Here's a quick overview of our top stories for Monday, Feb. 23, 2026:
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TOP HEADLINES:
Belgrade plans 300+ affordable housing units at Copper Ranch
Butte-Silver Bow voters face new registration rules and deadlines for 2025 elections
High school students explore plumbing careers at hands-on workshop in Belgrade
THAT’S INTERESTING:
Historical Events for February 23rd
1455 - Johannes Gutenberg prints his first Bible (estimated date) - a revolutionary moment in printing history
1540 - Francisco Vásquez de Coronado's expedition sets off from Mexico in search of the Seven Cities of Gold (Cíbola)
1836 - The Siege of the Alamo begins - Mexican army under General Santa Anna besieges the Alamo mission for 13 days until March 6; the entire garrison is eventually killed, becoming one of the most famous battles in US history
1904 - The United States acquires control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million
1945 - Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima - US Marines raise the American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima. The Pulitzer Prize-winning photo by Joe Rosenthal becomes iconic, later inspiring the Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture
1954 - First mass inoculation against polio with the Salk vaccine takes place at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1958 - Five-time Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina is kidnapped in Cuba by Fidel Castro's rebels
1998 - Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders
1999 - Eminem's album "The Slim Shady LP" is released, lifting him from underground rapper to celebrity status
2020 - Multiple COVID-19 milestones: First major COVID-19 outbreak in Europe occurs in Italy with 152 cases and three deaths, prompting lockdowns of 10 towns in Lombardy; South Korea put on high alert after 602 cases reported
2020 - Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, is shot and killed while jogging in Brunswick, Georgia - an event that later sparked national civil rights attention
Notable Births
1685 - George Frideric Handel - German/English composer, a leading figure of late Baroque music
1868 - W.E.B. Du Bois - American sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist who co-founded the NAACP and wrote "The Souls of Black Folk"
1884 - Casimir Funk - Polish-American biochemist who coined the term "vitamine"
1899 - Erich Kästner - German author and poet
1904 - William L. Shirer - American journalist and historian
1929 - Alexy II of Moscow - Estonian/Russian Orthodox patriarch
1940 - Peter Fonda - American actor, member of the Fonda dynasty, best known for "Easy Rider"
1994 - Dakota Fanning - American actress who gained fame as a child in "I Am Sam" and later starred in "War of the Worlds" and "The Twilight Saga"
Notable Deaths
1603 - François Vieta - French mathematician often regarded as "the father of algebra"
2013 - Joseph Friedenson - Holocaust survivor, historian, Yiddish writer, lecturer and editor
Interesting Facts
- February 23rd is celebrated as Banana Bread Day and Dog Biscuit Day
- People born on this day share the Pisces zodiac sign
- The Times of London published the world's first classified advertisement on this date (year not specified in sources)
- Major Walter Clopton Wingfield patented a game he called "sphairistike," now known as lawn tennis
- Sister Janet Mead's musical recording of "The Lord's Prayer" made it to the Billboard Top 100 in 1974, reaching #4 and going gold
Parts of this story were adapted for this platform with AI assistance. Our editorial team verifies all reporting across all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
