Midwest
Man finds 'candy-like' diamond while exploring Arkansas state park: 'Chance of a lifetime'
An amateur rock collector recently hit the jackpot while exploring a state park in Arkansas.
David DeCook, a Minnesota resident, unearthed a stunning 3.81-carat brown diamond at the Crater of Diamonds State Park on April 21.
The diamond is the largest that has been found in the park in 2025 so far, according to Arkansas State Parks.
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In a press release, the government organization said that DeCook was on a family trip to the park when he found the gem.
“DeCook calmly walked over to where he had seen the diamond, picked it up and inspected it before calling to his brother,” the press release noted. “Stirring up some natural sibling rivalry, David told Derek, ‘”Oh, you’re going to be mad once you see what I found!’”
Amateur rock hunter David DeCook found the sizeable brown diamond in April. (Arkansas State Parks)
The Minnesota resident returned to the park a few days later to register the diamond.
DeCook decided to name his discovery “the Duke Diamond” after his dog.
“You just never know what you’re gonna find. It’s a chance of a lifetime.”
DeCook identified himself as a farmer to FOX 9 Minneapolis and told the outlet that the diamond “kind of looks like a candy wrapper.”
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“Real shiny looking, kind of like a Werther’s candy wrapper… As you get closer to it, you can tell it’s a diamond pretty quick,” he said.
DeCook compared the appearance of the diamond to a Werther’s Original candy wrapper. (Arkansas State Parks)
DeCook added, “I was very surprised, I guess, and never thought I’d find one that big.”
“You just never know what you’re gonna find. It’s a chance of a lifetime.”
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Arkansas State Parks also noted that after DeCook found the gem, a heavy amount of rain covered the area – a good omen for diamond hunters.
The considerable 3.81-carat brown diamond is the largest gem found at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in 2025 so far. (Arkansas State Parks)
“April has been a very wet month at the park, with more than 12 inches of rain,” assistant park superintendent Waymon Cox said in a statement.
“Many of the park’s largest diamonds are found on top of the ground,” he added.
“As rain falls in the search area, it washes away the dirt and uncovers heavy rocks, minerals and diamonds near the surface.”
DeCook visited the Arkansas park during a trip with his family. (Arkansas State Parks)
The Duke Diamond is the largest find at the Crater of Diamonds State Park since a French visitor found a 7.46-carat diamond in Jan. 2024.
The tourist, Julien Navas, named the gem after his fiancée, Carine.
Read the full article from Here
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Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee tenants react after landlord makes first public remarks since being sued by city, Common Ground
MILWAUKEE — Leaking ceilings, cracked walls and big holes are the conditions Carolyn Ferguson has been living in for years at the home she rents from Highgrove Holdings, LLC.
READ ALSO | Milwaukee tenants, Common Ground push city leaders for more landlord accountability over nuisance violations
“It rains in here, it rains in the dining room in there,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson is one of several tenants working with community nonprofit Common Ground and the city of Milwaukee to sue her landlord over alleged neglect, code violations, vacancy and unpaid property taxes.
The mother of 17 is raising her last daughter and is fighting cancer. The condition of her home is another burden.
“I’ve got to worry about that, and worry about the surgery, and all this other stuff and I mean he’s just making it even worse for me than it is,” Ferguson said.
Brendyn Jones/TMJ4
On Monday, during an unrelated press conference by Common Ground, Highgrove Holdings owner David Tomblin made a surprise appearance and faced questions from TMJ4 chief investigative reporter Jenna Rae. While he didn’t answer many of them, he did say the group has made progress.
Watch: Milwaukee tenants react after landlord makes first public remarks since being sued by city
Milwaukee tenants react after landlord makes first public remarks since being sued
When asked about the city of Milwaukee’s lawsuit over issues at his properties that he is not addressing, Tomblin responded.
“Well, we are addressing them, but in the proper time,” Tomblin said.
Brendyn Jones/TMJ4
Ferguson said she has not seen any of those fixes.
“He hasn’t fixed anything, like I said, out of the nine years I’ve been here, he’s had at least seven years and nothing, nothing at all,” Ferguson said.
The issues are impacting multiple generations of the Ferguson family. Carolyn’s daughter used to live at the property until she moved out after poor conditions were never addressed. More than a year later, that unit is still boarded up.
“When is he going to fix my momma’s ceiling? When is he going to do something about the roof? When are you going to do something about that basement downstairs? I would ask him a lot of questions,” Edwina Ferguson said.
Brendyn Jones/TMJ4
TMJ4 reporter Brendyn Jones called Tomblin Monday night. He picked up and requested to know the names of the tenants who were interviewed. Jones said that information would be available after the story was published, so he declined to answer questions.
While Tomblin said there will be a press conference with tenants soon, he did not commit to a date or time.
Common Ground’s Kevin Solomon said the pressure on Tomblin is working.
“It’s political, and it shows that our pressure is clearly getting under his skin. The lawsuit will play out; Common Ground will stay on it,” Solomon said.
The next court date for the lawsuit is at the end of July.
This story was reported on-air by Brendyn Jones and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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