KWIT: Regional News for 6/19 (2008-06-19)

In Iowa...

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) - Flooding that began in northern Iowa
has finally reached the state's southeast tip. That's where
residents have been stacking sandbags and waiting for the
Mississippi River to peak.
The river was expected to peak late last night in Burlington and
tonight in Keokuk.
In Fort Madison, roads near the Mississippi had become ponds and
most homes near the river had water-filled basements.
Parts of downtown Burlington also remain flooded yesterday.
Sandbagging efforts there have stopped and officials say they are
confident the levees will hold.
Elsewhere in Iowa, officials have allowed more people into their
damaged homes and businesses in hard-hit Cedar Rapids.
In Iowa City, officials at the University of Iowa still didn't
know the extent of damage in 19 flooded campus buildings. That's
because the Iowa River was falling so slowly and still remained 8
feet over flood stage.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - John McCain, the GOP's presidential
nominee in waiting, has announced plans to visit flood-ravaged Iowa
today.
McCain's visit is separate from the one planned by President
Bush, who is scheduled to tour the flood damage today in Cedar
Rapids and Iowa City.
McCain spokesman Jeff Sadosky says the Arizona senator will tour
the state in the morning and visit with Iowans affected by the
flood. It is unclear which city McCain planned to visit.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa has been awarded up to 17 million
dollars from the federal government to help recover from flooding.
The grant, awarded by the Department of Labor, will be used to
hire workers to rebuild or clean up damaged public facilities.
The money was awarded at the request of Iowa Senators Tom Harkin
and Charles Grassley and Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley.
Harkin says that 6 million dollars will be distributed
immediately. He says jobs would go to those who are unemployed
because of the flooding. Each worker would be eligible for up to
$12,000 in wages.

KINGSTON, Iowa (AP) - Luck has ran out for about a dozen pigs
who escaped their flooded farm only to be shot atop a levee by
authorities in Des Moines County.
Officials say sheriff's deputies killed the pigs over worries
that they would weaken the levee.
Onlookers say the animals were having a difficult time trying to
maneuver their way off the sandbags. They say the pigs scurried
back into the water as people approached.
LeRoy Lippert is chairman of the county's emergency management
commission. He says the pigs needed to be removed because they
could have poked holes in the levee's plastic covering and let
water in.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - The floodwaters are gone in Cedar
Rapids, but in many parts of the city a new eyesore has taken its
place: Trash.
The hulking piles stack as high as 7 feet. Nevermind the empty
bottles, office chairs and even tricycles that have floated from
one place to the next.
Jennifer Pickar, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross, says
people need to be careful when cleaning up the mess. That's why the
Red Cross spent yesterday handing out thousands of clean up kits
with gloves, mops, scrub brushes and disinfectant. Workers also
handed out pamphlets with safe cleaning instructions.
Trash collection in the city was scheduled to move forward as
normal, and officials waived some fees for garbage pickup and
debris drop off at the area landfill.
Flood victims were told to separate items into piles such as
appliances, scrap metal, wood debris and hazardous waste.

In Nebraska...

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A $17,000 deck, $14,000 on restaurant
meals, and a couple hundred dollars getting fingernails done at a
beauty shop.
Those are among a list of questionable uses of government money
by an Omaha business that contracted with Nebraska to care for more
than 50 autistic people.
State Auditor Mike Foley says the Autism Center received about
2.3 million dollars in public money from June 2007 through April
2008.
He says its senior executives "displayed an open disregard for
state regulations."
And Foley says his investigators have found "rampant financial
impropriety and accounting irregularities" and other problems that
may warrant criminal charges.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - An official with the Autism Center of
Nebraska says the group hasn't done anything wrong and State
Auditor Mike Foley is off the mark.
Center CEO Randy Bojanski's reaction came in response to an
audit released by Foley. The state auditor says Bojanski and other
senior executives "displayed an open disregard for state
regulations" and acted in a way that could warrant criminal
prosecution.
Among the allegations is that the Autism Center may have
over-billed the state to the tune of about $226,000. Foley says the
center may have doctored employee time sheets to make it look like
they worked more than they actually did.
Bojanski says his company may have made mistakes with time
sheets, but says the mistakes weren't widespread and that Foley
reviewed only a small fraction of them.
He also said no state money was used for personal credit card
expenses.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - The Nebraska Green Party's Senate candidate
has been invited to two candidate events after being excluded from
a debate earlier this month.
Steve Larrick says he'll participate in the State Fair debate on
Aug. 13 and in a meet-the-candidates event in Hastings on Aug. 12.
About a dozen members of the party protested outside when
Republican Mike Johanns and Democrat Scott Kleeb debated June 5 in
Lincoln.
Larrick says the Green Party is a legal party in the state. He
had said the party would consider legal action if it were excluded
from future debates.
Also running is Nebraska Party candidate Kelly Renee Rosberg.
They're vying to replace Republican Chuck Hagel, who isn't seeking
a third term.

CARTER LAKE, Iowa (AP) - The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska estimates
that its proposed casino in western Iowa would create 1,800 jobs
and be an economic boon for the region.
The tribe released its projections amid mounting opposition from
state officials in Nebraska and Iowa. Attorneys general in both
states are seeking judicial reviews in Iowa federal court to halt
the project.
The Poncas estimate that a casino on its tribal lands in Carter
Lake would draw about three million visitors annually. The tribe
also says the casino would increase the annual economic output of
Iowa and Nebraska by nearly 130 million dollars.
Larry Wright Jr. is chairman of the Poncas' tribal council. He
says the tribe shared their estimates after the state of Iowa
refused repeated requests to meet with tribal leaders. He says the
citizens of Iowa "need to understand what's at stake."

In South Dakota...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - A federal judge refused to stop
construction of an Iowan-owned hog farm west of Wagner after
concluding it's on private land, not tribal land.
Three American Indians on behalf of the Yankton Sioux Tribe's
Head Start program filed the lawsuit against Longview Farm of Hull,
Iowa.
The lawsuit claims the farm hasn't met various requirements and
violates regulations dealing with children's health.
At a hearing yesterday in federal court in Sioux Falls, the
tribal members argued the farm is on tribal land.
A lawyer for the farm said it's on private property, and the
judge agreed after looking at maps from a previous case he handled.
Longview filed a separate federal lawsuit Tuesday that asks the
judge to prevent tribal court from getting involved.

WAGNER, S.D. (AP) - A county commissioner in Charles Mix County
says a large hog farm being built in the county has spurred
interest in developing a zoning ordinance.
Carroll "Red" Allen of Lake Andes (AN'-dees) says county
commissioners are working on a 99-page ordinance.
Longview Farm, owned by 11 Iowa farmers, is being built on
private land west of Wagner. Farm officials say it would hold about
3,350 sows and produce 70,000 pigs a year.
Yankton Sioux tribal members and others protested near the site
in April, saying they fear the operation will smell bad and pollute
the air and water.
Allen says the commission likely will act on a zoning ordinance
next month. It would not affect Longview Farm.
Yankton Sioux tribal leaders say the tribe is drafting its own
zoning ordinance.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The South Dakota Agriculture Department has
provided $80,446 in grants for the specialty crop industry.
Specialty crops are defined as fruits, dried fruits, tree nuts,
vegetables, nursery crops and flowers.
The largest grant of $15,000 went to South Dakota State
University to develop an information base for the native fruit
industry in the state.
SDSU will do that by establishing and evaluating native fruit
trials.