Archie Comics, a huge troll, cow tipping: News from around our 50 states

A pop-up music festival put on by Tyson Ranch, a cannabis business endeavor from boxing legend Mike Tyson, drew thousands to the desert Saturday. Held on the future site of Tyson Ranch Resort, a 412-acre resort and cannabis research facility, the Kind Music Festival brought thousands to a small, football field-sized patch of desert. The festival, which featured throbbing beats, inflatable sofas and cannabis use, included a lineup of Miguel, Ferg and Starcrawler, among others. Tyson, who smoked and walked the festival grounds Saturday afternoon, said he wanted to bring the festival back in October. “We’ve been discussing maybe Migos, Drake, Cardi B,” he said.

A dog left at a local animal shelter with a heartbreaking note pleading for a new home finally found a new family Friday. “She’s such a snuggly dog, and we think she’s so cute,” new owner Rachael, who did not want her last name reported for security reasons, says of terrier mix Sky. The 6-year-old dog was abandoned on the grounds of the Delaware Humane Association in Wilmington on Jan. 2 by a homeless family. “Please take care of Sky,” said the note left with the then-underweight dog. “I couldn’t take care of her. I became homeless and couldn’t feed her. She is not sick, just hungry, very friendly. Please find her a home. Please.” Rachael says her family was looking for a companion for their dog Jax, also adopted from the Delaware Humane Association.

Look up the next time you walk in the main doors of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. Your movements will dictate how 18 giant, pastel-colored flowers above you behave. And you’ll be one of the first in the U.S. to control the art. The installation, “Meadow,” is by Studio Drift, an Amsterdam-based collective that interweaves biology, design, art and technology. The flowers will greet visitors for the next year. Studio Drift founders Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta and their team developed a large-scale sculpture like “Meadow” for the first time in 2016 in Prague. Newfields commissioned “Meadow,” the first iteration of the installation in the U.S., Gordijn said. The artists designed it specifically for the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion.

A little spot in this small town has been named the state’s best pizza joint. Global travel site Big 7 Travel recently revealed its list of the nation’s top 50 pizza places, selecting one per state. And Zipp’s Pizzaria in Adair was recognized as tops in Iowa. “A fun and lively pizza joint that does hearty pies with regularly changing specials – right now we have our eye on their Pickle Pizza with garlic butter,” the list says. “Thick and mega-cheesy, they also do frozen pies so you can enjoy them at home.” Zipp’s has gained a reputation for making one-of-a-kind pies including pickle wrap pizza (above) and chili dog pizza. Crab rangoon pizza will be offered for the Lenten season, and co-owner Jim Zimmerline says he is currently contemplating mac and cheese pizza.

There’s a new cat in town. The Louisville Zoo welcomed Meru, a 1 1/2-year-old snow leopard, over the weekend. UPS helped transport the male mammal more than 2,000 miles from the Los Angeles Zoo to Derby City, according to a news release. Meru will join two other snow leopards, 7-year-old Kimti and 3-year-old NeeCee, at the Louisville Zoo’s new snow leopard exhibit, says zoo spokesperson Kyle Shepherd. The exhibit is set to open in March and will resemble a small Himalayan village in Nepal. Meru “settled in well” Saturday morning and will be in a standard 30-day quarantine before he moves into the snow leopard exhibit, Shepherd says. Snow leopards are currently considered “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser is on the hunt for the state’s best seafood chefs. Nungesser, the state’s top tourism official, and the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board are searching for chefs to compete in the annual Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off. This year’s event will be held June 18 in Lafayette. Chefs interested in participating must enter by April 12. Fourteen competition spots are available. Each entrant must be an executive chef for a free-standing restaurant that is a member of the Louisiana Restaurant Association. Further details and information on previous cook-offs are available online. The winner will represent the state at multiple events, including the Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans on Aug. 3.

The Greater Ozarks PrideFest is moving to a new month, a decision aimed at supporting two groups who have historically faced discrimination. GLO Center President Nan Todd and Springfield NAACP President Toni Robinson announced the reason for the change is to avoid a timing conflict with Juneteenth, a celebration of the last day enslaved people learned of the Emancipation Proclamation. The new date for PrideFest is Oct. 12, Todd said. Juneteenth will be June 15. The Springfield NAACP hosts a celebration in honor of Juneteenth every year, Robinson said, and when marriage equality was endorsed in 2012 by President Barack Obama, the Springfield office began its work to have “equality and justice for queer and trans people of color.”

Arts organizations, artists and others interested in learning about applying for New Hampshire State Council on the Arts grants can attend upcoming hourlong regional information sessions. Arts council staff will present an overview of the grant programs and updates to grant guidelines. Other topics will include eligibility, using the online application system and how to write a competitive application, among others. Information sessions are scheduled at the Currier Museum in Manchester on March 4 from 1 to 2 p.m. and the Library Arts Center in Newport on March 5 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Online registration is required.

The state will likely not see any legal marijuana sales until next January at the earliest, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney says. The remarks come as Gov. Phil Murphy (above center), Sweeney (right) and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (left), all Democrats, are making progress in negotiations over legislation to legalize pot for recreational use, expand the state’s medical marijuana program, and overhaul the rules for expunging drug-related and other violations. The trio recently resolved a long disagreement over how to tax legal weed sales and settled aspects of how a new regulatory system would work. But a final compromise remains elusive. Plus, Democratic leaders face an uphill battle convincing enough lawmakers to vote for them. Then the state needs time to set up rules.

The University of Rhode Island is looking for volunteers to help track birds. URI scientists hope the American woodcock, also known as the timberdoodle, will help them better understand the decline of several species in the state. URI needs about 100 volunteers to conduct surveys throughout Rhode Island this spring to help researchers learn more about the forest habitats on which many birds rely. The number of American woodcocks in the state has been declining over four decades, likely due to a loss of hospitable habitat, according to URI. Volunteers will attend a two-hour training session and commit to four dates from April 20 to May 10. They’ll survey a designated route, just after sunset, stopping to listen and observe the birds.

The banana-colored country-western outfit worn by Post Malone and the skintight spangled jumpsuit sported by a wind-blown Jennifer Lopez on the recent “Elvis All-Star Tribute” TV special are going on display at Graceland. The costumes will be found in the expanded “Icons: The Influences of Elvis Presley” exhibit at Elvis Presley’s Memphis, the museums-and-shops space across the street from the Presley mansion. The additions are part of a recent expansion of the exhibits, says Christian Ross, Graceland public relations and marketing specialist. Actor John Stamos, a dedicated Elvis fan, donated the jukebox and guitar seen each week on the set of “Full House,” as well as the Elvis-inspired tuxedo he wore in the episode in which his character, “Uncle” Jesse, married “Aunt” Becky.

A playful group of otters has been spotted downtown, hanging out near the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. The semi-aquatic critters were captured on video recently playing along the Milwaukee River. It’s the first documented otter sighting in the downtown area, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. “Recent habitat restoration efforts by a wide variety of partners in Milwaukee County have resulted in increased water quality and increased habitat for fish, frogs and crayfish, all of which are food sources for otter,” the DNR said. Otters are semi-aquatic mammals with unique adaptations for life on the water. They have webbed toes and valves in their noses and ears that close when under water.