A dog walks along a wooded trail in a Maryland park. Ticks are commonly found in wooded and grassy habitats, and the lone star tick has expanded well beyond its historic range in the Southeast. (Photo by Amanda Watford/Stateline) The tiniest menace of summer doesn’t care if you’re hiking through the woods, walking the dog or pulling weeds in your backyard. It just wants a ride and a meal. As ticks spread into new parts of the country and emergency room visits for tick bites climb higher than usual, states are scrambling to monitor where the pests are showing up, what diseases they may be carrying and how to warn residents before a bite turns into something far more serious. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in April that emergency department visits for tick bites were higher than expected across much of the United States and at their highest levels for that point in the year since 2017. In June, there were 112 tick-related ER visits per 100,000...
Iowa Democrats flipped two state Senate seats in special elections last year to break the GOP supermajority there. With momentum growing nationally, Democrats are looking to expand seats in Iowa’s upper chamber and break the House supermajority in November. (Photo by Kathie Obradovich/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Following a string of special election victories, Democrats have a path to flip several Republican-held legislative chambers and break GOP supermajorities in states across the country this November. H igh prices and overall voter dissatisfaction with Washington have put control of the U.S. House and Senate in play this year — a dynamic that has trickled down, with heightened Democratic enthusiasm in many state contests. “For the most part the Republicans are kind of playing defense more than offense,” said Katy Owens Hubler, director of elections and redistricting at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Midterm elections generally favor the party that doesn’t control t...