Lifestyle
Hoover Dam, challenged by drought, now wears a U.S. flag the size of a football field
Nope, it’s not AI. It’s just a really big flag with bright lights, draped on Hoover Dam for the next several weeks.
As a display to mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, the states of Nevada and Arizona and the federal Bureau of Reclamation teamed up to hang and illuminate an enormous American flag on the dam on Memorial Day.
The display, scheduled to be in place through July 4, is visible to anyone crossing between Arizona and Nevada on U.S. Route 93, which goes across the top of the dam. The flag is 150 feet tall and 300 feet long, spread on the south-facing side of the dam and lit by 550 LED lights (powered by dam-generated electricity).
A wider view of the illuminated U.S. flag at Hoover Dam.
(Michael Bittle)
It’s a spectacle that comes at a challenging moment for Hoover Dam, as experts warn that Lake Mead’s dwindling water levels could threaten the dam’s ability to generate hydropower. “Slap a flag on it, that’ll fix it,” suggested one of several Reddit commenters who were moved to snarkiness by the flag image.
The dam, a frequent day-trip destination from Las Vegas, stands 35 miles east of the Las Vegas Strip, about 295 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The site features a visitor center and overlook, and guided and self-guided tours.
Installation of the display involved dozens of riggers and two cranes. The flag, which is roughly the dimensions of a football field, has been previously used for celebrations at Indianapolis Colts and Las Vegas Raiders football games.
Within two days after it was hung, gusts of wind up to 50 mph prompted organizers to lower the flag last Wednesday as the National Weather Service declared a wind advisory for the area. Organizers raised the flag again late Friday.
Strong winds are not uncommon in the area. Organizers said weather “may periodically require the flag to be temporarily lowered.” Updates on the flag’s status can be found on the Hoover Dam Facebook page.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority paid for the display. A spokeswoman said the cost, including flag, production, installation costs and six weeks of lighting, will be between $750,000 and $1 million.
The dam, a five-year construction job that was completed in 1936 during the depths of the Great Depression, is often hailed as one of the nation’s most impressive works of infrastructure. Though this is not the first time a flag has been draped on it, organizers have called the display “the most ambitious long-duration installation ever attempted at Hoover Dam.”
Sunday Puzzle
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On-air challenge
I’m going to give you two words starting with the letter B. You give me another word starting with B that can follow my first one and precede my second one, in each case to complete a compound word for a familiar two-word phrase.
Ex. Boot Box –> BLACK (bootblack, black box)
1. Beer Button
2. Blue Binder
3. Bounce Burner
4. Billiard Bearing
5. Busy Builder
6. Bar Bottoms
7. Baby Brothers
8. Bird Buster
9. Brick Boy
Last week’s challenge
Last week’s challenge came from listener Michael Pickard. Name something in 10 letters that’s found in a kitchen. Drop its sixth letter to name something on a keyboard. Then drop the new word’s fifth letter to name something no one wants to get. What words are these?
Answer: Backsplash –> backslash –> backlash
Winner
John Blakelock of Yellow Springs, Ohio
This week’s challenge
This week’s challenge comes from Evan Kalish, of Bayside, N.Y. Take the name of a nocturnal creature, in two words. The first word is a spooky sound. Move the last letter of the first word to the start of the second word and you’ll get another spooky, nocturnal sound. What is the creature and what are the sounds?
If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it here by Thursday, June 25 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: include a phone number where we can reach you.
Lifestyle
Exclusive | Paul Kueker ID’d as beloved dad of 2 who tragically plunged to death at Madison Square Garden concert
The 51-year-old rock fan who fell to his death during a weekend Goose concert at Madison Square Garden was a beloved married dad of two from Connecticut, his weeping mom told The Post on Sunday.
Paul Kueker fatally plunged 150 feet from the Chase Bridge in the World’s Most Famous Arena while the event was in full swing shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday — the day before Father’s Day.
“He was the greatest kid in the whole wide world,” Kueker’s mother, Patricia Finelli, said through tears. “He’d give you the shirt off his back.
“He has two children, a beautiful wife, and he took care of me like I was a piece of gold.”
Kueker was with his wife at the time, according to Fox News.
The Niantic man was rushed to Bellevue Hospital after the fall, where he was later pronounced dead, police said.
He was on the Chase Bridge, an elevated seating section that was added to the arena in 2013, when he fell, Fox said.
Goose, a Connecticut-based jam band, was booked for a two-night gig at MSG as part of their summer tour and on their second night there when the tragedy struck.
They completed their full 16-song set around midnight Saturday, after the fall.
“We are deeply saddened and heartbroken to learn of the tragic event that occurred at tonight’s show,” the band later said in a statement.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to everyone affected. Thank you to the emergency personnel and venue staff who stepped in with care and support.”
Alzo Slade and Peter Sagal on stage at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago
Jenn Udoni/NPR
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This week’s show was recorded in Chicago with host Peter Sagal, judge and scorekeeper Alzo Slade, Not My Job guest Caro Claire Burke and panelists Karen Chee, Peter Grosz, and Shane O’Neill. Click the audio link above to hear the whole show.
Who’s Alzo This Time
Tourists Embrace The USA; The Wedding of the Century; Advances in Parenting
Panel Questions
Stolen Flavor
Bluff The Listener
Our panelists tell three stories about 80’s band A-ha making the news this week, only one of which is true
Not My Job: Caro Claire Burke, the author of Yesteryear, joins us to answer questions about yearbooks
This week, Caro Claire Burke, author of the book of the summer, Yesteryear, joins us to play a game called, “Yesteryear, meet Yearbook.” Three questions about yearbooks.
Panel Questions
Bookmarks and Beaches; One Man’s Trash
Limericks
Alzo Slade reads three news-related limericks: Jurassic Purse; Viper Visions; Humanity’s Tilt
Lightning Fill In The Blank
All the news we couldn’t fit anywhere else
Predictions
Our panelists predict, what would be the big surprise at Taylor Swift’s wedding
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