Digest: LA Metro to hold online meetings on proposed Antelope Valley Metrolink improvements

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has its first female conductor. The Durango Herald reports Kylah Thompson, 23, has earned that distinction after joining the railroad in 2017, first as a photographer, then as a brakeman and a fireman. Darren Whitten, the railroad’s superintendent of operations, said the railroad had two women who occasionally helped with conductor duties in the 1990s but Thompson is the first fully promoted conductor. The Colorado Springs native is also an emergency medical technician, and in July 2019 was instrumental in the rescue of a heart attack victim on an Animas River rafting trip.

The Midwest Association of Rail Shippers has awarded scholarships to 17 college underclassmen based on academic achievement, extracurricular activity, and community service. The Bernard J. Thomas Honorary Scholarship Award was given to Nora Chambers, who is studying at Northwestern University. Recipients of the MARS scholarships are: Hunter Barth, North Dakota State University; Carly Baun, University of Mississippi; Connor Boudreau, University of Nebraska–Lincoln; Katherine Chambers, Northwestern University; Lauren Comanse, Creighton University; Julianna DiDeo, Auburn University; Ricardo DiDeo, University of North Florida; Brianna Fay, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Danielle Fay, University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point; Maura Flahive, Wellesley College; Garrett Jackson, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota; Cate McCreavy, Salisbury University; Jacob Rude, Butler University; Analiese Tisa, University of Notre Dame; Paxton Tomlin, Western Carolina University; and Daisy Trujillo, Indiana University–Bloomington.