Tom Dreesen, stand-up comic, Sinatra’s opening act, and Palm Springs regular, dead at 86

KESQ on June 18, 2026

Jesus Reyes

LOS ANGELES (KESQ) – Tom Dreesen, stand-up comic, longtime opening act for Frank Sinatra, and a Coachella Valley regular, died at the age of 86, according to multiple reports.

Dreesen, a Chicago native, died at his home in Los Angeles, a family spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. There was no word on a cause of death.

He made over 500 appearances on National Television as a stand-up comedian, including 61 appearances on The Tonight Show and guest-hosting David Letterman’s late-night shows.

For 14 years, he toured the nation as the opening act for Frank Sinatra, a connection that brought him to the Palm Springs area multiple times over the years. He was featured in the documentary, Sintra in Palm Springs.

Dreesen was known as the longtime Master of Ceremonies of the Bob Hope Classic (Now known as the American Express) and the host of the Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational Gala.

Tom Dreesen speaks with News Channel 3 at the 2011 Bob Hope Classic

He spoke at the funerals of Frank and Barbara Sinatra after their deaths in 1998 and 2017.

Dreesen speaks at Barbara Sinatra’s funeral at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in 2017

In 1999, Dreesen received a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. His star is located at 265 S Palm Canyon Drive, near Sammy G’s Tuscan Grill

Dreesen was a guest on Eye on the Desert multiple times, including in 2020, speaking with News Channel 3’s Patrick Evans about his memoir, Still Standing.

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Speeding up: Semi trucks in Idaho can travel at 80 miles per hour starting July 1

KIFI on June 18, 2026

David Pace

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – A new law allowing semi trucks to travel the freeway at 80 miles per hour goes into effect in Idaho on July 1.

“It is Idaho Transportation Department’s plan to take down 70 miles per hour truck speed limit signs along I-15 to the Montana border on July 1,” Idaho Transportation Department spokeswoman Sky Buffat said. “We will continue to gather and monitor traffic and speed data moving forward.”

The change is driving a wide range of responses from employers and drivers in the trucking industry.

Doug Andrus Distributing is one of the region’s largest trucking companies, employing 250 drivers who travel 30 million miles a year across the United States.

Doug Andrus Chief Financial Officer Jason Andrus said their drivers’ top speed will remain unchanged at 67 miles per hour despite the new limit.

“When we talk about fuel economy, that change in speed from 67 mph to to 80 mph would hurt our fuel economy at 1.3 miles per gallon and cost our company about $3.6 million,” Andrus said. “So we have a big reason to operate efficiently and at those lower speeds.”

But some drivers are on board with the changes.

“I think it’s a great idea because the the faster we go in, the more miles we can cover because we get paid by the miles so they can cover more miles that way,” over-the-road truck driver Michael Roy said at Love’s Truck Stop Wednesday.

Garrett Hinshaw, another driver, pointed out the heightened danger of vehicles traveling at different velocities.

“Anytime you have a difference, especially of ten miles per hour between traveling traffic and commercial trucks, it ups the stakes of something going drastically wrong,” Hinshaw said. “We’re also seeing that there’s an uptick in collisions and distracted driving.”

Andrus said that lower truck speeds enhance safety for everyone on the road.

“If we’re in an accident, it’s going to be less damaging if we’re at a lower speed,” Andrus said. “Slower speeds give our drivers more time to react, more time to brake. So all of those are good reasons for us to keep operating on the speeds that we do.”

Buffat said the increased truck speed limit was driven by the Idaho Legislature.

“After our Legislature hears and passes new laws and direction, that’s what we follow,” she said. “ITD will always prioritize safety and monitor to make future changes if needed.”

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Lawsuit filed against Columbia over city’s airport revenue guarantee

KMIZ on June 18, 2026

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A lawsuit was filed in Boone County on Wednesday that challenges the legality of a revenue guarantee for the city to host American Airlines flights to Charlotte.

The lawsuit was filed by Mark Winter and Richard Shanker – who identify themselves in court documents in documents as “residents and taxpayers.” The petition also names the city and Finance Director Matthew Lue as defendants.

Previous reporting says funds for the revenue guarantee would come from $750,000 of private contributions and $750,000 from the Transportation Sales Tax. The Goldwater Institute – which is a right-wing think tank – had published a letter last month questioning the legality of the agreement under the Missouri Constitution.

Winter and Shanker allege in the petition that the revenue guarantee violates the gift clause of the Missouri Constitution and that the city did not have the authority to enter the agreement.

ABC 17 News reached out to the city on Wednesday afternoon.

26BA-CV03208Download

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68-year-old man seriously injured in Monroe County UTV crash

KMIZ on June 18, 2026

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 68-year-old man from Paris, Missouri, was flown to University Hospital on Wednesday after his UTV crashed in Monroe County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the man drove the Kawasaki Mule 3000 on private property when he crashed into a tree and was ejected.

He was not using a safety device, the report says.

The man was flown to University Hospital with serious injuries, the report says. The UTV had extensive damage.

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Transparency, environmental concerns take center stage at data center meetings

KMIZ on June 18, 2026

Sutton Parker

COLUMBIA, MO (KMIZ)

Data centers took the spotlight in Jefferson City on Wednesday as groups met to discuss the controversial topic.

One of those groups met at the Capitol to voice their concerns about the proposed data centers being built in rural communities.

Though a press conference-style meeting in the rotunda, multiple speakers took to the stage to share their views on the centers being built.

Henry Iwenofu, a candidate for the Missouri House District 73, said his main concerns were centered around the economy and individual health.

“We will be exposed to not only economic cost but also health cost. The economic cost in the sense of water, high utility costs, and the health cost is for every chemical that will be involved, cancer. Asthma and all kinds of diseases that will affect the young and the older population,” he said.

In addition to being concerned over health and safety, Iwenofu said transparency is important when it comes to the issue.

“Transparency is important irrespective of the data center. It’s important so that people understand what is really happening and then give them the opportunity to make a choice. By the time we realize what’s going on, it’s too late,” he said.

Beyond health and safety, critics also raised alarms over the impact on farmland and wildlife.

Tom Westoff, a member of Reserve Montgomery County, said the data centers displace wildlife.

“Montgomery County is very fortunate to have a lot of wildlife, deer, turkeys, rabbits, quail, songbirds, everything, and this is 2,000 acres in our area that will essentially be wiped out of all natural habitat that is there,” he said.

Westoff also added that he is frustrated with the transparency when it comes to local leadership.

“The public needs to be aware of what is going on and have input, in Montgomery County, we have three county commissioners whose job is to serve the people. They never took a vote from the people or surveyed the people; they just went with what they were convinced by the state and others that it was a good deal, ” he said.

The group meeting to discuss the topic held a closed-door Data Center Summit led by a coalition of government associations, open only to members of the Missouri School Board Association, the Missouri Association of Counties, and the Missouri Municipal League. Residents pushed back at the board during multiple public meetings discussing the topic.

Laura Holloway, the Executive Director of the Missouri Municipal League, said that this meeting centered around educating local leaders on the facilities.

“Today was about bringing multiple perspectives in and educating our members because they are receiving so many questions from all angles,” she said.

When asked about strengthening transparency between local government and community members, she said local leaders want what is best for their citizens.

“You know, they have other jobs, their own families in the community, they are absolutely closest to that community, so they want what is best and to be transparent.”

Holloway noted that sometimes there are circumstances where they may not be able to share information, such as real estate deals, where they cannot fully share information at that time.

When it comes to addressing health, safety and environmental concerns, she said those were part of the reason for today’s summit. Holloway said during Wednesday’s gathering there were panel discussions on energy, water, infrastructure and impact incentives.

When it comes to why the meeting was held behind closed doors, Halloway said it all had to do with capacity.

Holloway added that the main goal of Wednesday’s meeting was to educate as many local leaders as they could, and with that, they just could not open up the doors to the public.

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Preservationists speak out on proposed downtown Palm Springs fire station

KESQ on June 18, 2026

Luis Avila

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) — Local preservationists are raising concerns about the future of the historic Town & Country Plaza after the Palm Springs city council recently approved plans for a new downtown fire station.

Last week, the city council voted to move forward with purchasing the Town & Country Center property as the future home of Fire Station No. 1, saying a new station is needed to improve emergency response and replace the aging current facility.

But some residents say the site’s history should not be ignored.

The Town & Country Plaza was designed in part by renowned architect Paul Revere Williams, whose work includes some of Southern California’s most recognizable buildings. Supporters of preservation say the plaza is an important piece of Palm Springs history and deserves careful consideration before any demolition takes place.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more.

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Palm Springs Unified teaches students hands-on CPR in summer program

KESQ on June 18, 2026

Kiera Seapy

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ)- The Palm Springs Unified School District is teaching students CPR through classes and training.

Students at Nellie Coffman Middle School took part in a hands-on CPR training as part of the districts summer learning program. The training includes how to recognize a cardiac emergency, call 911, and start chest compressions.

Mary Leith, the development director of the American Heart Association, explains that “nine out of ten cardiac arrests happen outside of a hospital” and their goal is ” to create a nation of lifesavers”.

This training is part of a new partnership between Palm Springs Unified and the American Heart Association.

The Director of Risk Management, Renée Brunelle, explains they have to have a school of lifesavers.

“We want to have a school of lifesavers. “We want to train students to be able to have the skills of CPR at an early age …We have a goal to have every high school student graduate with a CPA being CPR certified” said Brunelle.

This program is available to students nine years old and older across the district with the goal of making lifesaving training part of every student’s education. More than 180 students were trained during the first part of Wednesday’s summer session, with more classes coming.

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YISD tells ABC-7 it wasn’t required to post audit that warned of budget crisis

KVIA on June 18, 2026

Nina Gallegos

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — ABC-7 uncovered an internal YISD audit that found the district could become insolvent within two years. In an interview Wednesday, YISD Superintendent Xavier De La Torre answered questions about the audit. 

The audit was never shared with the public.

In a May 20 board meeting, YISD Internal Auditor Amy Sanchez gave a quarterly budget presentation to trustees. Sanchez’s presentation did not include reference to a May 7 internal audit she completed. That audit stated there is a priority risk for YISD’s budget, with a significant risk of YISD becoming insolvent within two years.

That presentation did not include the May 7 internal audit in its backup attachments. ABC-7 reached out to Sanchez to ask why and has not heard back. 

In the interview with De La Torre, ABC-7 asked him about the audit not being included in the May 20 meeting agenda. 

ABC-7 : “Typically past practice, when an audit is done, an auditor will share the findings with the public and he or she will go over the responses. And that obviously didn’t happen on May 20th. So just wondering if there was a reason for that. What was the reason?”

De La Torre: “I’m not sure I agree with you. It obviously did happen, given that it’s part of the board packet and that audit is contained in that board packet, and that board packet is available to anybody who wants to download it or have a send it to them.”

De La Torre went on to say, “You couldn’t find it. But by law, it has to be there.”

After the interview, De La Torre went to the YISD website to check for the backup attachments and could not find them. 

YISD has a board meeting Wednesday night to present a budget plan. ABC-7 asked De La Torre what the public should know. 

ABC-7: “The board is having an important budgeting budget meeting tonight. Can you explain a little bit about what you want taxpayers to know?”

De La Torre: “I’m not sure that there’s really anything that is unique about tonight’s board meeting. I think we’re presenting a deficit budget of $14,900,000. We’ve worked hard all year to get down to that. We’ll continue to work during the 26-27 school year to eliminate that deficit, so that we can end the year with a balanced budget. And we’ve got some ideas relative to how we do that. But it is a budget that dedicates 87% of the resources we receive to people, to the employees, both certificated employees and hourly employees. It doesn’t have any unusual or unexpected unanticipated investments or expenses. It’s pretty straightforward.”

ABC-7:  “On what date did you first find out about the May 7 findings from that audit?”

De La Torre: “We’ve known that running deficit budgets isn’t a best practice for 3 or 4 years. So that report, while it may seem interesting, it is a postmortem autopsy we’ve known since 2022, 23 that we were running a deficit budget. And so those findings, that explanation isn’t very timely. The internal auditor sat in all of the meetings when these discussions were happening 3 or 4 years ago. And yet this is the first year that she’s decided to file a report.”

ABC-7 asked the Superintendent to clarify his previous statement calling the internal audit a ‘postmortem autopsy,’ continuing to say the audit wasn’t timely. 

ABC-7: “Are you saying that you’ve known for several years that the school was at a risk of insolvency?”

De La Torre: “We knew for several years that running a deficit budget. That required us to go into the unassigned fund balance, the reserve which is a lot like a piggy bank, cannot be sustained. It’s not sustainable.”

ABC-7 has been trying reach the internal auditor who created the May 7 audit, Amy Sanchez. We have not heard back. 

ABC-7 did receive a statement from YISD Communications Director Tracy Garcia-Ramirez Wednesday afternoon regarding the internal audit.

“Ysleta ISD strives to be open with the public by providing clear, straightforward information about our financial documents and how they can be accessed. We also take seriously our responsibility to follow the law and safeguard confidential information, while still making sure the public can review the records they have a right to see.

It is important to clarify that the General Fund Financial Observations document in question is an internal report, not a formal audit. It was generated by the Internal Audit Department (IAD) and, as such, it is called an Internal Audit Report — a report generated by the department, but it is NOT an official audit. IAD reports are not required by law to be posted online or included in board meeting materials; as such, it has not been our practice to do so. The financial audit that must be posted under the Tax Code is the annual audit prepared by our external auditor, which is available on our District Transparency webpage. Final reports by the IAD are provided when requested through the Open Records Request (ORR) process, but even then, these reports are subject to review and redaction to protect sensitive or confidential information.

The General Fund Financial Observations report in question was a formal communication from IAD to the Board of Trustees, notifying them of a significant risk that was identified. During the course of the Risk Management Audit, IAD identified a potential deficit in the health plan fund.  That deficit — in combination with the then-recently announced $11-million loss due to reduced hold harmless funding as well as multiple fiscal years of general fund deficits — caused IAD to review fund balance and financial indicators. IAD identified a significant risk and had a responsibility to communicate it to the school board.

Ysleta ISD values the trust our community places in us, and we remain committed to handling public information in a way that is transparent, responsible, and easy for families and taxpayers to understand.”

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Well In The Desert receives $1M donation to launch permanent home campaign

KESQ on June 18, 2026

Tommy Gallegos

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Well In The Desert has received a $1 million anonymous donation, launching a matching campaign to help the nonprofit secure a permanent home in the Coachella Valley.

The donor, a longtime supporter of the organization’s work, stepped forward after learning about Well In The Desert’s ongoing search for a permanent location and recent relocation challenges. The gift is intended to inspire the community to match the donation and help raise an additional $1 million.

“We are incredibly grateful for this extraordinary act of generosity,” said Matthew Naylor, president of Well In The Desert. “This gift is about more than a building. It is about ensuring that food, compassion, dignity, and hope remain available to our community for decades to come.”

For nearly 30 years, Well In The Desert has provided meals, food assistance, and support services across the Coachella Valley. In 2025 alone, the organization says it served nearly 98,000 meals and continues to support more than 250 families each week through its food bank.

The nonprofit recently learned it must vacate its current food bank location due to the new Palm Springs Fire Station being built, though its timeline has been extended to mid-August, allowing services to continue uninterrupted during the transition.

The proposed permanent facility would include food storage and distribution space, a commercial kitchen, dining facilities, offices, and community gathering areas.

“This campaign gives us an opportunity to build something permanent—a home where our mission can continue to grow and serve future generations,” Naylor said.

Well In The Desert is encouraging individuals, businesses, foundations, and community organizations to participate in the matching campaign.

“Every donation, regardless of size, moves us one step closer to creating a permanent home for service, compassion, and hope,” Naylor added.

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Galveston man accused of stealing vehicle in El Paso, planned to sell in Mexico

KVIA on June 18, 2026

Gabrielle Lopez

SANTA TERESA, N.M. (KVIA) — A 36-year-old Galveston man was arrested for allegedly stealing a vehicle from El Paso and trying to drive it into Mexico with plans to sell it, according to court documents ABC-7 obtained. Law enforcement arrested him at a port of entry, documents said.

Tuesday, police went to the Santa Teresa Port of Entry because of a reported stolen vehicle, court documents said.

Customs and Border Patrol agents alleged Hamo Amos stole a vehicle from El Paso, court documents said.

Amos admitted he saw the vehicle unlocked and drove it with plans to sell it in Mexico, according to court documents. He also allegedly said he “wanted to get caught by law enforcement.”

Documents said Amos gave different names and birth dates before CBP took his finger print and found out who he was.

Jail records show he was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center and charged with transferring a stolen vehicle and concealing his identity. He was booked without bond.

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