy and defines what “quantum-ready” means, the technical heavy-lifting belongs to the CTO, the VP of development, and, of course, a PMO, if one’s available in your organization.This kind of alignment is nonnegotiable for complex, multifaceted operations. When you're managing a massive enterprise footprint, you can't just hit pause on daily business to overhaul your security infrastructure.A cross-functional structure gives compliance, security, and vendor managers the leverage they actually need to drive execution, handle exceptions, and force third-party vendors to deliver hard timelines instead of vague assurances.The third pillar is discovery and metadata. This is where infrastructure teams, operations specialists, developers, and data security engineers find exactly where cryptography lives, inside certificates, APIs, embedded devices, private networks, SaaS integrations, custom code, and legacy systems. This inventory belongs in a centralized database rather than a spreadsheet buried in someone’s downloads folder.To handle the day-to-day grind of tracking all these moving parts, you should ideally have a dedicated PMO team. A lean group, ideally made up of a program office leader and three project managers, is what keeps the operation from stalling and ensures teams are actually hitting their benchmarks.The fourth pillar is implementation. The aforementioned PMO engine is what successfully drives the fourth pillar, or implementation. This is where core developers, DevOps teams, DevSecOps engineers, and even cryptographers turn policy into working systems. Their ultimate mission is crypto-agility, or the ability to swap algorithms, rotate keys, test hybrids, and respond fast when standards or risks change.Your CCOE shouldn’t map the cryptographic landscape by hand. Spreadsheets may work for a first-pass audit, but they break down fast once teams start looking across certificates, APIs, applications, networks, cloud services, embedded systems, and third-party dependencies. Quantum readiness depends on knowing where cryptography lives, what algorithms are in use, who owns them, how long the protected data must remain secure, and whether each system can be upgraded without breaking production.That’s where specialized tooling comes in, broadly categorized into inventory, audit, and project management tools. Inventory tools are relatively straightforward, using active and passive scans to catalog cryptographic assets like certificates, keys, and libraries. Audit tools are significantly more complex. They analyze data in motion, often requiring deep network traffic analysis via tools, and uncover hidden, hardcoded, or shadow cryptography embedded within legacy systems. Finally, PMO and posture management tooling orchestrate everything, translating these inventory and audit insights into a living dashboard of policy gaps, weak algorithms, and priority migration tracks.The vendor ecosystem is already forming around these capabilities. Many providers excel at powering cryptographic inventory and complex audit workflows, while other platforms support certificate lifecycle operations. Together, these solutions give your CCOE leverage. The right PMO-integrated tooling suite helps experts focus on high-level decisions, exceptions, and testing strategy, rather than manually chasing down every legacy system or dependency by hand.Always remember, though, the goal isn’t tool sprawl, but rather visibility, repeatability, and proof. A quantum-ready enterprise must clearly show what cryptography it uses, where it is vulnerable, and which systems need refactoring. Your CCOE should treat this inventory, audit, and PMO toolkit as the core operating layer for crypto-agility.What should your CCOE prioritize first?Once your tooling maps the risk, your CCOE will need a structured way to prioritize the workload. Here’s a quick look at a four-box framework used to categorize implementation difficulty:Low Difficulty (New Products): Implement now. Choose whether to build or buy PQC capabilities for net-new data in transit before fresh technical debt can accumulate.Moderate Difficulty (Vendor Supported): Audit external roadmaps. This is a massive orchestration project to ensure your vendors and their downstream suppliers are aligned on PQC readiness.High Difficulty (Custom Software): Refactor for crypto-agility. Updating in-house applications gets tricky quickly, especially if the original developers are gone or the architecture is undocumented.Extreme Pain (Legacy Systems): Tackle deep cryptographic debt. You must retire or encapsulate outdated protocols and hardcoded keys, because they simply won't age gracefully.Where does crypto-agility fit into DevSecOps?Finally, you might be asking yourself: Where does crypto-agility fit into DevSecOps? The answer? Inside a broader definition of DevSecOps, one that protects a company’s entire infrastructure, not just software development pipelines, especially over time, where the landscape of threats will be evolving. This holistic approach is essential for building true crypto-agility: the ongoing ability for an organization to rapidly implement new algorithms, like Falcon, as they become necessary.Operationalizing this means managing a few distinct workstreams that are closely interrelated, yet not entirely connected. You must continuously plan dynamic encryption policies across all network assets, verify PQC and hybrid performance in test environments before deployment, and detect operational anomalies in real time.By embedding these loops across your entire corporate footprint, swapping an algorithm ceases to be an engineering crisis and, instead, becomes a routine configuration update, keeping the enterprise resilient as standards evolve.The quantum clock’s ticking, and architectural panic won’t help. By creating a CCOE, you give your enterprise a way to move with discipline. To make quantum readiness a routine update rather than an engineering crisis, you need to solve the issue at the network layer.By leveraging a quantum-safe network overlay, teams can embed end-to-end PQC protection directly at the transport layer without demanding massive application rewrites. By decoupling security from the application layer, enterprises have a practical path to defuse legacy cryptographic debt, protect distributed systems, and move toward quantum-secure networking before the Q-bomb goes off.This story was produced by ZeroTier and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Jack Cullen earns Leadership in Place Management Designation Cullen joins a community of professionals who demonstrate the knowledge and skills to manage and lead a place management organization.
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	Obamacare premiums likely to surge again next year A man gets a checkup at a mobile health clinic in Parlier, Calif. A new report details preliminary Obamacare insurer premium rate increases. (Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local)Health insurance premiums are likely to grow more expensive next year for those who buy Marketplace plans, after increases this year. Affordable Care Act Marketplace insurers are proposing a median premium increase of 14% for 2027, which would be a double-digit hike for the second year in a row, according to a new analysis of preliminary rate filings. Insurers must submit their requested premium changes to state regulators by July 15, per Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services deadlines. Rates should be finalized later this summer. Released Wednesday by the Peterson Center on Healthcare and healthcare research group KFF, the analysis looked at proposed rate changes among 77 Marketplace insurers across 16 states and Washington, D.C., that have made proposed rates publicly available. Those are Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Washington state. Far fewer people buy Obamacare coverage as insurance premiums spike The majority of insurers across those states are proposing a median ACA Marketplace premium increase between 10% and 20%, while 20 insurers are requesting premium increases of more than 20%. None included in the analysis proposed a decrease in premiums. Along with the expiration of enhanced premium subsidies, insurers are also citing rising healthcare costs and changes in federal regulations as reasons behind the increases. At the end of last year, enhanced premium tax credits expired, leading to more out-of-pocket costs for some people enrolled in Marketplace plans. Premiums increased especially for those with incomes at 400% or more of the federal poverty level — or roughly $63,000 for a single person — who completely lost subsidies. That caused many healthier enrollees to leave the Marketplace, leaving behind enrollees who are more expensive to cover, according to KFF. While the proposed increases are lower than last year’s median nationwide proposed rate change of 18% — the finalized change was 20% — it’s the second-highest requested change since 2018, according to the report. ACA Marketplace enrollments have seen a steep drop, with 2.6 million fewer Americans on the rolls in February compared with the same time last year, The Associated Press reported. Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Stateline
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	How to sell on TikTok Shop in 2026 How to sell on TikTok Shop in 2026‍TikTok, with nearly 2 billion monthly active users, is no longer just a social media platform. It is now a marketplace where shoppers can watch a product in action, hear a creator talk about it, and buy it without leaving the app.In traditional marketplaces, shoppers usually search first and buy later. On TikTok Shop, discovery often happens first. A product can appear in a short video, live stream, creator post, or Shop tab, then turn into sales within minutes.This is why more brands, Amazon sellers, DTC companies, and product researchers are now paying close attention to TikTok Shop.This guide from SmartScout shows you both how TikTok Shop works and how to make decisions with the data most sellers ignore.Key Takeaways‍TikTok Shop works as a content-driven marketplace, where products are discovered through videos instead of search.‍Setting up a shop is straightforward, but accurate documents and compliance are essential for fast approval.‍Profitability depends on understanding fees, shipping, and commissions, not just revenue potential. ‍Consistency wins on TikTok, and posting one to three videos daily per product helps identify what actually converts.‍Growth comes from working with creators and affiliates who can scale reach and drive conversions.‍What Is TikTok Shop, and How Is It Different?TikTok Shop is TikTok’s in-app e-commerce marketplace. It allows sellers to list products, promote them through content, and let shoppers purchase directly inside TikTok.Seeing the popularity and interaction, ByteDance launched TikTok Shop in September 2023.‍First, the company launched it as a testing component in Indonesia, and then it slowly expanded to the U.K., the U.S., and globally.The biggest difference between TikTok Shop and a normal e-commerce site is how shoppers find products. On a website, people usually land on a product page after searching, clicking an ad, or browsing a category. On TikTok, a shopper may first see the product in a creator video, a review, a live demo, or a trend.A seller can use TikTok Shop to:List products inside TikTok‍Tag products in videos‍Sell during live streams‍Work with creators and affiliates‍Run promotions and discounts ‍Manage orders through Seller Center ‍Track basic shop performanceThat makes TikTok a content-first marketplace, where attention drives demand.Because of this, traditional product research tools often miss the signal. They focus on search volume, not content performanceIs TikTok Shop Worth It? Fees, Margins, and the Real Math SmartScout TikTok Shop is thriving in the global e-commerce market, with 15 million worldwide and 500,000 sellers in the U.S.TikTok Shop’s GMV (gross merchandise value) reached $64.3 billion in 2025, nearly doubling the year-over-year growth and expanding the market to 16 different regions. The United States’ ecosystem generated $15.1 billion in GMV, topping all these regions.Southeast Asia contributed $45.6 billion in total GMV, showing how strongly creator-led commerce is driving this ecosystem.These numbers make TikTok Shop look like a massive opportunity—and it is.But for sellers, the real question is not how big the market is. It is how much of that revenue you actually keep. Before you start selling, it’s important to understand how the economics actually work.TikTok Shop Commission and Referral FeesTikTok Shop charges a referral fee (platform commission) on every sale, which is typically around 6% for most categories in the U.S., with some categories like jewelry closer to 5%.This fee is calculated on the total customer payment (including platform discounts, excluding tax) and is automatically deducted before payout.Additionally, sellers often pay affiliate commissions (10%-20%) when working with creators, which is optional but critical for scaling on TikTok. TikTok also allows ad-driven affiliate campaigns, where commission rates can be adjusted to improve conversion through paid traffic. SmartScout Shipping Costs Across the 3 Fulfillment OptionsShipping on TikTok Shop depends on the fulfillment method you choose, and it directly impacts margins.TikTok offers Standard and Express shipping, with delivery expectations of three days (Express) and up to six days (Standard/Economy), which sellers must meet to avoid penalties.Sellers can either use TikTok’s logistics network or manage shipping themselves, with TikTok often negotiating discounted carrier rates. SmartScout For example, shipping a standard 1-pound product in the U.S. may cost around $4-$6 with TikTok Shipping (platform-negotiated rates), while Fulfilled by TikTok may bring it closer to $3-$5 per unit at scale, plus storage fees, making it more cost-efficient for higher-volume sellers.TikTok Shipping is the easiest starting point, while Fulfilled by TikTok becomes more efficient at volume.Real Margin Math: A $25 Product ExampleA $25 selling price can look profitable on the surface, but TikTok Shop costs stack quickly once you factor in fees, shipping, and creator commissions.Here’s a simple breakdown: SmartScout This leaves you with roughly $6-$8 in profit before ads. Once you introduce paid promotion or increase commissions to scale, margins can shrink further.The takeaway: TikTok rewards speed and creativity, but long-term success depends on understanding your unit economics from the start.How to Set Up Your TikTok ShopIt’s very easy to create and set up a TikTok store on TikTok Shop. But before you start, it is important to know if you are eligible or not. TikTok Shop Eligibility RequirementsTikTok Shop is not open to every seller in every country, since TikTok is banned in over 20-plus countries. Even if TikTok is fully accessible in your country, you must meet TikTok’s compliance rules.TikTok’s seller registration requirements include using a valid phone number or email address that is not already tied to another TikTok Shop, creating a strong password, and meeting platform rules.In general, sellers should expect to provide:Business or personal identity details ‍Tax information (where required)‍Bank account details for payouts‍Business verification documents‍Return address and shipping information‍Product category information‍Compliance documents for restricted categoriesTikTok Shop also has strict product rules. Some items are prohibited because of safety, legal, or customer risk concerns. TikTok’s U.S.-prohibited products policy lists categories such as alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes, some safety products, security and privacy products, unqualified jewelry products, and certain vehicle or automotive items.Where is TikTok Shop Available?TikTok Shop is currently accepting sellers from the following countries:‍United States‍United Kingdom‍Indonesia‍Singapore‍PhillipinesJapan‍Malaysia‍Vietnam‍Thailand‍Germany‍Spain‍Ireland‍Italy‍France‍Brazil ‍Mexico ‍Global SellingSellers can also sign up for regional cross-border programs (or a Global seller account) to sell in multiple regions.Note: Politicians and political accounts are strictly prohibited from becoming TikTok Shop sellers.How to Set Up a TikTok Shop Account: Step-by-StepOnce you have checked all the boxes of the eligibility criteria, you can start setting up your TikTok Shop:‍Step 1. Visit TikTok Shop Seller Central and choose the country of your residence (and where you want to sell). Then click “Start Selling.”Step 2. Next, sign up for a TikTok seller account. You can sign up using a new email address or just create with your existing TikTok account.TikTok Shop will ask for your authorization to access your account info. Select or deselect accordingly and click Continue.Step 3. Select your seller type as in Private Seller, Reseller, Dropshipper, or Affiliate Marketer and then click Next.Then, select the business type according to the product you sell or are going to sell. Based on your selection, you will see the requirement for documents that you need to upload.Step 4. Next, upload the required documents and fill in all the details about yourself and your citizenship.You might need these documents (for a U.S. seller), depending on the selling type you choose:Government-issued IDTax informationBank account detailsBusiness documents (if applicable)Proof of addressProduct compliance documents (if needed)Step 5.Once you are done filling in all the required fields, enter your shop information next (e.g., your shop name, logo, and product category). Then enter your phone number for verification. Enter the code and click next to submit your application.And like that, your first phase of becoming a TikTok Shop seller is complete. Now, you need to wait for some time for your application to be reviewed and approved.Approval Timeline and Common Rejection ReasonsTikTok generally takes 24 hours to 6 business days to approve your application. Most applications are reviewed within 24-48 hours, though delays happen if documents need rechecking or resubmission.Not all the applications get approved; some of them get rejected. TikTok rarely gives detailed explanations, but based on official guidance and platform patterns, these are the main reasons sellers get rejected:Mismatched business information ‍Incorrect or Invalid Documents ‍Bank and Tax Detail Errors ‍Product or Category Compliance Issues ‍Missing Brand Authorization (For Resellers) ‍Incomplete Application SetupOverall, accuracy and consistency across documents, and a “ready-to-sell” setup, are key to faster approval and fewer rejections.Listing Your Products and Choosing a Fulfillment MethodIf everything you have filled out is correct and you meet the criteria, you will get access to TikTok Seller Central, from where the next phases of listing products and adding payment information start.Listing products on your TikTok storefront is similar to Amazon, but with no complex steps. Once you click “Add New Product” from your Seller Central.You need to add the following details:Upload clear product images‍Product Title‍Product Description‍Product Category ‍Product Price ‍Stock (the number of products in your inventory)Make sure to be as descriptive and accurate as possible so TikTok can recommend your product to the right audience.Comparing TikTok Shop's Three Fulfillment OptionsThis is a very crucial step for you as a TikTok seller. You need to specify how exactly you are going to fulfill your product to the customer. This includes the handling time and carrier. You must set up a realistic time so your customers know what to expect. There are three options for product fulfillment:1. TikTok Shipping: This is the default option from TikTok. The company assigns carriers like FedEx, UPS, or USPS and handles all the logistics and tracking updates (from picking the product from the warehouse to delivering to the customer’s doorstep). Sellers will pay standard shipping charges.2. Seller Shipping: With this option, sellers take complete control of shipment and fulfillment. This option is most chosen by experienced sellers who have contracts with existing shipping systems.3. Fulfilled by TikTok: The FBT is similar to Amazon’s FBA fulfillment model. This is an invitation-only program for high-volume sellers. Sellers just need to ship their inventory to a verified TikTok warehouse, and the other fulfillment process will be taken care of by TikTok. SmartScout ‍Pro Tip: If you are new to TikTok Shop, choose TikTok Shipping as your primary fulfillment option. This way, your customers get the exact time of delivery set by the app itself. Building Your TikTok Content and Creator EngineTikTok Shop doesn’t reward perfect products; it rewards content that converts.If you want consistent sales, you need a system that produces content regularly and distributes it through creators.Think of this as your growth engine: test content, identify winners, then scale with creators.‍Most sellers fail because they post randomly. The ones who win build repeatable processes.Content Strategy That Drives Shop SalesStart with volume, not perfection. Your goal is to test multiple content angles quickly and identify what works.Focus on these core formats:Problem to Solution (show the pain, then fix it)‍Before to After (visual transformation) ‍Demo in action (clear, real-life use)Every video should hook attention in the first two to three seconds. If the scroll doesn’t stop, nothing else matters.Instead of overproducing, keep content native and simple. TikTok favors videos that feel organic, not like polished ads.Action steps:Post one to three videos daily per product‍Test different hooks for the same product‍Keep videos under 30 seconds ‍Double down on formats that get engagementOnce a video starts gaining traction, reuse the format. Scaling on TikTok is less about new ideas and more about repeating what works.Working with Creators and the TikTok Shop Affiliate ProgramCreators are your fastest way to scale content. Instead of producing everything yourself, you can leverage creators to generate volume and reach.TikTok Shop Affiliate allows sellers to work with creators who promote products for commission. Sellers can set up collaborations inside Seller Center, and creators can earn when their content drives sales.TikTok’s affiliate page explains that sellers can log in to Seller Center, go to Affiliate, and set up collaborations to reach more customers.Affiliate marketing works well because sellers do not need to create every piece of content themselves. Creators bring their own audience, style, trust, and testing ability.Start by setting up your affiliate program inside TikTok Shop and offering a competitive commission (usually 10%-20%).To build effective partnerships, sellers should:Offer competitive commission rates‍Provide clear product details and talking points‍Allow creators creative freedom ‍Maintain fast communication and reliable inventoryYour goal is to get as many creators testing your product as possible. One strong creator can generate thousands of sales, but you only find them by testing multiple partnerships.How to Find Creators Who Actually Move ProductDo not choose creators based on follower count. It’s one of the biggest mistakes new sellers make.Instead, focus on conversion signals:Are viewers asking where to buy?‍Do videos show real product use?‍Is engagement consistent across posts?‍Start by manually searching TikTok for your product or niche. Look at creators already posting similar content. Then validate with data. Use analytics to identify creators whose videos reliably convert into sales.Mistakes That Kill New TikTok ShopsSellers have a 90% cancellation rate within 30 days due to seller-fault reasons.‍Most TikTok Shops do not fail because of the product. They fail because of poor execution. Avoiding a few common mistakes can save months of wasted time and budget.Chasing trends without validation: Viral products can disappear quickly. Always check if demand is consistent before investing in inventory.‍Ignoring unit economics: High revenue does not mean profit. You need to account for fees, shipping, and creator commissions before scaling.‍Choosing products that don’t fit TikTok: If a product is hard to demonstrate or explain quickly, it will struggle to convert on video.‍Relying only on your own content: Growth on TikTok depends on distribution. Without creators, scaling becomes slow and limited.‍Picking creators based on followers: A large audience does not guarantee sales. Engagement and product fit matter more than size. ‍Posting inconsistently: TikTok rewards frequent posting and testing. Inconsistent content makes it harder to find what works. ‍Not using data to guide decisions: Guessing leads to wasted effort. Sellers who track performance and trends make better decisions and scale faster.Most of these mistakes come down to one issue. Sellers are operating without a system. Those who combine consistent content, creator partnerships, and data-backed decisions are more likely to succeed.TikTok Shop vs. Amazon: Should You Sell on Both?TikTok Shop and Amazon operate on completely different buying behaviors. Amazon captures existing demand, while TikTok creates it. That difference alone is why many sellers are now using both instead of choosing one. SmartScout Amazon works best when shoppers already know what they want. They search, compare, and buy. This makes it a strong platform for stable, predictable revenue.TikTok, on the other hand, is discovery-driven. Products gain traction through content, creators, and trends. A single video can generate demand overnight, but that demand can also fluctuate quickly. SmartScout For most sellers, the best approach is not choosing between the two. It is using them together. TikTok can be used to generate demand and test products quickly, while Amazon can capture that demand and build long-term revenue.Start Selling on TikTok ShopTikTok Shop is slowly blending in with top marketplaces. This is the only place where you can scroll for entertainment, shop live, and earn money by selling at the same time.If video creation is your strong point, selling products on TikTok Shop is very easy. Winning on TikTok Shop is not only about listing products. The sellers who win will be the ones who combine creative testing with real marketplace data.FAQsIs it free to sell on TikTok?You can create a seller account for free, but fees apply per sale.Do you need 1,000 followers to sell on TikTok?Sellers do not need followers. Creators may need eligibility requirements for affiliate programs.How much does it cost to sell on TikTok?Creating a TikTok Shop account is free. However, selling costs generally range from 5% to 9%, and there is a 2.5% transaction fee.How to find products to sell on TikTok?Focus on products that are easy to demonstrate, visually engaging, and backed by real sales data.How to sell on TikTok as a creator?Creators can join TikTok Shop Affiliate programs and earn commissions by promoting products through content.This story was produced by SmartScout and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	How to overcome disappointment without losing confidence How to overcome disappointment without losing confidenceDisappointment is part of life, especially for young guys figuring things out in relationships, friendships, work, and everyday life. Bouncing back often starts with the small things that help you reset and feel like yourself again, from the right mindset to a confidence-boosting scent that helps you step back out there. AXE, the deodorant brand for guys, asked Ben “Benny” Hart to share practical advice on moving forward with confidence.A New York City-based multihyphenate entrepreneur, author, speaker and dating strategist known for his raw, humorous and no-nonsense take on both business and human connection, Hart has nearly one million followers across TikTok and Instagram. In this article, Hart explains how to move past rejection and disappointment.Dating setbacks, missed opportunities, and rejection are unfortunate experiences we all have to face at some stage. What’s important is how you reframe that disappointment and rebuild confidence to get back in the game.Why Disappointment Hits Harder Than We ExpectWhenever you’re faced with disappointment, it’s easy to think your identity is being challenged. That’s hard, especially if you’re not used to rejection. “My advice is to take this as an opportunity to self-reflect,” Hart saysIt's okay to process what happened emotionally. Someone you liked didn't like you. It didn't work out. Okay. What are you going to do about it? You're bound to face rejection in one or many areas of your life. But there's a real difference between people who want to do better for themselves and people who wallow and let it slow them down.There's an attitude that comes with people who are committed to winning in their own lives. “And by winning, I mean taking control,” Hart says. “Make sure that you have ownership over your life, your responses, and your direction. That's what separates the guys who grow from rejection from the ones who get stuck in it.”When One Setback Starts To Define YouYou might think, “What’s wrong with me? What did I do wrong? I should have said or done X, Y, Z.” When one or two of these things happen, they genuinely do challenge your identity, and that can build momentum in a negative direction.Just as you can build momentum toward good habits and goals, this works the same way in reverse. Depending on the type of guy you are and how accustomed you are to setbacks in different areas of your life, this can create a real spiral. It won't just make you question whether you're good enough for that person; it'll make you question whether you're good enough as a person. And that's why collecting small wins matters so much.“It's those small wins that keep you grounded and build your self-trust," Hart says.Small wins could include:Reading a chapter every nightSticking to a workout planCompleting a task you’ve been putting offLearning a new skillJournaling for five minutes every dayYou face heartbreak and rejection. But it's important to build your confidence back up, so that when you say "I'm fine" or "I'm good," you actually believe it. AXE How To Process Disappointment Without Spiraling1. Separate the fact from the storyWhat you feel doesn't necessarily mean it's true. For example, your crush didn't answer you for five hours. The story you tell yourself is that she's not making you a priority. But the reality is simply that she was at work and unable to use her phone.The story you attach to those five hours and the reality of those five hours are not the same. What you need to do is strip away the story and get back to the facts. Once you separate what actually happened from the meaning you've assigned to it, everything becomes a lot clearer.2. Let the emotion hitRegardless of who you are, it’s good to feel what you need to feel. Don’t suppress it. There's a difference between understanding emotion and expressing emotion.3. Reality checkLet’s say you’re attracted to someone, and she rejects you. Ask yourself: “Does she know me well enough to make a proper judgment? Do I even know her? How many times have we actually interacted?”When you separate the facts from the emotion, you can get a better perspective of the situation. And then when you know what happened and know what actually went wrong, you can take ownership. This might look like saying to yourself: “I didn’t communicate when I should have. I never actually asked her out. I never truly told her how I felt.”Every guy should be able to take that kind of level of accountability and ownership.4. Talk it outIt's important to have a tight-knit community you can run things by. Now, guys can be funny about this. There's a real hesitation around being seen as too vulnerable, or like you're disclosing too much. You know how guys talk about "pocket watching"? That competitive mindset where you think, "Why are you asking so many questions?" That same energy can show up emotionally. It has its healthy moments, but it can also hold guys back from actually opening up about what they're going through.You need to talk to people, even just to get it off your chest. “I've had to go to my friends and tell them what I was going through and you know what? They were supportive,” Hart says. “They didn't pry for details. They just let me talk, and that was it.”5. Get back in the gameThis is the only way to rebuild. If you want to build better social skills, you have to practice social skills. You can’t sit in your room and talk to the mirror. If you want to overcome obstacles, you just gotta go do it.“Find your people, and don't be afraid to lean on them," Hart says.When To Take A Step BackTaking a break is fine. Think of it as a reset where you have to recalibrate. Take the time to reflect, assess where you're at, and think about what you need to do differently.This applies to dating, going for a new job, or building new skills. But be careful not to fall off for too long. If you take too long a break, those skills you've been working on start to go dormant, and you don't want that.The most confident guys don't walk around saying, "I failed." Even when things don't work out, their mindset is more like "That wasn't right for me" or "It just wasn't aligned" or simply "It is what it is.” It's not about being down on yourself. It's about acknowledging that these things happen, dusting yourself off, and keeping it moving.This story was produced by AXE and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Kewanee woman charged with murder in March fatal shooting in Creve Coeur A Kewanee woman has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the March shooting death of a 29-year-old man in Creve Coeur.
	Departments respond to early morning Rock Island fire Three fire departments responded to a single-story structure fire in Rock Island this morning, according to a release from the Rock Island Fire Department. On Wednesday, July 8, at about 3:36 a.m., the Rock Island Fire Department, with mutual aid assistance from the Moline and Rock Island Arsenal Fire Departments, quickly contained an early morning [...]
	A historic summer of sports is sweeping across the US, leaving fans to balance team spirit with surging costs A historic summer of sports is sweeping across the US, leaving fans to balance team spirit with surging costsIt’s been an exciting stretch for sports in America, with the Knicks just ending a 53-year title drought, the FIFA World Cup on home soil for the first time in over 30 years, and Formula 1 now holding more races in the United States than in any other single country. As excitement around sports reaches new heights, so too does the amount of money fans are spending to be part of the action.New data from Intuit Credit Karma, conducted by The Harris Poll, finds that more than a third of sports fans (35%) have spent more than they budgeted for on sports fandom over the past 12 months.Sports fandom is a passion that inspires both financial restraint and sacrifice. As some fans cut back to keep costs under control, others continue to prioritize live events and memorable experiences, driven by the sense of connection sports create with family, friends and their broader community.Key Takeaways:Nearly half of sports fans (47%) say they would find a way to attend a championship event involving their team, no matter the cost.More than a third of sports fans (35%) have spent more than they budgeted for on sports fandom over the past 12 months, highlighting the growing financial pressure of keeping up with teams, events, and experiences.Rising costs are changing how fans participate, with 74% of sports fans who spend on sports fandom saying higher prices have altered their fandom, leading many to buy less merchandise (31%) and attend fewer games (29%).Sports fandom continues to be a powerful social force, with 43% of fans saying a recent sports moment turned them into a fan of a new team or sport.Major sporting events can leave a lasting impact on host communities, as 31% of those who live/lived in a city that hosted say these events provide a positive economic boost for local businesses and their communities.When fandom becomes a financial priorityFor a meaningful share of fans, sports aren’t just entertainment, they’re a top spending priority. Nearly half of sports fans (47%) say that if their team were in a championship event, they’d find a way to be there no matter the cost.Different sporting events inspire different levels of spending. Among U.S. fans, the NFL tops the list of leagues and events they would be most willing to splurge on (45%), followed by the NBA (30%) and MLB (24%).How fans are adapting to higher costsThe price of being a sports fan at a time when everyday living costs are high is reshaping behaviors. Nearly three-quarters of fans who spend money on sports fandom (74%) say rising costs have changed how they engage or participate, and the cutbacks touch nearly every part of the experience: Intuit Credit Karma Fans are also considering financial tradeoffs. If they didn’t have enough cash on hand to attend a major sporting event, nearly a quarter of fans say they would be willing to cut back on other non-essential spending (24%) or pick up extra work or a side hustle (23%) to make it happen. Others would be willing to take more significant steps, including taking on credit card debt (21%) or dipping into emergency savings (21% of fans ages 18-34). If they had the choice, nearly 2 in 5 (39%) would rather spend money on attending a major sporting event over a traditional vacation, rising to 47% of male fans.For many, that willingness to spend holds even when it may invite judgment. Nearly 3 in 10 fans (29%) say they worry people would judge them if they knew how much they’ve spent on tickets to a major sporting event.What’s driving the splurgeWhen sports fans open their wallets for major sporting events, the motivation goes beyond the game itself.Here is what drives sports fans to spend money on major sporting events, among those who do: Intuit Credit Karma The social side of sports fandomWhat draws people into sports isn’t always the game itself: 43% of sports fans say a recent sports moment (a hometown playoff run, social media buzz or a friend’s enthusiasm) turned them into a fan of a sport or team they didn’t previously follow. For others, the draw is the crowd. Roughly one third (34%) admit they primarily attend major sporting events to socialize, not because they care about the sport.The local impact of major sporting eventsMajor sporting events don’t just affect those who attend; they ripple through entire communities–something host cities across the country are experiencing firsthand this summer. Among people who live or have lived in or near a city that hosted a major sporting event, 78% say their everyday life was affected, primarily through increased traffic and commute times (38%) and overcrowding at local restaurants, bars and public spaces (33%). Others point to price hikes for things like dining and entertainment (26%) and transportation, such as ride-share and taxis (21%).While major sporting events can create inconveniences for residents, such as noise or safety concerns (20%), they can also leave a positive mark on the communities that host them. Nearly one third (31%) say it’s been a positive economic boost for local businesses and their community and 18% experienced a stronger sense of community.“As a historic summer of sports captures the attention of fans across the country, many Americans are trying to balance their passion for sports with rising costs,” said Courtney Alev, consumer financial advocate at Intuit Credit Karma. “We’re seeing a divide between fans who are scaling back and those who are willing to make financial sacrifices to be part of the action. Sports can create meaningful memories and connections, but it’s important to be realistic about what you can afford. If attending a major event is on your bucket list, creating a savings plan ahead of time can help you enjoy the experience without carrying the cost long after the game is over.”MethodologyThis survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Credit Karma from June 17-22, 2026, among 2,007 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, among whom 1,747 are Sports Fans. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.7 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.This story was produced by Intuit Credit Karma and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	The mistakes teams are making when scaling AI, and how to avoid them The mistakes teams are making when scaling AI, and how to avoid themMany businesses are experiencing the same AI lifecycle, and a lot of it revolves around making mistakes. Sometimes, clever experiments unexpectedly become critical tools, but other times, they become compliance nightmares. And some workflows stick, but many more head to the AI graveyard. There are a lot of "lesson learned" moments.Here, Zapier shares six mistakes that keep teams spinning their wheels when trying to scale their AI adoption—and what to do instead.1. Letting AI live in individual toolkits instead of shared workflowsAt most companies, AI adoption starts organically. People find AI tools they like, build their own workflows, and get genuinely useful stuff done. The problem is that none of these workflows are connected. Everyone is experimenting, but people are building the same things in parallel without realizing it. That means a lot of energy goes into duplicative efforts.How to avoid this: Share AI workflows in public channels. Encourage people to post their AI workflows in public Slack channels (or wherever your team communicates) so others can see what's been built, ask questions, and learn from it. The point isn't to micromanage what people build. It's to make sure good work compounds instead of getting siloed.Create a shared library of reusable AI resources. Maintain a central place where teams can find and contribute AI agent skills, workflow templates, and proven AI prompts. When someone solves a problem well, the whole organization should be able to pick it up and run with it.Invest in peer-to-peer AI learning. People learn fastest from colleagues who've already solved their exact problem. Create an internal resource where teams can share their wins and failures so that others can build on them. Courtesy of Zapier 2. Skipping the ownership conversationAI workflows have a habit of existing in an ownership vacuum. Someone builds a lead scoring workflow, for example. It runs well for a few weeks, and then degrades because nobody was explicitly responsible for monitoring it. The ownership conversation just never happened.How to avoid this:Give AI transformation a dedicated owner. Someone in your organization needs to be accountable for how AI scales across teams. But no single person can do it alone: Consider adding cross-functional AI working groups so nobody's guessing who's supposed to do what.Name a business owner and a technical owner. Each high-impact AI workflow needs a business owner, who is accountable for the outcome the workflow influences, and a technical owner, who is the one accountable for the system itself, which includes clean data and relevant prompts. Document both somewhere your team actually checks, and make sure each person has the access they need to do their job.3. Treating every AI use case with the same level of scrutinyPicture an app that ranks how transparent your Slack communications are based on your ratio of public channel messages to private DMs. It's low-stakes, and nobody's running a formal governance review on it. Nor should they.Now compare that to an AI agent that auto-responds to customer support tickets. If that thing starts confidently giving wrong answers, customers notice, and trust erodes. The stakes are completely different, and the oversight should be too.The problem is that most teams either apply the same heavy process to everything, slowing down the harmless use cases or apply almost no process to anything, (and let the high-stakes use cases proceed without guardrails).How to avoid this:Tier your AI workflows by impact and match oversight accordingly. Not sure where something falls? Here's a simple framework you can use. Low-impact: This usually applies to personal productivity AI workflows like meeting summaries, first drafts, and that Slack transparency app. You can spot-check these occasionally, but you definitely don't need to build a review committee around them.Medium-impact: This usually applies to decision-making workflows: reporting automations, prioritization tools, and resource allocation workflows. You don't need to do a full-on daily review of these—a monthly review will do. It's also worth it to set up automated alerts for anomalies.High-impact: This is reserved for customer-facing, financial, or compliance-related workflows. This includes AI agents responding to customers, automated approval flows, and anything that touches revenue or regulatory obligations. Establish formal review cadences, documented escalation paths, and audit trails. If you're not sure what tier a workflow falls in, ask yourself this: If this AI workflow broke silently for two weeks, what's the worst that could happen? If the answer is "some meeting notes would be slightly off," leave it alone. If the answer involves angry customers, lost money, or lawyers, treat it accordingly.4. Not defining where AI decides vs. where humans decideMost AI workflows start like this: the AI recommends and a human approves. But when the AI gets it right 50 or so times in a row, people naturally go into cruise control.Recommendations start getting approved without a close look, and eventually, something slips through that probably shouldn't have. For a low-stakes internal workflow, that might not be a big issue. For anything medium- or high-impact, it's a risk that's not worth taking.How to avoid this:For each AI workflow, classify what the AI is actually doing. Informing: AI generates outputs (a summary, score, or draft) that a human reviews and acts on.Recommending: AI suggests a specific action that a human must first approve before the AI can continue on to next steps.Executing: AI takes action on its own based on defined rules or thresholds.Once you've classified each workflow, take an honest look at how it's actually running. A workflow where every recommendation gets approved without review is functionally in execute mode, even if it wasn't designed that way. For those, make sure you've defined what triggers escalation to a human and what the override process looks like.5. Measuring AI adoption instead of AI impactAnyone could spend all day asking AI to generate increasingly unhinged portraits of their dog, and that would technically count as active AI usage. Fun? Absolutely. Business impact? Absolutely none.A lot of teams fall into this trap at a less ridiculous scale. For example, they might report that 80% of employees use AI or that their workflows generate 100 monthly blog articles. Those numbers feel good in a slide deck. They tell you absolutely nothing about whether AI is improving anything.How to avoid this:Establish a baseline first. Before you deploy an AI workflow, document what performance looks like without it. Snapshot your current conversion rates, resolution times, customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores—whatever the relevant metric is. You'll need this to prove or disprove that AI actually moved the needle.Define the target impact metric and build it into the workflow. A lead-scoring model should be measured against conversion rates, while a support automation should be measured against resolution time and CSAT. If you can't name the business metric, take a step back and figure out what success looks like before you ship it.6. Rolling out AI without policies or guardrailsSeventy percent of employees say their organization has no guidance or policies for using AI at work, according to a 2024 Gallup study. And only 15% say their company has communicated a clear plan for integrating AI. So you've got a situation where leadership is excited about AI and employees are curious about AI, but there's a massive vacuum in between where nobody's told anyone what's OK and what isn't. The result is predictable and not ideal: Cautious people don't touch AI at all, and less cautious people go wild with it. .How to avoid this:Create a clear AI roadmap, including policies and guidelines. You don't need a 40-page document. Answer a few basic questions, at a minimum, and make the answers easy to find.What tools are approved? Give people an explicit list of AI tools they can use. If there's a preferred platform, say so. This alone eliminates a huge chunk of shadow AI.What data can and can't go into AI tools? Be specific. For example, you might make customer personally identifying information (PII) off limits. Internal revenue numbers might depend on the tool. Draft marketing copy might be OK. Most employees will make smart decisions here. They just need you to draw the lines.What review is required before an AI workflow goes live? For low-impact use cases, maybe none. For anything customer-facing, define an approval process.Scale AI across your teamThe pattern behind all of these mistakes is the same: Teams treat AI as a collection of tools rather than part of how they operate. To scale successfully, you have to move beyond isolated experiments and tools and build systems, ownership, and guardrails that let AI work with your organization, not around it.This story was produced by Zapier and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	House fire in Rock Island displaces five residents, two pets No injuries were reported in an early morning house fire in Rock Island.
	The 2026 Emmy nominations are underway Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller are presenting the nominees Wednesday morning. Winners will be announced at the 78th Emmy Awards on September 14.
	Here are the 2026 Emmy nominations Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller are presenting the nominees Wednesday morning. Winners will be announced at the 78th Emmy Awards on September 14.
	Davenport man charged with attempted murder after July 4 shooting A Davenport man is in the Scott County Jail on no bond after police said he fired multiple shots at a man, striking him in the leg. The criminal complaint filed in the case said the defendant, identified as Gabriel Trujillo, 22, was the front seat passenger in a Jeep in the 1200 block of [...]
	Greetings from a Syrian church, infused with a mix of sweet fruit and diverse faiths Syria's Mar Musa monastery provides the tastiest mulberries, and its services draw from Eastern Orthodox Christian and Sufi customs.
	Are people with ADHD more likely to have car accidents? Are people with ADHD more likely to have car accidents?Driving is full of distractions, from cellphones to other drivers on the road. But for adults and teens dealing with symptoms of ADHD, like inattention and impulsivity, those disruptions can make driving especially risky.On average, adult drivers with ADHD in one study got into a crash every two years, and people with severe ADHD symptoms averaged one accident a year. A large study in JAMA Pediatrics found that teen and young adult drivers with ADHD were 36% more likely to get into car accidents compared to drivers without ADHD. Only 12.1% of the study participants were taking ADHD medication at the time, though. This highlights the potential risk that untreated ADHD can have on driving.In fact, diagnosis and treatment are crucial for keeping drivers with ADHD more focused and alert on the road. A study in JAMA Psychiatry compared medical records with insurance claims and found that 22% of the crashes in the study period could have been avoided if the participants had used medications.A 2026 review found that adults who were diagnosed with ADHD but not treated with stimulant medication got into car crashes more often. Researchers grouped untreated ADHD with other risky driving behaviors, such as driving under the influence of cannabis or alcohol, driving while sleepy, and speeding.“Not only are [people with untreated ADHD] involved in more car accidents, more fender benders, but they’re more likely to have physical injuries as a result of the car accidents,” says David Goodman, M.D., director of the Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Center of Maryland. “So you have to think about this as not only a risk to the untreated ADHD individuals, but it’s a risk for every car that happens to be around them.”Of course, just because you have ADHD doesn’t mean you’ll get into accidents or that you can’t be safe on the road, notes Robert M. Tudisco, J.D., an education attorney with ADHD who represents adolescents in school as well as in criminal and juvenile cases. “Outward manifestations of ADHD vary depending on the person,” he says. “There are individuals with ADHD who are very good drivers and have clean driving histories and few or no accidents.”Becoming a safe driver with ADHD is possible at any age. It often comes down to practicing good driving habits. These range from being prepared for “highway hypnosis” to consulting with a doctor to determine the best time to take ADHD medication. Understood shares what to know to stay safe behind the wheel.What ADHD looks like on the roadIn several studies, researchers monitored the driving behaviors of people with ADHD, using in-car cameras or driving simulators. They found that adult drivers with ADHD have less stable control of the car. They don’t practice defensive driving as much. They speed up and slow down more quickly, and they switch lanes more often.Other ways ADHD may affect your driving include:Picking up your phone every time you get a notificationDriving through red lights and stop signs you didn’t noticeFeeling road rage, which leads you to race other cars or make quick lane changesGetting distracted and braking quickly to avoid hitting the car ahead of youGetting lost in a daydream and not realizing you’re driving too fast or too slowForgetting your driver’s license at homeAccording to Goodman, inattentiveness is the main ADHD trait that contributes to these driving risks. It can cause you to be less aware of signs and what’s happening on the road. So every time you get distracted — by a text notification, a funny billboard, or a story a passenger is telling — you can have a hard time reacting to other cars, people, and changes in the road.Driving environments can also affect attention. Long and boring roads — even new ones — may pose a focus challenge, says Sheila “Charlie” Klauer, Ph.D., leader of the Applied Driver Assessment Performance and Training Group at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. In fact, drivers with ADHD may focus better on more complex roads. “They actually do pretty well in more complex environments,” Klauer explains. “They’re able to focus better than when there’s not a lot going on.”ADHD, emotional dysregulation, and impulsivity can also lead to unsafe driving. “If you get pissed about the guy in front of you who’s not going fast enough, you may suddenly change your lane without putting on a blinker and without looking, and then end up side-swiping somebody,” Goodman says. “That’s not an inattentive error. That’s an impulsivity error that grows out of emotional reactivity.”From a neurobiological perspective, it’s not completely clear what’s happening in the ADHD brain to affect driving. According to Klauer, one hypothesis is that while adolescents with ADHD look around them, they don’t necessarily process what they see in the same way that neurotypical teens do.But more research is needed to fully understand how ADHD and driving accidents are related. “There are several studies out there, but we really are just touching the surface in terms of truly understanding what's going on,” Klauer says.How ADHD affects driving at every ageIn general, teens and young adults are at a higher risk for car crashes, according to Klauer. That’s even more true when the drivers have ADHD. Young drivers with ADHD are also more likely to be found responsible for the accidents they get into, according to research in the Journal of Adolescent Health.And while neurotypical people typically become safer drivers as they enter adulthood, research suggests that the risk of accidents stays relatively high for people with ADHD. In fact, drivers with ADHD, ages 18 to 46, are more likely to be in severe crashes, including fatal ones.Adults with ADHD who are over age 65 may also face increased driving risks. A study of adults ages 65 to 79 years found that those with ADHD were twice as likely to report getting traffic tickets and 74% more likely to get into car crashes compared to drivers without ADHD.Tips for drivers with ADHDIn addition to seeking diagnosis and treatment, drivers with ADHD can take steps to practice safer driving. Experts recommend the following tips for staying alert and focused on the road.1. Hide your phone, or better yet, turn it off. Keeping a phone nearby can be one of the most dangerous distractions for a driver with ADHD, Goodman says. Stash your phone in the glove compartment or in a backseat pocket, so you can’t reach for it while behind the wheel. “You have to get the phone out of your hand, out of your reach, and out of your visual sight,” Goodman advises.There are also apps that lock down a phone when motion is detected, like when you start driving. Apple and Android phones have built-in “do not disturb” and auto-reply features for drivers. And apps like DriveOff and DriveScribe can stop you from accessing texts and apps while driving.2. Time your medications. If you use an ADHD stimulant, it’s important to take the right dose at the right time. Even the longest-lasting stimulants might not stay in your system long enough to help you drive at night. So you might benefit from a booster dose before you get behind the wheel. Work with your health care provider to find the best approach to your medication.3. Beware “highway hypnosis.” When you’re driving for a long time on boring, flat roads, you might zone out and forget whole stretches of the road. This is called highway hypnosis. And it can be dangerous because you might not notice obstacles, or if you’re driving too fast or too slow. You can avoid highway hypnosis by taking frequent breaks from driving. You can also listen to music and keep yourself active, like by chewing gum.4. Avoid big carpools. With several people in the car, you might get pulled into conversations or feel overwhelmed by all the noise. If other passengers tend to be a distraction for you, Goodman recommends limiting the number of people you agree to drive. And if you’re driving a large group, consider letting someone else take the wheel.5. Check your route ahead of time. Do some homework to avoid having to check your phone or GPS for directions in the middle of a drive. If you’re headed to a new place, preview the route ahead of time. Klauer even recommends using Google Earth to look for areas that may be tricky to maneuver — or to find parking spots ahead of time.6. Practice with new drivers. According to Klauer, it’s best to teach safe driving practices when teens are first taking the wheel. The more supervised practice — in as many different settings as possible — the better. And don’t forget to practice night driving. “Learning to drive is a skill that requires practice, and while the mechanics of learning to drive come very quickly, nuances of learning to drive do not,” Klauer points out.Research shows that teens are more likely to have accidents when they’re alone in the car. So Klauer recommends using phone apps to understand how your ADHD teen is driving when they’re alone. Apps like Life360 can track their speed, how many times they pick up their phone, and how often they brake quickly.If you need outside help, many driving schools now offer training programs for drivers with ADHD.This story was produced by Understood and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Local marketing ideas to make your car wash a community favorite Local marketing ideas to make your car wash a community favoriteWhen it comes to local marketing, most car wash owners tend to follow the “go big or go home” idea: billboards, LED signs, a dozen ads, and thousands of coupons mailed to people’s homes. We’ve all seen it before.You don’t need all that to get more customers. You have something far more effective: You’re a local, you know the neighborhood, you know the people in it, and you know exactly what your car wash offers.Way.com put together six ideas for you to market your car wash to your community.Sponsor something localSponsor a Little League, a high school prom, a charity marathon, or a community fundraiser. Most of these cost somewhere between $100 and $1,000 and cost significantly less than what you would pay for local advertising. It also generates goodwill that advertising can never achieve.Here’s what you might typically get by sponsoring such local events:Little League: Your company name or logo on the back or sleeve of a team’s jersey.High school prom: A small logo or thank-you mention in the prom program or on the school’s social media.Fun Run: Your logo on the race website, a promotional item in the runners’ goodie bags, or a yard sign at a mile marker.Fundraiser: Logo placement on a banner or a local youth sports scoreboard.The reason this approach works is that your customers are already involved in most of these events, so you’re not interrupting their day with a poster.Some of them don’t have an open call for sponsors. It’s a good idea to reach out first and figure out what you can do.After everything is set up, you can post a picture on your social media profile.Participate in local eventsSet up a booth at a farmers market, a table at a town fair, a spot at a local car show, or a banner at a cultural festival. The idea isn’t about being extravagant. You’re just quietly showing up to put a face to your business.People will remember the conversations you had with them. A five-minute conversation can decide whether they’ll visit your car wash in the first place and, once they do, whether they’ll keep coming back.Car shows deserve a special mention because that’s exactly where you’ll find your target customers and future referral partners in one place. Make a point of attending the bigger ones in your area each season.Utilize HOA newslettersYou might have seen your local homeowners association sending out newsletters or community posts. People actually read those because they’re related to where they live.Partner with the HOA board to feature a giveaway contest. Provide the winner with a premium car wash experience. You can also reach out to a newly moved-in resident and offer a discount. Since they just moved in, they don’t have a regular car wash they visit. This is your opportunity to become their go-to car wash.Gamify the wash tunnelAlmost all car wash tunnels are uninteresting, as customers sit there for 90 seconds with nothing to look at.Instead, try this: Install a display with a random spin animation. In the end, they’ll get something like a free air freshener, an upgraded wax coat, $2 off their next visit, or a fun “try again next time!”You don’t need custom hardware for this; a tablet running basic spin-wheel software is enough to start. It will be an experience they’ll talk about with their friends, and you won’t have to spend much money. Kids in the back seat will beg their parents to run the car through again. Some will come back chasing a better prize.Work with real estate agentsReal estate agents are always looking for thoughtful gifts they can give out when they close a deal. A gift card for a free car wash is perfect and genuinely useful for someone who just moved and is still getting settled into the neighborhood. You can reach out to top real estate agents in the area and partner with them.This also doesn’t require a contract to be drawn up. A quick coffee meeting to explain the idea is usually enough. Most agents are glad to have one more thing to hand out to new homeowners, so you can expect an easy yes.Get noticed by HAROSo many local businesses haven’t heard of Help a Reporter Out, or HARO, a free media platform that matches journalists with people who have industry experience.On the site, there will be reporters covering local businesses or car care who are often looking for quotes from someone who actually runs a car wash.Just sign up as a source with your email, and you’ll get a list of questions from the journalists when they need an expert opinion. Even a single mention of your car wash adds to your credibility. If they also link back to your website (if you have one), that’s another nice bonus. You need to invest a little extra bit of your time, but the exposure is definitely worth it.Bottom lineMost people love to support the car wash that feels like an old acquaintance or a friendly neighbor. When staying loyal to one car wash doesn’t feel forced, the relationship will last a long time. They’re putting their trust in familiar faces and in their car wash.Don’t do all six of these ideas at once. Pick the one that’s easiest for you and start there, and give it a few weeks to see if it works. If it’s not bringing in the results you hoped, move on to the next one.Local marketing is about becoming a familiar name in your community. Start showing up to your neighborhood that is already full of future regulars.This story was produced by Way.com and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

Thursday, July 9th, 2026

Wednesday, July 8th, 2026