Great Plains News Digest
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IOWA
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US–Dying to Serve-Benefits-Backlog
Sen. Grassley calls delays at a benefits program for deceased officers ‘absolutely unacceptable’
SUMMARY: A powerful U.S. senator is calling on the Trump administration to fix a growing claims backlog at the program that promises benefits when police and firefighters die or become disabled in the line of duty. Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He says the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program is failing the families of deceased and disabled first responders and needs new leadership. He also says mismanagement has caused hardship for families, who experience yearslong delays in processing claims. In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, he calls it “absolutely unacceptable.” The letter comes after The Associated Press reported that dozens of families are waiting five years or more to learn whether they qualify, with more being denied.
WORDS: 422 – MOVED: 06/24/2025 11:17 a.m. CDT
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KANSAS
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US–NTSB-Boeing
NTSB chair says systemic failures led to door plug flying off Boeing 737 Max plane midflight
SUMMARY: National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said the heroic actions of the crew aboard Alaska Airlines flight 1282 ensured everyone survived the terrifying incident last year when the door plug panel blew out shortly after takeoff in January of 2024. But Homendy said the incident never should have happened if Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration had done enough to ensure the safety of the Boeing 737 Max plane. The investigation has already revealed that bolts were never replaced after the door plug was removed during a repair. Homendy said Boeing’s new CEO has made many improvements in safety since last summer but more needs to be done.
WORDS: 1072 – MOVED: 06/23/2025 10:51 p.m. CDT
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MINNESOTA
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US–Minnesota-Lawmakers Shot
Minnesota lawmaker shot to death at home to lie in state at Capitol ahead of funeral
SUMMARY: Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, will lie in state in the state Capitol Rotunda on Friday, a day ahead of their funeral. Hortman will be the first woman and one of fewer than 20 Minnesotans accorded the honor. The Hortmans were shot to death in their home in the northern Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park early on June 14 in what authorities say was a politically motivated killing. Before that, authorities say, the suspect, Vance Boelter, wounded another Democrat, Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, who lived a few miles away in Champlin.
WORDS: 349 – MOVED: 06/24/2025 8:00 a.m. CDT
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NORTH DAKOTA
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US–Severe Weather-Deadly Tornadoes
Weekend tornadoes kill 6 in North Dakota and New York, toss trees and train cars
SUMMARY: Six people died over the weekend when tornadoes wreaked havoc in New York and North Dakota. Wind speeds topped 100 mph in each storm. In North Dakota, three tornadoes in the eastern part of the state tore down trees, tossed train cars and lashed homes. An intense windstorm also tore across North Dakota to the east. Authorities say three people died near rural Enderlin. Thousands of people were still without power Monday. Three other people died Sunday in central New York, including two young twin sisters.
WORDS: 512 – MOVED: 06/23/2025 4:31 p.m. CDT
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OKLAHOMA
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US–Executions-Glance
A look at the status of US executions in 2025
SUMMARY: Twenty-three men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S. Six other people are scheduled to be put to death in four states during the remainder of 2025. Two men in Florida and Mississippi are scheduled to be executed on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The last person to be executed in the U.S. was a South Carolina man on June 13. So far this year, executions have been carried out in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Other states with scheduled executions this year are Tennessee and Texas. Ohio has postponed two executions that had been planned later this year.
WORDS: 523 – MOVED: 05/15/2025 12:20 a.m. CDT
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SPORTS
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MINNESOTA
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BKN–NBA-Offseason Preview
The NBA offseason is officially here. It’s been going on for some time, actually
SUMMARY: Kevin Durant has been traded to Houston. The New York Knicks are looking for a coach. Cooper Flagg is about to become the No. 1 pick in the draft. Expansion plans likely will take a big step forward in a few weeks. The Los Angeles Lakers just got sold. The NBA offseason officially has started. In reality, it’s been going for a few weeks already. There’s a parade Tuesday in Oklahoma City to celebrate the newly crowned champion Thunder, and in every other NBA city there’s going to be a parade of movement over the coming weeks to try to catch the champs.
WORDS: 998 – MOVED: 06/23/2025 1:57 p.m. CDT
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BKN–Nuggets-Front Office
Nuggets revamp front office by promoting Ben Tenzer, bring in Jonathan Wallace from Timberwolves
SUMMARY: The Denver Nuggets revamped their front office Monday by promoting interim general manager Ben Tenzer to executive vice president of basketball operations and bringing in Minnesota’s Jonathan Wallace to serve as the executive VP of basketball operations. The announcement was made days before an NBA draft where the Nuggets don’t have a first-round pick. Tenzer and Wallace will try to find a creative way to build depth around a nucleus that includes three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Tenzer was named interim GM in April when Josh Kroenke, the vice chairman Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, made a stunning move by firing general manager Calvin Booth and coach Michael Malone with three games left in the regular season.
WORDS: 457 – MOVED: 06/23/2025 1:44 p.m. CDT
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BBO–Mariners-Twins
Raleigh hits one of Seattle’s four homers as Mariners romp over Twins 11-2
SUMMARY: Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 32nd home run on Monday, one of four by the Seattle Mariners in their 11-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Raleigh hit a two-run shot to left in the ninth inning off reliever Joey Wentz. Julio Rodríguez and Luke Raley homered as part of a six-run third inning for Seattle. Dominic Canzone, who homered twice on Sunday, went deep again for the Mariners, while Bryan Woo (7-4) gave up two runs while striking out nine to win his second straight start. Trevor Larnach and Carlos Correa hit back-to-back homers in the sixth inning for Minnesota, which has lost 14 of its last 17.
WORDS: 331 – MOVED: 06/23/2025 9:14 p.m. CDT
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BKL–Around the WNBA
Aces struggle and Caitlin Clark hits a shooting slump early in WNBA season
SUMMARY: Coach Becky Hammon is hoping for more consistency from her team. For the second consecutive season the Las Vegas Aces have gotten off to a slow start. The team snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday with a victory over Indiana. Las Vegas sits at 6-7, a rare time they are under .500 since the team came to the Nevada city in 2018. The victory over Caitlin Clark and the Fever was their best effort of the season. The matchup was ESPN’s third most-watched WNBA regular-season game, averaging 1.7 million viewers.
WORDS: 723 – MOVED: 06/24/2025 11:04 a.m. CDT
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MISSOURI
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BBO–Cubs-Cardinals
Cardinals hit 4 home runs in 8-2 win over Cubs
SUMMARY: Alec Burleson and Brendan Donovan each hit two-run homers in the fifth inning, Matthew Liberatore pitched seven strong innings, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 8-2 on Monday night. Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman also homered as the Cardinals hit a season-best four home runs for the first time since April 30 at Cincinnati. Liberatore allowed two runs on six hits and struck out five for the Cardinals, who have won six of their last seven games. Ben Brown allowed eight runs on nine hits in five innings for the Cubs, who have lost four of their last five.
WORDS: 341 – MOVED: 06/23/2025 9:21 p.m. CDT
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OKLAHOMA
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BKN–NBA-Offseason Preview
The NBA offseason is officially here. It’s been going on for some time, actually
SUMMARY: Kevin Durant has been traded to Houston. The New York Knicks are looking for a coach. Cooper Flagg is about to become the No. 1 pick in the draft. Expansion plans likely will take a big step forward in a few weeks. The Los Angeles Lakers just got sold. The NBA offseason officially has started. In reality, it’s been going for a few weeks already. There’s a parade Tuesday in Oklahoma City to celebrate the newly crowned champion Thunder, and in every other NBA city there’s going to be a parade of movement over the coming weeks to try to catch the champs.
WORDS: 998 – MOVED: 06/23/2025 1:57 p.m. CDT
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BKN–NBA Finals-Ratings
Oklahoma City’s Game 7 victory over Indiana draws largest NBA Finals audience in six years
SUMMARY: Oklahoma City’s 103-91 victory over Indiana in Game 7 was the most-watched NBA Finals game in six years. Sunday night’s game averaged 16.53 million on ABC and ESPN+ according to preliminary ratings data from Nielsen. The audience peaked at 19.28 million during the second half (9:45-10 p.m. EDT). It is the first time since Toronto wrapped up its first title in Game 6 against Golden State in 2019 (18.34 million) that the finals have had an audience over 16 million. The last Game 7 in 2016, when Cleveland beat Golden State, averaged 31.02 million.
WORDS: 178 – MOVED: 06/23/2025 5:04 p.m. CDT
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BKN–NBA Draft-NIL Impact
How NIL money is reshaping the NBA draft: Fewer early entrants, more college stars staying put
SUMMARY: The ability of college athletes to cash in on their collegiate fame has led to fewer players jumping early to the NBA draft. Eighty-two players appeared on the list of early entrants primarily from American colleges along with other teams. That’s down from 162 in 2024. Additionally, 46 early college entrants and international players stayed in the draft after withdrawal deadlines. That’s down from 77 last year. College athletes were permitted to profit on their name, image and likeness (NIL) in July 2021. This week’s draft begins days before the start of revenue sharing for schools to pay athletes directly.
WORDS: 1554 – MOVED: 06/24/2025 10:23 a.m. CDT
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BKN—Thunder Parade
Oklahoma City Thunder fans celebrate NBA title with a parade after years of heartbreak
SUMMARY: Oklahoma City’s unwavering fans finally get to celebrate a championship after several close calls and heartbreaking moments the past two decades. The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers on Sunday to clinch the NBA title, and the city is holding a parade downtown to honor its first major professional championship. The Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City in time for the 2008-09 season, and the Thunder became contenders with young stars Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. They finally broke through with MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and All-Star selection Jalen Williams.
WORDS: 297 – MOVED: 06/24/2025 8:05 a.m. CDT
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