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'Pressure is Good': McHenry's Robert Tonyan ready to add to Bears' offense

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:24 GMT

LAKE FOREST - The tight end is not going to be alone when he takes the field for the Bears in 2023.Robert Tonyan, a native of McHenry, will be joining four others on the team who are natives of the Chicago area: Linebacker T.J. Edwards (Lake Villa), tight end Cole Kmet (Lake Barrington), offensive lineman Doug Kramer Jr. (Hinsdale), and linebacker Jack Sanborn (Lake Zurich).He's returned home after spending the first six seasons of his career with the rival Green Bay Packers, where Tonyan established himself as a solid pass catching tight end in the National Football League. "I'm just honestly just grateful and blessed for the opportunity to come back here," said Tonyan of playing for the hometown Bears, which he'll do after signing a one-year free agent deal in March. "Just being close to home and just getting a chance to prove my game and my brand of football. "The family and friends are definitely super-hyped that I'm back playing for this side of the rivalry. That's for sure."Bu...

Man accuses Riverdale police officers of excessive force

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:24 GMT

RIVERDALE, Ill. — A new lawsuit filed by a man claims two Riverdale police officers entered his home with excessive force.The 28-year-old man said the officers hit him with a stun gun an unjust number of times while he was half-clothed and in bed. CPD opens up ‘expedited’ re-hiring process for former officers Body camera footage from the Nov. 11, 2021, incident shows the officers entering the apartment complex after a woman called the police to get her then-boyfriend Devonta Scott out of the apartment.Once inside, the male officer enters the bedroom where Scott is sleeping. The officer asks Scott to see his hands and the two go back and forth before the officer pulls out his stun gun."It felt like I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't do nothing," Scott said. Person of interest questioned after argument leads to 1 dead, 1 wounded in Austin: police Scott's attorney Nate Bernard filed the lawsuit against the Village of Riverdale and the two officers involved, claiming a...

Authorities investigating envelope with white powder sent to Bragg

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:24 GMT

(The Hill) – An envelope containing a white powder was sent to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), whose office is investigating former President Trump, according to law enforcement.A New York Police Department spokesperson said the substance was deemed “non-hazardous” but declined to comment further on the matter.NBC News reported the envelope included a letter that read, "ALVIN: I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!"The spokesperson declined to confirm the note’s contents.“The D.A. has informed the office that it was immediately contained and that the NYPD Emergency Service Unit and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection determined there was no dangerous substance,” Bragg’s office said in a statement. Trump sparks pushback with ‘death and destruction’ post Bragg in recent days has appeared to move closer to seeking an indictment against Trump over a $130,000 hush payment that his fixer, attorney Michael Cohen, made to adult film star Stormy Daniels shortly before ...

Juvenile arrested in southeast Austin homicide; city's 6th homicide in 10 days

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man died Thursday night after he was shot multiple times at an apartment complex in southeast Austin. Police said Friday that a juvenile was arrested and charged related to the death.A 911 "shots fired" call came in at 10:43 p.m. from the Woodway Square apartment complex on Teri Road, according to the Austin Police Department. Police said medical treatment was administered, but the man, later identified as 22-year-old Darion Dupree, was pronounced dead on the scene at 11:09 p.m.Homicide detectives started investigating the case Thursday night. Police said there was a relationship between the victim and the suspect, and this was an isolated incident. APD said a juvenile was arrested in connection with Dupree's death and charged with first-degree murder.During the investigation, APD said detectives determined Dupree argued with another person before the juvenile shot and killed him. MAP: Where have Austin’s homicides occurred in 2023? This case is being investigate...

Bill would remove city protections for Ashe Juniper trees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A short bill filed by Texas Rep. Ellen Troxclair, R-Austin, would remove municipal protections for Ashe Juniper trees across Texas, a move that ecologists warn could have a serious impact on Central Texas.House Bill 2239 would amend a section of state law that currently only prevents municipalities from preventing the removal of diseased, dead or dangerous trees. Troxclair's bill simply adds the Ashe Juniper to the list. Why can’t we get rid of the trees that cause ‘cedar fever?’ "Just as Ashe Juniper pollen notoriously drifts across Texas each spring, restrictive local policies tend to spread unless stopped," Troxclair said. "Some Texans are already facing a complicated bureaucratic nightmare for just wanting to manage their own land. HB 2239 would let Texas’ private property owners make their own decisions about what grows on their property."Referring to the native plant as overabundant and "almost an invasive species," Troxclair hopes their removal cou...

Austin ISD pride week concludes but not without pushback from a lawmaker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Austin Independent School District closes out its pride week Saturday. Each day this week, the district has put on different pride-themed activities, culminating in an event this Saturday with a keynote speaker, food trucks and a student dance. Eliza Layola, principal of Menchaca Elementary School for nearly a decade, said celebrating the week is especially important in Central Texas. “It's actually not about the event or even the week — it's about the things that we do every day to message to our students, our families and our staff that they have a place within our school and within our community,” Layola said.  Layola said bills affecting trans Texans being looked at in the Texas legislature are “terrifying.” She said some families with trans children in the district feel a sense of unease.  MORE: LGBTQ+ advocates rally against Texas bills affecting trans people “That's one area that I feel really strongly about in terms of making sure that our students and ...

Gorgeous weekend weather until clouds increase on Sunday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Following a wet start to the day Friday, clear skies and low humidity have returned on a breezy west wind. Live updated rainfall totals Clear skies and dry air will allow for chilly mornings this weekend, with temperatures in the 40s in colder rural valleys. Saturday morning forecast temperaturesDaytime highs will be warm, and low humidity will make for comfortable conditions. Clouds will increase on Sunday along with a slim 10% chance of a rain shower, but both days look pleasant for outdoor plans.A cool front early next week will lead to overall cooler and more comfortable weather than we saw last week. Low rain chances are in the forecast every day next week.7-day high temperature forecast in Austin BLOG: April showers: Here's the outlook for Central Texas FIRST WARNING WEATHER: Stay up to date with your Central Texas forecast, sign up for our weather newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters Stay up-to-date with the First Warning Weather teamFollow the KXAN First W...

Amber Alert for missing Robinson girl canceled

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:24 GMT

Robinson (FOX 44/KWKT) -- The Texas Department of Public Safety has ended the Amber Alert for a 14-year-old girl from Robinson. DPS says the teen has been found.Police said the teenager left home voluntarily with a young woman Thursday afternoon. She was last seen in the 500 block of Celeste Drive.Police are not saying at this time where the girl was found or anything about the woman she originally left with.

Woodbury man sentenced in fatal shooting outside Como Park bar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:24 GMT

A Woodbury man has been given a 22-year prison sentence for killing a man in the parking lot of a bar in St. Paul’s Como Park neighborhood in 2021.Kenwan Deshawn Hunter (Courtesy of Ramsey County sheriff’s office)A Ramsey County jury in January convicted Kenwan Deshawn Hunter, 29, of second-degree unintentional murder for the killing of Glenn Danen Smith, 27, after Smith and another man had been fighting. Jurors acquitted Hunter of second-degree intentional murder, while also finding him guilty of possession of a firearm by an ineligible person.District Judge Laura Nelson sentenced Hunter on Thursday. Hunter was given credit for 575 days already served in custody.According to the charges, at about 12:50 a.m. Aug. 16, St. Paul police officers responded to Ted’s Recreation at 1084 Larpenteur Ave. and found two people attempting to help Smith, who was in the back seat of a Buick LaCrosse. Smith, of Minneapolis, was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene.From mult...

St. Paul’s early childhood grant proposal could move to ballot — but probably not this year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:24 GMT

Members of a committee composed of nearly two dozen educators and community advocates asked the St. Paul City Council this week to consider proposing a ballot question to pay for childcare and early education grants. But they didn’t specify when it would go on the ballot — at least not with a united voice.That’s heightened the possibility that if a St. Paul ballot question around funding childcare grants with property taxes moves forward to voters, it may not be this year.Adding to that likelihood is the neutral-to-lukewarm reception from the mayor’s office, which has yet to publicly back the proposal in light of competing projects. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter wants to triple the city sales tax in order to reconstruct the city’s poorly-aging arterial streets and pay for parks projects, and getting that effort on the ballot remains his priority.“We are laser-focused on our sales tax proposal,” said Kamal Baker, a spokesperson for Carter̵...