Six minutes of news from around the nation.

8 backcountry skiers found dead and 1 still missing after California avalanche; Report: Deportations could affect Arkansas' construction market; Fraud control talks back in play at MN capitol; Poll: Conservation support has increased across eight Western states.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daiily Newscast, February the 19th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The bodies of eight skiers killed during an avalanche were found during a rescue effort late Tuesday in California near Lake Tahoe.

Six skiers from their party survived and were evacuated, while one member of the group remains missing and presumed dead in what is already the deadliest avalanche in modern California history.

The New York Tides reports the skiers, including four guides, had been finishing up a three-day backcountry expedition in a rugged but popular recreational area near Castle Peak.

The six survivors were able to use a combination of emergency beacons and iPhone SOS functions to contact rescuers.

Meantime, home construction and remodeling in Arkansas could be damaged by efforts to reach net-zero migration into the United States.

A report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University finds immigrants are the main source of labor for those projects.

The centers Reard and Frost says the most productive metro areas in building houses, condos and apartments often rely the most heavily on immigrant labor.

This role is even more disproportionate in metropolitan areas with really high home building activity or really high remodeling activities.

So essentially really high demand for those trades workforces.

Some 48 percent of construction workers in the Fayetteville, Springdale and Rogers area are immigrants and 28 percent of skilled workers in Little Rock, North Little Rock and Conway are immigrants.

Last year for the first time in 50 years the U.S. had net zero migration, a trend the administration has attributed to President Donald Trump's efforts to deport what it describes as criminal aliens and in what it calls a migrant invasion.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

And Minnesota's new legislative session is underway.

Lawmakers are expected to take a fresh look at fraud prevention efforts following high-profile cases.

Fraudsters posing as phony service providers have plagued Minnesota's social safety net programs.

Either through legislative action or executive orders, the state has made moves to prevent future taxpayer dollars from being stolen.

But there are calls for additional solutions.

Legislators expressing support for various ideas.

Mark Haveman of the nonpartisan Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence suggests it's worth monitoring to see how recent efforts play out, but agrees policymakers shouldn't stop looking.

There's something missing within the system of how we look at how these programs are designed and managed.

Minnesota's fraud scandals have resulted in political finger pointing, but Haveman feels there's a specific area where lawmakers from both parties have fallen short, And that's updating antiquated IT systems within human service programs.

I'm Mike Moen.

This is Public News Service.

A new poll shows nearly three in five voters in New Mexico and other Western states believe potential rollbacks to conservation laws are an extreme or very serious problem.

Findings from the 16th annual Conservation in the West poll reveal concerns by voters over land, water and wildlife issues have increased in the past few years.

Pollster Lori Weigel with New Bridge Strategy says voters of all stripes rank conservation high, even when compared to other top issues such as the economy, health care, and education.

In fact, it has increased.

The first time we asked this was in 2016, and so when you look at that change over time, it's gone up 10 points in terms of those saying that it's at least somewhat importance from one decade ago.

I'm Roz Brown.

And as the nation marks the 100th year anniversary of Black History Month, History Colorado is conducting evidence-based research on the many practices, systems, and policies that have harmed Black Coloradans.

This spring, researchers will collect first-person accounts at public hearings in Boulder, Durango, and Colorado Springs.

Chloe DuPlessis with the Colorado Black Equity Study says every time a community member shares their experiences, from being denied employment or access to certain neighborhoods to racially charged violence, she sees something shift.

Connecting with people around their story is one of the greatest things that we can offer someone when it comes to repair.

And I think that if we talk more candidly about our history, we can actually begin to heal together as a community and as a country.

The study was launched after state lawmakers passed a bill last year creating the Black Colorado Racial Equity Study Commission.

Similar to a truth and reconciliation commission created in South Africa after apartheid, the 14-member panel will select an independent organization to review the final study and make policy recommendations to repair historic and ongoing injustices.

To register for upcoming hearings, visit historycolorado.org/events.

I'm Eric Galatas.

And it's National Take Your Family to School Week, a push by the National PTA to strengthen partnerships between families and schools.

The Kentucky Department of Education says more than 150,000 Kentuckians are PTA members, which is one way parents can stay involved in their kids' school.

Children are more likely to get better grades and enroll in college or tech school when their parents stay active in their education, says National PTA President Yvonne Johnson.

"We have seen how powerful it is when families, schools, and communities come together for children.

We can make real substantive change when we're able to do that.

According to research from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, strong relationships between teachers and families is linked to reduced absenteeism and improved academic success.

This is Nadia Ramligan for Kentucky News Connection.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service,.

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