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'A once in a lifetime type situation': NASCAR turns to 2 Chicago artists to make street race trophies

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:50 GMT

CHICAGO — Whoever takes the checkered flag in the NASCAR Street Races downtown this weekend will get to take home creations that are Chicago's very own. That's because the stock car company enlisted the help of two artists from the area to create trophies for the winner in the Xfinity Series' "The Loop 121" and the Cup Series' "Grant Park 220."Nicole Beck and Thomas Lucas were selected by NASCAR to head up the creation of one of the trophies each ahead of the July 1 & 2 event. They were given instruction to make a sculpture that would represent the city during the inaugural running of the street races, and both came up with their own style to make that happen.Courtesy: Thomas Lucas Courtesy: NASCARCourtesy: Thomas Lucas Courtesy: NASCARGetting the chance to design the trophy for the Grant Park 220 Cup Series race was quite special for Lucas since racing has been a part of his life since he was a child."I love cars," said Lucas. "I grew up around family - father, uncles - working...

Frozen fruit products sold at Walmart, Target recalled to potential listeria contamination

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:50 GMT

(WRIC) — Check your freezers! A recent recall announcement by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration warns that some frozen fruit products may be dangerous.On June 21, SunOpta Inc's subsidiary, Sunrise Growers Inc. issued a recall of specific frozen fruit products linked to pineapple due to a potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Biden plots new course to get relief for student borrowers Products were distributed via the following retailers:Walmart: Great Value Mixed Fruit, Great Value Dark Sweet Cherries, and Great Value Mango Chunks sold at stores in Virginia and other states from January 19, 2023, to June 13, 2023Whole Foods: 365 Organic Tropical Fruit Medley, 365 Organic Pineapple Chunks, 365 Pineapple Chunks, 365 Organic Whole Strawberries, 365 Organic Slice Strawberries and Bananas, and 365 Organic Blackberries distributed to select stores throughout the US from November 1, 2022, to June 21, 2023Trader Joe’s: Trader Joe’s Organic Tropical Fruit Blen...

Analyst warning of local Airbnb collapse says Austin has more rentals than homes for sale

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin-based housing consultant Nick Gerli stands by his viral tweet thread from Tuesday, which claims that a short-term rental (STR) collapse is happening in Central Texas, despite contradictory data brought by STR data analysis company AirDNA. Previous: Is an Airbnb ‘collapse’ happening in Austin? AirDNA is a direct competitor to Alltherooms, who provided the data for Gerli's analysis. AirDNA provided its results alongside Alltherooms':Gerli, CEO of Reventure Consulting, said that he received Alltherooms' data around a month ago and dug into it."I found that a lot of cities in America had pretty big declines in Airbnb revenue per listing," Gerli said. "According to this data, in some of these markets, there were as much as 40 to 50% declines in revenue per owner, which shocked me -- I was like, wow, the Airbnb market is crashing."The main takeaway that he found was an "explosion" of supply; Austin's STR listings jumped from under 8,000 to more than 12,000 in jus...

Extreme heat hurts local eateries, Texas Restaurant Association says

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Restaurant Association said this latest heat wave is hurting restaurants as customers stay home to stay cool. 5 things to know about the Texas heat wave The TRA said anecdotal evidence suggests that restaurants are offsetting lower sales and rising operation costs as the oppressive heat continues into its third week.As the triple-digit summer continues, the TRA also reminds restaurant operators to keep their staff safe.They encourage providing fans, misting hoses, and extra water stations for staff and customers. The TRA also suggests operators review their hours of operation to make sure team members have sufficient breaks.Miguel Kaiser, owner of T-Loc's Sonora Style Hot Dogs, said his business hours have changed as a result of the heat. Heat exhaustion a concern for firefighters as temps soar He said their lunch service closes an hour earlier than usual and its dinner service starts an hour later. Kaiser said the change was implemented to give staff t...

July forecast trending drier for Central Texas

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Climate Prediction Center have updated their forecast for July and it is not looking as promising for rain as it once did.In mid-June, their previous July outlook was released, which leaned wetter for Central Texas. Based on the area that seemed most likely to get rain, it appeared we were going to get some rain coming from the Gulf of Mexico, possibly from some tropical activity. NEXT: Original July forecast (Released mid-June) Now the CPC's final July forecast has been released and the majority of Central Texas appears primed for near-normal rain, and that isn't good.July is usually our second driest month of the year, meaning our rainfall prospects aren't usually that great to begin with. Given our increasing rainfall deficit, we need more rain than normal just to catch up.July forecastOur second hottest month is looking hotter than normal. Odds of warmer-than-normal temperatures are relatively high.July temperature forecast (CPC)The area most likely to get...

Forest Lake mom fears missing girl left with online acquaintance: ‘We want you to come home.’

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:50 GMT

Miranda “Mandi” Lufsky was leaving for work when she last saw her daughter Desiray Kappes about 8 a.m. May 19.“It was just a regular morning,” said Lufsky, who works as a personal care attendant in and around Forest Lake. “I said, ‘Bye, I’m going to work. I’ll see you when I get back. Love you.’ And I walked out the door. I came home five hours later, and she wasn’t there.”Desiray, who turned 14 on May 3, left their Forest Lake home on her bicycle around 8:30 a.m., according to surveillance camera footage from a nearby house.Desiray left a note saying she was going to be “traveling around the United States with her boyfriend,” Lufsky said. “I don’t know of any boyfriend. She didn’t have a boyfriend.”Lufsky is concerned that Desiray made a connection with someone online and that he may have lured her to leave.“She never left the house. Hardly ever,” she said. “It was like pulling teeth to get her to leave. She would never leave on her own, so somebody got into her h...

After fall of Roe v. Wade, Minnesota saw 20 percent increase in abortions in 2022

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:50 GMT

Minnesota saw a 20% increase in abortions from 2021 to 2022, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.The health department is required by state statute to produce an annual report on abortion statistics.According to the 2022 report, “Induced Abortions in Minnesota January – December 2022,” about half of the increase was among Minnesota residents and half from out-of-state residents.After the U.S. Supreme Court stripped away women’s constitutional protections for abortion in 2022, Minnesota passed legislation in 2023 that put the right to abortion, as well as other reproductive health care, into state law.Minnesota also passed new protections against out-of-state laws restricting abortion.The laws went into effect as many other states, including Minnesota’s neighbors, moved to restrict abortion.Related ArticlesHealth | Why some doctors stay in US states with restrictive abortion laws and others leave Health | Judge blocks Wyo...

South Troy Pool reopens for the summer season

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:50 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -The city of Troy is kicking off summer with the opening of the South Troy Pool. When it comes to the 4th of July weekend, families know where to cool off in between all of the festivities. With the start of summer, who doesn't think of going to the pool? The Boys & Girls Club helps Capital Region youth through a variety of programs. The group employs lifeguards and offers free swim classes to keep the pool safe. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Devaunte Thornton with the Boys & Girls Club says from young kids to adults, knowing basic swimming skills is important, even for those who don't use pools. "You never know when you'll find yourself in a situation when your near water or someone else is. It's good to know how to save yourself or someone else. Not only is it an open swim between 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., we also offer swim lessons 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.," explained Thornton.Mayor Patrick Madden says th...

Calls to fix cellular dead zones in Colonie

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:50 GMT

COLONIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) —  Colonie town supervisor Peter Crummey gathered emergency response leaders near the intersection of  State Route 9 and Menand Rd — a cell phone dead zone for many carriers — to call for an improvement to the busy area’s cell service. “The brazen lack of urgency to address cell phone dead zones in Colonie are unacceptable” said Peter Crummey.MORE NEWS from NEWS10Crummey said there’ve been 3,300 dropped calls logged by local emergency dispatchers.Bad cell service doesn’t just hinder calls but mobile internet data as well. EMS Chief Paul Sugrue says it’s necessary for paramedics to use an app to notify hospitals of their arrival.Colonie Police Chief Mike Woods said people's reliance on mobile phones have made reaching for help in areas with no reception increasingly difficult. “Everybody has cell phones now. What's happened is they have given up many times in the residence, their landline or they're hard line phone to their house so they rely on their cell...

FOX 2's Shirley Washington inducted into the 2023 Silver Circle Mid-America Emmys Award

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:50 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Our very own FOX 2's Shirley Washington was inducted into the 2023 Silver Circle at the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Mid-America Emmys Award.We surprised Shirley with the announcement on-air Thursday night.NATAS Mid-America Emmys Silver Circle award honors media professionals for 25 years of distinguished service to the television news industry.To learn more about Shirley's career, click here.