Midwest
Pig named 'Kevin Bacon' goes on the run, amuses Wisconsin town
A large pig named Kevin Bacon got loose last week – then went on quite a food-fueled adventure back to his home.
Jake Molgaard, 40, and his family live in Brighton, Wisconsin, located in Kenosha County. They do not own pigs, so they had quite a shock when they spotted the 450-pound Kevin Bacon on their security camera.
“My wife spotted an unusual-shaped figure on our driveway camera walking along our garage,” Molgaard told the Associated Press, adding that the pig “ended up coming right up to our back door.”
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Ever the gracious host, his wife began feeding their surprise guest “right away,” said Molgaard.
“That’s what she does with every animal that comes to our backyard,” he said.
The Molgaard family of Brighton, Wisconsin spotted something unusual on their security camera. It was a pig named Kevin Bacon.
Kevin Bacon enjoyed a feast of apples, rice cakes, tomatoes and carrots, the Associated Press reported.
Meanwhile, the Molgaards began to try to figure out where their visitor had escaped from and how to get him back home.
They not have to look long or far.
Molgaard called a friend of his to see if he knew anything about the large pig that had wandered into his yard.
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While the pig did not belong to his friend, the friend knew who owned Kevin Bacon — and put the two of them in touch.
Kevin Bacon’s owner was not at home at the time but asked if the Molgaards could perhaps “lure” him back to his pen, said the Associated Press.
This could be done with some of Kevin Bacon’s favorite foods – cookies, marshmallows and other sweet treats, said his owner.
A 450-pound pig named Kevin Bacon escaped from his pen and went on a food-fueled trip back to his home in Wisconsin. (Jake Molgaard via AP)
Kevin Bacon, apparently, has quite the sweet tooth.
The Molgaards – Jake, his wife, and their 16-year-old daughter – acquired some of Kevin Bacon’s favorite foods, then began marching him back to his home, said the Associated Press.
Deputies from the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department escorted them for part of their mile-long trek to Kevin’s home, the AP said.
On its Facebook page, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department had a little fun with the rather unusual call for assistance.
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“Someone yell Pig!? 2nd Shift Deputies last night sure heard it,” the department wrote on March 4.
“Deputies responded to help this 450lb pig back onto their property safely and not so quickly,” the department also wrote. The deputy who arrived to help escort Kevin Bacon back home took a picture with him.
“The owner says he’s a gentle giant.”
“As you can tell by the smile [on] the deputy’s face, he was thrilled to meet a new friend and handle a ‘typical county call,’ as our city friends would say,” the department also wrote.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kevin Bacon was none too keen to return quickly to his pen. Every so often he would stop walking, and the Molgaards’ daughter would have to jump on his back to encourage him to keep moving.
In total, Kevin Bacon’s journey took two-and-a-half hours — and many, many cookies.
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“He is a massive creature, but the owner says he’s a gentle giant,” Molgaard said to the Associated Press.
And while he is no longer at the Molgaards’ door, the family seemingly has not forgotten about its new friend.
Kevin Bacon made many new friends on his night out, including a deputy from the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department. (Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department)
“We have been over there every day giving him a dozen donuts,” said Molgaard.
The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department also took a shine to Kevin Bacon.
When asked for a comment, a representative from the department told Fox News Digital that the group was “still waiting to hear back from Kevin on the job offer he received that night.”
This is the second time in a matter of months that a pig named Kevin Bacon has caused a stir.
In Nov. 2023, a pig in Pennsylvania named Kevin Bacon became a local celebrity of sorts after he spent two weeks on the lam.
The actor Kevin Bacon even appealed online to raise awareness of his missing namesake.
The Pennsylvania Kevin Bacon got nervous and ran away from his home after he was adopted by his new owner, she told Fox News Digital at the time.
He was eventually captured safely after eating a drugged pastry.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle
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Illinois
‘Millionaires tax’ would hike rate 61% on 22K Illinois small businesses
Combined state and federal taxes would take more than 50% of the top-end income for 22,000 Illinois small businesses.
Proposals in the Illinois General Assembly could slam massive tax hikes onto small businesses, the state’s primary job creator historically and in the recovery from the COVID-19 downturn.
One measure would punish 22,020 Illinois small businesses with a huge increase in their marginal state income tax rate and create a top tax rate of nearly 50.3% for them, once all state and federal income taxes are factored in.
S-corporations and partnerships, which “pass-through” their business income to their owners, who pay taxes as individuals, would see their top marginal state income tax rate jump from 4.95% to 7.95%, a 61% hike.
That would happen because the legislation, House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 21, adds a 3% income tax on income above $1 million. It is scheduled for a hearing April 23 at which it could pass out of committee and go to a potential full House vote.
Research has shown that an increase in the top marginal tax rate is associated with a decrease in entrepreneurs’ hiring activity and lower wages for their employees.
Illinois has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation and among the slowest wage growth. These are exacerbated by some of the highest state and local tax burdens in the nation, including the second-highest property taxes and eighth-highest sales taxes.
In 2017 Illinois residents endured the largest permanent income tax hike in state history, when lawmakers increased the rate by 32%, from 3.75% to 4.95%.
Illinois already pushes out more businesses than virtually any other state. The “millionaire’s tax” could make the situation even worse. Illinoisans should reject this call for higher taxes on the state’s vital small business community.
Contact your state representative to stop the small business tax hike here.
Indiana
Why Sophie Cunningham turned down multi-year contract offers to return to Indiana Fever
INDIANAPOLIS — Sophie Cunningham wants to emphasize she’s perfectly happy with the Indiana Fever. She just wishes she could be locked down longer.
Cunningham, who signed a one-year, $665,000 deal with the Indiana Fever for 2026, said on her podcast, “Show Me Something,” on Tuesday night that she was frustrated with the free agency process in the condensed offseason.
She shook her head vehemently when her co-host West Wilson asked if the contract was better than she thought it would be, then said in part, “It’s tough because I came off an injury … I’m not even going to lie to you, that’s a little, kind of, frustrating.”
Fans on social media largely took that as she did not get interest from other teams, she didn’t want to return to the Fever, or she was unhappy with the salary she got.
She shut those thoughts down on social media Monday night, then expounded on her frustrations with local media at Fever training camp on Tuesday morning.
Buy 2026 Indiana Fever tickets!
“I think Twitter kind of blew up last night about a comment I made on my podcast. But that wasn’t what I meant at all,” Cunningham said. “I think if you listen to the full clip, you really understand that I just wanted to be somewhere for more than one year. I’m almost 30 years old. I want to have a home. I want to get established. And I would love to get established in a place like Indiana.”
The Fever prioritized as much financial flexibility as possible this offseason because of the new EPIC clause, which allows both Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark to renegotiate their fourth-year salaries up to the max with an extension. Boston’s salary was bumped to $1 million in 2025, and she will make the supermax from 2027-29. Clark is eligible to negotiate up to the max in 2027, and both Clark and Boston could be making the supermax starting in 2028.
Only Lexie Hull and Monique Billings got major multi-year deals with the Fever out of free agency. Hull signed for $765,000 in 2026 and $803,250 in 2027, per Her Hoop Stats, while Billings got $800,000 for both 2026 and 2027. Damiris Dantas is the only other player that got a multi-year deal out of free agency, but that was for the minimum cap hit of $277,500.
Kelsey Mitchell signed a one-year, $1.4 million supermax, Cunningham returned on a one-year deal, and Myisha Hines-Allen and Tyasha Harris each signed one-year deals.
Cunningham added that she got multi-year offers from other teams, but chose to stay with Indiana on a one-year deal.
She wanted to return to Indiana, she said, because of friendships she created with her teammates and the potential they showed, even after six separate season-ending injuries on the roster. She is also closer to her hometown of Columbia, Missouri.
“When you find a group of girls who really make you fall in love with basketball games and you enjoy it, you enjoy them, not only on the court, but off the court, like, you want to hold on to that,” Cunningham said. “ … it was never about the money, it was just about the years, because I wanted to be with them. And God forbid a girl loves her teammates, you know what I mean?”
Cunningham is also coming off a major knee injury after she tore her MCL in August 2025. She was ruled out for the rest of the 2025 season and got surgery in Indianapolis, then had a six-month rehab process before she was cleared in February.
Since then, she has been ramping back up as much as possible, including playing one-on-one, three-on-three, plyometrics, and everything she does to get ready for a regular season.
Still, she said, she’ll need to actually play to get back into full basketball shape.
“Basketball shape is just different,” Cunningham said. “You can run as many suicides as you want, you can get your butt kicked however you want, but until you’re out here playing, you’re never fully going to be in game shape until you’re playing games.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
Iowa
Iowa DOT plans overnight I‑80 closure at northeast mixmaster
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Discover the common causes of car crashes and learn how to avoid them.
Prepare for more overnight closures at the northeast mixmaster as the Iowa Department of Transportation closes the ramp connecting westbound Interstate 80 and northbound Interstate 35.
Here’s what to know.
When will the Iowa DOT close the westbound I‑80 to northbound I‑35 ramp?
The westbound I-80 to northbound I-35 ramp will be closed to traffic from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning from April 21-24.
What’s the detour when the Iowa DOT closes the westbound I‑80 to the northbound I‑35 ramp?
During the closures, drivers wanting to go from westbound I‑80 to northbound I‑35 will follow a signed detour.
Instead of taking the closed ramp, motorists will stay on westbound I‑80, bypassing the northeast mixmaster connection. They’ll then exit at U.S. Highway 69, turn around, and head back east on I‑80, where they can connect to northbound I‑35 using the open portion of the northeast mixmaster.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
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