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Leave it to Minnesota beavers? Not if you’re a wolf.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:48 GMT

Beavers are influential. By cutting trees and damming streams, these rodents change the world around them, raising water levels and creating habitats for diverse plants, insects, fish and more. They are some of the world’s best-known ecosystem engineers, a term for species that produce outsize effects on their environments.Wolves are powerful. As apex predators, their facility at killing reverberates down the food web, and their direct effect on prey species may affect vegetation, other animals and even how streams flow.So what happens when an apex predator meets — and eats — an ecosystem engineer? This clash-of-titans question underlies a study published Wednesday in Proceedings of the Royal Society B that investigated how wolves affect beaver activity, and thus forest composition, in Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota.The study found that wolves attack beavers that strike out farther from their homes; thus they limit the extent to which beavers can down trees and transf...

Rule changes to know before start of Missouri's firearm deer season

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:48 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Missouri deer hunters are gearing up for their biggest weekend of the year, but there are a few changes to know about. The November firearm deer season starts around 6:17 a.m. Saturday and runs through Nov. 21.But with more than 1.5 million deer reside in Missouri, the Missouri Department of Conservation said more deer can increase the spread of chronic waste disease in deer.That's why the agency is adding a new firearms portion from Nov. 22-26 that will be open to all counties within the CWD management zone. Platte City woman fights against ‘nightmare’ fake home lien In the Kansas City area, Clay, Clinton, Caldwell and Ray counties are new to the CWD management zone this year. Carroll and Livingston counties are also in the zone. Hunters can use any unfilled firearms permits and must abide by the statewide limit of one antlered deer.If you're hunting in a CWD management zone county during opening weekend, remember you must take your deer to a designated samplin...

Illinois ranked 29th in healthcare due to quality, cost

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:48 GMT

ILLINOIS (WMBD) - According to a study by Forbes, Illinois ranks 29th when it comes to healthcare.In a recent Harris Poll survey, 70% of adults said the healthcare system in America is failing to meet their needs in at least one way, Forbes said.Illinois is in the middle with an overall score of 46.98 out of 100. The study measured 24 metrics in four different categories: healthcare access, healthcare outcomes, healthcare cost, and quality hospital care. The score in each category is measured on a scale of 0-100, with 100 being the worst. The state scored 40.10 in the healthcare access score, 51.15 in the health outcomes score, 54.40 in the quality of hospital care score, and 60.60 in the healthcare cost score. It is 28th in the nation when it comes to health care costs.Illinois residents are said to typically have an average annual premium of $1,746 when they have single coverage through employer-provided health insurance. IDPH launches ‘Tis the Sneezin’ campaign to fight COVID-1...

Warrensburg double homicide suspect taken into custody

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:48 GMT

WARRENSBURG, Mo. — A man wanted for a double homicide in Warrensburg has been taken into custody by police. 22-year-old Jonathan Goodwin Jr. was found by the Johnson County Crime Resolution Team near the intersection of Franklin and Maguire Streets in Warrensburg, and he was taken into custody, according to Johnson County Sheriff's Office.The Warrensburg Police Department, UCM Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Kansas City Police Department were all involved in the search. Multiple agencies investigating homicide in Warrensburg Goodwin Jr. was the suspect in a shooting that killed a 24-year-old woman and a 40-year old man near a trailer in the 200 block of South 13 Highway, right outside Warrensburg city limits. The circumstances of what led up to the shooting are currently unclear, and the incident is still under investigation. FOX4 will keep you updated as more details come along.

Top 10 positive phrases that many Americans hate, according to survey

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:48 GMT

(NEXSTAR) -- If you're feeling down, a few words of encouragement may boost your mood, but not all positive phrases have the same effect. Some are just plain annoying.Preply, an online language tutoring company, surveyed 995 Americans over the summer about their opinions on popular positive phrases, including many inspired by music and cultural events. Did you know bread bag tag colors mean something? The survey found that 1 in 4 people use positive phrases in everyday conversations, and 79% believe saying such phrases can improve their moods. Additionally, 1 in 6 said they were "extremely likely" to use optimistic words to encourage themselves or others during challenging moments.Survey participants viewed "the best is yet to come" as the most optimistic phrase overall. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," a Kelly Clarkson lyric, was ranked as the top positive phrase from new music, followed by "Hakuna Matata" from the Lion King soundtrack.  Hate roundabou...

Army ammunition plant is tied to mass shootings across the U.S.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:48 GMT

By Ben Dooley, The New York TimesINDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Christopher Hixon, a 27-year veteran of the Navy who served in the Persian Gulf, trained with government ammunition that typically had a distinctive “LC” marking on its brass casings.In 2018, Hixon, then the athletic director at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, confronted a former student firing an AR-15-style gun. The semi-automatic rifle, modeled on a military weapon, was loaded with ammunition carrying the same “LC” stamp.Hixon took a bullet in a thigh. Two more hit him in the chest. In the bloodstained hallway where he died, investigators found a brass casing. And another. By the end of their search, they had collected 84 from across the school — each marked “LC.”The initials stand for the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant. Built during World War II, the federal site, in Independence, Missouri, has made nearly all the rifle cartridges used by the U.S. military since it pulled out of Vietnam....

Train derailment north of Central City in Gilpin County delays Amtrak trains, officials say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:48 GMT

A freight train derailed in Gilpin County Sunday morning, but no injuries have been reported, county officials announced.The derailment occurred in Black Hawk, in the area of Pactolus Lake and South Beaver Creek roads, approximately 15 miles northeast of Central City.So far, no injuries have been reported and officials have found no leakage or fumes escaping from the derailed cars, according to a Sunday news release from the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office.The sheriff’s office is asking the public to avoid the area, but said they don’t anticipate issuing any evacuations.A route in the derailment area serves Amtrak passenger trains between the Denver Union Station and Winter Park/Fraser stops.Jason Abrams, a spokesperson for Amtrak, said the derailment impacted two California Zephyr trains.“Amtrak has alternative transportation in place for trains 5 and 6 between Denver and Grand Junction,” Abrams said in an emailed response to the Denver Post. “The...

California Gov. Newsom, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass hold press conference to discuss 10 Freeway fire response, updates

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:48 GMT

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass are holding a press conference to provide updates regarding the fire that destroyed part of the 10 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles.The blaze was first reported around 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning in a storage yard near East 14th and Alameda streets. Flames quickly spread to a neighboring storage yard and eventually engulfed the freeway overpass above.The fire was so hot that it melted some of the freeway's steel guardrails and concrete pillars, fire officials said. It eventually spread to eight acres before being contained.Gov. Newsom declared a local state of emergency was declared on Saturday, and on Sunday, it was announced that the freeway would remain closed until further notice. Mayor Bass noted that the structural damage sustained by the freeway requires the same "level of urgency and effort" in the cleanup process as the 1994 Northridge earthquake."Unfortunately, there's no reason to think that this is going to b...

McCaffrey comes up short of TD despite 49ers’ best efforts

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:48 GMT

The 49ers went to great lengths to add to Christian McCaffrey’s record-tying touchdown streak Sunday, only to come up short.When backup quarterback Sam Darnold threw a fourth-down pass to McCaffrey at the goal line that was broken up by Darious Williams, it ended a run of 17 consecutive games including the postseason scoring at least one touchdown.McCaffrey will share the record with Lenny Moore of the Baltimore Colts, who scored in 17 consecutive games from 1963-64.It was about the only thing that went wrong for the 49ers in a 34-3 road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.Coach Kyle Shanahan, who had inserted Elijah Mitchell into the game with a commanding lead, re-inserted McCaffrey once they got to the Jacksonville 29-yard line.McCaffrey ran for 19 yards, ran for a yard, gained six yards on a pass from Darnold then lost a pair on third-and-3. Then from the 5-yard line, with McCaffrey split right, Darnold’s pass was broken up by Williams.The NFL’s leading rusher wi...

49ers Studs and Duds: Steve Wilks’ bye week changes bring immediate results in Niners’ blowout win

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:48 GMT

The 49ers came out of the bye week with something to prove.And blowing out a quality Jaguars team — in Jacksonville — left no room for interpretation.The three-game slide is over. These Niners can still play juggernaut football.An outstanding performance from the San Francisco offense and defense — the kind of complimentary football coaches pine for — gave the Niners a 34-3 win heading into arguably the most challenging second-half schedule in the league.They’ll do just fine if they play the remainder of the schedule like that.STUDSRelated ArticlesSan Francisco 49ers | McCaffrey comes up short of TD despite 49ers’ best efforts San Francisco 49ers | Instant analysis of 49ers’ blowout win at Jaguars San Francisco 49ers | 49ers pregame: Trent Williams, Deebo Samuel return; Chase Young debuts San Francisco 49ers | 49ers place Drake Jackson on injured reserve, will be out at least four games San Francisco 4...