KWIT: Regional News for 6/16 (2008-06-16)

In Iowa...

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Governor Culver says Iowa City has
received "a little bit of good news" because the Iowa River
appears to be cresting.
But Culver says the situation is still a serious public safety
threat.
The National Weather Service had predicted a 33-foot crest by
early today. But Donna Dubberke (duh-BURK'-ee) with the Weather
Service says levee breaks downstream in Wapello County and in
smaller cities such as Oakville and Columbus Junction may have
helped ease the situation near Iowa City by allowing water to drain
downstream faster.
Thirteen buildings at the University of Iowa have already taken
on water. But Johnson County Emergency Management spokesman Mike
Sullivan says the lower crest will probably spare dozens of others
that had been in jeopardy.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - The help flood-stricken Cedar Rapids
gave to McLaurin, Mississippi, after Hurricane Katrina hasn't been
forgotten.
That's why a truck and trailer of supplies from the Mississippi
town is headed to Cedar Rapids.
Tom Hobson is a heating and air conditioning technician and
volunteer firefighter from McLaurin. He is organizing the effort to
help his hometown, which sent supplies and equipment following the
2005 hurricane.
Hobson moved to Mississippi from Cedar Rapids 11 years ago but
has family that still lives in Iowa. His brother Rick's house was
flooded when the Cedar River poured over levees last week causing a
widespread evacuation.
Hobson says he wanted to help because -- quote -- "the people
down here, we don't forget."
Hobson said the truck and trailer will leave Mississippi today
and they hope to arrive by early tomorrow morning.

CHICAGO (AP) - Amtrak is suspending service between Chicago and
destinations to the north and west because of flooding across the
Midwest.
Service between St. Paul and Chicago and between Chicago and
Denver is temporarily suspended due to flooding.
Amtrak is providing rides by chartered motorcoach for some
destinations but isn't offering any travel alternatives to or from
cities in Iowa.
Passengers are urged to call Amtrak at 1-800-USA-RAIL for more
information.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - State environmental officials are asking
farmers to properly dispose of debris left in their fields by
floodwaters that have swept through Iowa.
The Department of Natural Resources asks landowners not to dump
sand, silt or other debris back into streams.
They say that doing so could cause damage downstream or it could
settle in place and cause water to backup into upland areas.
Officials say dumping debris in streams could violate state and
federal regulations.
They ask landowners to contact the state for help with disposal
efforts.
Livestock farmers are also being asked to check manure storage
structures that could be vulnerable because of saturated soils.

In Nebraska...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - At least four Boy Scouts remain hospitalized
for injuries suffered when a deadly tornado swept through their
camp in western Iowa.
Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa, reported yesterday
that it was still treating two Scouts, with one each at the
Creighton University Medical Center and the Nebraska Medical
Center, both in Omaha.
Hospital representatives said those boys are in fair or good
condition.
Four Scouts were killed and dozens were injured when the tornado
flattened the Little Sioux Scout Ranch on Wednesday.
The National Weather Service said the tornado was an EF3 on the
1-to-5 Enhanced Fujita scale of intensity.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska ranks ninth highest in the nation
for child well-being in a new study from a children's advocacy
group.
The 2008 Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation
rates states on 10 indicators of child well-being to assess the
status of U.S. children.
The findings released Friday rank Nebraska among the top 10 best
in five indicators: the number of securely employed parents; the
percentage of children in single-parents families; the infant
mortality rate; the percentage of idle teens; and the number of
high school dropouts.
The state's rank on the other five indicators ranges from 13th
to 27th.
Christine Peterson of the Nebraska Department of Health and
Human Services says the state improved in several areas in this
year's report, thanks in part to the department's collaboration
with law enforcement.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Police officers responding to a shooting in
north Omaha chased two potential suspects through a parade
celebrating the end of slavery.
The Juneteenth parade sponsored Saturday morning by the Omaha
branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People was quickly halted.
Omaha police say officers spotted two people running from the
scene of the shooting and gave chase on foot. One released after
questioning, and the other was charged for an unrelated crime.
The shooting victim, 18-year-old Javon Jones of Omaha, was taken
to Creighton University Medical Center in critical condition.
Police say his injuries were not life threatening.

In South Dakota...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Tests are under way on a high-tech
attachment to the Air Force's B-1 bombers that will let their crews
guide precision weapons and provide real-time intelligence to
troops on the ground.
Senator John Thune says the top Air Force commander in Iraq and
Afghanistan has rated the device, called the "sniper pod," as
urgently needed.
Ellsworth airmen and members of a testing squadron from Texas
tested the equipment on an Ellsworth B-1 for the first time during
a training mission this past week.
Thune also says the Air Force is measuring the combat readiness
of the B-1 bomber, which he calls the workhorse of the nation's
bomber fleet. He says there are concerns about the number of planes
that are combat ready, given the fact they're being worked hard.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Sentencing has been set to start tonday
for four men who pleaded guilty to filing false income tax returns
for 1999.
The sentencing hearings have been scheduled for U.S. District
Court in Pierre.
The four who acknowledged underreporting their income are Kurt
Bowers, James Bowers and Kent Bowers of Pierre and Jon Bowers of
Junction City, Ore.
Officials say the hearings may take several days
Prosecutors say the charges stem from a complex scheme to
conceal assets and income from the IRS by putting them in
management companies and trusts in an effort to reduce the tax
liability.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - State officials say more water in Lake Oahe
will mean more boat ramps will be open longer this year.
Doug Hofer (HOH'-fer) of the state Game, Fish and Parks
Department says at least 20 boat ramps should be kept open this
year on Lake Oahe. All the ramps, which had to be extended during
dry conditions, now are in several feet of water.
Hofer says that maybe the trend of low water on Lake Oahe might
finally be over.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says Oahe's level rose about 2
feet in May and should rise another 3 feet this month. The current
level is 16 feet higher than the lake's lowest level ever recorded
in September 2006.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The state Health Department is again
providing money to help towns control mosquitoes.
The $412,000 that's going to 172 communities is part of the
state's effort to prevent West Nile virus.
Certain species of mosquitoes transmit West Nile virus from sick
birds to humans. The virus can cause death and serious
complications of encephalitis and meningitis.
Twenty-six people have died in South Dakota from West Nile since
it first appeared in 2002.