Good News Headlines 8/24/2026
Photo courtesy Pete Sands
Utah-Filmed, Two-Time Emmy Winner ‘Navajo Highways’ Teaches Kids The Navajo Language
by Tamara Vaifanua, KSL
For creator Pete Sands, teaching a language starts with getting it right. “One Navajo word could mean four or five different things in English,” Sands said. “So using the right context is very important, in that you know where you come from. You don’t know where you’re going unless you know where you come from.” That philosophy is at the center of “Navajo Highways,” a children’s puppet series told almost entirely in the Navajo language. The show has won two Emmy Awards, and it’s filmed here in Utah. Sands, who is from Montezuma Creek, on the Navajo Nation, said the show grew out of a small idea: a way to keep the language alive for kids who might otherwise never hear it.
Woman Gives $1 Million in ‘Life-Changing’ Bonuses To Teachers In Her School District
by Andy Corbley. Good News Network
When a local resident found out that her schools in an extremely wealthy Northern California county was at the bottom for state funding, she stepped up to make the difference. Maja Kristin asked the Ross Valley School District to organize a meeting of 100 teachers from their K-8 schools, with the special instruction that they weren’t to know what the reason was. Gathered in a conference room on August 13th, Kristin explained she had discovered that its teachers were the paid the least of any peer group in the wealthy Marin County. In order to make up the difference, Kristin asked a group of district school principals to hand out envelopes which the teachers were instructed to open.
Otter Spotted For First Time In 100 Years In New York City’s Bronx River
by Oliver Milman, The Guardian
An otter has been spotted in the Bronx River for the first time in more than 100 years, in a further sign that New York’s previously befouled waterways are recovering some of their ecological health. The North American river otter was photographed by a motion-activated camera foraging near some vegetation in the Bronx River, a waterway that flows through New York’s Bronx and empties into the East River. The image, captured in June by the camera of RJ Hawkins, a scientist affiliated with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx zoo, is the first documented sighting of a river otter in the river since the early 1900s, according to the society.
270,000 Square Miles Around Easter Island To Become Indigenous-Managed Ocean Reserve
by Andy Corbley. Good News Network
As one of the most isolated landmasses on Earth, residents of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, rely on the bounty of the ocean more than most. It’s as good a place as any to institute marine environment protections, and indeed the island’s famous stone heads, or moai, now gaze out upon one of the largest marine protected areas (MPAs) on Earth at more than a quarter-million square miles. Moreover, the indigenous people of the island will maintain a voting majority on a “sea council” established to govern the massive area, holding 6 seats compared to 5 held by elected officials from Chile, the sovereign of Rap Nui.
How One American Couple Ditched Their Lawn And Created A Wildlife Haven – And You Could Too
by Whitney Bauck, The Guardian
Despite having no horticultural training, they slowly figured out how to identify native plants for their region and experimented with the best ways to grow them from seed to keep the project economical. They designed layouts for their garden that would allow them to enjoy blooms for as much of the growing season as possible. Every year, they added a few more native plants and every year they watched as more pollinators and birds were drawn to the garden. Today, McGuire and Fritz’s lawn has been transformed from a monoculture of turf to a thriving native ecosystem in the suburbs.
