Latest news with #RogersHighSchool
Fox News
4 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Minnesota high school defends trans softball pitcher's playoff dominance amid lawsuit
A high school softball team in Minnesota is deep in the state playoffs and the political news cycle, both thanks to its dominant transgender pitcher. Champlin Park High School in Minnesota defeated the defending state champions, Rogers High School, in the sectional final on Thursday by a score of 1-0. The trans pitcher threw 14 shutout innings, bringing the athlete's season ERA down to 0.88. Three anonymous players who claim to have faced the pitcher filed a lawsuit against the state on May 20 for allowing the athlete to compete against female players. The situation has prompted national scrutiny amid the ongoing political divide over biological males in girls' and women's sports. Champlin Park's school district provided a statement to Fox News Digital defending the decision to allow the athlete to compete on the softball team. "Throughout the entire season, and as the Rebels advance to the state tournament, it is important to note that all of the student athletes participating for the Champlin Park Softball team are eligible to compete in compliance with Minnesota State High School League rules and applicable state law. Due to data privacy laws, the District is not able to provide public comment regarding a specific student athlete," a statement from the Anoka-Hennepin School District stated. "In addition, the District is named in an active lawsuit which limits what information can be shared." The pitcher will now lead Champlin Park into the state tournament next week for the first time in program history. The lawsuit against Minnesota was filed by the religious law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). The defendants are Attorney General Keith Ellison, the Minnesota State High School League Executive Director Erich Martens, Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero and Minnesota Commissioner of Education Willie Jett. "Minnesota is failing its female athletes. The state is putting the rights of males ahead of females, telling girls their hard work may never be enough to win and that they don't deserve fairness and safety," Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Suzanne Beecher told Fox News Digital. "By sacrificing protection for female athletes, Minnesota fails to offer girls equal treatment and opportunity, violating Title IX's provisions. Our client, Female Athletes United, is right to stand up for its members by challenging the state's discriminatory policy and advocate for true equality in sports." Ellison's office has responded to the lawsuit in a statement to Fox News Digital. "In addition to getting exercise and the fun of competition, playing sports comes with so many benefits for young people. You build friendships that can last a lifetime, you learn how to work as part of a team, and you get to feel like you belong," the statement read. "I believe it is wrong to single out one group of students, who already face higher levels of bullying and harassment, and tell these kids they cannot be on the team because of who they are. I will continue to defend the rights of all students to play sports with their friends and peers." Ellison is also suing President Donald Trump and the Department of Justice to ensure transgender athletes can continue participating in girls' sports in the state. After Trump signed the "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order, the Minnesota State High School League announced it would defy federal law by allowing transgender athletes to continue playing in women's sports. Ellison then claimed at a press conference on April 22 that he received notice from the Department of Justice threatening legal action if the state did not follow the executive order, so the AG decided to sue first. The White House later responded to the lawsuit, condemning Ellison for taking legal action to enable trans inclusion. "Why would a grown man sue the Trump administration to allow other biological males to participate in women's sports? This is creepy and anti-woman," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital. Minnesota's state legislature failed to pass the "Preserving Girls' Sports Act" in early March, which would have stated that "only female students may participate in an elementary or secondary school level athletic team or sport that an educational institution has restricted to women and girls." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Newport teen to read award-winning essay at state's Memorial Day ceremony
Rogers High School Senior Grace Rochelle of Newport is shown on the campus of Notre Dame University where she plans to enroll in the fall. (Courtesy of Grace Rochelle) The 2024 presidential election had not happened when Grace Rochelle wrote an essay for her AP comparative government class at Rogers High School in Newport responding to the question of 'Is America Today Our Forefathers' Vision?' But her perspective on the growing divide between conservatives and liberals remains relevant four months into the second administration of President Donald Trump. Rochelle sees the lack of political and social connection and collaboration at the national, state and local levels as hindering the country's progress. Grace Rochelle will read her award-winning VFW Voice of Democracy essay as the featured speaker at the 51st annual Memorial Day Commemoration on Monday, May 16, at 1 p.m. at the Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery in Exeter. Listen to the audio version of essay here. 'I thought about the issues in America, and I don't really feel like we're in a place where we can be proud, I guess you could say, of where we're at because a lot of issues need to be resolved,' Rochelle said. History teacher Coleen Turner made the essay a mandatory assignment for her students and gave them the option of recording the essay and submitting it to the 2024-2025 Veterans of Foreign War Voice of Democracy National Scholarship Competition through VFW Post 406 in Newport. Rochelle, a competitive tennis player with three State and All-Division honors to her name, including 1st team All-State this year, was fair game. 'I thought I already did the essay, I might as well do the recording,' Rochelle, 17, a Rogers senior, recalled. 'It took a few tries, or more like 20, 25 tries,' she said. 'It was either too short or too long depending on how I was pacing myself. But I just thought you know why not? We'll see what happens.' What happened was the VFW Department of Rhode Island named Rochelle the state winner. She won a total of $2,000 in scholarships and received a trip to the 2025 VFW Washington Conference held March 2-6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. 'It was the best trip I've ever been on. It was cool to be around a bunch of different kids,' Rochelle said, adding she made several new friends. 'I got (to be) pretty good friends with Oklahoma and Guam and Louisiana and New Jersey. Those were the four girls I really clicked with.' Rochelle will read her award-winning essay as the featured speaker at the 51st annual Memorial Day commemoration on Monday at 1 p.m. at the Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery in Exeter to honor service members who sacrificed their lives for our nation. Gov. Dan McKee, the state's four congressional delegates and state office holders and lawmakers are scheduled to attend. The 88th Army Band of the Rhode Island National Guard will perform and Gold Star Family members will participate in the ceremony. Rochelle is the daughter of Brian and Carrie Rochelle, both Army veterans who served tours in Iraq. Her parents work at Naval Undersea Warfare Center where her mother is a contracting officer and her father is a contracts manager. She plans to attend the University of Notre Dame to study political science and economics, with hopes of going to law school and making a career in international politics and government. Her dream job is to become a diplomat for the U.S. State Department or the United Nations. I thought about the issues in America, and I don't really feel like we're in a place where we can be proud, I guess you could say, of where we're at because a lot of issues need to be resolved. – Grace Rochelle, 17, of Newport In discussing this year's VFW Voice of Democracy question with her comparative government students, Turner had them the ideas of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness emerging from the Declaration of Independence and the contradictions over the meaning of equality as applied to different demographic groups. 'It was a good question. It fit in well with my curriculum,' Turner said of the class which looks at six different countries in relation to life in the United States. Rochelle's award-winning essay takes a contrarian view. She argues that the U.S. has been weakened by divisiveness and that's not what the founding fathers envisioned at all. 'You go back to George Washington's farewell address and he warned about political factions and that's where we are as a society. We have political factions,' Rochelle said. 'I don't necessarily feel like they are a horrible thing, but what political parties do however, is make people close-minded from what I've seen a lot of times. People aren't willing to hear the other side and even consider the other side, and I think that's where the real issue comes.' The solution, she said, is to somehow bring people back to the moderate side of both parties. 'I do think the majority of Americans are somewhat moderate. They're the less outspoken ones and I think we need to be uplifting the voices of those who are moderates and giving them the bigger platform than people who are far left and far right.' Turner said Rochelle presented a 'unique voice and a different perspective.' 'It came out really well,' Turner said of Rochelle's essay. 'She's made us all proud. She's going to do great things.' By Grace Rochelle When answering whether America today is our forefathers' vision, there may be a variety of responses. On one hand, Americans are still some of the most passionate people when it comes to upholding liberties, democracy, and nationalism. But on the other hand, we have never been more fractionalized, and the divide between conservatives and liberals seems to continue to grow. I will attempt to navigate these complexities and demonstrate that overall, America today is not our forefathers' vision. The struggle to answer this question is mainly the stark differences between the late 18th century and the 21st century. Our forefathers could not possibly imagine the advancements we have today, especially when it comes to technology, transportation, and media. For example, Thomas Jefferson, a major proponent for privacy and freedom, may find mass surveillance and data gathering disturbing and unconstitutional. Furthermore, the further in time we progress, the more different our country will look compared to when it was founded. So how can we compare values from the late 1700s to today's? I believe that as time progresses, central values may also have to progress and/or change to better fit the people of the time. Next, we look into what the forefathers wanted for our country. The most important and main issue was independence. In Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary, independence meant, 'A state of being not dependent; complete exemption from control, or the power of others; as the independence of the Supreme Being.' I argue that today, we are greatly economically dependent on other countries through the trade of goods and services which goes against our Founding Fathers' vision. Dependency, such as our large debt to China and reliance on their goods, leads us to be vulnerable to instability if a country were to collapse or eliminate trade with us. Since World War I, the U.S. has taken a sort of overseer role in the world. As a global power, we always appear to aid countries in need, whether it be supplies or money. While this certainly is a morally good thing, it also can undermine what gets done internally. In addition to the question of our true independence as a state, many of the forefathers were very weary and against the forming of political factions, but today we have not been more divided as a country since the Civil War because of factions. The current split between the conservatives and liberals has seriously hindered the progress of the legislature in this country, divided not just the government but also citizens, and weakens the country's internal strength. The Founding Fathers knew the importance of unity, as they brought the 13 colonies together not just for the Revolutionary War against the British, but also to form a new country. They promoted and inspired nationalism in the colonies and preached that unity was vital to protecting America from external influences. With the constant stalemate we see in Congress, we have seriously fallen behind in making a budget for our country and addressing social and other important political issues. I believe the current disunity in this country is the complete opposite of what the forefathers hoped to continue for America. The internal conflict disrupts the nation's progress and displays our weaknesses to our largest enemies such as China, Russia, and Iran. Although America today has seemed to have fallen on a different path from what our forefathers were envisioning, we have always and will continue to have fighting spirits. When it comes to civil liberties and social issues, Americans are some of the most vocal out of any groups in the world. While this is one of the main causes for discontinuity, it does show the freedom and pride that people have to improve this country. In the beginning days of our country, the Forefathers wanted the people's voices to be heard, setting up a system to ensure that was made possible. Today we see that same system allowing citizens to protest issues such as abortion and gun laws, without prosecution. That system in the 18th century instilled a sense of identity and nationalism into the new American people and continues to do that in Americans today. Overall, America today is not our forefathers' vision, whether it be the issue of independence or political factions. And while we have fulfilled some of their manifestations, altogether the drastic difference in society now has prevented their vision from completely continuing. While I wouldn't expect America to be fully on the path of our forefather's vision, I do believe they would feel we seriously need to fix our current system, economically, socially, and politically. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
Second man sentenced for Pierce County fatal shooting of teen in set-up robbery
A 20-year-old man who admitted to recklessly causing the death of a teenager in a fatal shooting in South Hill in a set-up robbery during a marijuana transaction was sentenced Friday to nearly 13 years in state custody. Antonio Adan Yescas pleaded guilty in November to first-degree manslaughter with a firearm-sentencing enhancement and first-degree attempted robbery for the Jan. 28, 2023 killing of 19-year-old Wesley Jose Molinero Dominguez. Yescas is the second person to be sentenced for the homicide. Joseph M. Lizarraga-Ortiz was sentenced in January to 20 years in state custody after he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Yescas was armed with a gun during the robbery, but it was Lizarraga-Ortiz who fired the fatal shot. Both defendants were 17 at the time. Prosecutors originally charged Yescas with first-degree murder as well as attempted robbery. In a court filing asking the court to accept the amended charges, deputy prosecuting attorney Thomas Howe wrote that the change was highly negotiated. Howe said it was an effort to balance four aspects of the case, including Yescas' age and mitigating information provided by his defense attorney, which was detailed in a 700-page packet not filed in the court record. The resolution balanced the fact that although Yescas did not fire the fatal shot, by engaging in a robbery where both he and his codefendant were armed, Yescas bears responsibility for the victim's death, according to the court filing. Howe also said Yescas indicated very early in the case he wanted to resolve the matter short of trial and take responsibility for his actions. According to charging documents, Wesley Molinero Dominguez and Yescas messaged each other on Instagram prior to the shooting, arranging for Yescas to buy $90 worth of marijuana from Molinero Dominguez. Molinero Dominguez and his girlfriend arrived at the location, and two men in black clothing and ski masks — later identified as Lizarraga-Ortiz and Yescas — approached their vehicle and demanded everything they had, the girlfriend later told Sheriff's Office investigators. When Lizarraga-Ortiz and Yescas approached, Molinero Dominguez reportedly said, 'Joseph, you're not going to shoot me. You're my friend,' according to court records. Lizarraga-Ortiz responded by shooting him. The shooting occurred less than a half-mile from Rogers High School, which Molinero Dominguez attended. The sentence Pierce County Superior Court Judge Philip Sorensen imposed was at the low end of the standard sentencing range, 155 to 185 months including enhancements, which was in line with prosecutors' recommendation. Because Yescas was under 18 at the time, he will serve his sentence in juvenile rehabilitation in the custody of the Department of Children, Youth and Families. Felony animal cruelty case against horse-drawn carriage business owner dismissed A felony charge of animal cruelty was dismissed last month against the owner of a Pierce County business that provides horse-drawn carriages for weddings and other events Tammy Lynn Sell, who owns Country Wagon Carriages, was charged with first-degree animal cruelty in Superior Court for the death of a rabbit, which allegedly had signs of starvation on her property near Eatonville. Prosecutors also accused her of second-degree animal cruelty, a gross misdemeanor, for allegedly neglecting a horse. A veterinarian couldn't determine the rabbit's cause of death, according to Prosecuting Attorney's Office spokesperson Adam Faber. Because of that, Faber said, prosecutors had to drop the felony charge. Prosecutors proceeded with the second-degree animal cruelty case, and on April 15, Sell entered a pretrial diversion agreement in District Court where she agreed to no criminal law violations. The horse at issue, named Bell, was observed by an animal control officer in 2022 to have a pressure sore on her right hip and had more sores on her left leg. The officer later concluded that Sell was knowingly and intentionally failing to provide the horse with recommended veterinarian care. Sell will have to complete a course on animal cruelty and will pay $4,466.88 in restitution, according to court records.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
'He meant the world to me': Loved ones reflect on 25-year-old who died in Hillyard motorcycle crash
Apr. 17—Cody Mayo's most notable physical characteristic was his long, red beard, earning him the nickname "Code Red" from some of his co-workers. "He was so proud of that thing," said Jessica Barth, Mayo's mother. Besides sporting long facial hair, Mayo exhibited a strong work ethic, dependability, good humor and a willingness to help others, according to his loved ones. The 25-year-old's life was cut short March 28 when he died riding his motorcycle on the north edge of Spokane's Hillyard Neighborhood. The crash that afternoon on Market Street and Francis Avenue involved another vehicle, according to the Spokane Police Department. Officer Daniel Strassenberg, spokesman for the department, declined to release the circumstances of the crash, citing the ongoing investigation, but he said criminal charges against the other driver are not expected. Barth said her son was wearing his helmet. Before she found out about the crash, Barth said Mayo did not answer her phone calls, which was unusual. Her friend then notified her of the accident, which was not too far from her northeast Spokane residence, so she headed to the scene. She saw his motorcycle and knew Mayo was involved. She said she and her son messaged each other on Snapchat, which showed her Mayo's location at the Hillyard intersection. "He meant the world to me," she said. "I mean, he was so special." Mayo was born and raised in Spokane and graduated from Rogers High School in 2018. He worked the past four years mowing lawns and landscaping. He started at Living Water Lawn & Tree Care before the company's landscape maintenance division split to form Ron Davis Lawncare & Landscaping, where Mayo worked most recently. Tristin Sparks, one of Mayo's friends and co-workers, said Mayo was one of the top employees. "He was the go-to guy at Ron Davis Lawncare when it came to if you needed someone to do something, and we weren't working that day, Cody would pick up anything and he'd get it done," Sparks said. "He was a good guy." Barth said her son enjoyed his job and would always leave home right away when he got an unexpected call to go to work, showing his dedication to his work and those around him, she said. "He was always willing to help people," Barth said. Besides his long beard, Barth said he loved riding his 2009 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, wearing his SpongeBob SquarePants-themed socks and shoes and drinking Monster Energy drinks. She said he had a case of Monsters with him riding his motorcycle. He also liked playing with his many RC cars and "blowing things up," she said. He liked to ride motorcycles with his only sibling and older brother, Jared Barth. Barth said her two sons got their motorcycle endorsements together. "He was doing what he loved, being free and riding his bike," she said of Mayo's death. Barth said she and her son lived together, and he also cared for her because her hip and back problems make it difficult to perform certain tasks. Photos of her son, posing by himself and with family members, are stationed by the front door of her apartment. "It's hard, you know, because I think Cody should walk through the door," she said. "I mean, I just don't understand why it had to be Cody." Carolyn Dunlap, general manager at Living Water, was a friend of Mayo's and his former boss. "Cody was just like one of my kids," she said. Dunlap, who is Davis' daughter and Sparks' mother, said Mayo's strong work ethic shot him up the company ladder to "mow lead." But when it was time to relax at the end of the day, he was a "goofball" who made people smile. "He was just a good kid," Dunlap said. "He died too young." She called him a great man who worked hard to take care of himself and his mom. His death left a big hole in people's hearts, she said. "Cody was just a young man when he started here," Dunlap said. "He was really just a young man learning what he wanted to do in life."
Axios
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Arkansas' first Latina legislator brings education background to table
Arkansas' only majority-Hispanic House district is now being represented by the state's first Latina legislator. What they're saying:"I'm the first but I won't be the last," Democratic Rep. Diana Gonzales Worthen, who won her Springdale seat in November on her fourth bid for public office, told Axios in a wide-ranging interview. The intrigue: House District 9 was also the only seat to flip from Republican to Democratic in the legislature, which is overwhelmingly Republican. How it happened: "We thought we had it," Gonzales Worthen said of her 2022 run for the seat when she lost by 109 votes. This time around in a rematch with former republican Rep. DeAnna Hodges, her campaign identified 377 supporters who didn't vote and went back to learn why they didn't turn out. They found that most of them were first-time voters including new citizens who weren't familiar with the voting process, like that open times for polling places are inconsistent. Her campaign reached out to inform voters on how to vote and created bilingual information cards, which she found were helpful to many voters, not solely Spanish speakers. Background: Addressing gaps is not new for the legislator, who is an educator by profession and began teaching biology to students speaking English as a second language at Rogers High School in 1996. She said the area wasn't prepared for the increase in Latin American immigrants. Zoom in: Gonzales Worthen became a resource for Hispanic students, who often had language and transportation barriers. Her classroom doubled as a mini library with encyclopedias students could take home. She remembers when the scholarship coordinator providing information on applying to college skipped the ESL classes, assuming those students wouldn't be going to college. Gonzales Worthen explained that the students were learning English and still deserved the same information. Years later, the same scholarship coordinator thanked her. "Sometimes it does take time, but eventually people will come around, and I have a strong belief in people," she said. "Maybe at the time she didn't know, but I'm going to treat her with respect and give her the best knowledge that I can and try to help her in the process because ultimately we're both here for the students." State of play: Gonzales Worthen said she wants to focus on policies that can help working families and strengthen education and schools. Some potential policy changes include: Increasing pay for school staff like nurses, bus drivers and paraprofessionals. Addressing the shortage of special education and multilingual teachers plus nurse educators. Affordable childcare and increasing access to preschool. Mental health issues like requiring school resource officers to receive mental health training. Accessible dental care. Zoom out: Gonzales Worthen co-founded two NWA nonprofits, the Hispanic Women's Organization of Arkansas which encourages civic engagement and provides scholarships, plus OneCommunity which largely focuses on education-related initiatives like child literacy.
