KWIT: Regional News for 7/2 (2008-07-02)

In Iowa...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Inspectors in Cedar Rapids are finding
that more homes and buildings suffered serious damage during
flooding last month than was previously thought.
Community Development Director Christine Butterfield says
inspectors are finding homes initially thought to have significant
damage to have even more serious problems than initially thought.
Butterfield also says the city has lifted its ban on
nonstructural repairs to buildings. The repairs, including furnace
and water heater replacement and electrical work, are now allowed
in some buildings.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Microsoft Corp. plans to build a data
center in the Des Moines area.
Iowa Department of Economic Development spokeswoman Stephanie
Bjornson says the company confirmed Tuesday its intentions to
locate the center in the Des Moines area. She says they are looking
at a final list of sites.
The number of jobs and scope of the project were not immediately
released. She says the state is negotiating with the company on
financial incentives.
The centers are used to house computer systems and related
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Legislature's controversial new
smoking ban is now in effect.
The ban prohibits smoking in most public places. However, it
provides exemptions for casinos, veterans organizations and other
areas such as fairgrounds.
Many business owners are angered by the exemptions, saying they
don't seem fair. Some have been raising money to file a lawsuit
that seeks to strip the law of the exemptions.
Under the new law, a person caught smoking in a banned area is
subject to a $50 fine.
Businesses that don't enforce the law face a $100 fine for the
first offense - and it goes up from there.
Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, a lobbying organization based
in Berkeley, Calif., says 13 states including Iowa now have smoking
bans in workplaces, restaurants and bars.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Sen. Charles Grassley say a new federal
courthouse for flood-hit Cedar Rapids is likely to increase in
priority.
The Republican senator said Tuesday that the Committee of the
Administrative Office of the United States Courts will recommend to
the full Judicial Conference that the Cedar Rapids courthouse be
moved up on a construction list.
Grassley says the conference, which is made up of judges from
across the United States, will make a quick recommendation to
congressional appropriations committees.
Grassley says two floors of the current courthouse were
submerged during flooding and that there's no point in paying for
repairs when Cedar Rapids is eligible for a new courthouse.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - The U.S. Commerce Department will
provide an immediate $3 million injection of federal funding to
help Iowa recover from flood damage.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez made the announcement
about the funding in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday in Cedar Rapids. He
was joined by Governor Chet Culver and other officials.
The Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration
will assist in distributing the funds.
Gutierrez says there's no doubt that Iowa will face challenges,
but that the disaster offers an opportunity to rebuild, and he
expects Iowa to "rebuild even better than before."

In Nebraska...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The attorney for a former Lexington teacher
accused of having sex with a 13-year-old student says she'll plead
guilty today to reduced charges.
James Martin Davis, who represents 26-year-old Kelsey Peterson,
says he expects his client could spend six to seven years in
prison.
Peterson left Lexington in October with a 13-year-old student.
They were found a week later in Mexicali, Mexico.
Davis says he hopes state charges that include kidnapping and
first-degree sexual assault will be dropped, too.
A message left for the U.S. Attorney's office in Nebraska wasn't
returned.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - U.S. Senator Ben Nelson says Iran is
hindering peace efforts in the Middle East.
The Nebraska Democrat spoke to reporters yesterday in a
telephone conference from Israel, where he has been meeting with
Israeli dignitaries and touring the region.
Earlier Tuesday, Nelson traveled with a group to Sderot
(seh-ROTE), less than five miles from the Gaza Strip. The town is
pockmarked from rockets believed to have been fired from Gaza, and
Nelson says many are supplied by Iran.
Nelson adds that "the common denominator for all of the
terrorist activities and mischief in the area is Iran."
Nelson returns to the U.S. on tonight.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - ConAgra Foods says it has begun an
accelerated plan to repurchase about $900 million of its own stock.
The Omaha-based maker of Healthy Choice, Hunts and other
consumer brands has negotiated with Merrill Lynch and Bank of
America to buy large blocks of stock.
ConAgra will pay each bank $450 million, and ConAgra will
receive at least roughly 33 million shares of stock.
ConAgra got the money for the stock purchases from the recent
sale of its commodities trading division.

In South Dakota...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - An economic barometer for South Dakota showed
some improvement in June.
For the first time since March, the state's Business Conditions
Index rose from the previous month. The score in June was 57 on a
scale of 0 to 100 where anything over 50 indicates economic growth.
The survey found one area of weakness in South Dakota. The
business confidence index was second lowest in nine states that are
surveyed.
Overall, the index for the nine states was 50.5. That was up
slightly from May.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The Highway Patrol plans to hold several
sobriety checkpoints as part of its enforcement efforts over the
July Fourth holiday period in South Dakota.
Maj. Randy Hartley says not everyone drives responsibly, so the
patrol will be out in force.
on Thursday it will focus on impaired drivers and other moving
violations.
On Friday and Saturday, troopers will hold a statewide
saturation patrol and DUI checkpoints.
Hartley urges drivers to obey the speed limit, wear a seat belt
and avoid drinking and driving.
There were 40 traffic accidents that injured 25 people during
the July Fourth holiday period last year.

DENVER (AP) - With more than 250 firefighters from the Rocky
Mountain area fighting fires in California and the Southwest, fire
managers have elevated their preparedness level so they can call
for international or military assistance if needed.
The National Interagency Fire Center's highest planning level
was activated Tuesday as the forecast called for continued hot,
dry, windy conditions in areas of the West.
California has had 4,661 fires totaling 351,231 acres to date.
The majority of the Rocky Mountain Area has a moderate fire
danger, with the greatest danger in western Colorado, and to some
degree the area east of the Rockies in southern Colorado.
The Rocky Mountain region encompasses Colorado, Wyoming, South
Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska.