YCSO issues heat warning amid rising temperatures

KYMA on June 10, 2025

Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) is reminding the community to take precautions as dangerously hot temperatures get underway.

YCSO says, “Prolonged exposure to heat can lead to heat stroke which can be life-threatening,” with pets, children and elderly people posing greater risk of “deadly heat exposure” if it goes unnoticed.

To combat this, YCSO is asking the community to follow these safety tips:

Drink water before you get thirsty to prevent dehydration.

Don’t rely on fans as your primary source of cooling once the temperature gets higher than 90 degrees.

Come indoors frequently to an air-conditioned location to cool your core body temperature

Wear lightweight clothes.

Seek medical care immediately if you have, or someone you know has, symptoms of heat-associated illness like muscle cramps, headaches, vomiting, confusion, no longer sweating, and rapid heart rate.

They also said to not leave children and/or pets alone in hot cars and check-in on their elderly neighbors.

If anyone is need of water or a cool resting area, click here to see where they can get water or go to a cooling site.

YCSO is also asking all senior citizens or people with disabilities to use the “Are You Ok?” program.

Tania Pavlak, a Public Affairs Specialist at YCSO says, “The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office does offer a free program that does an automatic welfare check on people that live alone and might not have those friends and family nearby to check on them on a daily basis.”

To learn more about the program, click here.

PR-2025-28-Heat-WarningDownload

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San Diego man crashes while holding a machete

KYMA on June 10, 2025

Karina Bazarte

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – A San Diego man crashed his vehicle on Interstate 8 (I-8) while holding a machete.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) says the man was traveling on the interstate heading eastbound Sunday. He then crashed into a guardrail and rolled over.

CHP says the man got out of his vehicle holding a machete.

“We believe the crash was intentional based on the things that this man was telling us. We do believe that he did it on purpose crashing into the guardrail. He wanted to kill himself,” said Cmdr. Ernesto Ruedas.

CHP says the man than got out of his vehicle holding a machete.

“He also on scene advised the officers that he wanted to get shot by them, but thankfully no force was used,” said Ruedas.

Law enforcement says the man was the only person in the vehicle at the time of the crash.

“We believe that he traveled to Imperial Valley to hurt himself based on his statement that is what we believe,” said Ruedas.

Law enforcement says the westbound and eastbound lanes of I-8 were closed for about two hours.

The man was taken to El Centro Regional Medical Center with head injuries. The man is now receiving care from Imperial County Behavioral Health.

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Columbia City Council retreat in May cost more than double the price of 2023’s retreat

KMIZ on June 10, 2025

Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council spent more than $42,000 on a two-day retreat in May with city staff in Camdenton.

Records obtained by ABC 17 News show the final bill is nearly 2.5 times higher than the 2023 retreat to Independence, Missouri, which cost $17,153.94. 

The total cost of the trip to Camdenton was $42,606.85, with the bill including: 

$25,000.00 for training costs

$9,839.57 meals

$5,955.64 for lodging

$1,811.64 mileage

These totals included $15,597.88 for two days at The Club at Old Kinderwood, which mainly covered the cost of banquet food and drinks. 

City spokesperson Sydney Olsen said 37 people attended the retreat, which included all current council members, Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, Police Chief Jill Schlude, Fire Chief Brian Schafer, and City Manager De’Carlon Seewood. 

RetreatDownload

“This is something that we started in 2022, and it was an opportunity for City Council members and city leadership to get together, get out of town and talk about both what’s going well, what’s happening in the community and then also the organization, as well as what’s on the horizon,” Buffaloe told ABC 17 News. 

Seewood said that he has seen progress with how staff works together since starting these retreats.

“When I first became city manager, sometimes it felt like there was a lot of division between the council and you’re starting to see people really work more collaboratively together and there’s more relationship between staff and council to actually work on things as a team as opposed to this adversarial approach,” Seewood said. 

According to Buffaloe, topics discussed at the retreat included preferred methods of communication between staff and constituents, as well as key challenges departments are facing ahead of the fiscal 2026 budget.

“I’ve seen a tremendous change since 2022 with the relationships built between staff and the councilmembers,” Buffaloe said when asked if the retreat was effective. “We need the professionals on staff to do the day-to-day work to help meet the goals of our community members.” 

The biggest change in the retreat budget was a $25,000 fee to Raftelis for “training cost.” Records show the city paid Raftelis — which provides management consulting to help local governments — $15,000 for its May retreat. The city spent just $5,000 on Raftelis during its 2023 retreat. 

“Just like any corporation, doing leadership retreats are important and you see that happening across the nation,” Buffaloe said. “I view that local government needs to also follow those same practices.” 

Despite the hefty price tag, Seewood believes these types of retreats have contributed to the progress the city has made over the last two years. 

“One of the things you want to do is you want to make sure that your executive team, your board members, all are working for the best interest of the community,” Seewood said.  “Having those times away where you can actually sit down,  have a consultant kind of help, you kind of talk about goals, talk about objectives, talk about priorities to make sure that you can move in the right direction.”

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Deschutes National Forest OKs plans for 25,000-acre Green Ridge Landscape Restoration Project north of Sisters

KTVZ on June 10, 2025

Barney Lerten

Thinning, mowing and burning could begin next spring, last to 2040 – or longer

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Deschutes National Forest announced Monday it has signed the final decision for the 25,000-acre Green Ridge Landscape Restoration Project, located 13 miles north of Sisters on the Sisters Ranger District. 

The forest said the purpose of the Green Ridge project is to restore and maintain forest health and resiliency and reduce the risk of large-scale, high-severity fires. Also, they said, the project will maintain or improve habitat for northern spotted owl, mule deer and other sensitive species. 

Here’s the full text of Monday’s announcement, with links to more information:

“My final decision incorporates dozens of public and agency comments and field visits, best available science, and strikes a solid balance between active forest and fuels management and protection of habitat critical to some of the last remaining northern spotted owls on the Sisters Ranger District,” said Sisters District Ranger Ian Reid. 

Forest restoration treatments are needed to move the area towards more natural, historic forest conditions, which will increase landscape resilience to large-scale wildfires and insect and disease outbreaks. Alternative 3-modified was selected and approves treatment activities on about 17,500 acres of the project area. Several meaningful changes were made to address concerns about impacts to northern spotted owl habitat, large trees, deer habitat, and the Metolius Late Successional Reserve.  

“The planning and approval process for the Green Ridge Landscape Restoration Project has taken many years and Friends of the Metolius has been involved at every step along the way,” said Doug Hancock, President of the Friends of the Metolius, a nonprofit group. “As the process is near conclusion, we support the project because it is a compromise necessary to begin restoring forest health on the Green Ridge landscape.”  

Treatment activities will include commercial and noncommercial thinning, mowing and mastication, prescribed burning, trail reroutes, road closures and decommissioning, and tree planting. The road closures and decommissioning will provide a 10% increase in core wildlife habitat across the project area. 

Austin Smith Jr., Natural Resources Manager for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, said, “Given the importance of maintaining timber and other crucial resources as well as protecting our region from wildfire throughout our ceded lands, we offer our full support of the Forest Service’s Green Ridge project. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs were closely involved through every step of the process, including offering input upon the scope and project management plan. We value our continued, productive partnership with the USDA and the US Forest Service.”  

Restoration treatments may begin within the project area as soon as the spring of 2026 and are tentatively slated to continue through 2040, with prescribed burning continuing beyond this date. This summer, Forest Service employees will be preparing the project area for upcoming vegetation management contracts to start implementation of forest thinning.  

Project documents can be viewed on the Deschutes National Forest website here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/deschutes/projects/48454. A copy of the signed Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact is available at: https://usfs-public.box.com/s/sfza5zlaz6vj4prxj6g7iao0nk8d57yp. Members of the public may also contact Lauren DuRocher, Environmental Coordinator on the Sisters Ranger District by email at lauren.durocher@usda.gov with questions about the project. 

For more information about the project, visit this storymap: https://arcg.is/1TaT003, or reach out to the Sisters Ranger District at (541) 549-7700.  

Green Ridge Landscape Restoration ProjectDownload

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Faster internet, but at what cost? Neighbors share mixed feelings about CSU fiber installation

KRDO on June 10, 2025

Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Most people would welcome faster internet… but at what cost?

Fiber-optic internet installations are underway in several northern Colorado Springs neighborhoods, and residents tell KRDO13 they have mixed feelings about it.

Fiber Project Map, Courtesy: Colorado Springs Utilities

Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) says they’ll spend the next few months working in the areas shown on the map above before moving on to the next areas, which include the area south of Fillmore Street, west of I-25, north of Bear Creek Park, and west extending to the city limits.

The utility says the speed, reliability, and security of this new fiber network will help them more efficiently manage and deliver utility services. CSU will also be leasing the fiber infrastructure to Ting Internet for internet services.

After receiving multiple calls and emails about this ongoing work, KRDO13 went out to neighbors in those areas to see what they think about the construction.

Some of the complaints neighbors shared included blocked-off sidewalks, loud noises that make their dogs bark, and large equipment parked right in front of their homes.

But it’s not all bad news — some see the utilities update as a positive.

“I think that having a long-term view is very important, especially at a local level,” neighbor Rebackah Zdor said. “I think if people can see the bigger picture of how this is going to benefit our community, it’s really important — even if that means some short-term pain.”

Zdor said the construction happening feet from her house hasn’t been a huge inconvenience for her family.

“I will say my two-year-old son loves seeing all the big trucks around, so that’s been a small positive when we go for walks,” she shared.

If you have complaints about the ongoing construction impacting your neighborhood, you can report them by calling CSU’s customer service line at (719) 448-4800. You can report landscape damage caused by the construction here.

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Local reaction to the anti-ICE protests in L.A.

KYMA on June 9, 2025

Adrik Vargas

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – The protests and immigration raids are hitting close to home in the Imperial Valley, where locals have some strong opinions.

In a region with a large immigrant community, some locals say the tension seen in Los Angeles and across the state have them concerned.

Others feel the protests, while important, need to stay peaceful to protect the cause.

“I mean we’re not just gonna go and start burning and making all this mess. For me, it doesn’t feel fair. It’s not good ’cause you’re just making it worse for the people who do not have legal documents,” said Jaime Flores, a local resident.

Others say the raids themselves are necessary and the protests shouldn’t be happening.

“I just think we need to keep it up, we need to keep going, we need to safe and securely remove the people that need to be removed, and the people that don’t need to be removed can remain here in America,” Kimberly, another local resident.

Some activists in the Imperial Valley, like Raul Ureña, say local leaders should be speaking up.

“I think it is unfortunate that political leaders in the Imperial Valley are not talking enough about this issue, they are staying silent,” Ureña expressed.

Ureña believes that silence sends the wrong message in a region where immigrants make up a large part of the community.

“A majority of the Imperial Valley are either sons of immigrants or immigrants themselves. To not take a public stance on this issue as a mayor of Calexico, El Centro, etc, is to say that the issues affecting a big part of the imperial valley do not matter to them,” Ureña added.

The protests and immigration raids continue and in the Imperial Valley, so does the conversation.

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State leaders in discuss plan for the future of Agriculture

KYMA on June 9, 2025

Eduardo Morales

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Local, state, and university agriculture leaders discussed problems, solutions, and hot topics in the industry.

From water, to climate, to artificial intelligence, Monday’s meeting served as a think tank for the state’s agriculture industry.

Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona all shared some of the work they are undergoing.

The Arizona Board of Regents has started this “Future of Arizona” series to tackle some hard-pressing industry issues.

“We don’t just have research projects from this professor at this university, and this one at that university, but how do we leverage the sort of the special abilities at each university,” said Paul Brierly, the director for the Arizona Department of Agriculture.

Arizona Senator Tim Dunn was also in attendance, and he shared some of the major talking points discussed amongst the group.

“What is the intensive farming that we’re doing, which we do with everything really good here in Yuma now, but what are we looking into the future. What is that going to have as we’re using less water for soil health, that’s one of the things, just health for employees is another potential, so we’re just collaborating with the universities, getting ideas together today,” Sen. Dunn says.

Fred DuVal, a member on the board of regents, shares how this meeting could lead to a grant that provides more funding for research in agriculture.

“This is really a pioneering grant in order to make an investment in agricultural sustainability that we hope will proliferate and grow into state wide support,” DuVal said.

This summer there will be a similar collaboration to address challenges facing forestry.

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ICE releases statement on Friday enforcement in Cathedral City

KESQ on June 9, 2025

John White

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has released a statement with limited information on immigration enforcement operations conducted in Cathedral City on Friday.

Operations were carried out on Date Palm Drive in one case and on Ramon Road near Cathedral Canyon in another case.

ICE Statement (6/9/25):

“To ensure the safety of our personnel, ICE does not confirm or discuss the existence or status of operations. The agency publicly announces the results of operations when appropriate. As part of its routine operations, ICE arrests aliens who commit crimes and other individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws. All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States, regardless of nationality.” — ICE Spokesperson

Local Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz said he has requested more information from ICE.

“I formally requested more information from ICE regarding the raid by masked agents in unmarked vehicles in Cathedral City. I’m actively monitoring the situation and following reports,” Ruiz wrote on Friday.

Details on the operation on Friday in Cathedral City remain limited. Video from viewers showed agents chasing at least one person. Advocates confirmed on Friday that they were in contact with the family of at least one person who was detained as well.

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Man accused of shooting at people in Randolph County home

KMIZ on June 9, 2025

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Monroe County man has been arrested and charged after he allegedly went into a Randolph County home and fired a gun at three people.

Jason Springer, 47, of Madison, Missouri, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, first-degree burglary and two counts of first-degree harassment. He is being held at the Randolph County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

The probable cause statement says deputies were called on Saturday for a report of harassment. Springer was allegedly sending one of the victims threatening text messages, driving by the residence and going into the home after being told not to, the statement says.

Deputies arrived, told Springer to leave and advised that he could be arrested, the statement says. Springer allegedly made threatening comments about one of the victims. About two hours later, law enforcement was called back to the residence for a report of shots being fired, the statement says.

Springer allegedly went back to the residence, went inside the building, pulled out a double-barrel shotgun, pointed it at three people and asked who wanted to die, the probable cause statement says. He then fired a shot into a wall and another into a door, the statement says. Court documents say the round found appeared to be birdshot.

One of the residents pulled out a gun and Springer left after dropping his cellphone, the statement says. He was still logged in to his Facebook account on the phone, the statement says.

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Palm Springs Public Library Launches Six-Week Summer Reading Program

KESQ on June 9, 2025

City News Service

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The Palm Springs Public Library launched its six-week summer reading program today, aimed at inspiring and entertaining children while helping to prevent seasonal learning loss.   

The free “Level Up” program runs through July 18 at the library’s location at 300 S. Sunrise Way, at the corner of Sunrise Way and Baristo Road.

“The purpose of summer reading is to help combat reading loss sometimes experienced over the summer, however, studies indicate that students who read recreationally outperform those who do not, and summer reading makes it fun for them to do just that,” Director of Library Services Jeannie Kays said in a statement.   

The program includes in-person events, lectures, interactive games and free book selections provided by Friends of the Palm Springs Library.   

Participants who log their reading time or books weekly are entered into prize drawings that include a Nintendo Switch, a PlayStation 5, a $100 Amazon gift card and a pickleball match with Police Chief Andy Mills.   

Registration can be completed in person at the library.   

For more information about the program, residents can call the library at 760-322-7323.

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