KWIT: Regional News for 7/1 (2009-07-01)

In Iowa...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The state has ended its budget year with
tax revenues about $165 million less than expected.
Some Republicans say the drop is more than Gov. Chet Culver can
cover without an OK from the Legislature.
Culver has the authority to pull $50 million from the state's
cash reserves, and the state projected an ending balance of $44
million.
That would seem to add up to an unbalanced budget without
legislative action, but Democrats note the books won't close until
September. They say there's no rush to call a special legislative
session and make decisions about spending more from reserves or
cutting the budget.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Cedar Rapids businessman Christian
Fong has announced his candidacy for the Republican gubernatorial
nomination.
The 32-year-old Fong, who announced his candidacy Tuesday, is
the son of Chinese immigrants and grew up in southwestern Iowa. He
has lived in Cedar Rapids since 1997 and has never held public
office.
Fong, who describes himself as a conservative, joins a crowded
field of potential GOP candidates who may challenge first-term
Democratic Gov. Chet Culver.
Businessman Bob Vander Plaats and Rep. Christopher Rants, both
of Sioux City, and Rep. Rod Roberts of Carroll have formed
exploratory committees. Several others, including U.S. Rep. Steve
King, Iowa Sen. Jerry Behn of Boone, and businessman Mike Whalen,
also are mentioned as possible candidates.

ONAWA, Iowa (AP) - Executives and tribal officials have closed
an Iowa casino run by the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, laying off about
185 workers.
Casino manager Jim Hunt told the Omaha World Herald that the
decision to close CasinOmaha on Tuesday was made by the Omaha
Tribal Council because of current business conditions.
Hunt said the tribe planned to renovate and reopen the casino as
soon as possible.
The casino currently has 430 slot machines and eight table
games. It has operated for the past 17 years on tribal land near
Onawa, Iowa.

In Nebraska...

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has asked the
federal government for help repairing storm and tornado damage in
13 counties.
The request for federal aid includes funding for repairs to
roads, bridges, power lines, public buildings and debris removal.
The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency estimates there was $4
million in damages, primarily to roads and other public
infrastructure.
There were tornadoes, high winds, hail and above-average
rainfall in many areas of the state throughout the month.
The 13 counties included are: Arthur, Box Butte, Cherry, Garden,
Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Custer, Keya Paha, Hamilton, Rock, Dixon,
Pawnee and Richardson.

SALIX, Iowa (AP) - A body discovered on the Missouri River has
been identified as a Nebraska boater missing since Saturday.
Iowa officials announced Tuesday that the body has been
identified as 31-year-old Bruce Wright, of South Sioux City, Neb.
Wright's body was discovered Monday night by a boater about 11
miles downstream from where he disappeared.
Officials say Wright and Oscar Gomez, also of South Sioux City,
Neb., were thrown from a boat operated by Samuel Gomez about a mile
north of Salix, Iowa on Saturday when Samuel Gomez suddenly slowed
down.
Oscar Gomez suffered leg and hip injuries and was taken to a
Sioux City hospital.
Samuel Gomez is charged with boating while intoxicated.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A Rogers, Minn.-based company says it plans
to open a plant in Omaha and hire 30 people initially.
CDC Enterprises manufactures ductwork for heating and cooling
systems. It announced Tuesday that the new plant in Omaha will
manufacture plastic tubing used for heating and cooling.
Company officials said they will start looking for a building on
Wednesday. They'll start hiring during the next several weeks.
Initial plans call for creating 30 jobs, paying between $15 and $18
an hour.

In South Dakota...

MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) - Officials at Avera Queen of Peace Health
Services say they will cut "approximately 12" positions as part
of a budget reduction plan.
Spokeswoman Trish Delaney says nine of the cuts likely will be
at the Mitchell hospital and that the rest will be at other
locations.
The organization's new fiscal year begins Wednesday.
Avera cites the economic downturn as the reason for the moves.
Avera says employee wages have been frozen and that management
staff and some selected salaried employees will have their pay
reduced.

YANKTON, S.D. (AP) - The soldiers of Battery C of the South
Dakota National Guard's 147th Field Artillery are wrapping up their
training at Fort Hood, Texas, and are getting ready to go to
Kuwait.
The 130 soldiers are from units based in Yankton, Mitchell,
Salem, Sioux Falls and Watertown.
Specialist Brooks Schild of Yankton says the soldiers had four
days of leave at home and are in the final stages of training.
He says the mindset is to look ahead to their mission.
The soldiers have been training on base security skills for
their year-long assignment in Kuwait. They expect to leave in the
next couple of weeks.
Charlie Battery has been deployed before, and Schild says the
unit's veterans are helping the soldiers who are making their first
deployment.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - South Dakota's corn and soybean acres
are up from a year ago.
The federal Agriculture Department's June acreage report
released Tuesday pegs the South Dakota corn crop at 5 million
acres, up 5 percent, and the soybean crop at nearly 4.4 million
acres, up 6 percent.
South Dakota is one of five states in which the estimated
soybean area is up more than 200,000 acres over the year, along
with North Dakota, Kansas, Mississippi and Missouri.
USDA says tight supplies and high prices are driving an increase
in soybean acres nationwide, with an expected record U.S. crop of
77.5 million acres.
Based on June 1 conditions, USDA expects there to be 1.6 million
acres of winter wheat intended for harvest in South Dakota, down 15
percent from last year.
Planted acres of spring wheat in the state are pegged at 1.6
million, unchanged from a year ago.