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A fired national park ranger lost his dream job. He says the public is losing more
Brian Gibbs, pictured with his son Oliver in front of the Effigy Mounds National Monument park sign, in July 2024.
Brian Gibbs
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Brian Gibbs
Brian Gibbs lost his job as a national park ranger on Friday.
He was working as an environmental educator at the Effigy Mounds National Monument in northeast Iowa. It was his “dream job,” he wrote in a widely shared post on Facebook. The monument is the site of mounds made of earth, built by ancient Native Americans, that form shapes of animals.
The 41-year-old father learned of his termination on Valentine’s Day. “I am absolutely heartbroken and completely devastated,” he wrote.
Gibbs is one of about 1,000 National Park Service employees who were fired this past week. Parks advocates say the layoffs could leave national parks understaffed going into a busy spring break.
The recent cuts to the federal workforce, which target probationary workers, are part of a plan by President Trump and his adviser Elon Musk to shrink federal spending.
In the federal government, a probationary worker is often a newly hired employee who is put on a “probationary” period — typically for one or two years — before they may be hired into full-time status. They are subject to higher scrutiny during that period. Probationary workers also include people who were recently moved or promoted into new positions.
Gibbs, who was eight months into a yearlong probationary period, said he was locked out of his work email before he could back up his government records, and before a formal termination letter hit his inbox.
Performance-wise, he said he’s only ever received high marks in supervisor evaluations of his work as a ranger at the Effigy Mounds.
The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), a nonpartisan advocacy group for the country’s national parks system, called the downsizing “reckless” and a decision that could have “serious public safety and health consequences” — for example, if the staff losses include wastewater treatment operators.
The NPS did not immediately respond to NPR’s questions about the decisions that went into the recent firings.
Effigy Mounds National Monument preserves remnants of ancient Native American culture
Little Bear Effigy Mound is pictured at the Effigy Mounds National Monument in 2004. The mound shows a four-legged animal and is outlined in small pebbles.
J. Stephen Conn/Flickr Creative Commons
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J. Stephen Conn/Flickr Creative Commons
The monument was designated in 1949 and protects and preserves over 200 sacred, prehistoric Native American ceremonial and burial mounds.
Human remains have been found in some mounds, while others “also functioned as territory markers and as multi-purpose ceremonial places,” according to the NPS. They were built somewhere between the years 650 and 1200. Mounds have been found most commonly in the shapes of “birds, bear, deer, bison, lynx, turtle, panther or water spirit,” the NPS says.
Gibbs is grieving for the park — and what it and other parks may lose as a result of the staff cuts.
“You’re losing people that are keeping the bathrooms clean, the trails maintained. You’re losing people who are teaching youth the value of protecting and preserving these places for current and future generations,” Gibbs said. “I’m very scared that some of these smaller monuments may be forced to shut down their visitor centers or operate like there was a government shutdown, which would mean very, very few personnel.”
He worries about the potential for looting, destruction and littering.
As education technician with the park, Gibbs gave guided hikes, teaching visitors about climate change and how to interact with wildlife safely. He would also visit classrooms to teach students how to be good custodians of the parks. Because the park was already short-staffed before the recent cuts, he said, he wore many hats.
The park holds a lot of meaning for him in his personal life, as well.
“This has always been home for me, ever since my dad took me on a road trip to come explore this area of Iowa,” he said. “It’s the first place I told my spouse that I loved her. It’s the first park that I took my son to.”
He’s fearful that, for the second time in less than five years, he may have to uproot his family. A previous job at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point was eliminated due to COVID-19 budget shortfalls and lack of program revenue. Both job losses have come while his wife was pregnant; this time it’s with their second child.
Gibbs said he’ll have to find another job to support his growing family, but jobs that involve teaching the public about the environment are limited. “I have a wide skill set but this is my passion,” he said.
But he said the public will ultimately be the ones who will lose the most from these layoffs — costing them “education and awareness and value of our public spaces that are so part of the democratic idea.”
An explosion and fire drew a large emergency response on Friday to a lumber mill in the Midcoast region of Maine, officials said.
The State Police and fire marshal’s investigators responded to Robbins Lumber in Searsmont, about 72 miles northeast of Portland, said Shannon Moss, a spokeswoman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Mike Larrivee, the director of the Waldo County Regional Communications Center, said the number of victims was unknown, cautioning that “the information we’re getting from the scene is very vague.”
“We’ve sent every resource in the county to that area, plus surrounding counties,” he said.
Footage from the scene shared by WABI-TV showed flames burning through the roof of a large structure as heavy, dark smoke billowed skyward.
The Associated Press reported that at least five people were injured, and that county officials were considering the incident a “mass casualty event.”
Catherine Robbins-Halsted, an owner and vice president at Robbins Lumber, told reporters at the scene that all of the company’s employees had been accounted for.
Gov. Janet T. Mills of Maine said on social media that she had been briefed on the situation and urged people to avoid the area.
“I ask Maine people to join me in keeping all those affected in their thoughts,” she said.
Representative Jared Golden, Democrat of Maine, said on social media that he was aware of the fire and explosion.
“As my team and I seek out more information, I am praying for the safety and well-being of first responders and everyone else on-site,” he said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Crime scene tape surrounds a bicycle in front of St. Lukes Episcopal Church in Atlanta on May 14, 2026. (SKYFOX 5)
ATLANTA – The woman stabbed to death on the Beltline has been identified as 23-year-old Alyssa Paige, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner.
The backstory:
Paige was killed by a 21-year-old man Thursday afternoon while she was on the Beltline. Officials confirmed to FOX 5 that the stabbing happened near the 1700 block of Flagler Avenue NE.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said the department was alerted around 12:10 p.m. that a woman had been stabbed just north of the Montgomery Ferry Drive overpass. She was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital where she later died. Another person was also stabbed during the incident, but their condition remains unknown.
According to officers, the man responsible attacked a U.S. Postal worker prior to the stabbing before getting away on a bike. He then used that bike to flee the scene of the stabbing as well.
The suspect was arrested near St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on Peachtree Street in Midtown around 5:25 p.m.
What we don’t know:
While officials haven’t released an official motive, they noted the man may have been suffering a mental health crisis.
The Source: Information in this article came from the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office and previous FOX 5 reporting.
Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a former Army serviceman they accused of distributing instructions on how to build explosives that were used by a man who conducted a deadly attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day last year.
The former serviceman, Jordan A. Derrick, a 40-year-old from Missouri, was charged with one count of engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license; one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device; and one count of distributing information relating to manufacturing explosives, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. The three charges together carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.
Starting in September 2023, the authorities said, Mr. Derrick was using various social media sites to share videos of himself making explosive materials, including detonators. His videos provided step-by-step instructions, and he often engaged with viewers in comments, sometimes answering their questions about the chemistry behind the explosives.
The authorities said that Mr. Derrick’s videos were downloaded by Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, who was accused of ramming a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2025, in a terrorist attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens. Mr. Jabbar was killed in a shootout with the police. Before the attack, Mr. Jabbar had placed two explosives on Bourbon Street, the authorities said, but they did not detonate.
The authorities later recovered two laptops and a USB drive in a house that Mr. Jabbar had rented. The USB drive contained several videos created by Mr. Derrick that provided instructions on making explosives. The authorities said the explosives they recovered were consistent with the ones Mr. Derrick had posted about.
Mr. Derrick’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Derrick was a combat engineer in the Army, where he provided personnel and vehicle support, the authorities said. He also helped supervise safety personnel during demolitions and various operations. He was honorably discharged in February 2013.
The authorities did not say whether Mr. Derrick had any communication with Mr. Jabbar, or whether the men had known each other. In some of Mr. Derrick’s videos and comments, he indicated that he was aware that his videos could be misused.
“There are a plethora of uh, moral, you know, entanglements with topics, any topic of teaching explosives, right?” he asked in one video, according to the affidavit. “Of course, the wrong people could get it.”
The authorities also said that an explosion occurred at a private residence in Odessa, Mo., on May 4, and the occupant of the residence told investigators that he had manufactured explosives after watching online tutorials from Mr. Derrick.
Mr. Derrick’s YouTube account had more than 15,000 subscribers and 20 published videos, the affidavit said. He had also posted content on other platforms, including Odysee and Patreon. Some videos were accessible to the public for free, while others required a paid subscription to view.
“My responsibility to my countrymen is to make sure that I serve the function of the Second Amendment to strengthen it,” Mr. Derrick said in one of his videos, according to the affidavit. “This is how I serve my country for real.”
Outside of the income he received through content creation, Mr. Derrick did not have any known employment. He did receive a monthly disability check from Veterans Affairs, the affidavit stated.
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