Odds and Ends – Friday January 18, 2019 – January 24, 2019

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(Alaska Regional Hospital via AP)
(Alaska Regional Hospital via AP)

A moose walks into an Alaska hospital and finds a snack

Anchorage, Alaska (AP) – A moose wandered into a hospital building in Alaska’s largest city and chowed down on some plants in the lobby as workers watched the massive animal in awe. When a patient mentioned that security staffers were monitoring a moose that got inside the Anchorage building Monday, Stephanie Hupton dashed out and started recording. “Didn’t think we’d have a pet moose,” said Hupton, who works in billing at a physical therapy office inside a building attached to Alaska Regional Hospital. The footage shows the moose browsing around some greenery near an entrance before it stands gazing at the camera’s direction. It briefly lingers before sauntering out through an open door. Hupton said she never felt threatened by the mellow creature. It was an experience she never expected when she moved to Anchorage three years ago from Carroll, Iowa. “It’s definitely different than small-town Iowa,” she said. The moose got inside through doors that were stuck open because of extreme cold in Anchorage, where temperatures hovered around zero Monday, hospital spokeswoman Kjerstin Lastufka said. The plants in the warm lobby were likely inviting to the animal, who ate some of them before leaving after about 10 minutes, Lastufka said. The moose caused no injuries or any big problems, other than the snacking. “It was a pretty calm visit,” Lastufka said.

Oklahoma game warden catches poacher via dating app

Checotah, Okla. (AP) – An Oklahoma woman looking for love got more than she bargained for when she unwittingly shared her exhilaration about illegally shooting a “bigo buck” on a dating app with a state game warden. Oklahoma Game Warden Cannon Harrison says he uncovered the poaching in a conversation on Bumble with a McIntosh County woman. She talked about using a spotlight to shoot the deer at night, outside the rifle season. The woman only harvested the head and back-strap meat – and she sent Harrison pictures as proof. The woman has pleaded guilty to charges of improper possession of an illegally taken animal and taking game out-of-season. She and an accomplice face $2,400 fines. The incident was posted to the Oklahoma Game Wardens Facebook page on Sunday night.

Couple reunited with engagement ring dropped in sewer

New York (AP) – Police in New York City say they helped a couple ring in the New Year by reuniting them with their missing engagement ring. NBC New York reports the diamond ring was dropped down a sewer grate Thursday near Times Square. Officers noticed the ring in a grate on Eighth Avenue and 48th Street and recovered it with the help of the FDNY and a police emergency services unit. The NYPD says in a tweet the couple was reunited with their ring Friday. While it was the first engagement ring recovered in 2019, the NYPD found another engagement ring last month that was given back to the couple on “The Ellen Show.”

Montana lawmaker proposes state rock and roll song

Helena, Mont. (AP) – Montana has a state song, a state ballad and a state lullaby. And, for goodness sake, Democratic Rep. Jacob Bachmeier of Havre would like to see the 2019 Legislature declare the “Hippy Hippy Shake” Montana’s official rock and roll song. It was written in 1959 by Chan Romero when he was a 17-year-old student at Billings Senior High School. Romero, who now lives in Southern California, tells the Great Falls Tribune his song has been featured in seven or eight movies and has been recorded by about 20 groups, including The Beatles. He says he’d be proud to have his song honored by the Legislature. The bill’s introduction borrows from the song’s lyrics in saying: “WHEREAS, Montanans shake it to the left and shake it to the right and do everything with all of their might.”