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$465: Diplomas for sale in Louisiana's off-the-grid schools, with no classes required

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, La. (AP) — Arliya Martin accepted her high school diploma with relief and gratitude.It was her ticket to better-paying work, she felt, after getting kicked out of high school and toiling for eight years at factory jobs to support her children.But Martin didn’t take any classes or pass any tests to receive her degree. She got it in July from a school where students can get a high school diploma for $465.Unlike public schools, formal homeschooling programs or traditional private schools, nearly 9,000 private schools in Louisiana don’t need state approval to grant degrees. Nearly every one of those unapproved schools was created to serve a single homeschooling family, but some have buildings, classrooms, teachers and dozens of students.While unapproved schools account for a small percentage of the state’s students, those in Louisiana’s off-the-grid school system are a rapidly growing example of the nation’s continuing fallout from COVID-19: families disengaging from tradit...

How you can send holiday letters to Illinois veterans

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WMBD) -- The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs (IDVA) announced on Monday that it is launching a campaign to send holiday letters to veterans.According to an Illinois news release, the 2023 "Operation Rising Spirit" campaign asks service organizations, schools, communities, and individuals to write letters of appreciation to Illinois Veterans.The letters will be equally distributed to veterans in the state veterans homes in Chicago, Anna, LaSalle, Manteno, and Quincy.“Last year, over 5,000 letters were distributed to veterans in our care which provided an abundance of holiday cheer into the homes,” said Director Terry Prince. “We encourage volunteer groups, families, and schools to participate in this kind gesture of gratitude to Illinois veterans.”Operation Rising Spirit was originally launched in 2020 to support veterans who were unable to visit family and friends during the COVID-19 pandemic. Illinois launches letter-writing campaign to veterans Anyone...

Like Texas' Jonathon Brooks, OKST's Ollie Gordon II emerged from relative unknown to star in 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Coming into the season, Texas and Oklahoma State both had questions about who would emerge in the offensive backfield. It's safe to say that both teams answered them, and then some.Both teams had to replace production from the previous year — the Longhorns had two outstanding runners taken in the NFL Draft and the Cowboys graduated dynamic quarterback Spencer Sanders while 2022 leading rusher Dominic Richardson transferred to Baylor — and neither team was quite sure how to go about that. Instant Analysis: A blowout before the title game is exactly what the Longhorns needed For Texas, it ended up being a committee led by Jonathon Brooks until his knee injury, and now CJ Baxter and Jaydon Blue among others are chewing up yards. For Oklahoma State, it was a sophomore who turned into the nation's leader in rushing yards this season, Ollie Gordon II.A four-star recruit from Fort Worth, Gordon burst onto the scene in Stillwater once Big 12 play began. The sophomore has r...

Winter much of the week

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Temperatures this afternoon will not escape the 50s as most highs will peak in the low to mid 50s. The area will be a little warmer tomorrow and especially Thursday.Winter's chill in autumnThe day dawned with sun and fair-weather clouds. Most lows were in the 30s with a freeze at Lampasas (29°), Llano (30°), San Saba (31°) and Marble Falls (32°). Camp Mabry's low was 36°. It was two degrees cooler at the airport.Today and tomorrow will be dry. Tomorrow's warmer air will be helped along by a mostly sunny sky expected in the afternoon.Change happens Wednesday, especially in the evening. A low rain chance pops in the late-afternoon forecast increasing Wednesday night to Thursday morning. Showers and thunderstorms are forecast during the day with a slug of upper-level moisture moving in on the southwest flow aloft.Good rain chance Wednesday night to Thursday afternoonIt will be a short-lived round of rain as the upper energy helping to fuel the rain moves away from the ...

John Shipley: It’s almost December, time to defend Gophers’ P.J. Fleck — again

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

It’s been less than a calendar year since Minnesota’s football team wrapped up its second straight victory over Wisconsin, plus a fourth bowl victory in five years. The Gophers also are a week away from accepting a bowl invitation they don’t deserve.So, naturally, it’s time, again, to explain the college football landscape to any Gophers fans who haven’t been paying close attention since, say, Glen Mason won 10 games at Kansas in a conference called the Big 8.You might not like P.J. Fleck’s schtick, or believe it’s real. You might find it impossible to defend all of his in-game decision-making, or his radio plea for the regular folks to start buying NIL-sponsored apparel. But in terms of program building, the man is doing his job.Some of us are old enough to remember way back to 2019, when Fleck’s team finished 11-2 and ranked 10th in the final Associated Press poll — 10th! — after beating ninth-ranked Auburn in the Outback Bowl. For a program like Minnesota’s, in what was then a 12...

Timberwolves’ chances of advancing in in-season tournament are slim. But here’s how it could happen

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

After falling to Sacramento at home on Saturday, Minnesota’s hopes of advancing in the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament are in shambles.That’s an interesting spot to be in considering the Timberwolves are 2-1 in group play and can improve to 3-1 with a victory Tuesday over Oklahoma City.But only eight of the NBA’s 30 teams reach the in-season tournament quarterfinals. You have two paths to advancing to that point: You can win your group or claim your conference’s one wildcard spot.The Timberwolves would have clinched Group C with a win Saturday over the Kings. Because Sacramento won that game, the Kings are in the driver’s seat in the group. If the Kings beat Golden State on Tuesday — and they’ll be favored to do so — they’ll win the group outright.If they lose to the Warriors, the door cracks open for the Timberwolves.If Golden State beats Sacramento and Minnesota beats the Thunder, the Warriors, Timberwolves and Kings would all finish 3-1 in group play, and all three teams wou...

Have an opinion on finalists for Minnesota’s new flag? Now’s your chance to share.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

The commission tasked with choosing a new flag and seal for the state of Minnesota is taking public input on its final designs as its end-of-year deadline approaches.Anyone interested in leaving a comment on the six flag submission finalists and five seal submission finalists can now do so on the State Emblems Redesign Commission website.Last week, the 13-member commission narrowed down finalists from the more than 2,600 design submissions it received in October. State lawmakers earlier this year passed legislation to change the state’s symbols, and created the commission to handle the process.One of the finalists for the Minnesota state flag design as selected by the State Emblems Redesign Committee in St. Paul on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2022. (Courtesy of the State Emblems Redesign Commission)Critics of the current state flag, which shows the state seal on a blue background, say it’s unmemorable, unoriginal due to its resemblance to many other state flags and offensive for its dep...

Schuyler time capsule exhibit opening at Albany Institute

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Albany Institute of History and Art announced the upcoming launch of a new exhibit showcasing the time capsule uncovered from the base of the Philip Schuyler statue formerly in front of Albany City Hall. The exhibit opens to the public on December 6. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The time capsule was unearthed on June 10 following the statue's removal. The exhibit, titled “The Time Capsule: What We Found Under Philip Schuyler”, will include all the objects found in the box as well as enclosed documents, photographs and publications. “The box placed under the Schuyler Statue was a gift to ‘future Albany’ and its contents offer a glimpse into our rich past. The day our tireless Department of General Services crew unearthed the time capsule was very exciting, and now the entire City of Albany has an opportunity to see all the objects and a significant portion of the documents, photographs, and publi...

Seven of eight businesses sold alcohol to a minor in this small Illinois town

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

MT. VERNON, Ill. -- The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is one of the biggest days for drinking and partying all year. Police in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, decided to test several bars and liquor stores to see if they were checking IDs. They found that seven of the eight establishments they checked sold alcohol to a 19-year-old.All the establishments that sold alcohol to the undercover agent now have citations. Mayor John Lewis says that more compliance checks will be conducted in the future. Mizzou Football poised for New Year’s Six bid: Which bowl game might they play? In the United States, the legal age to purchase and publicly possess alcohol is 21, as mandated by the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. This law aims to curb the negative impacts of underage drinking on public health and safety. While exceptions may exist for private consumption under parental supervision, the purchasing and public possession restrictions are consistently enforced. Violations can lead to legal ...

AP men’s college basketball poll, Week 4: CSU Rams enters at No. 20, CU Buffs falls just outside Top 25

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

Purdue is back atop The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll, right where it spent so much of last season.The Boilermakers ascended to No. 1 on Monday after an impressive run through a loaded field at the Maui Invitational. They beat Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette — three of the top 11 teams in the nation — in consecutive days, and that was enough to earn 60 of 63 first-place votes from the national panel of Top 25 voters.It took the Boilermakers until Dec. 12 to reach No. 1 last year, where they spent seven weeks over two different stints.“Our guys were resilient, I thought they hung in there, and I thought at times we didn’t play our best basketball in the three days, but I thought we played really hard,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said after the Maui Invitational. “We competed, and that is what you got to do. You got to just sometimes hang in there and just keep competing and make one more play.”Purdue replaced preseason No. 1 Kansas, which fel...