Marilyn Hazel Fulton, 90, passed away May
8, 2025 at Menorah Medical Center, Overland Park, KS.

She was
born October 31, 1934 in Larned; the daughter of John and Hazel Deets
Couchman.&nbsp; A lifetime area resident she
was a greenhouse associate at the Larned Greenhouse and also worked at Alco.

She was a
member of the Larned United Methodist Church, Job’s Daughters and Order of the
Eastern Star.&nbsp; Marilyn enjoyed gardening,
yardwork, construction, doing anything with flowers and crafts, cooking and
spending time with her family.

On April
3, 1960 she married Raymond Fulton in Larned, Kansas.&nbsp; He passed away September 1, 2000.

Survivors
include; two daughters, Deana (Rob Kramer) Robben, Hays and Linda Dreiling,
Lawrence; four grandchildren, Haley (Brock) Johnson, Johnstown, Co, Joshua
(Brittany Crump) Dreiling, Baldwin City, Casey Robben, Hays and Nicholas
(Patience Dickerman) Dreiling, Hays; two step grandchildren, Kristonna Kramer,
Phoenix, AZ and Konner Kramer, Ellis; and two great grandchildren, Emmi and
Parker.

She was
preceded in death by; her husband Raymond and a brother Lorraine Couchman.

Graveside
service will be 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at Larned Cemetery with Reverend
Angela DeFisher presiding.&nbsp; There will be
no visitation.&nbsp; 

Memorials
may be given to the great grandchildren’s education fund, checks made payable
to Deana Robben, in care of Beckwith Mortuary, P.O. Box 477, Larned, KS
67550.&nbsp; Personal condolences may be left
at <a href="http://www.beckwithmortuary.com">www.beckwithmortuary.com</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1746826794381.jpeg" alt="Marilyn Hazel Fulton" />
 <figcaption>Marilyn Hazel Fulton</figcaption>
 </figure>Marilyn Hazel Fulton, 90, passed away May
8, 2025 at Menorah Medical Center, Overland Park, KS.She was
born October 31, 1934 in Larned; the daughter of John and Hazel Deets
Couchman.&nbsp; A lifetime area resident she
was a greenhouse associate at the Larned Greenhouse and also worked at Alco.She was a
member of the Larned United Methodist Church, Job’s Daughters and Order of the
Eastern Star.&nbsp; Marilyn enjoyed gardening,
yardwork, construction, doing anything with flowers and crafts, cooking and
spending time with her family.On April
3, 1960 she married Raymond Fulton in Larned, Kansas.&nbsp; He passed away September 1, 2000.Survivors
include; two daughters, Deana (Rob Kramer) Robben, Hays and Linda Dreiling,
Lawrence; four grandchildren, Haley (Brock) Johnson, Johnstown, Co, Joshua
(Brittany Crump) Dreiling, Baldwin City, Casey Robben, Hays and Nicholas
(Patience Dickerman) Dreiling, Hays; two step grandchildren, Kristonna Kramer,
Phoenix, AZ and Konner Kramer, Ellis; and two great grandchildren, Emmi and
Parker.She was
preceded in death by; her husband Raymond and a brother Lorraine Couchman.Graveside
service will be 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at Larned Cemetery with Reverend
Angela DeFisher presiding.&nbsp; There will be
no visitation.&nbsp; Memorials
may be given to the great grandchildren’s education fund, checks made payable
to Deana Robben, in care of Beckwith Mortuary, P.O. Box 477, Larned, KS
67550.&nbsp; Personal condolences may be left
at <a href="http://www.beckwithmortuary.com">www.beckwithmortuary.com</a>.

Marilyn Hazel Fulton

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DEVI%20SHASTRI%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By DEVI SHASTRI AP Health Writer</a>

The U.S. surpassed 1,000 measles cases Friday, even as Texas posted one of its lowest counts of newly confirmed cases since its large outbreak began three months ago.

<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/sxSwi/?v=7">Texas</a>&nbsp;still accounts for the vast majority of cases in the U.S., with 709 confirmed as of Friday in an outbreak that also spread measles to New Mexico, Oklahoma and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/aP4Au/?v=3">Kansas.</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50">Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children</a>&nbsp;died from measles-related illnesses in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">the epicenter in West Texas,</a>&nbsp;and an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-death-new-mexico-texas-outbreak-b9aef6fdd51fbb4ebd1ce9ce28e33299">adult in New Mexico</a>&nbsp;who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.

Other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-kansas-ohio-mmr-vaccination-new-mexico-texas-569474272df9baaad1f6d73462ebe92a">states with active outbreaks</a>&nbsp;— which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

North America has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-mexico-canada-ontario-0956a30c043b030ae79bc9f67c6ce89c">two other ongoing outbreaks</a>, all of which are the same measles strain. One outbreak in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/M/24/measles-ontario-epi-summary.pdf?rev=323859266e21469b8b97a294d6c6f98e&amp;sc_lang=en">1,440 cases</a>&nbsp;from mid-October through May 6, up 197 cases in a week. And the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-measles-vaccines-misinformation-mmr-mennonites-misinformation-ea6158b9a4d513b20f33cbc09034e5c2">Mexican state of Chihuahua</a>&nbsp;had 1,041 measles cases and one death as of Friday, according to data from the state health ministry.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-mmr-outbreak-vaccines-408371700e3ab548777bf0354e586549">Measles</a>&nbsp;is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-vaccines-autism-measles-obesity-food-dye-f26089856550e978d28fd25b653d8103">preventable through vaccines</a>, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.

As the virus takes hold in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-vaccines-funding-cuts-5785985d6b74024b0502f6a2fc1576e2">U.S. communities with low vaccination rates</a>, health experts fear that spread&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-outbreak-mmr-vaccine-6cfda9a944084c390bc70f0e7a37a426">could stretch on for a year</a>. Here’s what else you&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">need to know about measles in the U.S.</a>

<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/aP4Au/?v=3">Kansas</a>&nbsp;has a total of 49 cases across eight counties in the southwestern part of the state, with one hospitalization. Most of the cases are in Gray, Haskell and Stevens counties.&nbsp; Sedgwick County is also reporting a case of measles.

How many measles cases are there in Texas?

There are a total of 709 cases across&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/sxSwi/?v=7">29 counties, most of them in West Texas</a>, state health officials said Friday. The state confirmed only seven more cases since its update Tuesday.

The state also added one hospitalization to its count, for a total of 92 throughout the outbreak.

<a href="https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/measles-outbreak-2025">State health officials estimated</a>&nbsp;about 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious. Fifty-seven percent of Texas’ cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 403 cases since late January — just over 1.7% of the county’s residents.

The April 3 death in Texas was an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50">8-year-old child,</a>&nbsp;according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-measles-outbreak-rfk-jr-ben-edwards-2dd7c79d47c64ad2e6d4a4ac3c87ec1f">Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>&nbsp;Local health officials said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-west-texas-death-rfk-41adc66641e4a56ce2b2677480031ab9">child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas</a>&nbsp;in late February; Kennedy said the child was 6.

How many measles cases are there in New Mexico?

New Mexico added four cases Friday for 71 total. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state’s cases are in Lea County. Three are in Eddy County, two in Doña Ana County and one in Chaves County. Curry County logged its first case this week.

An unvaccinated adult died of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-death-new-mexico-texas-outbreak-b9aef6fdd51fbb4ebd1ce9ce28e33299">measles-related illness March 6</a>. The person did not seek medical care.

Oklahoma held steady with a total of 14 confirmed and three probable cases as of Friday.

The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases, but Cleveland, Oklahoma and Sequoyah counties have had public exposures in the past couple of months.

Indiana has eight cases, all of them in Allen County in the northeast part of the state. The cases have no known link to other outbreaks, the Allen County Department of Health has said.

Michigan has nine confirmed cases of measles, with an outbreak of four connected cases in Montcalm County in the western part of the state that state health officials say is tied to the Ontario outbreak.

Montana added three new measles cases in the last two weeks, bringing the total to eight. The state's outbreak started in mid-April in southwestern Gallatin County — Montana’s first measles cases in 35 years. Health officials didn’t say whether the cases are linked to other outbreaks in North America.

How many cases are there in North Dakota?

North Dakota has nine cases of measles as of Tuesday. The state hadn't seen measles since 2011, health officials said.

All are in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border. The state health department says three of the confirmed cases are linked to the first case — an unvaccinated child who health officials believe got it from an out-of-state visitor.

The other five cases were people who were not vaccinated and did not have contact with the other cases, causing concern about community transmission. The state health department said four people diagnosed with measles attended classes while infectious at a Williston elementary school, middle school and high school.

Ohio has 34 measles cases and one hospitalization, according to the Ohio Department of Health. That count includes only Ohio residents.

The state has two outbreaks: Ashtabula County near Cleveland has 16 cases, and Knox County in east-central Ohio has 20 — 14 among Ohio residents and the rest among visitors.

Allen, Cuyahoga, Holmes and Defiance counties have one case each.

How many cases are there in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania has 15 cases overall in 2025 as of Friday, including international travel-related cases in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/health/documents/topics/documents/2025%20HAN/2025-787-3-13-ADV-%20Measles.pdf">Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia</a>.

There were eight measles cases in Erie County in far northwest Pennsylvania in late April; the county declared an outbreak in mid-April.

Tennessee had six measles cases as of early May. Health department spokesman Bill Christian said all cases are the middle part of the state, and that “at least three of these cases are linked to each other” but declined to specify further. The state also did not say whether the cases were linked to other outbreaks or when Tennessee’s outbreak started.

Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.?

Measles cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-asia-measles-rates-unicef-who-report-2f888732cc297090238956986fd89cc4">someone who caught the disease abroad</a>. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.

What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?

The best way to avoid measles is to get the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/vaccines/mmr.html">measles, mumps and rubella</a>&nbsp;vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.

Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.

People who have documentation that they had measles are immune, and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have “presumptive immunity."

Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — due to “herd immunity.” But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots.

Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.

The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.

Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/measles/signs-symptoms/index.html">dangerous complications</a>&nbsp;such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.

There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1743085628490.png" alt="Photo by Tatiana Lanzieri Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.png" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Tatiana Lanzieri Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.png</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DEVI%20SHASTRI%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By DEVI SHASTRI AP Health Writer</a>The U.S. surpassed 1,000 measles cases Friday, even as Texas posted one of its lowest counts of newly confirmed cases since its large outbreak began three months ago.<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/sxSwi/?v=7">Texas</a>&nbsp;still accounts for the vast majority of cases in the U.S., with 709 confirmed as of Friday in an outbreak that also spread measles to New Mexico, Oklahoma and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/aP4Au/?v=3">Kansas.</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50">Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children</a>&nbsp;died from measles-related illnesses in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">the epicenter in West Texas,</a>&nbsp;and an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-death-new-mexico-texas-outbreak-b9aef6fdd51fbb4ebd1ce9ce28e33299">adult in New Mexico</a>&nbsp;who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.Other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-kansas-ohio-mmr-vaccination-new-mexico-texas-569474272df9baaad1f6d73462ebe92a">states with active outbreaks</a>&nbsp;— which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.North America has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-mexico-canada-ontario-0956a30c043b030ae79bc9f67c6ce89c">two other ongoing outbreaks</a>, all of which are the same measles strain. One outbreak in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/M/24/measles-ontario-epi-summary.pdf?rev=323859266e21469b8b97a294d6c6f98e&amp;sc_lang=en">1,440 cases</a>&nbsp;from mid-October through May 6, up 197 cases in a week. And the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-measles-vaccines-misinformation-mmr-mennonites-misinformation-ea6158b9a4d513b20f33cbc09034e5c2">Mexican state of Chihuahua</a>&nbsp;had 1,041 measles cases and one death as of Friday, according to data from the state health ministry.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-mmr-outbreak-vaccines-408371700e3ab548777bf0354e586549">Measles</a>&nbsp;is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-vaccines-autism-measles-obesity-food-dye-f26089856550e978d28fd25b653d8103">preventable through vaccines</a>, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.As the virus takes hold in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-vaccines-funding-cuts-5785985d6b74024b0502f6a2fc1576e2">U.S. communities with low vaccination rates</a>, health experts fear that spread&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-outbreak-mmr-vaccine-6cfda9a944084c390bc70f0e7a37a426">could stretch on for a year</a>. Here’s what else you&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">need to know about measles in the U.S.</a><h2>How many cases are there in Kansas?</h2><a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/aP4Au/?v=3">Kansas</a>&nbsp;has a total of 49 cases across eight counties in the southwestern part of the state, with one hospitalization. Most of the cases are in Gray, Haskell and Stevens counties.&nbsp; Sedgwick County is also reporting a case of measles.<h2>How many measles cases are there in Texas?</h2>There are a total of 709 cases across&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/sxSwi/?v=7">29 counties, most of them in West Texas</a>, state health officials said Friday. The state confirmed only seven more cases since its update Tuesday.The state also added one hospitalization to its count, for a total of 92 throughout the outbreak.<a href="https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/measles-outbreak-2025">State health officials estimated</a>&nbsp;about 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious. Fifty-seven percent of Texas’ cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 403 cases since late January — just over 1.7% of the county’s residents.The April 3 death in Texas was an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50">8-year-old child,</a>&nbsp;according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-measles-outbreak-rfk-jr-ben-edwards-2dd7c79d47c64ad2e6d4a4ac3c87ec1f">Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>&nbsp;Local health officials said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-west-texas-death-rfk-41adc66641e4a56ce2b2677480031ab9">child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas</a>&nbsp;in late February; Kennedy said the child was 6.<h2>How many measles cases are there in New Mexico?</h2>New Mexico added four cases Friday for 71 total. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state’s cases are in Lea County. Three are in Eddy County, two in Doña Ana County and one in Chaves County. Curry County logged its first case this week.An unvaccinated adult died of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-death-new-mexico-texas-outbreak-b9aef6fdd51fbb4ebd1ce9ce28e33299">measles-related illness March 6</a>. The person did not seek medical care.<h2>How many cases are there in Oklahoma?</h2>Oklahoma held steady with a total of 14 confirmed and three probable cases as of Friday.The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases, but Cleveland, Oklahoma and Sequoyah counties have had public exposures in the past couple of months.<h2>How many cases are there in Indiana?</h2>Indiana has eight cases, all of them in Allen County in the northeast part of the state. The cases have no known link to other outbreaks, the Allen County Department of Health has said.<h2>How many cases are there in Michigan?</h2>Michigan has nine confirmed cases of measles, with an outbreak of four connected cases in Montcalm County in the western part of the state that state health officials say is tied to the Ontario outbreak.<h2>How many cases are there in Montana?</h2>Montana added three new measles cases in the last two weeks, bringing the total to eight. The state's outbreak started in mid-April in southwestern Gallatin County — Montana’s first measles cases in 35 years. Health officials didn’t say whether the cases are linked to other outbreaks in North America.<h2>How many cases are there in North Dakota?</h2>North Dakota has nine cases of measles as of Tuesday. The state hadn't seen measles since 2011, health officials said.All are in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border. The state health department says three of the confirmed cases are linked to the first case — an unvaccinated child who health officials believe got it from an out-of-state visitor.The other five cases were people who were not vaccinated and did not have contact with the other cases, causing concern about community transmission. The state health department said four people diagnosed with measles attended classes while infectious at a Williston elementary school, middle school and high school.<h2>How many cases are there in Ohio?</h2>Ohio has 34 measles cases and one hospitalization, according to the Ohio Department of Health. That count includes only Ohio residents.The state has two outbreaks: Ashtabula County near Cleveland has 16 cases, and Knox County in east-central Ohio has 20 — 14 among Ohio residents and the rest among visitors.Allen, Cuyahoga, Holmes and Defiance counties have one case each.<h2>How many cases are there in Pennsylvania?</h2>Pennsylvania has 15 cases overall in 2025 as of Friday, including international travel-related cases in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/health/documents/topics/documents/2025%20HAN/2025-787-3-13-ADV-%20Measles.pdf">Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia</a>.There were eight measles cases in Erie County in far northwest Pennsylvania in late April; the county declared an outbreak in mid-April.<h2>How many cases are there in Tennessee?</h2>Tennessee had six measles cases as of early May. Health department spokesman Bill Christian said all cases are the middle part of the state, and that “at least three of these cases are linked to each other” but declined to specify further. The state also did not say whether the cases were linked to other outbreaks or when Tennessee’s outbreak started.<h2>Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.?</h2>Measles cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-asia-measles-rates-unicef-who-report-2f888732cc297090238956986fd89cc4">someone who caught the disease abroad</a>. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.<h2>What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?</h2>The best way to avoid measles is to get the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/vaccines/mmr.html">measles, mumps and rubella</a>&nbsp;vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.People who have documentation that they had measles are immune, and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have “presumptive immunity."Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — due to “herd immunity.” But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots.<h2>What are the symptoms of measles?</h2>Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/measles/signs-symptoms/index.html">dangerous complications</a>&nbsp;such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.<h2>How can you treat measles?</h2>There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

US has over 1,000 measles cases, 11 states with active outbreaks

SEDGWICK&nbsp; COUNTY —A case of measles has been confirmed in Sedgwick County&nbsp;in an unvaccinated child between the ages of 5 and 10 years old, the county health department reported on its website Wednesday.

Sedgwick County officials are working to identify the source of exposure and notify anyone who may have been exposed. The health department urged residents to review their vaccination status and consult their healthcare provider if they have symptoms.

Meanwhile, the Kansas Department of Health on Wednesday reported three new case of measles over the past week in the state.&nbsp;&nbsp; The state's updated report did not include the case just announced in Sedgwick County.

Kansas has 49 cases in eight counties in the southwest part of the state as of Wednesday, including Morton Stevens, Haskell, Kiowa, Grant, Finney, Ford and Gray counties. One person remains hospitalized, according to the KDHE.

North Dakota is the 11th state in the U.S. with a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-vaccines-funding-cuts-5785985d6b74024b0502f6a2fc1576e2">measles outbreak</a>, logging its first cases since 2011.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's confirmed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-mmr-vaccine-texas-rfk-ff8e744b19ead87698d7217de02814ee">measles case</a>&nbsp;count is 935, more than triple the amount seen in all of 2024. The three-month outbreak in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/sxSwi/?v=7">Texas</a>&nbsp;accounts for the vast majority of cases, with 702 confirmed as of Tuesday. The outbreak has also spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/aP4Au/?v=3">Kansas.</a>

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50">Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children</a>&nbsp;died from measles-related illnesses in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">the epicenter in West Texas,</a>&nbsp;and an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-death-new-mexico-texas-outbreak-b9aef6fdd51fbb4ebd1ce9ce28e33299">adult in New Mexico</a>&nbsp;who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.

North America has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-mexico-canada-ontario-0956a30c043b030ae79bc9f67c6ce89c">two other ongoing outbreaks</a>. One in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/M/24/measles-ontario-epi-summary.pdf?rev=323859266e21469b8b97a294d6c6f98e&amp;sc_lang=en">1,243 cases</a>&nbsp;from mid-October through April 29. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 922 measles cases and one death as of Tuesday, according to data from the state health ministry. Health officials in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2025-DON561">Mexico</a>&nbsp;and the U.S. say all three outbreaks are of the same measles strain.

As the virus takes hold in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-vaccines-funding-cuts-5785985d6b74024b0502f6a2fc1576e2">U.S. communities with low vaccination rates</a>, health experts fear that spread&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-outbreak-mmr-vaccine-6cfda9a944084c390bc70f0e7a37a426">could stretch on for a year</a>. Here's what else you&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">need to know about measles in the U.S.</a>

Getting another MMR shot is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective measles vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.

People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because most children back then had measles and now have “presumptive immunity.”

In communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called “herd immunity.”

But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. The U.S. saw&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-cdc-outbreak-chicago-mmr-vaccine-7ecdfef41e6dbd659c7ac8b80d5de38f">a rise in measles cases in 2024</a>, including an outbreak in Chicago that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-chicago-migrant-shelter-cdc-e58517c830f73e42266d45d45983c12b">sickened more than 60.</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741908329913.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK&nbsp; COUNTY —A case of measles has been confirmed in Sedgwick County&nbsp;in an unvaccinated child between the ages of 5 and 10 years old, the county health department reported on its website Wednesday.Sedgwick County officials are working to identify the source of exposure and notify anyone who may have been exposed. The health department urged residents to review their vaccination status and consult their healthcare provider if they have symptoms.Meanwhile, the Kansas Department of Health on Wednesday reported three new case of measles over the past week in the state.&nbsp;&nbsp; The state's updated report did not include the case just announced in Sedgwick County.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1746639344474.png" alt="KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>Kansas has 49 cases in eight counties in the southwest part of the state as of Wednesday, including Morton Stevens, Haskell, Kiowa, Grant, Finney, Ford and Gray counties. One person remains hospitalized, according to the KDHE.North Dakota is the 11th state in the U.S. with a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-vaccines-funding-cuts-5785985d6b74024b0502f6a2fc1576e2">measles outbreak</a>, logging its first cases since 2011.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's confirmed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-mmr-vaccine-texas-rfk-ff8e744b19ead87698d7217de02814ee">measles case</a>&nbsp;count is 935, more than triple the amount seen in all of 2024. The three-month outbreak in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/sxSwi/?v=7">Texas</a>&nbsp;accounts for the vast majority of cases, with 702 confirmed as of Tuesday. The outbreak has also spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/aP4Au/?v=3">Kansas.</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50">Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children</a>&nbsp;died from measles-related illnesses in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">the epicenter in West Texas,</a>&nbsp;and an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-death-new-mexico-texas-outbreak-b9aef6fdd51fbb4ebd1ce9ce28e33299">adult in New Mexico</a>&nbsp;who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.Other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-kansas-ohio-mmr-vaccination-new-mexico-texas-569474272df9baaad1f6d73462ebe92a">states with active outbreaks</a>&nbsp;— which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.North America has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-mexico-canada-ontario-0956a30c043b030ae79bc9f67c6ce89c">two other ongoing outbreaks</a>. One in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/M/24/measles-ontario-epi-summary.pdf?rev=323859266e21469b8b97a294d6c6f98e&amp;sc_lang=en">1,243 cases</a>&nbsp;from mid-October through April 29. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 922 measles cases and one death as of Tuesday, according to data from the state health ministry. Health officials in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2025-DON561">Mexico</a>&nbsp;and the U.S. say all three outbreaks are of the same measles strain.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-mmr-outbreak-vaccines-408371700e3ab548777bf0354e586549">Measles</a>&nbsp;is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-vaccines-autism-measles-obesity-food-dye-f26089856550e978d28fd25b653d8103">preventable through vaccines</a>, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.As the virus takes hold in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-vaccines-funding-cuts-5785985d6b74024b0502f6a2fc1576e2">U.S. communities with low vaccination rates</a>, health experts fear that spread&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-outbreak-mmr-vaccine-6cfda9a944084c390bc70f0e7a37a426">could stretch on for a year</a>. Here's what else you&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">need to know about measles in the U.S.</a><h2>What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?</h2>The best way to avoid measles is to get the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/vaccines/mmr.html">measles, mumps and rubella</a>&nbsp;vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.Getting another MMR shot is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective measles vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because most children back then had measles and now have “presumptive immunity.”In communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called “herd immunity.”But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. The U.S. saw&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-cdc-outbreak-chicago-mmr-vaccine-7ecdfef41e6dbd659c7ac8b80d5de38f">a rise in measles cases in 2024</a>, including an outbreak in Chicago that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-chicago-migrant-shelter-cdc-e58517c830f73e42266d45d45983c12b">sickened more than 60.</a><h2>What are the symptoms of measles?</h2>Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/measles/signs-symptoms/index.html">dangerous complications</a>&nbsp;such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.<h2>How can you treat measles?</h2>There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.<ul>
 <li>People who are at risk for measles infection are those who have not been vaccinated.</li><li>Babies 6 to 11 months old in Sedgwick County can now receive the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine ahead of schedule&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/civicalerts.aspx?AID=1493" target="_blank">per KDHE</a>. Children should then follow the recommended vaccination schedule as they get older.</li><li>If you have not been vaccinated or are unsure, call your healthcare provider or the Sedgwick County Health Department at&nbsp;316-660-7300&nbsp;to schedule a MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination.</li>
 </ul>

Measles outbreak continues to grow in Kansas 

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DEVI%20SHASTRI%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By DEVI SHASTRI &nbsp;AP Health Writer</a>

<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/aP4Au/?v=3">Kansas</a>&nbsp;added nine cases Wednesday for a total of 46 across eight counties in the southwest part of the state. Gray County is up to 15 cases. The state also reported its first hospitalization.

Kansas' health department didn't elaborate Wednesday about a discrepancy in the number of new cases at the state and county levels beyond noting that case counts are “fluid as the outbreak progresses."

The state's first reported case is linked to the Texas outbreak based on genetic testing.

How many measles cases are there in Texas and New Mexico?

Texas state health officials said Tuesday there were 19 new cases of measles since Friday, bringing the total to 702&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/sxSwi/?v=7">across 29 counties</a>&nbsp;— most of them in West Texas. The state also added two hospitalizations to its count Friday, for a total of 91 throughout the outbreak.

<a href="https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/measles-outbreak-2025">State health officials estimated</a>&nbsp;about 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious.

Fifty-seven percent of Texas' cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 403 cases since late January — just over 1.7% of the county's residents.

The April 3 death in Texas was an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50">8-year-old child,</a>&nbsp;according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-measles-outbreak-rfk-jr-ben-edwards-2dd7c79d47c64ad2e6d4a4ac3c87ec1f">Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>&nbsp;Local health officials in Texas said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child's doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-west-texas-death-rfk-41adc66641e4a56ce2b2677480031ab9">child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas</a>&nbsp;in late February — Kennedy said age 6.

New Mexico was steady Tuesday with 67 total cases. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state's cases are in Lea County. Three are in Eddy County, two in Doña Ana County and one in Chaves County.

Indiana confirmed two more cases April 21 in an outbreak that has sickened eight in Allen County in the northeast part of the state — five are unvaccinated minors and three are adults whose vaccination status is unknown.

The cases have no known link to other outbreaks, the Allen County Department of Health has said.

Montcalm County, near Grand Rapids in western Michigan, has an outbreak of four cases that state health officials say is tied to the Ontario outbreak. The state had nine confirmed measles cases as of Friday, but the remaining five are not part of the Montcalm County outbreak.

Montana state health officials announced five cases April 17 in unvaccinated children and adults who had traveled out of state, and later confirmed it was an outbreak. All five are isolating at home in Gallatin County in the southwest part of the state.

They were Montana’s first measles cases in 35 years. Health officials didn’t say whether the cases are linked to other outbreaks in North America.

How many measles cases are there in North Dakota?

North Dakota announced its first measles case since 2011 on Friday, and by Tuesday, there were nine cases.

All are in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border. The state health department said Monday that three of the confirmed cases are linked to the first case — an unvaccinated child who health officials believe got it from an out-of-state visitor.

The other five cases, announced Tuesday, were people who were not vaccinated and did not have contact with the other cases, causing concern about community transmission. The state health department said four people diagnosed with measles attended classes while infectious at a Williston elementary school, middle school and high school.

The state has two outbreaks. Ashtabula County near Cleveland has 16 cases. And Knox County in east-central Ohio has 20 — 14 among Ohio residents and the rest among visitors.

The Ohio Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 33 measles cases and one hospitalization. That count includes only Ohio residents. Defiance County in the northwestern part of the state has logged its first case.

Allen and Holmes counties have had one case each.

Oklahoma added one case for a total of 14 confirmed and three probable cases as of Tuesday. The outbreak is linked to Texas and New Mexico.

There are eight measles cases in Erie County in far northwest Pennsylvania, officials said Friday. The county declared an outbreak in mid-April. The state has said it has 13 cases overall in 2025, including international travel-related cases in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/health/documents/topics/documents/2025%20HAN/2025-787-3-13-ADV-%20Measles.pdf">Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia</a>.

Tennessee had six measles cases as of last week. Health department spokesman Bill Christian said all cases are the middle part of the state, and that “at least three of these cases are linked to each other” but declined to specify further. The state also did not say whether the cases were linked to other outbreaks or when Tennessee's outbreak started.

The state health department announced the first measles case March 21, three more on April 1 and the last two on April 17, but none of the news releases declared an outbreak. However, Tennessee was on a list of outbreak states in a CDC report April 17.

Cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1743085628490.png" alt="Photo by Tatiana Lanzieri Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.png" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Tatiana Lanzieri Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.png</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DEVI%20SHASTRI%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By DEVI SHASTRI &nbsp;AP Health Writer</a>North Dakota is the 11th state in the U.S. with a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-vaccines-funding-cuts-5785985d6b74024b0502f6a2fc1576e2">measles outbreak</a>, logging its first cases since 2011.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's confirmed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-mmr-vaccine-texas-rfk-ff8e744b19ead87698d7217de02814ee">measles case</a>&nbsp;count is 935, more than triple the amount seen in all of 2024. The three-month outbreak in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/sxSwi/?v=7">Texas</a>&nbsp;accounts for the vast majority of cases, with 702 confirmed as of Tuesday. The outbreak has also spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/aP4Au/?v=3">Kansas.</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50">Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children</a>&nbsp;died from measles-related illnesses in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">the epicenter in West Texas,</a>&nbsp;and an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-death-new-mexico-texas-outbreak-b9aef6fdd51fbb4ebd1ce9ce28e33299">adult in New Mexico</a>&nbsp;who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.Other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-kansas-ohio-mmr-vaccination-new-mexico-texas-569474272df9baaad1f6d73462ebe92a">states with active outbreaks</a>&nbsp;— which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.North America has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-mexico-canada-ontario-0956a30c043b030ae79bc9f67c6ce89c">two other ongoing outbreaks</a>. One in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/M/24/measles-ontario-epi-summary.pdf?rev=323859266e21469b8b97a294d6c6f98e&amp;sc_lang=en">1,243 cases</a>&nbsp;from mid-October through April 29. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 922 measles cases and one death as of Tuesday, according to data from the state health ministry. Health officials in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2025-DON561">Mexico</a>&nbsp;and the U.S. say all three outbreaks are of the same measles strain.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-mmr-outbreak-vaccines-408371700e3ab548777bf0354e586549">Measles</a>&nbsp;is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-vaccines-autism-measles-obesity-food-dye-f26089856550e978d28fd25b653d8103">preventable through vaccines</a>, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.As the virus takes hold in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-vaccines-funding-cuts-5785985d6b74024b0502f6a2fc1576e2">U.S. communities with low vaccination rates</a>, health experts fear that spread&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-outbreak-mmr-vaccine-6cfda9a944084c390bc70f0e7a37a426">could stretch on for a year</a>. Here's what else you&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">need to know about measles in the U.S.</a><h2>How many cases are there in Kansas?</h2><a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/aP4Au/?v=3">Kansas</a>&nbsp;added nine cases Wednesday for a total of 46 across eight counties in the southwest part of the state. Gray County is up to 15 cases. The state also reported its first hospitalization.Kansas' health department didn't elaborate Wednesday about a discrepancy in the number of new cases at the state and county levels beyond noting that case counts are “fluid as the outbreak progresses."The state's first reported case is linked to the Texas outbreak based on genetic testing.<h2>How many measles cases are there in Texas and New Mexico?</h2>Texas state health officials said Tuesday there were 19 new cases of measles since Friday, bringing the total to 702&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/sxSwi/?v=7">across 29 counties</a>&nbsp;— most of them in West Texas. The state also added two hospitalizations to its count Friday, for a total of 91 throughout the outbreak.<a href="https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/measles-outbreak-2025">State health officials estimated</a>&nbsp;about 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious.Fifty-seven percent of Texas' cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 403 cases since late January — just over 1.7% of the county's residents.The April 3 death in Texas was an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50">8-year-old child,</a>&nbsp;according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-measles-outbreak-rfk-jr-ben-edwards-2dd7c79d47c64ad2e6d4a4ac3c87ec1f">Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>&nbsp;Local health officials in Texas said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child's doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-west-texas-death-rfk-41adc66641e4a56ce2b2677480031ab9">child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas</a>&nbsp;in late February — Kennedy said age 6.New Mexico was steady Tuesday with 67 total cases. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state's cases are in Lea County. Three are in Eddy County, two in Doña Ana County and one in Chaves County.<h2>How many cases are there in Indiana?</h2>Indiana confirmed two more cases April 21 in an outbreak that has sickened eight in Allen County in the northeast part of the state — five are unvaccinated minors and three are adults whose vaccination status is unknown.The cases have no known link to other outbreaks, the Allen County Department of Health has said.<h2>How many cases are there in Michigan?</h2>Montcalm County, near Grand Rapids in western Michigan, has an outbreak of four cases that state health officials say is tied to the Ontario outbreak. The state had nine confirmed measles cases as of Friday, but the remaining five are not part of the Montcalm County outbreak.<h2>How many cases are there in Montana?</h2>Montana state health officials announced five cases April 17 in unvaccinated children and adults who had traveled out of state, and later confirmed it was an outbreak. All five are isolating at home in Gallatin County in the southwest part of the state.They were Montana’s first measles cases in 35 years. Health officials didn’t say whether the cases are linked to other outbreaks in North America.<h2>How many measles cases are there in North Dakota?</h2>North Dakota announced its first measles case since 2011 on Friday, and by Tuesday, there were nine cases.All are in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border. The state health department said Monday that three of the confirmed cases are linked to the first case — an unvaccinated child who health officials believe got it from an out-of-state visitor.The other five cases, announced Tuesday, were people who were not vaccinated and did not have contact with the other cases, causing concern about community transmission. The state health department said four people diagnosed with measles attended classes while infectious at a Williston elementary school, middle school and high school.<h2>How many cases are there in Ohio?</h2>The state has two outbreaks. Ashtabula County near Cleveland has 16 cases. And Knox County in east-central Ohio has 20 — 14 among Ohio residents and the rest among visitors.The Ohio Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 33 measles cases and one hospitalization. That count includes only Ohio residents. Defiance County in the northwestern part of the state has logged its first case.Allen and Holmes counties have had one case each.<h2>How many cases are there in Oklahoma?</h2>Oklahoma added one case for a total of 14 confirmed and three probable cases as of Tuesday. The outbreak is linked to Texas and New Mexico.The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases, but Cleveland, Oklahoma and Sequoyah counties have had public exposures in the past couple of months.<h2>How many cases are there in Pennsylvania?</h2>There are eight measles cases in Erie County in far northwest Pennsylvania, officials said Friday. The county declared an outbreak in mid-April. The state has said it has 13 cases overall in 2025, including international travel-related cases in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/health/documents/topics/documents/2025%20HAN/2025-787-3-13-ADV-%20Measles.pdf">Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia</a>.<h2>How many cases are there in Tennessee?</h2>Tennessee had six measles cases as of last week. Health department spokesman Bill Christian said all cases are the middle part of the state, and that “at least three of these cases are linked to each other” but declined to specify further. The state also did not say whether the cases were linked to other outbreaks or when Tennessee's outbreak started.The state health department announced the first measles case March 21, three more on April 1 and the last two on April 17, but none of the news releases declared an outbreak. However, Tennessee was on a list of outbreak states in a CDC report April 17.<h2>Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.?</h2>Cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-asia-measles-rates-unicef-who-report-2f888732cc297090238956986fd89cc4">someone who caught the disease abroad</a>. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.<h2>What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?</h2>The best way to avoid measles is to get the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/vaccines/mmr.html">measles, mumps and rubella</a>&nbsp;vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.Getting another MMR shot is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective measles vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because most children back then had measles and now have “presumptive immunity.”In communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called “herd immunity.”But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. The U.S. saw&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-cdc-outbreak-chicago-mmr-vaccine-7ecdfef41e6dbd659c7ac8b80d5de38f">a rise in measles cases in 2024</a>, including an outbreak in Chicago that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-chicago-migrant-shelter-cdc-e58517c830f73e42266d45d45983c12b">sickened more than 60.</a><h2>What are the symptoms of measles?</h2>Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/measles/signs-symptoms/index.html">dangerous complications</a>&nbsp;such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.<h2>How can you treat measles?</h2>There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.

11 states now with a measles outbreak

Rueben
J Urban, 88, of Loretto, KS passed away on May 3, 2025 at home surrounded by
his loving family.



Rueben was born on October 24, 1936 on the family farm northwest of Loretto,
the son of Frank and Rosalia (Breit) Urban. He was a lifelong resident of Rush
County.



Rueben was a proud Bison Buffalo, graduating in the Bison High School class of
1954. He attended Brown Mackie College in Salina, KS. He joined the United
States Army in 1955 was stationed in Germany, and honorably discharged two
years later. He was pleased to share his time in service with his brother Al
and always shared stories from this time in his life with great fondness.



On June 2, 1962, on a rainy day, Rueben married the love of his life, Virginia
Engel at St. Mary’s, Loretto, KS. They were just one month shy of celebrating
their 63rd wedding anniversary.



Farming, family, and friends were the center of Rueben’s life. He was well
loved in his community, possessed a gentle demeanor, and could easily strike up
a conversation with anyone he met. He was a member of the National Farming
Organization, Knights of Columbus, and American Legion. He loved baseball and
played for many teams including the Loretto Blue Jays, Bison Buffalos, Larned,
Osborne, Salina, and even the Army baseball team while stationed in Germany. He
was a loyal Royals fan and enjoyed watching them until the end. He enjoyed
playing cards and was indeed lucky in cards and in life. Rueben was a barbecue
master and enjoyed smoking jerky and even prepared whole hogs for parties and
celebrations. Some additional hobbies included gardening, bowling, golfing, and
fishing. Although he was a hard worker, he always took time to appreciate the
simple pleasures in life. His greatest joy came from his family, spending each
day with his wife, and watching his children, grandchildren, and great
grandchildren grow.



Survivors include: his wife, Virginia Urban, Loretto, KS, son-in-law, Lynn
Lichter, Topeka, KS, one son, Ken (Melanie) Urban, Loretto, KS; two daughters,
Karin Cross (Christopher) Alexandria, VA, and Kristen Janda (Jeff), Blue Hill,
NE; eleven grandchildren, Andrew (Erin) Lichter, Erin Lichter, Brett Lichter,
Blake Cross, Brock Cross, Kole (Ashley) Urban, Kade Urban, Ellie Janda, Owen
Janda, Claire Janda, and Kate Janda; four great grandchildren, Remi and Kollie
Urban, and Beckett and Parker Lichter; and one sister, Arlene Stramel (Gary),
Hays, KS.


He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Al Urban, his daughter,
Kyle Lichter, and granddaughter, Millie Janda.



The funeral mass will be 10:30 a.m., Friday, May 9, 2025, at the St. Mary’s
Help of Christians Shrine, Loretto, Kansas.

Visitation will be Thursday, May 8, 2025, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. with a
combined vigil and rosary service at 7:00 p.m. Friday visitation will be from
9:30 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. all at St. Mary’s Help of Christians Shrine, Loretto,
Kansas.

Memorial contributions are suggested to St. Mary’s Shrine.

Please share memories on Rueben’s tribute page at <a href="http://www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com">www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com</a>

Services in care of Keithley Funeral Homes-Brock’s Chapel 2509 Vine Hays, KS
67601.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1746489600335.jpeg" alt="Rueben J Urban" />
 <figcaption>Rueben J Urban</figcaption>
 </figure>Rueben
J Urban, 88, of Loretto, KS passed away on May 3, 2025 at home surrounded by
his loving family.

Rueben was born on October 24, 1936 on the family farm northwest of Loretto,
the son of Frank and Rosalia (Breit) Urban. He was a lifelong resident of Rush
County.

Rueben was a proud Bison Buffalo, graduating in the Bison High School class of
1954. He attended Brown Mackie College in Salina, KS. He joined the United
States Army in 1955 was stationed in Germany, and honorably discharged two
years later. He was pleased to share his time in service with his brother Al
and always shared stories from this time in his life with great fondness.

On June 2, 1962, on a rainy day, Rueben married the love of his life, Virginia
Engel at St. Mary’s, Loretto, KS. They were just one month shy of celebrating
their 63rd wedding anniversary.

Farming, family, and friends were the center of Rueben’s life. He was well
loved in his community, possessed a gentle demeanor, and could easily strike up
a conversation with anyone he met. He was a member of the National Farming
Organization, Knights of Columbus, and American Legion. He loved baseball and
played for many teams including the Loretto Blue Jays, Bison Buffalos, Larned,
Osborne, Salina, and even the Army baseball team while stationed in Germany. He
was a loyal Royals fan and enjoyed watching them until the end. He enjoyed
playing cards and was indeed lucky in cards and in life. Rueben was a barbecue
master and enjoyed smoking jerky and even prepared whole hogs for parties and
celebrations. Some additional hobbies included gardening, bowling, golfing, and
fishing. Although he was a hard worker, he always took time to appreciate the
simple pleasures in life. His greatest joy came from his family, spending each
day with his wife, and watching his children, grandchildren, and great
grandchildren grow.

Survivors include: his wife, Virginia Urban, Loretto, KS, son-in-law, Lynn
Lichter, Topeka, KS, one son, Ken (Melanie) Urban, Loretto, KS; two daughters,
Karin Cross (Christopher) Alexandria, VA, and Kristen Janda (Jeff), Blue Hill,
NE; eleven grandchildren, Andrew (Erin) Lichter, Erin Lichter, Brett Lichter,
Blake Cross, Brock Cross, Kole (Ashley) Urban, Kade Urban, Ellie Janda, Owen
Janda, Claire Janda, and Kate Janda; four great grandchildren, Remi and Kollie
Urban, and Beckett and Parker Lichter; and one sister, Arlene Stramel (Gary),
Hays, KS.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Al Urban, his daughter,
Kyle Lichter, and granddaughter, Millie Janda.

The funeral mass will be 10:30 a.m., Friday, May 9, 2025, at the St. Mary’s
Help of Christians Shrine, Loretto, Kansas.Visitation will be Thursday, May 8, 2025, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. with a
combined vigil and rosary service at 7:00 p.m. Friday visitation will be from
9:30 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. all at St. Mary’s Help of Christians Shrine, Loretto,
Kansas.

Memorial contributions are suggested to St. Mary’s Shrine.

Please share memories on Rueben’s tribute page at <a href="http://www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com">www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com</a>

Services in care of Keithley Funeral Homes-Brock’s Chapel 2509 Vine Hays, KS
67601.

Rueben J Urban

NEW YORK (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;is opening a new salvo in his tariff war, targeting films made outside the U.S.

In a post Sunday night on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he has authorized the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to slap a 100% tariff “on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.”

“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death," he wrote, complaining that other countries “are offering all sorts of incentives to draw" filmmakers and studios away from the U.S. "This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!”

The White House said Monday that it was figuring out how to comply with the president's wishes.

“Although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the Administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again,” said spokesperson Kush Desai.

It’s common for both large and small films to include production in the U.S. and in other countries. Big-budget movies like the upcoming&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mission-impossible-cannes-tom-cruise-final-reckoning-8bd10d2c68c28b0bec4318e16c63b63d">“Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,"</a>&nbsp;for instance, are shot around the world.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-film-movie-tax-credit-break-1fbd0e52337080320f3761a176199a8e">Incentive programs</a>&nbsp;for years have influenced where movies are shot, increasingly driving film production out of California and to other states and countries with favorable tax incentives, like Canada and the United Kingdom.

Yet Trump's tariffs are designed to lead consumers toward American products. And in movie theaters, American-produced movies overwhelmingly dominate the domestic marketplace.

China has ramped up its domestic movie production, culminating in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-movies-imax-united-states-screen-a80a60b37b56e9c92af739b97b658584">the animated blockbuster “Ne Zha 2”</a>&nbsp;grossing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/captain-america-monkey-box-office-724a39dd6d67c6718a452424b7606612">more than $2 billion</a>&nbsp;this year. But even then, its sales came almost entirely from mainland China. In North America, it earned just $20.9 million.

In New Zealand, where successive governments have offered rebates and incentives in recent years to draw Hollywood films to the country, the film industry has generated billions of dollars in tourism revenue driven by the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” films, which featured the country’s pristine and scenic vistas. More recently, the blockbuster “Minecraft” movie was filmed entirely in New Zealand, and U.S. productions in 2023 delivered $1.3 billion New Zealand dollars ($777 million) to the country in return for NZ$200 million in subsidies, according to government figures.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was awaiting more details of Trump’s measures before commenting on them but would continue to pitch to filmmakers abroad, including in India’s Bollywood. “We’ve got an absolutely world class industry,” he said. “This is the best place to make movies, period, in the world.”

The Motion Picture Association, which represents major U.S. film studios and streaming services, didn’t immediately respond to messages Sunday evening.

The MPA’s data shows how much Hollywood exports have dominated cinemas. According to the MPA, the American movies produced $22.6 billion in exports and $15.3 billion in trade surplus in 2023.

Trump, a Republican, has made good on the “tariff man" label he gave himself years ago, slapping new taxes on goods made in countries around the globe. That includes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariff-economy-recession-china-imports-trade-8d90bb37735e833c43a7b7a9d5a0b9a2">a 145% tariff on Chinese goods</a>&nbsp;and a 10% baseline tariff on goods from other countries, with even higher levies threatened.

By unilaterally imposing tariffs, Trump has exerted extraordinary influence over the flow of commerce, creating political risks and pulling the market in different directions. There are tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, with more imports, including pharmaceutical drugs, set to be subject to new tariffs in the weeks ahead.

Trump has long voiced concern about movie production moving overseas.

Shortly before he took office, he announced that he had tapped actors Mel Gibson, Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone to serve as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hollywood-ambassadors-b3cd35a950fc6465c32551624feea332">“special ambassadors"</a>&nbsp;to Hollywood to bring it "BACK — BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!”

U.S. film and television production has been hampered in recent years, with setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/hollywood-strikes/">the Hollywood guild strikes</a>&nbsp;of 2023 and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-oscars-los-angeles-academy-awards-da8cd994872ac6c1c65dcd4bc8721cc5">the recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area</a>. Overall production in the U.S. was down 26% last year compared with 2021, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://prodpro.com/blog/2025-tv-film-outlook-report/">data from ProdPro</a>, which tracks production.

The group's annual survey of executives, which asked about preferred filming locations, found no location in the U.S. made the top five, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Toronto, the U.K., Vancouver, Central Europe and Australia came out on top, with California placing sixth,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-film-movie-tax-credit-break-1fbd0e52337080320f3761a176199a8e">Georgia seventh</a>, New Jersey eighth and New York ninth.

The problem is especially acute in California. In the greater Los Angeles area, production last year was down 5.6% from 2023 according to FilmLA, second only to 2020, during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. Last, October, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, proposed expanding California’s Film &amp; Television Tax Credit program to $750 million annually, up from $330 million.

Other U.S. cities like Atlanta, New York, Chicago and San Francisco have also used aggressive tax incentives to lure film and TV productions. Those programs can take the form of cash grants, as in Texas, or&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-film-movie-tax-credit-break-1fbd0e52337080320f3761a176199a8e">tax credits</a>, which Georgia and New Mexico offer.

“Other nations have been stealing the movie-making capabilities from the United States,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Sunday night after returning from a weekend in Florida. “If they’re not willing to make a movie inside the United States we should have a tariff on movies that come in."

Associated Press writers Gary Fields in Washington and Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report.

NEW YORK (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;is opening a new salvo in his tariff war, targeting films made outside the U.S.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">&quot;Hollywood is being destroyed. You have a grossly incompetent governor that allowed that to happen... Other nations have stolen our movie industry...We should have a tariff on movies that come in...That&#39;s sort of a threat to our country in a sense&quot; - Pres. Trump on movie tariffs <a href="https://t.co/C8lm5zMbtf">pic.twitter.com/C8lm5zMbtf</a>&mdash; Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) <a href="https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1919193551390253124?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In a post Sunday night on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he has authorized the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to slap a 100% tariff “on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1746461951593.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death," he wrote, complaining that other countries “are offering all sorts of incentives to draw" filmmakers and studios away from the U.S. "This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!”The White House said Monday that it was figuring out how to comply with the president's wishes.“Although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the Administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again,” said spokesperson Kush Desai.It’s common for both large and small films to include production in the U.S. and in other countries. Big-budget movies like the upcoming&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mission-impossible-cannes-tom-cruise-final-reckoning-8bd10d2c68c28b0bec4318e16c63b63d">“Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,"</a>&nbsp;for instance, are shot around the world.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-film-movie-tax-credit-break-1fbd0e52337080320f3761a176199a8e">Incentive programs</a>&nbsp;for years have influenced where movies are shot, increasingly driving film production out of California and to other states and countries with favorable tax incentives, like Canada and the United Kingdom.Yet Trump's tariffs are designed to lead consumers toward American products. And in movie theaters, American-produced movies overwhelmingly dominate the domestic marketplace.China has ramped up its domestic movie production, culminating in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-movies-imax-united-states-screen-a80a60b37b56e9c92af739b97b658584">the animated blockbuster “Ne Zha 2”</a>&nbsp;grossing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/captain-america-monkey-box-office-724a39dd6d67c6718a452424b7606612">more than $2 billion</a>&nbsp;this year. But even then, its sales came almost entirely from mainland China. In North America, it earned just $20.9 million.In New Zealand, where successive governments have offered rebates and incentives in recent years to draw Hollywood films to the country, the film industry has generated billions of dollars in tourism revenue driven by the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” films, which featured the country’s pristine and scenic vistas. More recently, the blockbuster “Minecraft” movie was filmed entirely in New Zealand, and U.S. productions in 2023 delivered $1.3 billion New Zealand dollars ($777 million) to the country in return for NZ$200 million in subsidies, according to government figures.New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was awaiting more details of Trump’s measures before commenting on them but would continue to pitch to filmmakers abroad, including in India’s Bollywood. “We’ve got an absolutely world class industry,” he said. “This is the best place to make movies, period, in the world.”The Motion Picture Association, which represents major U.S. film studios and streaming services, didn’t immediately respond to messages Sunday evening.The MPA’s data shows how much Hollywood exports have dominated cinemas. According to the MPA, the American movies produced $22.6 billion in exports and $15.3 billion in trade surplus in 2023.Trump, a Republican, has made good on the “tariff man" label he gave himself years ago, slapping new taxes on goods made in countries around the globe. That includes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariff-economy-recession-china-imports-trade-8d90bb37735e833c43a7b7a9d5a0b9a2">a 145% tariff on Chinese goods</a>&nbsp;and a 10% baseline tariff on goods from other countries, with even higher levies threatened.By unilaterally imposing tariffs, Trump has exerted extraordinary influence over the flow of commerce, creating political risks and pulling the market in different directions. There are tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, with more imports, including pharmaceutical drugs, set to be subject to new tariffs in the weeks ahead.Trump has long voiced concern about movie production moving overseas.Shortly before he took office, he announced that he had tapped actors Mel Gibson, Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone to serve as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hollywood-ambassadors-b3cd35a950fc6465c32551624feea332">“special ambassadors"</a>&nbsp;to Hollywood to bring it "BACK — BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!”U.S. film and television production has been hampered in recent years, with setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/hollywood-strikes/">the Hollywood guild strikes</a>&nbsp;of 2023 and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-oscars-los-angeles-academy-awards-da8cd994872ac6c1c65dcd4bc8721cc5">the recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area</a>. Overall production in the U.S. was down 26% last year compared with 2021, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://prodpro.com/blog/2025-tv-film-outlook-report/">data from ProdPro</a>, which tracks production.The group's annual survey of executives, which asked about preferred filming locations, found no location in the U.S. made the top five, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Toronto, the U.K., Vancouver, Central Europe and Australia came out on top, with California placing sixth,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-film-movie-tax-credit-break-1fbd0e52337080320f3761a176199a8e">Georgia seventh</a>, New Jersey eighth and New York ninth.The problem is especially acute in California. In the greater Los Angeles area, production last year was down 5.6% from 2023 according to FilmLA, second only to 2020, during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. Last, October, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, proposed expanding California’s Film &amp; Television Tax Credit program to $750 million annually, up from $330 million.Other U.S. cities like Atlanta, New York, Chicago and San Francisco have also used aggressive tax incentives to lure film and TV productions. Those programs can take the form of cash grants, as in Texas, or&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-film-movie-tax-credit-break-1fbd0e52337080320f3761a176199a8e">tax credits</a>, which Georgia and New Mexico offer.“Other nations have been stealing the movie-making capabilities from the United States,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Sunday night after returning from a weekend in Florida. “If they’re not willing to make a movie inside the United States we should have a tariff on movies that come in."___Associated Press writers Gary Fields in Washington and Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report.

🎥Trump's latest tariff threat targets movie industry 

The Heartland Community Foundation is excited to announce that applications are&nbsp;now open for the 2025-26 Youth Action Council (YAC), a leadership and enrichment program for&nbsp;high school students in Ellis, Rooks, and Trego counties.

&nbsp;The YAC program aims to empower young&nbsp;people to be involved in community decision-making, cultivate a spirit of philanthropy, and instill a

deeper sense of community pride. Learn more and apply online here: <a href="https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/impact/heartland-community-foundation-youth-action-council/">https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/impact/heartland-community-foundation-youth-action-council/</a>

Since December 2020, Heartland has granted over $100,000 to teen-led projects, and we want to&nbsp;continue supporting their efforts and empowering them to do even more. YAC members will have&nbsp;the opportunity to learn about generosity in a practical way by being generous and developing&nbsp;community projects.

There were 43 YAC members on the 2024-25 council from all eight high schools in Ellis, Rooks, and&nbsp;Trego counties.

&nbsp;Each county worked on a communitywide project. Those projects are ongoing and have provided exciting and important learning opportunities for members. Members also had the opportunity to review Heartland grant applications during the fall cycle. They completed a community service project in January, assembling 200 “birthday bags” to distribute to area food banks, providing all of the fixings needed to celebrate a birthday. 

Topics discussed each month have included leadership, fundraising, marketing, grant writing, and more. Members from 2024-25 council who have not graduated will be part of the 2025-26 council. Those who are graduating become part of a growing network of Youth Action Council alums.

“Joining YAC has allowed me to connect with students from other schools, creating a community where I can share ideas, tackle community projects and build friendships while being taught about the grant process. said Mia Coleman, a senior at Trego Community High School. Marlie Dobson, a senior at Plainville High School, added,&nbsp; “Being a part of YAC has brought me the best opportunities. My leadership and communication skills have grown tremendously in the last two years. I wrote&nbsp;and was awarded a grant to benefit my school. I love that I am able to help better my school and community.”

YAC meetings are held once a month during the school day for about an hour, rotating locations&nbsp;among individual high schools within each county. Twice a year, in August and January, the full&nbsp;council from throughout the Heartland area will come together to meet in a larger group in Hays.

The group will also be tasked with developing and volunteering for a service project.

In selecting new members, the Heartland Youth Action Council is looking for teens who:

● Care about their community and want to make a difference

● Are open-minded, critical thinkers who can discuss tough issues and creative solutions

● Demonstrate integrity and initiative in their actions and decisions

● Will be in 10th or 11th grade during the 2025-26 academic school year. 12th graders must be returning members.

● Reside in Ellis, Rooks, or Trego counties.

The expectations of Youth Action Council members are as follows:

● Attend a Youth Action Council orientation in Hays during early August.

● Attend a monthly meeting during the school day in your home county in September,&nbsp;October, November, February, March and April by zoom or in person.

● Attend a Youth Action Council retreat in Hays in January.

● Actively participate in discussions and activities.

● Be an advocate for the Youth Action Council, the Heartland Community Foundation, and the&nbsp;youth in our community.

The deadline for applications is May 9, 2025. Interested students can apply online and learn more information at <a href="https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/">www.heartlandcommunityfoundation.org</a>.&nbsp;

About Heartland Community Foundation

Since 2007, the Heartland Community Foundation has been dedicated to improving the quality of life in Ellis, Rooks, and Trego counties through philanthropy. As an affiliate of the Greater Salina Community Foundation, HCF connects donors with the philanthropic causes they love, supporting initiatives in various areas including education, healthcare, youth, community development, and more. By fostering a spirit of generosity and engaging local donors, nonprofits, and community members, HCF aims to create a vibrant, supportive community for all. The Heartland Community Foundation is committed to promoting generosity, building endowment funds, and empowering communities to thrive.

For more information, visit <a href="https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/">heartlandcommunityfoundation.org</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1746023391396.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>Heartland Community FoundationThe Heartland Community Foundation is excited to announce that applications are&nbsp;now open for the 2025-26 Youth Action Council (YAC), a leadership and enrichment program for&nbsp;high school students in Ellis, Rooks, and Trego counties.&nbsp;The YAC program aims to empower young&nbsp;people to be involved in community decision-making, cultivate a spirit of philanthropy, and instill adeeper sense of community pride. Learn more and apply online here: <a href="https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/impact/heartland-community-foundation-youth-action-council/">https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/impact/heartland-community-foundation-youth-action-council/</a>Since December 2020, Heartland has granted over $100,000 to teen-led projects, and we want to&nbsp;continue supporting their efforts and empowering them to do even more. YAC members will have&nbsp;the opportunity to learn about generosity in a practical way by being generous and developing&nbsp;community projects.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1746023457815.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>There were 43 YAC members on the 2024-25 council from all eight high schools in Ellis, Rooks, and&nbsp;Trego counties.&nbsp;Each county worked on a communitywide project. Those projects are ongoing and have provided exciting and important learning opportunities for members. Members also had the opportunity to review Heartland grant applications during the fall cycle. They completed a community service project in January, assembling 200 “birthday bags” to distribute to area food banks, providing all of the fixings needed to celebrate a birthday. Topics discussed each month have included leadership, fundraising, marketing, grant writing, and more. Members from 2024-25 council who have not graduated will be part of the 2025-26 council. Those who are graduating become part of a growing network of Youth Action Council alums.“Joining YAC has allowed me to connect with students from other schools, creating a community where I can share ideas, tackle community projects and build friendships while being taught about the grant process. said Mia Coleman, a senior at Trego Community High School. Marlie Dobson, a senior at Plainville High School, added,&nbsp; “Being a part of YAC has brought me the best opportunities. My leadership and communication skills have grown tremendously in the last two years. I wrote&nbsp;and was awarded a grant to benefit my school. I love that I am able to help better my school and community.”YAC meetings are held once a month during the school day for about an hour, rotating locations&nbsp;among individual high schools within each county. Twice a year, in August and January, the full&nbsp;council from throughout the Heartland area will come together to meet in a larger group in Hays.The group will also be tasked with developing and volunteering for a service project.In selecting new members, the Heartland Youth Action Council is looking for teens who:● Care about their community and want to make a difference● Are open-minded, critical thinkers who can discuss tough issues and creative solutions● Demonstrate integrity and initiative in their actions and decisions● Will be in 10th or 11th grade during the 2025-26 academic school year. 12th graders must be returning members.● Reside in Ellis, Rooks, or Trego counties.The expectations of Youth Action Council members are as follows:● Attend a Youth Action Council orientation in Hays during early August.● Attend a monthly meeting during the school day in your home county in September,&nbsp;October, November, February, March and April by zoom or in person.● Attend a Youth Action Council retreat in Hays in January.● Actively participate in discussions and activities.● Be an advocate for the Youth Action Council, the Heartland Community Foundation, and the&nbsp;youth in our community.The deadline for applications is May 9, 2025. Interested students can apply online and learn more information at <a href="https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/">www.heartlandcommunityfoundation.org</a>.&nbsp;About Heartland Community FoundationSince 2007, the Heartland Community Foundation has been dedicated to improving the quality of life in Ellis, Rooks, and Trego counties through philanthropy. As an affiliate of the Greater Salina Community Foundation, HCF connects donors with the philanthropic causes they love, supporting initiatives in various areas including education, healthcare, youth, community development, and more. By fostering a spirit of generosity and engaging local donors, nonprofits, and community members, HCF aims to create a vibrant, supportive community for all. The Heartland Community Foundation is committed to promoting generosity, building endowment funds, and empowering communities to thrive. For more information, visit <a href="https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/">heartlandcommunityfoundation.org</a>.

Applications open for 2025-26 Heartland Community Foundation Youth Action Council; Deadline May 9

By&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/skyler-rossi">SKYLER ROSSI</a> <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2025-04-28/backyard-chicken-rental-eggs">Harvest Public Media</a>

People are flocking to backyard chickens this year, in part due to the sky-high cost of eggs at the grocery store. Some first-timers have turned to chicken rentals to try out ownership for a few months.

Four chickens snack on a treat of dried mealworms, which Katie Hitt shakes into the run of their coop from a red plastic cup.

These chickens have lived in Hitt’s backyard in St. Louis since early April. She and her family have enjoyed the pale blue eggs the hens lay. And her three young kids are having fun with the birds.

“I mean, that's the first thing they're thinking of when they wake up in the morning, is like, how are the chickens and what are they doing?” Hitt said.

This is Hitt’s first time having chickens. She said she’s wanted them for a while, but she was nervous about doing something wrong. She doesn’t know anyone with a backyard flock, and there’s an overwhelming amount of advice online.

But then Hitt heard about chicken rentals.

Four Feathered Hens, a chicken rental business in St. Louis, would deliver hens and a coop right to her home. Its owners Emilie and Tom Schnitzer would provide expert advice. And, she would only need to commit to the chickens for a year.

“It was just like, boom, there we go,” Hitt said. “We didn't have chickens one day, and then we had a whole set up the next.”

Demand for backyard chickens is high this year. That’s in part because of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2025-01-21/eggs-expensive-bird-flu" target="_blank">expensive egg prices</a>&nbsp;and shortages at the grocery store brought on by bird flu, which led to fewer laying hens across the country. The price for a dozen large eggs&nbsp;<a href="https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/APU0000708111" target="_blank">climbed to a record $6.23</a>&nbsp;in March.

Buying or renting chickens is hardly a cost-saving measure, but those in the business say people are interested in a close-to-home egg supply.

“Our renters … they don't have to worry if the store is restricting how many eggs you can buy,” said Jenn Tompkins, the co-founder of national chicken rental business Rent The Chicken. “They don't have to worry even if the store has any eggs or not, because they just walk right outside and collect their fresh eggs.”

Rent The Chicken, which opened over a decade ago and is based in Pennsylvania, partners with farmers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rentthechicken.com/p/buy.html" target="_blank">in cities across the country</a>&nbsp;to rent backyard chickens. More people are interested in renting this year, Tompkins said.

“We've been so busy, we haven't even been able to compare numbers now versus last year,” Tompkins said. “When we looked in February, we were already about 20% ahead on this year versus last year this time.”

Hatcheries across the Midwest that supply backyard chickens also say they’re flooded with orders.

Murray McMurray Hatchery in Webster City, Iowa, sells about 3 million chicks a year to people across the U.S. Typically, the hatchery sells out about two or three weeks in advance, said President Tom Watkins. But this year, it’s sold out through October.

“That's 40 weeks of chickens that are pre-sold,” Watkins said. “We have literally sold them, you know, counted them before they hatched.”

It’s the same deal for Heartland Hatchery, which sells chicks at feed stores in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. The hatchery had to buy a landline phone for the first time ever to keep up with the orders.

“Demand this year has been the highest I've ever seen since I've been in business for 29 years,” co-owner Alan Nieder said.

U.S. Postal Service shipping delays that have caused&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2024-09-03/usps-postal-service-slowdowns-baby-birds-dying-transit" target="_blank">chicks to die in transit</a>&nbsp;are also contributing to the high demand, Nieder said.

But even with the record-high prices for eggs, people should still expect to shell out more to keep chickens.

All the needed supplies — such as the coop, the feed and the fencing to protect the birds from predators — cost at least a few hundred dollars, said Katie Bell, an agriculture educator with the University of Illinois Extension.

“You could easily spend $500 before you even get the birds,” Bell said.

Packages from Rent The Chicken vary by location. But in several of its Midwestern cities, including Omaha, Detroit and Milwaukee, a six-month rental of two hens starts at about $500.

Four Feathered Hens in St. Louis, which opened at the beginning of this year, offers six or 12-month rentals. Its packages start at $95 per month for a yearlong commitment.

The most expensive package, at $190 a month, includes full care of the birds, co-founder Emilie Schnitzer said.

“We'll come out, we'll feed the chickens, we'll change out the bedding in the coop, make sure everything is going smoothly, just so it's pretty much the family only has to collect the eggs,” she said.

Hitt and her family are caring for the chickens themselves. She says her kids are picky eaters, but they get excited about the eggs from their chickens.

“They're already deciding whose chicken is whose,” Hitt said. “‘My chicken laid this one, I'm going to eat that one.’ It's really cute.”

This story was produced in partnership with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/harvestpublicmedia" target="_blank">Harvest Public Media,</a>&nbsp;a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1746020162379.png" alt="Katie Hitt and her family are renting these chickens for the next year from Four Feathered Hens in St. Louis. Her three young kids have named the birds Hei Hei, Feathers, Sweethearts and Lego Man. "Sometimes they change the names, but those are the names this week," Hitt said. Photo by Skyler Rossi/Harvest Public Media" />
 <figcaption>Katie Hitt and her family are renting these chickens for the next year from Four Feathered Hens in St. Louis. Her three young kids have named the birds Hei Hei, Feathers, Sweethearts and Lego Man. "Sometimes they change the names, but those are the names this week," Hitt said. Photo by Skyler Rossi/Harvest Public Media</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/skyler-rossi">SKYLER ROSSI</a> <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2025-04-28/backyard-chicken-rental-eggs">Harvest Public Media</a><h2>People are flocking to backyard chickens this year, in part due to the sky-high cost of eggs at the grocery store. Some first-timers have turned to chicken rentals to try out ownership for a few months.</h2>Four chickens snack on a treat of dried mealworms, which Katie Hitt shakes into the run of their coop from a red plastic cup.These chickens have lived in Hitt’s backyard in St. Louis since early April. She and her family have enjoyed the pale blue eggs the hens lay. And her three young kids are having fun with the birds.“I mean, that's the first thing they're thinking of when they wake up in the morning, is like, how are the chickens and what are they doing?” Hitt said.This is Hitt’s first time having chickens. She said she’s wanted them for a while, but she was nervous about doing something wrong. She doesn’t know anyone with a backyard flock, and there’s an overwhelming amount of advice online.But then Hitt heard about chicken rentals.Four Feathered Hens, a chicken rental business in St. Louis, would deliver hens and a coop right to her home. Its owners Emilie and Tom Schnitzer would provide expert advice. And, she would only need to commit to the chickens for a year.So, the chickens moved in.“It was just like, boom, there we go,” Hitt said. “We didn't have chickens one day, and then we had a whole set up the next.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1746020327256.png" alt="Katie Hitt enjoys the eggs her rental chickens lay, but she and her family also like the experience of having the birds. "It's just relaxing to come out and just watch these little guys just peck around," she said. Photo by Skyler Rossi/Harvest Public Media" />
 <figcaption>Katie Hitt enjoys the eggs her rental chickens lay, but she and her family also like the experience of having the birds. "It's just relaxing to come out and just watch these little guys just peck around," she said. Photo by Skyler Rossi/Harvest Public Media</figcaption>
 </figure>Demand for backyard chickens is high this year. That’s in part because of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2025-01-21/eggs-expensive-bird-flu" target="_blank">expensive egg prices</a>&nbsp;and shortages at the grocery store brought on by bird flu, which led to fewer laying hens across the country. The price for a dozen large eggs&nbsp;<a href="https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/APU0000708111" target="_blank">climbed to a record $6.23</a>&nbsp;in March.Buying or renting chickens is hardly a cost-saving measure, but those in the business say people are interested in a close-to-home egg supply.“Our renters … they don't have to worry if the store is restricting how many eggs you can buy,” said Jenn Tompkins, the co-founder of national chicken rental business Rent The Chicken. “They don't have to worry even if the store has any eggs or not, because they just walk right outside and collect their fresh eggs.”Rent The Chicken, which opened over a decade ago and is based in Pennsylvania, partners with farmers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rentthechicken.com/p/buy.html" target="_blank">in cities across the country</a>&nbsp;to rent backyard chickens. More people are interested in renting this year, Tompkins said.“We've been so busy, we haven't even been able to compare numbers now versus last year,” Tompkins said. “When we looked in February, we were already about 20% ahead on this year versus last year this time.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1746020423728.png" alt="Katie Hitt collected these pale blue eggs from her chickens. She said they've laid more than a dozen in the first week she's had them. Photo by Skyler Rossi/Harvest Public Media" />
 <figcaption>Katie Hitt collected these pale blue eggs from her chickens. She said they've laid more than a dozen in the first week she's had them. Photo by Skyler Rossi/Harvest Public Media</figcaption>
 </figure>Hatcheries across the Midwest that supply backyard chickens also say they’re flooded with orders.Murray McMurray Hatchery in Webster City, Iowa, sells about 3 million chicks a year to people across the U.S. Typically, the hatchery sells out about two or three weeks in advance, said President Tom Watkins. But this year, it’s sold out through October.“That's 40 weeks of chickens that are pre-sold,” Watkins said. “We have literally sold them, you know, counted them before they hatched.”It’s the same deal for Heartland Hatchery, which sells chicks at feed stores in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. The hatchery had to buy a landline phone for the first time ever to keep up with the orders.“Demand this year has been the highest I've ever seen since I've been in business for 29 years,” co-owner Alan Nieder said.U.S. Postal Service shipping delays that have caused&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2024-09-03/usps-postal-service-slowdowns-baby-birds-dying-transit" target="_blank">chicks to die in transit</a>&nbsp;are also contributing to the high demand, Nieder said.<h2>Chickens aren’t cheap</h2>But even with the record-high prices for eggs, people should still expect to shell out more to keep chickens.All the needed supplies — such as the coop, the feed and the fencing to protect the birds from predators — cost at least a few hundred dollars, said Katie Bell, an agriculture educator with the University of Illinois Extension.“You could easily spend $500 before you even get the birds,” Bell said.And that goes for renting chickens, too.Packages from Rent The Chicken vary by location. But in several of its Midwestern cities, including Omaha, Detroit and Milwaukee, a six-month rental of two hens starts at about $500.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1746020537310.png" alt="Emilie Schnitzer feeds dried mealworms to the chickens Katie Hitt is renting from her. She wants to help people get started with backyard hens through her chicken rental business. Photo by Skyler Rossi/Harvest Public Media" />
 <figcaption>Emilie Schnitzer feeds dried mealworms to the chickens Katie Hitt is renting from her. She wants to help people get started with backyard hens through her chicken rental business. Photo by Skyler Rossi/Harvest Public Media</figcaption>
 </figure>Four Feathered Hens in St. Louis, which opened at the beginning of this year, offers six or 12-month rentals. Its packages start at $95 per month for a yearlong commitment.The most expensive package, at $190 a month, includes full care of the birds, co-founder Emilie Schnitzer said.“We'll come out, we'll feed the chickens, we'll change out the bedding in the coop, make sure everything is going smoothly, just so it's pretty much the family only has to collect the eggs,” she said.Hitt and her family are caring for the chickens themselves. She says her kids are picky eaters, but they get excited about the eggs from their chickens.“They're already deciding whose chicken is whose,” Hitt said. “‘My chicken laid this one, I'm going to eat that one.’ It's really cute.”This story was produced in partnership with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/harvestpublicmedia" target="_blank">Harvest Public Media,</a>&nbsp;a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.

Rent a chicken? More people take a crack at creating their own egg supply

The legal fees for the defense of the City of Salina in a federal lawsuit with the Cozy Inn has now gone above $633,000. Rosemary Mai with the Salina Group “The Granny Brigade” tells the Salina Post, they received an update from the City Manager's Office Friday that legal fees paid are now $633,335.77 . 

The case, which revolves around a dispute regarding artwork on the iconic 103-year-old establishment, has yet to go to trial but has involved multiple legal proceedings. 

The city’s legal team, Fairfield and Woods, P.C., a Denver-based law firm specializing in sign and mural-related cases, has been handling the matter as Pro Hac Vice counsel. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/11/1699905373563.jpeg" alt="Photo by Olivia Bergmeier" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Olivia Bergmeier</figcaption>
 </figure>By Randy Picking Salina PostThe legal fees for the defense of the City of Salina in a federal lawsuit with the Cozy Inn has now gone above $633,000. Rosemary Mai with the Salina Group “The Granny Brigade” tells the Salina Post, they received an update from the City Manager's Office Friday that legal fees paid are now $633,335.77 . The case, which revolves around a dispute regarding artwork on the iconic 103-year-old establishment, has yet to go to trial but has involved multiple legal proceedings. The city’s legal team, Fairfield and Woods, P.C., a Denver-based law firm specializing in sign and mural-related cases, has been handling the matter as Pro Hac Vice counsel. The dispute stems from a mural commissioned by Cozy Inn owner Steve Howard in October 2023, which city officials flagged as a sign code violation. The controversy centers on whether the artwork is classified as a mural or a sign under Salina’s zoning regulations. The Granny Brigade first filed a Freedom of Information request with Interim Salina City Manager Jacob Wood in early March. If the case proceeds to trial, it will likely be in the fall.------------------------The City of Salina has spent $538,791 in legal fees related to the ongoing case involving the Cozy Inn, according to Interim City Manager Jacob Wood. The case, which revolves around a dispute regarding artwork on the iconic 103-year-old establishment, has yet to go to trial but has involved multiple legal proceedings.Wood stated that the city’s legal team, Fairfield and Woods, P.C., a Denver-based law firm specializing in sign and mural-related cases, has been handling the matter as Pro Hac Vice counsel.&nbsp;<a href="https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/PDF10/5d43cae9-029f-4733-a8a0-7ef4d85d91a4/531203">According to the firm’s engagement letter with the city,</a>&nbsp;attorneys Michael W. McConnell and Todd Messenger are representing Salina in the lawsuit. McConnell's billing rate is $400 per hour, while Messenger's rate is $485 per hour.&nbsp;Other attorneys or paralegals may also assist in the case at varying rates."There's certainly been lots of court actions," Wood said. "So most recently, we have filed a motion for summary judgment, and then they've [Cozy Inn Inc.] also filed a motion as well, and we're waiting for the court to hear that, and once the court makes a decision, they really have the option to grant all or part of that summary judgment, and depending on the result of that, then it could go to trial."The firm's engagement letter, signed by former Salina City Manager Mike Schrage, states Fairfield and Woods, P.C. represents the City of Salina as an entity, not any individual city employees."In performing this work, our firm will be representing the City as an entity, rather than you or any other individual under the employment of the City," the letter reads. "This means our [law firm] duty is to the City and we must place its welfare and interests ahead of the interests of anyone employed by the City."READ MORE:&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/fc7ed532-a1ba-46b6-85c3-4ed867abb15a">Iconic restaurant, The Cozy Inn, sues Salina over right to paint a one-of-a-kind mural</a><h2>Legal background and mural dispute</h2>The dispute stems from a mural commissioned by Cozy Inn owner Steve Howard in October 2023, which city officials flagged as a sign code violation. The controversy centers on whether the artwork is classified as a mural or a sign under Salina’s zoning regulations.Since the artwork progress has been halted, hundreds of patrons of the Cozy Inn have voiced their support of Howard, and their disapproval of the City's response.&nbsp;Under Salina’s commercial sign regulations, businesses are allowed a specific amount of signage based on building frontage. In the C-4 commercial district, where the Cozy Inn is located, businesses are allotted three square feet of signage per linear foot of street frontage.With a 20.8-foot frontage, the Cozy Inn is permitted approximately 63 square feet of signage. The restaurant already utilizes 52.88 square feet for existing signs, leaving just 10 square feet available. The new mural, estimated at 528 square feet, exceeds the allotted limit by nearly nine times.<h2>Next steps in the case</h2>The case, which is being heard in federal court, could either be resolved through the summary judgment ruling or proceed to trial in fall 2025, tentatively between October and November. Howard, with legal support from the Kansas Justice Institute, filed a lawsuit against the City of Salina in February 2024, arguing that the mural is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment.The ongoing legal battle between the City of Salina and The Cozy Inn over its mural has sparked strong opinions in the community. How does this case make you feel? Do you believe the city's sign code is being fairly enforced, or do you see this as a fight for artistic expression?