I am a national correspondent for The New York Times based in Chicago, covering news primarily from the Midwest and Great Plains.What I CoverI travel regularly to cover stories in the American Midwest, a vast and fascinating region that spans parts of three time zones. My territory includes some of the country's biggest cities and some of its most remote parts, presenting a range of issues. I write frequently about state politics, agriculture, property rights, gun violence, natural disasters, and policing.My reporting focuses on Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, but I've…
Author: Cecil Larson
UPDATE: NCSD Public Relations Director Tanya Southerland provided some further information in response to questions about an investigation into an alleged threat at Midwest School that “found no documented threat to students or staff.” This article has been updated. CASPER, Wyo. — The Natrona County School District confirmed Thursday that a report was made to Midwest School administration alleging a “concern for the safety of the school” on Friday, Jan. 21. “An investigation was immediately initiated Friday by Midwest School officials regarding the report received,” NCSD said in a statement sent to Midwest School families Thursday. “The investigation continued this…
By Mary Gilbert, CNN meteorologist (CNN) — Winter is lost in the Midwest and Great Lakes, and time is running out to find it. Dozens of cities are on track for one of the warmest winters on record, making snow and ice rare commodities. Many cities are missing feet of snow compared to a typical winter, ice on the Great Lakes is near record lows, and spring temperatures have even produced rare winter storms. ONE classic El Niño pattern combined with its effects warming climate they are to blame for this “non-winter” winter, he said Pete Boulay, climatologist at the…
Becky Malevich | South Bend TribuneJim Huntington went to a quarry in Colorado last May and left with 88,000 pounds of granite in two trailers. He has between £40,000 and £50,000 left.The sculptor – born in Elkhart in 1941 and raised there – estimates that throughout his career, he has gone through hundreds of tons of rock.”That's why I have arthritis,” she says from Coupland, Texas, where she lives and works. “If I was sedentary or did something less abusive to my system, I probably wouldn't have the arthritis symptoms to the extent that I do. I use every type…
KANSAS CITY, Mo., February 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — CareSpot and HCA Midwest Health System continue to expand access to services by a sixth Kansas City Area Urgent Care Center Opening February 17, 2014. Located at 13551 Madison Avenue in Kansas City, Missourithis center will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m, seven days a week. The general public is invited to attend the Commencement Celebrations on February 27 – 28 of 4pm to 7pmor to March 1st from 12pm to 4pm. Visitors are invited to stop by the new South Kansas City center during these times to meet staff, enjoy…
After four years of operation, the Friends of the Midwest Theater Board of Directors voted to cease operations at the Skyview Drive-In at their January board meeting. In March 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the theaters were closed. Friends of the Midwest Theater responded to the community's need for safe gathering by opening the first SkyView Drive-In at Legacy of the Plains. That same summer, the SkyView Drive-In was implemented at the Western Nebraska Regional Airport. With the help of many local businesses and community members, the drive-in has become a favorite destination not only for local…
The University of Wisconsin system is launching a new tutoring program aimed at Midwest neighbors, hoping the program will bring more students back to Badger State colleges.On Thursday, the UW Board of Regents approved the creation of the Midwest non-resident tuition rate. It aims to reverse enrollment declines from neighboring states that are pulling out of a regional initiative known as the Midwest Student Exchange Program, or MSEP. During the 2020-21 academic year, 2,828 students from states like Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas enrolled at Wisconsin universities through MSEP, which offers tuition discounts for non-residents. That represents a 29 percent…
From the northern plains to the Great Lakes, February is usually a time for winter feasting, set against a landscape of deep snow and frozen waterways. But this year, the snow is absent, the ice is dangerously thin and many cities are experiencing the warmest winter on record.In most of Minnesota and Wisconsin, average temperatures are 10 degrees or more above the seasonal average. Ice cover over the Great Lakes is at record lows. Wisconsin even saw its first tornado of February, fueled in part by the warmth.The “Lost Winter” it affects trade in the area: ice fishing opportunities are…
New York CNN — Distinguished above the United Auto Workers strike: Continued migration of automakers to the anti-union South. Beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, the auto industry began to shift to the South, a region long characterized by hostility to labor unions and low wages. Since then, the assembly lines of the UAW's highest-paid workers in Detroit's Big Three – Ford, General Motors and Stellantis – have shrunk. And automakers like Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota and Hyundai have been steadily hiring non-union auto workers, who make less money for essentially the same work, in the South. “The auto industry's…
MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. — HVAC Excellence has announced that the HVACR training program at Midwest Technical Institute in Springfield, Illinois has received accreditation. Program accreditation is an independent, third-party review of an educational program, comparing it to established, industry-accepted standards. These standards are designed to ensure that the future workforce receives the quality education needed to succeed in the HVACR industry.After a thorough review of all documentation presented by the administration, faculty, and on-site accreditation team, the HVAC Excellence accreditation review committee unanimously decided to grant the program accreditation.