Midwest
Sophie Cunningham criticizes WNBA’s new expansion cities: ‘Not so sure what the thought process is’
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The WNBA announced Monday it is expanding to 18 teams by the end of 2030, with franchises headed to Philadelphia, Detroit and Cincinnati.
It is continued growth for the league, which has the Golden State Valkyries, its 13th team, playing in its inaugural season. Toronto and Portland are due to get teams next season.
Despite more opportunities, one WNBA star isn’t exactly thrilled with the move.
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham runs up the court during a game against the Dallas Wings at the American Airlines Center June 27, 2025. (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)
Sophie Cunningham, a teammate of Caitlin Clark’s on the Indiana Fever, praised the league for its efforts, saying, “You want to listen to your players, too,” while doubting players will be excited to be in the Midwest.
“Like, where do they want to play? Where are they going to get excited to play and draw fans? I think Miami would have been a great one. Everyone loves Florida. Nashville is an amazing city. Kansas City — amazing opportunity. There’s a huge arena downtown that no one’s using,” Cunningham added Tuesday afternoon. “I’m not so sure what the thought process is there.
“At the end of the day, you don’t want to expand our league too fast. We don’t want teams to totally dominate and some that aren’t. It’s a hard situation, but, man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland].”
Each city Cunningham mentioned submitted a bid for expansion.
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham in the second half against the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis June 17, 2025. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images)
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This will mark the second time the WNBA will be in Detroit. The Shock won three WNBA titles before relocating to Tulsa in 2010. They then moved to Dallas to become the Wings.
Cleveland will begin play in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia the season after, assuming they get approval from the NBA and WNBA Board of Governors.
“The demand for women’s basketball has never been higher, and we are thrilled to welcome Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia to the WNBA family,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league’s extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game and the surging demand for investment in women’s professional basketball.”
Other cities to submit expansion bids were St. Louis, Austin, Denver, Charlotte and Houston, the latter of which had the Comets, which won the first four WNBA championships.
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham poses for a photo April 30, 2025, during Indiana Fever media day at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Grace Smith/IndyStar/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
“There are a variety of cities that obviously bid, and one of those I wanted to shout out — because they have such a strong history in this league and their great ownership group — is Houston,” Engelbert said. “The Houston Comets were just an amazing one, the first four inaugural championships in the WNBA. So, I would say that’s the one, obviously, we have our eye on. (Owner) Tilman (Fertitta) has been a great supporter of the WNBA, and we’ll stay tuned on that.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sexual abuse charges were filed this week against a Park City, Illinois, police officer.
On Jan. 28, the Park City Police Department requested an investigation by Illinois State Police after a civilian accused a part-time Park City officer, state police said.
State police said their special agents conducted several interviews and obtained search warrants.
On Tuesday of this week, the special agents presented the case to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office, who charged Officer Patrick Cacho, 29, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, with 10 felony counts. They were composed of four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, two of aggravated battery, two of official misconduct, and two of criminal sexual abuse.
Cacho was being held at the Lake County Jail Wednesday.
No further details were provided about what Cacho is accused of doing.
Park City is located in Lake County, adjacent to Waukegan and Gurnee.
Kroger to close 60 underperforming stores after failed Albertsons merger
Amid plans to shut 60 stores, Kroger commits to new openings and employee relocations, navigating challenges after the attempted merger with Albertsons.
Scripps News
Smokey Bones barbecue chain is closing stores, including its lone Indiana location.
The chain, known for its authentic fire-grilled and house-smoked meats, closed various locations April 28. Signage at some shops indicates all locations have been closed.
The store at 1203 Apple Glen Boulevard in Fort Wayne was among 20 locations listed on the chain’s website on April 29, but its hours were listed as “CLOSED” for every day this week and the site was not allowing customers to place orders there for pickup or delivery.
The chain previously operated stores in Central Indiana, including spots in Indianapolis, Avon and Greenwood.
The closures come after Twin Peaks Hospitality, the owner of Smokey Bones and Twin Peaks restaurants, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas, USA TODAY reported in January.
The chain began closing restaurants in late 2025.
Smokey Bones was acquired as a 60-unit group by FAT Brands Inc. in 2023 and was spun off into Twin Hospitality in January 2025. Then, in September 2025, Twin Hospitality Group Inc. said it planned to rebrand 19 Smokey Bones locations as Twin Peaks restaurants while closing 15 underperforming sites.
Contact Midwest Connect reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cjackson@usatodayco.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com: @cherylvjackson or Bluesky: @cherylvjackson.bsky.social.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The price of regular unleaded gasoline in Iowa is 33 cents higher from last week, averaging $3.84.
Americans had a brief relief in gas prices last week when prices for brent crude oil dipped below $100 per barrel. On Wednesday it was priced at $117.20, according to AAA.
The latest numbers from AAA show Iowa’s gas prices spiked faster than the national average.
The national average price of gas Wednesday was $4.23, 21 cents higher than last week.
Compared to a year ago, gas is 86 cents more on average in Iowa.
Diesel is also slightly higher this week, averaging $4.94, but was still 52 cents below the national average.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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