Midwest
Arkansas Supreme Court eliminates gender neutral option for state IDs
The Arkansas Supreme Court eliminated the option for residents to use a neutral gender identification on their state ID cards Tuesday.
The ruling reinstates a state law that had banned the use of “X” as an option for gender identification. A lower court had blocked the bill earlier this month, arguing it would do harm to transgender residents.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, a Republican, praised Tuesday’s ruling in a public statement.
“I applaud the Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision staying the circuit court’s unlawful order and allowing the Department of Finance and Administration to bring its identification rules into compliance with state law,” he said.
SHOOTING OUTSIDE ARKANSAS GROCERY STORE LEAVES 3 DEAD, MULTIPLE WOUNDED, INCLUDING TWO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
The Arkansas Supreme court eliminated the option for residents to use a neutral gender identification on their state ID cards Tuesday. (Getty Images)
The Arkansas ALCU had sued to end the legislation this spring, leading to the earlier court order blocking the new rule.
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“The only real emergency here is the one created by the state itself, imposing this rule on transgender, intersex, and nonbinary Arkansans,” said Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, a Republican, praised Tuesday’s ruling in a public statement. (Getty Images)
“By removing the ‘X’ marker option, the state forces those who do not fit squarely into the gender binary to choose an inaccurate gender marker, resulting in potential confusion, distress, discrimination, physical harm, and a lack of proper identification,” she added.
Fewer than half of U.S. states allow “X” as a valid gender on identification forms. With Arkansas’ departure, 21 states and Washington, D.C., maintain the policy.
Of Arkansas’ 2.6 million active driver’s licenses, just 387 had the “X” designation. (Getty Images)
Of Arkansas’ 2.6 million active driver’s licenses, just 387 had the “X” designation. The state also has 503,000 IDs, of which 167 had the “X” designation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Illinois
‘Best Coffee Shop In Illinois,’ Social Butterfly’s 1-Year Anniversary Offers Joliet Block Party Festival
What are the most popular drinks on the menu?
“Any cold brews and cold foam combination,” Bosi explained. “And our sourdough sandwiches sell like crazy. When we first opened, we did not open with a focus on food.”
Since adding seven sourdough sandwiches to the regular menu, the most popular selections include the Golden Hour, Fresco Italiano, Sunrise Sausage, Garden Glow and the Spicy Social.
The address for Social Butterfly Coffee is 310 N. Ottawa St., now known as the 3TEN Building. Back in 2018, the Old Steelworkers Union Hall property was purchased and remodeled by Joliet businessman Cesar Cardenas, who now serves on the Joliet City Council.
The inside of Social Butterfly Coffee can accommodate around 75 people. There is plenty of seating, sofas, tables and chairs for people to relax, either by themselves or to strike up a conversation with someone else.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Strong to severe storms tonight will be followed by 2 days of really nice weather.
THURSDAY EVENING/NIGHT:
A line of strong to severe storms will move across Central Indiana sometime between 10 PM and 2 AM. The main severe threat looks to be damaging wind gusts (much like the last few days) but we’ll continue to monitor for a quick spin-up and a little hail. Heavy rain may lead to some areas of flooding once again. Temperatures by sunrise Friday in the wake of the rain should be mainly in the 60s.
FRIDAY:
A very nice summer day is on tap with highs in upper 70s to lower 80s, much lower humidity levels, and lots of sunshine. Outdoor and evening activities look good to go!
FRIDAY NIGHT:
Clear, quiet, and comfortable conditions are on track. Look for lows mainly in the lower 60s.
SATURDAY:
Partly cloudy and warm. Afternoon highs will climb back into the mid 80s. Lows in the mid 60s are likely Saturday night.
SUNDAY:
Partly to mostly cloudy. Scattered showers & storms are likely with a passing cold front but severe weather appears unlikely. Much cooler highs mainly in the 70s.
NEXT WEEK:
Cooler than average conditions are likely for at least for the first half of the week. Highs in the mid to upper 70s remain on track for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Low will be in the 50s for a change. Dry weather should hold for Monday but a small rain chance returns Tuesday. More scattered rain & storms may develop by Wednesday afternoon & evening with a stronger storm system moving through the region.
Iowa State WBB coach Bill Fennelly on future timeline
Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly on end of career timeline, thoughts on possible retirement?
The Iowa State women’s basketball team will face a trio of its old Big 8 opponents at home and on the road next season during conference play.
The Cyclones’ home-and-home league partners for the 2026-27 campaign are Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State, the Big 12 announced June 11.
Iowa State’s home-only opponents are BYU, Colorado, Houston, TCU, Texas Tech and Utah. The Cyclones get Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, UCF, Cincinnati and West Virginia on the road only.
The unbalanced schedule — with just three home-and-home opponents — has been in place since the league expanded to 16 teams.
It will be a pivotal season for the Cyclone program after losing nine players to the transfer portal, including stars Audi Crooks, Addy Brown and Jada Williams.
Dates, times and broadcast information will be released later this summer.
Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.
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