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Township officials question River Grove school activities at Warner Nature Center

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:57:24 GMT

Last spring, the Manitou Fund stepped in to save River Grove elementary school after it lost its lease at Wilder Forest in northern Washington County.The White Bear Lake-based fund purchased the Zephyr Theatre building in downtown Stillwater for $2.5 million in June and submitted a plan to overhaul the property to make it suitable for an interim home for the school.Construction on the building, now known as the Manitou Fund Education and Center, is underway. Because River Grove is a public charter school, the plans had to be approved by the state, and the permit for buildout – with a listed valuation of $6.5 million – was issued on Sept. 1, said Tim Gladhill, Stillwater’s community development director.The Manitou Fund Education and Arts Center won’t be ready for several weeks, so school officials and the Manitou Fund, which also owns Warner Nature Center in May Township, came up with a plan to place tents and portable toilets at Warner so the students at the school, which focuses o...

Theater review: Energetic joy of ‘Cookin” makes an appetizing show for an all-ages audience

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:57:24 GMT

Children’s Theatre Company is out to shrink your world. In both 2019 and 2022, it brought an Ethiopian circus troupe to Minneapolis to open its season. And now the company has imported South Korea’s most popular theatrical event of the 21st century, one that’s toured to 323 cities in 60 countries.“Cookin’” first drew attention (and a “Best Performance” award) at Scotland’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1999. You could call it a sequel to the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1998 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, in that it has the same creator (Seung-Whan Song) and it seeks to give the world an entertaining taste of Korean culture.And taste plays a role in “Cookin’,” which is a feast of physical comedy set in a caterer’s kitchen where every surface, pot, pan and utensil becomes a percussion instrument; plates fly; and slicing and dicing are both artistic and chaotic. It’s a show ideal for a multi-generational trip to the theater, one that will inspire plenty of laughter and requir...

AG holds public hearing on Burdett Birth Center

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:57:24 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Attorney General Letitia James held an in-person hearing on Monday for the public to provide official testimony on the potential closure of the Burdett Birth Center. This comes after St. Peter’s Health Partners announced plans to shut down the Burdett Birth Center, the only maternal unit in Rensselaer County. In 2020 Albany Memorial Hospital and Samaritan Hospital, both affiliates of St. Peter's Health Partners, merged and promised there would be no negative impact to services or care provided at either facility. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! “At the time of the merger in 2020, approval of the application was intended to preserve – preserve – maternity services in Rensselaer County, especially for the significant low-income population,” said James. She said the proposed closure of the Burdett Birth Center – where 881 babies were born last year – would break a promise made at the time of that merger,...

5 things to watch as Congress veers toward shutdown

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:57:24 GMT

Congress has less than two weeks to strike a deal on spending or risk a government shutdown, and House Republicans’ opening offer is already hitting roadblocks.The GOP over the weekend unveiled a 160-plus page proposal to keep the government funded, along with a number of wish-list items to fetch conservative support that would have a hard time passing the Democratic-led Senate.But questions are already rising about its chances in the GOP-led House, where more than a dozen hard-line conservatives have come out against the partisan bill less than a day after the text became public.Here are five things to watch for this week. Do conservatives derail proposed CR?House GOP leadership is setting its sights on a vote on the short-term funding bill, also known as continuing resolution (CR), this week.  But the measure has already seen pushback from the party’s right flank, threatening its chances of making it past the House, where Republicans can only afford to lose a handful of GOP v...

Call for volunteers ahead of Belleville Marine’s funeral

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:57:24 GMT

BELLEVILLE, Ill. – The Belleville, Illinois, native who died piloting a Marine Osprey in Australia will be laid to rest this week in her hometown.Visitation for Captain Eleanor “Ellie" LeBeau Cooke takes place Friday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at George Renner & Sons Funeral Home in Belleville. Funeral services will be held Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Peter.Volunteers are needed Thursday to help set up 1,000 American flags along the funeral procession route, and they’ll be needed again on Sunday to help remove the flags.Those who can help are to meet at 200 West Harrison Street in Belleville at 4 p.m. on Thursday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Flagman’s Mission is organizing the effort. LeBeau Cooke and two other Marines died in the crash, which occurred Aug. 27 at 9:30 a.m. local time, on Melville Island, approximately 50 miles north of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Twenty other Marines were injured in the crash. Close Thanks for signin...

Mizzou K Harrison Mevis named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:57:24 GMT

COLUMBIA, Mo. — It was quite the weekend for Mizzou football, especially kicker Harrison Mevis, who drilled the game-winning 61-yard field goal to upset K-State. It was the longest field goal in SEC history and Mevis was lauded for his efforts, being named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. Mizzou fined for rushing field after upset win over K-State The kick was also the longest in NCAA FBS so far this season. This is Mevis' fourth SEC Player of the Week award as he continuously been one of the nations best kickers in his collegiate career.He also made field goals from 25 and 30 in the game against the Wildcats, going 3/4 in total along with making all three extra points.The Tigers will look to build off their momentum as they head to St. Louis to face the Memphis Tigers on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

Staffing challenges in Children's Division leading to large abuse and neglect backlog

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:57:24 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - While the state is seeing a reduction in the number of children in Missouri's foster care system, the Children's Division continues to face major staffing challenges.Currently, there are more than 14,300 child abuse and neglect cases open in Missouri. The Kansas City and St. Louis regions make up about 75% of those cases. The Department of Social Services told lawmakers last week that the way to eliminate that backlog is to hire more investigators."You hire someone in the door, they are simply not going to be able to take the caseload on Monday morning from someone that left on Friday afternoon," Department of Social Services Director Robert Knodell said.A lack of workers is creating chaos for a state agency. In the St. Louis area, there are 6,125 child abuse and neglect cases that have been open for more than 45 days, compared to 3,590 in the Kansas City region."It doesn't seem like we have enough people to do this task," DSS Children's Division Director Darre...

Upon further review: Commanders used screen game to take advantage of Broncos’ defense

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:57:24 GMT

There are many reasons why the Broncos blew an 18-point lead to the Washington Commanders on Sunday. Their inability to stop Commanders quarterback Sam Howell’s screen passes was one of them.Denver was clinging to a 24-21 lead at the start of the fourth quarter when Howell threw a short pass to his left to running back Antonio Gibson, who had plenty of green grass in front of him as he sped down the field for 36 yards. Two plays later, second-year running back Brian Robinson Jr. powered into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown to give the Commanders their first lead at 28-24.As Washington faced a second-and-8 with 10:15 to go, the Broncos blitzed six defenders. With linebacker Josey Jewell and defensive end Zach Allen closing in, Howell dumped the ball off to Robinson, who took advantage of another open field near Washington’s sideline and ran 21 yards for a first down.Eventually, Robinson scored on a 15-yard rushing touchdown, extending the Commanders’ lead to 35-24 with 7:11 left ...

Mother of model found dead in DTLA apartment speaks out

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:57:24 GMT

The mother one of two models who were discovered dead in downtown Los Angeles in the span of a week said she’s been contacted by other loved ones who fear there could be a serial predator out there.“As a parent, you never want to go through this,” said Sharon Coats, the mother of 32-year-old Nichole “Nikki” Coats.She and her family are desperately searching for answers after her daughter was found dead in her high-rise apartment by concerned family members on Sept. 10.An aunt who was among those to make the gruesome discovery said they could not recognize Coats and that her bed was bloodied. “I believe it was murder, I really do,” the aunt said.  Authorities, however, have not revealed anything about Coats' cause and manner of death. Two days after Coats’ body was found, 31-year-old Maleesa Mooney, who was a model and a real estate agent, was found dead in her luxury apartment in Bunker Hill. 2 models found dead in downtown Los Angeles: What we know It remains unclear how Mooney...

Police searching for shooting suspect in Orange County

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:57:24 GMT

Police in Huntington Beach are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect accused of shooting another man over the weekend, officials announced on Monday.  The incident occurred Sunday around 11 p.m. in the area of Beach Boulevard and MacDonald Drive, according to the Huntington Beach Police Department. Officers were dispatched to the area on reports of a man suffering a gunshot wound. The victim was located at the scene and was rushed to a nearby trauma center where he is expected to survive.  After an extensive search of the area, police were unable to find the suspect, described as a Black male adult in his mid-20's with facial hair and short, black braided hair. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, sweatpants, a hat and white and black Nike shoes.  On Monday, officials released a grainy surveillance photo of the suspect walking down the sidewalk.  Surveillance photo released by Huntington Beach Police Department of an alleged shooting suspect fr...