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Georgetown ISD names Dr. Devin Padavil lone finalist for superintendent

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:45 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Georgetown ISD Board of Trustees named a lone finalist for its vacant superintendent position at its regular meeting Monday.Dr. Devin Padavil, who has been the superintendent at Taylor ISD since 2021, is expected to start at Georgetown ISD after the mandatory 21-day waiting period, and the board will vote on hiring Padavil at its next meeting Aug. 7."We are excited to welcome Dr. Padavil to Georgetown," Georgetown ISD Board President Elizabeth McFarland said. "His extensive experience, exceptional leadership, and commitment to educational excellence make him the ideal candidate to lead GISD into the future. Under his guidance, Georgetown ISD is poised for continued growth, innovation, and success."Padavil has a deep background in education with assistant principal stops in Frisco, Pflugerville, Austin and Round Rock school districts, along with various levels of superintendent positions in Fort Bend, Leander and Taylor districts. He also taught English and s...

Investigators mum on Fargo shooting that left police officer dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:45 GMT

Authorities are answering few questions about the Friday shooting in Fargo that killed a police officer, including why the shooter opened fire.This photo provided by The City of Fargo, N.D., on Saturday, July 15, 2023 shows police officer Jake Wallin. On Saturday, Fargo’s police chief said a gunman opened fire on police and firefighters as they responded to a traffic crash in North Dakota. One officer, Wallin, was killed and two others were wounded before a fourth officer killed him. (The City of Fargo via AP)The Fargo Police Department has declined to discuss the Friday shooting that killed 23-year-old Officer Jake Wallin. Fargo Chief Communications Officer Gregg Schildberger referred questions to the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, or BCI, noting the state agency is leading the investigation.Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski did not return a message left by The Forum seeking comment on this story, but City Deputy Chief Communications Officer Katie Ettish said ...

One month after 11 teens shot downtown, no one charged yet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Tuesday marks one month since a barrage of gunfire erupted during a St. Louis party, killing a teenager and injuring nearly a dozen others. No one has been charged.The shooting happened in the early morning hours of June 18 in an office building at 14th and Washington in downtown St. Louis.Investigators said the party was organized on social media.Evita Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, said Monday that two teenagers have been arrested since the gunfire. However, they were released by Juvenile Court and detectives were asked to investigate more. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News SIGN UP NOW On June 23, the department released a photo asking for the public's help to identify five different teenagers. Ca...

Golf ball sized hail dents East St. Louis cars 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:45 GMT

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - It's the worst storm Ron Swanson has seen in his life after living in East St. Louis for nearly 50 years.“I never saw hail this big before in my life," Swanson said.Golf ball-sized hail raining down, denting his truck and cracking his windshield Monday afternoon.“Messed up my window and my truck," Swanson said. "It busts my sister-in-law's car back window out.” Two St. Louis suburbs named among Top 50 ‘safest cities in the US’ To add insult to injury, there were still about 3,500 people without power on Monday due to recent storms in the Metro East. Downed trees and power lines spread out on sidewalks and residential properties. A Cahokia street team crew cleaned up one of the several down trees in the Centreville area.According to Ameren's outage map, about 100 people were still without power in the Centreville area. A timeline to restore power is unknown.Swanson said the only thing he can do the next time a similar storm roll through town is to, "Pray, tha...

FBI's 10 Most Wanted in St. Louis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS – The FBI is turning up the heat in the manhunt for the first St. Louis area suspect to make the FBI’s nationwide Ten Most Wanted list in nearly 60 years. Donald Eugene Fields II’s alleged crimes against children certainly show he belongs on the list, according to the FBI.“Worst case scenario … it’s a nightmare,” said Jay Greenburg, Special Agent-in-Charge for the FBI-St. Louis.Fields II, 59, now appears on wanted posters, websites, and billboards across the country.Fields II allegedly offered sex with a minor girl in his care to another man, in exchange for vacation trips and more.“The allegations involve cash, cars, motorcycles, Christmas presents,” Greenberg said. “Exchanging a child’s innocence for a thing of value converts this from hands on sexual abuse into sexual trafficking.”Fields II was indicted on a federal sex trafficking charge December 2022. He already faced state charges of statutory rape, sodomy, and molestation filed in 2019 for alleged sexual abuse of at...

St. Louis lotto players take their chance on $900M Powerball

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The Monday night Powerball jackpot nears a billion dollars at $900 million. If you aren’t so lucky, there's another chance Tuesday with Mega Millions at $640 million.Since Powerball hasn't produced a grand prize winner in almost three months, the pot now sits at $900 million.The third largest ever."I'm not very lucky, but maybe we'll luck out, me and a couple of guys at work,” said Don Grimes, a lottery player.Monday's Powerball drawing and Tuesday’s Mega Millions are nearing close to a record-breaking combined $1.5 billion. Two St. Louis suburbs named among Top 50 ‘safest cities in the US’ So, what would you do with the money?"Move to Florida. Buy a house, buy a boat, travel a lot, things like that,” said Julie Ronay, a lottery player."Obviously, get caught up on all of your bills, finances, help family members," said Mike Holba, a lottery player. "I do like to think of myself as a generous person, so I would probably do what I can to help dog shelters.""I always thou...

Illinois Treasurer’s office promoting ‘affordable’ private student loans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:45 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs says far too many students are graduating from college with too much debt.It’s a nationwide issue Frerichs hopes to address. The treasurer’s office is partnering with the nonprofit ISL Education Lending to offer what they call “transparent and affordable private student loans.” Qualifying Illinois students and families can use the loans to attend nonprofit colleges or universities in the state of Illinois.“What we’re trying to do is partner with the private sector to offer lower interest rates. We’re not looking to compete with federally-guaranteed loans, but to supplement when there’s a funding gap,” Frerichs said.This loan program was born from the Student Investment Account Act. Passed in 2019, this legislation allows the treasurer to invest up to 5% of the state investment portfolio to provide affordable and responsible educational loan products to Illinois residents. Reported house explosion in St. Charles; 5 peopl...

St. Louis County EMS and fire dispatchers using computer-generated voice  

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - Central County Emergency 911 is one of three dispatch centers in St. Louis County, providing critical information to fire and EMS personnel.Jason Nettles, the agency’s executive director, said a new alert system currently being implemented in St. Louis County utilizes a computer-generated voice to help relay information.“You’re hearing the same consistent cadence, same voice, time after time,” Nettles said. Two St. Louis suburbs named among Top 50 ‘safest cities in the US’ “There’s no question about what the call is or what’s going on,” said Capt. Matt Coppin for the Metro West Fire Protection District.Nettles said that in addition to sharing a clear voice with first responders, the new system also allows dispatchers to notify multiple departments immediately.“If you have a first-alarm residential structure fire, for instance, it’s likely there will be units from maybe three or four different fire districts,” Nettles said.“If you’re dispatching 12, 15 truck...

Alleged rogue cop charged with kidnapping suspect, breaking his jaw

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - St. Louis County police say they’ve solved the mystery of the beaten and bloody man found in a Kinloch field on the Fourth of July.A witness reported seeing a police car near the injured man—a car from a different jurisdiction. That witness tip turned out to be the key to solving the case.Without that witness, who happened to be driving by a mostly abandoned part of Kinloch that evening, it’s impossible to know whether we’d ever know about this case of a cop who allegedly went rogue.It’s a case FOX 2 featured earlier this month. The witness posted her shocking discovery on Facebook and said she noticed the police car in question was from Northwoods. She thought it was strange because Northwoods is about five miles and several police jurisdictions away.Northwoods police confirmed an outside investigation into the case when FOX 2 spoke to police Chief Dennis Shireff on July 7. He said the St. Louis County police had been in touch with his department. Reported...

Cleanup continues in St. Louis County from weekend storm damage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - Power problems are still an issue for thousands after intense storms over the weekend.South St. Louis County was one of the hardest hit areas to show the damage. A huge tree came crashing down on Kamper Drive after the intense storms. Meanwhile, Ameren crews are working nonstop to restore power.After several rounds of high winds and thunderstorms this weekend many customers were left in the dark. Crews have restored service to more than 83,000 customers affected by the recent storms. More than 1,350 crew members are working to restore power. Approximately 96,000 restored to date, and around 2,700 are currently out in St. Louis. Two St. Louis suburbs named among Top 50 ‘safest cities in the US’ “When Mother Nature calls, we are ready to go these last couple of storms, I would say the most challenging thing is falling trees, domino effect," said Tommie Bugett with Ameren. "Also broken poles and down wires, when we talk about replacing a pole that could take m...