By Jenna Wilson While her original life journey didn’t include advocating for abused children, Carrie Watkins had a change of heart and felt the need to be a voice for so many in St. Joseph. Watkins graduated from Missouri Western in 2003 with a bachelor’s in social work and a minor in gerontology, with an
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By Kendra Simpson Everyone wants to know their family members are receiving the best possible treatment when dealing with an illness as scary as cancer. Those who have had the honor of meeting Dana McDaniel knew they would receive that very treatment. “I get to see people at their most vulnerable states which is something
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By Cameron Montemayor Over the last 14 years, longtime Central High School history teacher Jeff Carter has helped turn the school’s Scholar Bowl program into a state powerhouse while mentoring countless students to academic success along the way. A desire to coach ultimately led Carter, a former Central alum, to start the Scholar Bowl program
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By Kendra Simpson Growing up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean Paul Mundungu experienced first hand the privilege of clean water, which is why he’s dedicated so much time, effort and money to helping others across the world. In 2011, after being drafted into the Diversity Visa Lottery, Mundungu moved to St. Joseph with
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By Kendra Simpson Annie Bramlage knew exactly the person she wanted to be by the age of 10. Today, she’s not only living out her dreams but also teaching hundreds of students to live out their own. Bramlage has lived a life dedicated to theatre. Her father passed on his passion of theatre to Bramlage,
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By Cameron Montemayor Doug and Carol Walter live by the saying ‘Bloom where you’re planted.” Doug, the minister at Ashland United Methodist Church, and Carol, a retired nurse, have firmly planted their roots in the community after relocating here eight years ago to follow Doug’s ministry work. Married for 43 years, the Walters have exemplified
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By Kirsten Stokes Striving to do everything for the glory of God, Karon Milbourn doesn’t see her acts of service as her own, but as a ministry to bring light and encouragement to others. Spreading sunshine to nursing homes since May, Milbourn is a part of the “Sunshine Ladies.” Once a month, the group goes
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By JACK THOMPSON – Associated Press FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Lahai Makieu struck the bamboo with a machete until it cracked and fell. Balancing on his crutch, he reached to pick it up. But colleagues pulled the bamboo’s other end, and he tumbled into the dense grass. “They forgot I had one leg,” the
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By DAVID A. LIEB – Associated Press Artificial intelligence. Abortion. Guns. Marijuana. Minimum wages. Name a hot topic, and chances are good there’s a new law about it taking effect in 2025 in one state or another. Many of the laws launching in January are a result of legislation passed this year. Others stem from
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By SAŠA KAVIĆ – Associated Press ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia’s left-leaning president, an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, is running for reelection this weekend against an array of contenders, including the candidate backed by the conservative government. President Zoran Milanović is seen as a favorite ahead
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By RODRIGO ABD – Associated Press VILLA GOBERNADOR GALVEZ, Argentina (AP) — From its headwaters in Brazil, the Paraguay River flows hundreds of miles (kilometers) south to where it joins the Parana River to form a single 2,100-mile (3,400-kilometer) waterway that carries much of the agricultural and mineral wealth of South America to the Atlantic.
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By ALEXA ST. JOHN – Associated Press People around the world suffered an average of 41 extra days of dangerous heat this year because of human-caused climate change, according to a group of scientists who also said that climate change worsened much of the world’s damaging weather throughout 2024. The analysis from World Weather Attribution
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By The Associated Press Today is Friday, Dec. 27, the 362nd day of 2024. There are four days left in the year. Today in history: On Dec. 27, 2007, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a shooting and bomb attack that killed at least 20 people in the city of Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Continue Reading By HUIZHONG WU – Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — China launched a new amphibious assault ship Friday, capable of launching fighter jets and designed to strengthen the navy’s combat ability in distant seas. The Sichuan, the first ship of the 076 type, is China’s largest such ship yet, displacing 40,000 tons and equipped with an
Continue Reading By LORI PILGER – Lincoln Journal Star, Neb. (TNS) Two teenagers died in separate crashes on Christmas Day, one in a rollover in rural Buffalo County and the other in a two-vehicle crash in Grand Island. The first happened just before 3 a.m. Wednesday. The Grand Island Police Department said officers were sent to South
Continue Reading By SHELLY KULHANEK – Lincoln Journal Star, Neb. (TNS) Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen underwent a second successful surgery on Christmas Day to help stabilize the broken ribs he suffered when he fell from a horse on Sunday. “The procedure was a success and Gov. Pillen was returned to the step-down unit where he will continue
Continue Reading By MATT OLBERDING – Lincoln Journal Star, Neb. (TNS) A 16-year-old was arrested Tuesday after police say he shot and killed his 20-year-old brother in a case of mistaken identity. Lincoln police said at a news conference Tuesday morning that they were called to the Bridgeport Apartments near 14th and Superior streets at about 12:30
Continue Reading By JENNA EBBERS – Lincoln Journal Star, Neb. (TNS) Three local organizations were recently awarded thousands of dollars in grant funding to expand after-school programs and other opportunities available to Lincoln students throughout the year. Lincoln Community Learning Centers, Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln and the Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center received a combined $264,000
Continue Reading By L. KENT WOLGAMOTT – Lincoln Journal Star, Neb. (TNS) In “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence,” a reporter famously says, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend,” which is what director James Mangold, his co-writer Jay Cocks and his superb cast do with Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.” Loosely based on Elijah
Continue Reading By MARGARET REIST – Lincoln Journal Star, Neb. (TNS) Accessible playground, 12.19 Lincoln Parks and Recreation Director Maggie Stuckey-Ross (from left), Alex Toalson and Brent Toalson pose for a portrait at the Antelope Park playground last week in Lincoln. The first time Brent Toalson and Maggie Stuckey-Ross worked together, he was a teacher at Lincoln
Continue Reading By ALEX VARGAS – Lincoln Journal Star, Neb. (TNS) A 78-year-old Lincoln man who was found dead in his home early Christmas Eve after a fire in central Lincoln has been identified as James Ihrie. His death was declared accidental in an autopsy, the Lincoln Police Department said in a news release Thursday. Officers were
Continue Reading By ALEX VARGAS – Lincoln Journal Star, Neb. (TNS) Lincoln Police news conference on fatal shooting, Dec. 24 A 16-year-old has been charged as an adult with manslaughter in the fatal shooting death of his 20-year-old brother on Christmas Eve in what police said was a case of mistaken identity. Kentrail McDaniel was charged Thursday
Continue Reading By NEAL FRANKLIN – Lincoln Journal Star, Neb. (TNS) Lego Party Bus, 12.19 Abel Handly, 13 (right), and Ezra Tanner, 12, inspect the Lego castle they built together during a competition inside the Brick Bus on Dec. 19. For an experienced Lego builder, entering the Brick Bus starts with a challenge. On this day, six
Continue Reading By Lincoln Journal Star, Neb. (TNS) Boy Scout Tree Pickup, 12.26 Boy Scout Troop 8’s Harrison Bishop tosses a Christmas tree off a trailer onto a collection pile in December 2023 at Woods Park during a “Scouting for Trees” pickup day. The city is again providing Christmas tree drop-off sites this year through Jan. 20
Continue Reading By ALEX VARGAS – Lincoln Journal Star, Neb. (TNS) A 78-year-old man was found dead in his home early Christmas Eve after a fire in central Lincoln. The Lincoln Police Department was called to a home in the 500 block of South 39th Street at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday for a welfare check after a
Continue Reading By AP 2 sailors die in the stormy first night of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, organizers say Two sailors on separate boats have been killed in boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the annual Sydney to Hobart race, adding to the event’s long history of deaths at sea.
Continue Reading By AP Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen’s capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital and multiple ports, while the World Health Organization’s director-general said the bombardment occurred nearby as he prepared to board
Continue Reading By NINA BAKER – Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa (TNS) A Davenport doula who specializes in end-of-life care has joined with the Midwest Writing Center to host a workshop on poetry as an expression of grief. The Dec. 28 “Narrating Grief Through Poetry” event focuses on using poetry and sound to capture, process and release
Continue Reading By OLIVIA ALLEN – Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa (TNS) Over the past two weeks, most Quad-Cities schools have celebrated the holidays in some fashion to keep their students engaged before winter break. Several schools host annual concerts or Christmas recitals during this time, while many teachers or clubs sponsor themed parties. Others, however, took
Continue Reading By NINA BAKER – Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa (TNS) The Swampland Jewels, a fusion band mixing Iowa charm and Gulf Coast soul, will perform on Sunday, Jan. 19, for the first 2025 show in Polyrhythms’ Third Sunday Jazz series. “Let The Swampland Jewels take you on a trip down old Highway 61, and across
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