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

Monday, October 5th, 2026
	IMEG, Rock Island, expands presence in Florida, Southeast, with acquisition IMEG, Rock Island, will is expanding its presence in Florida and the Southeast through the acquisition of Construction Engineering Group (CEG), a multidisciplinary engineering firm based in Melbourne, Florida, providing civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering services. Located on Florida’s Space Coast, CEG brings nearly 30 years of client-focused engineering experience and established relationships across the [...]
	Davenport city administrator Tim Gleason resigns Davenport city administrator Tim Gleason has resigned to pursue other professional opportunities, the city announced Monday.
	Free mental health hotline provides support for Iowans, farmers in crisis Run through Iowa State University, Iowa Concern provides free, 24/7 confidential support. You can dial or text 800-447-1985.
	Davenport City Administrator Tim Gleason resigns The City of Davenport has accepted City Administrator Tim Gleason’s resignation "to pursue other professional opportunities," according to a news release from the city. "The city appreciates Mr. Gleason’s work for the citizens of Davenport over the term of hisservice," the release says. Nicole Gleason will fill the role of acting city administrator while the [...]
	Davenport City administrator resigns City leaders accepted his resignation to pursue other professional opportunities, according to a media release.
	Rock Island names interim fire chief City Manager Todd Thompson appointed Battalion Chief Brandon Baker as interim fire chief.
	Iowa’s $15B steel mill: What happens next Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill Friday raising the cap on state tax incentives, clearing the way for a $15 billion steel plant planned by Mesabi Metallics in Lee County.
	2 teens arrested after shots fired in Grand Mound Clinton County deputies were called to the 400 block of Fulton Street around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4, after receiving reports of shots being fired.
	Truck strikes bridge in Davenport on Monday morning Our reporter saw extensive damage to the truck and said two streetlights were also taken out.
	Peoria bishop offers blessed relic of Fulton Sheen to Pope Leo Monsignor Jason Gray said the Pope remembered watching Sheen's TV show growing up and remembers him fondly.
	Rock Island names interim fire chief Battalion Chief Brandon Baker will serve as interim fire chief while Rock Island searches for a new full-time chief and deputy chief for the department.
	2 teens arrested after home with 7 inside shot at in Grand Mound Two teens were arrested on Sunday after a home that had seven people inside was shot at in the 400 block of Fulton Street in Grand Mound, Iowa.
	Iowa DCI identifies man killed in Iowa City officer-involved shooting The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) have identified the man killed in an officer-involved shooting in Iowa City on September 15.
	DNR fines companies for littering, fish kill, excessive air and wastewater emissions The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is levying thousands of dollars in fines against companies that violated various environmental regulations.
	How to watch the debate between U.S. Senate candidates Ashley Hinson and Josh Turek DES MOINES, Iowa -- The race to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Joni Ernst is hotly contested, with Republican nominee U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson and Democratic nominee Iowa State Representative Josh Turek battling in a contest that could play a big role in which party controls the Senate. The candidates have agreed [...]
	Learn about winter home safety at East Moline Public Library The East Moline Public Library wants to make sure residents are ready to face the upcoming cold weather season safely. The library, 745 16th Avenue, is hosting a session on winter home safety tips on Oct. 10 from 10 – 11 a.m. The East Moline Fire Department will discuss topics like carbon monoxide detectors, heating [...]
	Teacher who sued Iowa school district for students’ ‘racist’ acts wins $425,000 A school teacher who alleged the Ottumwa public schools encouraged students’ racist behavior by failing to impose sufficient discipline has won a $425,000 judgment against the district.
	2 hurt in Rock Island motorcycle crash The motorcycle’s driver and passenger were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
	US House Dems’ campaign chief predicts they'll gain majority control in midterms WASHINGTON — Democrats expect they’ll gain a majority of seats in the U.S. House following November’s midterm elections, giving the party a platform to serve as a check on the president’s power. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene said during an interview Monday that curbing the war in Iran and working on legislation to address the costs of healthcare would be at the top of the party’s agenda if it is able to flip that chamber. “And of course, act as an independent branch and do our job to hold the administration accountable,” she said. The Washington state Democrat said she views Republican super PACs spending millions of dollars in safe GOP districts as a sign that voters are moving toward Democratic candidates.“We've seen MAGA Inc. pour millions into House races and spending deep in red territory. Of the 38 districts that MAGA Inc. is spending in so far, 26 are on defense,” DelBene said, referring to the president’s super PAC. “And the speaker and the majority leader were campaigning recently in districts Trump won by double digits in 2024.”Additions to list of targeted racesThe DCCC announced earlier in the day that it had added six candidates to its “Red to Blue” program — Chris Jones in Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District, Dwayne Romero in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, Eliott Rodriguez in Florida's 27th Congressional District, Teresa Benitez-Thompson in Nevada's 2nd Congressional District, Blake Gendebien in New York's 21st Congressional District and Justin J. Pearson in Tennessee's 9th Congressional District. The additions bring the DCCC’s targeted House races to a total of 46.DelBene said during the interview with States Newsroom and other journalists in the Regional Reporters Association that “while Republicans seem to have infinite amounts of money to throw at us, our momentum is simply too strong to stop.” “Republicans may have more money, but they have zero substance,” she said. “We know we don't need to spend more, but we do need to spend enough.”National Republican Congressional Campaign Chairman Richard Hudson, of North Carolina, wrote in a statement released Sunday that with less than a month to go until voting ends on Nov. 3, GOP candidates “are on offense.”“We’re competing in districts Democrats swore were safe. We’ve recruited candidates who served in uniform, built businesses, and put criminals behind bars,” he said. “And we’re running on results: lower taxes, a secure border, and an economy that works for working families.”Where analysts see the House races The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter categorizes 197 House districts as solid or likely Democratic and another 195 as solid or likely Republican. That leaves voters in 43 districts throughout the entire country to determine whether the House remains in Republican hands for another two years or shifts to Democratic control. Of those, 11 are rated as leaning Democratic, 10 are leaning toward a Republican candidate winning and 22 are true toss-up seats.The magic number for House control is 218, though every additional seat beyond that threshold makes governing much easier for party leadership. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has had to consistently balance the demands of moderate and far-right members to move legislation across the floor. The House majority currently sits at 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, one independent who used to be a Republican and two vacancies. Erin Covey, editor for the House of Representatives at Cook, said on the “Stories from the States” podcast that during the last month or so “the overall political environment has really solidified to favor Democrats."“At this point, our estimation is that Democrats will likely end up with around 220 to 230 seats at the end of the day,” she said. “Of course, that would be a majority in all of those cases. But on the lower end that would be a pretty slim majority. Some of that is because the battleground of competitive districts is relatively small compared to previous cycles. And so the number of truly vulnerable seats that Democrats can pick up is capped in a way it wasn’t in 2018, for example. But the national political example is just as good as it was for Democrats in 2018.” Courtesy of D.C. Bureau
	Iowa researcher warns higher vape tax could drive people back to cigarettes As states increasingly implement taxes on alternative smoking products, research from a Des Moines University professor showed the policies could lead people to reach for cigarettes instead — impacting more than just themselves.
	Tiverton abutters ask a Superior Court judge to intervene in Sapowet Cove oyster farm dispute Sapowet Cove is shown on the western shore of Tiverton in the Sakonnet River. (Google Earth image)One month after the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) failed to decide the fate of a proposed oyster farm in Tiverton, project opponents are asking a judge to step in. The Sept. 24 complaint filed in Providence County Superior Court against both the CRMC and applicants John and Patrick Bowen argues the council’s failure to take action amounts to an illegal abuse of its authority. The application for the 1-acre oyster farm was submitted in late 2019, yet the seven-member council has yet to decide whether objections over its impact on boating, fishing and recreation can stop it from happening. On Aug. 25, the council met to accept its hearing officer’s determination that a 2024 state law limiting development along the Sakonnet River did not stop the project review from advancing because the law was not retroactive. In accepting the determination, however, the seven-member council made clear it was not issuing a final decision on the project, allowing the quasi-judicial hearing process to continue. Because it was not a final decision, there was not yet an opportunity for objectors to appeal under the state’s Administrative Procedures Act. A group of neighbors who own properties near the proposed oyster farm site argue they should not have to wait any longer before taking their case to a judge. “Requiring Appellants to proceed through a full evidentiary hearing before obtaining judicial review of that threshold legal determination would therefore be futile and would not provide an adequate remedy within the meaning of [state law],” the complaint states. Laura Dwyer, a spokesperson for the CRMC, acknowledged requests for comment on the appeal, but did not immediately provide a response Monday. The proposed oyster farm has become the poster child for what critics say is an inefficient and unfairly drawn-out coastal review process. John and Patrick Bowen, brothers who live in Little Compton, filed the application to set up 200 bottom cages a few hundred feet from the shoreline in December 2019. Nearby property owners, fishermen and the state aquaculture association joined together in opposition to what they allege would interfere with fishing, boating and public recreation. The dispute made its way to Mark Krieger, CRMC hearing officer, in 2023, soon after Gov. Dan McKee appointed him to the position. An initial hearing was held in 2024, but the schedule was scratched in July 2025 after three groups of nearby property owners filed a motion, asking Krieger to dismiss the case based on the 2024 law limiting area waterfront development. The complaint notes that almost two years have passed since initial arguments, well past the 60-day deadline required by state law. And the CRMC’s acceptance of Krieger’s determination, without a final decision or even a clear timeline for when that decision will come, amounts to an “abuse of discretion” of its authority, the complaint states. John Bowen expressed frustration with the nearly seven-year wait for a decision, but blamed the delay on opposition groups rather than the CRMC. “I’d rather have them get it right than rush to a decision or be pressured,” he said of the coastal regulatory review. Yet John Bowen said he and his brother are still committed to the project, which they envision as a side gig to their respective jobs as an aquaculture coordinator and carpentry teacher, both in Massachusetts. The pair plan to sell oysters direct-to-consumer and to local restaurants, in addition to offering educational visits for students. John Bowen said he was “dismayed” that he and his brother were named as defendants in the complaint, which centers on the state’s coastal review process — something applicants do not control. “If the state is trying to encourage aquaculture, a process that allows applicants to be sued strictly for following the process is disheartening,” John Bowen said. Marisa Desautel, the attorney representing three sets of property owners in the complaint, declined to comment. The appeal asks a judge to toss Krieger’s determination that the 2024 law does not apply to the project, while affirming the property owners’ right to appeal even without a final decision by the CRMC. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Courtesy of Rhode Island Current
	Still time to get flu shot before holidays: Scott County Health Department The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there were 51 million influenza (flu) related illnesses in the 2024-25 season, with 23 million visits to a healthcare provider, 710,000 hospitalizations and 45,000 deaths. It estimates that flu vaccinations during that season prevented 10 million flu illnesses, 5 million medical visits, 180,000 hospitalizations and [...]
	WIU Quad-Cities campus to host museum microcredential workshop Participants will be able to take a day course on tour-guide apps and AI literacy.
	How to watch KWQC’s debate between Zach Lahn & Rob Sand KWQC is hosting and broadcasting a live debate between Rob Sand and Zach Lahn on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
	Eldridge to vote on establishing a fire department The department would include a full-time Fire Chief, appointed by the Mayor, and volunteer members according to city documents.
	Whiteside County sheriff moves to fire sergeant over misuse of Flock data Sheriff John Booker said the sergeant resigned before the disciplinary process ended.
	Two hospitalized in Rock Island motorcycle, car collision The driver and passenger of a motorcycle were both taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries after a crash involving a vehicle in Rock Island on Sunday evening.
	Quad-Cities gas prices drop 15.9 cents, averaging $4.25 per gallon Prices in the Quad-Cities are 21.1 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand $1.31 per gallon higher than a year ago.
	Man to remain in jail for allegedly striking two, killing one with vehicle A Rock Island man will stay in jail for allegedly striking two and killing one with a vehicle in Milan on Sept. 26.
	Davenport boy picked as Iowa Kid Captain for Washington game This week’s Iowa Kid Captain is 6-year-old JJ Ward, from Davenport. His family credits University of Iowa Health Care with saving his life.
	Screenings crucial for early cancer detection: UnityPoint Health October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Iowa’s second-highest cancer rate in the nation shows that regular screenings are one of the most important tools for early detection. UnityPoint Health – Trinity encourages women to make annual mammograms a priority during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer remains the most diagnosed cancer in Scott County, [...]
	“A tragic accident,” Wisconsin 3-year-old dies after being struck by mother’s car Boscobel EMS was dispatched to the home address Saturday afternoon.
	Whiteside County Sergeant resigns following Flock misuse investigation A Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant resigned after being found to have used automated license plate reader data for personal purposes in an internal investigation.
	Considerations for Davenport’s 2nd Ward alderman announced Five people are being considered to fill the 2nd Ward alderman spot following Tim Dunn’s resignation last month.
	Tapestry Farms hosts 2nd-annual Harvest Moon Celebration Tapestry Farms invites the community this week to the second-annual Harvest Moon Celebration, music and traditional Arabic sweets in support of refugees rebuilding their lives in the Quad Cities.
	Is our fate pre-destined? A new 'East of Eden' adaptation asks again John Steinbeck's 1952 epic was first adapted to film in 1955 by director Elia Kazan. Now, Kazan's granddaughter Zoe has directed a new Netflix miniseries, starring Florence Pugh.
	Moline’s Kasen Ponder wins Spotlight Athlete of the Week Moline football junior quarterback Kasen Ponder wins Spotlight Athlete of the week.
	Whiteside County sergeant resigns amid investigation into misuse of license plate reader data The Whiteside County Sheriff’s sergeant involved in a Flock misuse investigation resigned prior to the sheriff plan to fire him.
	Whiteside County Sheriff's Office sergeant resigns after investigation into ALPR misuse A Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office sergeant has resigned after an internal investigation into possible misuse of automated license plate reader (ALPR) data, according to a news release from Sheriff John Booker. The Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office has completed an internal investigation concerning the misuse of automated license plate reader (ALPR) data by an employee, according [...]
	Three things to know: Oct. 5, 2026 Smile like Zoey Blood Drive, Davenport begins road seal coating and First Gateway Credit Union to hold shoe drop in Clinton.
	Former Wonder Bread building to be demolished The former Wonder Bread building is going to be demolished soon according to a Davenport aldermen.
	Former Davenport Wonder Bread factory to be demolished Changes are coming to River Drive in Davenport as a long-time landmark will soon be demolished. A post on Davenport Alderman John Blunk’s Facebook page says the former Wonder Bread factory at 1034 E. River Drive in Davenport will be demolished. The post said the building’s owner has hired DeCarlo Demolition from Des Moines to [...]
	Octobers with the most precipitation in Illinois since 1895 Mr Twister // Shutterstock Octobers with the most precipitation in Illinois since 1895 Stacker compiled a ranking of the wettest Octobers in Illinois since 1895 using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. Rankings are based on the highest total precipitation in each month. For each of the months listed below, we've included the total precipitation, state-wide highs and lows for the month, and the average state temperature.#10. October 2019 (tie)- Total precipitation: 5 inches- Average temperature: 53.7°F- Monthly high temperature: 64.3°F- Monthly low temperature: 43°F#10. October 2017 (tie)- Total precipitation: 5 inches- Average temperature: 58.1°F- Monthly high temperature: 68.1°F- Monthly low temperature: 48°F#9. October 1967- Total precipitation: 5.07 inches- Average temperature: 53.4°F- Monthly high temperature: 63.9°F- Monthly low temperature: 42.8°F#8. October 1954- Total precipitation: 5.1 inches- Average temperature: 55°F- Monthly high temperature: 65.3°F- Monthly low temperature: 44.6°F#7. October 1969- Total precipitation: 5.7 inches- Average temperature: 52.8°F- Monthly high temperature: 63.7°F- Monthly low temperature: 41.8°F#6. October 1991- Total precipitation: 5.96 inches- Average temperature: 55.6°F- Monthly high temperature: 67°F- Monthly low temperature: 44.2°F#5. October 2021- Total precipitation: 6.02 inches- Average temperature: 60.2°F- Monthly high temperature: 69.3°F- Monthly low temperature: 51.1°F#4. October 2001- Total precipitation: 6.08 inches- Average temperature: 53.8°F- Monthly high temperature: 64.6°F- Monthly low temperature: 43.1°F#3. October 1919- Total precipitation: 6.91 inches- Average temperature: 56.8°F- Monthly high temperature: 67.5°F- Monthly low temperature: 46.2°F#2. October 2009- Total precipitation: 8.49 inches- Average temperature: 50.1°F- Monthly high temperature: 58.4°F- Monthly low temperature: 41.7°F#1. October 1941- Total precipitation: 9.06 inches- Average temperature: 57.6°F- Monthly high temperature: 67.1°F- Monthly low temperature: 48°F
	Octobers with the most precipitation in Idaho since 1895 Jaromir Chalabala // Shutterstock Octobers with the most precipitation in Idaho since 1895 Stacker compiled a ranking of the wettest Octobers in Idaho since 1895 using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. Rankings are based on the highest total precipitation in each month. For each of the months listed below, we've included the total precipitation, state-wide highs and lows for the month, and the average state temperature.#10. October 1967- Total precipitation: 3.09 inches- Average temperature: 44°F- Monthly high temperature: 55.6°F- Monthly low temperature: 32.2°F#9. October 1947- Total precipitation: 3.14 inches- Average temperature: 47°F- Monthly high temperature: 57.5°F- Monthly low temperature: 36.5°F#8. October 1920- Total precipitation: 3.16 inches- Average temperature: 40.8°F- Monthly high temperature: 49.6°F- Monthly low temperature: 32°F#7. October 1899- Total precipitation: 3.19 inches- Average temperature: 40.3°F- Monthly high temperature: 50°F- Monthly low temperature: 30.6°F#6. October 1956- Total precipitation: 3.44 inches- Average temperature: 42.5°F- Monthly high temperature: 53.2°F- Monthly low temperature: 31.8°F#5. October 1946- Total precipitation: 3.45 inches- Average temperature: 38.6°F- Monthly high temperature: 47.6°F- Monthly low temperature: 29.7°F#4. October 1951- Total precipitation: 3.51 inches- Average temperature: 41.7°F- Monthly high temperature: 51.1°F- Monthly low temperature: 32.2°F#3. October 1938- Total precipitation: 3.55 inches- Average temperature: 45.6°F- Monthly high temperature: 55.8°F- Monthly low temperature: 35.4°F#2. October 1975- Total precipitation: 3.98 inches- Average temperature: 43.2°F- Monthly high temperature: 52.9°F- Monthly low temperature: 33.4°F#1. October 2016- Total precipitation: 4.54 inches- Average temperature: 45.7°F- Monthly high temperature: 55.4°F- Monthly low temperature: 36°F
	12 practical money management tips Learning how to manage your money is a little like learning how to cook a new dish. You might be a little intimidated by the ingredients or the fancy instructions using French words you’ve never heard of. But you enjoy the end result, and the next time you make the dish, it’s even easier.The same goes for budgeting, saving, and paying down debt. Practice really does make perfect, or something pretty near to it.If you're ready to hone your skills and reach your financial goals, Achieve shares some simple tips you could use to manage your money like a pro.Key takeaways:Managing your money becomes easier once it's a habit.Budgeting and saving regularly are two of the best ways to take control of your money.Talking to a professional can help you level up your money management skills.Money management tips that can transform your financial lifeTaking charge of your personal finances starts with knowing that you can do it.Money shouldn't be a mystery, and having a little confidence in your abilities goes a long way. So if you need to give yourself a little pep talk before diving into the tips, take a second to remind yourself that you control your money, not the other way around.Now, let's look at some practical ways to live your best life financially.1. Understand what goes in and what goes outThe first step to managing your money is to understand your income and expenses. You can do this with pen and paper, in a spreadsheet, or using an easy, free budgeting app.Add up all your income, including:WagesSide hustlesGig workAlimonyChild supportNext, look at where that money goes, and categorize your expenses:Fixed expenses don’t fluctuate much or at all. This includes things like your mortgage or rent payment, car insurance, cell phone bill, streaming subscription, childcare, and loan payments.Variable expenses are things you're obligated to pay for, but the amounts fluctuate from month to month. For example, your utility bills might be higher or lower depending on how much energy you're using. Groceries, vehicle maintenance, and healthcare tend to go up and down, too.Discretionary spending is everything else you spend money on. So, think dining out, new clothes, travel, alcohol, and exercise classes.Note that this isn’t about wants versus needs. Discretionary expenses are wants by definition because they are at your discretion (i.e., your choice). But variable and fixed expenses can be wants or needs.2. Create a budget (and commit to using it)Once you know what your expenses and income look like, you're ready for the next step.A budget puts the power of choice into your hands. When you have a budget in place, you're telling your money where to go and what to do.There are different budgeting methods you might try, including:50/30/20 budgetingEnvelope budgetingZero-based budgetingTesting out different budget systems can help you find one that works.The method you choose isn’t as important as your commitment to it. Scheduling regular check-ins and giving yourself a small reward for sticking to your plan can help you feel proud of yourself and motivated to keep going.3. Prioritize expenses (and drop the ones that aren't as important)Now’s the time to identify the needs and the wants in your budget.Some things you can't get around spending money on. Needs typically include:HousingUtilitiesInsuranceDebt payments, including child or spousal supportGroceries and personal hygiene itemsTransportationHealthcareChildcareSavingsEverything else is probably a want. That doesn’t mean you have to drop them from your budget. It just means you should take a hard look at them and decide if they deserve a seat at the table. Figuring out what you want to stop spending money on is one of the smartest money management tips to live by.Prioritizing expenses means you can put your money toward the things that matter most, like:Paying down credit cards faster.Growing a bigger emergency fund.Saving for retirement or another long-term goal.Now, you just need to go through your expenses one by one and decide which ones to cut. No amount is too small, since every dollar you don't spend is a dollar you can put toward your goals.4. Shop smart, pay with cashPaying with cash might seem a little outdated. But there are proven benefits to shopping the old-fashioned way.For one thing, making a large purchase with cash might just land you a discount. Your local furniture store, for instance, may be willing to waive delivery fees or discount the price if you're paying in cash versus a credit card.For another, paying with cash could keep you from overspending. You simply can't spend what you don't have. Studies show that we spend less when we use cash.You might test it out by switching to cash for one or two budget categories, like groceries and gas. If you find that using cash helps you spend less, try it with more spending categories.5. Maximize savings at any budgetSaving money can help you get ahead financially. But what if you're working with a tight budget?Do what you can. That might mean saving just $5 to $10 each paycheck. It’ll add up over time. And if you get any bonus money along the way from a tax refund or something else, you can add that to your stash instead of spending it.Here are a few other tips and tricks for budgeting and saving money:Save your spare change and $1 bills.Round up debit card transactions to the next dollar and transfer the difference to a separate savings account. There are apps that can help you do this automatically.Open a checking account that earns interest and transfer the interest earned to savings each month. You can find high-yield checking and savings accounts online. Just be sure to look for accounts with no monthly maintenance fees.Sell things you don't need.Get creative. Make it fun. Put yourself and your goals center stage. Sure, saving money involves making some sacrifices. But you stand to gain even more.6. Build an emergency fundSaving an emergency fund is one of the most-repeated money management tips you'll hear. An emergency fund can help you avoid relying on credit cards to cover life’s curve balls.Unexpected expenses aren’t an “if,” they’re a “when.” Everybody has a big expense come along now and then. You might need new tires, a new water heater, or a surprise trip to the dentist when your kid accidentally steps on—and breaks—their retainer. Fill in the blank with your own most recent example.Make sure that savings is a line item in your budget—just as nonnegotiable as putting gas in your car so you can get to work. Then, open a dedicated savings account and set up an automatic transfer for the amount you want to save each month. You can break it up by paycheck, but the goal is to make sure that money gets added consistently. The money is yours. You can always transfer it back to checking if you need to.7. Nurture your retirementRetirement won't pay for itself, and you can't count on Social Security alone to keep you afloat. If you haven't given much thought to retirement yet, there's no time like the present.If you've got a 401(k) at work, that's a great place to start. If your employer offers a match, take it. That means that they’ll match your contribution with money of their own, in your account. The match is free money that your employer is offering you, and the only condition is that you contribute at least the same amount from your wages.If you don’t have a 401(k) at work, open your own individual retirement account (IRA) and contribute to it regularly. Your own bank or credit union might be able to help you open an account, or you could connect with one of the big brokerages in the U.S. Fidelity, Vanguard, and Charles Schwab all offer free guidance to people who want to plan for the future.8. Deal with your debtIf you have too much credit card debt, medical debt, or personal loan or other debt, make a plan for knocking that debt down.The reason debt should be a priority is that it’s costly. The longer you wait to get a handle on debt, the more interest you’ll pay. That takes away dollars that could be directed to your financial goals. Minimum payments won't cut it, especially if you're stuck with double-digit APRs.If you have a credit card with a $10,000 balance and a 24% APR and you make only the required minimum payment each month, it’ll take you almost 30 years to pay off the debt, and you’ll pay more than $19,000 in interest.If you’ve got debt and you’d like to get rid of it, explore debt solutions to figure out which strategy is right for your situation.9. Have a safety netWorking to improve your finances means thinking about the what-ifs. What if the apartment building where you rent burns down? What if you have an injury that leaves you unable to work for a time? What if you were to pass away unexpectedly, leaving your family to get by without you?Nobody plans on these things happening.Insurance can protect you from losses in case the worst happens. The types of insurance you might need include:Homeowners insuranceRenters insuranceCar insuranceLife insuranceDisability insuranceThey all apply in different situations, but they serve the same purpose: to protect you financially. Research coverage and costs by having a conversation with a knowledgeable insurance agent.10. Protect your creditYour credit score tells lenders how likely it is that you’ll repay your debts. A low score could keep you from getting approved for new credit or make it more expensive to borrow.Good financial habits naturally lead to a strong credit profile:Pay bills on time.Keep credit card balances low or at zero.Avoid applying for new accounts unless you really need to.Review your credit reports for errors.Sign up for free credit monitoring and set up alerts.11. Get professional financial adviceFinancial advice isn’t reserved for the rich. It’s for anyone who wants to feel good about their plan. Here are the upsides of talking to a financial professional:The initial consultation is usually freeThey can look at your situation to offer solutions for getting aheadHaving a third-party perspective can help you figure out where you need to improveFinancial professionals have specialties: credit, retirement, investing, budgeting, and so on. So you’ll want to seek one out who has the expertise to answer your specific questions.12. Protect yourself from scammersIt's all too easy to be targeted by scammers these days. There are, however, some things you can do to minimize your risk:Choose secure passwords for financial accounts.Set up multi-factor authentication on any site that offers it.Be wary of unsolicited emails, texts, or phone calls that ask for your financial information.Set up login and new transaction alerts for your bank accounts and credit card accounts.Freeze your credit files at all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). It’s free, and it prevents anyone from accessing your credit without your permission. That makes it hard or impossible for someone to open a new account in your name.If you believe you've been hit by a scammer, contact your bank and credit card companies right away. That can help protect you against any financial losses.Bonus tip—keep the glass half fullWhat you think about your money situation is just as important as what you do about it. Having a positive attitude can make it a lot easier to overcome the inevitable hurdles that come your way.Remember that managing your money is an ongoing process, not just something you do once. Optimism, even when there are setbacks, can help you stick to it for the long haul.This story was produced by Achieve and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	How to check your credit for free online There’s one official source for free credit reports online, and that’s annualcreditreport.com. You can pull reports from all three major consumer credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. It’s simple, it’s free, and you can do it up to once a week.Your credit score is something else worth checking. Credit scores are generated using information on your credit report, giving you a snapshot of your credit history. Your scores could help you track your credit progress, find the right credit products, and decide on which creditors to use.Below, Freedom Debt Relief breaks down where to get your score for free, which credit scores to check, and what really matters when it comes to credit scores.Key Takeaways:The official source for free credit reports is annualcreditreport.com.Checking your own credit reports and scores does not hurt your score.Your credit report is a tool to help you find errors and start your debt payoff journey.How to Check Your Credit Score for Free OnlineBanks, credit card issuers, credit bureaus, and credit-monitoring apps often let you check your credit score for free. Checking your own credit doesn’t hurt your credit score. It’s a soft inquiry, which has zero effect on your credit.The easiest way to check your score might be to start with your bank, but you have a range of options.Bank or credit card issuerYour bank's online portal or mobile app could show you one of your credit scores. Credit card issuers typically offer some type of free credit score tracker, too.The type of credit score you see will depend on the bank or issuer. Some may use FICO scores, while others will provide you with a VantageScore credit score. The model used may vary between banks, too.Often, your bank or card issuer will regularly update your credit score, so you can track changes to your score over time. Any big changes to your credit score could be a sign you need to check your credit reports.Credit bureausYou can check your score through any one (or all) of the three consumer credit bureaus. Equifax and TransUnion show your VantageScore. Experian shows your FICO score. You'll need to sign up for an online account to get your free credit score through the credit bureaus.Credit monitoring appsThird-party credit-monitoring apps, like Credit Sesame or CreditKarma, also let you track your credit scores. These apps typically use VantageScore credit scores.Many of these platforms have free options, so don’t feel compelled to sign up for a subscription just to see your credit scores. These apps often offer other services, too, that may require upgrading to a paid plan.Which Credit Scores Should You Check?Generally, lenders use credit scores from two credit scoring agencies: VantageScore and FICO. On top of that, each agency offers a range of different credit scores based on different types of credit-scoring models or algorithms.In other words, you have dozens of different credit scores—and they're all valid. You never know which credit score a lender will check, so it could be smart to check both your VantageScore and FICO score to see the full picture.While the models themselves are different, each is based on the same 300-850 point scale. The best credit score you can have is 850, and the lowest credit score you can have is 300.Your credit scores give a snapshot of your credit history at a given point. In most cases, the exact number is less important than how it changes over time. Scores have small fluctuations from month to month, but you want your credit scores to generally increase over the years.Any big decreases in your scores could mean something needs attention. You should probably check your credit report to see what's happened.What to Look for On Your Credit ReportLook for errors—you can dispute these and possibly boost your credit score.Your credit report shows you the following:Open accounts (credit cards, loans)Closed accounts (within 10 years)BalancesPayment history (on time, late)Inquiries (organizations that got your permission to poke around your report)Public records (such as bankruptcies)Many credit reports are wrong somewhere. A Consumer Reports study found that 44% of participants who successfully checked their credit report found a mistake. One in three found errors related to their personal information.The biggest flags to watch for may be unfamiliar accounts, wrong balances, or late payments you think you made on time. These could be weighing down your score, which is not good for your loan options. You can report errors to the credit bureaus, which are required to investigate and remove them if the information is incorrect.Use Your Credit Info to Get Organized On Your Debt JourneyYour credit score and credit reports are tools you can use to get rid of debt.Where to start: Each account on your credit report has an account name, a balance, and a payoff status. Write these down. Add interest rates for each debt. Your credit report doesn’t include these, so you’ll need to pull from another source (such as your online account).The goal is to have a clear list of what you owe, how much, at what interest rate, and whether you’re current. This is your starting point.Your credit score tells you about your options. For example, with a 720 score, you could have multiple options for debt consolidation loans. With a 580 score, consolidation may be harder. You might prefer to increase your score or consider other alternatives.It's important to remember that you have options for dealing with debt, no matter your credit score. This could include:DIY repayment. You might tackle your smallest debts first with the debt snowball method. Or, follow the debt avalanche method and start by focusing on your highest-interest debts first.Consolidation. If you have multiple high-interest debts, it might be in your best interest to consolidate them into a single, lower-interest loan.Credit counseling and DMP. A debt management plan from a credit counselor could help you organize your debts and get back on track.Debt settlement. If you are unable to fully pay back what you owe, you could try to negotiate a settlement for less than you owe. You can do this yourself or hire a debt relief company. Your credit score isn’t a factor in whether you qualify for debt settlement.Bankruptcy. If you have overwhelming unsecured debt and few assets, Chapter 7 bankruptcy might be a good option. If you're trying to stop foreclosure, Chapter 13 might be your answer. Consult a bankruptcy attorney for your options.This story was produced by Freedom Debt Relief and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	80-year-old man injured after accident traps him in car in Grant Co. GCSO received word of a one-vehicle crash around 1:12 p.m. Saturday from County U near Rattlesnake Road in Beetown Township.
	6 steps to firmer skin Skin elasticity refers to your skin's ability to stretch and bounce back to its original shape. When the skin loses its structural proteins—collagen and elastin—it struggles to do this. It's a sign of healthy, youthful skin, and maintaining it is key to achieving firmer skin. As we age, skin elasticity naturally decreases, but with the right care, it's possible to regain elasticity and enjoy bouncy, firm skin.How to tell if your skin has lost elasticityYou can tell if your skin has lost elasticity by performing a simple "pinch test" or by looking for visual signs of sagging and a change in texture (such as deeper folds, thinner skin, and a more crinkled texture). You might also notice some deflation and drooping as your skin loses elasticity and support.What causes loss of skin elasticity?Before thinking about how to tighten skin, let’s look at what causes loss of bounce in the first place. Sun exposure, lifestyle choices, and ageing can all contribute to a lack of skin firmness as they break down the ‘structural scaffolding’ of your skin — specifically collagen and elastin fibers that keep your skin tight and firm. In short:Sun: UV rays penetrate deep into the dermis, triggering an unnatural build-up of elastin and potentially causing cellular damage, preventing your skin from repairing itself.Lifestyle: Smoking, lack of sleep and dehydration can all contribute to a loss of elasticity, destroying collagen and elastin through chemicals, cortisol, and lack of hydration.Ageing: Over time, collagen and elastin, the proteins responsible for firm skin, diminish, leading to sagging and wrinkles. But don't worry—understanding these causes means you can take steps to restore your skin's elasticity.6 steps to improving skin elasticityIf you’re wondering how to improve skin elasticity, there are some simple steps you can take, Dove reports.Hydrate inside and outDrinking plenty of water and using a lotion to tighten skin can help keep your skin looking plump, smooth, and hydrated. Well-moisturized skin appears firmer and healthier, while ingredients like pro-retinol help support skin renewal and improve texture over time.Eat a balanced dietFoods rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids help support skin firmness and elasticity from within. Incorporating fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and oily fish into your meals can help protect collagen and defend against environmental stressors that contribute to premature ageing.Exercise regularlyRegular physical activity boosts circulation, helping deliver oxygen and nutrients to the skin more efficiently. Exercises such as strength training, yoga and cardio can also support collagen production and encourage a healthy glow, helping skin appear firmer and more toned over time.Shorten your showerLong, hot showers can strip the skin of its natural oils, leaving it feeling dry and tight. Keeping your showers short and lukewarm helps maintain moisture levels and protects the skin barrier, which is essential for soft, healthy-looking skin.Stay sun-safeProtect your skin from harmful UV rays by applying sunscreen daily, even on cloudy days. Sun exposure is one of the leading causes of collagen and elastin breakdown, which can accelerate sagging, fine lines, and loss of skin elasticity over time.Use targeted productsLook for products with firming collagen to help support skin firmness and elasticity. Formulas enriched with hydrating and skin-conditioning ingredients can help improve the appearance of texture, leaving skin feeling smoother, softer, and more resilient.Skin firming ingredients to look out forWhen thinking about how to firm skin, certain ingredients are going to be your best friend.Retinol: This is a powerful skincare ingredient known for supporting skin renewal and helping to boost collagen production. By encouraging cell turnover, retinol can help improve the appearance of fine lines, uneven texture, and loss of firmness over time, leaving skin looking smoother and more refined.Collagen: This is one of the key proteins responsible for maintaining skin firmness, structure, and elasticity. As collagen levels naturally decline with age, skin can begin to lose its bounce and appear thinner or less toned. Using products formulated with collagen can help support hydration and improve the appearance of firmer, healthier-looking skin.Peptides: These are short chains of amino acids that help support the skin’s natural structure and barrier. They work to reinforce the skin by helping support collagen and elastin, improving the look of elasticity and resilience while helping skin feel smoother and more supple.This story was produced by Dove and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	How AI is transforming spend management If you’re spending hours chasing down receipts, categorizing expenses, reviewing purchases, and reconciling transactions at month-end, adopting another platform or feature may feel like more hassle than it’s worth. But today’s AI-powered spend-management software is designed to reduce manual effort, and it can help streamline your company’s spend management processes.In this article, Mercury, a fintech platform that offers business and personal banking services, explored how artificial intelligence is changing spend management, where it creates measurable value for growing businesses, and when human oversight is still needed.What is AI spend management?AI spend management refers to the use of machine learning and generative AI to automate and improve the way businesses track, categorize, control, and analyze company spending. It goes beyond basic automation and can include tools that learn patterns, make predictions, and even generate insights using natural language. It can help finance teams reduce manual data entry, identify unusual spending faster, improve budgeting decisions, speed up approvals, and surface insights that would otherwise take hours to uncover.How AI-powered options differ from traditional spend management automationAutomation has been part of finance software for years. Traditional spend management automation relies on fixed rules. For instance, if a transaction matches a specific vendor or amount, it could automatically get routed or tagged a certain way, such as sending expenses over $500 to a manager for approval or categorizing all Uber receipts as “Travel.”AI adds another layer of intelligence. Instead of following fixed rules, AI-based spend management tools can analyze spend patterns and adapt over time. For example, it may recognize that purchases by one department should be categorized differently than similar purchases made by another department. Over time, it can get better at predicting expense categories, flagging unusual transactions, and adapting to how your business actually operates. Instead of requiring someone to manually update rules every time spending patterns change, the system can continuously improve based on your company’s spending data.How AI can improve your spend management systemsAs a finance leader or founder, here are several different ways that you can use AI to make your spend management systems smoother and more powerful.Automated expense categorization and data entryManual workflows can create all sorts of bottlenecks, and the process of manually categorizing expenses can be one of the biggest time sinks for finance teams. The process often involves all sorts of human errors to wade through. Employees might upload receipts with incomplete information, for instance, or transactions might have coding errors.AI spend management software can significantly reduce this workload. Optical character recognition (OCR) lets AI read receipts and invoices, extract vendor names, dates, and totals, categorize expenses, suggest general ledger (GL) codes, and match receipts to transactions. This eliminates the need for manual data entry and, in turn, reduces errors and results in faster month-end close. Your finance teams can review AI recommendations and approve, when needed.Real-time anomaly, fraud, and duplicate-spend detectionTraditional expense audits catch anomalies or duplicate transactions retroactively. This usually happens when someone reviews transactions weeks or months after the transactions happened. Since these manual reviews are time-consuming, your team may also end up putting them off.By continuously monitoring spending activity and identifying purchases that deserve a closer look, AI tools can shift this process from being reactive to proactive. AI tools can flag potential fraud or unusual transactions in real-time before money leaves your business — such as an employee card being used in a way that doesn’t match their role or historical spending patterns — and block them immediately.Predictive budgeting and cash flow insightsAI can help you understand what has happened in your business and forecast what’s likely to happen next. By identifying patterns — such as seasonal spending trends, a rise in software subscriptions, and which departments tend to spend during certain time periods — AI spend management software can predict cash flow needs, flag departments or projects that are likely to go over budget, and surface trends that might not be obvious from a static spreadsheet.For startups and small businesses managing tight cash flow, this kind of predictive insight can be extremely valuable. Instead of finding out that your team went over budget after the end of the quarter, AI can flag the trend while there’s still time to adjust. Automated cash-flow projections and forecasts can also help you make more informed decisions before problems arise.Generative AI for policy questions, reporting, and analysisGenerative AI is also making financial information easier to access and understand. Instead of sifting through reports and manually digging through data, for instance, finance teams can ask plain-language questions like, “How much did we spend on software subscriptions last month?” or “Which department is closest to going over budget?” AI is then able to draw out and present answers immediately based on underlying data.Employees can also use AI to make sense of complex policy documents by asking questions like, “Can I expense this?” or “What is our policy for travel expenses?” Or when reviewing technical reports, they could ask, “How can we stay within budget this quarter?” This can be especially helpful to finance teams, since it can make financial information easier for the rest of the organization to understand and, therefore, reduce how often they’ll need to field repetitive questions.How AI can improve approval workflows and policy enforcementApproval workflows are prone to becoming bottlenecks as companies grow. For example, managers might get wrapped up in reviewing routine purchases that follow company policy while more important requests wait in line.AI spend management software can help streamline approval workflows by identifying and separating low-risk transactions that meet predefined policies and highlighting exceptions that require additional review. For example, you could train your AI system to auto-approve a recurring software subscription from a known vendor, but have a one-time purchase from an unfamiliar vendor get routed for additional approval, even if both involve the same cost. This kind of approval workflow can reduce friction for routine spending while maintaining oversight where it actually matters.AI spend management trends for small businessesThere was a time when finance tools were only designed for large enterprise organizations, but that's changing quickly. Today, AI spend management is making enterprise-level finance tools more accessible for startups and small businesses.Several trends are shaping how small companies are adopting these tools, as detailed below.Built-in AI featuresSmall businesses are increasingly choosing platforms with AI capabilities that are built into the core product, rather than purchasing separate AI tools that need to be integrated.Lower barrier to sophisticated forecastingPredictive forecasting capabilities that were once only available to larger enterprises are now more accessible, thanks to AI spend management software. So, small businesses and startups can now benefit from these powerful features, too.AI as a force multiplier for lean teamsFor startups without a full finance department, AI-powered spend management features — like anomaly detection, categorization, and reporting — reduce the burden on small teams or sole founders and deliver meaningful time savings.Why AI still needs human oversightAI spend management tools are powerful, but they aren’t without limitations. Understanding the risks is just as important as understanding the benefits. Here are a few things to consider.AI can miss context that humans understand intuitivelyAI can’t replace human judgment, but it can flag things for humans to judge. A flagged transaction might look unusual to an algorithm but make complete sense to a team member who understands the business context and the need for a special, one-time transaction for a new initiative, for example.Bias and training data limitationsAI models are only as good as the data they’re trained on. If your company’s historical data is incomplete or has errors, like incorrect expense categories or missing documentation, AI could potentially replicate or amplify those issues, rather than correct them.False positives or false negativesSome legitimate transactions could get flagged unnecessarily, whereas other genuinely problematic transactions might not trigger an alert at all.Plausible-sounding incorrect answersGenerative AI can sometimes make up or misquote information that sounds pretty professional. Always double-check AI-generated information, use your judgment, and don’t assume it’s accurate.Compliance and audit requirements still require human oversightRegulatory and audit standards typically require human review and accountability, even when AI assists with detection and categorization. Think of AI as an assistant, rather than an autonomous decision-maker.Make more space for what’s most importantIdeally, AI spend management tools are able to reduce the manual work that finance teams need to do, but they should never completely replace human oversight and expertise. AI tools can often handle repetitive work, surface useful insights, and speed up everyday workflows, but your team should supervise any AI tools and remain responsible for oversight, on top of making final calls and financial decisions.The businesses that are getting the most value from AI spend management are the ones using AI to eliminate busywork so finance leaders and founders can spend more time on strategic decisions. If you’re evaluating AI spend management, start by identifying where manual work is slowing your company down. Then, look for tools that can automate those tasks.Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC. AI-generated responses and suggested actions may vary and are not guaranteed. Please review outputs before taking action.This story was produced by Mercury and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	17 therapist-approved tips for dealing with seasonal depression Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is brought on by the changing seasons. It can be an overwhelming, jarring type of depression. Most people, when first dealing with it, aren’t sure how to cope with seasonal depression. They begin feeling sapped of energy and interest during the fall, and their condition continues to worsen as winter progresses. The depressive symptoms typically self-resolve during the springtime and remain minimal throughout the summer months. It is also important to remember that winter depression or winter blues is a lesser form of SAD.Researchers are not yet sure what exactly causes seasonal affective disorder, but some of its prevalent markers include:Daily depression that occurs in a seasonal patternLacking interest in previously enjoyed activitiesWeight gain and changes in appetiteLacking energy and feeling constantly tiredExcessive sleepingLeft untreated, seasonal affective disorder symptoms can lead to chronic mental health problems. Fortunately, there are a number of therapist-approved techniques for knowing how to deal with seasonal depression. Talkspace provides 17 tips on how to learn to recognize, prevent, and cope with SAD symptoms.1. Talk with a TherapistIf you suffer from seasonal affective disorder, working with an online therapist can be a huge asset. A skilled therapist can teach you how to fight seasonal depression before, during, and after its occurrence. Talk therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are both effective in treating SAD, and success rates are high. There’s always hope for healing.2. Stay HydratedWater is integral to every cell in the human body, so it’s vitally important to drink enough. Staying hydrated is essential year-round, and it can help you have optimal health even during the months when the weather has you down.3. Get Your Daily Dose of SunshineUnderstanding how to combat seasonal depression involves knowing about the power of natural sunlight. Get outside of the house regularly. When indoors, leave the window blinds open to let the sun in. If you work inside, try to find a location where natural light gets in.4. Take the Right VitaminsVitamin D deficiency is linked to depression. Many people struggle with getting enough Vitamin D, particularly in the winter months. While sunshine is the best source of vitamin D, if you’re unable to get enough natural bright light during the dark winter months, consider taking an organic, plant-based vitamin D supplement. The recommended form of vitamin D is called vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol — though some studies show that vitamin D2 can work just as well.Studies have shown that those who took vitamin D supplements saw noticed improvements in their depression symptoms. If you are considering taking vitamin D, be sure to speak with your medical doctor before trying out a new supplement.5. Try Light TherapyWhen those dark, gray days keep you from getting that natural sunlight you crave, bright light therapy might do the trick. Sometimes called Light in a Box, light therapy boxes emit very bright artificial light that mimics natural sunshine. They can help synchronize your circadian rhythm and cause chemical changes in your brain to elevate your overall mood. Sitting in front of a lightbox daily for about 30 minutes can help reduce the effects of SAD.6. Prepare Yourself Before the Seasons ChangeIf you know that you have SAD, then it’s good to prepare your mind for the upcoming seasonal change. Going into autumn, consider adding mood-heightening activities like fun hobbies, community service, group outings, outdoor walks, or exercising in a public park to your schedule.7. Dawn SimulatorsDawn simulators are specially designed alarm clocks that wake you with gradual intensity, like a rising sun. They produce calming sounds rather than abrupt noises, allowing you to start the day peacefully rather than frantically. These affordable devices have been known to help some people with SAD.8. Stay Connected with FriendsThere’s a definitive link between isolation and depression. That’s why getting together with valued friends is an effective way to combat the effects of seasonal affective disorder. So consider finding some creative ways to meet up with your friends, especially during the cool autumn and cold winter months, even if it’s just an online video chat."There is no shame in seeking help. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a common condition that many of my clients have experienced. All of them have noted that once they decided to open up about it, they have been able to find treatment that works," says Ashley Ertel, LCSW, BCD.9. AromatherapyAromatherapy involves burning aromatic candles or diffusing the vapor of essential oils. Research shows that lavender, chamomile, and bergamot can be helpful for relieving depression symptoms alongside other techniques.10. Schedule Your Time and ActivitiesMany people with seasonal affective disorder have difficulty getting to sleep at night, waking up in the morning, or both. Staying on a regular sleep and active schedule can do wonders for your mood.11. Take a Hot Epsom Salt BathEpsom salt is magnesium sulfate (MgSO4). Soaking in a warm bath with added Epsom salt is one way to increase your bodily intake of magnesium. According to research, magnesium can be effective in treating adults with mild-to-moderate depression.12. Exercise DailyThere’s massive evidence that regular exercise can effectively combat depression symptoms. Combined with all the other numerous health benefits it offers, it’s a no-brainer that working out during the cold, dark months of the year can help with SAD.Semi-strenuous exercise, to the point of perspiration, releases endorphins, stimulates immunity, aids digestion, and offers several other physiological responses that help to prevent and alleviate depression.13. JournalingMany people with SAD attest to the power of journaling. They’ve learned how to combat seasonal depression by writing down their thoughts, feelings, and goals. Journaling can breathe life into your thoughts and make them concrete.Use your journal to prioritize your time, express your worries, create solutions, let go of resentments, and to just stay in touch with your inner feelings. Journaling to track your moods can be useful in identifying trends that may help you in the future."Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can feel really frustrating because you can feel like you’ve really got a handle on things and then, out of the blue, the depression starts to set in. I encourage my clients to track their mood and other symptoms over time to identify any trends that they can bring up with their provider," Ertel notes. 14. Plan Your MealsSome people with winter seasonal affective disorder experience tiredness, excessive sleeping, changes in appetite, and overeating (especially high-carb foods). Take some time to plan healthy meals and prepare them at home. If you have any concerns about your changes in appetite, speak with your therapist about what is going on so you can address this.15. Take a VacationIf you’re prone to depression in the winter months, consider a vacation. If you can swing it, get to a sunny place. A bright environment, lots of natural sunlight, and change of scenery can be very effective at chasing away the winter blues and restoring your energy.16. Avoid AlcoholWhile many people assert that it helps lift them out of depression, alcohol is classified as a depressant. It may initially cause feelings of elation and positivity, but excessive consumption can further feelings of depression, anger, or hopelessness. Drink carefully, if at all.17. Consider MedicationSAD is a type of depression — it’s a mental health condition. This means it must be diagnosed by a licensed mental health professional, and you might want to consider medication to help with your treatment. Ask your family doctor about getting screened for SAD. They can either diagnose you or refer you to an online psychiatrist.Antidepressant medications may work to combat SAD. However, many people opt to rule out other possible remedies before taking any prescription medication. Prescription drugs can be helpful for many conditions and shouldn’t necessarily be ruled out immediately. Some people, however, try certain forms of therapy and other treatment options first. Your doctor can help you determine if medication is right for you.You don’t have to suffer in silence if you deal with seasonal affective disorder. You can learn how to deal with seasonal depression. There are so many effective, helpful, easy tips you can use to learn to alleviate the depression and loneliness you might experience over the winter months.This story was produced by Talkspace and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Why TV kitchens have become lifestyle aspirations You’ve seen the hotel. You’ve Googled the airfare. Maybe you’ve even contemplated spending your entire vacation budget on a pilgrimage to Sicily because The White Lotus made it look irresistible. Welcome to the age of “set-jetting,” wherein the places seen on screen become the places people want to go in real life. HexClad examines the powerful phenomenon.Expedia reports that two-thirds of travelers say movies, streaming services and television shows have influenced their travel choices. After Emily in Paris streamed online, searches for Paris jumped 200%. Similarly, The White Lotus spiked reservations for the resorts it features after each season aired.But you don’t actually need a plane ticket to set-jet.Increasingly, the worlds that viewers binge influence the ones they build at home. And nowhere is that more apparent—or more fun to copy—than in the kitchen.Why TV Kitchens Have Become Lifestyle AspirationsTV kitchens used to be sets where characters grabbed a glass of water on their way out the door. Now they’re where the action happens, which tracks: Food culture has moved steadily toward the center of popular culture, and the kitchen has followed. Cooking can reveal ambition, class, family dynamics, cultural identity and personality without a character having to say a word.It’s why the kitchen in The Bear is frenetic, obsessively organized and filled with stainless steel. It’s why the interiors of Succession communicate enormous wealth without resorting to gold faucets and crystal chandeliers. And it’s why the world of Emily in Paris can make drinking coffee or noshing on a baguette at the kitchen table feel like a lifestyle choice. The kitchen has become both a storytelling device and an aspirational backdrop.Meanwhile, people are paying more attention than ever to their own kitchens. Houzz found that 54% of U.S. homeowners renovated in 2025, with a median renovation spend of $20,000. Kitchens remain among the biggest-ticket projects in the home. In other words, what we see on screen is arriving at exactly the moment many of us are willing to invest in the rooms where we cook, eat and hang out.And you don’t need to knock down a wall to get in on it.The Kitchens Everyone Wants to CopyDifferent shows sell different fantasies. A person’s streaming history might be quietly determining whether that fantasy involves a gleaming sauté pan, an antique copper pot or an enormous slab of Calacatta marble.‘The Bear’: Yes, ChefFew shows have made professional cooking look simultaneously more appealing and more stressful than The Bear. Its kitchens aren’t pristine showrooms. They’re workspaces.The aesthetic is utilitarian: stainless steel, open storage, sturdy cookware, sharp knives and tools chosen because they perform. Everything has a job. Everything needs to be within reach.For home cooks, that translates into a chef-inspired approach to outfitting the kitchen. Instead of collecting gadgets designed for one hyper-specific purpose, think durable pans, versatile knives, restaurant-style storage containers and equipment that can survive serious use.You may not be breaking down whole animals before dinner service, but you can certainly steal the mise en place.‘Emily in Paris’: Make Dinner RomanticAt the opposite end of the spectrum is the romanticized European kitchen.Emily in Paris doesn’t just sell viewers on the city of Paris. It sells the idea that everyday life can be beautiful. Coffee is a ritual. Dinner is an occasion. A trip to the market is practically a montage.The kitchen version of that fantasy favors character over perfection: vintage-inspired pieces, cookware worth displaying, open shelving and objects that look collected rather than purchased in one enormous late-night online order.The real lesson isn’t necessarily to make your kitchen look French—it’s to treat cooking as part of the pleasure of the day rather than another task to complete before turning on Netflix. (Although, naturally, you can still turn on Netflix afterward.)‘Succession’: Money WhispersIf Emily in Paris celebrates charm, Succession perfected the art of looking expensive without appearing to try.The show became practically synonymous with the “quiet luxury” conversation in fashion, but the same principle applies to its interiors. Think: natural stone, beautiful wood, architectural lighting and surfaces so uncluttered you may wonder whether anyone in the Roy family has ever owned a toaster.You probably don’t need a kitchen the size of a Manhattan studio apartment to borrow the idea. Quiet luxury is less about filling a room with expensive objects than it is about choosing fewer, better ones.For cookware and kitchen tools, that can mean pieces that perform beautifully and look good enough to leave out. Consider it the culinary equivalent of a perfectly tailored cashmere coat, minus the dry-cleaning bill.What These Shows Make Viewers Want to OwnHere’s where set-jetting gets interesting. Screen inspiration can start as an aesthetic preference and quickly become a shopping list.A restaurant drama can make professional-grade cookware suddenly seem essential. A beautifully styled apartment might inspire open shelves filled with ceramics and pans. A dinner-party scene can convince you that what your life has been missing all along is a proper serving set.Cookware sits in a particularly interesting place because it can be both equipment and décor.A beautiful pan doesn’t have to disappear into a cabinet after dinner. Neither does a Dutch oven, knife block or sculptural pepper mill. In a kitchen with open shelves, hanging racks or glass-front cabinets, the tools become part of the room.That helps explain the appeal of kitchen products that marry performance and aesthetics. If you want the chef credibility of The Bear, but would prefer your kitchen not to look like it’s expecting a health inspection at any moment, cookware that’s built to work hard and still looks sharp sitting on the stove bridges the gap.It’s TV fantasy meets Tuesday-night dinner.Why Kitchen Design Is the New Fashion TrendFor decades, TV fashion has offered a relatively easy way to try on another identity. You see a character wearing something great, find your version and suddenly your Monday commute feels a little more cinematic.Now the home is doing some of the same work.Social media has accelerated the shift. Kitchens appear in the backdrop of cooking videos, morning routines, party photos and casual glimpses into everyday life. A range or backsplash isn’t simply part of a room anymore. It’s part of the frame.That has made the kitchen a surprisingly powerful identity marker. Minimalist? Maximalist? Serious cook? Sourdough person? Cocktail person? Someone who somehow keeps fresh flowers next to the sink at all times?Your kitchen is your backdrop not only for social media content, but for your everyday life. It’s where you define your own personal main character energy.There’s also a practical reason to spend on it. Unlike an outfit inspired by a character, a kitchen tool might be used hundreds of times. Homeowners are still putting meaningful money into renovation projects, and the best kitchen investments can change not only how a room looks but how it functions.The Psychology Behind Screen-Inspired SpendingThere’s a psychological layer to the set-jetting phenomenon. After all, people don’t simply admire fictional spaces in isolation. They connect them to the characters who inhabit them and the lives those characters represent.That’s aspirational consumption at work. We may not literally believe buying a gleaming skillet will transform us into a Michelin-caliber chef—but objects can give us access to a small piece of a lifestyle we admire.It’s the same reason set-jetting works in travel. Visiting Paris after watching Emily in Paris offers the possibility, however fleeting, of stepping inside the fantasy. Recreating a little of that Parisian feeling at home proffers a much easier commute.The emotional association can be just as important as the object itself. A beautiful espresso machine doesn’t just make coffee. It can represent the slow, sophisticated morning routine we’re absolutely going to start having. A professional pan doesn’t solely sear a steak. It can represent becoming someone who knows how to sear a steak properly.Where Function Meets FantasyThere is, however, a danger in designing your life entirely according to the streaming algorithm. Some screen-inspired trends translate beautifully to real kitchens. Others are better left on set.Open shelving looks fantastic when every plate has been selected by a prop stylist. In real life, it also means everything you own is visible. Vast marble countertops are gorgeous, but certain natural stones require more care than their screen appearances suggest. A restaurant-style kitchen might look impressive, but restaurant kitchens are designed for cooks working at restaurant speed—not necessarily someone making pancakes in pajamas.The trick is to steal the feeling, then make it functional.If The Bear inspires you, invest in a few hardworking pieces rather than converting your kitchen into a commercial prep station. If Succession is your north star, prioritize materials and tools with longevity instead of simply buying whatever looks expensive. If you want the romance of Emily in Paris, display the pieces you love and make a ritual out of using them.The best screen-inspired purchase is one you’d still want even after the series finale.The Next Set-Jetting Destination May Be HomeStreaming services have given people access to more fictional worlds than ever before. The next big interior design trend may be sitting inside a show no one has started talking about yet. And when that show arrives, viewers won’t just be watching the characters. They’ll be studying the tile, Googling the glassware and trying to identify the pan sitting on the range.That’s because set-jetting was never only about travel. At its heart, it’s about the desire to step into a world that made people feel something.Sometimes that requires a passport. Sometimes it requires a renovation budget.And sometimes all you need is a great pan, a good dinner and a kitchen that makes everyday life feel a little more worthy of the screen.Conclusion: Bringing a Little Screen Magic HomeTelevision has always influenced what people wear, where they travel and what they order at restaurants. Now it’s increasingly shaping what they want their homes to look—and feel—like. The kitchen is a natural place for those fantasies to take hold because it’s where so much of everyday life happens.And it’s not simply copying a backsplash. What viewers are really borrowing are the rituals and lifestyles those spaces represent: the precision and confidence of a professional kitchen, the romance of lingering over dinner in Paris or the understated polish of a home where everything seems to have been chosen perfectly.The most compelling set-jetting kitchens aren’t exact replicas of what we see on screen. They’re our own kitchens, with just enough of the fantasy brought home.This story was produced by HexClad and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Why TV kitchens have become lifestyle aspirations You’ve seen the hotel. You’ve Googled the airfare. Maybe you’ve even contemplated spending your entire vacation budget on a pilgrimage to Sicily because The White Lotus made it look irresistible. Welcome to the age of “set-jetting,” wherein the places seen on screen become the places people want to go in real life. HexClad examines the powerful phenomenon.Expedia reports that two-thirds of travelers say movies, streaming services and television shows have influenced their travel choices. After Emily in Paris streamed online, searches for Paris jumped 200%. Similarly, The White Lotus spiked reservations for the resorts it features after each season aired.But you don’t actually need a plane ticket to set-jet.Increasingly, the worlds that viewers binge influence the ones they build at home. And nowhere is that more apparent—or more fun to copy—than in the kitchen.Why TV Kitchens Have Become Lifestyle AspirationsTV kitchens used to be sets where characters grabbed a glass of water on their way out the door. Now they’re where the action happens, which tracks: Food culture has moved steadily toward the center of popular culture, and the kitchen has followed. Cooking can reveal ambition, class, family dynamics, cultural identity and personality without a character having to say a word.It’s why the kitchen in The Bear is frenetic, obsessively organized and filled with stainless steel. It’s why the interiors of Succession communicate enormous wealth without resorting to gold faucets and crystal chandeliers. And it’s why the world of Emily in Paris can make drinking coffee or noshing on a baguette at the kitchen table feel like a lifestyle choice. The kitchen has become both a storytelling device and an aspirational backdrop.Meanwhile, people are paying more attention than ever to their own kitchens. Houzz found that 54% of U.S. homeowners renovated in 2025, with a median renovation spend of $20,000. Kitchens remain among the biggest-ticket projects in the home. In other words, what we see on screen is arriving at exactly the moment many of us are willing to invest in the rooms where we cook, eat and hang out.And you don’t need to knock down a wall to get in on it.The Kitchens Everyone Wants to CopyDifferent shows sell different fantasies. A person’s streaming history might be quietly determining whether that fantasy involves a gleaming sauté pan, an antique copper pot or an enormous slab of Calacatta marble.‘The Bear’: Yes, ChefFew shows have made professional cooking look simultaneously more appealing and more stressful than The Bear. Its kitchens aren’t pristine showrooms. They’re workspaces.The aesthetic is utilitarian: stainless steel, open storage, sturdy cookware, sharp knives and tools chosen because they perform. Everything has a job. Everything needs to be within reach.For home cooks, that translates into a chef-inspired approach to outfitting the kitchen. Instead of collecting gadgets designed for one hyper-specific purpose, think durable pans, versatile knives, restaurant-style storage containers and equipment that can survive serious use.You may not be breaking down whole animals before dinner service, but you can certainly steal the mise en place.‘Emily in Paris’: Make Dinner RomanticAt the opposite end of the spectrum is the romanticized European kitchen.Emily in Paris doesn’t just sell viewers on the city of Paris. It sells the idea that everyday life can be beautiful. Coffee is a ritual. Dinner is an occasion. A trip to the market is practically a montage.The kitchen version of that fantasy favors character over perfection: vintage-inspired pieces, cookware worth displaying, open shelving and objects that look collected rather than purchased in one enormous late-night online order.The real lesson isn’t necessarily to make your kitchen look French—it’s to treat cooking as part of the pleasure of the day rather than another task to complete before turning on Netflix. (Although, naturally, you can still turn on Netflix afterward.)‘Succession’: Money WhispersIf Emily in Paris celebrates charm, Succession perfected the art of looking expensive without appearing to try.The show became practically synonymous with the “quiet luxury” conversation in fashion, but the same principle applies to its interiors. Think: natural stone, beautiful wood, architectural lighting and surfaces so uncluttered you may wonder whether anyone in the Roy family has ever owned a toaster.You probably don’t need a kitchen the size of a Manhattan studio apartment to borrow the idea. Quiet luxury is less about filling a room with expensive objects than it is about choosing fewer, better ones.For cookware and kitchen tools, that can mean pieces that perform beautifully and look good enough to leave out. Consider it the culinary equivalent of a perfectly tailored cashmere coat, minus the dry-cleaning bill.What These Shows Make Viewers Want to OwnHere’s where set-jetting gets interesting. Screen inspiration can start as an aesthetic preference and quickly become a shopping list.A restaurant drama can make professional-grade cookware suddenly seem essential. A beautifully styled apartment might inspire open shelves filled with ceramics and pans. A dinner-party scene can convince you that what your life has been missing all along is a proper serving set.Cookware sits in a particularly interesting place because it can be both equipment and décor.A beautiful pan doesn’t have to disappear into a cabinet after dinner. Neither does a Dutch oven, knife block or sculptural pepper mill. In a kitchen with open shelves, hanging racks or glass-front cabinets, the tools become part of the room.That helps explain the appeal of kitchen products that marry performance and aesthetics. If you want the chef credibility of The Bear, but would prefer your kitchen not to look like it’s expecting a health inspection at any moment, cookware that’s built to work hard and still looks sharp sitting on the stove bridges the gap.It’s TV fantasy meets Tuesday-night dinner.Why Kitchen Design Is the New Fashion TrendFor decades, TV fashion has offered a relatively easy way to try on another identity. You see a character wearing something great, find your version and suddenly your Monday commute feels a little more cinematic.Now the home is doing some of the same work.Social media has accelerated the shift. Kitchens appear in the backdrop of cooking videos, morning routines, party photos and casual glimpses into everyday life. A range or backsplash isn’t simply part of a room anymore. It’s part of the frame.That has made the kitchen a surprisingly powerful identity marker. Minimalist? Maximalist? Serious cook? Sourdough person? Cocktail person? Someone who somehow keeps fresh flowers next to the sink at all times?Your kitchen is your backdrop not only for social media content, but for your everyday life. It’s where you define your own personal main character energy.There’s also a practical reason to spend on it. Unlike an outfit inspired by a character, a kitchen tool might be used hundreds of times. Homeowners are still putting meaningful money into renovation projects, and the best kitchen investments can change not only how a room looks but how it functions.The Psychology Behind Screen-Inspired SpendingThere’s a psychological layer to the set-jetting phenomenon. After all, people don’t simply admire fictional spaces in isolation. They connect them to the characters who inhabit them and the lives those characters represent.That’s aspirational consumption at work. We may not literally believe buying a gleaming skillet will transform us into a Michelin-caliber chef—but objects can give us access to a small piece of a lifestyle we admire.It’s the same reason set-jetting works in travel. Visiting Paris after watching Emily in Paris offers the possibility, however fleeting, of stepping inside the fantasy. Recreating a little of that Parisian feeling at home proffers a much easier commute.The emotional association can be just as important as the object itself. A beautiful espresso machine doesn’t just make coffee. It can represent the slow, sophisticated morning routine we’re absolutely going to start having. A professional pan doesn’t solely sear a steak. It can represent becoming someone who knows how to sear a steak properly.Where Function Meets FantasyThere is, however, a danger in designing your life entirely according to the streaming algorithm. Some screen-inspired trends translate beautifully to real kitchens. Others are better left on set.Open shelving looks fantastic when every plate has been selected by a prop stylist. In real life, it also means everything you own is visible. Vast marble countertops are gorgeous, but certain natural stones require more care than their screen appearances suggest. A restaurant-style kitchen might look impressive, but restaurant kitchens are designed for cooks working at restaurant speed—not necessarily someone making pancakes in pajamas.The trick is to steal the feeling, then make it functional.If The Bear inspires you, invest in a few hardworking pieces rather than converting your kitchen into a commercial prep station. If Succession is your north star, prioritize materials and tools with longevity instead of simply buying whatever looks expensive. If you want the romance of Emily in Paris, display the pieces you love and make a ritual out of using them.The best screen-inspired purchase is one you’d still want even after the series finale.The Next Set-Jetting Destination May Be HomeStreaming services have given people access to more fictional worlds than ever before. The next big interior design trend may be sitting inside a show no one has started talking about yet. And when that show arrives, viewers won’t just be watching the characters. They’ll be studying the tile, Googling the glassware and trying to identify the pan sitting on the range.That’s because set-jetting was never only about travel. At its heart, it’s about the desire to step into a world that made people feel something.Sometimes that requires a passport. Sometimes it requires a renovation budget.And sometimes all you need is a great pan, a good dinner and a kitchen that makes everyday life feel a little more worthy of the screen.Conclusion: Bringing a Little Screen Magic HomeTelevision has always influenced what people wear, where they travel and what they order at restaurants. Now it’s increasingly shaping what they want their homes to look—and feel—like. The kitchen is a natural place for those fantasies to take hold because it’s where so much of everyday life happens.And it’s not simply copying a backsplash. What viewers are really borrowing are the rituals and lifestyles those spaces represent: the precision and confidence of a professional kitchen, the romance of lingering over dinner in Paris or the understated polish of a home where everything seems to have been chosen perfectly.The most compelling set-jetting kitchens aren’t exact replicas of what we see on screen. They’re our own kitchens, with just enough of the fantasy brought home.This story was produced by HexClad and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	17 therapist-approved tips for dealing with seasonal depression Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is brought on by the changing seasons. It can be an overwhelming, jarring type of depression. Most people, when first dealing with it, aren’t sure how to cope with seasonal depression. They begin feeling sapped of energy and interest during the fall, and their condition continues to worsen as winter progresses. The depressive symptoms typically self-resolve during the springtime and remain minimal throughout the summer months. It is also important to remember that winter depression or winter blues is a lesser form of SAD.Researchers are not yet sure what exactly causes seasonal affective disorder, but some of its prevalent markers include:Daily depression that occurs in a seasonal patternLacking interest in previously enjoyed activitiesWeight gain and changes in appetiteLacking energy and feeling constantly tiredExcessive sleepingLeft untreated, seasonal affective disorder symptoms can lead to chronic mental health problems. Fortunately, there are a number of therapist-approved techniques for knowing how to deal with seasonal depression. Talkspace provides 17 tips on how to learn to recognize, prevent, and cope with SAD symptoms.1. Talk with a TherapistIf you suffer from seasonal affective disorder, working with an online therapist can be a huge asset. A skilled therapist can teach you how to fight seasonal depression before, during, and after its occurrence. Talk therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are both effective in treating SAD, and success rates are high. There’s always hope for healing.2. Stay HydratedWater is integral to every cell in the human body, so it’s vitally important to drink enough. Staying hydrated is essential year-round, and it can help you have optimal health even during the months when the weather has you down.3. Get Your Daily Dose of SunshineUnderstanding how to combat seasonal depression involves knowing about the power of natural sunlight. Get outside of the house regularly. When indoors, leave the window blinds open to let the sun in. If you work inside, try to find a location where natural light gets in.4. Take the Right VitaminsVitamin D deficiency is linked to depression. Many people struggle with getting enough Vitamin D, particularly in the winter months. While sunshine is the best source of vitamin D, if you’re unable to get enough natural bright light during the dark winter months, consider taking an organic, plant-based vitamin D supplement. The recommended form of vitamin D is called vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol — though some studies show that vitamin D2 can work just as well.Studies have shown that those who took vitamin D supplements saw noticed improvements in their depression symptoms. If you are considering taking vitamin D, be sure to speak with your medical doctor before trying out a new supplement.5. Try Light TherapyWhen those dark, gray days keep you from getting that natural sunlight you crave, bright light therapy might do the trick. Sometimes called Light in a Box, light therapy boxes emit very bright artificial light that mimics natural sunshine. They can help synchronize your circadian rhythm and cause chemical changes in your brain to elevate your overall mood. Sitting in front of a lightbox daily for about 30 minutes can help reduce the effects of SAD.6. Prepare Yourself Before the Seasons ChangeIf you know that you have SAD, then it’s good to prepare your mind for the upcoming seasonal change. Going into autumn, consider adding mood-heightening activities like fun hobbies, community service, group outings, outdoor walks, or exercising in a public park to your schedule.7. Dawn SimulatorsDawn simulators are specially designed alarm clocks that wake you with gradual intensity, like a rising sun. They produce calming sounds rather than abrupt noises, allowing you to start the day peacefully rather than frantically. These affordable devices have been known to help some people with SAD.8. Stay Connected with FriendsThere’s a definitive link between isolation and depression. That’s why getting together with valued friends is an effective way to combat the effects of seasonal affective disorder. So consider finding some creative ways to meet up with your friends, especially during the cool autumn and cold winter months, even if it’s just an online video chat."There is no shame in seeking help. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a common condition that many of my clients have experienced. All of them have noted that once they decided to open up about it, they have been able to find treatment that works," says Ashley Ertel, LCSW, BCD.9. AromatherapyAromatherapy involves burning aromatic candles or diffusing the vapor of essential oils. Research shows that lavender, chamomile, and bergamot can be helpful for relieving depression symptoms alongside other techniques.10. Schedule Your Time and ActivitiesMany people with seasonal affective disorder have difficulty getting to sleep at night, waking up in the morning, or both. Staying on a regular sleep and active schedule can do wonders for your mood.11. Take a Hot Epsom Salt BathEpsom salt is magnesium sulfate (MgSO4). Soaking in a warm bath with added Epsom salt is one way to increase your bodily intake of magnesium. According to research, magnesium can be effective in treating adults with mild-to-moderate depression.12. Exercise DailyThere’s massive evidence that regular exercise can effectively combat depression symptoms. Combined with all the other numerous health benefits it offers, it’s a no-brainer that working out during the cold, dark months of the year can help with SAD.Semi-strenuous exercise, to the point of perspiration, releases endorphins, stimulates immunity, aids digestion, and offers several other physiological responses that help to prevent and alleviate depression.13. JournalingMany people with SAD attest to the power of journaling. They’ve learned how to combat seasonal depression by writing down their thoughts, feelings, and goals. Journaling can breathe life into your thoughts and make them concrete.Use your journal to prioritize your time, express your worries, create solutions, let go of resentments, and to just stay in touch with your inner feelings. Journaling to track your moods can be useful in identifying trends that may help you in the future."Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can feel really frustrating because you can feel like you’ve really got a handle on things and then, out of the blue, the depression starts to set in. I encourage my clients to track their mood and other symptoms over time to identify any trends that they can bring up with their provider," Ertel notes. 14. Plan Your MealsSome people with winter seasonal affective disorder experience tiredness, excessive sleeping, changes in appetite, and overeating (especially high-carb foods). Take some time to plan healthy meals and prepare them at home. If you have any concerns about your changes in appetite, speak with your therapist about what is going on so you can address this.15. Take a VacationIf you’re prone to depression in the winter months, consider a vacation. If you can swing it, get to a sunny place. A bright environment, lots of natural sunlight, and change of scenery can be very effective at chasing away the winter blues and restoring your energy.16. Avoid AlcoholWhile many people assert that it helps lift them out of depression, alcohol is classified as a depressant. It may initially cause feelings of elation and positivity, but excessive consumption can further feelings of depression, anger, or hopelessness. Drink carefully, if at all.17. Consider MedicationSAD is a type of depression — it’s a mental health condition. This means it must be diagnosed by a licensed mental health professional, and you might want to consider medication to help with your treatment. Ask your family doctor about getting screened for SAD. They can either diagnose you or refer you to an online psychiatrist.Antidepressant medications may work to combat SAD. However, many people opt to rule out other possible remedies before taking any prescription medication. Prescription drugs can be helpful for many conditions and shouldn’t necessarily be ruled out immediately. Some people, however, try certain forms of therapy and other treatment options first. Your doctor can help you determine if medication is right for you.You don’t have to suffer in silence if you deal with seasonal affective disorder. You can learn how to deal with seasonal depression. There are so many effective, helpful, easy tips you can use to learn to alleviate the depression and loneliness you might experience over the winter months.This story was produced by Talkspace and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Dennis Hastert, longtime Republican House speaker who went to prison, dies at age 84 ennis Hastert, whose political legacy as Congress' longest-serving Republican House speaker was later fouled by allegations that he had molested high school athletes during his prior career as a teacher and wrestling coach, has died, a coroner said Monday. He was 84.
	6 out of 10 women arrive at college feeling unprepared to manage their period According to a new survey of women who recently graduated from college, nearly two-thirds (64%) often felt that talking openly about periods could lead to embarrassment or judgment.The poll of 2,000 women who graduated from college in the last five years also found 61% think more open conversations about periods would have made their experience easier.The study was commissioned by Always and Tampax.For 33%, their period had unexpectedly started during a class or lecture, while 44% experienced leaks or stains they felt unable to talk about with anyone.Meanwhile, 32% had missed classes because of it, with 61% relying on classmates to fill them in on what they missed.But rather than admitting menstrual symptoms were to blame, 41% said it was a stomachache instead.The research also found the impact extended beyond attendance, with 16% saying they performed worse on an exam or assessment because of their period than they otherwise would have done.A further 19% said they felt too embarrassed to ask their friends for help with period-related concerns, while 46% felt the same about asking professors.Another 67% felt they had to deal with many of their menstrual health-related challenges on their own.As a result, 64% wished they had received more information before starting college.Looking back, many felt they could have been better prepared when managing their period at college.In fact, 43% regretted not planning ahead with period products, 43% wished they spent more time resting to deal with their experiences, and 27% felt they should have spoken more openly about their symptoms.Specifically, 42% wished they knew how to handle a period emergency on campus and how to manage symptoms during high-pressure periods such as exams (40%).Interestingly, 24% found managing their period harder at college than they did in high school.Uncomfortable (48%), stressed (41%), and self-conscious (36%) were shared as the top ways women felt while at college with their period.Additionally, during their studies, 31% struggled to find time for self-care, while 27% found it a challenge to manage their symptoms while socializing.Nearly a quarter (22%) said period products weren't even available when they needed them on campus, while 76% said having an older sister, mentor, or trusted role model would have made managing their period and menstrual health during their college years easier.Many felt that guidance from someone who had already been through the experience could have made a positive difference.For 24%, a female mentor or role model would have been the most helpful source of menstrual health advice before starting college, ahead of a parent or guardian (17%) and a friend who had already started college.MethodologyThe research was conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by Always and Tampax. OnePoll surveyed 2,000 U.S. women who graduated from college within the last five years, and the research was conducted Sept. 9-16, 2026.This story was produced by Always and Tampax and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	How to create a budget-friendly travel itinerary for a family vacation Family vacations create memories that last a lifetime — the first time your kids see the ocean, the campfire stories under the stars or laughter during a road trip sing-along. But when you’re budgeting for a family, that dream getaway often feels out of reach. Rising costs for flights, hotels and daily expenses make even a simple trip feel overwhelming.With smart planning and the right strategies, you can create a memorable vacation with priceless moments while staying on budget. The secret is approaching your trip with a clear plan, knowing where to save and understanding how to make every dollar count.Whether you’re dreaming of a beach escape, a national park adventure or a city exploration, creating a budget-friendly travel itinerary starts with a few foundational steps. From choosing the right destination to booking at the optimal time, small decisions add up to significant savings. With tips from AAA Central Penn, you’ll discover how to plan a budget-friendly family vacation that’s rich in experiences.Key TakeawaysPlanning a budget-friendly family vacation is achievable with the right approach. Focus on these essential strategies:Start with a realistic budget: Determine how much you can spend and build your itinerary around that number, not the other way around.Choose your destination strategically: Transportation generally costs 30% to 40% of your total vacation budget, according to a 2026 Endless Travel Plans article, making road trips often significantly cheaper than flights to distant locations.Book during shoulder season: Traveling during off-peak times saves families 20% to 40% on accommodations and activities, according to Endless Travel Plans.Plan meals wisely: Packing snacks and eating some meals at your lodging prevents daily food costs from spiraling out of control.Maximize discounts and rewards: Use credit card points, membership benefits and loyalty programs to reduce expenses at every stage.Research free activities: Many destinations offer no-cost attractions like parks, beaches, museums with free-admission days and community events.The Importance of a Family Travel BudgetA travel budget isn’t about limiting your fun — it’s about empowering your choices. Knowing exactly how much you’ll spend gives you the freedom to make intentional decisions that align with your family’s priorities. Do you value a nicer hotel, or would you rather put those funds toward memorable experiences? A budget helps you answer these questions before you’re standing at a ticket counter making rushed decisions.In today’s economic climate, budgeting has become even more essential. The average vacation cost for two people reaches $4,536 for one week, and that figure climbs significantly when you add children to the mix. For a family of four, costs can easily double or triple depending on destination choices and travel style.Budgeting transforms anxiety into action. Instead of wondering if you’ll afford a trip, you create a roadmap that shows exactly how to make it happen. You identify where to splurge and where to save, ensuring that every dollar contributes to experiences your family will treasure. A budget also prevents the post-vacation financial hangover that comes from overspending on credit cards or depleting emergency savings.A well-crafted budget enhances your vacation by giving you peace of mind from the moment you start planning until you return home.Steps for a Budget-Friendly Family VacationCreating a budget-friendly travel itinerary requires breaking down the planning process into manageable steps. Each decision you make — from where you go to how you get there — impacts your costs. By approaching your trip methodically, you’ll uncover savings opportunities at every stage while building an itinerary that delivers maximum value for your investment. AAA Central Penn Setting a BudgetBefore you book anything, establish your financial foundation. Start by determining your total travel budget. Review your monthly income and expenses to determine how much you can realistically set aside for a vacation. This might involve saving over several months or allocating funds from a specific source, such as a tax refund or bonus. Be honest about what you’ll afford — underestimating costs leads to stress and overspending once you’re on the road.Once you have your total, decide which budget structure works best for your family:Envelope-style: Some families prefer an envelope-style budget, allocating specific amounts to categories like transportation, lodging, food and activities.Zero-based: Other families use a zero-based budget, assigning every dollar a purpose before the trip begins.Digital budgeting: Digital budgeting apps help you track expenses in real time, ensuring you stay on target throughout your journey.Whatever method you choose, build in a cushion for unexpected expenses — souvenirs, parking fees and unplanned snacks have a way of appearing when you least expect them.Picking a DestinationWith your budget framework in place, it’s now time to choose your destination. This choice dramatically affects your bottom line. Transportation costs typically account for 30% to 40% of your total vacation expenses, according to Endless Travel Plans, making the difference between a road trip and a flight significant. For example, a drive to a national park three hours away may cost $50, while flights for a family of four to a beach destination could exceed $1,200.Explore destinations within driving distance first. State parks, nearby cities with family-friendly attractions and regional destinations provide rich experiences at a fraction of the cost of distant travel. If you’re set on a location that requires flying, factor in the major expense from the start and adjust other categories accordingly. Sometimes, the most memorable vacations happen closer to home than you’d imagine.Booking Transportation and LodgingTiming and flexibility are your greatest allies when booking the major components of your trip. Per Endless Travel plans, shoulder-season travel saves families 20% to 40% compared to peak travel times. Shoulder season refers to the periods just before and after high season — late spring or early fall for many beach destinations, or midweek stays instead of weekend getaways. You get smaller crowds, more attentive service and lower prices during these windows.Comparing accommodation options requires thinking beyond the nightly rate. A hotel room with a kitchenette might cost more per night than a standard room, but it could save you $100 per day or more on restaurant meals. Vacation rentals provide full kitchens, multiple bedrooms and laundry facilities, offering both comfort and cost savings for families planning longer stays. Calculate the total value, not just the up-front cost.Packaging DealsBundling your flight and hotel, or combining accommodations with attraction tickets, often yields better pricing than booking each component separately. These packages also simplify planning, giving you one less decision to manage. Compare prices across multiple booking platforms to ensure you’re getting the best deal — sometimes, booking directly with hotels offers perks like free breakfast or room upgrades that third-party sites don’t advertise.Find affordable travel options by booking flights during off-peak hours if your schedule allows. Early-morning or late-evening departures typically cost less than midday options. For car rentals, compare prices from airport locations versus off-site facilities.Structuring a Frugal Daily ItineraryDaily vacation costs derail even the most carefully planned budget if you don’t manage them intentionally. The average daily food cost for a family of four reaches $200, underscoring that three restaurant meals per day can consume a significant part of your budget. Over a weeklong trip, that’s $1,400 just for meals — more than the cost of lodging in many destinations.Combat this by planning a mix of dining experiences. Pack snacks for the car or day outings — granola bars, fruit and sandwiches prevent expensive impulse purchases at tourist traps. Enjoy the complimentary breakfast if available or prepare simple meals in your room. Reserve restaurant visits for dinner, making them special events rather than default choices. Pick one or two “splurge meals” to try local specialties or dine at a must-visit restaurant, then balance them with budget-friendly options throughout the rest of your trip.Activities represent another area where research pays dividends. Every destination offers free or low-cost options if you know where to look:City parks, public beaches, hiking trails and playgrounds cost nothing but deliver hours of family fun.Museums often offer free-admission days or discounted evening hours.Local tourism websites highlight community events like outdoor concerts, festivals or farmers markets that welcome visitors at no charge.State and national parks typically charge minimal entrance fees while providing world-class natural attractions.Paying for activities requires prioritizing experiences that align with your family’s interests. One memorable day at a theme park, where your children have been dreaming about a ride, might be worth more than three mediocre paid attractions. Quality over quantity applies to family travel on a budget just as much as it does to any other aspect of life. Look for combination tickets or city passes that bundle attractions at a reduced rate if you plan to visit several paid sites.Leveraging Travel Discounts and Rewards AAA Central Penn Smart travelers know that many discount opportunities exist for those willing to seek them out, using points and rewards to cover travel expenses. The key is stacking these savings strategically to maximize your budget’s impact:Review your credit card benefits: Many cards offer cash back on travel purchases or allow you to accumulate points redeemable for flights, hotels or statement credits. Some cards provide bonus points for travel-related spending, accelerating your rewards accumulation.Redeem your points: If you’ve been earning points throughout the year, a family vacation presents the perfect opportunity to redeem them. Calculate the redemption value carefully — sometimes, using points for expensive flights delivers more value than redeeming them for hotel stays or statement credits. Additionally, keep in mind that membership programs extend beyond credit cards. These savings apply to both the booking process and on-site purchases, helping you reduce costs from planning through your trip.Consult discount platforms: Third-party discount platforms also merit exploration. Websites specializing in vacation packages, last-minute hotel deals or bundled attractions offer significant savings, particularly if you maintain flexibility with your travel dates. Sign up for email alerts from these platforms to receive notifications about deals that match your desired destinations. You can also download apps that offer cash back or points for everyday purchases leading up to your trip, then redeem those rewards for travel expenses.Don’t overlook the power of asking directly. Booking accommodations by phone lets you ask about unpublished rates or special offers. Hotels would rather fill rooms at a modest discount than leave them empty, so don’t hesitate to negotiate, especially if you’re booking multiple rooms or an extended stay.Practicing Sustainable Travel TipsEco-conscious decisions throughout your trip add up to significant savings, proving that budget-friendly travel and responsible tourism go hand in hand. Here are some points to consider:Transportation: Public transportation offers one of the most impactful ways to save money and minimize your carbon footprint. Buses, trains and subways cost a fraction of rental cars or ride-sharing services in most cities. Many cities offer multiday transit passes at discounted rates, making this option even more economical.Lodging: Eco-friendly lodging provides another opportunity to align sustainability with savings. Hotels and vacation rentals with green certifications use energy-efficient systems that lower operating costs — savings they pass on to guests through competitive rates. Properties that offer refillable toiletries, water stations and recycling programs reduce waste while keeping room prices affordable.Other choices: Small choices throughout your trip compound the savings. Carrying refillable water bottles eliminates the need to buy bottled water at tourist prices, and they’re an eco-friendlier option. Packing reusable shopping bags, utensils and containers for leftovers minimizes single-use plastic purchases while reducing meal waste.These sustainable practices teach children valuable lessons about environmental stewardship while demonstrating that responsible choices don’t require sacrifice. Your family enjoys the same experiences at lower costs, and you return home knowing your vacation left a lighter footprint on the destinations you visited.Make Lasting Memories on a Smart BudgetThe best family vacations are defined by the moments you share. A well-planned, budget-friendly trip delivers just as much joy and connection as an expensive resort stay. The key is preparation, smart choices and knowing where to find value. For personalized help and expert advice on making the most of your travel budget, consider speaking with a travel professional who can guide you to the best deals and destinations for your family’s unique needs. With the right planning and support, your dream vacation is closer than you think.This story was produced by AAA Central Penn and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	How should college students handle their first credit card? As millions of Americans around the country begin their freshman year at university, they are encountering many firsts on campus: Their first dorm room, their first college cafeteria and often, their first credit card.College is famously fertile ground for banks looking for new customers. Students starting out on their own need credit access, are developing spending habits, and are all living and attending classes close together, which makes for a rich environment for lenders to target.According to a recent WalletHub study, 85% of college students have credit cards, the average balance is $2,100, and 20% are carrying balances over $5,000.Here's the danger: Students don't have much financial experience, and when suddenly given thousands of dollars in credit, they may not yet know how to use it wisely, Current, a consumer fintech banking platform, reports. They can easily rack up very large debts in short order, digging themselves a hole that could take years to get out of.Just one worrisome example: According to the WalletHub analysis, the percentage of students paying off their credit cards in full every month has declined 12.5% since 2018."In my early 20s, I racked up more than $20,000 in credit card debt because I didn't understand a simple but critical rule: If you don't pay the balance in full every month, today's purchases can become tomorrow's financial burden," says Corinna Rose, a financial planner in Benicia, Calif. "I'm probably more passionate about this topic than most because I learned the hard way."What protections do student borrowers have?Federal law limits how aggressively credit cards can be marketed to students. The financial temptations used to be even worse for college students: Constant credit offers on campus led to legislation like 2009's CARD Act . Its provisions include prohibiting issuing cards to those under 21 without a co-signer (unless they can prove their own ability to pay), requiring parental approval to increase credit lines, and mandating debt education for new students.But even with those restrictions, college is often the first time young adults apply for and secure credit. So it's wise to do so thoughtfully, thinking through all the ramifications, and having a smart strategy in place from the outset.How should students choose their first credit card?Be selective. Just because a firm is offering you credit doesn't mean you have to take it. Instead, do your due diligence and figure out which cards make the most sense for you.After all, sometimes colleges have financial agreements in place to push a certain bank's products and services. That may generate fees for the institution, but it also means they "can steer students into more expensive products," wrote the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a 2024 report.So look past the fancy sign-up giveaway, focus on more important information like interest rates, and start slow with one card and a relatively low credit limit, suggests Rose."I often tell young adults to treat a credit card like a debit card: If you don't already have the cash in your checking account, don't swipe," Rose says. "The biggest mistake students make is confusing a credit limit with money they can afford to spend."How can students build credit without going into debt?Secured charge cards are a great way to build credit while minimizing debt, because you can only spend the amount of money available in your account. That structure helps you develop positive spending habits and a good credit history at the same time, without the temptation of an open-ended credit line.With a secured charge card, funds are held in reserve as you spend to pay your bill each month. Be sure you choose one that reports your monthly payments to all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion).Keep in mind that a high credit score will take some time to develop for young students just launching into the world. As a general benchmark to aim for, a FICO score of 670 and up is considered good, according to Experian. Contrary to what some new borrowers might think, reaching that score doesn't require making big purchases on credit. Steady, on-time payments matter far more than big balances.When should credit education start?Credit education should start well before freshman year. Part of the danger of campus credit is that students don't yet have much of a history of dealing with money on their own.The way to fix that is to bring teens into family money conversations, early and often, so that by the time they hit freshman year, they are already very familiar with money management and won't be overwhelmed by the college credit blitz. Adding them as an authorized user on family cards, for instance, is one way to get the ball rolling, even if they're not actively using those cards right away."As I often tell my clients, the best time to teach credit is before it is needed," says Gregory Guenther, a financial planner in Matawan, N.J. "At 18, parents can help their child consider a starter or secured card. I recommend using it for a predictable expense, setting automatic payment for the full balance, and reviewing the statement together monthly."This story was produced by Current and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Public invited to share comments, see plans, at Centennial Bridge meeting The Illinois and Iowa Departments of Transportation invite the public to attend an open house for the U.S. 67 (Centennial Bridge) corridor study from 3-6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the Holiday Inn Rock Island-Quad Cities, 226 17th St., Rock Island. After extensive analysis and public input, a preferred alternative has been identified to improve [...]
	Best states for backyard entertaining: 2026 ranking revealed For decades, the assumption has been simple: Serious outdoor living happens in California and Florida. Sunshine, the thinking goes, is the only requirement that matters.A new state-by-state ranking compiled by The Luxury Pergola complicates that view. Weighed against U.S. Census data on homeownership and household budgets, and active interest in outdoor living based on Google Trends data, climate alone no longer determines the leaderboard. Georgia takes No. 1 with a composite score of 69.84. California falls to No. 42. The Luxury Pergola Key FindingsNo. 1 — Georgia. Composite score of 69.84. 334 comfortable outdoor days per year.No. 4 — Florida. 365 comfortable days, the maximum possible, but held back by lower homeownership and tighter household budgets.No. 5 — Iowa. A 71.6% owner-occupancy rate and unusually high engagement in outdoor living content.No. 1 in search interest — Wyoming. A perfect Google Trends score of 100, the highest in the nation.No. 42 — California. The lowest homeownership rate in the contiguous U.S. at 55.3%.Top 10 sweep — the Southeast. Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana all make the cut.No. 50 — Alaska. Just 31 comfortable outdoor days per year. New York follows at No. 49 with a short outdoor season and one of the lowest owner-occupancy rates in the country.A "comfortable outdoor day" is defined here as a day with average high temperatures between 60°F and 95°F, based on NOAA 30-year climate normals, the range most Americans consider workable for hosting outdoors.Georgia Ranks No. 1, Ahead of California and Florida The Luxury Pergola Georgia hit a composite score of 69.84, the highest in the country, by clearing every category that matters:Logs 334 comfortable outdoor days annually,Sits well above the homeownership midpoint, andShows strong consumer interest in patios and outdoor furniture.The best backyard state doesn’t depend only on sunshine. It's the one where weather, household budgets, and demand for outdoor living all show up together. Georgia is doing that better than anywhere else right now.Maryland's No. 3 finish is the proof. The state has only 214 comfortable days, but it also has the highest income score of any state in the index, paired with a 68% homeownership rate. When residents have both the resources and the space, even a moderate climate gets used hard.The Top 10 States for Backyard Entertaining The Luxury Pergola The Bottom 10 States for Backyard Entertaining The Luxury Pergola The Southeast Sweeps, and the Season Runs Out Up North The Luxury Pergola The top 10 leans south. Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana all make the cut, riding extended comfortable seasons and strong homeownership. Maryland and Virginia round out the mid-Atlantic showing. The Southeast and Mid-Atlantic are where the math works best for outdoor entertaining in 2026.On the opposite end of the spectrum, Alaska finishes dead last at No. 50 with only 31 comfortable outdoor days per year, a single month of viable patio weather. New York comes in at No. 49, dragged down by the country's second-lowest owner-occupancy rate of 55.7% and a short outdoor season. Even residents who want to invest in their backyard run into the problem of not having one to invest in.Florida Ranks 4th Even With Year-Round Sunshine The Luxury Pergola Florida posts a perfect 365 comfortable days, the maximum score possible, yet only ranks No. 4. Florida's homeownership rate sits at 66.1%, which puts it about in the middle of the rankings. Its income score (15.22) puts the state near the bottom. Together, those scores pulled Florida out of contention for No. 1.Rising costs across the state have squeezed household purchasing power, making everything from outdoor furniture to backyard renovations a heavier lift for the average family. Year-round sunshine has less value when fewer households own the yard they'd entertain in, or when there's less room in the budget to invest in the space.Hawaii tells the same story. Tied with Florida and Louisiana on ideal 365-day climate, Hawaii falls all the way to No. 12, dragged down by a 57.6% homeownership rate, one of the lowest in the country. A long season isn't the same as a usable one.Iowa at No. 5: The Midwest's Quiet Investment The Luxury Pergola Iowa ranks in the middle of the top 10, at a backyard entertaining score of 65.74. While its climate score puts the state mid-range, its outdoor space score (90.56) and owner-occupancy rate (71.6%) put it in the top 10. A strong majority of Iowans own the yard they'd entertain in, and they're actively researching how to use it, with Google Trends showing consistently high activity around patio furniture, pergolas, and outdoor living searches over the past year.Wyoming posted a perfect 100 score for backyard-related search interest, the highest in the nation. Pair that with an owner-occupancy rate of 71.9%, and Wyoming lands at No. 8 despite a shorter outdoor season.What's happening across the middle of the country suggests that the interest in outdoor living is coming from places where people own their homes, have room to spread out, and are actively figuring out how to enhance their yards.California's Fall From the Top The Luxury Pergola In the rankings, California falls to No. 42.The state has spent decades branding itself as the outdoor-culture capital, with its wine-country patios and coastal beach parties. Its climate score lands well above average. That's the only category working in its favor.Two factors pull it down fast:Its homeownership rate is 55.3%, the lowest among contiguous states, which gives California the lowest score in the index for outdoor space access. Almost half of Californians don't have a backyard of their own to entertain in.Its income score of 41.05 reflects a wide gap between household earnings and what those dollars actually buy after factoring in the state's high cost of living.A great climate doesn't fix a housing problem.A Reframing for Summer 2026Outdoor entertaining is drawing serious investment. Demand for weatherproof outdoor TVs and TV enclosures has climbed sharply ahead of summer 2026, with manufacturers reporting an outdoor entertainment surge tied directly to the season. Industry coverage tracks the same shift. Homeowners are upgrading bare backyards into gathering spaces before the holiday weekends really get going.That energy isn't evenly distributed, however. The states where outdoor entertaining is most viable, with long seasons, high homeownership, and active demand, are pulling ahead of the ones that just have good weather. The result is a reframing of what outdoor living actually means in 2026. Sunshine sets the stage, but ownership, budget, and intent are what fill the patio.MethodologyTo understand how Americans approach outdoor entertaining, The Luxury Pergola ranked all 50 U.S. states across four weighted categories: climate (40%), outdoor space access (25%), household purchasing power (20%), and active interest in backyard living (15%). Climate data came from NOAA Climate at a Glance, using 30-year temperature normals to identify "comfortable outdoor days" defined as those with average high temperatures between 60°F and 95°F. Outdoor space and income data came from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates and BEA Regional Price Parities, which adjust median household income for local cost of living. Search interest was pulled from Google Trends data covering the past 12 months across five backyard-related search terms. Each state received a composite score from 0 to 100, with the District of Columbia excluded from the ranking.This story was produced by The Luxury Pergola and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Inside the ‘shadow surge’ driving ICE arrests to new heights After federal immigration agents ended their aggressive enforcement blitzes in the streets of Minneapolis and Chicago, President Donald Trump promised mass deportations with “a little bit of a softer touch.”Less focused on targeted cities, this quieter approach has led to a surge in immigration arrests across the country, The Marshall Project reports.Arrests began climbing gradually in March and by July had risen sharply. In nearly every state, arrests exceeded the number from the same period the year before. A Marshall Project analysis of Immigration and Customs Enforcement data published by the Deportation Data Project at UC Berkeley and UCLA found that in many places the surge in enforcement has been dramatic. Even without a focus on high-profile operations, immigration arrests more than doubled in 15 states and Washington, D.C.Republican-led states and communities across the country offered up their own law enforcement agencies to help, from the Texas and Florida highway patrols to sheriff's departments in Ohio and local police in Missouri.A Department of Homeland Security press release reported ICE made nearly 51,000 arrests in August, higher than any month on record.“We call it the ‘shadow surge,’” said Jill Garvey, director of States at the Core, a nonprofit that supports grassroots organizations confronting authoritarian threats. “It’s this much quieter, but no less violent or deadly, enforcement.” The Marshall Project Public outrage exploded in January when federal agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis during an enforcement mission called Operation Metro Surge. Their deaths marked a turning point in the Trump administration’s campaign to round up and deport immigrants without authorization to be in the United States.After months of flashy, made-for-media enforcement — agents piling out of a rented Penske truck at a Los Angeles Home Depot, rounding up hundreds of Korean autoworkers at a plant in Georgia, arresting a five-year-old boy in a bunny hat in Minneapolis — Trump fired Border Patrol commander-at-large Greg Bovino and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.Trump’s new pick to run the department, Markwayne Mullin, promised to pursue the president’s goals with more cooperation from local law enforcement and less public backlash. Congress had already approved tens of billions of dollars to fund that mission.The enforcement that has followed has been widespread, diffuse and harder for the national media to track. It’s also been measurably more effective.ICE’s stepped-up enforcement looks different across the country. Federal authorities have cracked down on commercial truck drivers and arrested people at airports who had overstayed their visas. ICE has continued arrests of immigrants in neighborhoods and public places like hardware store parking lots. These operations can still be chaotic, like a raid of a Memphis bar that began as a state investigation into gambling and drugs and ended with immigration arrests, or immigration agents striking protestors with batons and dragging them from the porch of a home in Frederick, Maryland. In some states, immigrants are still most frequently brought into ICE custody through a transfer from a prison or jail, but increases in other kinds of arrests have led to a summer surge.Roughly 2,000 state and local law enforcement agencies have signed agreements with the federal government to conduct immigration stops or hand over immigrants who are in local jails. Since ICE reset its tactics, arrests from these programs have grown considerably.Texas and Florida, each led by Republican governors with possible national aspirations, have emerged as Trump’s top enforcers.Texas accounted for a quarter of all immigration arrests in July. In Florida, ICE logged more than 7,000 immigration arrests, more than triple the number in that month the year before. Both states have directed their state troopers to conduct immigration stops. In Florida, the arrests often begin when people are stopped for traffic violations or driving without a license, said Palm Beach immigration attorney Jackie Delgado.“They are not being taken to a jail and being booked in and seeing a judge,” she said. “They’re skirting the justice system and heading directly to ICE.”Other states, including Missouri and Ohio, are blips on the nationwide scale of immigration enforcement. But each has seen arrests climb as local police lean into the cooperation agreements with ICE.In 2024, neither state had a single local police agency enforcing immigration laws for ICE through what are colloquially called 287(g) agreements — a reference to the federal regulation that created the program. Today, 130 law enforcement agencies in Missouri and 20 in Ohio have signed up.“The signing of these 287(g) agreements has really turned all of our local law enforcement into these ‘show me your papers’ forces,” said Gabby Eissner, advocacy strategist at the St. Louis-based MICA Project, which provides low-cost and pro bono legal services to immigrants. “People are getting picked up at traffic stops, and those traffic stops are happening because of the color of their skin.”Since June, ICE has set new monthly records for signing up local law enforcement partners, according to a Marshall Project analysis of agreements listed on the agency’s website. With greater swaths of the country patrolled by ICE’s local partners, advocates say it’s getting harder to distinguish routine traffic stops from targeted immigration arrests.“The 287(g) agreements and the cooperation with local law enforcement are making it challenging for people to document what’s happening in their communities,” said Garvey, who leads the authoritarian watchdog organization.In Southwest Ohio, the quietly expanding immigration machinery is on full display in Hamilton, the seat of conservative Butler County. There, Sheriff Richard Jones has had an “Illegal Aliens Here” sign outside the jail for two decades. He quickly inked 287(g) agreements after Trump returned to office last year.Jones told The Marshall Project that 44 of his deputies, or about a quarter of his law enforcement personnel, are ICE-trained to identify undocumented immigrants. They initiate most of the hundreds of stops that have led to ICE arrests in the county, but police officers working for other local departments also call his deputies, widening the net.So far in 2026, ICE recorded more immigration arrests in Hamilton — a city of fewer than 65,000 residents — than anywhere else in Ohio. Arrests there have more than quadrupled this year compared to the same time period last year, and nearly all of those arrests are tied to 287(g) agreements.Jones said he expects to bring in $20 million in revenue this year from the agreement with the federal government. That money outweighs the daily protests outside the county jail. He estimates that 4,700 immigrant detainees have come through the jail in the past 18 months.“A few of them get released from here and don’t get deported,” he said. “But it’s not many.”Even with broader collaboration between federal immigration agencies and state and local law enforcement, ICE’s data shows that in July, half of arrests were of people with no prior contact with the criminal justice system. This percentage has grown along with the increase in arrests.ICE and Customs and Border Protection have more funding than ever to conduct immigration enforcement, with more than $200 billion allocated since Trump took office last year. Congress approved about $70 billion of that funding in June. That cash infusion is greater than the fiscal 2026 budgets for the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Marshals Service combined, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.ICE has so far used the money, which can be spent through fiscal 2029, to more than double its personnel, hire more charter flights for faster deportations and expand its technology to include “shock gloves” and robot dogs.Cities are still targets for immigration enforcement, with less fanfare. Immigrant advocates in Chicago and St. Louis say calls to hotlines for legal services and to report ICE arrests increased dramatically in July.The St. Louis Rapid Response Hotline has fielded nearly 9,000 calls for help dealing with immigration arrests over the past year, according to the Ashrei Foundation, which runs the hotline. Data collected during those calls shows more than half of immigration arrests in St. Louis and eastern Missouri were made by police during a traffic stop. The same pattern is evident in Chicago.“They are quieter arrests,” said Alycia Jameson, a Chicago-based immigration attorney. “It’s a lot of suburbs. It’s a lot of traffic stops. It’s not the Midway Blitz Operations [in Chicago] — it’s not that. But the numbers are really up.”This story was produced by The Marshall Project and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Davenport Speedway plans to double down on action at end of 2026 season Davenport Speedway is set to double down as it closes out the 2026 season. The two-night Davenport Dirt Stars event will be held Oct. 9-10. Racing on both nights will be highlighted by the Karl Chevrolet Premier Late Models, competing for $1,500-to-win. Late Models will have a $75 entry fee. Also racing on both Friday [...]
	Ayad Akhtar's 'The Radiance' addresses provocative subjects head-on Like his previous work, including Homeland Elegies, The Radiance exposes the fissures of American racial, political and economic identity.
	How to spot and avoid AI scams (BPT) - Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly become part of many people's everyday lives. Unfortunately, that includes scammers. The good news? You don't need to be a tech expert to protect yourself.When you slow down, ask questions and double-check what you're seeing or hearing, their schemes often fall apart. Here are 9 tips from Navy Federal Credit Union to recognize and avoid AI scams.Pause and verify. When you get an urgent message — especially one asking for money or personal information — stop and take a breath. Scammers want you to act fast without thinking. Instead, contact the person or company directly using a phone number or website you already know and trust. Don't use any contact info from the message.Use a code word. Set up a secret word or phrase with family members that only you know. If someone calls claiming to be your grandson in trouble, ask for the code word. Real family members will know it. Scammers won't. This simple step can help stop voice cloning scams in their tracks.Avoid requests for immediate or risky payments. Pay attention to red flags, such as anyone demanding you send money right away, especially through wire transfer, cryptocurrency, gift cards or payment apps. Legitimate organizations give you time to think and offer multiple payment options.Inspect the sender. Look closely at email addresses and phone numbers. Scammers often use addresses that look almost right but have small changes. If something looks off, don't engage.Check the media. Look for unnatural facial movements, weird lighting, voices that sound slightly robotic or backgrounds that don't quite match up. If you're on a video call and something feels off, trust your gut.Don't click. Never click links in unexpected emails or texts, even if they look legitimate. Instead, open your browser and type in the company's website yourself. Or, use a phone number you've saved or found on an official site. This can help protect you from fake websites designed to steal your login information.Lock down your accounts. Turn on two-factor authentication for your important accounts — especially banking, email and social media. This adds an extra security step. Use strong, unique passwords for each account.Limit your footprint. Be careful what you share on social media. Voice cloning scams work because criminals find audio clips of you or your loved ones online. Check your privacy settings and think twice before posting videos with clear audio. The less scammers know about you, the harder it is for them to target you.Document and report. If you spot a scam, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and contact your financial institution immediately. Save any emails, texts or voicemails as evidence. Reporting helps protect others and can assist law enforcement in tracking down scammers. Even if you didn't lose money, reporting matters.For more tips on staying safe online, explore Navy Federal's MakingCents cybersecurity articles.This content is intended to provide general information and should not be considered legal, tax or financial advice. It is always a good idea to consult a tax or financial advisor for specific information on how certain laws apply to your situation and about your individual financial situation.
	Could shellfish farming fix Florida's algal bloom problem? It’s a sight that stops Florida boaters and beachgoers in their tracks: a thick green sludge coating the water, smelling of rotten eggs and dead fish.Ashley Smyth, a coastal biogeochemist at the University of Florida, likens the color and consistency to guacamole. “I used to say pea soup, but then I moved to Florida, and no one down here eats pea soup,” she says.Either way, it’s a mixture no one wants to swim in. The toxic green brew is made up of algae that has gorged itself on nutrients from Florida’s highly populated coastal areas. Nitrogen and phosphorus are used as fertilizers in both agricultural and residential areas, where they boost plant growth — but when they wash off land into coastal waterways, they feed the harmful algal blooms that have increasingly plagued the state.According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, 86 percent of Florida’s watersheds contain areas that are imperiled by nitrogen pollution. Thick mats of overfed algae float on the water’s surface, blocking sunlight and depleting oxygen levels in the water, which in turn chokes out other aquatic life. Perhaps the most dreaded and notorious type of harmful algal bloom is red tide, which taints the water a bloody hue and is accompanied by the gruesome sight (and smell) of rows of dead fish washed up on beaches around the state. In 2018 a red tide event impacted nearly 1,000 miles of Florida’s coastline from Pensacola to Port Canaveral, killing an unprecedented number of animals, triggering respiratory complaints in humans, and ultimately costing the state $2.7 billion in lost tourism and recreation dollars.Unless Florida comes up with a fix, it will face more harmful algal blooms in its future. A trio of recent studies from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration has upgraded red tide from an occasional problem to a chronic one, fueled by warming waters and increased development along the coast.This is where shellfish come in. Before they’re served cold with saltine crackers and lemon, or steamed in garlic-wine sauce, unassuming bivalves like clams and oysters are hard at work in coastal estuaries, scrubbing excess nitrogen, bacteria and algae from the water. Their ability to improve water quality has been well documented. A single adult oyster, for example, can filter more than 50 gallons of water per day. And while they’re cleaning the water, clams and oysters are also providing habitat for fish, crabs and other marine species.“Shellfish are underappreciated,” says Smyth. “They’re tasty treats for us, but they also do a lot for the environment.”With red tide and other harmful algal blooms threatening to become a fixture of Florida’s coastal landscapes, the state may enlist shellfish in the battle for cleaner water, Reasons to be Cheerful reports.“What better [way] than to get more clams and oysters out in the water all over the state of Florida?” says Tim Solano, a shellfish farmer based in Cedar Key, a tiny Gulf Coast town that is the state’s top clam producer.This could be achieved two ways: restoring Florida’s wild oyster reefs — most of which have been lost due to overharvesting, habitat loss and other factors — and farming more shellfish. Both are critical pieces of the solution, says Smyth.A few years ago, Smyth was part of a team of researchers at the University of Florida and Florida Sea Grant that looked into the feasibility of incentivizing shellfish farming through what’s known as “nutrient credit trading.” The practice has yielded some success in regions like New England and the Chesapeake Bay. In Maryland, for example, oyster farmers who quantify the amount of nitrogen their oysters are removing from the water can qualify for state-issued credits, which they can then sell to polluters — municipalities and businesses that discharge harmful nutrients into waterways. By purchasing credits from oyster farmers or other eco-friendly industries, polluters are theoretically able to offset some of the environmental harm they’re causing.Maryland’s water quality trading program, which launched in 2018, mostly generates credits from water reclamation or stormwater management best practices. Credits generated by local shellfish farmers are still a new — and limited — practice, says Gregorio Sandi, chief of the watershed restoration planning division within Maryland’s environmental department. But that practice has created a framework that states like Florida are now seeking to copy.The income from selling nutrient credits could keep shellfish farmers afloat in difficult times, says Solano. During red tide events, for example, farmers are not allowed to harvest shellfish out of concerns that the meat might be tainted by toxins. The revenue from nutrient credits “would help us with feeling a little more comfortable with … not being able to sell a product,” Solano says, “because we know we still are getting a paycheck, and we can keep working through those months.”Meanwhile, he adds, farmed clams and oysters are working to dispel red tide and other harmful algal blooms — and prevent them in the future.Nutrient credit trading is built on the same idea as the carbon market: that companies or industries whose activities have measurably beneficial impacts on the environment can be compensated for those activities by companies or governments whose activities are polluting the environment.It’s a controversial concept. Detractors say this “pay to pollute” model lets industries off the hook for shedding pollutants and heat-trapping gases into the air or waterways. In the case of shellfish nutrient credit trading, fertilizer manufacturers or wastewater treatment plants that would otherwise exceed their legal limits for discharging harmful nutrients can purchase credits that allow them to continue with business as usual.Ultimately, Smyth allows, “the shellfish are a bandaid” over a wicked problem.“The only way to really protect our water quality is to … not to have nutrients enter our waters,” she says. “So until we can figure out ways to prevent that, to keep those nutrients on land, I think we have to look at other options.”Smyth and her colleagues interviewed representatives from wastewater treatment plants and oyster farmers in Florida about their willingness to participate in a nutrient credit trading program. The main stumbling block, they found, was that wastewater treatment plants wanted to buy more credits than shellfish farmers could provide. It was easier for them to turn to more established “mitigation banks” in the state, where they could purchase credits in bulk from organizations conducting large-scale wetlands restoration projects.Florida’s shellfish aquaculture industry is still very young and very small. If it continues to grow, supply could start to match demand. Until then, Smyth says, it may be difficult to get a nutrient credit trading program off the ground in Florida.Solano, however, is optimistic about the prospect. He points to a tool that Smyth’s team developed, a nitrogen calculator that estimates the amount of nitrogen a given shellfish farm removes from the water and the monetary value that could represent. The calculator could help the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, the state agency that would administer the nutrient credit trading program, determine how many credits a shellfish farmer should earn and their dollar’s worth.“If [and] when that program opens up,” he says, “it’s easy for us to get in the door, because we already have a nitrogen calculator created.” Solano, who serves on Florida’s Aquaculture Review Council, has recently spent more time “walking the Hill,” as he puts it — going to the state capital to speak with lawmakers about shellfish aquaculture interests. While the nutrient credit trading program has so far taken a backseat to issues like hurricanes and heat waves, which have recently wiped out entire shellfish crops, Solano stresses that revenue from such a program would help farmers survive such disasters.“That’s definitely on the radar of what’s next — how can we get our farmers paid for the [water cleaning] services they’re doing,” he says.Smyth, for now, has moved onto other research projects. “But I don’t feel fulfilled yet on this,” she says. “We’re getting the science down … but we still need the policy to talk to the science, and we still need the industry buy-in. There’s still so many pieces that have to fall into place to really make this feasible, but I hope that there’s opportunity there.”This story was produced by Reasons to be Cheerful and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	4 common scams and how to avoid them If it seems like there’s a new scam popping up every day, you’re not imagining it. Between email phishing campaigns, fraudulent calls or web popups, scams are increasingly common, especially in the day and age of artificial intelligence. In fact, a 2025 Pew survey found that 73% of U.S. adults have been the victim of an online scam or attack.October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness about scams occurring across the U.S. Brookdale Senior Living shares four common scams to be aware of and offers tips from experts on how to avoid them.Recovery scamsThis is a scam that targets a person who has already been scammed.Here’s how it works: According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), scammers obtain “sucker lists” of people who have paid scammers in the past. Someone will reach out and offer to help a person recoup their lost investment funds for a fee. The people doing these scams may even be the same people who scammed the person in the first place.This time around, they may pretend to be a government agent, lawyer, private investigator or a recovery firm. The scammer will ask for an upfront fee to help cover various costs, like processing fees, taxes and legal costs. There is often the promise of a money-back guarantee that this person can help recuperate your funds, but they’ll ask for unusual payment methods, such as cryptocurrency, gift cards, cash or gold.If any of the above occurs, the FTC advises against engaging, sending money, or giving out personal information.Romance scamsThese scams are nothing new but have been on the rise in recent years, especially with older adults as the target. According to a November 2025 AARP report, nearly 1 in 10 adults aged 50 or over have been the target of a romance scam.In these scenarios, scammers try to start a fast-paced digital relationship with someone, often through online dating apps or social media accounts. They may make plans to meet in person or even suggest marriage, but never follow through on these promises. Then, they come up with a reason for asking their “partner” for money: they need help with bills, they lost their job, need to help care for an ill family member, etc.Grandparent scamsThis is a scam targeting older adults, making them believe their grandchild is in trouble or in danger. Scammers impersonate a grandchild or other close relative who is in crisis and ask for money. These calls can spoof a caller ID to make an incoming call appear to be coming from a trusted source.Artificial intelligence is making this type of scam increasingly more believable. Using AI, scammers can even clone the voice of a loved one, making the call seem even more believable.If this type of call is received, write down the details, hang up, then call the relative who is said to be involved directly. If you cannot reach the person, call family or friends to check in to see if they have talked to them lately.The National Cybersecurity Alliance also suggests coming up with a code word between loved ones to use in such a scenario to help weed out scams.Government scamsThese scams occur when people impersonate governmental officials, pretending to be from places like the FTC, Social Security Administration and IRS. The goal is to frighten people into making fake payments or to reveal personal information that could later be used against them.The FTC says to do the following to avoid falling victim to government scams:Don’t send money, especially when asked for payment in an unusual way (wire transfer, gift cards, cryptocurrency).Don’t share any financial or personal information with someone claiming to be from the government.Don’t trust your caller ID. Scammers know how to spoof official phone numbers.Don’t click on links in unexpected emails, texts, or social media messages. Just delete them.Watch out for red flags“Having practiced law for years, I find that most scammers don't start with a complex scheme,” says Timothy S. Trecek, managing partner at Habush Habush & Rottier and adjunct professor at Marquette Law School. “They will apply pressure and wish for people to respond rather than think.”Some usual signs of scams, he says, include:Texts that say you owe unpaid tollsPackage delivery notices urging you to click a linkBank fraud alerts telling you what number to callTech-support pop-ups warning that your computer was infectedCallers pretending to be with the IRS, Social Security Administration or local policeAnything that implies a sense of urgency, like you have X amount of days or hours to act nowWhen someone starts asking for gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, passwords or one-time security codesDara Gibson is CEO of Cybersecurity Readiness Advisors and president of InfraGard Arizona, an organization working with the FBI to protect national infrastructure. She warns that if you receive a message you think could be a scam it is important to “pause, reflect, protect.”1. Pause for a moment and be slow to respond.2. Reflect on:Who this person is.What is the request actually asking for?Were you expecting this request?Where did the request come from (the URL, email address, etc.)?When is the response due?Why did the request come in?Why is it urgent?3. Protect yourself by slowing down and knowing the answers to these questions.If you suspect you or a loved one has been the victim of a scam, report it to the FTC.This story was produced by Brookdale Senior Living and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Refocus Film Festival gets ‘bigger and bolder’ for 5th year The Refocus Film Festival is ringing in its fifth year, and this time it’s “bigger and bolder” than ever. From Oscar contenders to special guests, see what’s in store during the four-day festival hosted by FilmScene in Iowa City Oct. 22-25.
	Drones buzz overhead, troops hunker underground in Ukraine's hellish Kill Zone The frontline in the Russia-Ukraine war stretches more than 700 miles and has barely moved in four years. Yet straddling this line is the Kill Zone, dominated by constantly evolving drone technology.
	7 Lifesaving Furniture Safety Tips (NAPSI)—When buying furniture, consumers look for style and comfort, but it’s important to consider safety, too. Here are seven tips to help:1. Be aware that popular fabric dressers pose a tip-over risk. These are the types of dressers with a metal frame and fabric drawers. By law, all clothing storage furniture must be engineered so it won’t fall over if kids climb on it or if you open all the drawers at once. Fabric dressers usually are not made to meet this standard and, if they tip over, they can crush small children—or your own feet.Check SaferProducts.gov to see if your fabric dresser has been recalled. You can follow the instructions for a full refund or report one that has not been recalled.2. Check dates and secure furniture. Check the manufacture date on the back of furniture used to store clothing, including dressers or chests. Beginning in September 2023, those pieces had to meet a strict new stability standard. Store heavier items down low so taller pieces are not top-heavy. Don’t put toys or treats on top of furniture where kids can see but not reach them. New or old, if it has shelves, doors or drawers, anchor it to the wall. Many manufacturers include free anchors, or you can buy anchors. See www.AnchorIt.gov for advice.3. Wall-mount or secure TVs on a sturdy base. For flat screen TVs, the safest strategy is wall-mounting according to manufacturer instructions. If you cannot wall-mount your TV, choose a low, sturdy cabinet and secure the TV to the wall or to the furniture with a TV anchor. Never place TVs on furniture not built to hold electronics.4. Buy upholstered furniture made with certified foam. CertiPUR-US® certifies the polyurethane foam used in mattresses and upholstered furniture.If you choose upholstered furniture made with CertiPUR-US certified foam, you will know the foam has been screened for chemicals that can harm human health or contribute to poor indoor air quality. If shopping for mattresses, pillows, sofas, upholstered chairs and recliners, youth furniture and play cushions, or pet beds, you can check the directory at CertiPUR.US or consult the CertiPUR-US mobile app while shopping. 5. Monitor your children around recliners and lift chairs. Don’t let kids play on recliners or fiddle with the buttons or remotes. Return recliners to the upright and closed position when not in use. Know the whereabouts of small children and pets before closing a recliner or lowering a lift chair.6. Follow bunk bed safety precautions. Children under 6 should never use the top bunk. Even older kids should be reminded not to jump from or play on the top bunk. Discourage horseplay and make sure the bunk’s ladder or stair is securely fastened.Bunk beds must have railings on both sides of the top bunk that extend 5 inches or more above the mattress. Decorative finials or extensions of bed posts on the top bunk are not allowed under safety standards, because they can be a strangulation hazard. 7. Be aware of glass tabletop risks. Don’t let children play on or around glass-top tables and never, ever stand on a glass-top table. Make sure glass tabletops in your home are made from tempered glass, which is less likely to break. To find out if a glass tabletop is tempered, check the edge or a corner. Most manufacturers mark tempered glass with the word “tempered” or a “T” or stamp it with the code for the glass safety standard, which is ASTM F2813-18. Learn MoreYou can find further information, at SaferHome.Info. Word Count: 578
	Flu Season Is Here: 3 Steps to Take Now (NAPSI)—Influenza (flu) is nothing to sneeze at. It’s a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs. There are two main types of flu virus: A and B. Millions of Americans get the flu every year and thousands are hospitalized because of it. Some people, particularly those 65 years and older, young children, and people with certain health conditions, are at higher risk of serious flu complications. How to Protect YourselfThere are three things you can do to help keep yourself and your family from getting the flu:1. The most important thing is to get a flu shot. When to get it: The CDC recommends that you get vaccinated in September or October, before flu season begins, and ideally by the end of October. Why to get a flu shot every year: Protection from the flu vaccine declines over time and the vaccines are updated to help protect against the most common virus strains that will be circulating during the upcoming season. What does it cost: Fortunately, flu shots are free through most insurance plans, including Medicare, at most pharmacies. Many CVS pharmacies have special flu vaccines designed for children and others for people over 65. These pharmacies also offer more than 15 other preventive vaccines, including RSV and COVID-19.How to get the vaccine: You can make appointments for yourself and your family by visiting CVS.com, MinuteClinic.com or via the CVS Health app—or you can walk-in to locations nationwide. 2. Regularly Wash Hands throughout the Day: Touching everyday items like door handles and other surfaces can be difficult to avoid. To help combat the spread of viruses and bacteria, wash your hands regularly (especially after coughing or sneezing) with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds and avoid touching your mouth, eyes, and nose. Alcohol-based sanitizers that contain at least 60 percent alcohol can be used when you are on-the-go, and soap and water are not available.3. Practice a Healthy Lifestyle: Healthful habits that can help protect you against the flu and other illnesses include:Getting plenty of sleepBeing physically activeManaging stressDrinking adequate fluidsEating nutritious food Learn MoreFor further facts on vaccines, visit www.cvs.com or www.minuteclinic.com.Word Count: 366
	FBI arrests a woman accused of spying on Taiwan leader's family for China The FBI and U.S. prosecutors say Wanying Zhang, also know as Heather, surveilled the Taiwanese president's son and his family.
	Blackhawk Bank & Trust to acquire Liberty Trust & Savings Bank The combined institution is expected to have approximately $2.2 billion in total assets and 20 banking offices.
	Candle Witch Company to celebrate grand opening in downtown Moline Candle Witch Company is inviting the community to stop by and tour the new shop and will offer a special gift to early customers.
	Imran Khan supporters march in Pakistan to demand his release after talks failed Talks between Khan's party and the government failed two days ago. Besides Khan's release, protesters demand his transfer to a hospital and family visits.
	BBQ Chris opens CC&B Kitchen, new 24/7 baseball & softball facility, and more Quad-Cities business news BBQ Chris opens CC&B Kitchen, new 24/7 baseball & softball facility, and more Quad-Cities business news.
	Amhof Trucking named “Best of Class” Fleet Safety Award winner Amhof Trucking, Inc. recognized as the safest carrier in the state of Iowa.
	Rock Island County real estate transactions for October 4, 2026 Here are homes sales and property sales in Rock Island County.
	Augustana chooses first assistant vice president for impact learning Augustana College, Rock Island, has selected Quad Cities strategic leader and 2002 alumna Angela Snyder to serve as its first assistant vice president for impact learning, a new role designed to connect every Augustana student more intentionally with hands-on learning, career preparation and meaningful work in the community, a news release says. Snyder will join [...]
	More amazing weather coming After a great weekend, the weather for the week ahead looks just as nice. It'll be mostly a dry week with only a limited chance of rain. Here's your full 7-day forecast.
	Two Rehabilitated Bald Eagles Return to the Wild in Fulton Two bald eagles rescued from injury and illness were released in Fulton after months of rehabilitation by Hog Capitol Wildlife Rescue and Rehab.
	Nobel medicine prize goes to 3 scientists for research into brain activity The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded Monday to three scientists working on the mechanisms the brain uses to switch on, or off, the activity of individual nerve cells.
	Former Prince Andrew files legal action to quash warrants that led to residence searches A judicial spokesperson confirmed that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had filed a claim with the High Court in London and a hearing would take place Thursday.
	The Killer Bridge This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.Animals who kill people are often shot. Humans who do so are tried in court. But what does one do with an inanimate…
	Spain's prime minister calls early elections as pressure mounts over housing crisis Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced early elections Monday after his government suffered a bruising legislative defeat last week on emergency measures related to the country's housing crisis.
	From floating saunas to clinical trials: How heat might help mental health While scientists have a decent understanding of how sauna and other forms of heat exposure exercises our cardiovascular system, they know relatively little about its impact on mental health.
	Super El Niño is here. What's so super about it? This year, federal forecasters say the planet could see the strongest El Niño event on record. Here's what you need to know.
	Pennsylvania is running out of power. Washington is part of the problem. All too often these days, constructing a major energy infrastructure project in Pennsylvania involves years of court fights and permitting delays. The PennEast Pipeline spent seven years in federal review and legal challenge only to be cancelled by its sponsors. Review for the Tioga Pathway Project, which broke ground this summer after a three-year approval process, was considered fast by current standards. In a state that is one of the world’s leading natural gas producers, this should not be the benchmark for efficiency. Time and again, Pennsylvanians have seen gigawatts of desperately needed energy infrastructure and electrical generation capacity lost to legal settlements rather than placed into service. Gov. Josh Shapiro has done his part in recent years to fix these issues at the state level. Now it is time for similar reforms federally. Over the past several months, that dynamic has come into sharp focus. Since March 2026, the Trump Administration has reached agreements with several offshore wind developers to cancel their federal leases in exchange for a dollar-for-dollar reimbursement of the original lease amount. Six companies have collectively reallocated over $4 billion in planned wind capacity to redeploy into oil, gas, and LNG infrastructure. The terms of those agreements have drawn criticism and legal scrutiny. Opponents have been quick to dismiss the deals as taxpayer-funded giveaways to the President’s allies at the expense of clean energy. Yet while the Trump Administration offers ample reason for ethical scrutiny, these reimbursements are neither a misuse of taxpayer money nor is it the first time the energy industry has battled executive whiplash. The reality is, unless Washington advances durable, bipartisan permitting reform, this broken cycle will keep repeating. What’s most notable about the lease buy-back is the investment conditions that led the developers to walk away. Each of these companies acquired a lease through a competitive federal process and spent a significant amount of time and money working through established regulatory channels. They abandoned their projects for the same reason that the PennEast Pipeline folded and the Tioga Pathway Project barely skirted by: the policy environment is so uncertain that investors would rather cancel outright than gamble billions on developments in such an uncertain regulatory environment. Unfortunately, these settlements also do nothing to address the conditions that produced them, nor do they resolve underlying concerns about grid reliability. The offshore wind cancellations are a visible and expensive illustration of what permitting dysfunction produces at scale. But the issues they faced are not unique are just one of many the obstacles developers of new electrical generation capacity face. PJM’s interconnection queue currently holds more than 90 gigawatts of generation capacity from a variety of energy sources waiting for a connection to the grid that the current permitting system cannot deliver on a predictable timeline. That backlog represents hundreds of billions in stranded investment. At the same time peak electricity demand is projected to grow by more than 30 gigawatts by 2030. The grid needs that capacity but the system tasked with approving it was not built for this moment. The National Environmental Policy Act – which requires federal agencies to evaluate the environmental impacts of major infrastructure projects before issuing a decision – is a big driver of these delays. The law served a legitimate purpose when it passed in 1970, but it has since enabled unworkable regulatory dysfunction. Average review timelines stretch past four years, environmental impact statements run hundreds of pages, and the constant threat of litigation means that projects completing federal review are simply entering the next phase of delay rather than the construction phase. Pennsylvania’s diverse energy economy depends on infrastructure that can be permitted and built within a timeframe that makes investment viable and leaves it uniquely exposed to this dysfunction. When that framework breaks down, it is the residents and business owners in the Commonwealth who absorb the consequences. Reforming the permitting process does not require gutting environmental reviews. It means setting timelines that agencies are required to meet, reducing the redundancy that builds up when multiple agencies analyze the same project in sequence, and providing enough legal predictability that investors can make long-term commitments without pricing in years of litigation risk. Pennsylvania’s grid is under real pressure. What the Commonwealth needs now is Washington to follow the lead of Governor Shapiro and usher in a permitting system that allows new generation, of every kind, to reach the grid before the shortfall arrives. T.J. Rooney previously served as chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Courtesy of Pennsylvania Capital-Star
	Retired Deere employee still comes to work as tour guide at Iowa facility There's more to the story of John Deere ... and a longtime employee at the plant in Ankeny, Iowa, is there to share it with visitors. Roger Riley has the story of Gary Eubank, the retired tour guide who spent nearly 50 years working for Deere. Eubank loves to talk about the process of making [...]
	Illinois provides safe haven for wild mustangs from out West Seven new wild mustangs have found a safe haven in Alhambra, Illinois after being rounded up in Nevada. Photographer Wade Smith went to the mustang sanctuary to rescue and find new homes for these incredible animals. A peaceful stretch of countryside providing a safe haven for wild mustangs removed from public lands in the West. [...]
Sunday, October 4th, 2026
	Is this what conservatism has come to? Kayakers on the Apalachicola River, via the Apalachicola Riverkeeper.Conservatives used to want to conserve. They wanted to conserve nature, wilderness, wildlife. They wanted to conserve art, historical sites, historical buildings, history itself. They valued American democracy, American traditions, and democratic institutions. Now they just want to destroy. The current administration leads this rage to destroy, tearing down the East Wing of the White House, threatening the Kennedy Center with demolition, attacking museums, national parks and monuments — Trump has decimated Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, removing 90% of land owned by the American people, opening it to mining and other commercial interests — and accelerating the climate crisis by repealing greenhouse gas standards and rolling back Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards. The rule of law is under siege, with the administration ignoring court orders, flouting federal statutes, undermining the two other branches of government, and gleefully violating the Constitution. Florida under Ron DeSantis is no different. His administration refuses to protect historic buildings, natural treasures, and free thought, banning books, riding roughshod over civil rights, and doing their damnedest to impose right-wing juntas in our universities. In 2024, the state bought The Gladstone, a Victorian house in Tallahassee. Some of us were naive enough to hope they might restore the place or sell it to a group who could move it and save it. The place was a fine example of the sharp-gabled, lacy woodwork style of the 1890s, the last of its kind along the capital’s main drag. It was pretty rickety, but not, according to historic preservationists, hopeless. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX.But the DeSantis administration bulldozed it, claiming that because the property abutted the Governor’s Mansion grounds, it was a “security risk” and must be destroyed to expand the mansion’s perimeter and put in an all-important parking lot. You’d almost think the state looks at anything beautiful, anything special, anything that contributes to our quality of life, and looks for a way to ruin it. ‘Golden era’? DeSantis once boasted his first term was “a golden era for conservation,” vowing to eradicate the blue-green algae choking the life out of our lakes and rivers and setting up an initiative to save our reefs. The reefs are breeding grounds and nurseries for 500 marine species and may be a source for new medicines. They protect coastal communities from beach erosion and storm surges and generate billions in recreation dollars. Our waterways are still slimed with toxic algae and this year DeSantis cut all the funding from Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery Initiative. Why? Why not? The environment is clearly “woke.” Remember when the governor insisted the now closed Alligator Alcatraz would do no damage to the Everglades? That would be funny (almost) if it weren’t so false. The facility’s 200 diesel generators belched out benzene and formaldehyde day and night, violating the Clean Air Act; its bright stadium lights, disrupting panther habitat, messing with the birds and amphibians who live in the ’glades, could be seen 18 miles away; its overflowing fuel trucks and port-a-potties leaked filth into the aquifer on which South Florida depends for drinking water. The injuries inflicted weren’t only environmental. Detainees were forced to live in unspeakably dirty conditions, denied food and medical care, denied access to lawyers, and were often placed in 4-foot by 4-foot outdoor metal cages, described by detention center staff as “calming areas” where inmates could have some “alone time,” and by Amnesty International as “torture.” You know things were bad there when even the Department of Homeland Security, not known for its adherence to human rights, found the facility in violation of every possible standard. Ron DeSantis blew the whole thing off. He didn’t know; the state wasn’t responsible; and what’s the big deal? It’s not like detainees are real people. ICE predations Conservatives used to claim individual rights as an essential part of their philosophy. But here in Florida, rights only apply to state-approved citizens. You can be locked up just because you don’t look sufficiently “American.” Sometimes ICE rounds up undocumented people who have no right to be here. Sometimes it detains people with pending citizenship applications or asylum claims, never mind they are in the country legally. Sometimes it arrests American citizens. This is hardly surprising in a country where ICE agents shoot protesters with impunity, where the highest court has gutted the Civil Rights Act, and the Trump administration threatens the coming elections. What’s that old saying about the fish rotting from the head down? Dredge we must The putrefaction from Washington has run downhill to Florida, where the Army Corps of Engineers wants to dredge the Apalachicola River. Again. In case you need reminding, this would be the same Corps responsible for the levees that collapsed in Hurricane Katrina, exacerbating death and destruction in New Orleans, and those disastrous discharges from Lake Okeechobee, polluting the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries and killing Everglades flora and fauna. The Corps is, of course, ultimately ruled by the geniuses at the Pentagon. The Apalachicola River is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, supporting hundreds of rare species of birds, fish, amphibians, and plants found almost nowhere else. Nevertheless, the Corps is hell-bent on scraping out a navigational channel that its own reports show isn’t economically significant. They’ll dig out the river bottom, endangered mollusks be damned, stacking the spoils in sand mounds which, in turn, choke the sloughs feeding the river, starving the floodplain forest and screwing up the delicate balance of salt and fresh water. Thanks to DeSantis and the Legislature, local governments can no longer manage growth or protect water quality or sensitive lands or levy impact fees on developers to help with the cost of expanded infrastructure. In 2025, the governor signed a law giving developers carte blanche. Bulldoze those trees? Pollute that lake? Progress! Citizens of Seminole and Orange County voted to preserve “rural boundaries,” designed to slow out-of-control growth and preserve habitat and forests. Florida legislators objected, squawking about “private property rights.” If a developer objects to local tree ordinances or wetlands protections or impact fees or restrictions on the ungodly sprawl crawling across the state like kudzu on steroids, he is likely to prevail over the people who actually live in the place. By now, you know the Trump administration and its DeSantis Mini-Me government want to tear down, chop down, and befoul. It seems to be in their DNA. But some Democrats have caught the destruction disease as well. Here in Tallahassee, run almost entirely by Democrats, the city allows — even encourages — what they call “growth” and many of those of us who live here call “unsustainable sprawl.” When some rapacious developer cuts a bunch of old trees — the kind that take a century or more to mature — without permission, he gets a slap on the wrist from city or county government, maybe a small fine. The rapacious developer shrugs: It’s the cost of doing business. ‘Paused’ Welaunee, 6,600 acres in northeast Leon County, is slated to become one of those “master-planned communities” of the sort defacing Florida south of the Suwannee River. The development has been “paused,” supposedly so citizens can express concerns and ask questions, but if anyone thinks it can be stopped altogether, well, they don’t realize Florida’s most important relationship is not with democracy or nature, it’s with money. The company wants to build 6,591 houses and create 425,000 square feet of “retail space” (probably called “shoppes”) and multi-lane roads. One section has already been completed, a “community” called Canopy — though it has no canopy, barely any trees — largely rows of beige houses that could be anywhere: the Atlanta suburbs, the outskirts of Orlando, the gated cookie-cutter villages along I-75. If Canopy is anything to go by, Welaunee will be an abomination. The wetlands, the cherished green spaces, the old-growth oaks, the lakes and streams, the wildlife habitat, the peace and quiet, the beauty we should cherish — and conserve — all gone. It will be a miracle if in 10 years the whole state isn’t one big expanse of concrete and asphalt, an endless subdivision punctuated here and there by data centers, Wawas, and strip malls. Courtesy of Florida Phoenix
	5 hábitos para fortalecer la inmunidad durante la temporada de gripe y resfriados (Feature Impact) Su sistema inmunol gico es su mejor aliado durante la temporada de gripe y resfriados, ayud ndole a mantenerse saludable cuando comienza a escuchar esas toses y estornudos inconfundibles a su alrededor. Ayude a su cuerpo a cumplir bien su funci n adoptando algunos h bitos sencillos que apoyan naturalmente su capacidad para combatir los g rmenes o recuperarse m s r pido. Hable con su proveedor de atenci n m dica para obtener asesoramiento personalizado y procure incorporar estos h bitos como parte de la rutina normal de su hogar. Haga ejercicio con regularidad El ejercicio es como un medicamento milagroso que puede mejorar casi todos los aspectos de la salud y el bienestar. La actividad f sica aumenta el flujo sangu neo, reduce la inflamaci n a largo plazo, ayuda a que las c lulas inmunitarias circulen por el cuerpo para protegerlo contra invasores y hasta puede eliminar bacterias de sus pulmones y v as respiratorias. Planifique incorporar al menos 150 minutos de ejercicio moderado a la semana, como andar en bicicleta, caminar a paso r pido, tomar una clase de yoga o hacer un entrenamiento en video bajo demanda. Consuma alimentos que fortalezcan la salud inmunol gica Para mantener su sistema inmunol gico bien abastecido, los expertos recomiendan llevar una dieta variada con abundantes frutas, verduras, nueces, semillas, granos integrales y grasas saludables como el aceite de oliva. Considere incorporar uvas frescas a su dieta para aprovechar los beneficios de sus compuestos vegetales naturales. La protecci n del organismo comienza a nivel celular, y las uvas contienen poderosos polifenoles que favorecen la salud y el funcionamiento de las c lulas. Los estudios indican que ciertos compuestos de las uvas, como el resveratrol y los flavonoides, apoyan la funci n del sistema inmunol gico, as como la salud del cerebro, la piel, el sistema digestivo y el coraz n. Estas peque as frutas son f ciles de incorporar a su alimentaci n, ya sea que disfrute de los racimos de las dulces y jugosas Uvas de California por s solas o las ponga en la licuadora para preparar esta receta de Jugo de Bienestar con Uvas de California. Apoye m ltiples aspectos de su bienestar con la poderosa combinaci n de frutas y verduras de esta bebida, que aporta una variedad de vitaminas, minerales y antioxidantes que fortalecen el sistema inmunol gico. Mant ngase hidratado Beber suficiente agua ayuda a limpiar su sistema linf tico, que es responsable de producir ciertos gl bulos blancos que combaten los g rmenes. Tambi n mantiene h medas las membranas de la nariz y la boca, lo que reduce el riesgo de infecci n. Si le cuesta beber suficiente agua, consumir alimentos ricos en agua, como las uvas, tambi n contribuye a mejorar su hidrataci n. Practique buenos h bitos de higiene para evitar g rmenes Para aumentar sus posibilidades de mantenerse saludable durante la temporada de mayor contagio, vuelva al consejo de higiene de toda la vida y verdadero que sus padres quiz s le inculcaron desde ni o. L vese las manos con frecuencia con agua tibia y jab n, evite tocarse la cara cuando est fuera de casa, mantenga la distancia de las personas con s ntomas y desinfecte las superficies de uso frecuente, como las manijas de las puertas, cuando alguien en el hogar o la oficina est enfermo. Duerma m s, menos estr s Antes de que empiece a estresarse por no dormir lo suficiente, tenga la tranquilidad de que hay cambios sencillos que puede hacer para mejorar su bienestar en ambos aspectos. Intente cambiar su rutina nocturna para que gire menos en torno a las pantallas y m s en torno a actividades relajantes que realmente le ayuden a desconectarse, como el yoga, la meditaci n o la lectura. Descubra m s informaci n de salud y recetas en GrapesFromCalifornia.com. Jugo de Bienestar de Uva de California Porciones: 3 (1 taza cada una) 5 tazas de uvas negras o rojas Uvas de California 1/2 taza de rodajas de remolacha cruda pelada 3/4 taza de jugo de naranja 1/4 taza de jugo de lim n amarillo 1 zanahoria peque a, pelada y en rodajas 1 trozo de c rcuma fresca (de 1 pulgada), pelada y en rodajas, o 1 cucharadita de c rcuma molida En una licuadora de alta velocidad, haga un pur con las uvas, las rodajas de remolacha, el jugo de naranja, el jugo de lim n, la zanahoria y la c rcuma hasta obtener una mezcla homog nea. Cuele a trav s de un colador de malla fina, revolviendo para extraer la mayor cantidad de jugo posible, aproximadamente 3 tazas. Detenga el proceso cuando la mezcla comience a espesarse. Disfrute de inmediato o tape y refrigere hasta el momento de servir. Notas: Este jugo tambi n se puede agregar a t helado o agua con gas. Informaci n nutricional por porci n: 230 calor as; 3 g de prote na; 58 g de carbohidratos; 0.5 g de grasa (2 % de las calor as provenientes de la grasa); 0 g de grasa saturada (0 % de las calor as provenientes de la grasa saturada); 0 mg de colesterol; 35 mg de sodio; 0 g de fibra.
	Build a Winning Game-Day Spread with Big Flavor and Less Mess (Feature Impact) Game day is about more than the big plays, touchdown-saving tackles and final score. Whether you're gathering in the stadium parking lot or hosting friends for an at-home watch party, a memorable experience begins long before kickoff. Start your pregame festivities with an MVP-worthy spread that's simple to serve, easy to eat and keeps fans full through the final whistle. For example, the flavor of Buffalo is a game-day staple, but wings aren't the only way to enjoy it. For less mess, Buffalo Chicken Caesar and Celery Wraps pair convenience with the cool crunch of Dandy Celery, a year-round superstar ingredient for many of your favorite football-inspired dishes. It's packed with flavor and low in calories, making it a smart choice for snacking. The contrasting tastes and textures offer a satisfying bite, whether you slice the wraps into smaller portions for appetizer-style serving or leave them whole for fans with hearty appetites. Nervous nibblers during the game's most tense moments may prefer a lighter bite, and that's where a dependable dip can come through in the clutch. This Buffalo Hummus recipe puts a tailgate-spin on the familiar favorite, combining creamy texture with a little heat. Serve it alongside crackers, chips or crisp vegetables like Dandy celery dippers, fresh-cut celery sticks that are pre-washed and ready to eat at your convenience - a true time-saver when the clock is ticking. Design your own winning game plan by finding more tailgating recipes at DudaFresh.com. Buffalo Chicken Caesar and Celery Wraps Servings: 4 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken 1/4 cup Buffalo sauce 2 cups Dandy romaine hearts, chopped 1 cup Dandy celery, chopped (about 4 ribs) 1/3 cup Caesar dressing 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 4 large flour tortillas (10 inches) In bowl, toss shredded chicken with Buffalo sauce. Set aside. To make salad: In separate bowl, combine romaine, celery, Caesar dressing, Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Mix well. To assemble wraps: Spoon about 1/4 cup Buffalo chicken along center of each tortilla, leaving small border at each end; top with Caesar salad. Fold up bottom of tortilla over filling then fold in sides and roll up tightly. Slice in half diagonally. Buffalo Hummus Prep time: 5 minutes Servings: 8 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1/4 cup tahini 1/4 cup Buffalo sauce 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 lemon, juice only 2 cloves garlic 2-3 tablespoons ice water dairy-free blue cheese, for garnish (optional) chopped chives, for garnish (optional) paprika, for garnish (optional) olive oil, for garnish (optional) Dandy Celery Dippers pita chips In food processor, puree drained chickpeas, tahini, Buffalo sauce, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Add water through lid until desired consistency is achieved. Spread hummus onto serving plate or bowl. Garnish, if desired, with dairy-free blue cheese, chopped chives, paprika and drizzle of olive oil. Serve with celery dippers and pita chips.
	Preparing the Next Generation for Economic Mobility in an AI-Driven World (Feature Impact) Within only a few years, AI has already changed many things about the world and workforce. Entry-level jobs, particularly the ones relying on routine and predictable tasks, are increasingly disappearing to automation, leaving young people wondering how to launch their careers and futures. Access to economic mobility - the ability to change your income or wealth - doesn't just rely on technical knowledge and skills but on leaning into humanity. Being able to think outside the box, collaborate, solve problems and grow as a person can open doors in life and at work. AI may be changing the world, but in change lies opportunity. The students who can adapt quickly are more likely to prosper as the economy continues to reshape itself. To learn what preparing students for the future may look like in practice, consider these tips from the economic and career experts at Junior Achievement. Build the Kinds of Skills AI Can't Replace Young people facing AI as their competition can get a boost from cultivating the uniquely human skills technology can't replicate. Educators, parents and other adults in kids' lives can help them develop increasingly important soft skills like critical thinking, communication, teamwork and leadership, which can translate to many different careers. Hands-on skills can fit into this category as well, like the kinds required in entrepreneurship and the trades. Provide Real-World Experiences When young people have the chance to test themselves in a real-world setting, it lets them hone their interests, skills and confidence before the time comes to make major decisions about their futures. As early as elementary school, experiential learning activities like Junior Achievement's Biztown allow students to operate businesses, work with others, manage finances and solve problems, combining in-class learning with hands-on simulations. As kids grow up, other options can include job shadowing, internships and entrepreneurship experiments - all ways to build durable social and professional skills that can help them succeed. Teach Foundational Financial Literacy Earning money is only part of the equation for a healthy financial future; equally important is understanding how to manage it. As kids prepare to earn their first sources of income, make sure they're also equipped with practical financial skills like budgeting, saving, investing, using credit wisely and planning for future goals. Giving them these tools early helps them make informed decisions about their long-term economic advancement. Connect Students with Employers and Opportunities Sometimes, all a student needs to succeed is someone who's willing to give them a chance. Young people in a position to meet business professionals in (and beyond) their communities may be able to turn those connections into future opportunities. This can happen naturally as they seek real-world experiences through apprenticeships, mentorship programs, career fairs and more. Programs like Junior Achievement's 3DE puts students in authentic business challenges, connecting them with educators, business partners and volunteers as they work in teams to complete case experiences. This not only gives young people the opportunity to meet potential employers or mentors, it also lets them demonstrate critical thinking, social skills and real-world competence. Visit jausa.ja.org for more ideas to help young people gain the confidence and connections needed to achieve economic mobility in a changing world. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
	Type 2 Diabetes Doesn't Have to Be Your Future: Medicare Has a Benefit That Can Help (Feature Impact) Nearly 1 in 2 people age 65 and older has prediabetes - a condition where blood sugar (glucose) levels run higher than normal. Left unchecked, prediabetes can progress to type 2 diabetes. However, with the right support, prediabetes can often be managed or even reversed. If you have Medicare, you may qualify for a Medicare-covered program that can help you lower your chances of developing type 2 diabetes - at no cost to you. The Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program is a covered Medicare benefit that gives you practical tools, personalized support, and proven strategies to make healthy lifestyle changes. Learn how to eat better, exercise more, and build healthy habits that stick while guided by a certified coach who helps you every step of the way. Research shows the program works. People with prediabetes who complete the program result in weight loss, which ultimately leads to reduced risk of type 2 diabetes onset. What can you expect? Prevention does not mean you have to make big changes all at once. This program helps you take small, realistic steps that can add up to lasting results. It includes 16 core sessions where you can learn how to reduce your diabetes risk by making healthier meals, moving more, and building healthy habits. The core sessions are followed by six months of monthly maintenance sessions to help you keep your momentum. You can choose the class format that works for you You can enroll in these services from approved Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program suppliers and participate in the way most convenient for you: In-Person: Attend sessions in a community location. Live-Distance Learning: Join interactive group sessions from home. Self-Paced Online: This new option allows you to access online content and learn on your own schedule. Visit www.medicare.gov/PreventDiabetes to find a class that's right for you. Who is eligible? You may qualify if you are enrolled in Medicare Part B and meet these criteria: Have had one of the following test results within the past 12 months: Hemoglobin A1c between 5.7% and 6.4% Fasting plasma glucose between 110 and 125 mg/dL Two-hour plasma glucose between 140 and 199 mg/dL after an oral glucose tolerance test Have a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher (or 23 or higher if you self-report as Asian descent). Have never been diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes or end-stage renal disease (ESRD). What does it cost? If you have Medicare Part B and qualify for the program, you pay nothing to participate. If you are in a Medicare Advantage Plan, you may have to go to an in-network provider to get these services. Contact your plan for more information. Ready to get started on your healthier future? Take control of your health on your own terms, schedule, and pace that fits into your life. Check with your doctor to find out if you have prediabetes or are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. If you're eligible for the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program, your doctor can refer you, or you can enroll on your own. If you're ready to get started today, find the class that's right for you at: www.medicare.gov/PreventDiabetes. Information provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Photos courtesy of Shutterstock
	'Give Like a Kid Again' for Real-World Impact This Halloween (Feature Impact) Costumes. Candy. Jack-o-lanterns glowing on porches. Halloween is filled with moments that spark children's imaginations. This Halloween, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF is inviting children and families to "Give Like a Kid Again," turning imagination into kindness and helping children around the world. For eight decades, the campaign has shown children that even the smallest act of kindness can travel farther than any front porch and shine brighter than any jack-o-lantern. As the longest-running youth engagement campaign in the United States, it has inspired generations of children to discover that when kids help kids, one Halloween tradition can turn into a lifetime of impact. What started with just $17 in 1950, when a small group of children filled milk cartons with spare change to help children recovering from World War II, has grown into one of America's most beloved Halloween traditions, raising nearly $200 million to help the organization deliver lifesaving support for children around the world. Today, the iconic orange collection box reminds families that small acts of generosity can create lasting change. "Each Halloween, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF reminds us that even the smallest acts of generosity can grow into something extraordinary," said Shelley Diamond, chief marketing officer, UNICEF USA. "For more than 75 years, this campaign has shown generations of children that you are never too young to make a difference and 'Give Like a Kid Again' is about passing that belief on to the next generation." Beyond supporting programs in more than 190 countries and territories, donations strengthen the organization's global humanitarian supply network, delivering emergency essentials like therapeutic food, medicine, blankets and safe water to children impacted by conflict, disasters and disease. Be a mermaid and help make waves for clean water. Help provide safe water for a child for a year for $5. Be a vampire and help scare away preventable diseases. World Polio Day, just a week before Halloween, provides an opportunity to protect 200 children under age 5 from polio with a $43 donation. Be a scientist and help uncover lifesaving answers. Provide 25 malaria diagnostic tests for just $8, helping children receive timely treatment. Be a teacher and help children write their next chapter. Provide 1,000 pencils to help children put their ideas, lessons and dreams on paper for $30. Be a chef and help cook up a healthier future. Over a two-month period, $10 can treat 15 children by providing 450 packets of micronutrient powder. Be an astronaut and help a girl reach for the stars. To help six girls feel confident in school, $36 can provide reusable menstrual pads. Be a snowman and help bundle up a child against the cold. A donation of $50 could provide a child in an emergency setting with winter clothing, including a jacket, hat, scarf, mittens, socks, winter boots, a warm sweater and warm puffball trousers. Be a soccer player (or referee) and help kick off playtime. Provide up to four packages of soccer balls for a child-friendly space for $25 to help kids just be kids again. This October, everyone can "Give Like a Kid Again" through the iconic orange collection box, online fundraising and family-friendly activities. Visit unicefusa.org/TOT2026 to join the tradition and help make a difference for children around the world.
	5 Ways to Make a Difference in Your Community (Feature Impact) Communities are strengthened every day by local organizations working to address challenges close to home, whether that's helping families access food, supporting students, expanding opportunity or providing essential resources to those who need them most. Often operating with limited resources, these organizations are finding practical solutions that make a meaningful difference in neighborhoods and communities across the country. Many of these efforts happen quietly, powered by people who volunteer their time, share their expertise, donate resources or simply help spread awareness of causes they care about. For individuals looking to make a difference where they live, community involvement doesn't have to start with a large commitment. Consider these five options to get involved. Give Your Time Giving your time is one of the most direct ways to support organizations serving your community. Whether it's packing meals, mentoring young people or participating in neighborhood cleanups, volunteering allows people to contribute directly while gaining a deeper understanding of local needs. Share Your Skills Nonprofits often need specialized skills in addition to hands-on volunteer support. Communications support, technology expertise, event planning, photography, financial guidance and other professional skills can help organizations expand their reach and strengthen their operations. Contributing the skills you've developed can often be just as valuable as donating time or resources. Tap Into Your Workplace Many employers offer opportunities to support causes that matter to their employees, such as volunteer programs, community grants or other charitable opportunities. In communities across the country, local nonprofits can receive support through programs like the PepsiCo Foundation's Community Impact Awards, where employees can nominate nonprofit organizations in their local communities for grant funding. Since 2022, the program has invested more than $3.7 million into organizations working on issues ranging from food access to education and community development. "Across North America, there are organizations showing up every day for their communities, often without recognition and with limited resources," said Monica Bauer, SVP of social impact, PepsiCo and president of the PepsiCo Foundation. "The Community Impact Awards help shine a light on organizations that are creating opportunities, solving local challenges and making a real difference in people's lives. What makes this program special is that the recognition comes from PepsiCo associates who know these organizations firsthand and have seen their impact up close." This year, 100 organizations across the U.S. and Canada received $500,000 total in grants and teamed up with their respective nominating employees for volunteer activities supporting their missions, giving employees another opportunity to engage directly. Give What You Can Financial contributions are a valuable way to give back, but they aren't the only option. Many organizations need non-monetary donations such as school supplies, canned goods, clothing, toys and technology. Before collecting items, check with organizations to learn what is most needed and how contributions can make the greatest impact. Use Your Voice One person can make a difference. When that person gets a friend or family member involved, more people can discover and support organizations doing important work. Sharing a nonprofit's mission on social media, inviting others to volunteer or connecting people with causes you care about can help organizations reach new supporters and expand their impact. Making a difference doesn't require doing everything at once. Whether you contribute your time, skills, resources or advocacy, small actions can help make a big impact over time. Across the U.S., nonprofit organizations are helping improve lives, create opportunities and respond to community needs every day. Their work is a reminder that meaningful change often starts locally with people willing to get involved. Learn more about how individuals and organizations can help address some of the most pressing needs in their communities by visiting PepsiCo.com/about/social-impact.
	5 comidas fáciles en bandeja para horno con uvas de California (Feature Impact) Cocinar en una bandeja para horno hace que las comidas entre semana sean mucho m s f ciles, y las uvas frescas les dan un toque especial e inesperado. Asadas junto al pollo, las verduras, el gnocchi y m s, las uvas se vuelven c lidas y jugosas, a adiendo un toque de dulzura que complementa los sabores salados y hace que los platos sencillos se sientan un poco m s especiales. Desde cenas y acompa amientos deliciosos hasta un postre que encantar a todos, estas recetas aportan algo inesperado al cocinar todo en una sola bandeja para hornear, sin complicaciones adicionales. Encuentre m s ideas de recetas familiares visitando GrapesFromCalifornia.com. Pollo con uvas de California y salvia - Esta sencilla cena preparada en una bandeja para horno combina pollo sazonado con salvia y uvas de California, calabaza butternut, cebolla morada y ajo. A medida que todo se asa junto, las uvas se vuelven c lidas y jugosas, mientras que el vinagre de sidra de manzana a ade un contraste brillante y cido. Es una comida f cil y colorida que ofrece mucho sabor, con una limpieza m nima. Camotes y uvas de California asados - Los camotes y las uvas de California forman una deliciosa combinaci n en este colorido acompa amiento que es f cil de preparar. Asar las uvas realza su dulzura natural, mientras que el vinagre bals mico, la cebolla y la albahaca fresca a aden notas saladas y cidas para equilibrar. S rvalo junto con su prote na favorita o agr guelo a un taz n de granos para una manera sencilla de incorporar m s frutas y vegetales al plato. Gnocchi y uvas de California asados - El tierno gnocchi ( oquis), las jugosas uvas de California asadas, el broccolini y la cebolla morada se combinan en esta deliciosa comida preparada en una sola bandeja. El tomillo fresco, el queso feta y la ralladura de lim n equilibran la dulzura de las uvas con sabores salados, ligeramente cidos y frescos. Con solo 25 minutos en el horno, es una manera f cil de convertir ingredientes cotidianos en una deliciosa cena sin carne. Pollo con uvas de California asadas, zanahorias y chiriv as - El comino y la c rcuma con sus aromas c lidos y especiados le dan mucho sabor a esta contundente cena de pollo preparada en una bandeja, mientras que las zanahorias, las chiriv as, las cebollas y las uvas de California completan la comida. Las uvas a aden un toque de dulzor y jugosidad que complementan las verduras de ra z terrosas y las especias saladas. Todo se cocina junto en una sola bandeja para una cena colorida y satisfactoria con una limpieza f cil. Tarta de manzana y uvas de California en bandeja para horno - Las manzanas cidas y las jugosas uvas negras de California le dan un delicioso giro al cl sico pie de manzana en este postre preparado en una bandeja para horno, ideal para grupos. Las frutas se hornean bajo una corteza dorada de masa enrejada, mientras que las uvas a aden color, dulzura y una textura jugosa a cada rebanada. Dise ado para servir a 16 personas, es un postre atractivo para disfrutar en d as festivos, fiestas y otras celebraciones.
	Over $6,790 stolen in fake phone scam, West Burlington police say More than $6,790 was stolen from a Walmart kiosk in a fake phone scam, police said.
	Second Chance Takes Flight: Two Rehabilitated Bald Eagles Return to the Wild in Fulton Two bald eagles rescued from injury and illness were released in Fulton after months of rehabilitation, marking a first-ever double release for Hog Capital Wildlife.
	Your Child’s Future is Unpredictable: These 5 Steps Can Help You Prepare Anyway (BPT) - Today's children may pursue careers and education pathways that look very different from the ones their parents knew. These five practical steps can help families keep more possibilities within reach.Key takeawaysFamilies do not need to know a child's future career to begin preparing for it.A flexible approach can support a range of education and training pathways.Small, consistent steps can make future choices feel more manageable.Ask a young child what they want to be when they grow up, and the answer may change by the week. Even older students are exploring a rapidly evolving mix of careers, credentials and training options. For parents, that uncertainty can make planning feel intimidating. How do you prepare when you cannot know whether your child will choose a university, a technical program, an apprenticeship or a career that does not exist yet?The good news is that families do not need a perfect prediction. They need a practical plan that can grow and adapt along with their child. These five steps can help parents focus less on choosing a path today and more on creating options for tomorrow.1. Start with possibilities, not one destination Instead of building a plan around a single school or career, think broadly about the kinds of learning your child may need after high school. That could include a two-year or four-year degree, career and technical education, industry credentials or another eligible training program. A broader mindset can reduce the pressure to have every detail figured out now.2. Turn a big goal into a repeatable habitFuture education costs can feel overwhelming when viewed as one large number. A more approachable strategy is to choose a contribution into a savings vehicle such as a 529 Investment Plan that fits your current budget and make it consistent. Consider automating deposits after payday, redirecting part of a tax refund or adding a portion of a raise. The amount can change as your circumstances change. The habit is what creates momentum. The elementary school years can be an especially valuable time to begin because families often have more years to save, allowing small contributions to accumulate over time.3. Give family and friends an easy way to help Birthdays, holidays and milestones often bring more toys and gifts than a child can use. Let grandparents, relatives and close friends know that contributing toward future education is another meaningful option. Even occasional gifts can complement what parents are already saving and help loved ones feel connected to a child's long-term goals.4. Check your plan once a yearChoose one annual reminder, such as your child's birthday or the start of a new school year, to review your progress. Ask whether the contribution still fits your budget, update family information and consider whether your goals have changed. A short yearly check-in can help keep the plan current without making it another monthly task.5. Choose tools that leave room for changeWhen comparing education savings options, look beyond the name of the account. Ask where the funds may be used, what expenses may qualify, whether the beneficiary can be changed and what happens if plans shift. Understanding those choices from the start can help families select an approach that supports multiple routes after high school.For Miami parent Ann Fonts, opening an education savings account wasn't about having all the answers. It was about getting started. "Like a lot of parents, I thought I had more time," Fonts said. "Then one day I was registering my son for kindergarten and wondering where the years had gone. We didn't start with a large amount. We just started with what we could afford and made it part of our routine. For me, the biggest lesson was that you don't have to be perfect. You just have to start."As children grow, their interests and ambitions will change. A flexible plan gives families room to respond without waiting for certainty before they begin.The most important first step is not choosing the perfect path or saving the perfect amount. It is starting with what is realistic, building a routine and revisiting the plan over time. Those actions can help turn an unpredictable future into one filled with more opportunity. Whether today's dream is becoming a teacher, welder, nurse, entrepreneur, engineer or a career that hasn't been invented yet, parents don't need to know exactly where their child is headed to help them prepare. Starting early and taking manageable steps today can help keep more opportunities within reach tomorrow.To explore education savings options and build a plan around your family's goals and budget, visit MyFloridaPrepaid.com/plans/build-your-plan.
	Muscatine open house brings families and first responders together Muscatine families learned fire safety, practiced CPR and met first responders at a city open house aimed at building community connections after a difficult summer.

Monday, October 5th, 2026

Sunday, October 4th, 2026