Great Plains News Digest
The following AP stories are planned for today or have moved. For text, photos, video, live and audio plans beyond the next 24 hours, please visit Coverage Plan.
——————————
IOWA – UPCOMING – SPORTS
——————————
BKC–COLORADO-IOWA STATE
DESCRIPTION: AMES, Iowa — Iowa State goes for a third win this season over Colorado. The Cyclones beat the Buffaloes at the Maui Invitational and in the Big 12 opener. By Pavle Markovic. 300 words, photos. Game starts 8 p.m. ET.
UPCOMING: By 02/18/2025 07:00 p.m. CST, Text
___
——————————
IOWA – NEW AND DEVELOPING – NEWS
——————————
US–CONGRESS-MEDICAID
Republicans consider cuts and work requirements for Medicaid, jeopardizing care for millions
SUMMARY: Republicans are weighing billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid, jeopardizing health care coverage for some of the 80 million U.S. adults and children enrolled in the safety net program. The increasing number of Americans who signed up for taxpayer-funded health care coverage was lauded by Democrats during the Biden administration. But Republicans during the Trump administration are looking to slash federal spending. The $880 billion Medicaid program is financed mostly by federal taxpayers. The GOP-controlled Congress is eyeing work requirements for Medicaid and considering paying a shrunken, fixed rate to states. Over the next decade, Republican lawmakers could try to siphon billions of dollars from the nearly-free health care coverage offered to the poorest Americans.
WORDS: 1260 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 12:11 p.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:90ec1119f1d95de067c76f79eec7fa87&mediaType=text
___
US–WINTER WEATHER
Arctic air sweeping south over Plains shatters record temperatures in North Dakota
SUMMARY: Arctic air gripping the Plains has broken cold-weather records in North Dakota. The capital city of Bismarck dropped to minus 39 on Tuesday, breaking the record of minus 37 set in 1910 for the same date. And late on Monday, Bismarck sank to minus 35, shattering a 150-year-old record low of minus 35 for Feb. 17. A gradual warmup is expected in coming days. Parts of southwestern and south-central North Dakota are forecasted to hit the 50s on Monday.
WORDS: 222 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 10:41 a.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:67b5ef82d6482df88655e736f7da3213&mediaType=text
___
——————————
IOWA – NEW AND DEVELOPING – SPORTS
——————————
FBC–IOWA ST-CYTOWN DEVELOPMENT
Iowa State unveils plan for entertainment complex between football and basketball venues
SUMMARY: Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard has unveiled a master plan for a 94-acre multi-use development between the schools’ football stadium and basketball arena. It will be called CyTown and is scheduled to open in fall 2027. The development was announced in 2022. It will be open to the general public year-round and the hub of activity on football game days. Construction cost is estimated at $175-225 million. Plans call for a McFarland Clinic medical facility, seven-story hotel, amphitheater, office and retail space and restaurants.
WORDS: 343 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 11:17 a.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:83abf33b6308fd7c0451cbddc56c5aca&mediaType=text
___
BKC–T25-TOP 25 THIS WEEK
The Auburn loss stung, but there’s no time to dwell on it with what looms for No. 4 Alabama
SUMMARY: Fourth-ranked Alabama’s loss to rival Auburn marked the first of seven straight games against ranked teams to close the regular season. This week’s schedule includes matchups against No. 15 Missouri and No. 17 Kentucky. No. 14 Michigan State is the only other ranked team to have as many as five more AP Top 25 opponents still ahead. The week’s national schedule includes the Spartans and No. 7 Texas A&M each having two games against ranked foes. There’s also a marquee matchup in the Big 12 between No. 5 Houston and No. 8 Iowa State.
WORDS: 773 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 04:55 a.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:d3fb7ea3cd3cf8d48ac2314491bf31b4&mediaType=text
___
——————————
KANSAS – UPCOMING – SPORTS
——————————
BKC–KANSAS-BYU
DESCRIPTION: PROVO, Utah — No. 23 Kansas plays BYU at Marriott Center. By John Coon. Game begins at 9 p.m. EST.
UPCOMING: By 02/18/2025 08:00 p.m. CST, Text
___
——————————
MINNESOTA – UPCOMING – NEWS
——————————
US EGG PRICES
DESCRIPTION: MINNEAPOLIS — In an effort to lower egg prices, the Trump administration says it will change the federal policy when a bird flu infection is detected in a chicken flock and stop killing all the birds. That approach, which has been maintained for at least a decade, has meant the destruction of millions of birds at individual operations.
UPCOMING: By 02/18/2025 02:00 p.m. CST, Photo, Text
___
——————————
MINNESOTA – UPCOMING – SPORTS
——————————
BKC–MINNESOTA-UCLA
DESCRIPTION: Minnesota plays UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. UPCOMING: 150 words, more on merit.
UPCOMING: By 02/18/2025 09:30 p.m. CST, Text
___
——————————
MINNESOTA – NEW AND DEVELOPING – NEWS
——————————
CN–TORONTO-DELTA CRASH-THINGS TO KNOW
What to know about the airplane that crashed while landing at Toronto’s airport
SUMMARY: The crash of a passenger jet that flipped while landing in Toronto, Canada, is raising questions about not only cause of the accident but also the safety of flying. The crash was the fourth major aviation accident in North America in the past three weeks. All 80 people on board the Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis that flipped Monday survived. Authorities said Tuesday that two people remain in the hospital while 19 others were treated for relatively minor injuries. Communications between the tower and pilot were normal on approach. Right now, it’s not clear what went wrong.
WORDS: 487 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 12:23 p.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:6d064bbc7a3bb8595183d6765d61a0ee&mediaType=text
___
CN–TORONTO-DELTA CRASH
All 80 aboard a Delta jet survive after it burst into flames on a Toronto runway
SUMMARY: The Delta Air Lines jet came down fast, landing so hard that it lost its right wing, then burst into flames on a runway in Toronto. The aircraft slid to a stop, upside down, leaving a trail of black smoke in its wake and passengers scrambling to escape the wreckage. Miraculously, all 80 people on board the flight from Minneapolis to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport survived the crash Monday afternoon. The airport’s CEO said Tuesday that all but two of the 21 people injured on the flight have been released from hospitals.
WORDS: 901 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 12:17 p.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:9c37b48b9719cffdbeba920d46e116b9&mediaType=text
___
US–TORTURE DEATH
Prosecutors say there’s no evidence so far that torture and killing of missing man was a hate crime
SUMMARY: Investigators say they’ve not yet found evidence that the torture and killing of a transgender man whose body was discarded in an upstate New York field was a hate crime. Five people were charged Friday in the death of Sam Nordquist. Nordquist was a 24-year-old transgender man who was reported missing on Feb. 9. The brutal killing led to questions about whether it was a hate crime. The Ontario County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that Nordquist’s assailants knew each other and identified as LGBTQ+. And at least one lived with Nordquist before the crime. They urged people not to speculate about the motive.
WORDS: 452 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 11:36 a.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:c2f88f82002dfea7d3694841be5a2869&mediaType=text
___
US–WINTER WEATHER
Arctic air sweeping south over Plains shatters record temperatures in North Dakota
SUMMARY: Arctic air gripping the Plains has broken cold-weather records in North Dakota. The capital city of Bismarck dropped to minus 39 on Tuesday, breaking the record of minus 37 set in 1910 for the same date. And late on Monday, Bismarck sank to minus 35, shattering a 150-year-old record low of minus 35 for Feb. 17. A gradual warmup is expected in coming days. Parts of southwestern and south-central North Dakota are forecasted to hit the 50s on Monday.
WORDS: 222 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 10:41 a.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:67b5ef82d6482df88655e736f7da3213&mediaType=text
___
——————————
MISSOURI – NEW AND DEVELOPING – SPORTS
——————————
BKC–T25-TOP 25 THIS WEEK
The Auburn loss stung, but there’s no time to dwell on it with what looms for No. 4 Alabama
SUMMARY: Fourth-ranked Alabama’s loss to rival Auburn marked the first of seven straight games against ranked teams to close the regular season. This week’s schedule includes matchups against No. 15 Missouri and No. 17 Kentucky. No. 14 Michigan State is the only other ranked team to have as many as five more AP Top 25 opponents still ahead. The week’s national schedule includes the Spartans and No. 7 Texas A&M each having two games against ranked foes. There’s also a marquee matchup in the Big 12 between No. 5 Houston and No. 8 Iowa State.
WORDS: 773 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 04:55 a.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:d3fb7ea3cd3cf8d48ac2314491bf31b4&mediaType=text
___
——————————
NEBRASKA – NEW AND DEVELOPING – NEWS
——————————
US–WINTER WEATHER
Arctic air sweeping south over Plains shatters record temperatures in North Dakota
SUMMARY: Arctic air gripping the Plains has broken cold-weather records in North Dakota. The capital city of Bismarck dropped to minus 39 on Tuesday, breaking the record of minus 37 set in 1910 for the same date. And late on Monday, Bismarck sank to minus 35, shattering a 150-year-old record low of minus 35 for Feb. 17. A gradual warmup is expected in coming days. Parts of southwestern and south-central North Dakota are forecasted to hit the 50s on Monday.
WORDS: 222 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 10:41 a.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:67b5ef82d6482df88655e736f7da3213&mediaType=text
___
——————————
NEBRASKA – NEW AND DEVELOPING – SPORTS
——————————
FBC–IOWA ST-CYTOWN DEVELOPMENT
Iowa State unveils plan for entertainment complex between football and basketball venues
SUMMARY: Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard has unveiled a master plan for a 94-acre multi-use development between the schools’ football stadium and basketball arena. It will be called CyTown and is scheduled to open in fall 2027. The development was announced in 2022. It will be open to the general public year-round and the hub of activity on football game days. Construction cost is estimated at $175-225 million. Plans call for a McFarland Clinic medical facility, seven-story hotel, amphitheater, office and retail space and restaurants.
WORDS: 343 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 11:17 a.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:83abf33b6308fd7c0451cbddc56c5aca&mediaType=text
___
——————————
OKLAHOMA – UPCOMING – SPORTS
——————————
BKC–T25-OKLAHOMA-FLORIDA
DESCRIPTION: GAINESVILLE, Fla. — No. 2 Florida, playing with its highest ranking since having the top spot in 2014, tries to win its fifth consecutive game when it hosts Oklahoma. By Mark Long. UPCOMING: 300 words, photos. Begins at 7 p.m. ET
UPCOMING: By 02/18/2025 08:30 p.m. CST, Photo, Text
___
——————————
NORTH DAKOTA – NEW AND DEVELOPING – NEWS
——————————
US–WINTER WEATHER
Arctic air sweeping south over Plains shatters record temperatures in North Dakota
SUMMARY: Arctic air gripping the Plains has broken cold-weather records in North Dakota. The capital city of Bismarck dropped to minus 39 on Tuesday, breaking the record of minus 37 set in 1910 for the same date. And late on Monday, Bismarck sank to minus 35, shattering a 150-year-old record low of minus 35 for Feb. 17. A gradual warmup is expected in coming days. Parts of southwestern and south-central North Dakota are forecasted to hit the 50s on Monday.
WORDS: 222 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 10:41 a.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:67b5ef82d6482df88655e736f7da3213&mediaType=text
___
US–LEONARD PELTIER-RELEASE
Leonard Peltier leaves prison after Biden commuted his sentence in the killing of two FBI agents
SUMMARY: Native American activist Leonard Peltier has been released from a Florida prison, weeks after then-President Joe Biden angered law enforcement officials by commuting his life sentence to home confinement in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents. A prison official says the 80-year-old Peltier left Coleman penitentiary in an SUV. He didn’t stop to speak with reporters or the roughly two dozen supporters who gathered outside the gates to celebrate his release. Peltier, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota, is headed back to his reservation, where family and friends will celebrate his release with him on Wednesday and where he’ll serve his home confinement.
WORDS: 747 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 10:15 a.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:8b7da707f4921e974b53ede7d032cf23&mediaType=text
___
——————————
SOUTH DAKOTA – NEW AND DEVELOPING – NEWS
——————————
US–CONGRESS-MEDICAID
Republicans consider cuts and work requirements for Medicaid, jeopardizing care for millions
SUMMARY: Republicans are weighing billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid, jeopardizing health care coverage for some of the 80 million U.S. adults and children enrolled in the safety net program. The increasing number of Americans who signed up for taxpayer-funded health care coverage was lauded by Democrats during the Biden administration. But Republicans during the Trump administration are looking to slash federal spending. The $880 billion Medicaid program is financed mostly by federal taxpayers. The GOP-controlled Congress is eyeing work requirements for Medicaid and considering paying a shrunken, fixed rate to states. Over the next decade, Republican lawmakers could try to siphon billions of dollars from the nearly-free health care coverage offered to the poorest Americans.
WORDS: 1260 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 12:11 p.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:90ec1119f1d95de067c76f79eec7fa87&mediaType=text
___
US–LEONARD PELTIER-RELEASE
Leonard Peltier leaves prison after Biden commuted his sentence in the killing of two FBI agents
SUMMARY: Native American activist Leonard Peltier has been released from a Florida prison, weeks after then-President Joe Biden angered law enforcement officials by commuting his life sentence to home confinement in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents. A prison official says the 80-year-old Peltier left Coleman penitentiary in an SUV. He didn’t stop to speak with reporters or the roughly two dozen supporters who gathered outside the gates to celebrate his release. Peltier, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota, is headed back to his reservation, where family and friends will celebrate his release with him on Wednesday and where he’ll serve his home confinement.
WORDS: 747 – MOVED: 02/18/2025 10:15 a.m. CST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:8b7da707f4921e974b53ede7d032cf23&mediaType=text
___
