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

Saturday, May 23rd, 2026
	Free lemonade, sweet deals will be part of Downtown Davenport's Sip 'N Shop A free Lemonade Sip 'N Shop in downtown Davenport will be 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday, May 30, when downtown businesses will serve up their own take on lemonade along with exclusive specials and deals. Curbside Concerts will pop up throughout downtown. Visitors can start their adventure at any of the participating businesses, where [...]
	From fireworks to plastic cups: Waste Commission of Scott County explains summer party disposal rules The Waste Commission of Scott County is offering guidance to help residents safely dispose of summer party waste and recycle correctly before, during and after seasonal gatherings.
	U.S. passengers flying from Ebola-affected countries rerouted The U.S. government is responding to the Ebola outbreak in with travel restrictions. American citizens and permanent residents departing affected countries must fly into one of three U.S. airports.
	Opinion: Remembering Barney Frank, trailblazing public servant Mass. congressman Barney Frank was the first House member to come out as gay and was instrumental in Wall Street reforms after the Great Recession. He died this week at the age of 86.
	Memories of Muscatine: Maple Grove Saddle Club This week for Memories of Muscatine: A photo that Oscar Grossheim's photographer's index listed as "Maple Grove Saddle Club."
	Stories and Trains This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.One of the great teachers of writing in the Rock Island area is no more. Now, would-be writers must sit in other…
	Summer electric bills sizzle as the cost of cooling climbs The temperature is climbing, and so are people's utility bills. Rising electricity prices and hotter-than-usual weather could make it especially costly to stay cool this summer.
	Chile's MAGA-inspired border control Chile digs desert trenches along its northern border as President José Antonio Kast pushes a hardline migration crackdown critics say may have little effect.
	15 years since a deadly tornado brought Joplin, Mo. together, kindness carries on Nearly 100,000 volunteers helped the town rebuild and a spirit of community service continues to this day. Researchers studying human behavior catastrophes can bring out compassion in surprising ways.
	One solution for Maine's struggling fishing industry? Give fillets away for free Surging food costs and fuel prices are pummeling Maine's struggling groundfishing industry. But a pandemic-era program is helping to keep it afloat as inflation worsens.
	'I'd wait forever, but 334 days is crazy.' USS Ford finally comes home The USS Ford came home to a hero's welcome. Sailors had been away from home for nearly a year, through two conflicts, a fire and problems with the sewage system.
	Coal mine gas explosion in China kills 82 people, state media say A gas explosion at a coal mine in China's northern province of Shanxi killed at least 82 people. Official news agency Xinhua said the accident happened on Friday evening and 247 workers were trapped.
	Coal mine gas explosion in China kills 90 people, state media say A gas explosion at a coal mine in China's northern province of Shanxi killed at least 90 people. Official news agency Xinhua said the accident happened on Friday evening. Around 247 workers were on duty at the time.
	SpaceX launches its biggest, most beefed-up Starship yet on a test flight The mega rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he's taking the company public. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Starship is now one step closer to the moon.
	Trump administration to force foreigners in the U.S. to apply for a green card abroad Foreigners in the U.S. who want a green card will need to leave and apply in their home country, the Trump administration announced Friday, in a surprise change to a longstanding policy.
Friday, May 22nd, 2026
	'It Takes Two' rapper Rob Base, who helped bring hip-hop mainstream, dies at 59 Rapper Rob Base has died after a battle with cancer. He was 59. His team shared the news of his death on his Instagram page. Base was one half of the Harlem hip-hop duo Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock.
	Mercado on fifth opens for the 2026 season This year marks Mercado's 10th anniversary.
	New details released in death of Davenport woman who fell from Ohio hiking trail 63-year-old Nancy Baker was hiking with her husband when she slipped off Cantwell Cliff Trail, falling 70 feet.
	City of Galesburg to host city-wide food drive The food drive is from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. on June 12.
	City of Eldridge asks community to fill out survey The community-wide survey focuses on the future of the city's facilities, public services and long term community planning.
	Changes for recreational boaters at Lock and Dam 14 and 15 this summer The secondary lock for small boats in Pleasant Valley won't be used at all this summer due to staff shortages.
	Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber cuts ribbon on new location Leaders found their new home in Silvis while they searched for more space.
	2026 Quad Cities Unity Pride Parade canceled Organizers said the decision was made after considering sponsor engagement, participation levels and costs associated with the event.
	City of Eldridge launches community-wide survey for residents The city of Eldridge is asking residents to complete a survey about the future of city facilities, public services and community planning.
	Stamp Out Hunger Drive brings more than 100,000 meals to Quad Cities families The Stamp Out Hunger Drive on May 9 raised over 100,000 meals for Quad Cities families.
	ORA Orthopedics provides new, first-of-its-kind CT scanner ORA Orthopedics in Bettendorf added the Planmed XFI Cone Beam CT Scanner. Traditional CT scans capture images while patients are lying down. In ORA's newest CT scan, patients either are standing or in a seated, weight-bearing position. The scanner provides 3D imaging of bones and joint structure. "A standing CT scanner allows you to see [...]
	Friday night budget lights: Spending details released after a week of closed-door meetings Sen. Ed Hooper speaks to reporters following a budget conference on May 22, 2026. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix)After a week of behind-the-scenes negotiations, budget writers for the Florida House and Senate met Friday afternoon and early evening and produced apparent agreements on a $50 million investment for a Tampa Bay Rays stadium, pay raises for targeted state employees, and money for a state emergency fund. The chambers made no offers on one of the most complicated and costly budget areas — funding for Medicaid and other healthcare programs that provide services to the poor, elderly, disabled, and children in foster care. The HHS budget accounts for about 47% of the overall state budget and more than $19 billion in general revenue funds, representing state tax receipts. Meanwhile, the Friday night budget offers included $50 million for “campus improvements” at Hillsborough College, which is where a proposed stadium is planned so the Rays can play in Tampa instead of St. Petersburg. The investment was offered after local governments agreed to a memorandum of understanding that committed hundreds of millions in city and county funds to the stadium to help finance the $2.3 billion project. Although the standard recently has been for the chambers to publicly exchange only offers that have been already privately agreed to, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Ed Hooper hinted that the money for the stadium might still be in flux. “I just believe that until that issue is resolved and signed and sealed, I don’t know that the state should committee $50 million to help Hillsborough College,” Hooper said Friday following the first of the two budget meetings. The governor supports the project. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. The talks resulted in agreements on some of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ priorities, including funding for the Florida State Guard, the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, and an emergency fund that over the past year has paid half a billion dollars for immigration enforcement. The House offered to agree to the Senate’s suggestion to pump $250 million more dollars into the fund for the fiscal year beginning on July 1. That’s more than double the amount the lower chamber initially proposed — $100 million. The agreement came after the chambers agreed to pass legislation during 2026 re-establishing the emergency fund in statute nearly exactly the way it was, with the only major change being that the Florida Division of Emergency Management couldn’t buy airplanes or boats but could lease them. Whether the DeSantis administration considers the House’s $40 million investment for the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, which promotes workforce training, a win is not clear. That’s closer to what the Senate proposed, but the House’s offer puts guardrails on the spending, placing half in reserve. The $20 million in reserves won’t become available until after Jan. 5, 2027, DeSantis’ last day in office. Education The behind-the-scenes budget negotiations also yielded apparent agreements on some education spending. The House backed away from paying $20 million to transfer of University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus to New College of Florida. The House also proposed delaying its proposed date of the land transfer from October 2026 to January 2027. Hooper said USF trustee Will Weatherford, a former speaker of the Florida House, “has been clear that as long as he gets to keep the funds and his teachers and his programs and his students can relocate to another campus if they choose to do that, then he doesn’t object to the transfer.” But the House is sticking to proposed budget language that would put an additional $10 million in general revenue for operational enhancements at New College. “I don’t think there’s heartburn over the transfer; the heartburn is over the money,” Hooper told reporters. The House maintained its position of not funding preeminent universities, rewarding campuses that meet excellence goals. The House proposal offers $43 million in State University System Projects, more than the $15.8 million the Senate initially proposed. While the chambers didn’t agree to include an across the board 3% pay increase for state employees, the House agreed to a 4% pay increase for state firefighters, state law enforcement officers, and state corrections officers. The chambers had previously announced agreement not to increase health insurance premiums for state employees in the coming year. There were no revelations regarding spending in the Health and Human Services section of the budget at the two initial Friday night budget meetings. Some of the stumbling blocks the chambers need to sort out include payments for Medicaid managed care plans and hospitals as well as the future of a revolving low interest “health innovation” loan program, a key part of former Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s Live Healthy Initiative and a recurring $50 million funding commitment. Phoenix reporters Liv Caputo and Jay Waagmeester contributed to this story. Courtesy of Florida Phoenix
	1 person died, 36 injured after blast at New York City shipyard, officials say One person has died after a blast Friday at a New York City shipyard, officials say. They said 36 people were injured, most of them firefighters and other first responders.
	40,000 people under evacuation orders after chemical tank leak in Southern California About 40,000 people were under evacuation orders and schools shut down Friday in Southern California after a storage tank continued to leak a hazardous chemical that officials said could rupture or explode.
	City of Bettendorf named a ‘Bee City USA’ affiliate he city of Bettendorf is joining several cities across the country, including Moline, Illinois, in being named a “Bee City USA” affiliate.
	Rural hospitals could see relief under bipartisan proposal co-sponsored by Kansas reps U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, the 1st District congressman from Kansas, says every American deserves access to quality, affordable healthcare. Mann appears here in September 2024, preparing for a candidate forum. (Photo by Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)TOPEKA — A coalition of federal lawmakers from Kansas introduced in the U.S. House this week a bipartisan bill that could offer interest-free loans to rural hospitals “hanging on by a thread.” U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids and Tracey Mann of Kansas and representatives from Alabama, Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan, Oregon and West Virginia co-sponsored the Rural Hospital Revitalization Act. Mann and Davids said rural hospitals need resources to continue serving patients and stay open. The bill could help rural hospitals build new facilities or renovate existing ones “so rural Americans don’t have to drive hours to see a health care professional,” Mann said in a statement. “Every American deserves access to affordable, quality health care, no matter their ZIP code,” he said. Kansas has the highest number of rural hospitals at immediate risk of closure in the nation. An estimated 68 rural hospitals are at risk of closure and 30 face an immediate risk, according to an analysis by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. “Rural hospitals are already hanging on by a thread,” Davids said in a Thursday news release, “and extreme Medicaid cuts are now forcing closures and leaving families with hours-long drives just to see a doctor.” The bill would offer eligible hospitals interest-free loans for up to 10 years through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those loans would support construction and renovationand, in theory, free up funds from reduced debt costs, which could be funneled into care, workforce and operational expenses. Moran and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, introduced the bill in the Senate in March. At the time, Moran said in a news release that “rural hospitals are critical to the well-being of the communities they serve in Kansas and across the country.” Republicans, including Moran and Mann, approved Medicaid cuts in July that could result in Kansas hospitals losing up to $2.65 billion in federal and state Medicaid funding over the next decade. Also included in the legislation was a $50 billion rural health transformation fund, which promised to provide emergency assistance for rural hospitals facing closure. Kansas received $221 million from the fund in December, securing the sixth-largest sum among receiving states. Moran said the revitalization bill could foster long-term viability for rural hospitals and, in turn, rural communities. To qualify for the program under the bill, a hospital must be located in a county with fewer than 20,000 residents and one of two criteria: Possess a critical access hospital or rural emergency hospital designation or be located at least 35 miles from the nearest hospital — or 15 miles if located in an area with mountainous terrain or only secondary roads. Under the bill’s terms, hospitals must also demonstrate a need for the program funds and be financially stable. Courtesy of Kansas Reflector
	Davenport man faces multiple charges for child exploitation and drug distribution, possession of sex-abuse material Justin Neumiller, 46, has been charged with over 20 counts of sex abuse material possession.
	1 dead after Davenport apartment fire One person is dead after a Davenport apartment fire on the 1400 block of East 39th Street.
	Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce cuts ribbon on new location in Silvis Read about what Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce leaders said about their move to Silvis.
	Illinois bill to help students access nutritious food advances A new bill in Illinois is aimed to reduce food waste in schools while helping students access nutritious food more easily. House Bill 4859 builds off an existing law that requires school districts enrolled in federal child nutrition programs to develop food sharing plans. The bill clarifies that share tables, where students can put uneaten, [...]
	New research explores why some teens may be more vulnerable to harmful social media use A team at the University of Iowa found that not all social media behaviors carry the same level of risk. Here's what they found and what steps parents can take.
	‘Catch the baby’: Neighbors detail dramatic rescue during deadly Davenport apartment fire One person is dead and 15 residents are displaced following a fire at the North Park Manor Apartments in Davenport. Find updates on the situation here.
	Greater QC Hispanic Chamber opens new, larger offices in Silvis Staff and supporters of the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce gathered Friday, May 22, for a ribbon-cutting to open its new larger offices, at 908 1st Ave., downtown Silvis.
	Davenport man convicted of sexually abusing child for years A Scott County jury found a Davenport man guilty of sexually abusing a child multiple times over nearly a decade.
	5th annual Bellson Music Fest celebrates Rock Falls native’s global music legacy You can celebrate world-renowned big-band drummer Louie Bellson with a day full of free music and drum clinics on Saturday, June 6 along the river in Rock Falls.
	Jamison Fisher pretrial hearing outlines alleged confessions, witness testimony A lengthy pretrial hearing revealed new details in the case against the man charged in the 1996 disappearance and death of Trudy Appleby.
	2026 Quad Cities Unity Pride Parade canceled Organizers said the decision was made after considering sponsor engagement, participation levels and costs associated with the event.
	Finally warming up after a cool week Temperatures have been below average all throughout this week with temperatures in the 60s and 70s. But as we approach the weekend starting tomorrow temperatures will not only be back to normal values but even exceed that for some Summer weather. Temperatures are looking to be in the upper 70s tomorrow nearing the 80s, before [...]
	Prosecutors argue for including 17 witnesses in Jamison Fisher's trial Prosecutors said the witnesses' testimony provides a complete picture of Jamie Fisher's alleged murder of Trudy Appleby.
	Student-built home now for sale in Davenport Students from the Davenport Community School District have been working together to build a home since September 2025, and it is finally complete and up for sale. It's all a part of a project which teaches students about the trades required to build a house from the ground up. This is the 27th year of [...]
	University of Iowa team researching impacts of social media on teen mental health Dr. Jonathan Platt joined The Current to discuss the impact of algorithms on what teens find online and how parents should talk with their kids about social media.
	1 injured, man arrested after Davenport stabbing Davenport police responded to the 500 block of W. 6th Street for a weapons call on Wednesday, May 20.
	Vehicle fully submerged in Bettendorf pond Police say the driver experienced a mechanical failure after a minor crash on Kimberly Road, and when they pulled over, the vehicle rolled into the pond.
	Bird's-eye views from across the Quad Cities region during the week of May 22, 2026 Sit back, relax and enjoy these scenes captured by the News 8 drone from across the Quad Cities region this week.
	Prosecutors outline alleged confessions, witness testimony in Jamison Fisher hearing New details emerged Friday during a lengthy pretrial hearing in the case against the man charged in the 1996 disappearance and death of Trudy Appleby.
	Annual Bellson Music Fest returns to Rock Falls The Bellson Music Fest honors world famous drummer Louie Bellson, who was born in Rock Falls in 1924.
	Central Dewitt schools raising money in honor of teacher who passed away Trisha Brookins died in a car accident in April. Now, district officials are raising money to help her family struggling with unexpected basement repairs.
	Davenport man accused of producing, possessing child sex abuse materials He was arrested on Thursday and faces 24 felony charges.
	Federal judge dismisses criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw accused the Justice Department of conducting a vindictive prosecution against the Salvadoran man.
	Galesburg hosting city-wide food drive June 12 Galesburg, through its employee volunteer committee, Galesburg GIVES, is hosting a city-wide food drive on Friday, June 12. The event will unite city employees, residents, local businesses, churches and civic organizations in a day of giving. All donations go directly to FISH of Galesburg, Knox County's community food pantry. There is more pressure on local [...]
	Court sets summer timeline for witness evidence in Fisher murder case A judge reviews witness testimony for the Jamison Fisher murder trial in the 1996 Trudy Appleby case. Written arguments are now scheduled for July.
	Vehicle rolls into pond in Bettendorf Mechanical issues may have led to a vehicle rolling into a pond near Kimberly Road this morning, according to a news release from the City of Bettendorf. The Bettendorf Fire and Police Departments received a 911 call reporting a vehicle submerged in a pond in the 2200 block of Kimberly Road on Friday, May 22 [...]
	Arkansas Explained: Understanding the data center boom and debate Signage at the official announcement of the Google data center in West Memphis on Oct. 2, 2025. (Photo by Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate)Hailed by officials and economic developers as a boon to the state, data center projects heading to Arkansas are facing increasing scrutiny and calls for local regulations. Since an overhaul of energy permitting laws credited with luring more data centers was enacted last year, companies have announced plans for five such projects statewide. Two of them are already under construction. ‘They own it’: A split-screen view of data centers comes to central Arkansas But the rapid announcements and secretive negotiations with local governments and business chambers have prompted an outcry from some Arkansans. Reassurances from utilities that costs won’t be shifted to existing customers haven’t assuaged fears. Where are the data centers being built? There are five data center plans in various stages of development as of May 21. Pulaski County: Announced in January by AVAIO Digital, a Connecticut-based company. Located just east of Interstate 530, AVAIO said its initial $6 billion investment could balloon into $21 billion. It also said it had contracted with Entergy Arkansas for an initial 150 megawatts of power — ballooning into 1 gigawatt if the project is fully built out. With 2026 being the first year that gigawatt-scale data centers will come online, that would likely make it among the most power-intensive data centers in the country. Little Rock: First made public in April 2025 when the city of Little Rock sold land to what eventually was revealed to be Google for a planned $1 billion, 300,000-square foot data center. It is currently working to receive regulatory approvals from the state and federal government related to wetlands on the property. West Memphis: Google began construction on a $4 billion data center in West Memphis last year with the enthusiastic support of West Memphis’ mayor. It will be accompanied by a 600 megawatt solar project that it is “collaborating” with Entergy Arkansas on. Clarksville: Serverfarm, a California-based company that owns data centers across the country, has begun work on its first Arkansas facility since the project was announced last year. The planned $8 billion center is next to the Johnson Regional Medical Center. Conway: The city has received interest from an unnamed Fortune 500 company for building a $1 billion, 300,000-square foot data center. The man listed as the manager for the firm acting as the unnamed company’s intermediary is the same man who headed up the intermediaries for both Google data centers projects before Google announced it was behind them. What is a data center? And why are people so worried about them? Data centers underpin just about every facet of online life; containing the servers, networking equipment and data storage required for providing services ranging from cloud computing to social media feeds. But with the advent of artificial intelligence, which requires much more computing power and more advanced hardware, construction on data centers has accelerated at a dizzying pace. More than 1,500 centers are planned across the country. Some take issue with the vast amounts of power and water large data centers use, and the potential impact on utility bills. Others chafe against the public’s lack of input into projects and the economic incentives that attract them, brought about by nondisclosure agreements signed by local officials. Some have other environmental fears, such as the potential for ongoing noise or increased flood risk from filled wetlands. How are Arkansans pushing back? Wendell Griffen, the Democratic nominee for Pulaski County judge, speaks to the quorum court on proposed data center regulations as the proposal’s sponsor, Justice of the Peace Julie Blackwood, listens on May 12, 2026. (Photo by Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate) In central Arkansas, residents opposed to data centers crowded into board rooms in Conway and Little Rock, while many more commented on social media videos and posts expressing their dismay over data center projects. Momentum for regulations on data centers is also picking up in Arkansas’ most-populous county, even after the Pulaski County Quorum Court voted to send proposed regulations to the county planning department for a 90-day review. Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. who stood with supporters at a press conference last week, announced his support Tuesday for data center regulations. Wendell Griffen, the Democratic nominee for Pulaski County’s top elected position who wrote Pulaski County’s proposed regulations, has made data center regulation a central part of his campaign. Griffen has pushed for the quorum court to enact an emergency moratorium. What are supporters doing? The Little Rock Regional Chamber launched an informational website last week about the two projects in Pulaski County. Utility leaders insist that costs for serving the data centers would not be shifted to existing customers. Little Rock Regional Chamber President Jay Chesshir promotes an informational website about two data center projects alongside Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority CEO Jean Block (center right) and Central Arkansas Water CEO Tad Bohannan (right) during a press conference on May 12, 2026. (Photo by Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate) In West Memphis, Google launched a $25 million “Energy Impact Fund” last year to be used for energy efficiency and weatherization projects. The company is collecting feedback on possible community projects for the Little Rock area on the company’s information website. What do the proposed regulations do? In Pulaski County, the regulations would require public notice for “high-intensity digital infrastructure” in the unincorporated parts of the county and disclosure of expected utility impacts. They would also establish a conditional-use permit process for data centers that meet certain electrical- or water-use criteria. The Pulaski County regulations would not limit the amount of power a project can draw or the amount of water used. It would require companies to certify whether they are paying all infrastructure costs, or if the costs are spread, in part or in whole, to other ratepayers. The proposals also prohibit permit applications from being approved unless the county is provided with “substantial evidence” that the electrical infrastructure needed would not be subsidized by existing ratepayers. But any project that has already achieved certain milestones, such as final approvals from the county or binding agreements with utilities, would be grandfathered in and would not be required to provide that information. Scott’s proposed regulatory framework for projects inside Little Rock appear less intensive, and would only apply to data centers covering 250,000 square feet or more that use more than 50 megawatts of power. New data centers would be required to submit a report outlining total daily water use to the city before being approved, as well as provide other information to the city. What tax breaks are these centers receiving? Arkansas lawmakers in 2023 passed sales tax exemptions for building data centers, purchasing equipment, and for the electricity the data centers use. Legislators also passed the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act in 2025, which allowed utilities to recoup the cost of building new power generation before they finish building it. Those sales tax exemptions were expanded when lawmakers voted in 2025 to lower the criteria for qualifying for the breaks and to allow data centers spanning multiple locations to qualify. The law requires companies receiving the tax breaks to have a minimum annual payroll of $1 million for two years after the data center is built. That figure can include indirect compensation, such as paid time off, 401k retirement accounts and health insurance plans. Larger data centers have to meet a $3 million annual requirement over the same period. Supporters said the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act would enable the state to attract data centers and other businesses when legislators were considering it. Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said last October that new tax credits from the law helped lure Google to Arkansas. The Little Rock Google center and the unnamed Conway center are also receiving local property tax breaks. Little Rock has also agreed to slash or eliminate franchise fees, the payments made by utilities on revenue, for the projects. Courtesy of Arkansas Advocate
	Legendary NASCAR Broadcaster Doug Rice Remembers Kyle Busch \| 'He was going to race today' NASCAR broadcaster since 1980 and former president and co-anchor of PRN Radio, the official voice of NASCAR — shares his memories of Kyle Busch.
	Cook review: 'Mandalorian and Grogu' blends fun, creatures, action to good effect A crowd-pleaser awaits "Star Wars" fans regardless of their ages. "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu" deserves to be seen on the big screen. Whether you're a fan of the vehicles, the robots, the action, or the creatures (I'm in the latter category) you'll find something to enjoy. This is the first live-action "Star Wars" [...]
	Restaurant inspections: Mouse droppings in rice, shrimp in stagnant water The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing oversees restaurant inspections in Iowa. (Photo via Getty Images; DIAL logo courtesy of Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing)State, city and county inspectors have cited Iowa restaurants and stores for hundreds of food-safety violations during the past several weeks, including unsanitary kitchens, food contaminated with rodent droppings and shrimp left sitting in stagnant water. The findings are reported by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, which handles food-establishment inspections at the state level. Listed below are some of the more serious findings that stem from inspections at Iowa restaurants, stores, care facilities and other businesses between April 4, 2026, and May 14, 2026. (DIAL withholds from public disclosure all food-safety inspection reports for eight days past the date of inspection.) The inspections department reminds the public that its reports are a “snapshot” in time, and violations are often corrected on the spot before the inspector leaves the establishment. For a more complete list of all inspections, along with additional details on each of the inspections listed below, visit the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing’s website. Kentzio Japanese Steakhouse, 4804 S.W. 9th St., Des Moines — During a May 14 preopening visit, a state inspector cited this establishment for 10 risk-factor violations, including the lack of written procedures related to the preparation of sushi rice and failing to monitor the passage of time during which sushi rice is prepared and offered. The inspector also noted the interior of the ice machine was soiled, there was no handwashing sink installed in the bar area, the shelving inside the walk-in cooler was soiled, and there was no electricity supplied to the bar area. Long Xing, 428 Highway 1, Iowa City — During a May 14 visit, a Johnson County inspector noted that raw eggs were stored in the same container as mixed vegetables, creating a risk of cross-contamination. Also, multiple raw and ready-to-eat food items — including raw and cooked chicken, raw beef, lettuce and cooked noodles — were stored at room temperature on kitchen tables. In addition, containers of raw marinated chicken, beef and shrimp were being stored in a cooler where their internal temperatures were measured at 43 to 45 degrees, rather than 41 degrees or colder. Also, several containers of prepared foods and sauces stored inside the walk-in cooler and the cook-line cooler had none of the required date-markings to ensure freshness and safety. The inspector also made note of a container of cooked beef that had been held beyond the seven-day limit and had to be discarded. In addition, access to a kitchen handwashing sink was obstructed by food buckets and a trash can, and chicken was observed thawing inside a bucket of standing water. Several boxes and buckets of food were stored directly on the floor in the kitchen and there was no sanitizer available in the kitchen during the staff’s food-preparation activities. Kuntry Lane Groceries, 2274 250th St., Delhi — During a May 13 visit, a state inspector cited this store for the sale of candies that were not made in a licensed facility. Also, “farm-fresh eggs” from an unknown source were being offered for sale. Inside a refrigerated trailer that had lost power, sour cream was holding at 53 degrees, and shredded cheese was holding at 51 degrees — significantly warmer than the mandatory maximum of 41 degrees. The store was also “not able to show they are maintaining annual well-water sampling” to ensure safety, the inspector noted. Oriental Food Store, 808 W. River Drive, Davenport — During an April 7 visit to this retail store, a Scott County inspector noted there appeared to be no certified food protection manager on staff. The inspector reported finding two open containers of long-grain white rice “with mouse-like droppings inside of them.” The rice was discarded. Also, several severely dented cans of food were found, indicating am increased risk of bacterial contamination. In addition, temperature-controlled items, such as milk, tea and half & half were being stored at 42 to 44 degrees rather than 41 degrees or colder. Several knives, the scoop for an ice bin, and the interior of a refrigerator were all reported to be marred by a “buildup of dried food debris and/or soil,” indicating a need for additional cleaning and sanitizing. In addition, several seafood and meat products that were packaged for retail sale carried labels that stated only “meat” or “seafood,” the inspector reported. “Mouse-like droppings were observed in the Smoothie- and drink-preparation area along the edges of the floor,” the inspector reported. La Regia, 436 Highway 1, Iowa City — During a May 13 visit, a Johnson County inspector noted that the staff was failing to comply with handwashing requirements and observed two employees handling ready-to-eat tortillas with their bare hands. Also, two cooked beef steaks were measured at 119 degrees three hours into the cooling process, and refrigerated beef steaks dated May 11, two days prior to the inspection, had yet to cool to 41 degrees or colder and were measured at 50 degrees or above. Also, cheese and diced tomatoes stored in a cooler were holding at 47 to 52 degrees, and a container of cooked meat stored in a refrigerator had been held beyond the seven-day limit and needed to be discarded. In addition, access to both of the main kitchen’s handwashing sinks was obstructed by utensils and towels stored in the sink basins. Lotus Asian Bistro, 589 E. 53rd St., Davenport — During a May 13 visit, a Scott County inspector cited this establishment for 12 risk-factor violations, an unusually high number. Among the issues: The person in charge was not ensuring that proper cold-holding temperatures for food were being maintained or that the dishes were being adequately sanitized. Raw sprouts were being stored in a bucket at room temperature, and precooked noodles, along with chicken, lettuce, and tofu, were being stored at room temperature. In addition, various items inside the walk-in cooler were measured at 43 degrees, above the 41-degree maximum. Also, date-marking procedures intended to ensure the freshness and safety of the food were not being observed in “various areas” of the establishment, the inspector reported. The interior of the ice machine was marred by “a buildup of grime,” as was the holster for the soda-dispensing gun at the bar. In addition, the interiors of two coolers were marred by an excess buildup of food debris, and a spray can of Raid insecticide, not approved for use in a commercial kitchen, was found in the server’s station. The inspector also noted that salmon was being thawed without first being removed from its vacuum-sealed packaging, creating a risk that any spoilage would go undetected. In addition, the ice that was being used to chill various drink syrups in the bar area was also being deposited into customers’ drinks. Hy-Vee Foods, 4064 E. 53rd St., Davenport — During a May 12 visit, a Scott County inspector observed there were several dented cans “found throughout the aisles,” creating a risk of harmful bacteria. Also, the sweet-and-sour chicken and General Tso chicken offered in the Hy-Chi area were measured at less than 135 degrees and had to either be reheated to 165 degrees or discarded. In addition, cut melons were measured at 55 degrees, and cheese cubes in the deli cooler were measured at 52 degrees – too warm to ensure their safety. Also, various refrigerated time- and temperature-controlled food items in the Market Grille area were measured at 44 to 48 degrees, two cartons of eggs were stored at room temperature without refrigeration, and various time- and temperature-controlled items in the Hy-Chi cooler were being held at temperatures of 44 degrees or above. In addition, rotisserie chickens offered for sale at the front of a large, open cooler ranged from 47 to 48 degrees, while chicken wings and sliders and pulled pork were measured at 44 to 46 degrees. Various items were discarded, the inspector reported, and the staff was advised to ensure that items were cooled to 41 degrees or below before being placed in open-air coolers for sale. This was a repeat violation, the inspector noted. Also, the pizza oven was marred by an excess buildup of food debris, and the self-service soda machine was marred by an excess buildup of grime on the catch basin near the drains, the inspector reported. In the Hy-Chi area, access to the handwashing sink was blocked by a trash can and a rolling cart — another repeat violation. Also, the pH meter — a tool that can be used to ensure sushi rice is properly acidified and safe to eat — was inoperable, another repeat violation. With regard to the pH testing, management was “not reviewing records and signing off on them,” the inspector reported. The inspector also made note of an excess amount of grime, grease or food debris on the interior and exterior of the fryers, and the sides and exterior of the Market Grille oven. Frackie’s Pub, 2820 Rockingham Road, Davenport — During a May 6 visit, a Scott County inspector cited this establishment for 13 risk-factor violations, an unusually high number, with the inspector noting there appeared to be no currently certified food protection manager on staff. Also, a kitchen employee was seen handling sandwich buns with their bare hands, and a worker was seen using a crockpot to slowly reheat queso sauce from the cooler rather than quickly reheat it in the microwave oven to ensure its safety. In addition, three containers of taco meat prepared the previous day had yet to cool to 41 degrees while inside the walk-in cooler and had to be discarded. The inspector also observed that several prepared food products in one of the coolers — including cooked chicken, beef and gravy — had no date-markings to ensure freshness and safety. The inspector also reported finding a container of hamburger patties with a preparation date of April 27, indicating the patties had been held beyond the seven-day limit. The inspector also noted that the interiors of two food-prep tables were marred by a “buildup of food debris and soil,” and portions of the large ice machine were marred by a buildup of grime and required additional cleaning. “All food-contact surfaces require additional cleaning and sanitizing,” the inspector wrote in her report. Ocean City Chinese Restaurant, 5 W. Main St., Marshalltown — During a May 5 visit, a state inspector cited this establishment for 13 risk-factor violations, an unusually high number, with the inspector noting that not all of the staff designated as the person in charge were also certified food protection managers. The person in charge at the time of the inspection was deemed to be not fulfilling their duties, the inspector reported, as evidenced by violations related to handwashing, personal hygiene, cross-contamination of food, lack of sanitization, and other risk factors. The inspector also reported observing one employee rolling shrimp for sushi with their bare hands. In the base of the sushi-preparation table, raw fish was stored on top of ready-to-eat peppers and above ready-to-eat sauces. In the walk-in cooler, raw shrimp was stored over ready-to-eat sauces, raw beef was stored over ready-to-eat vegetables, and raw chicken was stored over beef and ready-to-eat sauces, risking cross-contamination. The restaurant also failed to maintain the required, up-to-date proof of parasite destruction for the varieties of fish that were being served raw, the inspector reported. On the counter, the inspector found a pan of cooked chicken that was holding at room temperature, and spring rolls that were holding at 62 degrees. The chicken and the spring rolls were discarded. Inside the walk-in cooler, the inspector found cooked shrimp, cooked chicken and crab Rangoon that had no date-markings to ensure freshness and safety. In addition, there was no detectable level of sanitizing solution in the mechanical dishwashing machine; the interior of the ice machine was unclean; and an employee was observed spitting “into the wok cooking-station area,” which resulted in the inspector intervening and all nearby foods being discarded, fresh water being supplied to the station, and equipment and utensils being replaced. The inspector also observed that the handwashing sink was not accessible, having been blocked by food buckets and frying oil, as well as dirty towels that were being stored in the basin of the sink. The inspector also made note of the fact that “working containers of food” were being stored “below the hand sink in the kitchen, exposing them to drips and contamination.” Several of the violations noted by the inspector were categorized as repeat offenses requiring long-term corrective action. The restaurant’s last routine inspection was in November 2023, when the establishment was cited for 15 risk-factor violations. Abarrotes Carrillo, 903 W. 3rd St., Davenport — During a May 4 visit to this retail store, a Scott County inspector noted that inside one of the coolers, condensation was dripping down on top of raw, uncovered meat products, risking contamination. Also, two large pots of soup prepared the previous evening were inside the walk-in cooler but had yet to cool below 45 degrees and had to be discarded. Also, one of the food-prep tables used to hold chilled food was holding multiple products — including sliced tomatoes, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and cheese — at 52 to 53 degrees, well above the 41-degree maximum. The inspector also made note of opened packages of deli meats that had no date markings to ensure freshness and safety, and containers of meat that had been held beyond their seven-day limit and had to be discarded. Knives and slicers that were not in use at the time of the inspection were marred by excess food debris, and the interior of the meat coolers in the meat department were marred by a buildup of food debris and spilled liquids. Also, tilapia filets were being thawed in the meat cooler while still inside vacuum-sealed packaging, creating a risk that any spoilage would go undetected. “All surfaces require additional cleaning and sanitizing,” the inspector reported. China Café, 3018 E. 53rd St., Davenport — During an April 29 visit, a Scott County inspector cited this restaurant for 11 risk-factor violations, an unusually high number. Among the issues: Soy sauce was being held at room temperature rather than in a cooler; multiple dented cans were found in the kitchen, indicating an increased risk of contamination by bacteria; “many food items” were stored uncovered in the kitchen, risking contamination; hot foods were being held at temperatures of 80 to 106 degrees, rather than 135 degrees or hotter; cold foods were held at room temperature, between 51 and 60 degrees, rather than being refrigerated, and multiple prepared food items had been held for more than 24 hours without being date-marked to ensure freshness and safety. Also, knives stored on a knife rack were marred by food debris, and multiple cleaning products were improperly stored alongside food items. The inspector also reported that “chicken on a stick” was left out to thaw at room temperature, and “shrimp was sitting in stagnant water” inside the three-compartment sink used to clean dishes. D’Leon’s, 109 Jefferson St., Waterloo — During an April 28 visit, a Black Hawk County inspector checked the walk-in cooler and noticed that a broken condenser was “leaking fluid into uncovered food.” The soiled food items were then discarded. The inspector also made note of knives and a microwave oven that were soiled with a buildup of food debris and reported that multiple items inside the walk-in cooler had been held longer than 24 hours without being date-marked to ensure freshness and safety. Clare’s Tenderloins, 506 S. 6th St., Marshalltown — During an April 17 visit to this mobile food truck operating near Marshalltown Community College, a state inspector found the person in charge was not a certified food protection manager and the operator was using an unlicensed commissary — their home — to prepare and store food and to wash dishes and utensils. In addition, the food truck’s handwashing sink was not operational at the beginning of the inspection, with the water having been turned off. Viet Thai Deli, 930 Main St., Grinnell — During an April 16 visit, a state inspector concluded the person in charge was not a certified food protection manager and was not fulfilling their duties as evidenced by violations related to bare-hand contact with food, lack of handwashing, lack of sanitization, potential cross-contamination of food items, and a lack of date-marking. The inspector found cooked meats, prepared crab Rangoon, and crab Rangoon filling that were dated March 22 and March 26, weeks before the inspection, suggesting the food items were expired and should be discarded. “The operator stated the date-mark was not correct,” the inspector reported. Equipment and utensils were not being sanitized; a container of frozen meat was thawing at room temperature; and there was food debris and liquid spilled on the kitchen shelving units, inside the plastic storage containers, and on the interiors of the refrigeration units, the inspector reported. Mandarin Spice Buffet & Grill, 1412 Twixt Town Road, Marion — During an April 9 visit, a Linn County inspector observed that several foods in the walk-in freezer — including seafood, meat and cooked vegetables — had no date-markings to ensure freshness and safety, which was a repeat violation. “Interior of ice machine has a black buildup,” the inspector wrote in his report. “Beef was seen cooled at room temperature at the prepping counter in the kitchen.” SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Iowa Capital Dispatch
	Vehicle submerged in Bettendorf pond, officials say Bettendorf fire and police responded to the 2200 block of Kimberly Road for reports of a vehicle submerged in a pond.
	Death Notice: Jack Darland Jack D. Darland, 79, of Eldridge, died Thursday, May 21, 2026, at the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House, Bettendorf. A private graveside service will be held, with a celebration of life to be held on Thursday, July 2, at Rolling Meadows Event Center, Eldridge. Visitation will be held from 2-5 p.m., with a time of remembrances at 5 p.m. The Runge Mortuary, Davenport, is assisting the family with arrangements. Memorials may be made to the North Scott Educational Foundation. Online condolences may be made at www.rungemortuary.com. A full obituary will appear in the May 27 edition of The NSP.
	Beacon Mutual ransomware attack exposed data of 4,500 current and former RI state employees A laptop displays the Beacon Mutual Insurance website as seen on May 22, 2026. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)The personal information of an estimated 132,000 Rhode Islanders was involved in a January cyberattack on Beacon Mutual Insurance, the Warwick-based workers’ comp company revealed this week. Beacon is the third party vendor that administers the state’s workers compensation insurance policy. Karen Greco, spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Administration, told Rhode Island Current in an email Friday that the affected individuals included a few thousand state employees, both past and present. Beacon, Greco wrote, “informed the State of Rhode Island that they experienced a data breach in January that potentially exposed personal identifiable information that belonged to approximately 4,500 current and former state employees.” Greco added that the compromised Beacon systems do not connect to state networks, “and at no time were the state’s systems at risk,” she said, adding that Beacon had alerted the state it would notify affected people directly. Beacon Mutual hit by ransomware attack “Beacon Mutual regrets any inconvenience this matter may cause and appreciates the patience and understanding of our policyholders, agent partners, and other stakeholders,” Michelle N. Pelletier, Beacon’s assistant vice president of marketing and communications, said in an email Friday. Pelletier added that, as required by state law, Beacon disclosed the breach to the Office of the Rhode Island Attorney General. The AG’s spokesperson Tim Rondeau confirmed via email Friday that the office received notification on Wednesday. A state employees union shared with Rhode Island Current a copy of a May 18 notice sent to a state employee. It is largely similar to the notice posted to Beacon Mutual’s website earlier this week, which gives a more precise number of approximately 131,027 Rhode Islanders affected. Beacon is now a private entity but was originally created with help from the state legislature to help stabilize the workers’ compensation insurance market in 1990. It also provides workers’ comp coverage for private employers who cannot find insurance on the voluntary market. Certain employers may be declined coverage because the risk to insure them is too big. Firms which insure these otherwise uninsured firms are known as an “insurer or last resort,” and Beacon fulfills this role in Rhode Island. There were about 162,000 people affected in all, Pelletier said, a number which includes people who live outside Rhode Island. Pelletier did not immediately respond with the full list of places affected, but Beacon Mutual’s online notice lists Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina and West Virginia as possibly affected states. The company does business primarily in Rhode Island, with additional, smaller operations in Connecticut and Massachusetts. According to the Beacon Mutual website, the affected data was accessed between Jan. 7 and Jan. 14, 2026, and included files that “contained the first name or first initial and last name along with one or more of: Social Security number, driver’s license number, financial account number, health insurance information and/or medical treatment information.” The letter further advises recipients to monitor account statements and credit reports, and shares tips on setting up fraud alerts and credit freezes, if needed. Beacon has also set up a toll‑free call center at 833-918-8448 for individuals who believe they may have been affected but were not reached by mail. Pelletier added that credit monitoring was offered to “everyone who has a Social Security number or driver’s license number involved.” Threat actors alleged theft of 275GB “This was a ransomware attack,” Pelletier reiterated on Friday. “We proactively isolated certain systems to contain the threat.” The cybercriminal outfit INC Ransom took credit for the attack around Jan. 29 on its dark web leak site, boasting that it hauled off about 275 GB of “highly sensitive internal data.” The criminal group, according to the Denver-based cybersecurity firm Blackpoint Cyber, first appeared sometime around 2023 and has concentrated most of its efforts in North America. INC has breached a number of high-profile targets in recent years, including the Pennsylvania AG’s office and Stark Aerospace, a contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense. A March 2026 report from Halcyon, a ransomware research outfit, noted that INC has been targeting law firms as of late. INC Ransom has been observed to use the double extortion method, a two-part approach that begins with a traditional ransomware stratagem — encrypting files on a victim’s network, then demanding payment from victims to unlock the files and make them usable again — followed by data exfiltration, in which criminals rip or copy the data from a victim’s servers and threaten to post it online. That threat also comes attached to a ransom. “I am not at liberty to discuss the ransom demand,” Pelletier said Friday. “We are not in communication with INC Ransom.” One lawsuit among many As is typical for data breaches, the breach has already spurred a class-action suit in Rhode Island Superior Court. The plaintiffs’ attorney is Peter Wasylyk, who’s no stranger to data breach litigation — Wasylyk represented plaintiffs in a class action suit over the RIBridges data breach in 2024. “Beacon Mutual had the responsibility to safeguard the private, sensitive information entrusted to it. With that responsibility came a duty to protect it,” Wasylyk said in a statement Friday. In a 2026 review, the Philadelphia-based multinational firm Duane Morris found there were an estimated 1,822 data privacy class action suits filed in 2025, for an average of about 150 filings a month — an increase of around 18% from the previous year, and up more than 200% since 2022. But volume does not equal success, the Duane Morris report found, as “plaintiffs often have difficulty demonstrating that they suffered concrete harm.” Very few cases reached the ruling stage on class certification, which is when a judge decides if claims can be expanded to represent an entire class action. In 2025, courts ruled on only three motions for class certification over data breaches, the report reads, and plaintiffs prevailed only in one case. Still, even sans class certification, the cases can still prove pricey if settled: The top 10 settlements accounted for $515.79 million in 2025, according to Duane Morris, which it called “a slight decrease over 2024, when the top 10 data breach class actions totaled $593.2 million.” SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. 4:26 pmUpdated with additional info about credit monitoring offered by Beacon Mutual. Courtesy of Rhode Island Current
	Vibrant Arena at The Mark announces new executive director Edgar most recently served as general manager of the Peoria Civic Center, according to a media release.
	Woman wanted for arson in Sterling Marcella Dingman, 52, is wanted for aggravated arson on a Whiteside County arrest warrant.
	Six Kentucky hospitals to receive $105 million in COVID funds SIx Kentucky hospitals to receive overdue FEMA funds for COVID.(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)Several Kentucky hospitals will get millions in disaster reimbursement funds for COVID-19 pandemic expenses, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Friday. Six hospitals and Kentucky Emergency Management (KYEM) will get more than $105 million through Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief. The money will reimburse facilities for personal protective equipment, medical support, contract labor, emergency protective measures, medications and more expenses from January 2020 through May 11, 2023, Beshear’s office said. The following hospitals will receive these reimbursements: AdventHealth Manchester — $1,628,812.06 Appalachian Regional Healthcare — $22,944,962.88 Baptist Health — $17,207,818.93 Pikeville Medical Center — $1,447,750.47 T.J. Samson Community Hospital — $6,917,666.16 UofL Health — $13,397,435.97 Kentucky Emergency Management will also be reimbursed for $41,820,598.35. “What our hospitals did during the pandemic is nothing short of heroic, and my administration worked hard to make sure the reimbursements they were owed under the president’s emergency declaration were delivered,” Beshear said in a statement. “While this funding is being received years later, it couldn’t come at a better time, as our hospitals face challenges due to federal Medicaid cuts. This $105 million will make a difference for these hospitals and the Kentucky families who depend on them, which is why today’s news is so great.” Eric Gibson, director of KYEM, said the state is “processing the funds as quickly as possible so teams can put those dollars to good use as they continue to care for and protect people across our commonwealth.” Courtesy of Kentucky Lantern
	At first and only debate, 1st District Republicans square off on healthcare, immigration Ron Russell (left) and Joshua James Pietrowicz (right) are running in the June 9 Republican primary to challenge Democrat U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree in Maine's 1st Congressional District. (Official campaign photos)In their first and only debate before the June 9 primary, Republicans in the 1st Congressional District U.S. House race Joshua Pietrowicz and Ron Russell discussed their differing stances on the war in Iran, immigration and healthcare. Russell was the GOP nominee for the district in 2022 but lost in the general election, and now faces off against political newcomer Pietrowicz. Whoever wins will face off against incumbent Democrat Chellie Pingree in the general election. The debate was hosted by Maine Public and the Portland Press Herald, and reporters from the two publications asked the candidates to weigh in on the conflict in Iran. Russell, a retired colonel who served as an Airborne Ranger and Green Beret, said from a military perspective, he would say the campaign has gone very well. “I think it has been beneficial, and it will continue to be beneficial for the citizens of the United States, because we have been held hostage by Iran for 49 years,” he said. Pietrowicz disagreed, “I would say it’s not necessarily been a benefit to the Americans, other than the fact that national security has been pretty steadfast here in the home front.” He said he supports an ongoing naval blockade in the region, but not a ground invasion — he would support troops on the ground only if there was “credible intelligence” shared with the public that it was an absolute necessity. “I don’t think the American people have the stomach for Iraq and Afghanistan 2.0 and I certainly don’t think we need another quagmire in the Middle East for the next 20 years, that’s for sure,” Pietrowicz said. Russell said he would be more open to the conditions for a ground invasion. “I don’t think that I would take boots on the ground off the table as an option, I think all of the options ought to be available to the president,” he said. When it comes to the war in Ukraine, Russell said he was in favor of supporting Ukraine, but didn’t think the U.S. should give the country a blank check. “They need support, and when we were providing support — we actually had boots on the ground at one particular point in time — they were far more effective than they are currently,” Russell said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Pietrowicz said he did not support a more active role in Ukraine, and that the conflict would have been resolved earlier if it wasn’t for earlier support from the U.S. He also said that he thinks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “is going to have to make some compromises.” “I certainly don’t support sending billions overseas while we have people in this country that are struggling right now,” he said. Both candidates have expressed general support for President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, and were asked their thoughts about how that campaign was carried out in Maine by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the enhanced operation in January. Pietrowicz said there needs to be strong oversight of immigration officers, but added that “clearly law and order has a place in this country.” “We do need to back our law enforcement and trust the judicial process, but when it fails, we need to hold it accountable and those people that are failing us need to be held accountable, and that includes prison time,” Pietrowicz said. Russell said he did not fully support the way the January campaign was carried out, but “I don’t necessarily find the administration at fault.” He pointed to the lack of cooperation between Maine law enforcement and immigration agents as the misstep. “If state and local and federal authorities had talked, they would have agreed that he either needed to be picked up or not needed to be picked up,” Russell said, referring to a Cumberland County corrections officer recruit who was arrested by ICE agents in January. When asked about support for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Trump administration’s sweeping budget overhaul passed last summer, Pietrowicz said he would not have voted in favor of the bill as it was written. “I just think the lack of compromise and lack of discussion within the party is not good for us right now,” he said. Russell said he would have voted to pass the bill, even with the included cuts to Medicaid. “I would have voted for the bill, because during Covid the applicability of Medicare, Medicaid, increased more than it should have been prior to Covid,” he said. Russell went on to say he would not support reinstating the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which expired this year and causing the price of many health insurance marketplace plans to skyrocket. “Healthcare needs to be looked at, because that’s one of the largest expenses we have in our federal budget and our state budget,” Russell said. Pietrowicz disagreed, and said he would support the tax credits as a bridge, and that Americans should be able to access healthcare without going deep into debt. “I think we have to do a better job of advocating for our most vulnerable and making sure that they’re not just getting trampled over by Big Pharma,” he said. Pietrowicz said he differed from many Republicans in his support for a universal healthcare option. “We already have about a third of the country on some form of socialized medicine,” he said. “Mainers and Americans are paying for it. They might as well get a deal that includes them as well.” When it comes to the challenge of competing in the general election in the heavily Democratic district, both candidates emphasized the importance of outreach with voters. “My strategy is to hold town halls and to talk to Democrats and independents, and try to convince them that my policies are better than my opponents’ policies,” Russell said. “I think that is the way ahead.” Pietrowicz similarly said it will take more than just Republican voters to win in November, the nominee will need to reach independents and Democrats too. “We just got to get those guys off the couch, get them excited, and win over the independents,” Pietrowicz said. “It is possible, but it’s going to take a little effort.” Courtesy of Maine Morning Star
	UNC Board of Governors gives initial OK to UNC Wilmington medical school It has been more than 50 years since North Carolina launched a public medical school. UNC-Wilmington is hoping that with private donations, a new medical school will be able to serve the southeastern region of the state. (Photo: Getty Images)The University of North Carolina Wilmington received a green light this week from the UNC System Board of Governors to proceed with the steps necessary to seek accreditation for a new four-year medical school that would also offer a three-year accelerated program for primary-care doctors and specialties in high demand. It has been more than 50 years since North Carolina launched a public medical school, and supporters say the southeastern region of the state faces a significant shortage of physicians. Board member Art Pope, a former state budget director, said while he would support the initial resolution, the medical school proposal would need to be thoroughly vetted. “Even with major seed money, startup money, capital money, coming from non-state funds, [this] will have an operating impact on our budget in future years, which we’ll consider through the normal course,” said Pope. Board member Swadesh Chatterjee joined Pope in supporting the concept of the new school, but asked for more information on the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) planning study and where the funding would come from. LCME accreditation is required before students may be recruited or enrolled in a Doctor of Medicine program. UNC Wilmington Chancellor Aswani Volety said while he was not prepared to offer a dollar figure for the preliminary planning stage, the cost would be covered through philanthropic support. Volety said that he is committed to raising more than $100 million towards the initiative. In a show of support, UNC System President Peter Hans assured the board that he has been involved in the discussions for more than a year. “I have verified the very, very, very, very strong possibility of significant private support for this,” Hans told the board. “This is not taken on a wish.” UNC-Wilmington seeks approval for four-year medical school At an April meeting, Volety predicted it would take seven to eight years before the first doctors would graduate, but he was hopeful a three-year accelerated track would be attractive to students. More than 30 medical schools around the country offer accelerated programs, including Duke and UNC Chapel Hill. With the rise of AI, a move toward faster learning Hans said this is part of a broader strategy. In his remarks to the full board Thursday, Hans said the system continues to explore more three-year accelerated degree offerings. “North Carolina needs more health professionals, more engineers, and more business professionals with skills in data analysis,” said Hans in his prepared remarks. “If three-year degrees show promise to address those shortages for our state, we have an obligation to explore them.” UNC System President Peter Hans (Photo: PBS NC/UNC Board of Governors video) Reducing some undergraduate programs to 90 credit hours to reach graduation could save students up to 25% of the cost of earning a college degree. Hans said while a traditional four-year college experience can be transformative, exploring new and faster pathways toward graduation may be “a prudent step” in an era of potentially large disruption driven by artificial intelligence. “It’s reasonable to expect that a significant number of people will need to seek new fields, new careers, and new skills to adapt to a shifting economic landscape,” said Hans. “I believe the riskiest course for the university is to just hope it all magically goes away.” The UNC System has received about two dozen campus proposals for three-year degree options. It will require a vote by the full board of governors to decide if any of those proposals moves forward. Courtesy of NC Newsline
	What to know about Quad Cities airport travel during Memorial Day weekend he Quad Cities International Airport is expecting normal operations for Memorial Day weekend with good weather conditions, according to airport spokesperson Ashleigh Johnston.
	Ask AI or just Google it? Google makes a big change to a little search box The search giant is updating its famously minimalist homepage. But what looks like a tiny design change is a very big deal.
	Davenport Student Built Home Program brings a new house to the market The program gives students a chance to learn construction trades hands-on by building a home. Read the article for more on what they had to say about their experience.
	Bettendorf firefighters and police respond to vehicle in a pond Friday morning Police believe the car rolled into the pond after a mechanical issue arose following a collision.
	Davenport schools proposing naming Brady Street Stadium after Roger Craig There’s a movement from coaches and administrators in the Davenport School District to change the name of Brady Street Stadium to Roger Craig Stadium.
	Gabbard resigns as national intelligence director citing husband's cancer diagnosis Gabbard is the latest in a series of Cabinet officials to leave the Trump administration.
	Crews removing vehicle from pond after mechanical failure Crews are removing a car from a pond after a mechanical failure caused it to roll into it.
	Davenport Schools looking to purchase additional weapons detection systems The Davenport Community School District is requesting to add five weapons detection systems to its schools.
	1 dead after Davenport apartment fire One person is dead after a Davenport apartment fire on the 1400 block of East 39th Street.
	Court denies Jamison Fisher's motion to dismiss The man accused in the 1996 murder of 11-year-old Trudy Appleby appeared in Henry County Court in Cambridge with his attorneys Friday morning for a hearing on several motions -- including a motion to dismiss the case. Jamison Fisher appeared for a hearing on the state’s Motion To Admit Evidence Under Il Rule Of Evidence [...]
	Q & A with Dr. Wohl: How global health changes could impact Ebola response David Wohl, an infectious disease specialist at UNC Health and UNC-CH School of Medicine. (Photo: UNC Health)As the world has waited with bated breath to see if the small outbreak of the hantavirus aboard a cruise ship would multiply and spread beyond borders — another infectious disease crisis vaulted into worldview. Last Friday, the Africa CDC confirmed a new Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization quickly declared the epidemic a public health emergency of international concern. The strain of Ebola, Bundibugyo, is a different variant from the one in the massive 2014 outbreak. That difference complicated detection of the virus, because early test results using tools geared to that 2014 strain came back negative. As of Saturday, 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths were reported in Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The response in that province, the center of the outbreak, has been criticized as lacking, with health officials being slow to report the concerning symptoms and a lag in dispatching test samples to Kinshasa, the capital, according to The New York Times. Across the border in Uganda, two laboratory cases and one death have been reported with “no apparent link to each other,” according to WHO. Health officials suspect the outbreak has been going on for much longer, noting unusual clusters of community deaths with symptoms compatible with this strain. There also have been at least four deaths among healthcare workers in a clinical context, which has raised concerns about transmission in a healthcare setting and gaps in infection prevention and control measures. Those concerns are all amplified by the ease of travel between countries surrounding the initial outbreak. While the World Health Organization and associated global health entities mount a response — the United States is noticeably absent. The second Trump administration announced its withdrawal from WHO in January 2025, citing “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic” and failure to reform. The global health infrastructure — and the relationships among the agencies and nations that shaped responses to previous global health emergencies — has changed dramatically, as has the role of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For North Carolina clinicians and researchers who worked through the 2014 Ebola epidemic, today’s outbreak raises familiar concerns but in a markedly different global health landscape. Among them is David Wohl, a UNC Chapel Hill infectious disease physician whose work on Ebola in Liberia grew out of decades spent studying emerging infectious diseases. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. NCHN: What do we know about this current outbreak? David Wohl: There’s quite a bit that we’re finding out, and none of it is really good news. There has been an ongoing outbreak of Ebola with a strain called Bundibugyo. It’s caused outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo before, but it is not the same variant or strain that caused a big outbreak in 2014. That matters because the diagnostic tests that are used don’t pick up this other strain of Ebola that is now circulating in DRC. That contributed to delays in diagnosis, recognition and response, which allowed the virus to continue to spread really widely with people moving from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since it started in the rural area of the DRC, then people went to seek care in the capital Kinshasa, and then to Uganda nearby, and its capital Kampala. This has become a rural spreading virus that now has been transported into cities with healthcare workers getting infected, probably also now in South Sudan, which raised a whole bunch of other issues. We’re talking about a region of the world where there’s not a lot of resources, very rural for most of this, and where there’s also civil conflict. So none of that is good news. NCHN: Some reports say that because there are no longer USAID people on the ground to do surveillance, it took longer to identify the outbreak. Is that true? David Wohl: I’m sympathetic to people who are trying to imagine an alternative universe where all the resources that existed historically up until about a year and a half ago — how would that have made a difference? That’s really hard. I think it makes a difference with response, but I’m not so sure how it would have made a difference with detection. There’s a really decentralized system in the DRC, unfortunately, especially with these rural outlying areas not having good connections to resources such as testing. Some testing was done, but I think there was not good recognition that there were people getting sick with something that looked like a serious viral hemorrhagic fever and that there were clusters. That should have set off alarms. Maybe even if we had all the resources there, I do think it wouldn’t have made it different. But I do think now when you really do need to mount a response to try to contain what should have been contained already is getting very messy — that’s where you want those resources and a deep bench of people, both here and there, to be able to respond. That is my concern, is that we are more of a skeleton crew than ever before. (Photo: UNC Medicine) NCHN: In the past, people like you and (UNC Chapel Hill infectious disease physician) Billy Fisher have responded to these health emergencies because you were part of the CDC response teams. Do those still exist, and will they be able to help with a response? The United States is also no longer a member of the World Health Organization. How are all these changes going to affect response? David Wohl: From my vantage point, I see that the opportunities — for collaboration, for data sharing, for really being around the same table — are no longer the same as they were before. That worries me. I think when you have a global threat like this, you really do want trust and good relationships. I worry that we don’t have that to the same degree we did before, and that’s been very, very well voiced by this administration that we don’t need to do that. That’s not to say that people aren’t talking to each other. I’m sure they are, but I do worry that again without the experienced people who were part of this not present any longer, we’re at a disadvantage. Are we stronger now to respond than we were before? I don’t think we could really say that, and I do worry that there’s diminished ability to do something that we were able to do before. Fischer and a colleague suited up for full infection control during the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak. That said, domestically Billy Fisher and myself co-lead one of 13 federally funded regional emerging pathogen response centers. These are designated centers to be the end of the road. After you get the patient who has Ebola or another serious infection, they come to our center, we care for them. We’re training. We are funded to be able to respond if there’s a need, and that would include a repatriated American who has Ebola or suspected. It could include someone with hantavirus. We are being very, very aware and alert of the situation, we’re having constant meetings and I think that system remains strong. There’s been chaos, there’s been confusion with everything, but we’re still able to function and are. All of us across the country have a sense of alert here that if we’re needed, we will be available to be called upon to do what we need to do to help Americans who might be ill. NCHN: The administration has put in a travel ban from DRC, South Sudan and Uganda. Is that enough to stop cases from coming into the states? David Wohl: Probably not. I’m not even sure how effective that is. Remember those travel bans are for people who don’t have a U.S. passport. I don’t think the virus cares whether you have a U.S. passport. If you have a U.S. passport and come from these countries, you can be allowed in. I’m not sure that the travel bans will be as effective as on a local level. Given the situation, we’re asking people when they check in for their appointments or come to the emergency room: “Have you traveled to these countries? Are you having any symptoms?” That’s part of a routine travel screen that we adjust based upon where there’s hot spots across the country, so there’ll be less people, maybe, coming from those countries that we have to screen. NCHN: Someone could be in the affected area and then travel to, say, Ethiopia or something and then fly to the U.S. from there? David Wohl: There’s holes in this system, but even if you absolutely were able to stop every single person coming from these countries in the United States, a chain of transmission could be such that it can come in with somebody else. The vast, vast, vast majority of people who will be traveling through our country would not have been exposed. It’s a big, big sledgehammer. I think it may make some pragmatic sense to people and may look good, but I’m not so sure how effective it will be. It can be very disruptive to a lot of people — and to even our relationships with these countries. And with personnel transfer, we want there to be a fluid transfer of people who can help respond, so we don’t want obstacles placed. NCHN: How is Ebola transmitted, through blood and bodily fluids? David Wohl: That’s what really makes it very … it’s a scary virus. But that’s what makes it different. A lot of us are scared when you hear about these emerging pathogens, when you hear about something like a bird flu that is transmitted by air, that is really to me much more of a concern because you could be close to somebody but not touch them and get infected. With Ebola, you really do have to be in physical contact with them or their fluids. It’s not transmitted through the air, so while it’s a devastating infection, it is harder to catch. We always want to worry a little bit. I think with hantavirus, there’s a potential that these people who got off the boat could secondarily spread it to other people. I think there’s some really good reasons to be watching those folks carefully. But with Ebola I’m less worried about secondary spread. I’m not really seeing that happen in the United States. We’re so different than Africa, as far as that’s concerned. NCHN: Looking at these two outbreaks, hantavirus and then Ebola virus, it speaks about the need for ongoing surveillance. What is the worldwide status of our public health surveillance system? David Wohl: Personally, I can’t say that we’re stronger, and there’s good arguments to say we’re weaker: … We have fewer staff, when we have people who were in divisions of the CDC that were dedicated to emerging pathogens that don’t exist anymore. You can’t tell me that makes us stronger. When we hear a lot of discussion about chronic diseases, nutrition and environmental health toxins, and to some extent say, “you really should be turning our back away from the focus on infectious diseases and emerging pathogens.” This shows us why we need to do both. This is not just coincidence. This is not just bad luck. This is going to happen; this is predictable. We know that emerging pathogens are happening more frequently, that they’re getting more serious and their scope is widening. If anything, we should be strengthening, right now, our surveillance systems as climate change, urbanization, migration, civil conflict, all these things predispose to emerging pathogen outbreaks. We should be doubling an investment in our efforts, because these things hit us too. This article first appeared on North Carolina Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2026/05/20/q-a-dr-wohl-ebola/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } Courtesy of NC Newsline
	PacificSource to end Montana insurance operations Voters say the cost of healthcare will be a major factor in how they vote in this year's midterm elections. (Getty Images)PacificSource Health Plans, one of Montana’s three primary health insurance providers, will cease its Montana operations and exit the marketplace by the end of the year. “PacificSource is making difficult decisions to ensure we can continue fulfilling our mission and serving members for the long term amid growing pressures across the healthcare industry,” company spokesperson Amber Conger confirmed to the Daily Montanan on May 21. “This includes exiting the individual market, as well as the state of Montana.” The health insurance company has operated in Montana since 2012, providing individual, small and large group, ASO and Medicare Advantage health plans, and is contracted with more than 90% of providers in the state, according to the company. According to information provided to the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, PacificSource counts approximately 11,000 individual health members, 15,000 small group members, 4,500 large group members, and 1,100 Medicare Advantage members in Montana, and serves as a third-party administrator for thousands of others. A spokesperson for the Commissioner’s office said the company informed the state of its decision earlier this week. “Anytime a health insurance provider pulls out of the Montana market, consumers are impacted,” Spokesperson Ethan Holmes said in an email to the Daily Montanan. “They’re forced to shop for new plans, and with less options in the market, may have to choose one that doesn’t serve their needs as well.” The Springfield, Oregon-based company cited headwinds across the healthcare industry as the reason for shrinking its footprint. “These are not decisions made lightly. We know they will affect people’s coverage and livelihoods, and we recognize the real impact on the individuals and communities we serve,” Conger said. “The reality is the healthcare system is unsustainable: Costs continue to rise, access is inconsistent, and the experience often falls short of what people need and deserve. These are not abstract problems. They directly affect PacificSource’s ability to continue delivering reliable, high-quality coverage to the people who count on us.” Rising healthcare costs have been a major talking point for years, especially last fall when federal subsidies for Affordable Care Act Marketplace plans were set to expire. Rally attendees hold signs at a rally in support of reauthorizing Medicaid expansion at the Montana State Capitol on Jan. 15, 2025. (Micah Drew/Daily Montanan) Individual marketplace plans in Montana increased for 2026 through all providers, with PacificSource asking for a roughly 12% increase; though the state’s other insurers, Mountain Health Co-Op and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana, the largest, requested significantly higher increases for plans purchased through the federal marketplace. PacificSource largely withdrew from the state of Washington in 2024, but will continue to operate in Idaho and Oregon, but the company has recently reduced operations in those markets as well. In Oregon, the Willamette Week reported last October that PacificSource was planning to layoff 381 people — roughly one-fifth of its employees. The company partially withdrew from that state’s Medicaid system, affecting around 20,000 members in the Portland area, and ended a Medicaid contract with the state covering around 90,000 members in Lane County. PacificSource will continue its individual plans in Montana through Dec. 31, 2026. “Unfortunately, this will affect valued employees as we will reduce positions to match our restructured business units,” Conger said in a statement. “We will help affected employees through this process as much as possible, including offering severance packages if they qualify per company policy … We are working to finalize those impact numbers and will share more information when it’s available and will communicate directly with impacted employees first.” The company has offices in Helena and Billings, but has just a few dozen staff in Montana. Holmes said Montanans who are concerned about the impact to their health insurance plans can reach out to the Commissioners office. “Our office, specifically our Insurance Consumer Service (ICS) bureau, is dedicated to helping Montanans navigate the insurance market. We encourage Montana consumers to reach out if they have questions about their insurance coverage, especially if they are impacted by Pacific Source exiting the market,”Holmes said. Courtesy of Daily Montanan
	What’s going on: The Florida fiscal year 2026-27 budget and the special session House Speaker Danny Perez (L) and Senate President Ben Albritton (R) still have not agreed on fiscal year 2025-26 spending and tax structures. (Photos via the Florida House and Florida Senate)Billions of dollars for schools, healthcare for the state’s poor, and restoring the Everglades remain up in the air with just days left before the Florida Legislature is supposed to deliver a new state budget. Legislators returned to Tallahassee on May 12 to draft a new Appropriations Act. Ten days later, it’s not clear what’s going on in the process. Budget conference committees, which consist of members from the House and Senate, finished their negotiations a week ago. Under the process, all unresolved decisions — and there’s a long list of them — now are supposed to be negotiated by the chairs of House and Senate budget committees. But Sen. Ed Hooper and Rep. Lawrence McClure have not held a public meeting this week. And there’ve been no updates from Senate President Ben Albritton or House Speaker Daniel Perez on the status of negotiations. Florida legislators ended their regular session in March without passing a budget to cover state spending from July 1 to June 30 of next year. This marked the second year in a row that the Legislature was unable to pass a budget on time. The special session opened with anticipation the budget would be finished Friday, so it could be available for final passage the day after Memorial Day. Since there have been no signs of progress, it would appear that legislators will not meet that goal. The clock is ticking. The special session is scheduled to run through May 29. Florida’s Constitution requires the budget to be available to the public for at least 72 hours before the Legislature can vote and send it to the governor. That means House and Senate budget negotiators have until Tuesday to finalize the amounts and wording for all appropriation items. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Being a budget conferee was an appointment that once held prestige. Conferees are empowered to help negotiate the differences between the spending plans. But the conferees who were in Tallahassee at the start of the session left last week. So have many of the out-of-town lobbyists who traditionally wouldn’t dare miss a budget conference meeting. They aren’t in Tallahassee, but they remain on call ready to answer any questions legislative staff may have about their projects. “As long as we are still getting calls from members and staff, we know the budget negotiations are still underway,” said lobbyist Jan Gorrie, a partner at Ballard Partners. Before the behind-the-scenes work began, there were spending differences across the various budget areas, from education to healthcare to the environment. Differences Below are some of the more notable differences between the plans before negotiations went dark. Several top-priority items for Gov. Ron DeSantis are up in the air, including the amount of money for his job growth grant fund, the Florida State Guard, and cancer “innovation” grants. And although the Legislature already has rejected his push to divert cancer funds from National Cancer Institute-designated facilities to additional treatment providers, the Senate has agreed to appropriate an additional $30 million for a cancer innovation fund. The House has not. On the surface, the House and Senate don’t appear that far apart on Department of Environmental Protection spending, with the House offering $2.5 billion and the Senate just behind at $2.49 billion. But a deeper dive shows significant differences between the plans. Florida Politics reports that both chambers have agreed on funding for the North and South Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP), the Western Everglades Restoration Project, and Deepwater Horizon restoration. Progress also has been made on EAA Reservoir funding within the CEPP, with the House moving off its zero-funding position and directing about $249 million to the project, compared to the Senate’s push for $424.7 million. The reservoir is designed to hold and filter excess water from Lake Okeechobee to limit dispersal of toxic blue-green algae. Meanwhile, the Florida Wildlife Federation has launched an email campaign urging funding of Florida Forever, the state’s premier conservation land-buying program. The House and Senate budgets have earmarked $25 million and $75 million for the program, respectively. The Senate budget directs the money toward agricultural easements only, and not for state purchases of land for the public to access. The House is sticking to its choice to roll money for school choice scholarship in with other education spending in the main school funding formula, while the Senate plan breaks out the amount going to the universal school voucher program. An audit of the voucher program for school year 2024-25 revealed “a myriad of accountability problems” that caused a funding shortfall in public schools. ‘Funding did not follow the child’: State audit displays school choice woes Education, health The Senate has reduced its offer of $100 million for preeminence funding for Florida’s top universities, dropping down to $50 million, as the House refuses to budge and wants to eliminate the funding completely. Created in 2013, the program recognizes preeminent schools earning top scores across a variety of metrics, including students’ average GPA and SAT scores, graduation rates, and freshmen retention. The chambers also are at odds regarding the transfer of the USF Sarasota Manatee campus to New College of Florida. The State Administration and Agriculture, Environment, and General Government conference committee agreed to send HB 5207E to higher ups to negotiate. Among other things, the bill requires the state Department of Management Services to implement a prescription drug formulary beginning Jan. 1, 2027, with the start of a new health insurance plan year. The chambers haven’t publicly discussed funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which drew attention during the regular session when the DeSantis administration tried to sharply cut benefits to cope with what it called a $120 million shortfall. At that time, the Legislature appropriated nearly $31 million to keep the program going for three months pending the new budget. $31M infusion for AIDS drug program passes the Legislature That stopgap bill required the state to return income eligibility for the program to 400% of the federal poverty level. It also directed the state to directly distribute AIDS medications to clients and banned the state from helping people with HIV purchase costly drugs through insurance-premium assistance. The legislation kept intact a formula that prevented patients from accessing Biktarvy, a popular once-a-day pill. “At this time, we are hearing we might get a slightly better program than the stop-gap but nothing concrete,” community activist Michael Rajner told the Phoenix. “No premium assistance and possibly restoration of the formulary.” Healthcare is one of the largest budget silos and there are significant differences between the chambers when it comes to Medicaid funding. The Senate proposes to cut hospital inpatient and outpatient reimbursement rates and the House is pushing to tie Medicaid payments for managed care plans to improvements in infant mortality rates. Courtesy of Florida Phoenix
	Governor’s executive order encourages healthy eating habits for Coloradans A Colorado Proud label highlights salsa products in a Denver grocery store on Sept. 30, 2024. (Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline)Colorado’s governor wants to encourage access to healthy foods across the state. An executive order signed by Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday adds requirements for most state agencies to promote educational information on healthy foods, increase access to government aid programs or encourage Coloradans to exercise outdoors. The state will no longer use tax dollars to purchase alcoholic beverages or soft drinks for official state events under the order. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Colorado has the lowest obesity rate of any state, Polis said, and the order looks to align the state government’s actions with Coloradans’ healthy values. He signed the order at the Governor’s Mansion in Denver. “Living a healthy lifestyle is good for our bodies and also our budgets,” Polis said. “We want more Coloradans to make the right choice, to take charge of your health, to increase your lifespan, to be there for your loved ones, to decrease the need of hospitalization or loss.” Here are some of the new requirements for state agencies under the executive order: The Colorado Department of Agriculture will promote its Colorado Proud School Meal Month program, aiming to increase participation by 10% in the program, which prioritizes local foods. It will also look to lower prices for healthy foods in low-income areas of the state by providing technical assistance to small food retailers, farmers and distributors to use an expanded tax credit that promotes affordable healthy foods. The Colorado Department of Human Services will continue to advocate for federal approval of a hot food waiver to allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients to purchase hot foods in grocery stores. It will analyze and make various enhancements to the state’s SNAP program and its incentives and waivers. Multiple agencies will work together on various educational programs to connect Coloradans with community nutrition resources and teach people about how nutritious diets can support both mental and physical health. Other agencies will expand apprenticeship programs to build a workforce in health food occupations. Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Department of Natural Resources will promote the healthy benefits of outdoor activities and protein sourced from fishing and hunting. The state’s Bike to Work Day program will be expanded to a full week, and the Department of Transportation will find opportunities to improve bike lanes and pedestrian access. State employees will have access to expanded wellness and personal exercise programs. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will work to increase referrals to the National Diabetes Prevention Program. The state will evaluate how healthy lifestyle changes can lead to insurance premium savings. State prisons will evaluate the daily nutritional intake of people in custody and offer diet and nutrition courses. The state will publicly report obesity rates within the prison system. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Colorado Newsline
	Quad City Animal Welfare Center at full capacity; adoption fees lowered The Quad City Animal Welfare Center is at full capacity, and to address the issue, adoption fees have been temporarily lowered. According to a Facebook post: Adoption fees are lowered as follows: According to the post, every adopted pet will be: The Quad City Animal Welfare Center is located at 724 2nd Ave. W., Milan. [...]
	Resignations, hirings and other Moline School District personnel news from May 11 See the personnel items from the May 11 agenda of the Moline-Coal Valley School District. The board met at the Wilson Middle School.
	Mercado on Fifth celebrates 10 years with new awards Mercado on Fifth celebrated its 10th anniversary the day before its first open-air market of the season tonight (May 22) in downtown Moline, with its inaugural recognition awards.
	One dead after Davenport apartment fire Davenport fire crews responded to North Park Manor apartments early Friday morning. The cause of the fire remains under investigation
	4 Your Money \| Bigger Slice Stock valuations have been high for a while now, and many people wonder if that's sustainable. David Nelson, CEO of NelsonCorp Wealth Management, joins us to provide insight on why valuations have risen and if he expects them to remain elevated.
	The importance of discretion and privacy in biohazard and trauma cleanup The importance of discretion and privacy in biohazard and trauma cleanupThe American home looks different than it did 60 years ago. As marriage rates stall and the “solo-living” economy gains momentum, the U.S. is observing a demographic shift that is quietly reshaping the demands on property management and public health. Today, single-person households represent a staggering 29% of all U.S. homes—a record high that has nearly doubled since the 1960s, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.This isn’t just a social statistic; it’s a logistical tipping point. With more people living in isolation, the frequency of unattended deaths and “silent” health hazards has surged, forcing a move toward professionalized biohazard remediation.For property owners, the stakes of remediation extend beyond simple hygiene into the realm of asset preservation and liability management. When biological contaminants are present, the social stigma of the event often acts as a roadblock to recovery.Yet, in the world of biohazard mitigation, delay is the enemy of value. Failing to act immediately often leads to a utilization inefficiency, where a property remains unmarketable and dangerous due to lingering pathogens that require specialized industrial intervention to resolve.In this article, Bio-One, a biohazard and crime scene decontamination firm, shares what the modern property owner needs to know. Bio-One Technical Drivers of the Biohazard IndustryWhile popular culture often frames trauma cleanup through the lens of a crime scene, the industrial reality is far more expansive. Professional remediation is a technical necessity in any environment where biological threats—from the fallout of animal hoarding to workplace accidents—compromise human safety. The “unattended death” has become a standard challenge for modern property managers, representing a scenario where “cleaning” is insufficient and “structural restoration” is required.During decomposition, the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and pathogens doesn’t merely linger on surfaces; it migrates. These elements “breathe” into porous materials like flooring, subflooring, and drywall. Without the deployment of industrial-grade ozone generators and HEPA-filtered air scrubbers, the damage can quickly cross a threshold into the irreversible.Adherence to strict OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standards is what separates this specialized work from general janitorial services, as it addresses long-term liability and property habitability rather than just immediate visual hygiene.The Logistics of Operational PrivacyIn a densely populated or highly connected urban environment, the “social contagion” of a crisis can be as damaging to a property’s value as the biohazards themselves. This is why discretion has transitioned from a courtesy into a core operational protocol.The objective is to mitigate the risk of “spectacle-seeking”—the phenomenon where public crises attract sensationalist attention that compromises the privacy and future marketability of a residence or business.Standard operational protocols for professional remediation involve several technical layers designed to mitigate liability:Logistical anonymity: To prevent neighborhood scrutiny, technicians often utilize “plain-wrap” vehicles with minimal branding. Furthermore, the donning of personal protective equipment (PPE) is typically delayed until a shielded perimeter has been established, avoiding the visual anxiety that protective suits can trigger in the public.The privacy perimeter: In an era of social media exposure, rigid confidentiality is a risk-management necessity. Professional firms enforce non-disclosure standards for all staff, ensuring that site documentation required for insurance adjusters is handled via encrypted channels and with explicit client consent.Visual containment systems: The use of high-tension poles and heavy-duty plastic sheeting serves a dual purpose. It acts as a bio-barrier to prevent the cross-contamination of airborne pathogens and creates a “visual sanctuary” that prevents accidental exposure for occupants or neighbors.The Maturation of the Biohazard Remediation MarketAs the “loneliness epidemic” continues to reshape national demographics, the demand for professionalized biohazard services is expected to increase. The industry is moving toward a state of market maturity where remediation is viewed through the lens of public health and forensic science rather than emergency response.Consequently, property insurance providers are increasingly requiring documented forensic cleaning to satisfy liability coverage, a trend that is formalizing specialized remediation as an essential, non-negotiable component of modern urban property management.By adhering to standardized decontamination protocols, the primary objective of modern remediation is the mitigation of utilization inefficiency, ensuring that property assets maintain their underlying valuation and habitability despite exposure to high-risk biological contaminants.For the modern property owner, navigating these high-stakes environments requires a realistic understanding of these technical avenues to ensure long-term safety and asset preservation.This story was produced by Bio-One and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	5 common reasons cars break down and how a mobile mechanic can help 5 common reasons cars break down and how a certified mobile mechanic can helpA car that will not start at the worst moment is a special kind of frustration. It usually happens at the office, in a grocery store parking lot, or on a school pickup run, almost never in the driveway with a free afternoon to deal with it. Most breakdowns trace back to a small handful of recurring issues. And for drivers who cannot afford to lose a workday at a traditional shop, these issues often can be handled by a certified mobile mechanic. The Los Angeles Mobile Mechanics take you through five common reasons cars break down and how certified mobile mechanics can help.1. Dead or Failing BatteryThe battery is one of the top causes of roadside calls. Lights left on overnight, a corroded terminal, extreme heat, or simple age can all leave a car silent when the key turns. Symptoms include slow cranking, dim dashboard lights, and clicking sounds. Once a battery has reached the end of its life, no amount of jump-starting will restore it for long. A certified mobile mechanic can test the charging system on-site, confirm whether the battery itself is the problem, and install a replacement in the parking lot at work or wherever the car gave up.2. Alternator FailureThe alternator keeps the battery charged while the engine runs. When it fails, the car may seem to drive normally at first, then warning lights start to appear, the headlights dim, and eventually the engine stalls and refuses to restart. Because alternator failures often happen mid-trip, drivers tend to find themselves stranded at a stoplight or in a parking spot away from home. A certified mobile mechanic carries the diagnostic tools to test alternator output on the spot and can perform the replacement in most driveways or office lots without the need to move the car.3. Starter Motor ProblemsWhen a car will not crank at all and the battery tests fine, the starter is often the culprit. A bad starter may produce a single click, a grinding noise, or complete silence. Hot weather, age, and wear on the solenoid are common contributors. Replacing a starter usually involves working underneath the vehicle, which can be within the scope of mobile service.4. Overheating EngineA rising temperature gauge or steam from under the hood points to a cooling system problem. Causes include a failed thermostat, a leaking hose, a bad water pump, or low coolant from a slow leak. Overheating is one of the few issues that should not be ignored even for a few miles, because continued driving can cause serious engine damage. Pulling over and calling a certified mobile mechanic for an on-site diagnosis instead of trying to nurse the car to a shop is a safer option. Many cooling system repairs, including hose and thermostat replacements, can be handled in a driveway or office parking lot.5. Serpentine Belt FailureThe serpentine belt drives the alternator, water pump, power steering pump, and air conditioning compressor. When it breaks or slips, several systems fail at once. Drivers may notice squealing, a sudden loss of power steering, or a battery light alongside an overheating warning. A certified mobile mechanic can inspect the belt, related pulleys, and tensioner, then replace the belt on-site. For a driver stranded in a parking lot, that means a far shorter delay than a tow followed by a wait at a traditional shop.How to Bring the Repair to YouEach of these breakdowns has one thing in common. They tend to happen at inconvenient times and inconvenient places, and they rarely fit neatly into a busy schedule.A certified mobile mechanic brings the repair to the car, whether the car is parked at home, sitting in a workplace lot, or pulled over on the side of a quiet street. When looking for a mobile mechanic in your area, be sure to look for mechanics who are ASE-certified, and for providers who take care to vet and background-check their technicians.For drivers juggling work, family, and everything else, the mobile option is worth knowing about before the next breakdown ever happens. The next time your car suddenly refuses to cooperate, having a certified mobile technician ready to contact may be the fastest way back into the day.This story was produced by LA Mobile Mechanics and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Portugal put golden visa renewals online. The paper trail still matters. Portugal put golden visa renewals online. The paper trail still matters.Portugal's golden visa renewal process changed in a practical way this year: The renewal request is now meant to move through a portal before anyone spends time at a desk in an Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum office.AIMA announced that renewals of Residence Permits for Investment Activity, or ARI, would become available through the Renewal Portal from Feb. 16, 2026. The agency said renewal requests and fee payments should be handled through that portal, while in-person appointments would be reserved for cases where biometric data still has to be collected.That sounds like a small administrative change. For investors, it is more important than that.The Portuguese golden visa is already a document-heavy route. The online renewal step may cut avoidable visits, but it also puts more weight on the record inside the portal: the request, the payment, the notification, the family file, the biometric status, and the investment evidence behind the residence card.Below, Movingto explains what Portugal’s shift to online golden visa renewals means for investors.ARI Renewal Portal: The Short Version Movingto What Changed in February 2026AIMA's January notice, updated on Feb. 2, 2026, said the ARI renewal function would be available through the Renewal Portal from Feb. 16.The useful detail is the split AIMA creates between portal work and in-person work. AIMA said ARI holders and family members under family reunification should submit the renewal request and pay the applicable fees through the Renewal Portal, which becomes the channel for those administrative acts.The agency also drew a line around appointments. If a previously scheduled renewal appointment is still needed because biometric data is invalid, the person should keep it. AIMA said those appointments are for biometric collection rather than a place to hand in the renewal request.For future cases, AIMA said that if a portal-submitted renewal needs in-person biometric collection, it will automatically schedule a date and notify the person of the time and place.That is a different operating model from the older habit of treating the appointment as the center of the process. The center is now the portal record.What Did Not ChangeThe online portal leaves the golden visa framework in place.AIMA's main ARI page still describes the regime as a residence route for third-country nationals carrying out an investment activity in Portugal. The same page lists the current investment options, including the 500,000 euros route for qualifying nonreal-estate collective investment vehicles under Portuguese law.AIMA also states that a temporary residence permit for investment activity is valid for two years from the date the card is issued, subject to the special renewal rules for the regime.That means an investor should read the renewal portal as a channel change rather than a shortcut around the underlying file. A digital renewal still has to connect back to a person, a residence title, family members where relevant, fees, biometrics, and the qualifying investment history.Why the Paper Trail Still MattersFor fund-route investors, the original investment record can become the spine of the file.AIMA's fund-route checklist for subalinea vii says the applicant must show that the minimum investment was made. The checklist points to records such as a declaration from a Portuguese credit institution confirming the transfer, a certificate proving ownership of participation units free of charges, and a fund manager declaration covering the plan, maturity, and required Portugal allocation.Those documents belong to the initial fund-route evidence, yet they show the kind of record the route depends on.The practical problem is timing. A fund subscription may happen years before a renewal, a family member may be added later, bank documents can expire, emails can go to a representative, and a biometric appointment may be scheduled after the portal review rather than before it.Investors who treat the portal as a simple form can still get stuck if they cannot reconstruct the file quickly.Records to Keep Before RenewalPortal login access, representative access, and the email address AIMA uses for notifications.Proof that the renewal request was submitted through the correct portal.Fee documents, payment references, and receipts for the renewal request.Any AIMA notice about biometrics, including the date, location, and purpose of the appointment.Residence card details for the main applicant and every family member in the file.Fund subscription records, participation-unit certificates, and fund manager declarations.Bank or credit institution confirmations tied to the qualifying transfer.A timeline showing when the investment was made, when the card was issued, and when the next renewal or end-state decision is expected.The exact documents for a specific renewal should be confirmed with a Portuguese immigration lawyer. The point is to keep the administrative record and investment record together before AIMA asks for anything.Why This Matters Beyond ConvenienceAIMA framed the change as part of a broader push to modernize and reduce unnecessary appointments.That goal makes sense. Portugal's immigration system has been under visible pressure, and a renewal that can be filed and paid for online should be easier to manage than one that depends on scarce appointment slots for every step.But digital systems also punish weak records. A missed notification, wrong email, expired card scan, unclear family-member status, or missing payment proof can become more consequential when the file is moving through a portal.For golden visa investors, the safest reading is boring but useful: do not wait for renewal season to organize the evidence. The fund, the bank, the lawyer, and the portal account all need to line up before the renewal clock becomes urgent.ARI Renewal Portal FAQsAre Portugal golden visa renewals now online?AIMA says ARI renewal requests and fee payments should be handled through the Renewal Portal from Feb. 16, 2026. In-person biometric collection can still be required in specific cases.Do existing biometric appointments still matter?Yes, if AIMA notified the person that the appointment is necessary because the biometric data is invalid. AIMA said those appointments should be kept and used for biometric collection.Does the renewal portal change the golden visa fund rules?No. The portal changes the administrative route for renewal. It does not replace the investment requirements or the evidence behind the fund route.What should fund investors check before renewal?They should confirm portal access, representative access, payment records, biometric notices, residence-card details, and the investment evidence that supports the file.Related Golden Visa ResearchIf you are planning a Portugal golden visa fund file, pair the renewal update with the evidence and timeline checks that sit underneath it.AIMA evidence pack for Portugal golden visa fund investorsPortugal golden visa fund timeline 2026Source of funds for Portugal’s golden visa fundsHow long do you really need to hold a Portugal golden visa fund?This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, immigration, or financial advice. AIMA procedures, document requirements, program rules, and investment eligibility can change. Confirm your renewal strategy with a qualified Portuguese immigration lawyer before acting.This story was produced by Movingto and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Shein buys Everlane, which sold millennials the dream of ethical, affordable luxury Everlane's finances have faltered in recent years. But will the merger alienate Everlane's existing shoppers — or sway droves of Shein fans to trade up?
	Trump officials, billionaires and the quiet reshaping of America's public lands Trump officials, billionaires and the quiet reshaping of America's public landsAt the end of a dirt road along the northeastern edge of Montana’s Crazy Mountains, a simple sign warns visitors they are now entering private property. For fifth-generation Montanan Brad Wilson, the notice marks a defeat with implications far beyond the Crazies.“The fate of our public lands and our rights are in jeopardy right now,” Wilson told Floodlight for this article.Wilson is a former sheriff’s deputy and lifelong hunter. For most of his life, he has lived in the jagged shadows of the Crazy Mountains — their snow-capped peaks and twisting valleys watched him grow from a boy herding sheep on his grandfather’s ranch to a grey-haired hunter tracking elk herds across their remote slopes. “The loss of this access means a lot to me and everybody else,” he said beside the gate, looking down and hiding the wet corners of his eyes. The road beyond the gate next to Wilson leads into what was, for more than a century, one of two historic public trails into the east side of the Crazies. The U.S. Forest Service relinquished the public’s access to the trail early last year as part of a land swap with the Yellowstone Club — an exclusive mountaintop retreat for the megarich located 100 miles away in Big Sky. “It doesn't make any sense to me to give this up,” said Wilson. For many Montanans, the swap has come to symbolize the growing influence of wealthy private interests spreading across America's public lands and provides a glimpse of what could come under the Trump administration. There are more than 600 million acres of federally owned public lands across America — from iconic national parks and monuments to forests, grasslands and seashores. But now, nearly 90 million of those acres are at risk of some kind of development due to what critics describe as an unprecedented shift in policies under the first and second Trump administrations. In Arizona, a sacred Indigenous site was handed over earlier this year to a copper-mining company. In Utah, Republican Sen. Mike Lee attached a provision last summer to the federal budget that would have sold up to 3.2 million acres of public land across the West. And in April, the U.S. Senate voted to overturn a 20-year-old mining ban on federal lands in Minnesota, clearing the way for a foreign-owned copper mine.Perhaps nowhere in the country is the fight over public lands — and the big-moneyed interests pulling the strings — more on display right now than in Montana’s Crazy Mountains. “This is a really simple issue,” said Andrew Posewitz, a Montana public lands advocate and the son of a renowned conservationist. “The public had some really good land and some really good access in the Crazy Mountains. Some really rich people decided they liked the Crazy Mountains a lot. … And now the public doesn't have that access.”Every American — not just Montanans — should care, he warned. “Because it is very much a harbinger of potentially what could come.” Evan Simon // Floodlight Perched more than 7,000 feet above sea level, the Yellowstone Club was built atop former public lands acquired through land exchanges with the U.S. Forest Service in the 1990s. It has since converted more than 15,000 acres outside Big Sky into one of the most exclusive communities on the planet. The club’s membership has included familiar names: celebrities like Justin Timberlake, Tom Brady and Paris Hilton; tech titans like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Eric Schmidt; and financial elites like Bill Ackman, Warren Buffett and Robert Herjavec. Inside its gates, the Yellowstone Club has an 18-hole golf course, a concert venue, a movie theater, a dedicated fire department, hundreds of luxury homes and nearly 3,000 acres of private ski slopes. Initiation runs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and an undeveloped lot inside the gate has sold for as much as $10 million, according to Forbes. CrossHarbor Capital Partners, a Boston-based investment firm, bought the Yellowstone Club out of bankruptcy in 2009. In the 17 years since, the firm has expanded its Montana portfolio — developed through a subsidiary called Lone Mountain Land Company — to become one of the largest luxury-resort footprints in the Rocky Mountains. Evan Simon // Floodlight "They're gobbling up mass swaths of Montana," said Erik Nylund, who served as a staffer for former Democratic Montana Sen. Jon Tester and met often with club representatives. “They will throw money around at anybody and everybody to get what they want.”In 2016, the Yellowstone Club drew criticism after more than 30 million gallons of its sewage overflowed into the headwaters of the Gallatin River, drawing over $300,000 in penalties and financial commitments from the company — and outraging locals. Evan Simon // Floodlight The Yellowstone Club declined an on-camera interview for this story. In a written statement, a company representative noted that numerous lawsuits against the club over its impacts to local waterways “have been dismissed by federal judges” and the club has spent millions to treat its wastewater “to the highest standards the State of Montana assigns.” CrossHarbor also did not respond to an interview request. The club has also become a favorite refuge among high-level Trump administration officials. Energy Secretary Chris Wright owns a home there; Vice President JD Vance reportedly spent Christmas at the club; and Trump himself hosted a campaign fundraiser there in 2024. And the man in charge of most of America’s public lands is also a member.Interior Secretary Doug Burgum oversees 500 million acres of federal land in the U.S., and has referred multiple times to these parcels as “assets on America’s balance sheet.”Since early 2025, Burgum — along with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins — has helped the Trump administration pursue major overhauls of public lands management, including a $1 billion cut to the National Park Service budget, opening the Arctic to potential oil and gas drilling and repealing the 2001 Roadless Rule, the safeguard that has kept new roads and clearcuts out of nearly 60 million acres.A real estate developer and the former governor of North Dakota, Burgum owns a $22 million condo at the Yellowstone Club, according to Montana property records reviewed by Floodlight. Illustration by Evan Simon // Floodlight. Source imagery: Montana Cadastral // Department of Interior It’s held through an entity called Lone View, LLC. Burgum disclosed last year that he rented it out in 2024 for income between $100,001 and $1 million. Burgum also holds a separate ownership stake in the club itself that he valued at up to $250,000 and that paid him nearly $22,000 in 2024.Burgum's latest financial disclosure form shows he did not divest from any of these interests upon taking office. A representative declined to answer if the secretary would abstain from any future decisions involving the club or its affiliates. Meanwhile, Burgum has partnered with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to explore ways for public lands to be sold in order to make room for more affordable housing across the country. “He shouldn't be involved in residential development on public lands while he owns that,” said Richard Painter, former chief ethics lawyer to the George W. Bush administration. “Let someone else handle that — he's got a deputy.” Evan Simon // Floodlight Burgum’s office did not answer Floodlight’s emailed questions, but responded to the inquiry with this statement: “Secretary Burgum has complied with all federal ethics requirements and remains committed to protecting America’s ability to responsibly use and care for our federal lands for the profit and benefit of future generations.” In the past, Burgum has argued his policies aim to lower the national debt and address the nation’s housing crisis. “They'll say the words ‘affordable housing’ and there's not going to be anything affordable about it,” said Nylund, arguing that only luxury home builders and private resorts would be interested in developing America’s largely remote and inaccessible public lands. “It's all about development,” he said. “And if you've taken a ride to Big Sky or the Yellowstone Club lately, you've seen what development looks like, and it's a bunch of mansions.”Despite their distance from Big Sky, the fear of luxury resorts replacing wilderness hangs heavy over the Crazy Mountains. “The wealth that’s coming here is just changing our way of life,” Wilson said. Wilson, 71, lives a quiet life in Wilsall, a tiny town at the foot of the Crazies. The walls of his small home are adorned with antlers and family photographs dating back to the 1800s. "I grew up with a pack on my back hiking those mountains," he said. “Both of my sons grew up in the Crazy Mountains. And I cannot tell you how special they are to me — because I get choked up sometimes.”The Crazies resemble a mountain fortress — an island of jagged peaks rising more than 7,000 feet above the surrounding high plains, complete with secluded river valleys and alpine lakes. Yet their beauty belies a long history of heated conflict rooted in century-old decisions. In the late 1800s, Congress paid the transcontinental railroads for their work by giving them every other square mile of federal land across whole regions of the West, which resulted in a checkerboard pattern of private and public land ownership. Luis A Yordan for Floodlight Anyone could continue to use public roads and trails that crossed through these newly minted private parcels, according to congressional acts and court rulings. Over time, however, those parcels in the Crazies were bought up by some of the richest people in the state, some of whom objected to the public crossing through their land. “They began to do things that violated those rules, such as blocking these roads, blocking these trails,” said Posewitz, the Montana lands advocate. Wilson first noticed the change around 2016, when he encountered a blocked trail on the west side of the Crazies that his grandparents had used nearly a century ago. He was furious. “All of a sudden I'm like, ‘No, you can't do that. That’s ridiculous,’” Wilson recalled.Around that time, a U.S. forest ranger began to defend public access in the range by putting up Forest Service signs along contested trails. The big landowners weren’t happy. They reached out to Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines and Trump’s then-Agriculture Secretary, Sonny Perdue. It wasn’t long before the ranger was reassigned. Daines and Perdue did not respond to Floodlight’s repeated requests for comment on the ranger controversy, and Forest Service officials said they wouldn’t talk about it. However, Mary Erickson, the former Custer Gallatin Forest supervisor and the former ranger’s boss, did talk, and she denied any political interference. She said the ranger “wasn’t reassigned,” he was “just assigned to something else while the investigation was in place.” She acknowledged the move looked punitive but said it was for the ranger’s own protection as the process played out.Nylund served as Senator Tester’s natural resources liaison at the time, and said he worked closely with the Forest Service. To him, the ranger controversy exemplified the growing influence of Montana’s elites on the Crazies. “The political forces of the country came down on this district ranger and they put him in his place,” Nylund said. The ranger was eventually reinstated in 2017 after being cleared of any wrongdoing. Around the same time, Nylund said he was approached by a high-end consultant for an unnamed client seeking to swap land in the Crazies with the U.S. Forest Service. The unnamed client? “That was the Yellowstone Club,” Nylund said. Nylund later learned that in order to get the land they needed for an “expert ski run” in Big Sky, the club agreed to help the Forest Service solve access disputes in the Crazies by organizing a land exchange. “We didn’t have the time and resources to resolve some of that,” said Erickson, the former Forest Service supervisor. But she said she made it clear that “the Yellowstone Club wouldn't call the shots, and I do feel like that was true the whole way.” Multiple people involved with early discussions around the land swap said the Yellowstone Club’s involvement in the exchange was kept secret and only revealed years into the process. Once the information did get out, the club’s representatives worked to reassure locals that they had no intention of developing the Crazies.“Then out of nowhere, it's announced that they are purchasing the Crazy Mountain Ranch,” said Emily Cleveland, a program director at Wild Montana — a conservation group that works to protect public lands and wildlife in the stateCrazy Mountain Ranch is an 18,000-acre former dude ranch located at the foot of the range’s southern end. Cleveland called the club’s move a “bait and switch.” “It just really changed our ability to trust them at their word,” she said.The Yellowstone Club is now converting the ranch into what it describes as “a private membership experience” featuring a luxury spa and a new 18-hole golf course. In response, shell-shocked locals have taken to posting “RANCHES NOT RESORTS” signs along the roads. “I about fell over,” Wilson recalled of learning the news. “It just shows the deception and the nontransparency of this whole thing.” Evan Simon // Floodlight Evan Simon // Floodlight A club representative told Floodlight that, “At the time of those early discussions, there were no plans or intention to own land in the Crazy Mountains. … This development came near the end of the exchange discussions and only enhanced the benefits to the public.” However, the ranch began illegally drawing water to irrigate its golf course in 2024 and Montana regulators sued them the following year. “There’s a very famous saying in Montana that ‘Whiskey’s for drinking and water’s for fighting,’ and when you take water that you’re not entitled to, that's a big deal here,” said Posewitz. The club said it underestimated the time it would take to get regulatory approval, and later reached an agreement with the state to stop watering its golf course until proper permits were in place. A Yellowstone Club representative declined to answer if the group is planning to acquire any more land in the Crazies, instead writing that they expect to be “a good neighbor for many years in the Shields Valley community.” Fears surrounding the luxury developer’s potential impact on the Crazies reached a fever pitch after the Forest Service authorized the landswap the club helped orchestrate in January 2025. The deal, called the East Crazy Inspiration Divide Land Exchange, moved nearly 4,000 acres of public lands into private ownership. In return, the public got more than 6,000 acres of private lands. On paper, it looked like a bargain: Appraisals obtained by Floodlight put the value of the land the public gained at more than $9.6 million and the land it gave up at more than $8.5 million. However, the swap enraged some locals because most of the low-lying accessible hills the public could enjoy were given up for high-elevation areas.“All of the sort of prime habitat, that all went into private ownership, and then the tops of the mountains all went into public ownership,” said Posewitz. The independent appraiser hired by the Forest Service seemed to agree. She described one section of land the public was getting as “very steep and difficult” to reach. Hunting would be impossible on most of the property. A person “would have to be a skilled rock climber” to navigate it, she wrote. The land swap also solved the checkerboard issue that has plagued the Crazies for decades by consolidating public lands in the center of the range.“What it's resulting in is a ring of private ownership around a chunk of public land that has very limited access,” said Posewitz.Critics argue the exchange only benefits large landowners in the Crazies, several of whom run high-end hunting operations that rely on the range’s valuable natural resources.Yellowstone Club member David Leuschen, for example, has acquired a nearly 8,500-acre ranch along with remote inholdings — including entire mountains — and is among the largest private landowners in the Crazy Mountains. Leuschen did not respond to requests for comment.“The landowners now have access to the public lands in a really exclusive way,” said Cleveland of Wild Montana. She said the exchange gives these landowners “easy access into that country where the public has to hike 20 miles of backcountry trail to get in there” and “opens the door to a much more realistic development scenario.” Luis A Yordan for Floodlight The most contested piece of the deal was the trail network. Two historic public trails had appeared on Forest Service maps for more than a century. The exchange abandoned the public’s claim to both. In their place, the Yellowstone Club agreed to pay for a new 22-mile trail on mostly public land, at a substantially higher elevation, as part of a 40-mile backcountry loop. Luis A Yordan for Floodlight “Can you imagine elderly folks and younger folks trying to hike that?” asked Wilson on a visit to the future trailhead. “It's not hiker friendly at all. Definitely not hunter friendly.” He looked up at the nearly vertical wall of shale rock where the trail is slated to start. “It’s ridiculous,” he said. Evan Simon // Floodlight Erickson, the former supervisor, promises the new trail “will meet all Forest Service trail standards.” She said the exchange will resolve access disputes, create more wild country in the Crazies and strengthen public access in the range.Proponents of the exchange also say the swap increases access to Crazy Peak, an important cultural and religious site for Crow tribal members. Leuschen, who owns the mountain, has reportedly agreed to allow tribal members to access the peak through a formal agreement. Critics, however, have questioned why granting such access would be contingent on the land swap. No independent third party has ever seen the agreement and Leuschen has denied its existence. The Forest Service said it is not involved in the agreement’s “management or oversight” because it’s between two private parties, and a spokesperson did not respond when asked to confirm the agreement’s existence. “Our concern was that it never materialized into something that was durable,” said Cleveland about the supposed agreement. “The Crazies are an incredibly important, sacred place for the Crow Tribe. And to use that as perceived leverage in getting support for this land exchange, you know, just didn‘t feel right to us,” she said. Evan Simon // Floodlight Tribal officials did not respond to Floodlight’s multiple interview requests, but some have expressed the tribe’s stance on the land swap in lukewarm terms in the past.“There’s an assumption that we’re for it or against it. Really what matters is what gives us more access to the landscape,” Aaron Brien, the Crow tribal historic preservation officer, told a local TV station. “I want all Crow land should be back to Crow people.” Considering the complexity of the swap, it's perhaps no surprise the public saw the deal as highly controversial. Roughly two-thirds of the more than 1,000 public comments submitted to the Forest Service opposed the exchange, according to a Floodlight analysis. Many cited the loss of historic public trails, low-elevation lands and the growing influence of Yellowstone Club. “We don't look at that as that's an opposition,” former forest supervisor Erickson said. “We just look at that as, right up until the very end, people are trying to tell you what they hope you can get more of.” Evan Simon // Floodlight Nylund, the former Senate staffer, sees it another way. “The public spoke, the Forest Service ignored them,” he said. “When one unelected bureaucrat can relinquish public access to hundreds of thousands of acres of public land and we don't get a say in it? That's a crisis.”The proliferation of high-end private resorts, combined with the Trump administration’s pro-development policies, have only increased alarm among advocates across the country who say America’s public lands are now entering a very different era.“America has always had this balance of people who seek to exploit her natural resources and those who seek to defend them,” said Posewitz. That balance is now shifted, he said, because “those people who are supposed to be defending our interest … are actually actively facilitating the exploitation of these natural resources for the benefit of very, very few.” “We’re losing pieces and pieces every day,” said Wilson during a recent drive along the eastern edge of the Crazies. Despite the power imbalance, he draws energy from the words of famed Montana conservationist, Jim Posewitz.“Make ‘em take it from you,” he said. This story was produced by Floodlight and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	What does it feel like to take GLP-1s? New survey documents patients’ experiences What does it feel like to take GLP-1s? New survey documents patients’ experiencesIt has now been several years since GLP-1 medications were widely introduced for weight loss, transforming both clinical care and public awareness. But as adoption has surged, a new set of questions has emerged: What does it feel like to take these medications? What challenges do patients face beyond weight loss itself? And as demand continues to grow, what factors will determine whether patients can start — and adhere to — treatment long term?Based on a GoodRx Research survey of more than 580 people who have taken GLP-1 medications, the data show that for many people, the central question is no longer whether GLP-1s work. Instead, life on a GLP-1 is shaped by a more fragile set of factors: how much patients pay, how easily they can refill a prescription, how well their bodies tolerate the drug, and whether those conditions hold long enough for treatment to continue.In this article, GoodRx, a platform for medication savings, takes a look at the current state of GLP-1 patient experience.Key takeaways:Satisfaction among people using GLP-1s for weight loss is high overall, but it drops sharply among those paying over $1,000 per month.Over 1 in 3 people taking GLP-1s face barriers to access, including difficulty filling prescriptions — most often due to shortages. These barriers can disrupt weight-loss treatment and lead to medication switching.Nausea is the most commonly reported side effect of GLP-1s used for weight loss. People experiencing side effects also report switching their medication at higher rates (31% versus 19%).Most GLP-1 care still happens in person. About 8 in 10 people receive their prescription in person from a primary care provider or specialist, compared with 10% who use telehealth.Gender gaps show up in both outcomes and access. Men report higher rates of improved health than women (59% versus 49%), while women are more likely to use online clinics and telehealth to access weight-loss medications.Satisfaction for GLPs is high until cost intervenesAccording to the GoodRx survey, nearly 1 in 8 adults in the U.S. are actively taking a prescription weight-loss medication, and another 8% had tried one in the past.Overall satisfaction is strong. More than 7 in 10 people who have taken a prescription weight-loss medication report being satisfied, including 40% who say they are very satisfied. But that headline masks a steep cost gradient.Among people whose medication is fully covered, satisfaction is consistently high: Nearly 43% are very satisfied, and fewer than 14% report dissatisfaction. Satisfaction remains relatively stable for those paying up to $500 per month, suggesting that, for many people, moderate out-of-pocket costs are tolerable when the medication is working.That pattern breaks down at the highest price points. Among people paying over $1,000 per month, dissatisfaction spikes: Nearly 40% report being very dissatisfied, and fewer than 1 in 3 say they are very satisfied. Cost, more than side effects or age, emerges as one of the clearest predictors of whether someone feels positive about their treatment. GoodRx This divide reflects broader coverage realities. GoodRx research shows that tens of millions of commercially insured people in the U.S. lack coverage for GLP-1 drugs approved for weight loss. Even when coverage exists, it is often paired with restrictions like prior authorization or step therapy. The result is a system where satisfaction increasingly depends less on clinical response and more on insurance design.Age shapes expectations and experiencesSatisfaction also varies sharply by age. Younger adults report far more ambivalence. Among adults ages 18 to 24, fewer than 14% say they are very satisfied. Nearly one-third report neutral feelings and another third report dissatisfaction. GoodRx By contrast, adults ages 35 to 64 report the highest satisfaction, with roughly 40% saying they are very satisfied and reporting relatively low dissatisfaction rates. These differences may reflect expectations as much as outcomes: Younger adults appear more sensitive to side effects, cost, or the friction of staying on treatment, while older adults may weigh benefits differently.Side effects drive switching medications, but not always stoppingSide effects are common, but they don’t affect everyone equally. Nausea is the most commonly reported side effect, followed by constipation, stomach pain, diarrhea, fatigue, and vomiting.These effects don’t always end treatment, but they often lead to changes. People who experience side effects while taking a GLP-1 are significantly more likely to switch medications than those who don’t. In fact, about 31% of those experiencing side effects switch medications, compared with 19% of those who do not. For many, the GLP-1 journey involves experimentation: adjusting doses, changing drugs, or moving between branded and compounded options in search of something tolerable. GoodRx Access problems compound dissatisfactionCost is not the only source of instability. More than 1 in 3 people report difficulty filling their prescription, most commonly because the medication was out of stock. Insurance hurdles, pharmacy delays, and repeated trips to different pharmacies remain common. GoodRx These access issues matter. People who report difficulty filling their prescription are three times as likely to switch medications as those who do not. And concern about continued access rises steadily with cost: Among people paying $500 to $1,000 per month, more than 1 in 3 say they are very concerned about losing access, compared with 15% of those whose medication is fully covered. GoodRx GoodRx Where care begins, and how it differsDespite the rise of telehealth, most people who use GLP-1s still enter treatment through traditional medical channels. A majority receive prescriptions via in-person visits with primary care doctors, followed by specialists such as endocrinologists or obesity-medicine healthcare professionals.But pathways vary by race and gender. White patients are more likely to use online weight-loss clinics, while Black and Hispanic patients more often rely on in-person care, particularly primary care physicians. Women are also more likely than men to use online clinics, while men are more likely to receive prescriptions directly through their regular doctor.These differences matter because access challenges, such as refill difficulty and medication switching, show up across every care pathway, suggesting that no single model has solved the problem of continuity. GoodRx GoodRx GLPs can improve overall health, but not for everyoneJust over half of people report that their overall health has improved since starting a weight-loss medication. Men are more likely than women to report health improvements (59% versus 49%), while women are more likely to report no change or worsening health. GoodRx A fragile successGLP-1 medications have reshaped what’s possible in weight care. For many, GLP-1s deliver real benefits and sustained satisfaction. But the data suggest that this success is conditional. For a small but meaningful share of people, the experience falls short, not because the medication fails outright, but because the surrounding system does.High costs erode satisfaction. Side effects drive medication switching. Supply disruptions interrupt care. Insurance rules determine who can stay on treatment and who cannot. For many people taking a GLP-1 is less about the promise of the drug itself and more about whether the health care system can support them long enough for that promise to hold.MethodologyThe GoodRx survey was run through YouGov from August through October 2025. The sample population was adults who reported having taken a GLP-1 medication for weight loss. Of the 1,000 adults surveyed, 585 responses were screened in for current or previous GLP-1 medication use for weight loss. Survey responses were weighted to the U.S. population using age, gender, race, political affiliation, and education level. The YouGov survey research arm provides additional details on methodology and weighting.This story was produced by GoodRx and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	What is lead nurturing? 6 strategies to close hesitant prospects in 2026 What is lead nurturing? 6 strategies to close hesitant prospects in 2026New leads may never result in a sale.As a salesperson, you can’t afford to give up on a prospect simply because they are unwilling or unready to buy at the current moment.Instead, savvy sellers use tactics to cultivate these relationships and provide hesitant leads with the support they need to successfully move forward in the buying process.Read on as Apollo explains how to quickly identify the prospects who aren’t ready to buy and use tried-and-true lead nurturing techniques to turn “Maybe” into a decisive “Yes.”What is lead nurturing? Why is it important for results-driven sellers?Lead nurturing involves engaging potential buyers with value-based content and personalized outreach across every stage of the sales funnel. It is the process of investing in leads that are not yet ready to buy and helping them get to a place where they feel confident and ready to purchase your product.This involves strategies like:Scoring and segmenting leadsCreating relevant and engaging contentBuilding personalized email campaignsLeveraging multichannel outreach methodsSuccessful lead nurturing also involves anticipating the needs of the buyer based on who they are (e.g., title, role, industry, company information) and where they are in the buying process.What you put into lead nurturing, you get out of it.Companies using modern marketing automation systems report a substantial increase in qualified leads, according to the GTM8020 Marketing Automation Trends. This is because investing in the prospects you already have (rather than pouring more funds into outbound marketing) is infinitely cheaper. Not to mention, it results in more satisfied customers and an increasingly positive company reputation.Accelerate deals with these lead-nurturing strategiesAs a sales rep, you should always make an effort to develop relationships with your sales-qualified leads. However, it’s the prospects who aren’t ready to buy that could especially benefit from dedicated lead nurturing strategies.Here are some of the signs that your prospect isn’t close to closing a deal with you, and lead nurturing strategies that will get them there:Sign #1: They have no urgencyWhen businesses are faced with a problem, they are often urged to find and purchase a solution. If your prospect is slow to respond and passive in sales discussions, it shows you that they don’t see the inherent value in your product and need to be made aware of it.Try: Nurturing them with relevant contentE-books, case studies, video tutorials, product comparisons — engaging sales content takes many forms, and sharing these materials with prospects can be a great way to warm them up and educate them about your product’s value.It’s important to remember that potential buyers want solutions, not pages of content that talk about how great your company is.To properly nurture your leads, demonstrate that you understand where they are at. Send relevant content that addresses their specific situations and pain points, helping them confidently move forward in the buying process.Sign #2: They won’t reveal their budgetIf a potential customer refuses to talk specifics on budget, they aren’t serious about buying yet. It’s a surefire way to tell that your prospect doesn’t currently feel an attachment to doing business with your organization.Try: Ramping up the personalizationNothing fosters positive relationships with buyers like personalized experiences.Along with sending them relevant content, you can nurture hesitant leads by increasing personalization all across your sales interactions. You can do this by:Adding first names to email subject linesHighlighting specific needs and pain points in sales discussionsUsing behavior triggered email automation to deliver messages that are relevant to a current stage in the buyer journeyMaking the time to chat with prospects in real-timeInfusing specific contact data and company info into message bodiesSign #3: They don’t answer the important questionsProspects who aren’t willing or ready to buy are often unwilling to answer important questions such as: What does success with our product look like to you? Or, what’s your timeline for purchasing this product or service? Whether they are withholding the information or are simply unsure, it’s an opportunity for clever salespeople to do some calculated questioning.Try: Guiding them to the right conclusions with strategic questioningSome examples of strategic questions include:“Why is securing XYZ not a priority for your organization right now?”“When you say you are not interested, are you speaking for the entire company?”“If timeline or budget were not constraints, what would your ideal solution look like?"Questions are a great way to remain open to your prospectsâ€™ concerns while guiding them toward deal-closing conclusions.Sign #4: They put you off again and again“Call me later,” “I need to reschedule,” “Send me the information and I’ll review later”: These are all signs that your prospect is disinterested and far from purchase ready.Try: Multichannel outreach to snag their interestWhen your prospect’s attention is elsewhere, reach them where they are and where they like to spend time, beyond just email inboxes.One great lead nurturing strategy is creating sales sequences full of omnichannel touch points like phone calls and SMS, social media connection requests, emails, direct messages, and other action items. It’s even better if you can automate these actions, which not only saves you time but allows you to schedule the right messaging and interactions for just the right time.And don’t forget to add an A/B test to the mix. Testing your outbound messages allows you to discover which ones are resonating with your audience and getting the best results.Other strategies for nurturing a healthy sales funnelRe-evaluate buyer fit with prospectsIf you try a few lead nurturing strategies and you’re still met with a resistant, uncurious prospect, it’s time to re-evaluate their buyer fit.Some prospects, even if they are initially sales-qualified, are just not right for your business. A lack of resources, improper company size, unaligned business goals, and/or poor culture fit are qualities that no amount of lead nurturing can fix.Use intent data to find buyers who are readyWhile you may be forced to drop unfit prospects from your sales pipeline, you can turn to buyer intent data as an intelligent way to find buyers who are ready.Intent data is a set of signals gathered from website traffic, advertising engagement, buyer’s online research, and other sources that can help sellers determine exactly which accounts are actively pursuing a solution like theirs.Using this kind of predictive data can help you identify best-fit buyers before your competition, prioritize leads to save time and resources, and gain the insights you create personalized and relevant messaging.It’s important to note that there is no one right answer for nurturing your leads. Listen to your prospect’s concerns and objections and apply selling strategies that fill their needs and keep them moving towards a sale.In ClosingThe vast majority of leads fail to convert to tangible sales, so you just can’t afford to simply abandon prospects when they fail to become buyers right away. By nurturing these leads and anticipating their needs with smart strategies, you can start capitalizing on every sales opportunity.This story was produced by Apollo and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Davenport man arrested, charged with 20 counts of possession of CSAM A Davenport man is in the Scott County Jail on a $300,000 cash-only bond after police said he had about 1,500 images and videos of child sex abuse material (CSAM) on a cell phone. The criminal complaints filed in Scott County Court said Davenport Police were advised about a cell phone that contained Child Sex [...]
	Family therapist faces licensing issues after pleading guilty to theft and fraud The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing administers the state's Board of Nursing and Board of Behavioral Health Professionals as well as other licensing boards. (Main photo by Getty Images; logo courtesy State of Iowa)A Des Moines therapist accused of business-related theft, fraud and forgery is now facing disciplinary charges from a state licensing board. The Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals has charged state-licensed marital and family therapist Michelle Raye Stewart-Sandusky, 38, of Baxter with being convicted of an offense that directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the profession. The board has disclosed no information as to the nature of the conviction or when it occurred, although state records indicate the board opened five separate investigations of Stewart-Sandusky in 2023 and 2024. The disciplinary charge against Stewart-Sandusky was approved by Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals in January 2026, but was made public only this week by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing. A hearing on the disciplinary charge is scheduled for July 10, 2026. Court records indicate that in April 2024, Johnston police charged Stewart-Sandusky with felony first-degree theft, alleging she had written bad checks totaling $86,800. One area bank incurred financial losses totaling $34,334 as a result of the alleged scheme, according to police. The police records indicate the theft involved checks written by Stewart-Sandusky on a Community State Bank account in the name of SS Therapy and Consulting, which she controlled, and a Bank of Iowa account in the name of Central Iowa Mental Health Organization, which she also controlled. In October 2024, police charged Stewart-Sandusky with forgery and fraud for allegedly forging a financial document in a bank employee’s name in order to have her group healthcare insurance reinstated after it was canceled due to failure to pay the premiums. According to court records, the theft case was resolved in December 2024 when Stewart-Sandusky pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of third-degree theft and was given a suspended prison sentence of two years and placed on probation for one year. In April 2025, the forgery case was resolved when Stewart-Sandusky pleaded guilty to a charge of insurance fraud, was fined $1,025, and was awarded a deferred judgment that will result in the conviction being expunged from public records after the successful completion of five years of probation. Court records show that as part of a plea deal, the forgery charge was dismissed. The Iowa Capital Dispatch was not able to reach Stewart-Sandusky at her current place of employment, Therapy Group Inc., which provides family counseling in Burlington, Des Moines and other areas of Iowa. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Iowa Capital Dispatch
	Downtown Moline is finalizing plans for opening day at Mercado Tonight's celebration is the start of Mercado on Fifth's tenth anniversary. Attractions include food trucks, live music and handmade items.
	The administration's plan to rubber-stamp drilling in the Arctic The administration's plan to rubber-stamp drilling in the ArcticThe Trump administration wants to speed up the permitting process for oil and gas projects in Alaska, using a proposed regulatory shift that has major implications for the Western Arctic.In a May 15 announcement reviewed by RE:PUBLIC, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) shared what it called “a new effort to streamline permitting for oil and gas infrastructure” in the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska (NPR-A). The Department of the Interior’s move comes in direct response to a May 12 petition submitted by a pro-extraction industry group, the Alaska Oil and Gas Association (AOGA).On Friday, May 15, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum described the gist of what the government has in mind, speaking to CNBC correspondent Morgan Brennan in an unusual setting for a cable news stand-up: the remote, still-snowy landscape of the NPR-A itself.Bundled against the cold over a chyron that said “Alaska’s Crude Comeback,” the pair were near the site of the Willow project, a huge effort led by ConocoPhillips—approved by the Biden administration and upheld by a federal judge after several years of battles—that, by 2030, is projected to extract up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day from the far northeastern portion of the NPR-A. A limited amount of drilling is already underway on NPR-A land; the Trump administration intends to open it up for a lot more, and it wants things to happen fast. Mario Tama // Getty Images “[Y]ou just made a big announcement about deregulation, specifically, about [permit] streamlining,” Brennan said. “What goes into that, and how quickly does that now mean we can see more production online?”Burgum’s lengthy answer took viewers through various goals that could affect this part of the North Slope—including the NPR-A and, roughly 80 miles to the east, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The bottom line was this: The administration is trying to short-circuit the lengthy process of environmental review that’s required before new drilling can begin on land that the BLM has opened for potential development through lease sales. (ConocoPhillips acquired the first of its Willow-area leases in 1999. The permitting process didn’t formally start until 2018; final approvals happened in 2023.)“As development is occurring here, at [the Willow] site, we’ve got a problem,” Burgum said. “Permitting from the federal government is slow, but in Alaska, for some reason … it takes two or three or four times longer to get something permitted. We need to get that down to the same standards we have in the Lower 48.”Burgum mentioned North Dakota, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania as examples—landscapes that are very different from the Willow site, which sits on sensitive wetlands.Burgum said that the environmental impact statements required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) should no longer be mandatory for every new project. Instead, the government should be allowed to extend “existing reviews.”The administration maintains that EISs done for a site like Willow should also be applicable to other sites in the region—the logic being that they’re similar enough that new EISs are redundant. This goal is spelled out in a May 12 petition that was submitted to the Interior Department by AOGA.Specifically, AOGA is asking that a portion of the federal code—43 C.F.R. part 3160—be amended to allow “a uniform and efficient process to approve production projects similar to those that have already been approved in the NPR-A and adjacent lands.”The petition includes a 45-day public comment period before the Interior decides on whether to adopt the proposed new system. Once that period is over, the chances of approval seem quite high, given the way Interior is now staffed.Kara Moriarty, the current senior advisor for Alaska affairs—a role that puts her in the middle of reviewing this petition—was the president and CEO of AOGA before joining the Trump administration in May 2025. The petition itself was signed by Steve Wackowski, who, during the first Trump administration, held the same job Moriarty now has.Erik Grafe, an attorney with the Alaska office of the environmental group Earthjustice—which challenged the Willow project in court—said the new regulatory proposal is “part and parcel” with actions taken since the start of Trump’s second term.“The Western Arctic is the place that has the most industry interest, and the administration is going all out,” he said. Trump’s initial round of executive orders included one he issued on Jan. 20, 2025, called Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential. It instructed Interior to roll back a management plan that laid out which zoned areas in the NPR-A could be opened for oil and gas extraction.“They opened up sensitive areas that had been closed for decades,” Grafe said, including one called Teshekpuk Lake, a famous wetland that’s considered a vital nesting area for migratory shorebirds, geese, and other waterfowl. Patricio Arana, Sophie Ramis, Sabrina Blanchard // Graphic by AFP via Getty Images In a press release, The Wilderness Society torched the proposed change, calling it “a destructive wish list that would essentially hand over the Western Arctic to the oil industry.”“It would be beyond reckless and irresponsible for BLM to turn over the keys to the Western Arctic and virtually walk away,” said Matt Jackson, Alaska senior manager for the group. “Not only would this proposed rule deprive the public of input over giant oil projects, but it would also turn a blind eye to environmental and public health impacts, putting clean water, wildlife habitat, and subsistence resources at risk while stripping the government’s ability to hold companies accountable for things like oil spills, wildlife impacts, or rig collapses.”Also of note is the small amount of time that passed between the filing of the petition on May 12 and the government’s rulemaking notice on May 15. Federal rulemaking normally takes years—but when Alaska’s oil and gas industry formally petitioned for streamlined Arctic drilling permits, the government’s response was posted only three days later. The similarities between the BLM’s prepublication Federal Register notice and the petition’s regulatory goals and structure are striking, suggesting that the two documents were developed in parallel rather than in sequence.“Given the timing of the announcement, less than three days after the petition was submitted by AOGA,” Jackson said, “the public is left to wonder if this is a coordinated effort to grant [the] industry a wishlist of their demands.”The National Petroleum Reserve was established in 1923, one of several such reserves created for emergency use by the U.S. Navy. During the oil shortages of the mid-1970s, Congress passed the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act, which transferred jurisdiction over NPR-A from the Secretary of the Navy to the Secretary of the Interior.In March of this year, the BLM, which manages NPR-A, opened oil company bids in a massive lease sale across 5.5 million acres of the total 18.7 million acres—more than 82% of the reserve—that is now open to oil and gas leasing, exploration, and development. Earthjustice is currently part of a federal lawsuit filed against the government challenging the lease sale and the underlying plan that opened up most of the reserve to drilling.It’s likely that the kind of radical change to the environmental review process that the Interior now seeks would also be challenged in court. As for ANWR, no drilling is currently underway there, but ANWR leases have been sold in the past, and the results of a new round of lease bidding are scheduled to be announced on June 5.This story was produced by RE:PUBLIC and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	My brand isn’t ranking in AI search results: Why and how to fix it My brand isn’t ranking in AI search results: Why and how to fix itIf a brand isn’t ranking in AI search results, the most likely reason is that AI engines like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and Gemini don’t have enough consistent signals about that brand to cite it in generated answers. AI platforms don’t rank pages the way Google does. They select brands based on citation frequency across trusted sources, entity clarity, and structured content that directly answers user queries.The sections below from WebFX examine common reasons why brands may not appear in AI search and how to address visibility issues.Why brands aren’t ranking in AI search resultsBrands may not rank in AI search results because AI engines select sources differently from how Google does. Google ranks pages based on relevance, backlinks, and authority signals tied to specific URLs. AI engines synthesize answers by pulling from training data, live retrieval, and third-party citations, then choose brands based on how often they appear consistently across trusted sources.This creates a gap that represents a significant shift for marketing teams. Ahrefs research of 863,000 keywords and 4 million AI Overview citations found that only 38% of AI Overview citations come from pages ranking in Google’s top 10 for the same query, a sharp drop from 76% just seven months earlier. A brand can hold the top organic position for its primary keyword and still be absent when a buyer asks ChatGPT for a recommendation in that category.The shift is not hypothetical. ChatGPT processes an estimated 66 million searchlike queries per day, and each one returns a single consolidated answer rather than a ranked list. If a brand isn’t in that answer, it is not represented in the interaction.6 reasons why your brand isn’t showing up in AI searchWhy isn’t your brand showing up in AI search? The causes cluster into six common patterns, usually appearing in combination rather than alone. Work through each one to diagnose which applies to your site.1. Your content isn’t structured for AI extractionAI models cite content they can quote cleanly. If your pages bury answers under long introductions, use vague subheadings, or mix multiple topics per section, AI engines skip past them. The fix is leading each section with a direct one-sentence answer, using question-format H2s that mirror user queries, and structuring content in short paragraphs, bullet lists, and FAQs blocks.A useful test: Read any section heading and the first sentence below it. If the answer isn’t clear from those two elements alone, AI retrieval will move on.2. Your brand lacks entity authority across the webWhy isn’t your website cited by AI? The most common answer is that your brand isn’t mentioned enough in places AI engines learn from. AI models pull from Wikipedia, Reddit, review platforms, industry publications, podcasts, YouTube, and news sites. If your brand shows up only on your own domain, AI engines treat you as an isolated signal rather than an authoritative entity.A WebFX study of 2.3 billion sessions found that ChatGPT accounts for 82.6% of all generative AI referral traffic. ChatGPT draws heavily on consistent cross-platform mentions to decide which brands to surface.3. Your content doesn’t directly answer real buyer questionsIf your pages describe features, benefits, and company messaging but never answer the specific questions buyers ask, AI engines have nothing to extract. Generative engines optimize for zero-shot answers. They want a question, an answer, and supporting context in that order.Content that lists product capabilities without answering “what does this do,” “who is this for,” or “how is this different” leaves AI with nothing quotable.4. Your site has technical barriers blocking AI crawlersSome brands block AI crawlers in robots.txt either intentionally (during the early wave of AI-scraping concerns) or accidentally. Blocking AI crawlers in robots.txt can reduce your chances of being cited or surfaced in AI answers, especially for systems that rely on direct crawling or fresh retrieval. Review agents like GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended carefully so you don’t accidentally limit AI visibility.Check your robots.txt file at yoursite.com/robots.txt. Confirm that GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended are allowed, or that at minimum they are not explicitly blocked.5. You’re only optimizing for traditional SEOTraditional SEO is the foundation of AI visibility, but it’s no longer the full strategy. Strong search engine optimization (SEO) earns you the baseline, then topical authority, entity signals, and AI-readable content structure determine whether you’re selected as a cited source.Brands focusing only on page-level SEO without the generative engine optimization (GEO) layer are investing in the foundation without building the structure that AI engines actually cite.6. Your content is outdated, thin, or inconsistentAI engines favor fresh, comprehensive, consistent content. Pages with stale statistics, thin coverage of core topics, or inconsistent brand descriptions across your site and external listings create confusion for AI models trying to identify who you are and what you do.Audit your top pages for last-updated dates, depth against competitors, and consistent entity framing (what your product is, who it’s for, how it’s different) across every touchpoint.How to check if your brand appears in AI answersHow to check AI search visibility takes three manual tests plus one structured tracking setup. Run all four to establish a baseline before making fixes.Test branded queries directly. Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude: “What can you tell me about [Your Brand]?” If the answer is vague, inaccurate, or says the model has no information, your entity signals are weak.Test category recommendation queries. Ask each platform to recommend vendors in your category: “Who are the best [category] providers for [audience]?” Note whether your brand appears, which competitors do, and in what position.Test informational queries your buyers use. Run the top five to ten questions your buyers ask during research. Check whether AI engines cite your content or surface competitors.Set up ongoing visibility tracking. Use AI visibility platforms to monitor citation rate, mention rate, and share of AI voice across a defined prompt set on a weekly or biweekly cadence.How to fix AI visibility issuesHow to fix AI visibility issues starts with addressing the six reasons in order of impact for your specific situation. The fixes below map directly to the diagnostic patterns above.1. Restructure your highest-value content for AI extractionRewrite your top traffic pages with answer-first formatting. Lead each section with a direct one-sentence definition or answer, use question-based H2s, and add FAQs sections that target real buyer queries in two to three sentences each.2. Build entity authority across trusted sourcesInvest in digital PR, Reddit and Quora presence, podcast appearances, guest contributions in industry publications, YouTube, and Wikipedia (where eligible). Every consistent mention in a trusted source adds weight to the signal AI engines use to decide whether to cite you.3. Add structured data to help AI extract meaningImplement JSON-LD schema markup for Organization, Product, FAQs, HowTo, and Article types where relevant. Structured data tells AI engines what your content is about, who you are, and how to categorize your offerings.4. Unblock AI crawlers in robots.txtVerify that GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended are not disallowed. If your content strategy includes AI citation as a goal, treat AI crawlers the same way you treat Googlebot.5. Align SEO with GEOTraditional SEO remains essential because AI engines draw from well-ranked organic sources, but SEO alone no longer guarantees AI visibility. Pair SEO investment with GEO practices: citation-friendly formatting, entity consistency, cross-platform authority building, and AI-readable structured content.6. Update and expand existing content for completenessRewrite thin or outdated pages with depth, specific data points, expert quotes, and consistent entity framing. AI engines favor content that provides complete coverage over content that scratches the surface.How long until your brand starts ranking in AI search resultsYour brand typically starts appearing in AI search results within two to 12 weeks of consistent optimization, with meaningful citation improvements usually visible within four to 12 weeks. The exact timeline depends on which AI platform you’re targeting.Real-time retrieval systems (Perplexity, Google AI Overviews): Technical fixes and content changes can surface within days to weeks because these platforms crawl live web content.Training-data-based systems (ChatGPT, Claude): Meaningful improvement takes three to six months because visibility depends on the model incorporating new signals during periodic training updates.Cross-platform authority (all AI engines): Building durable entity authority through PR, citations, and consistent mentions is a six-to-12-month compounding investment.Most brands see early wins from technical and content fixes within the first month, followed by compounding gains from authority building over the next two to three quarters.This story was produced by WebFX and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

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Friday, May 22nd, 2026