Month: April 2026

By Maddy Terril

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    WICHITA, Kansas (KAKE) — A Wichita man is preparing to run in the Boston Marathon next week, marking a milestone that connects his journey to his late father’s legacy.

Shayne Yonce will compete in the 130th running of the historic race, widely known as the world’s oldest annual marathon.

Qualifying alone is considered a major achievement, but for Yonce, the moment carries deeper meaning. His father ran the Boston Marathon in 1976, and this year’s race falls exactly 50 years later.

Yonce began running after years of focusing on work and family while neglecting his health. In 2019, he committed to lifestyle changes, using fitness tracking as motivation.

On January 1, 2019, he committed to closing the rings on his Apple Watch daily, and ever since, he has kept that streak going.

Eventually, he lost more than 100 pounds through endurance activities like biking, swimming, and running.

Running became more than exercise; it became a way to feel connected to his father. That connection inspired a goal: to qualify for Boston and follow in his father’s footsteps.

While planning his attempt, Yonce realized the 2026 race would align with the 50th anniversary of his father’s run. He chose to qualify at his father’s favorite marathon in Lincoln, Nebraska, and made it with just 61 seconds to spare to have a Boston qualifying time. The race also fell on his father’s birthday.

Now, after years of preparation, Yonce will take on the Boston Marathon course, carrying both personal accomplishment and family history with him.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Frankie McLister

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    MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, Minnesota (WCCO) — Since Operation Metro Surge started, there have been many stories of Minnesotans stepping up to help their neighbors. A Twin Cities man told WCCO what drove him to go all the way to Texas to help total strangers.

“We did it. It’s what was required,” a Twin Cities husband told WCCO. He didn’t want to share his name because he says what he and his friends did wasn’t about them.

WCCO decided to refer to him as Joe.

“It was me and two other drivers,” he said. “We flew to Texas first and then drove up from there.”

It was a nearly 24-hour journey to bring back a Venezuelan woman and her mom, who entered the U.S. legally as refugees in 2023. The two were detained for over a week this past winter.

“They took us to Houston handcuffed at the hands, waists and feet,” the woman told the Associated Press.

“These folks did everything right. Did everything by the book,” Joe said.

Driven by the sentiment, Joe, who is bilingual himself, and his friends felt like they should help when hearing about their case from a mutual friend.

He said they bought their own flights to Texas and rented a car to bring the two back to Minnesota, and that the duo weren’t released with their IDs and had fears of coming back via air.

“We just mentioned, ‘Hey, we’re here. We’re the guys you were told about. Come with us,'” Joe said.

The motorists then hit the road, rotating who was behind the wheel as they headed back up north.

“We chatted a bit. They wanted to tell their stories. We didn’t want to pressure them,” Joe added.

It’s an experience both parties say will stick with them forever.

“What we went through is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” the woman told the Associated Press.

“These are small acts of kindness that many people do together, and they come together and accumulate to do good,” Joe said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Briseida Holguin

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    MESQUITE, Texas (KTVT) — Residents in Mesquite are calling on the city to do something about an increase in feral hog sightings.

“All of this damage that you’re looking at was done by feral hogs within the last six weeks,” said Ted Faulkner.

Falkner has lived in Mesquite’s Falcons Lair neighborhood for 17 years, and the entire time, he’s dealt with feral hogs.

“The first two months I was here, it caused me to change my flowerbed into a rock garden. After that, it was dormant for maybe a year or two,” said Faulkner.

As of late, he says they’ve been coming around more frequently. He shared several videos with CBS News Texas of hogs running through the neighborhood at night. In one video, you can see a pack of about six, at times, he’s seen up to 10 roaming around.

“I’ve warned people in the neighborhood, ‘do not walk out here after dark because you might encounter the hogs, they become frightened, and they might attack.’ That’s the biggest concern is public safety,” said Faulkner.

The other issue is the damage they cause.

“They could probably get a part-time job working for an excavation company… We’re talking about several thousand dollars of damage,” said Faulkner.

Faulkner believes the hogs live in the wooded area across from his house. His suggestion is to fence it off, preventing the hogs from coming into the neighborhood.

“I’ve talked with the animal control and with the city manager’s office. I made three different reports. The assistant city manager is saying they have contacted Texas Parks and Wildlife to see if they can get some assistance, because Mesquite doesn’t have the capability to trap these hogs,” said Faulkner.

The city says residents are encouraged to report feral hog sightings, but says animal services is unable to trap or remove them.

“How much does it take before someone comes up with a way to control them?” said Faulkner.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Amelia Mugavero

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    CELINA, Texas (KTVT) — Small businesses in Celina say they are dealing with more than typical growing pains in the booming downtown area. They say repeated power outages are now costing them thousands of dollars in losses.

One ice cream shop said the problem is melting more than just dessert.

Inside Stella’s Ice Cream in Celina’s historic downtown square, owner Ashley Chism built her business around a simple recipe: community and scoops of homemade ice cream.

“We wanted to plug in and be a part of everybody’s experience,” Chism said. “And so, ice cream is that experience that most of the time, when you’re having ice cream, you’re making a memory.”

But alongside the excitement of opening a new shop, Chism said she has faced an unexpected challenge: repeated power outages.

“In that six months, we have lost power nine times,” she said. “It’s an ice cream business, so that’s everything. We make our ice cream here, and then obviously we have to keep it cold.”

She said just last week the shop lost power for 12 hours, and another outage lasted 17 hours last month. The result, she said, was thousands of dollars in spoiled products.

“And then for it to go out again, then we had to remake it all again,” Chism said. “So, we’ve lost thousands of dollars in just inventory, let alone revenue.”

Business owners across the downtown square said they have experienced similar disruptions, with some reporting more than a dozen outages over the past year.

Cellphone video from a nearby business shows a dark storefront during what workers described as peak lunch hours.

“It’s another Oncor outage during peak lunchtime,” one business owner said in a video provided to CBS News Texas.

In a statement, Oncor said it recognizes how disruptive repeated outages are for Celina’s residents and business community and the importance of delivering safe and dependable power.

The company said it is in the midst of a multi-phase critical reliability improvement effort in Celina, with work actively underway to strengthen local service and system resiliency.

Oncor said the project was prioritized and accelerated due to repeated outages and continued growth across the community.

The utility company said the work includes installing new electric poles and hardware, modernizing equipment, and completing vegetation management to help keep trees and vegetation from causing power outages.

Oncor said while the majority of the project is expected to be completed this summer, additional work to support the growth of Celina is expected, and the company will continue to partner with the city to meet expanding service needs.

The company said recent outages were primarily the result of severe weather and equipment challenges, both of which will be addressed by the reliability improvement project.

Oncor said beginning in fall 2025, it completed comprehensive infrastructure inspections and assessed system conditions and areas of need. In early 2026, it performed vegetation management and tree trimming.

The company said the remaining phases of the project include installing new electric poles and hardware and modernizing equipment, with completion expected this summer.

Oncor added that additional work to support Celina’s continued growth is expected beyond that timeline.

The utility company said it sincerely appreciates the time, engagement and valuable feedback shared by business owners at the meeting this week and remains dedicated to strengthening its partnership with the Celina business community.

Chism said she also filed a claim with Oncor to recover losses, but she was denied. The company cited weather-related outages as ineligible for reimbursement.

“But it’s just the uncertainty and the lack of maybe transparency that’s frustrating,” she said. “And really a lack of accountability.”

Still, Chism said she is focused on moving forward as the city continues to grow, especially as summer approaches, her busiest season.

“I just worry. We’re getting ready to hit summer. This is our busiest season,” she said. “But we’re going to do it, and we’re going to be optimistic about it. I mean, who can be sad when you’re serving ice cream? But still, it’s hard.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Lauren Lennon

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    DENVER (KMGH) — There’s so much excitement surrounding women’s sports lately, and one 9-year-old wants to add to that hype.

Last year, Lucas, or Luke, Grahame dubbed himself “Rink Dude.”

“I was at the rink one day, and my brothers were done with their game, and my mom said, ‘You have to go to a long game.’ And I said, I don’t want to be a rink dude,’” Lucas remembered.

“I was, like, crying. I was mad,” he added.

Little did he know, this would be a defining moment that would help him use his love for hockey to give back to the community.

“Then we just said, ‘Maybe we should make a brand that’s called Rink Dude,'” he said.

Lucas’ mother, Niki Grahame recalled the moment as well, saying, “it really just started with my son calling himself, ‘I’m just a rink dude’”.

“We turned that into a hockey lifestyle brand that helps other kids play hockey and just help grow the game,” she said.

Rink Dude aims to make hockey more accessible by raising funds to support costs like gear, travel fees, tournament costs and registration fees. 20% of the company’s sales go toward funding for kids who otherwise would not be able to afford the sport.

Since it started in November 2025, when Lucas was 8, Niki says Rink Dude has already raised over $15,000 in donations alone, and another $5,000 for an organization called Hockey Unlimited.

“We really believe that if a kid wants to play a sport, especially something as expensive as hockey, we should be able to create opportunities for kids that want to play,” Niki said.

And it’s a mission Niki says is personal for the family.

“Because of my husband’s experience with not being able to afford hockey, and someone in the hockey community giving him gear so he can continue to play… his dreams might have not been able to be fulfilled if someone didn’t help him,” she said.

“We believe in growing the game for both boys and girls,” she added.

And to accomplish that mission, Rink Dude introduced a new character in January, “Rink Dudette.”

“I knew boys don’t just play hockey,” said Lucas.

That led him to find inspiration in his 11-year-old cousin, Violet, who also plays hockey.

“I said, ‘Maybe we should make a Rink Dudette,” he remembered.

His cousin Violet Grahame, sitting next to him, shared her excitement as the muse for this new character.

“I was really excited because he’s, like, helping grow it, but like, making sure that also not just boys, because it’s also a girls sport,” she said.

Former NCAA Division I hockey player, Lauren Spino agrees.

“I think female sports in general, but specifically, hockey is in such a powerful time right now, there’s more visibility, more opportunities, more belief and where females can go than ever,” Spino said.

Spino’s experience extends far beyond playing on the ice herself as she now serves as the Director of the Arapahoe Lady Warriors and a development coach at Total Package Denver.

“When females see a future in their sport, they feel a belonging in it,” she said.

Denver7 asked Spino if she sees herself in the girls she now coaches.

“Definitely, 100%,” she said emphatically.

“Being in their shoes at one point, I think it makes it a little easier to relate to them and help them feel confident and empowered,” she said.

And efforts like Rink Dudette help with that empowerment.

“It’s such a smart idea and such an intentional meaning behind it,” Spino said.

So now, there’s only one thing missing — it’s time for the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) to come to Denver.

“Denver. PWHL, 2027. Let’s go,” she said.

But in the meantime, young girls like Violet will continue to share their love for the sport to inspire others, like her cousin Lucas.

“I feel excited and happy because I found a sport that I love to play and that I get to do it with an all-girls community,” Violet said.

Niki says they just hosted an event Friday night and they also have an ambassador program.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Tyler Melito

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    DENVER (KMGH) — The University of Denver Men’s Hockey team secured its 11th NCAA National Championship after a major comeback win over Wisconsin.

Students waited more than 40 minutes of game time for the Pioneers to get on the board. After falling behind early, Denver scored midway through the third period, sparking a celebration that never stopped. The momentum carried the team to another national title.

Proud may be an understatement for how University of Denver students feel about the men’s hockey team. Fans packed into the Pioneer, with some arriving as early as 10:00 a.m. Saturday to secure their spot.

“I got here about 10 o’clock as well,” said DU Senior Nick Savage. “I was the fifth person in here today.”

“I got here around 12, I had to wait two hours,” shared Junior Harry Galiardo. “There’s no place I’d rather be. Everyone comes together here. It’s the best feeling.”

Before the game, students reminisced about the last time the Pioneers won the championship in 2024.

“I’m a tour guide at school, so I talk about the camaraderie around doing our hockey games, and my favorite thing to say is how when we won the championship two years ago, it was the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my life,” shared Senior Capen Ades.

Despite the crowds, students were thrilled to watch the game together.

“It is packed out, for sure, but everyone here is just so happy,so excited to see DU hockey play a game,” said Junior Zac Bly

Griffin Young saw the Pioneers win the national championship in person in 2024, and he made sure not to miss the campus celebration this time around.

“What I heard from my peers was being here in person on campus was the best experience these guys had as a college student,” Young explained. “I wanted that experience, and I’m getting that experience.”

And just because DU doesn’t dominate the headlines in sports like football or basketball, doesn’t make it any less of a sports school, students say.

“I think that DU sometimes doesn’t seem like the most crazy social school, but we are bigger than any SEC school, any other school in the world when it comes to hockey,” Savage detailed. “This bar is just one example of that.”

While the athletes are now campus celebrities and will go down in history,

“I think we had a great season, and I’m proud of my friends,” said Senior Andrew French. “I know people that I know that are on the team.”

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KAKE’s editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Sydney Ferguson

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    TOWANDA, Kansas (KAKE) — As one door closes, another is opening for a USD 375 music teacher facing a serious health issue and stepping away from work to address it.

Circle Teacher Heather Redondo says that at 39 years old, her life has seen many chapters. Born in Hawaii to a Pianist mother, she’s been a college music professor, an opera singer in New York and Wichita, and now teaches music in Towanda.

Each has been a chapter rich in its own right and almost always connected to music.

“I really believe in the power of music to heal and to inspire us in our lives. It has inspired me so much,” said Redondo.

Friday, she was moved to tears by the sound of her girls’ choir singing Emily Dickinson’s poem “Heart! We will forget him!”

“What stuck out to me today was just wow, goodbyes are hard,” said Redondo.

It was a day full of goodbyes for Redondo, as the opera singer and teacher is stepping down from her dream job as Vocal Music Director for the district’s 7th through 12th grade students.

“I’ve been living my very best life and living exactly how I wanted to live, how I always dreamed my life would be,” said Redondo. “And then this happened, and this is definitely, definitely the hardest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Redondo says what started as a limp that wouldn’t go away in November 2024 turned into the inability to move the toes on her right foot — then the need for a walker and wheelchair.

In January of this year, doctors diagnosed her with ALS — an incurable disease that slowly destroys the body’s nerves until a person can no longer function.

“I just felt completely crushed,” said Redondo. “What scares me the most is losing my voice.”

The voice that still charms crowds and instructs students, but more importantly, lulls her 4-year-old son to sleep each night and communicates with her husband.

Redondo says that voice has been her identity for much of her life and led her to teaching — a dream she’s now stepping away from to stare down a nightmare.

“It’s too soon, it’s too soon,” said a teary-eyed Redondo. “I had so much more I wanted to do with them.”

Students Jeromy Dufoe and Wyatt Soper, Senior and Teaching Assistant, say it’s been hard watching her health decline.

“It did kind of break a little bit of me,” said Dufoe. “It’s an emptiness I haven’t felt in a long time.”

“For her, all she is, is happy, so it’s like, it’s hard to see, said Soper.

Soper and Dufoe say it became their students’ mission to assist her in any way they could and keep her spirits up — the same thing she’s done for them in her two years as their teacher.

“She made me feel almost free,” said Dufoe. “I felt like I could do all these things that I had aspired to.”

Redondo says she finds peace in leaving work knowing she left a lasting legacy and did what she set out to do — create a safe space for her students.

Teaching Assistant and Senior Laykin Lipcott says this is their opportunity to remind her of what she’s taught them.

“She really helps encourage us to keep that passion and just not to give up on ourselves and to keep pushing through anything difficult,” said Lipcott. “I’m hoping that, you know, she just doesn’t ever give up on herself.”

“All I hope she can do is just trust in the Lord and make the best out of a bad situation,” said Dufoe.

Redondo says another fear is losing hope, but she’s fighting through that and others by leaning on her community — a community that’s rallied around her, raising almost $30,000 through GoFundMe to help her along her journey.

“I just appreciate that so much,” said Redondo. “It’s amazing to be able to share this with people, because so many people really do want to help and be a part of it with me.”

Redondo says her focus is on learning methods to delay the inevitable phases of disease that lie ahead of her and prolong her time here — long enough to make lasting memories with her husband and young son, stay in contact with her students, and continue to use her voice while she has it.

She says the two-to-five-year lifespan you see when searching “ALS” on Google doesn’t apply to her.

“I feel really strongly that I’m not done here, that I have a lot more to give and a lot more to do,” said Redondo. “I am afraid of losing my voice, but today I have a voice, and I can still sing.”

Redondo’s coworkers closed out her final day with a small gathering for teachers and students to say see her off. She ended the gathering with a rendition of “Homeward Bound.”

All day, she reiterated that this is only ‘see you later’ for her. Redondo says she’ll be singing with the Wichita Grand Opera at events on April 18th and 19th.

“I don’t know if this is my last opera. I hope it’s not, but if it is, I’m grateful that I could do it kind of where I started in Wichita, with the Wichita Grand Opera, where my husband and I met,” said Redondo.

She’ll also be singing the national anthem at the “Walk for the Cure” for ALS on September 19th and trying to put together a concert for late summer or fall. She’s promised to keep up with her students as much as she can.

“We’re going to remember each other forever,” said Redondo.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Cameron Burnett

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    CRAWFORD COUNTY, Kansas (KAKE) — Officials say a kangaroo who got loose on Easter Sunday is still at large in southeast Kansas.

The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office tells KAKE News that a kangaroo got loose from west Pittsburg on Easter Sunday and has not yet been found. The animal’s owners, the sheriff’s office says, were from out of state and have since returned home without the marsupial.

The sheriff’s office said the last possible sighting was on Tuesday, April 7, in the area of K-7 and Highway 126, about seven miles west of Pittsburg.

“Don’t approach it if you do see it, because I saw a video of one squaring up on somebody like a boxer once, and nobody’s gonna believe that you got punched by a Kangaroo in Crawford County, Kansas,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook.

Anyone who sees the animal is urged not to approach it and immediately call the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office at 620-724-8274.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By WTVR Web Staff

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    RICHMOND, Virginia (WTVR) — A new booth at the 15th annual Carytown Spring Artisan Market is giving incarcerated individuals a platform to showcase their handmade art, clothing and books while raising money for youth empowerment and reentry programs.

More than 150 area artists and makers gathered at City Stadium on Saturday. Among them was Cellers Corner, an initiative by the Bending the Bars Foundation.

Nicole Deyo, who runs the nonprofit, said the booth’s timing aligns perfectly with Second Chance Month.

“We want to highlight these individuals because they all deserve a second chance, not just off of the fact of the years they’ve served, but it’s due to actually their efforts and the things that they’ve contributed behind the walls,” Deyo said.

The booth features items created by men housed in Virginia Department of Corrections facilities, including the Buckingham and Lawrenceville correctional centers. Deyo said all donations go back into the community or directly support the incarcerated creators.

For example, donations for artwork created by Larry Capers go toward supplies for an art program he runs inside Lawrenceville.

Other items, like books and apparel by authors Rashad Floyd and Mr. Poetic, fund youth empowerment initiatives. Deyo said many of the men went into the prison system as teenagers and want to prevent juveniles from following their paths.

“We want the outside, the judicial system, the community to understand that incarceration is not all bad,” Deyo said. “Individuals that are behind those walls are not all bad, and a lot of them have testimonies and stories that need to be heard.”

The booth also features a clothing line and a book about starting a trucking company by an individual named Damien, with proceeds supporting reentry resources. Another book by Sonia Staples highlights the experience of being a prison wife for 27 years, shedding light on the families impacted by incarceration.

The market continues Sunday at City Stadium from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WTVR’s editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By WABC News Staff

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    CLIFTON, New Jersey (WABC) — A tractor-trailer truck driver lost control of his vehicle, ramming into a local limo business in Clifton, New Jersey early Monday morning.

The big rig careened into Limo Ride, a business along Kensington Avenue and Route 3, right before 2:30 a.m.

The accident happened just feet from a roadway ramp where the driver tried to turn off.

It’s unclear exactly what happened in the moments before impact.

The front of the vehicle lodged into the edifice, sending building material and shingles tumbling down.

Sources tell Eyewitness News that the driver was trapped behind the wheel for about an hour and had to be cut out of the truck.

He was conscious and alert when he was transported to the hospital, and said he was hauling dog food.

The state’s Urban Search and Rescue team was also called to search the building and helped free one person who was trapped upstairs. No one else was in the building.

The conditions of the driver and person upstairs remains unknown.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

PSEG workers were requested to check out a gas smell.

Crews will work to determine the structural stability of the building, which appears to be leaning to one side.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.