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ICE officer who fatally shot driver in Maine was ‘fearing for public safety,’ agency says

BIDDEFORD, Maine (AP) — An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a motorist in Maine on Monday, the second time in a week that ICE has used deadly force and at least the ninth death since President Donald Trump began his immigration crackdown.

Immigrant rights groups identified the man who was killed in Biddeford as a 26-year-old native of Colombia. The Colombian Embassy said it was in contact with U.S. authorities about the Colombian national’s death and “is providing the necessary consular assistance to his family.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, said in a post on X that agents were surveilling an address for a person with a final order of removal from the country. When ICE tried to stop a vehicle driven by someone coming from that address, the “vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon,” the department said.

Prior to the brief ICE statement on the incident, Maine U.S. Sen. Angus King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the officer opened fire after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against ICE agents in Biddeford, a coastal city roughly 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of Portland. The agents involved didn’t have body cameras, he said.

When asked about the contrasting statements, King told CNN that that’s what the investigation is all about.

“Did this young man actually try to run over an ICE agent or was he in danger of running over other people in the street?” he said. “Was there a reasonable expectation of bodily harm or deadly force to justify this shooting?”

DHS did not immediately respond to an email seeking clarity on what led to the shooting.

King, an independent, said Mullin also told him the officers were in Biddeford to serve an arrest warrant but that it was not for the person who was shot. King said Mullin told him that earlier information that the man was the target of an enforcement action was incorrect.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, said Mullin told her the Homeland Security Department’s Office of Inspector General is investigating in cooperation with the FBI.

Messages seeking comment were left for the inspector general’s office and the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The Maine attorney general’s office, which is also investigating, said initial statements suggest the motorist was trying to flee in the direction of the agent. The office said the agent who killed him has been placed on leave.

Witness says he heard driver say, ‘I tried to stop’

Daniel Boucher said he looked out his third-floor window after hearing a “pop, pop, pop” sound and saw a small car “turned 90 degrees to the curb” with an SUV behind it. The driver was wounded and the car started moving down the street until the SUV hit it, Boucher said.

“His face was bloody. His head was bloody,” Boucher said, getting choked up. “I clearly heard the victim say, ‘I tried to stop.'”

Boucher said he saw an ICE officer bring a medical bag to where the man was lying before an ambulance and fire truck arrived. At one point, Boucher said, the agent who shot the man walked close to him.

“I was emotional and I just let him have it, and he looked at me and said, ‘He tried to run me over,’ or something to that effect,” Boucher said. “I don’t remember his exact words.”

Video from a security camera at a nearby business, obtained by the AP, shows a white vehicle approaching an intersection at a modest speed before making several slow circles. A law enforcement SUV blocked its path and two officers open the driver’s door and dragged out a limp body.

It was not clear from the video at what point shots were fired.

The man was authorized to work in the US, advocates say

Two advocacy groups — the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! — said the man who was killed was authorized to work in the U.S.

After the shooting, his family contacted the Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, but they weren’t ready to speak publicly about the shooting, said the group’s executive director, Mufalo Chitam.

Mary Hayes, who lives close to where the shooting happened, said the man lived nearby with his wife and daughter.

“I watched a wife fall to her knees looking at her husband’s dead body on the ground,” Hayes told the AP as she held a piece of cardboard with “No ICE Stop ICE” written on it. “I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she’s never going to see her father again.”

Sadie Dilboy said the man killed in the shooting regularly came to her laundromat and would bring his daughter, who he’d give quarters to buy candy from the vending machine.

“He was such a good person,” she said. “He was always cleaning up.”

Anti-ICE protesters gather near the scene

Several hundred demonstrators gathered in Biddeford on Monday night to wave anti-ICE signs and call for the agency to be abolished.

“We will always be a city of immigrants,” said Maine Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau, a Democrat from Biddeford.

A handful of pro-ICE and pro-Trump protesters demonstrated across the street.

Some demonstrators had gathered in the city within hours of the shooting. Amy Goodman arrived with a sign that said “Stop Killing Us” and directed it toward police working at the scene.

“Sadly, it’s something we’re seeing a whole lot more often lately, and I’m mad about it,” she said.

A recent uptick in Trump’s immigration crackdown

On July 7, an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, of Houston, after federal agents driving unmarked vehicles pursued him while he was taking his construction crew to a job site.

The shootings come amid a Trump administration push to carry out its mass deportations agenda. During the five-day period at the end of June, ICE arrested more than 10,000 people.

The figures indicate that while the administration is no longer cracking down on individual cities, the arrests are surging. The administration’s enforcement efforts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

Hundreds of Maine ICE arrests since Trump’s return

ICE had a significant presence in Maine earlier this year, which prompted several protests. Immigration officials later said in late January that they had ceased “enhanced operations” in Maine after hundreds of arrests.

A Homeland Security spokesperson said at the time that some Maine arrests were of people “convicted of horrific crimes” including aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Court records show that while some had felony convictions, others had unresolved immigration proceedings or had been arrested but never convicted of a crime.

ICE arrested 546 people in Maine between the start of Trump’s second term and March 11, 2026, the most recent data available, according to ICE arrest data provided to the University of California, Berkeley Deportation Data Project and analyzed by the AP.

About 45% of arrested people had criminal backgrounds. During the equivalent 416-day period before Trump took office, roughly 69% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds, the data shows.

2026 ‘Stop the Scammers Tour’ Concludes After Sparking 19 Fraud Investigations

DES MOINES — The 2026 Stop the Scammers Tour – a joint initiative of the Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, and AARP Iowa – officially concluded in June after hosting 20 free educational events across the state.

More than 1,400 Iowans attended the tour to learn how to recognize and avoid modern threats, including investment fraud, imposter scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and Medicare schemes.

The impact of the tour extended well beyond the classroom. Attendees actively shared suspicious phone calls, emails, text messages, and sketchy investment pitches they had recently encountered. Nineteen of those real-time audience reports were identified as active scams and are now under official investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau.

Strengthening the Fight Against Transnational Fraud

Because today’s financial scams are increasingly sophisticated and frequently originate from organized criminal networks operating across state and international borders, Iowa officials are aggressively strengthening law enforcement partnerships.

Earlier this month, the Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services joined more than 130 state and local law enforcement leaders for a high-level meeting with FBI Director Kash Patel, hosted by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird. The discussion focused on deepening alliances to combat transnational fraud, improving cross-agency information sharing, and expanding opportunities to recover money stolen from scam victims.

This collaborative approach is already producing tangible results by combining consumer education, timely reporting, and coordinated multi-agency investigations to stop scammers before they can drain victims’ accounts.

By the Numbers: 2026 Enforcement Impact

The investigations sparked by the tour are part of an ongoing statewide crackdown. Since January 1, 2026, the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau and Senior Financial Exploitation Investigators have achieved the following:

  • 211 investigations opened across 96 Iowa communities.
  • $77.9 million in reported losses investigated.
  • More than $2.28 million stopped in its tracks before reaching scammers.
  • $27,721 directly recovered for victims.
  • Millions in assets seized for the purpose of victim restitution, including:
    • $3.58 million in cryptocurrency
    • $1.5 million in real estate
    • $300,000 in vehicles

“Our approach is simple: Detect. Disrupt. Deploy. We detect emerging fraud, disrupt scams before more Iowans become victims, and deploy the investigative resources needed to pursue those responsible,” said Iowa Insurance Division Fraud Bureau Chief Matt Mortvedt.

“Whether someone reports suspicious activity at a Stop the Scammers event, a financial institution alerts us to unusual transactions, or a family member calls with concerns, every report has the potential to stop a scam in progress. The earlier we learn about it, the more options we have to investigate, intervene, and protect others.”

How to Report Fraud

State officials emphasize that early reporting is the single most critical factor in fighting back. It drastically increases the likelihood that investigators can interrupt fraudulent transactions, freeze illegal transfers, preserve vital evidence, and potentially recover stolen funds.

If you or a loved one believe you have been targeted by a scam, report it immediately. For free scam prevention resources or to file a report, visit IowaFraudFighters.gov.

Book Vault Announces Ownership Transition

OSKALOOSA — As they celebrate 20 years in business, The Book Vault in Oskaloosa has announced that they are transitioning to new ownership.

The Oskaloosa bookstore announced that ownership will be handed over to Kelsey and Jeff Jacobs effective on August 1.

In a press release, the bookstore shared, “The Jacobs and their boys (Jack and Hank) have loved Book Vault. It plays an important part of the community to their family. We look forward to watching them take over the business and carry it into the future. They love the bookstore with its historic environment, offerings, and being the bookstore with so much more. The Jacobs moved to Oskaloosa about a year ago and have genuinely loved their experience here.

“Thanks to Nancy Simpson-Brice and Julie Hansen, librarians, for being the inspiration for Book Vault. Thanks to Joe Crookham & Jeanie Bieri for believing in the idea and making it possible. Thanks to Jane Funni, April Gorski, Linda Crookham-Hansen and the many amazing booksellers that kept the doors open and made Book Vault so magical. We look forward to handing the keys over to the Jacobs on August 1st.”

4 Injured in Moulton Shooting

MOULTON – A shooting in Moulton yesterday left four people injured, including the suspected shooter.

According to the Appanoose County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to a residence at 212 E Third St. in Moulton yesterday afternoon at approximately 2:27pm after receiving a 911 call. The caller reported that 3 people had been shot.

Deputies found the suspected shooter at the intersection of Eighth Street and Main Street soon afterward. The suspect was a 17-year-old male who was believed to be a resident of 212 E Third St, and he appeared to be injured when he was found by authorities. He was taken into custody before being airlifted to a hospital in Iowa City.

Law enforcement then returned to the residence, where there were three people suffering from gunshot wounds; the victims were described as having serious injuries, but none were considered to be life-threatening. Two of the three victims were airlifted to a hospital in Des Moines, while the third was transported to a hospital in Centerville.

An investigation by authorities later revealed that the nine people were inside the residence at the time of the shooting, including 5 adults and 4 juveniles. The shooting was believed to have occurred as a result of a domestic dispute involving family members. None of the juveniles who were present were injured, aside from the suspected 17-year-old shooter, and officials say that there is no ongoing threat to the Moulton community.

This incident remains under investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Iowa State Patrol, the Appanoose County Sheriff’s Office, and the Centerville Police Department.

Osky Baseball, Softball Seasons End in Playoffs

By Sam Parsons

Over the weekend, the Oskaloosa High School baseball and softball teams saw their seasons draw to a close in the postseason, wrapping up another year of OHS sports coverage on KBOE.

Baseball

It was a tough first round draw for the Indians in the baseball substate playoffs: despite a regular season in which they went 18-13 and finished 3rd in the Little Hawkeye Conference, Osky had to travel to Knoxville on Friday night to face the 21-8 Panthers, to whom they had lost 13-9 in the regular season.

The game was a pitcher’s duel the whole way through, but weather threw a wrench in things: after the first 5 innings were played without issue, storms rolled through Knoxville and surrounding areas, resulting in play being paused for roughly 2 hours. That meant that Knoxville starting pitcher Kyler Gifford was pulled from the game after delivering 5 shutout innings, and wet conditions were endured for the final two innings.

Oskaloosa gave the ball to junior Tyler Edgar to start the game on the mound, and he delivered a quality start, pitching 6 innings and allowing only 2 runs on 5 base hits with 3 strikeouts and 4 walks. Edgar was undaunted by the 2-hour weather delay, silencing the Knoxville bats in the 6th inning after the long layoff.

Unfortunately, Edgar did not receive any run support for the Indians, who were snake bitten on the offensive end: despite recording 7 hits as a team, including a double from senior DH Linus Morrison, the Indians failed to get a run on the board, in large part because they had two baserunners that got thrown out at home plate. In the 3rd inning, Morrison attempted to score from 2nd base on a single to left field off the bat of Edgar, but a controversial “out” call at home plate ended the inning. Then, in the 7th inning, the game ended when junior Carter Bonnett attempted to score on a wild pitch, but was tagged out by Knoxville relief pitcher Lincoln Norris covering home plate. Those two instances were the closest Oskaloosa came to getting a run across.

In the end, it was a 2-0 victory for the Panthers, who will take on Fort Madison in the substate semifinals after they upset #2 Marion in the first round.

Oskaloosa finished their season with an 18-14 record, and they graduate a highly impactful senior class of 7 players: Trevin Griffin, Maddox Maxwell, Linus Morrison, Mason Muir, Jake North, Trey Parks, and Tate Peterson.

Softball

After beating Mount Pleasant in the first round of the region playoffs, Oskaloosa was tasked with traveling to #10 Cedar Rapids Xavier on Saturday in search of an upset in the region semifinals for the second straight year.

After a quiet first inning, Xavier got on the board in the 2nd inning to open the scoring when junior Gabby Hagstrom hit an RBI double. The Saints would extend their lead to 3-0 in the 3rd inning when senior Jaselle Lang went deep for a 2-run home run; they then scored their fourth and final run in the 5th inning off an error by the Indians, leaving the score at 4-0.

On the other side, Oskaloosa was able to get runners on base in 5 out of 7 innings, but they were unable to bring any of them home: Kobie Criss, Jillian Parks, and Cadence Grubb each recorded 1 base hit, while Loghan Edgar went 2/3 with 2 singles. Grubb also recorded a walk, and Cylee Smith and Leah Lorentzen each reached base on errors by the Saints’ defense. But none of those baserunners amounted to any runs on the board as Xavier pitcher and Iowa Hawkeye commit Maddyn Gates consistently pitched her way out of tight spots and the defense behind her made some impressive plays.

In the 7th inning, Cylee Smith nearly knocked one out of the park when she took a ball to deep left field, but sophomore Abby Driscoll made a jumping catch at the wall to record the first out of the inning. Lorentzen and Edgar later reached base in back-to-back at bats with 2 outs, but the Indians’ comeback bid ended there, and they fell 4-0.

Oskaloosa finished their season with an 11-26 record, and they graduate 3 seniors that helped to bring the program 3 playoff victories in the past two years after struggling in the postseason for several years prior. Vivian Bolibaugh, Kobie Criss, and Loghan Edgar were all everyday starters that the Indians will need to replace as they head into year 3 under head coach Alex DeJong in 2027.

New Zealand actor Sam Neill, known for ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Piano,’ dies at 78, his family says

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Sam Neill, a smoothly elegant and versatile actor whose career moved from art film to blockbuster as he dodged velociraptors in “Jurassic Park” and played Holly Hunter’s husband in “The Piano,” has died. He was 78.

In 2023, Neill disclosed he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Neill died on Monday in Sydney, according to a statement posted to the actor’s social media page.

His death was “sudden and unexpected,” the statement said, adding that he “remained cancer free” when he died. A cause of death wasn’t specified.

“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life,” his family wrote.

Actor came to world’s notice with ‘Dead Calm’ and ‘My Brilliant Career’

Neill was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian films that began in the late 1970s, a list that includes Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Jane Campion, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong. His range was remarkable, playing opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the Alan Ayckbourn comedy “Sweet Revenge” to chopping off Hunter’s finger in “The Piano” to poking his own eyes out in the sci-fi horror “Event Horizon.”

In “Omen III: The Final Conflict,” he played Damien the Antichrist and he also played Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in “The Tudors.”

The actor first came to the attention of international audiences in Armstrong’s 1979 film “My Brilliant Career,” which also introduced Judy Davis. He later appeared in Phillip Noyce’s “Dead Calm,” a classy thriller set at sea and co-starring the then-relatively unknown Nicole Kidman.

Neill twice co-starred with Meryl Streep, in Australian director Fred Schepisi’s “Plenty” and — again for Schepisi — in “A Cry in the Dark,” a film about the sensationalized aftermath of a dingo killing a baby in the Australian Outback. He earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the title role of the 1998 miniseries “Merlin” and another as narrator of 2017’s “Wild New Zealand.”

‘Jurassic Park’ was his best-known film

Perhaps Neill achieved his highest level of fame in “Jurassic Park” playing paleontologist Alan Grant, who is summoned to an island off Costa Rica where a theme park has been built to house herds of cloned dinosaurs. He co-starred alongside Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough.

His character was thoughtful and reasonable, a scientist who warned the mastermind of the theme park before the chaos: “Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?”

Grant survived the harrowing events when the creatures get loose, but didn’t return for “The Lost World: Jurassic Park II” in 1997. He came back for the third episode in 2001 and “Jurassic World: Dominion” in 2022.

“It’s probably a little late to learn these things,” he told the Daily New of New York in 2001, “but I finally feel I’ve worked out how to be an action hero. I’m happier with Grant this time. He’s gnarly and grizzled, but he looks like he knows what he’s doing.”

Neill grew up in Northern Ireland, then New Zealand

Born in 1947 in Northern Ireland, Neill emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 7. He was born Nigel Neill, but told interviewers he started to go by Sam because there were too many Nigels at his school.

His family settled in Dunedin on the South Island and he was sent to boarding school in Christchurch. After college, he took the lead in “Sleeping Dogs” in 1977, the first feature made in New Zealand in more than a decade.

Neill’s other film roles included playing a Soviet submarine officer who memorably dreams of a home in Montana in “The Hunt for Red October” and an investigator in director John Carpenter’s “In the Mouth of Madness.”

On the small screen, Neill played the malign Chester Campbell in TV’s “Peaky Blinders” and Thomas Jefferson in the four-hour CBS miniseries, “Sally Hemings: an American Tragedy.” On Apple TV+, he was on “Invasion,” playing Oklahoma Sheriff John Bell Tyson, a man late in his career searching for his purpose. In 2024 he starred opposite Annette Bening in the Peacock series “Apples Never Fall.”

Actor beloved in New Zealand as an unassuming celebrity

The actor became known in New Zealand as a modest and unassuming person who didn’t embrace celebrity. On social media, he often posted images of his farm animals, many of them affectionately named after celebrities and friends, like Laura Dern the chicken, Kylie Minogue the duck and Helena Bonham Carter the cow.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon mourned Neill as “one of the greats” in a statement posted to social media.

“He started out when there was barely a film industry to speak of,” Luxon wrote. “For more than fifty years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make our film industry into what it is today.”

Neill was also a vintner and under his Two Paddocks brand, he produced pinot noir and riesling wines from his winery in the Central Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island.

His memoir “Did I Ever Tell You This?” came out in March 2023 and he was awarded a knighthood in recognition of his “outstanding contribution to film,” a title approved by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

“I can’t pretend that the last year hasn’t had its dark moments,” Neill told The Guardian in 2023, referring to his cancer diagnosis and treatment. “But those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends.”

He is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.

Iowa pheasant outlook once again good for hunters

By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

The early pheasant forecast shows hunters in Iowa could once again have a lot of birds to chase.

DNR wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz uses weather information to predict pheasant numbers. “Our prediction is the population is going to be similar, might go up a little bit or down a little bit, but more or less unchanged from from last fall,” he says.

If the bird numbers are up they would continue a positive trend.  “Last fall, the counts were the best we’d seen in 20 years. So you know, that kind of painting like we could have a fairly good hunting season this year. So based on what the weather model’s saying, it’s right about 80% of the time,” he says.

Boegenschutz says the winter didn’t have any real extremes that hurt the adult birds, and spring weather was good for the hatch of the young birds.  “Twenty-five inches of snow and that’s kind of the long term average. Our spring weather was a little wetter than normal, April and May, about an inch and a half or so,” he says. “I thought seeing that that you know, usually our counts go down. But April and May were also really warm and so that’s usually good for nesting.”

Bogenschutz says their annual roadside survey in August will help confirm the pheasant forecast. He says bird numbers to entice more hunters to get out. “We generally see that hunter numbers tend to increase and decrease based on what they perceive the population’s going to be like,” he says.

The 2025 numbers on the number of birds taken are expected to be released soon and Bogenschutz says they should they should be around 600 to 700,000.

Free Vision Screenings to be Offered for Children at Pella Regional

PELLA — Pella Regional Health Center, in partnership with the Leighton Lions Club, will offer free vision screenings for children ages 6 months through kindergarten on Thursday, August 6, from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. The event will be held in the Conference Room at Pella Regional Health Center. Families attending the event should use Entrance 5, located off Hazel Street on the northeast side of the hospital.

Screenings will be conducted by Iowa KidSight, a statewide vision screening program coordinated by the Lions Clubs of Iowa and the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. These screenings fulfill the state recommendation for vision checks prior to kindergarten enrollment.

Early identification of vision problems can make a big difference in a child’s learning and development. Pella Regional is supporting this effort to help families detect potential issues before they become long-term challenges.

Screening results will be evaluated by experts at the University of Iowa. If concerns are detected, families will receive a referral letter along with a list of local ophthalmologists and optometrists for follow-up care.

The event is part of Iowa KidSight’s mission to improve the eye health of Iowa’s youngest residents through early detection and treatment of vision impairments.

For more information, please contact Amanda Drost at 641-621-2362 or email adrost@pellahealth.org.

Man Dies After Being Hit by Semi Truck in Poweshiek County

POWESHIEK COUNTY – A man died in Poweshiek County in the early morning hours on Friday after being hit by a semi truck on Interstate 80.

The Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office says that deputies responded to mile marker 198 on I-80 after receiving a 911 call at around 1:30am on Friday, July 10. Deputies located a Freightliner semi truck pulling a trailer that was sitting on the shoulder, and upon speaking to the driver, he advised that he believed he had struck something in the road.

A search of the area led to the discovery of an adult male in the ditch who had been struck by the semi truck. The man was pronounced deceased at the scene and the Poweshiek County Medical Examiner’s Office was called to the scene for assistance. The body was transported to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy and identification, and as of this morning the man still has not been identified by authorities.

The accident is currently being investigated by the Iowa State Patrol.

Wally Funk, aviation pioneer who was the oldest woman to travel into space, dies at 87

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer who was the oldest woman to launch into space, has died. She was 87.

Funk died Wednesday at her apartment in an assisted living facility in the Dallas and Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas, Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O’Dell said Thursday. O’Dell, who described herself as Funk’s caregiver, said she was by Funk’s side. Funk had fallen a couple of times recently and had an infection in her leg.

“It took its toll,” O’Dell said in a phone interview.

Funk was one of 13 female pilots who went through the same tests as NASA’s all-male astronaut corps in the early 1960s but never made it into space with that agency. In 2021, she got her chance aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket.

At the time, the 82-year-old was the oldest person to go into space, though the record was later broken by “Star Trek” actor William Shatner and Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate. They were both 90.

Bezos chose Funk as an “honored guest” to ride alongside him and two others on an up-and-down hop from West Texas.

In a post on X, Blue Origin said Funk was a “pioneer in every sense of the word.”

“We were humbled to be part of her journey,” the post said.

O’Dell said Funk was the “most eternally optimistic person” she had ever met.

“She was told by many, many, many men, ‘No, you can’t do this. No you can’t do that,’ ” O’Dell said. “And she never got mad about it. She just was more determined.”

Funk was the first female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, according to a brief biography released by the City of Grapevine.

In the 1960s, she and other female pilots went through astronaut training in the Mercury 13 program, but they were not allowed to become astronauts.

“Wally Funk never stopped believing that one day she would reach space. Her passion for flight, perseverance, and love of exploration will continue to inspire generations of Americans. Godspeed, Wally,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman posted Thursday on X.

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