PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — Four people died in a pileup involving over 30 vehicles, including six semitrailers, on an interstate in Colorado Tuesday after blowing dirt made it hard for drivers to see, authorities said.

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Dirt kicked up by heavy winds caused “brown out” conditions at the time of the pileup on Interstate 25 south of Pueblo around 10 a.m. the Colorado State Patrol said. It said drivers had “low to no visibility.”

The patrol said 29 people were taken to the hospital but the extent of their injuries wasn’t known.

The cause of the crash is still being investigated. The lack of visibility will be considered as one of the factors in the crash, but others may also be involved, said Trooper Sherri Mendez, a patrol spokesperson.

Emergency personnel work the scene of a crash involving 30-plus vehicles including six semi trucks on Interstate 25 south of Pueblo, Colo., on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP)

The eastern half of Colorado was being hit by strong winds Tuesday, which combined with warm weather and very dry conditions, have also raised the risk of wildfires and caused flight delays at Denver’s airport.

Meanwhile, it was snowing in the western part of the state, bringing much needed snow to the mountains.

A six-foot wooden whistle sculpture is not the kind of artwork photographer Wilson Webb usually creates.

But when federal immigration enforcement raids ramped up earlier this year in West St. Paul, where Webb lives, he knew he wanted to show his support for the thriving Latino population in the city and other immigrant groups in the Twin Cities, he said. And the whistle, which activists blow to warn of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ presence, was emerging as a powerful symbol of community solidarity against ICE.

“I wanted to make something that made a larger statement physically and showed my support, and maybe in turn would give others some small glimmer of hope in these horrible times,” Webb said. “It’s out of frustration for what’s going on and the injustices that have been happening here in the community.”

A large whistle sculpture sits in photographer Wilson Webb’s front yard in West St. Paul on Feb. 9, 2026. Webb, who built the sculpture, also offered free whistles, which have become a way for activists to alert one another of the presence of federal immigration agents. (Courtesy of Wilson Webb)

The completed work, a large white coach’s whistle with the words “ICE OUT” painted on the side, went on display in the front yard of Webb’s West St. Paul home earlier in February.

And it immediately caught the attention of neighbors and local media like the West St. Paul Reader, which first posted a video of the sculpture on Facebook that has since been viewed more than 300,000 times.

Webb began drawing out plans for the whistle in late January, and construction took about two weeks, he said.

Professionally, Webb is an on-set photographer, documenting behind the scenes of movies like the Coen Brothers’ “A Serious Man” and capturing theater poster images for Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” and Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story,” among others.

He has some woodworking experience from previous jobs as a handyman and painter, he said, but some of the more complex fabrication elements like the curved body of the whistle were figured out on the fly.

“I’m always making things,” he said. “Sometimes those things are photos, sometimes sculptures, sometimes fixes around the house. Figuring out how to materialize something with your own hands is just a challenge that I enjoy.”

When the sculpture was installed in early February, Webb also set out free whistles for passersby to take. The overarching goal, he said, is to show like-minded neighbors that they are not alone in their opposition to ICE activity in Minnesota.

“It’s a sculpture in a yard; it’s not changing the way things are done — but, as a small symbol, it might add up to more positivity,” he said.

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By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and JULIE WATSON

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Search and rescue crews were looking for multiple backcountry skiers feared missing Tuesday after a reported avalanche in Northern California as a powerful winter storm moved through the state, authorities said.

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The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call at about 11:30 a.m. reporting an avalanche with people buried, said Ashley Quadros, a department spokesperson.

The sheriff’s office, the sheriff’s Search & Rescue team and a crew with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection responded to the area of Castle Peak, which is northwest of Lake Tahoe, Quadros said.

“It has been reported that a group of back country skiers was involved in the incident, with several members of the party missing at this time,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post.

California is being walloped this week by a powerful winter storm carrying treacherous thunderstorms, high winds and heavy snow in mountain areas.

According to the Sierra Avalanche Center based in Truckee, the area in the Central Sierra Nevada, including the Greater Lake Tahoe region, was facing high avalanche danger in the backcountry with large slides expected to occur Tuesday and into Wednesday.

Several ski resorts around Lake Tahoe were fully or partially closed due to the extreme weather.

Snow falls on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Truckee Calif. (AP Photos/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

The dangerous conditions were caused by rapidly accumulating snowfall, weakening snowpack layers and gale-force winds. Ski areas or highways where avalanche mitigation programs exist were not expected to be at as high of a risk, the center said.

Castle Peak, a 9,110-foot peak in the Donner Summit area of the Sierra Nevada, is a popular backcountry skiing destination. In the nearby town of Soda Springs, at least 30 inches of snow had fallen in the last 24 hours, according to the Soda Springs Mountain Resort.

Forecasters said the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in northern Shasta County — including portions of Interstate 5 — and parts of the state’s Pacific Coast Range could see up to 8 feet of snow before the storm moves through late Wednesday.

Snow falls on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Truckee Calif. (AP Photos/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

The storm wreaked havoc on roadways spanning from Sonoma County to the Sierra Nevada. Traffic was halted temporarily in both directions on I-80 near the Nevada state line due to spinouts and crashes, the California Department of Transportation reported.

In January, an avalanche in the region buried a snowmobiler in snow and killed him, authorities said. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center.

Watson reported from San Diego.

Lawmakers and state leaders opened up Minnesota’s 2026 legislative session on a somber note Tuesday, gathering in the House chamber to honor the memory of former Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.

For the first time on Tuesday, members of the public had to pass through metal detectors and send bags through x-ray machines to access the Capitol on the first day of a session — new security measures that came in the wake of last summer’s violence against state lawmakers.

The Hortmans were killed at their home in Brooklyn Park, just days after leaders passed a state budget. State. Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot at their home in Champlin but survived.

Hortman’s family, as well as Hoffman and his wife, attended the opening day of session along with senators, representatives and Gov. Tim Walz, who praised the late former House speaker for her dedication to public service and compromise.

Sen. John Hoffman, DFL-Champlin, center, walks up the steps to the Senate chambers on the first day of the legislative session at the state Capitol in St. Paul on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Another session requiring compromise

As the narrowly-divided Legislature prepares to enter yet another session that will require hard-earned compromises, Walz called on elected leaders to look to the late speaker’s example by recognizing the humanity in colleagues across the aisle.

“The way you honor Melissa and Mark is how we conduct ourselves afterwards. It’s one thing to be reflective on the past, and to tell stories of the past, it’s another to (ask) what did we learn from that?” Walz said. “She cared so deeply about this institution that it’s all of our responsibilities to continue to carry that out.”

Gov. Tim Walz and First Lady Gwen Walz pay their respects to Melissa Hortman at her desk after a remembrance for former Speaker of the House on the first day of the legislative session in the Minnesota House chambers at the state Capitol in St. Paul on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth praised her Democratic-Farmer-Labor colleague for her ability to keep her caucus focused and disciplined when they held a narrow majority. Even when the DFL controlled Minnesota government, Demuth said Hortman maintained continuous dialogue. And over the past year in a House tied between the parties, Hortman showed what was possible when lawmakers “remember what public service is about,” Demuth said.

“Melissa and I worked hard to show that you can fiercely debate policy and process while still respecting the person on the other side of that debate. You can be principled and civil. You can deeply disagree and still be kind,” Demuth said. “Melissa never dismissed my perspective, and I never dismissed hers, so that made room for real conversation.”

Polarized political climate

This year’s legislative session comes after a year of major trials for Minnesota. After attacks on lawmakers in June, a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis took the lives of two children and injured more than 20 others.

A surge in federal immigration enforcement — which the Trump administration said was tied in part to allegations of significant government fraud — led to clashes between protesters and federal agents in Minneapolis, resulting in the fatal shootings of two activists.

Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, called for lawmakers to focus on governing the state and to resist extreme or divisive rhetoric in a highly polarized political climate.

“We return here together altered — some terrorized, fearful — but determined,” she said. “We have a choice. Will we devolve into the familiar and increasingly dangerous partisan divide? Or will we do what I believe Melissa would want us to do, to lead with conviction and a plan for Minnesota?”

Flowers left at Hortman’s desk

The final speaker during Tuesday’s memorial was Rep. Zack Stephenson, a Coon Rapids representative who became the House DFL Caucus leader after Hortman’s death.

Stephenson, who at 17 met Hortman when she was first running for office and managed her first successful campaign in 2004, said future generations would “look back favorably” on the former speaker’s tenure. He pointed to recent DFL-backed legislative achievements like an expanded child tax credit, paid family and medical leave and universal free school meals.

“Melissa didn’t have patience for fancy words or symbolic victories,” he said. “She wanted progress, and she got it. Since her death, many folks have described Melissa Hortman as the most consequential speaker in Minnesota history.”

Hortman’s former seat in the Minnesota House will remain a memorial for 2026, according to a DFL caucus spokesperson. Members left flowers at her desk as they exited the chamber.

Fraud, immigration crackdown, bonding

The Legislature did not hold any hearings on its first day. This year’s session is sure to see debates on how to best address fraud in state government programs and federal immigration enforcement in the wake of the Trump administration’s crackdown.

Neither party is in full control of state government, and highly partisan issues like gun control are unlikely to see any significant action. Any bill that makes it to the governor’s desk will be the product of compromise.

Since the state passes its two-year budget in odd-numbered years, lawmakers technically don’t have to pass anything this year. Even-numbered years are traditionally known as bonding years, where the Legislature passes a large public infrastructure borrowing bill. The Legislature did not pass a bonding bill in 2024, but did do a $700 million bonding package last year.

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Meanwhile, Vance Boelter, the man accused of killing the Hortmans and attacking the Hoffman family on June 14, faces federal as well as state charges and who may face the death penalty in the federal case. He pleaded not guilty to those charges in August.

Also in August, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty secured a grand jury indictment against Boelter, including first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder charges. Boelter has yet to enter a plea on those charges.