KWIT: Regional News for 5/1 (2008-05-01)

In Iowa...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - State officials are appealing a finding
that the state should repay the federal government about $61,000 in
questionable election spending.
Iowa's appeal comes after auditors determined the Iowa secretary
of state's office misspent federal money to pay entertainers during
a "celebration of voting." Governor Culver, who headed the office
at the time, has said all the payments were appropriate.
Among the questionable payments were $16,500 for opera singer
Simon Estes to appear at "Celebrate Voting" events in August
2005. About $11,000 went to civil rights activist and poet Nikki
Giovanni to be the keynote speaker for a voter participation
workshop.
Ted Trimpa is a lawyer speaking for the secretary of state's
office. Yesterday he told the Election Assistance Commission that
the payments were legitimate election costs.
The federal commission voted to give the state 30 days to come
up with more information. The commission will vote later on whether
to grant or deny the appeal.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Governor Culver has declared five more
counties as disaster areas due to flooding concerns in eastern
Iowa.
The counties include Clayton, Fayette, Grundy, Humboldt, and
Webster.
Earlier this week, Culver issued disaster declarations for
Jones, Bremer, Blackhawk and Louisa counties.
The declarations were issued following heavy rains that have
pushed rivers and streams over their banks. Culver's action allows
state resources to be used to move pumps and sandbags to areas
affected by flooding.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Governor Chet Culver announced the
creation of an alliance between the state, its colleges and
universities and the wind energy industry yesterday. It's an effort
to strengthen the wind power work force in Iowa.
Culver says the newly formed Iowa Alliance for Wind Innovation
and Novel Development will combine research, public policy,
training and education and testing facility expansion.
Culver says the key is to produce a skilled, productive work
force by developing a constant stream of new, well-trained workers.
Iowa ranks fourth in the nation in wind power capacity,
according to a report by the American Wind Energy Association. Iowa
also has four of the 13 wind energy plants that were either opened
or announced last year. They are in Keokuk, Fort Madison, Newton
and West Branch.
Iowa has set a goal of using renewable sources to create 25
percent of its electricity by 2025.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A former officer at a bank in Garwin has
been sentenced to one year in prison for federal embezzlement and
money laundering.
Todd Kramer received his sentence this week after pleading
guilty in September to theft of bank funds by a bank officer and
one count of money laundering.
The U.S. attorney's office says Kramer admitted he used his
position as vice president as the Garwin branch of Lincoln Savings
Bank to illegally access client accounts in 2003 and 2004.
Court records show that Kramer transferred $16,000 from a
client's line of credit in 2003 to make a payment he owed. Later
that same year, he transferred another $15,000 from the same
client's line of credit to his personal checking account.
To hide that transaction, he transferred the money to another
savings account he held with another person.

In Nebraska...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The College World Series will be played in
Omaha at least through 2030, under an agreement the city and NCAA
have reached.
The city and NCAA have been discussing a long-term contract for
months, with much of the discussion centered on the construction of
a new downtown ballpark to replace 60-year-old Rosenblatt Stadium.
Plans for a ballpark adjacent to the Qwest Center have been
moving forward for weeks, and yesterday's "memorandum of
understanding" promises a commitment of at least 20 years once the
current contract expires after the 2010 CWS.
Mayor Mike Fahey spokesman Joe Gudenrath (GOO-den-rath) says the
memorandum paves the way for a final agreement to be reached by the
June 14th start of the College World Series.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Republican Senate candidate Mike Johanns
has launched his first television ad, joining his Democratic
opponents on the airwaves.
Spokeswoman Sarah Pompei says the ad will start airing statewide
yesterday. She wouldn't say how much was spent or how long the ads
will run.
The 30-second ads point to Johanns' experience as governor and
U.S. agriculture secretary.
A narrator says Nebraskans are turning to a problem-solver they
trust.
Johanns faces Schuyler businessman Pat Flynn in the May 13th
primary. The Democrat candidates are Columbus industrialist Tony
Raimondo, Hastings history instructor Scott Kleeb, Larry Marvin of
Fremont and James Bryan Wilson of Lincoln.

GOTHENBURG, Neb. (AP) - Monsanto says it plans to invest 6
million dollars in its Gothenburg facility to build a new center to
test and promote drought-tolerant technology.
Monsanto Co. plans to begin the work sometime this summer after
it buys the land and plans to complete it next year.
Monsanto will use the facility to learn how much effect
drought-tolerant seeds and new management techniques would have on
water use.
The center will also be used to show how new technology can help
manage water.
Monsanto chief technology officer Robb Fraley says the St.
Louis-based company wants to create products that can help farmers
consistently produce crops even when water is scarce.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The state labor force numbered 989,933 in
March -- more than 2,900 higher than February and nearly 13,400
higher than March 2007.
That's according to state Labor Department numbers released
yesterday.
For Lincoln, the March unemployment rate remained unchanged from
the previous month at 2.9 percent. But the March rate was
three-tenths of a percentage point higher than in March 2007.
For Omaha, the March rate was 3.6 percent. That's up from
February's 3.5 percent and March 2007's 3.3 percent.
Omaha and Lincoln unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted
and are not compared with the state unemployment rate.

In South Dakota...

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - Gov. Mike Rounds says the controversy on
taxing blended ethanol is the result of the South Dakota
Legislature's failure to deal with the issue earlier this year.
The Republican governor says there is no new tax, but merely a
new tax form to help gas stations collect and pay the right amount
of tax on fuel from blender pumps.
The governor says gas station owners asked for the tax form so
they can pay all the tax due when blender pumps mix different
grades of ethanol.
Democratic Senate Leader Scott Heidepriem (HY-duh-prim) says the
governor is trying to put an extra tax on ethanol blends after the
Legislature rejected the idea.

UNDATED (AP) - There seemingly is no end to winter weather in
South Dakota. Last week the eastern part of the state got hit with
a foot or more of snow. This week it's the western half.
A winter storm warning is issued for the Black Hills, the
northwest and the west central regions. Two feet of snow could fall
in higher elevations of the Black Hills.
There's still some uncertainty of the storm track, but
forecasters say near blizzard conditions are possible on the
Plains.
A mix of rain and snow will spread into the central and eastern
parts of South Dakota on Friday.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Senator John Thune says those who
champion the idea of suspending the federal gax tax for the summer
driving season have good intentions.
But the South Dakota Republican also says it's important to
gauge the effects on the federal highway trust fund.
Two presidential contenders endorse the gas tax holiday concept.
Thune says the nation needs to make sure the highway trust fund
is replenished in order to meet infrastructure needs.
He also says federal legislation was introduced last year as
part of an effort to fund new transportation construction and
repairs.

YANKTON, S.D. (AP) - The Lewis and Clark Regional Water System
plans to deliver its first supply of water on Thursday, but only to
one town in northwest Iowa.
The long-term goal of the $537 million project is to pump water
from wells near Vermillion to parts of South Dakota, Minnesota and
Iowa.
Executive Director Troy Larson says since some of the pipe is
already in place, it will allow Hull, Iowa, to buy water from
nearby Sioux Center, Iowa, through an emergency connection.
He says another section of pipe will deliver water from Sioux
Falls to Tea and Harrisburg.
Larson says both short-term projects should help create momentum
so Congress increases funding for the project and get it done by
the 2012 target date.