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'Action means something to me': Mayor Kirk Watson responds to winter storm report

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:38 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After a City-wide after-action report was released Tuesday, KXAN City Hall reporter Grace Reader sat down with Mayor Kirk Watson to talk about what happens next. You can find the full interview with the mayor, broken into topics highlighted in the report, below: CommunicationThe report highlighted communication challenges between City, County and private-sector staff working the winter storm. There were challenges in determining which staff members should be doing what, meaning some departments were operating in a silo and others were duplicating work. Communication, shelter issues identified during ‘hurricane-level’ Austin ice storm, report says The report also found there a lack of translation services and for some, nonexistent services. Management "We changed city managers, bringing in Jesús Garza to serve as Interim City Manager. We tasked him to begin immediately addressing our emergency preparedness and response," Watson said...

Man running from Canada to Mexico to raise awareness for declining monarch butterfly population

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:38 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Canadian ultra-marathon runner Anthony Battah is running roughly 2,800 miles in 90 days to raise awareness for the rapidly declining monarch butterfly population. Battah's trek mirrors the monarch butterfly’s migration pattern, starting in Canada and finishing in Mexico. He left his home in Montreal on July 29 and plans to finish at the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, about two hours east of Mexico City, on Nov. 1. He will pass through Austin on Thursday or Friday, which will mark a little over two-thirds of his total journey. “I'm really, really worried about where we're heading in terms of our planet [and]  how we're taking care of it,” Battah told KXAN at his halfway point for the day Tuesday afternoon. He said since his daughter was born in 2013, Battah and his wife “started to really question everything. I've basically been looking for a way to do something significant in that field, or in that direction, for a number of years,” he added.&nbs...

Police identify body found while AFD responded to northwest Austin grass fire

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:38 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department has identified the woman found dead while firefighters responded to a grass fire in the Northwest Hills area as 32-year-old Melissa Davis. The Austin Fire Department responded to a grass fire just after 5 a.m. Friday morning near the intersection of Mesa Drive and Cat Mountain Drive. APD said fire officials contacted the police department when AFD found a body during that response. Davis was found with "trauma to the body," according to Tuesday's news release. "But this is the closest we've come to anything this serious, ever," said Jeff Heinzelman, who lives near where the fire occurred. "Kind of really freaked us out a little bit."During a press briefing Friday, a sergeant with APD's homicide unit said that the victim's time of death was 5:37 a.m. The full video of that press briefing is below. The death is being investigated as Austin's 47th homicide of the year. Police said this is an ongoing and active...

Near-record heat Wednesday, then cooler and wetter weather

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:38 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Unseasonably hot weather persists overnight into Wednesday, with morning lows and daytime highs approaching record warmth for Oct. 4. But two strong cold fronts and a rain-making storm are approaching Texas.Austin-Bergstrom Intl. Airport reached a record high temperature of 97 degrees Tuesday, beating the previous record of 96 degrees set most recently in 2019. The chance of rain remains low overall overnight and Wednesday, but a few passing showers and storms are possible for some.The guarantee of periods of rainfall and the start of more autumn-like temperatures come on Thursday. Read the full details at the link below. BLOG: Fall storm coming: Rainfall, timing and the temperature drop The weather this weekend for ACL Music Festival and the Texas/Oklahoma game look hard to beat. Cooler sunshine and low humidity across the state. PHOTOS: Large, damaging hail pummels parts of Central Texas BLOG: El Niño into 2024: What that means for winter and spring Aust...

Highland Park water tower in St. Paul reopens Oct. 14-15

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:38 GMT

A rite of fall returns this month when St. Paul Regional Water Services reopens the Highland Park water tower to visitors who wish to brave its 151-step staircase to an observation deck offering sweeping views of the Mississippi River and Twin Cities.The tower, located at Snelling Avenue and Ford Parkway, will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 14 to Oct. 15. Admission is free.The tower was designed by Clarence “Cap” Wigington, a city architect, and completed in 1928. He also designed the St. Paul Public Safety Building and Como Park Pavilion. Facings include Kasota and Bedford stone.The open house, which will be staffed by Regional Water employees, aims to inform residents about municipal water utilities, including water preservation, water purification and an overview of the distribution system.Related ArticlesLocal News | In downtown St. Paul, new mobile medical van aims to entice homeless vets to get healthcare, social services Local News | ...

Authorities investigating apparent St. Croix River drowning

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:38 GMT

A water recovery is underway on the St. Croix River, just south of the Interstate 94 bridge, after a fishing boat was seen Tuesday morning unoccupied and spinning in circles near Town of Troy, Wis., Beach.The Washington County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team is searching for a person who is believed to have been on board, said St. Croix County, Wis., Sheriff Scott Knudson.Another boater called 911 at 9:35 a.m. Tuesday to report seeing “an unoccupied boat doing circles in the middle of the St. Croix River,” Knudson said. “They also thought they saw a body next to the boat.”When the Washington County Sheriff’s Office rescue team arrived on scene, about 650 yards from the Wisconsin shore, “there was nobody above water,” Knudson said. “They began their search underwater and are currently using those resources to try and locate (the boater).”The St. Croix River is 30 to 40 feet deep at that point in the river, he said.Crews were able to collect the Minnesota-registered boat after it ran out o...

Philip Rabadi's wife testifies during New Scotland murder trial

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:38 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The New Scotland murder trial continued on Tuesday. Jacob Klein is accused of killing Philip Rabadi in April 2022, just months after Rabadi married Klein’s former girlfriend, Elena Radin. Rabadi's wife took the stand Tuesday.Prosecutors asked Radin about her and her husband's schedule the day of and days prior to the incident. On the day of, she left for work earlier than Rabadi did. He was supposed to be at work at noon. Radin tried communicating with him through calls and texts, but she did not receive an answer. She also called his parents. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! When Radin went to their Miller Road home, she saw Rabadi's car in the driveway as well as his father's car. Radin heard screaming and found her husband in the garage. She said she tried to reach for a pulse.Radin recounted talking to investigators about if she had any idea who would have attacked her husband. She immediately brough...

Pastor of Charlotte vigil church grateful for her rerun

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:38 GMT

GANESVOORT, NY (NEWS10) — Mount Zion Church in Saratoga County is where people gathered Tuesday night to hold vigil for a missing little girl. It's also the place where they rejoiced once Charlotte was found. Missing 9-year-old girl found alive, suspect in custodyOn this warm autumn day in Gansevoort, the parking lot of Mount Zion Church was empty, a far cry from the previous night. Larry Denning is one of the pastors at Mount Zion, he was here yesterday when there was a commotion.“That’s what we came for last night. To pray for a miracle. Of course we got that" said Denning. Concern and fear yet hung in the air while Charlotte was still missing.Community relieved Charlotte Sena found alive“It didn't look good. It was natural because it was 48 hours, but we just came believing that God was going to do a miracle for us" said Denning. The mood changed once Charlotte was found. “Everybody was really rejoicing and actually after we found out we went inside and we continued on with our p...

Missing girl found alive, kidnapper arrested

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:38 GMT

MILTON, N.Y. (NEWS10) - New York State Police released more information about the arrest of the man who they say kidnapped 9-year-old Charlotte Sena. They said that they tracked Craig Ross Jr., 46, to a trailer in Milton, where they found the girl inside a cabinet.  Some asylum seekers can now start to apply for work Police said that there was a confrontation before Ross was taken into custody. In fact, the mugshot released by law enforcement shows a spot of blood on top of his head. Ross was arraigned on Tuesday morning at Milton Town Court. He is being held without bail at Saratoga County Correctional Facility on a felony charge of first-degree kidnapping. The felony complaint NEWS10 obtained from the court alleged that Ross abducted Charlotte and wrote a ransom letter demanding payment in exchange for her return.  Law enforcement seen investigating fields in Montgomery County Neighbors at Ross’s home in Porters Corners did not want to go on camera. They sa...

Felon indicted for possessing firearms and ammunition

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:38 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Two individuals, including a citizen of Liberia residing in Saratoga Springs, were indicted in a case involving illegal firearm possession. Mana Sambola, 41, was indicted for possessing two firearms and four boxes of ammunition as a previously convicted felon. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Christopher Krom, 36, of Lake Luzerne, was indicted for acting as a straw purchaser for one of the firearms. According to the indictment, Krom purchased a Glock 43 pistol and four boxes of ammunition on behalf of Sambola. Law enforcement searched Sambola's apartment on May 22 and seized the firearm, ammunition, and an Anderson Manufacturing AM15 rifle.Sambola faces a maximum term of 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. Krom faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. Kr...