A decade ago, six states set out to make Interstate 35 a welcoming, supportive route for migrating monarch butterflies. In 2016, the transportation departments of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas joined the Federal Highway Administration in designating I-35 the “Monarch Highway.” The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) says the states pledged to collaborate…
Getting people to spend a Saturday planting trees usually requires asking for volunteers. In parts of Grand Rapids, Michigan, however, organizers are trying something different: paying some neighbors for their time. And it might just be a move that has some traction behind it. The event, known as Neighborwoods, is organized with Friends of Grand…
For days, two dogs endured the unimaginable, living with hundreds of porcupine quills embedded in their skin. Making an already nightmarish situation even worse, the positions of the quills guaranteed it would be difficult for them to even eat and drink. By the time Miss Prickle Pants and Cactus Jackie reached help in Fargo, North…
A homeowner says a neighbor has asked her family to remove their outdoor lights because the display could trigger migraines. The disagreement reignited less than a year after the same neighbor allegedly commented repeatedly on the family’s Christmas decorations. In a Sept. 1 Mumsnet post, the homeowner, going by the username @AutumnLighting, said their family…
A group of young skunks that arrived at a Washington wildlife rehabilitation center as orphans has finally gone where staff hoped they would all along: back into the wild. The skunks had been in the care of the Whatcom Humane Society Wildlife Rehabilitation Center since spring. In a Sept. 2 Facebook post, the Whatcom Humane…
One homeowner’s attempt to conserve water has reportedly earned them more than a break on their irrigation bill: an angry note from a neighbor. The homeowner keeps a bright pink sign in the yard reading, “HOT GIRLS CONSERVE WATER,” followed by, “SAVE WATER, SAVE GREAT SALT LAKE.” In a Sept. 5 Reddit post, the homeowner,…
One landlord says he has watched rents climb around him for years and keeps coming back to the same question: if his property is already making money, why squeeze his tenant for more? The anonymous landlord owns a duplex with a mortgage in what he describes only as a fast-growing city. One unit is occupied…
A homeowner gave a neighbor’s tree crew permission to enter the backyard and deal with branches and debris along the property line. So, the homeowner was quite stunned when the yard’s entire mulberry tree was cut to the ground. In a Sept. 9 Reddit post, homeowner @uberclaw (OP) said their neighbor had arranged for workers…
A simple act of generosity took an uncomfortable turn after a renter’s landlord allegedly decided one shared dinner should not be the last. The 31-year-old woman had recently moved into a renovated basement unit in a family home, with her own bedroom, bathroom, and living quarters; however, she shared the upstairs kitchen with the landlord’s…