Washington, D.C
Honor Flight Continues Salute to Veterans in Washington D.C
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – The Minnesota North Dakota Honor Flight continues as veterans from the region celebrate their service in Washington D.C. 102 veterans loaded onto buses and visited several museums and memorials on Monday; first visiting the National Archives where there would be able to see historic documents and relics such as the Declaration of Independence.
Navy Veteran, Robert Leslie reflected on the trip thus far outside the Navy Memorial.
“It’s awesome, seeing the World War 2, and the Iwo Jima and the archives and now the Navy.. It’s exciting. It’s exceeded my expectations.”
Leslie remembers his service fondly, taking pride in his service to his country.
“I would gladly do it again, I was in ‘65-69 during Vietnam and I’d gladly do it again, i have no regrets whatsoever going into the service// It’s fun and talk about some of our experiences in the service, year, it’s kind of neat, yeah, find out what other people did, yeah.”
Veterans from the Vietnam War, The Korean War, and even a veteran from World War 2 were chaperoned across the Nation’s Capital by dozens of honor flight volunteers. ND/MN Honor Flight Vice President Lori Ishaug says that organizing and coordinating this trip is her way of giving back to the veterans.
“For the love of the country, for the love of the veterans and really if the veterans didn’t do what they did we wouldn’t be here and this is our way of giving back and thanking them, plus the two sisters on either side of me are veterans so I grew up with, you know, the military family so for me personally it’s just my way of giving back,” said Ishaug who also volunteers with here sisters, Susan Schoeder and Diane Modrow.
The trip will conclude Tuesday with visits to the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Korean Memorial, and Fort McHenry before flying back to Hector International Airport in Fargo Tuesday afternoon.
Copyright 2024 KVLY. All rights reserved.
Cost of living calculators aren’t always reliable. Try this instead.
Here are a few ways to give you a better idea of how much it may cost you if you’re considering moving to a new city.
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Earning enough to be considered middle class has gotten more expensive, with rising housing and everyday costs pushing the income bar higher, according to a recent report from GOBankingRates.
The median range for middle-class income across the country is between $59,000 and $104,000 in 2026, depending on which state you live in. GOBanking Rates used Pew Research Center’s definition of middle class — income ranging from two-thirds to twice a state’s median household income — and added data from the U.S. Census Bureau to report lowest middle-income, highest middle-class income and median income for each state, including Maryland and Virginia, and Washington D.C.
The current national middle-class minimum of $59,000 would have declared you middle class a decade ago in the U.S. In 2016, earning $39,000 placed a household at the lower edge of the middle class — and in regions like DC, MD and VA, median incomes were already far higher than the national median, so the “middle-class floor” was much higher than $39,000 even then.
In the DC region, the income required to be considered middle class is significantly higher than nationally, with the threshold starting around $61,000 in Virginia and nearly $69,000 in Maryland — compared with about $47,000 nationwide, GOBankingRates data shows. To be considered middle class in Washington DC, you’d have to earn at least $70,200. GoBankingRates omitted DC from their report; however, using the same formula and same US Census data cited, USA TODAY Network was able to calculate the low, high and median middle class income ranges. Here’s what the report shows and what we found for middle-class consideration in 2026.
What is middle class in Washington DC?
The middle class is a socioeconomic group in the U.S. that falls between the working class and upper class, earning around the middle of the income distribution for where they live. Middle class households often are able to cover their bills, rely on loans to buy homes or cars, and occasionally eat out or vacation, but not without careful budgeting, according to Investopedia.
Washington DC’s middle-class income in 2024 (the most recent year available from Census data) was between $70,200 and $209,600. GoBankingRates omitted DC middle-class data; however, USA TODAY Network used the same calculation, using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and the Pew Research Center’s benchmark definition of middle class. Here is the breakdown for middle-class in Washington DC:
- Median household income: $104,800
- Lowest end of middle-class income: $70,200
- Highest end of middle-class income: $209,600
Due to the region’s high cost of living, Washington DC’s middle-class median income surpasses not only the U.S. median, but it’s neighbors in Delaware, Virginia and Maryland. It also slightly surpasses the median middle-class income of New Jersey.
What is middle class in Virginia?
In Virginia, the income needed to be considered middle class starts at about $61,400 and can range up to roughly $184,200, according to GOBankingRates. That is based on Pew Research Center’s definition — two-thirds to twice the median household income. Here’s the breakdown of Virginia’s middle-class income as reported in 2026 using the latest Census data available from 2024:
- Median household income: $92,090
- Lowest end of middle-class income: $61,393
- Highest end of middle-class income: $184,180
What is middle class in Maryland?
To be considered middle-class in Maryland, the income required starts at about $68,600 and can extend up to roughly $205,800, according to GOBankingRates, which used the latest 2024 U.S. Census Bureau data available in their 2026 report.
For many Maryland households, especially in the DC suburbs, earning what sounds like a solid income does not always translate into financial comfort once housing, childcare and community costs are factored in: Maryland housing costs (rent and home prices) are well above national averages, according to Zillow market trends, and commuting costs for DC-area workers are among the longest and costliest, Census data shows. Maryland also consistently ranks among the most expensive states for childcare, often surpassing $15,000 per year per child, according to a Care.com 2024 Cost of Care report.
Highest middle-class incomes in the US
- Massachusetts income range: $69,885 to $209,656
- Maryland income range: $68,603 to $205,810
- New Jersey income range: $69,529 to $208,588
- Hawaii income range: $67,163 to $201,490
- California income range: $66,766 to $200,298
- New Hampshire income range: $66,521 to $199,564
- Washington income range: $66,259 to $198,778
- Colorado income range: $64,742 to $194,226
- Connecticut income range: $64,033 to $192,098
- Virginia income range: $61,393 to $184,180
Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based news reporter covering trending news with USA TODAY Network’s Mid-Atlantic Connect Team. She covers news in the Northeast, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Reach her at LComstock@usatodayco.com.
Washington, D.C
US industry leaders take sport fishing issues to Washington DC – Angling International
The impact of tariffs on the US fishing tackle industry and the need for sound fisheries management were among the topics discussed by attendees of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA)’s first ever Keep America Fishing in DC Fly-In.
It included industry leaders who last week joined together in Washington DC and all walked hundreds of miles across the US Capital Complex to advocate for the interests of the US trade and the entire recreational fishing community.
The group also enjoyed conversations with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Director, Dr Neil Jacobs, Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Brian Nesvik, Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Representative Blake Moore (R-UT).
ASA President and CEO, Glenn Hughes, said: “We look forward to continuing the conversation with legislators throughout the rest of this Congress and to an even bigger Keep America Fishing Fly-In in 2027.”
Above: From left: ASA President Glenn Hughes and Vice President of Government Affairs, Mike Leonard, with Senator Martin Heinrich (centre).
WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration received 12,000 applications in 24 hours after its annual air traffic control hiring window opened Friday, a figure Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described as record breaking amid the agency’s new campaign to recruit video gamers to the job.
In a post on X over the weekend, Duffy said the 12,000 applications marked “the most in one day since the FAA was created 68 YEARS ago!” He told Fox News in an interview Sunday that 11,000 of those applicants were considered qualified and 8,000 have already been sent a skills test required to move forward in the process.
Duffy specifically credited the Transportation Department’s fresh effort announced earlier this month — just a week ahead of the opening of its hiring window at midnight April 17 — to seek out those who play video games to apply.
“To reach the next generation of air traffic controllers, we need to adapt,” Duffy said in a press release on the new campaign at the time. “This campaign’s innovative communication style and focus on gaming taps into a growing demographic of young adults who have many of the hard skills it takes to be a successful controller.”
The transportation chief told Fox News on Sunday that the idea was sparked by a poll the agency took of students at an FAA academy in Oklahoma City in which all but three of the 250 people randomly surveyed said they were gamers.
“And so we thought, listen, there’s a connection here,” Duffy said. “They problem solve, they are spatially aware, they do multiple things at the same time. It is very reminiscent of what air traffic controllers do.”
Since then, Duffy said the agency has reached out to the community, including with a video appearing to target gamers he posted earlier this month. He called the response the agency has received “remarkable.”
“YOU can be the future of air traffic control,” Duffy said in a post on X earlier this month that included the video ad. “It’s not a GAME, its a CAREER.”
The push comes as the FAA has been plagued with air traffic controller staffing issues for years, a reality that has been amplified amid recent government shutdowns, which leave them working without pay until the matter is resolved.
During the government shutdown last fall, Duffy told CNN in an interview that the FAA was seeing 15 to 20 air traffic controllers retiring a day, up from four before the lapse in funding. He added at the time that the FAA was short “about 1,000 to 2,000” air traffic controllers in general and noted he had embarked on an effort to pay experienced people in the position to stay on the job and not retire.
A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office released earlier this year found that the number of air traffic controllers in the country has declined by about 6% over the last 10 years. The GAO cited government shutdowns in 2013 and 2018-2019, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, as contributing factors in the decline, noting both disrupted training.
In the report, the GAO also noted that there has been a 10% increase in the number of flights that rely on the air traffic control system over the same period, exacerbating the issue.
President Donald Trump’s 2027 budget proposal to Congress includes a request of a $481 million increase to “continue to support the Administration’s air traffic controller hiring surge, as well as enhancements to aviation safety, commercial space operations, and updates to FAA’s outdated telecommunications systems,” according to a fact sheet from the White House.
There are a number of prerequisites to qualify to be an air traffic controller, including being under 31 years old and being able to “Speak English clearly enough to be understood over communications equipment,” according to the FAA website.
Those interested must also pass a medical exam, as well as the agency’s air traffic pre-employment tests. The FAA notes that less than 10% of all applicants meet all of the requirements and are accepted into the training program.
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