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7 dead, more than 30 hospitalized in I-55 crash

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:26:02 GMT

DIVERNON, Ill. (AP/WGN) — Both lanes of I-55 reopened Tuesday morning hours after a windstorm in central Illinois causing numerous crashes that killed at least seven people Monday, police said.Seven people were killed in a 72-car pileup late Monday morning near mile marker 76, between Diveron and Farmersville, about 20 miles south of Springfield. Multiple tractor-trailers were among the vehicles involved, two of which caught fire, Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said.I-55 was shut down in both directions in Montgomery County, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of St. Louis.More than 30 people on both sides of I-55 were transported to hospitals with injuries.Those hurt in the crash range in age from 2 to 80 and have injuries from minor to life-threatening, police said. One of the seven people killed was Shirley Harper, 88, of Franklin, Wisconsin, police said.Authorities held a news conference Tuesday morning and said they are seeking the public's help to identify two of the vic...

Non-profit offering temporary housing for migrants stuck in limbo after CPD orders

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:26:02 GMT

CHICAGO — In a city feeling the weight of an influx of migrants coming into the United States, a Chicago non-profit was ready to step in and help.Until — in their words — they couldn't.United Legion One Nation (ULON), came to the Chicago Police Department's 3rd District Tuesday to offer their resource center as temporary housing for migrants, who are currently camping out in the breezeway entrance to the police station."It looks like a third-world country," said Pete Keller, founder of ULON. ‘We simply have no more shelters:’ Lightfoot implores Abbott to stop sending migrants Keller told WGN, at ULON's resource center just two blocks from CPD's 3rd District police station, "they have heat. They have two TVs. They have a spacious area, a jumpy house for kids. Coloring books, everything you would need to keep and sustain a family."And as Keller and other volunteers prepared to help move migrants from the police station, they were stopped."From what we were told, the higher-ups tol...

Police, IDPH respond to 'severe staffing concern' at nursing home in northern suburbs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:26:02 GMT

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. — Three people are in the hospital after police in the northern suburbs and the Illinois Department of Public Health received reports of what police called "a severe staffing concern" at a nursing home Monday.The Lincolnshire Police Department said they received the report shortly after 9 a.m., with the Wealshire LLC rehabilitation facility found at 150 Jamestown Lane being cited as the nursing home having a severe staffing concern.After arriving at the nursing home, police found the establishment is typically staffed with over 60 employees, but only one-third of staff members were present at the time for work.According to IDPH, when their staff arrived, the facility medical director told them no nursing or other clinical staff were on duty at the facility.Lincolnshire PD worked in conjunction with Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District (LRFPD) to address the situation, and LRFPD took three individuals to Advocate Condell Medical Center for medical treat...

St. Andrew teacher wins prestigious Golden Apple Award

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:26:02 GMT

CHICAGO — From the outside, it seemed like a typical Tuesday at St. Andrew School in Lakeview. But inside, students and staff came together with eager anticipation to let 6th grade teacher Rachel Werderits in on a big secret.She’s the recipient of the prestigious Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching."Students talked about her riding her bike and running by their houses and writing notes to each of her students in chalk and also problems on the sidewalk," said Alan Mather, President of the Golden Apple Foundation. "And so, when they’d get on Zoom, it was like 'whose house did she visit today?'"Werderits has taught at St. Andrew for 14 years, and she’s known since the fifth grade that this was her calling."I started taking chalk from school and using the back of my bedroom door as a chalkboard and I taught imaginary lessons in my bedroom," Werderits said.And on Tuesday, all her hard work paid off."I am very humbled and honored to be recognized," Werderits said. "The challenge...

Underwater 19th-century hospital, graveyard uncovered in Florida Keys

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:26:02 GMT

KEY WEST, Fla. (WFLA) — Archaeologists have found the remains of a 19th-century quarantine hospital on what was once an above-sea island in the Florida Keys, according to the National Park Service.Monday, Dry Tortugas National Park announced the discovery of the archaeological site near Garden Key. It was found as part of a survey first conducted in August 2022 by cultural resources staff, the National Park Service’s Submerged Resources Center, the Southeast Archeological Center, and a University of Miami graduate student. Federal judge rules Pennsylvania school district must allow After School Satan Club Park officials said the hospital was used to treat yellow fever patients from Fort Jefferson between 1890 and 1900.So far, only one grave has been identified. Officials said it belonged to laborer John Greer, who died on Nov. 5, 1861, of unknown causes while working at Fort Jefferson. According to the National Park Service, Greer's grave was a headstone-shaped slab of greywacke, ...

How the Clean Air Force of Central Texas started

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:26:02 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Clean Air Force of Central Texas got its start in 1994 when Clean Air Metro Austin became the Austin AIR Force. The organization was renamed to its present moniker early in 1996.This group has one goal in mind and that is clean air for all in Central Texas.They partner with 38 organizations from various walks of life. Some of their partners are educational institutions, including the Austin Independent School District, Austin Community College and the University of Texas at Austin. They also partner with governmental agencies and environmental groups.KXAN's Rich Segal spoke with Clean Air Force of Central Texas Executive Director Bill Gibbs. One of the things they discussed was to define what particulate matter is. It is, at times, a part of the KXAN Air Quality Forecast.One source of pride for the organization is that Austin is always in compliance with Environmental Protection Agency standards.

UT grad students facing financial struggles, asking for increased salaries

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:26:02 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Graduate students at the University of Texas are sharing their financial struggles with the UT administration."My rent going up from last year to this year, the cost of a bunch of other things are going up," said Jonathan Rojas, a UT master's student in the Institution of Latin American Studies. "That wiggle room is gone."Rojas said the cost to live in Austin and be a student working with the university has posed many challenges."The university isn't really understanding the situation graduate students are in," Deepesh Verma, who shares the same views with Rojas, said. "We are making below a living wage in Austin."The minimum teaching assistant and assistant instructor salary for UT doctoral and terminal master's students is $19,570 for positions that are 20 hours per week for nine months, but the university said there are opportunities to make more."We all deserve to make a living wage and we all deserve to be paid equitably which is the same dollar amount not based...

Inver Grove Heights officer, father of 3, dies after medical emergency

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:26:02 GMT

A 35-year-old Inver Grove Heights police officer and decorated Army veteran known as a “dedicated family man” died Sunday after a medical emergency, the police department announced Tuesday.Ben Bidon joined the police department in 2015. He was in the Army from 2005 to 2009, and served a 14-month tour in Iraq.He worked for Inver Grove Heights as a crime scene technician, field training officer, firearms and use of force instructor, SWAT operator, and team leader and was currently assigned to the investigation unit. He “was compassionate and diligent in his duties and served the public with pride,” the department wrote on Facebook. “He worked tirelessly to make this community safe.”Inver Grove Heights Police Officer Ben Bidon. (Courtesy of the Inver Grove Heights Police Department)Inver Grove Heights police and firefighters along with M Health Fairview paramedics responded to a medical emergency Friday; Bidon was off duty, according to the departmen...

Staff member assaulted at state sex offender treatment facility in Moose Lake

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:26:02 GMT

MOOSE LAKE, Minn. — A staff member was airlifted to a hospital Monday after being assaulted by a resident of the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in Moose Lake.Authorities responded to a 911 call regarding the assault at about 1:23 p.m., the Carlton County sheriff’s office said in a news release. A 53-year-old man was transported via air ambulance to a Duluth hospital, KSTP-TV reported.KSTP, citing the Minnesota Department of Human Services, said the MSOP resident attacked the staff member from behind and bludgeoned him with a heavy object. The assault continued, with kicks to the head, until other staff members intervened.A 29-year-old male client of the program was arrested and transported to the Carlton County jail, pending charges of second- and fourth-degree assault. KSTP identified him as Nicolas Ladell Aron-Jones.MSOP houses civilly committed sex offenders at secure campuses in Moose Lake and St. Peter. Most MSOP residents have completed prison sentences.The sheriff’s off...

Blessing of the Brains prepare Siena students for finals

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:26:02 GMT

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Some local college students gathered on Tuesday to spiritually and mentally prepare for final exams. Siena College hosted the annual Blessing of the Brains at the school's chapel. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Tuesday was Reading Day, which students can use to study before their exams start on Wednesday. Students said it was important to be in the right mindset before beginning the final push to the end of the semester."So it's always nice to prepare ourselves spiritually so we can prepare ourselves academically and do as well as we can on our finals," student Christina Amari said.The school also offered bananas, bagels and bacon, so students were properly fed before going off to study.