Category: CNN Regional

By Olivia Tyler

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    MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (KCCI) — All Marshalltown School District buses and vans are now equipped with Stop the Bleed kits, thanks to the Marshall County Public Health Department.

The kits include a tourniquet, pressure bandage, gauze, nitrile gloves, trauma shears, marker and a step-by-step instruction card.

The kits are portable first-aid kits designed to treat injuries from car accidents, stabbings, and even gunshot wounds.

There are 86 bus drivers and assistants in the school district. All of them are getting mandatory training on how to use the kits from Marshall County Emergency Management.

“Our buses are out on the roads, in town, out of town, and come across a lot of things, accidents, and we’re trying to prepare them for any emergency. And we’re fortunate enough to have a great partner in the city and the county,” said Rex Kozak, Transportation Director for Marshalltown School District.

Through grants from the federal government, the county’s public health department received $30,000 to put toward the kits.

“It’s important for our rural counties to have these as well. They transport a lot of kids. They have to travel at least an hour to an hour and a half to a lot of sporting events. So, to have those in the event of an emergency is pertinent,” said Sydney Grewell, Marshall County Public Health Director.

Grewell says they’ll be using the grant money to equip two other school districts in the next few months.

The Marshalltown School District says it hopes it never has to use the kits, but in case it does, now all drivers will be prepared.

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 KCCI staff

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    WATERLOO, Iowa (KCCI) — A 23-year-old Michigan man is facing multiple felony charges after a missing 12-year-old from Iowa was safely located within an hour of an Amber Alert being issued, authorities said.

The Waterloo Police Department requested the statewide Amber Alert on Sunday after the child was reported missing in Waterloo. According to police, the case developed rapidly when investigators were notified that the suspect’s vehicle had been found in Coloma Township, Michigan.

Law enforcement officers located the child in the vehicle and confirmed the child was safe.

Following an investigation, Waterloo police charged Daniyal Khan, 23, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in connection with the incident. He faces charges of second-degree kidnapping, indecent contact with a child and sexual exploitation of a minor.

Khan was taken into custody and booked into the Berrien County Jail, where he remains held.

Authorities said no additional details are being released at this time as the investigation remains ongoing.

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 Alyssa Munoz

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    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — Albuquerque Fire Rescue has added new equipment to improve wildfire response and rescue operations.

A new UTV will be placed near the foothills and another near the Bosque, each costing $180,000. Officials say the vehicles help crews reach narrow, hard-to-access areas faster than larger trucks. Each carries 60 gallons of water and 5 gallons of foam and can also be equipped with a basket for patient transport during rescues.

AFR says it bought its first UTV in 2024 and found it useful for wildfires, backcountry rescues, and large public events such as Balloon Fiesta. The department is also adding a Type 3 engine, which is built for both wildland firefighting and structure protection in the urban-wildland interface.

Officials say expanding the fleet improves coverage across the city. It also allows AFR to deploy one Type 3 engine out of state if needed, while still maintaining protection in Albuquerque.

“We have $17 million of apparatus on the books ordered. So, we have trucks scheduled to be delivered this summer, but we’re projecting out all the way past 2030. So that’s part of that fleet management that we’re really trying to stay on top of,” said AFR PIO Jason Fejer.

AFR says the vehicles are funded through a mix of state and local sources.

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By Isabella Ledonne

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    OVERLAND PARK, Kansas (KSHB) — The FDA gave accelerated approval for a groundbreaking drug that helps treat Hunter syndrome, a rare disease that affects fewer than 500 people in the United States. It’s mainly diagnosed among boys.

Hunter syndrome has not had an FDA-approved treatment in 20 years, until now.

Overland Park parents Jenny and Nick Neuerburg used their voices to advocate for treatment approval and to call on federal lawmakers to help bring awareness to the rare, degenerative disease. Their four-year-old son, Atlas, was diagnosed when he was 18 months old.

“Basically, his body does not produce an enzyme that gets rid of junk and bad stuff,” Jenny Neuerburg said. “There was nobody else in Kansas with it that was being treated or any doctors that did treat it.”

Hunter syndrome can cause the loss of most basic functions and has a life expectancy between 10 and 20 years.

“It was a complete shock, and it’s the worst news that I think you could probably ever hear as a parent,” Neuerburg said.

The Overland Park family is currently in North Carolina for clinical treatments of AVLAYAH, an enzyme drug therapy that’s helped prevent the disease from taking over in Atlas’ body.

“It’s the changes we have not seen [that are significant],” Nick Neuerburg said. “He has just continued to progress normally, where a lot of kids right around that 18-month or two-year-old mark will stop speaking completely.”

During the interview with KSHB 41’s Isabella Ledonne, four-year-old Atlas explained how he liked the trains in North Carolina and was getting ready for his birthday party.

“That’s when I turn number four!” Atlas said. “Nice to meet you!”

Dr. Joseph Muenzer of the Muenzer MPS Research and Treatment Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill explained in an interview with NBC News that the new treatment will not reverse regressions that have already occurred.

However, the drug could extend children’s lives and prevent new symptoms from showing up for those who receive it early.

“If we take a child, very young, and can treat them prior to damage, now the potential is almost unlimited,” Dr. Muenzer said. “We don’t know how well they’ll do in the future, but they’ll do dramatically different than they would have otherwise.”

Because Atlas was receiving the treatment while waiting for FDA approval, his parents didn’t know how long he could keep receiving the enzymes or be in the trial.

“Even a six-month delay, if the [FDA] wanted to ask for more information, in that amount of time these kids will lose their ability to speak, to walk, to feed themselves,” Neuerburg said. “A normal, clinical trial and approval process doesn’t work if you want to be able to save a generation of kids with a rare disease.”

The Neuerburgs have been writing to and working with U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids’ office since May 2025, asking the federal representative for Johnson County to help get accelerated FDA action for Atlas’ treatment.

Jenny Neuerburg emailed Davids’ office on March 20, and she sent a letter to the FDA on March 23.

“We followed up with the FDA to flag that this was an issue, that it could have a significant and serious impact on kids like Atlas and to make sure that they really took the approval of this as seriously and urgently as necessary,” Davids said. “Sometimes things can work in government.”

The FDA gave its accelerated approval a few days after Davids’ letter.

“If anybody ever wonders if their advocacy pays off, this is such a great example,” Davids said. “I do wish that more people knew that this was an avenue that they could take to reach out to their member of Congress.”

For a disease as uncertain as Hunter syndrome, the FDA’s decision gives the Neuerburgs some hope.

“It was a big win for our community, and we really needed it after some of the delays and bad news we had gotten,” Jenny Neuerburg said. “It gives us the certainty that [Atlas] is going to be able to continue to get the care and treatment that he needs. It really changes his whole life. It’s literally saving his life.”

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 Charlie Lapastora

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    STOCKTON, California (KOVR) — Animal rescue groups in San Joaquin County say Stockton is facing a growing problem with abandoned and stray dogs, and they warn that the situation is stretching already limited resources.

Rescues told CBS Sacramento that hundreds of dogs may be roaming Stockton’s streets at any given time.

Jesse Mejia founded Stockton Street Dogs nearly two years ago. Mejia said the number of stray dogs on the streets can climb even higher during peak breeding periods.

“The number varies, but I would say at any given time, there’s at least 200 to 300 dogs on the street, at the minimum,” Mejia said. “And when it’s puppy season, that could easily go to four hundred because each litter could be anywhere from eight to twelve dogs.”

Mejia started his organization after seeing packs of stray dogs that reminded him of his own pets. Now, he and his team feed abandoned dogs up to four times a week, focusing on keeping them alive rather than removing them from the streets.

“Stockton Street Dogs has a policy where we do not intervene, in the sense that we don’t do any direct rescues. We don’t pull any dogs from the street. Our policy is: we come, we feed, we leave,” Mejia said. “We just want to give the dogs another chance at life.”

He said the issue is compounded by people allegedly dumping animals in Stockton and a lack of spay and neuter services, leading to rapid population growth.

“A lot of people from neighboring cities will come and just leave dogs right off of Highway 4,” Mejia said. “We’ve tracked them down through their ID chips… and we’ve actually found their owners, and they don’t respond.”

Other rescue groups say they’re seeing the same trend. Volunteers with Hungry Tailz Rescue called the issue “huge.” Since 2024, they say they have rescued more than 450 animals from the streets.

“Dumped dogs, overpopulation, lack of resources for low-cost spay/neuter programs and the shelter being full leave hardly any options,” said Alia Machiwalla, a volunteer with Hungry Tailz. “Rescues work together to do what they can.”

Rescue groups say they often work together, providing food, medical care and support for people trying to care for animals in encampments. Still, Mejia says capacity remains a major challenge.

“We’re all at max capacity at 110, and it’s not enough,” he said.

Residents are also stepping in. Isabel Guzman, who lives off Stanislaus Street, said she has spent more than a year helping abandoned dogs in her area and documenting what she sees.

Mejia is now calling for help beyond Stockton, urging other rescues to step in.

“If anyone’s watching this and you’re a rescue and you’re able to help, please reach out to us,” Mejia said. “I have hundreds of dogs just like these here who need a home. Come help us, please. Whether you’re in Texas, New York, Canada, I can get them to you. If you have a spot for them, please reach out to me.”

Stockton City Councilmember Mario Enríquez said his district has seen challenges with abandoned and unaltered dogs, particularly around Louis Park.

CBS Sacramento reached out to San Joaquin County Animal Services and Stockton Animal Services for comment but did not hear back.

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 Caroleina Hassett

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    RIVERTON, Utah (KSTU) — Three families are now picking up the pieces after a devastating car crash in Juab County.

“It’s been unfathomable. I mean, it’s just been something that is the worst nightmare you could ever go through,” said Ava’s father, Aaron Olivarez. “My heart just absolutely breaks for Xander and Ava. I mean, I don’t know how I’m going to move on.”

Last Thursday, 17-year-old Ava Olivarez was driving 15-year-old Xander Hover and 15-year-old Corey Wayman along Weiss Highway when they came up to a turn.

“She turned too wide and it was all silent. Next thing you know, I was on the floor looking at the roof, and it blacked out, and then I woke up with paramedics around me,” Wayman said.

The three teens, all from the Riverton area, were ejected from the car. Wayman was the only one to wake up.

“I don’t think it’s fully hit me yet,” Wayman said. “I hate to think about it, because they’re my best friends, best ones I’ve ever had… The thought that I was with them and they’re gone and I’m still here — sucks.”

All three met through the racing community and were attached at the hip.

“That gives me comfort… just the three of them, they were together,” said Xander’s dad, Jessie Hover. “They were inseparable in life and would talk on the phone and joke around. I mean, it was the old married couple kind of, is what it seemed like to us.”

The families just want parents to educate their kids on seatbelt safety, so no child has to become a memory.

“The most heart-wrenching thing right now is we all taught our kids to wear seat belts,” Olivarez said. “Ava was so insistent on always having a seat belt on, and that’s the thing that we have to talk about here is just keeping our kids safe because it only takes that one second.”

“Buckle up and always be cautious, because I don’t know how, but it’s a miracle that I’m here today. I’m standing here; the other two aren’t,” Wayman added.

Every parent had an answer to the question: how do you want your child to be remembered?

“For exactly who she was: a champion. She was a fierce competitor on one hand, [but] she was so good to people. She treated people so well, and just had a genuine love for people,” Aaron Olivarez said through tears.

While Wayman still has a long road to recovery with a broken collarbone, broken nose and brain bleeding, he believes there’s a reason why he’s still here.

“Everybody’s told me that there’s a reason I lived. I think it’s, don’t know what it is yet, but it’s probably just to carry on Xander and Ava’s legacy,” he 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 Fernanda Silva , Caitlin Knute

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    LEXINGTON, Missouri (KSHB) — One year after a gas explosion claimed the life of a 5-year-old boy and injured his father and sister, the community of Lexington is still healing and rebuilding.

The blast on April 9, 2025, damaged 33 buildings across the city, leaving three homes damaged beyond repair, according to Lexington Mayor Tom Hughes.

The family of 5-year-old Alistair Lamb said they want to remain private during their healing process, taking each day as it comes.

Hughes said a revitalized playground is being named in Lamb’s honor. The park will feature Spider-Man, who was the boy’s favorite superhero.

“He was just a little kid getting started. I think the memory of him, and something good that’s come out of this, is that park, which will be available to the kids in Lexington for years to come. I think that’s really important,” Hughes said.

George Stier lives in Lexington and had to replace 30 windows at his place. Six rooms in his home had cracked plaster, and three sides of the house had cracked bricks. A painter is coming this week to finish the last room.

“It wasn’t just that you heard a boom — you felt like you were enveloped in it,” Stier said. “It wasn’t just an explosion. It felt like a violation of your life.”

“We just want our neighborhood back, you know? That’s really what we want,” Stier said.

His neighbor, Kendra Christophene, said the area didn’t feel like a neighborhood for a long time after the explosion. She was working at the nearby hospital when it happened on her street.

“Because the hospital is right over there, we felt it,” Christophene said. “It shook the whole building.”

Christophene said she is concerned about potential foundation damage to homes near the blast and expressed frustration over a lack of warning before the explosion.

“They did not protect the community as they should have,” Christophene said. “Nobody asks to be the victim in an explosion.”

In response to the tragedy, the city passed a new ordinance in November, establishing rules for digging and boring.

Around the same time, Liberty Utilities initiated a mapping and verification of all underground gas lines within the city limits. The utility company says it partnered with Magnolia River to use GPS locating equipment, potholing, and hydro-vac excavation to update its digital mapping system.

Liberty Utilities says it prioritized the project following incidents last year involving gas lines amid a high volume of underground work. The company anticipates completing the mapping shortly and will provide the city with ongoing access to the data.

According to the city, eight property owners took Liberty Utilities to court and received a better settlement than the company initially offered. Neighbors said they couldn’t talk about it. Liberty Utilities stated they have not told community members not to speak, but noted that confidentiality and non-disclosure provisions may apply to claim settlements.

Former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a lawsuit following last year’s explosion.

However, KSHB 41 News found out that a dismissal hearing is scheduled for mid-May due to a lack of activity involving the case.

KSHB 41’s Caitlin Knute reached out to the current Missouri Attorney General, Catherine Hanaway. Her spokesperson told Knute she does plan on continuing this case and pursuing that lawsuit.

“Things take time to heal,” Hughes said.

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

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By Jill Lamkins

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KMTV) — In the West Omaha neighborhood of Harrison Park, wildlife is closer than you think. For 13 years, a pair of great horned owls have been coming back to what one man calls “Grandpa’s owl garden,” a nest right in his backyard.

“This is Hooterville, USA,” Frank Ermel said.

When Frank and Julie Ermel built their home in 2013, they never would have imagined they would have such a nosy neighbor.

“And one day we came out, they had a power pole in the backyard and an owl was standing on top of it. So I figured, well, if I build a nest, they’ll come,” Ermel said.

Great horned owls do not make their own nests.

“They take over others’ nests, and this one here just keeps on coming back every December,” Ermel said.

Working as a volunteer for a few years with Fontenelle Forest’s Raptor Recovery Program, Ermel figured he could use this backyard nest to learn more about the birds while integrating another passion of his: photography.

“I could see what she’s doing right now inside the nest with a 500 millimeter lens and uh, she’s looking at us,” Ermel said.

As time went on, Ermel started sharing the owls’ nesting journey on social media, turning hundreds of curious neighbors online into invested owl-watchers.

“Most folks in an urban environment don’t have the ability to be able to see wildlife like this, and these guys are truly wild animals. They are not banded. They come and go as they please,” Ermel said.

Standing at 24 feet tall, the nest is built from wood, foam insulation and a 30-gallon trash can.

“Mama will be in there most of the day today, basking in the sunlight, uh, sleeping. The babies will get into what I call a cuddle puddle,” Ermel said.

For years, the nest has brought Ermel and his family tremendous joy, which he is proud to share with the community.

Once the babies leave the nest, Ermel said his social media updates will quiet down. But like they have for 13 years, the owls will be back, along with the posts, once nesting season starts again next winter.

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By Nina Burns

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    CENTRAL VALLEY, California (KOVR) — As gas prices hover near $6 a gallon, some Central Valley travelers are looking for cheaper ways to get around, and a train running through the region is gaining attention as an alternative.

The Gold Runner, a recently rebranded Amtrak San Joaquins line launched under its new name last year, connects cities across the Central Valley, including Modesto, Merced and Fresno, with routes stretching between Sacramento and Bakersfield.

According to the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, which runs the service, the cost difference between driving and taking the train can be significant.

Using federal mileage estimates, officials say a one-way drive from Sacramento to Bakersfield can cost just over $200 when factoring in fuel and other expenses. A train ticket for the same trip typically runs about $50.

Officials say onboard staff are noticing trains getting busier as more people consider alternatives to driving.

“Conductors and staff are seeing more people choosing to ride the train,” said Ahdel Ahmed, a spokesperson for the agency.

The route offers stops throughout the Central Valley and connections to other parts of California, giving travelers another option as costs continue to rise.

Officials say ticket prices are not expected to increase in the near future, and promotions, including family discounts and limited-time deals available on many routes.

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