By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press

Plans to stay and soak in the wintry wonderland at the Grand Canyon’s South Rim? You will have to wait.

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Visitors won’t be able to stay overnight in the national park’s oldest hotel or its lodges starting Saturday because of multiple breaks in the park’s only water line. With no water being pumped to the South Rim, park officials say the limited resources need to be conserved.

This marks only the second time the park has had to halt overnight stays because of water supply issues, although the pipeline has experienced frequent failures over the years as it has long exceeded its expected life span. In August 2024, park officials took unprecedented action and imposed water restrictions that forced the sudden shutdown of overnight hotel stays during one of the busiest times of the year.

Under the current restrictions, visitors can’t stay at places that include El Tovar Hotel, Bright Angel Lodge and Maswik Lodge, and water is unavailable at campgrounds. For park staff and the 2,500 year-round residents of Grand Canyon Village, it means short showers, less toilet flushing and turning off faucets while shaving or brushing teeth.

How long will the wait be? Park officials hope not long.

“If all planned work proceeds without additional issues, we anticipate being able to restore water service and begin reopening overnight lodging as early as next week,” park spokesperson Joëlle Baird said in an email.

Despite fresh snowfall Wednesday, welding repairs were underway, and the repair schedule called for flushing and recharging the system over the coming days.

In the meantime, day visitors are still welcome, and there is lodging available outside the park.

While winter is a slower season, more than 41,000 people used overnight lodging in the park last December. In all, the Grand Canyon saw nearly 5 million visitors in 2024, with about 90% of them going to the South Rim.

The 12.5 mile-long Transcanyon Waterline is the primary water source for park residents, staff and tourists. Originally built in the 1960s, it has been a maintenance priority for years, and a portion of park entrance fees is set aside to help with costs.

A $208 million rehabilitation of the pipeline and upgrades to the associated water delivery system started in 2023, with the National Park Service calling it a crucial investment to ensure the park can meet the needs of residents and visitors. The project is expected to be completed in 2027.

The city of Rosemount and its police chief have severed ties, two months after he was put on leave amid complaints city officials say were levied against him in an anonymous employee engagement survey.

The city council on Tuesday approved Mikael Dahlstrom’s resignation and a separation agreement, which includes severance and benefits pay totaling just over $164,000.

Mikael Dahlstrom (Courtesy of the City of Rosemount)

Dahlstrom, a 20-year Rosemount police veteran, was put on paid administrative leave Oct. 1, with the city announcing the move two days later on its website in a brief statement that gave no explanation as to why it was made.

The city in a second brief statement on Oct. 21 said that it “received several internal complaints” about Dahlstrom and that it was reviewing them. The statement said that per the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, the existence and status of the complaints are public, but complainants’ names, the nature of the complaints and other related information are not.

The separation agreement was approved as part of the city council’s consent agenda, so it wasn’t discussed on the record prior to its approval.

However, Mayor Jeff Weisensel read a prepared statement, explaining “the city received several complaints via an employee engagement survey. We understand that our community is highly aware of this situation and I want to assure you that our city council here takes this issue very seriously.”

City spokeswoman Lee Stoffel said Wednesday the survey was sent to all city employees in August through the civic engagement online platform Polco, and that it was voluntary and anonymous. She said the survey won’t be made public.

“Our legal counsel has confirmed through the state that we won’t be required to release the survey results,” she said. “And because the survey was given on the basis of anonymity, we’ll stand by that promise to our employees.”

The survey, which closed on Aug. 17, included asking employees to rate several aspects of their jobs and their supervisor’s performance. It also asked in which department they worked and if they had “additional comments, concerns or suggestions to help improve your experience” with the city.

‘City takes workplace culture seriously’

Dahlstrom was promoted to chief in June 2019, following 13 years with the department. He’d been a patrol officer, South Metro SWAT team leader, investigations sergeant and commander.

Attempts to reach Dahlstrom on Wednesday for comment were unsuccessful.

Regarding the payout, City Administrator Logan Martin said in a city council memo prepared before Tuesday’s meeting that “the terms agreed to are common practice in municipal government.”

Dahlstrom will receive six months’ salary of about $96,600, a year of health and dental insurance of $14,100, unused vacation pay of $19,700, and unused sick time, which will be put into his state health care savings account, totaling about $33,500.

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“We trust our staff and our leadership on this matter,” Weisensel, the city’s mayor, said in his statement. “Supporting a culture of high performance is a core pillar of our strategic plan. Morale, teamwork and personal accountability are just as important to our mission as the results that we deliver.”

Deputy Chief Carson Thomas was appointed interim chief upon Dahlstrom’s leave and will remain in the role until a permanent chief is chosen, the city said in a statement following Monday’s council action.

“The city takes our workplace culture seriously,” city administrator Martin said in the statement. “Our focus now is on supporting staff, maintaining stability and continuing to provide the high level of public safety our community expects. We are committed to fostering a positive and healthy work environment as we move forward.”

By FATIMA HUSSEIN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. imposed sanctions Wednesday on alleged affiliates of the Tren de Aragua gang and increased the reward to as much as $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of one of the leaders of the criminal group that the Trump administration has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

The actions come as President Donald Trump’s administration has blamed the gang, which originated in a prison in Venezuela, for being at the root of violence and the illegal drug trade in many U.S. cities. Tren de Aragua also has become a key reference point in military attacks against vessels suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean as well as Trump’s crackdown on immigration.

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Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control levied sanctions Wednesday on Venezuelan entertainer Jimena Romina Araya Navarro, who is known as “Rosita,” on accusations of providing material support to Tren de Aragua by helping the head of the gang, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, escape from Tocorón prison in Venezuela in 2012.

Navarro, known as Rosita for her character on a Venezuelan comedy show, has been linked to Guerrero for years. Local media previously reported that Araya, also a showgirl, frequently performed in a prison where Guerrero was once held and Tren de Aragua was established.

Tren de Aragua controlled the prison for several years during which a nightclub, swimming pools, a lavish suite and more amenities were added to the facility.

The State Department also increased the reward for Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, who is the first Tren de Aragua member to appear on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List, after he was charged in January with international cocaine trafficking conspiracy. The previous award was up to $3 million.

After the U.S. designated the gang as a foreign terrorist organization in February, Mosquera Serrano was indicted in April on charges of providing material support, according to the State Department.

Trump has repeated his claim — contradicted by a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment — that Tren de Aragua is operating under Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s control.

“Under President Trump, barbaric terrorist cartels can no longer operate with impunity across our borders,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a news release. “At the direction of President Trump, we will continue to use every tool to cut off these terrorists from the U.S. and global financial system and keep American citizens safe.

Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela contributed to this report.

By DYEPKAZAH SHIBAYAN, Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The United States will restrict visas for Nigerians and their family members responsible for mass killings and violence against Christians, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday.

“The United States is taking decisive action in response to the mass killings and violence against Christians by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani ethnic militias, and other violent actors in Nigeria and beyond,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement posted on social platform X.

The secretary added that the policy would apply to other governments or individuals engaged in violations of religious freedom.

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The restrictions are in line with a new policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, he said.

Attacks in Nigeria have varying motives. There are religiously motivated ones targeting both Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalries, secessionist groups, and ethnic clashes.

Nigeria’s population of about 220 million people is split almost equally between Christians and Muslims.

The West African country has long faced insecurity from various fronts including the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to establish its radical interpretation of Islamic law and has also targeted Muslims it deems not Muslim enough.

Also, there has been an uptick in the activities of armed gangs in the central part of the country who kidnap locals for ransom.

Last month, President Donald Trump said he has ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria following the claims of Christian persecution there.