KWIT: Regional News for 7/11 (2008-07-11)

In Iowa...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Cedar Rapids officials estimate the
recent floods could cost the city as much $1.3 billion.
City officials believe it will cost $504 million to clean up and
repair or replace flood-damaged city buildings and other
infrastructure. Authorities think it will cost an additional $810
million to protect Cedar Rapids from future flooding. That's
according to preliminary estimates.
City manager Jim Prosser says the city can't tackle the costs on
its own and needs federal assistance.
Cedar Rapids financial director Casey Drew says the city will
seek the ability from the Iowa Legislature to raise money in ways
besides property taxes. The city has lobbied state lawmakers this
year to seek revenue through fees on utilities, a local sales tax
and other avenues.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - An institution for some of Iowa's most
profoundly disabled children and adults has failed to meet minimum
health and safety standards. That's despite agreeing to
court-ordered reforms in 2004.
State officials acknowledged in a recent court filing that the
Glenwood Resource Center is not fulfilling promises it made four
years ago. Glenwood had agreed to improve medical care, nutrition
management, psychological care and other basic services for its 320
mentally and physically disabled residents.
The court record includes no specific examples of problems at
Glenwood. It only mentions general categories in which the home was
failing to meet standards, according to a copyright story in the
Des Moines Register.
The admission stunned officials at Iowa Protection and Advocacy.
That agency oversees care for Iowa's disabled residents. Agency
officials are currently investigating what it calls an unusually
high number of deaths at Glenwood and its central Iowa sister
facility, the Woodward Resource Center.

ALTON, Iowa (AP) - A damage assessment is under way after a
fiery explosion at a grain elevator in northwest Iowa that left one
person injured.
Officials say Matthew Galles (GAL'-ess), of Remsen, was
unloading grain at the Midwest Farmers Cooperative in Alton at
about 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday when the explosion occurred.
Galles was taken to a hospital in Orange City, then flown to St.
Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln, Neb. A hospital
spokesman says Galles was in stable condition on Thursday.
Officials say the damage at the northwest Iowa co-op was caused
by a grain dust explosion. Investigators are looking into what
sparked the blast.
Initial reports are that the explosion damaged equipment and at
least one of the six concrete grain silos.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Gov. Chet Culver has picked Lt. Gov.
Patty Judge to head the state's disaster recovery office.
Culver created the Rebuild Iowa Office last month to serve as
the state's primary clearinghouse for the recovery efforts.
He says the department will coordinate the state's response to
issues created by this year's severe storms and widespread
flooding.
It's also been directed to maximize federal assistance and to
make sure state and federal resources are applied in the most
efficient ways.
The office will work closely with the Rebuild Iowa Commission,
which is chaired by Gen. Ron Dardis of the Iowa National Guard.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - The city council in Iowa City says flood
victims will not have to pay for utilities in June and July.
Those city-run utilities include water, sewer and garbage
service.
The waiver applies to properties that had interior flood damage.
Iowa City estimates that 247 homes and 12 businesses suffered such
damage.
Those properties bring in about $20,000 in utility fees each
month. Iowa City finance director Kevin O'Malley says the move will
have little effect on the city's budget.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey
says corn producers favor paying more into a fund that invests in
research, education and promotion efforts.
Northey says preliminary results of a corn producers' vote on
the so-called Iowa Corn Checkoff show an overwhelming number of
producers favor increasing the amount of money paid into the fund
for the first time since 1995.
The Iowa Corn Checkoff is a fee collected on corn that enters
commercial channels. The fee is not collected for grain used
on-farm.
The Iowa Corn Checkoff was created by producer referendum in
1977. It helps to fund the Iowa Corn Promotion Board.

In Nebraska...

WINNEBAGO, Neb. (AP) - A Winnebago resident remains in tribal
custody, accused of shooting his brother in the stomach.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said yesterday that Derrick Bass had
been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and assault
resulting in serious injury.
U.S. Attorney Joe Stecher says in a news release that the
23-year-old Bass had gotten into an argument with his brother,
Marcus, early Wednesday morning.
Stecher says Bass left the house, which is on the Winnebago
Indian Reservation, then returned with a 9 mm handgun and shot his
brother.
Marcus Bass was taken to a hospital in Sioux City, Iowa, for
surgery. A hospital spokeswoman declined to provide a condition
update.
Stecher says no court date has been set for Derrick Bass.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - More than $3.2 million in damages have been
awarded to an energy finance company that sued two men who
disclosed the company's proprietary information.
Lancaster County District Court Judge Steven Burns ruled in
favor of American Public Energy Agency, which acquires natural gas
for publicly owned utilities.
The company sued J. Gary Stauffer and Evan Ward, two executives
with Nebraska Municipal Power Pool, a nonprofit corporation that
provided energy-related services to the company.
The judge found that Stauffer and Ward wrongfully distributed
company information, financial data and copyrighted material and
solicited the company's customers to try to compete with or
eliminate the company.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Federal officials have approved changes
Nebraska Beef Ltd. proposed after it recalled 5.3 million pounds of
beef last week.
USDA spokeswoman Amanda Eamich (EE-Mitch) says the Omaha-based
company's plan satisfies the concerns raised after the meat was
linked to an E. coli outbreak. At least 41 illnesses in Michigan
and Ohio have been linked to Nebraska Beef's products.
The recalled beef was sold to wholesalers and distributors for
further processing. So it may be difficult for consumers to
determine whether they bought meat containing Nebraska Beef
products.
Some of the recalled beef was sold by Kroger Co. stores. The
grocer has recalled ground beef products in more than 20 states
because the meat may have been contaminated.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - The state of Nebraska says the number of
kids who are wards of the state has dropped 12 percent in the past
two years.
Gov. Dave Heineman touted the decrease and other figures
yesterday that show a drop in the number of foster kids.
The total had reached an all-time high in 2006.
Heineman says the state is in the unprecedented position of
having more children leaving the state system than entering it. The
system oversees abused, neglected, and emotionally unstable kids.
Two years ago, the state began to focus more on putting state
wards into permanent homes.
State officials say the number of kids in out-of-home care is
still probably higher than the national average.

In South Dakota...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - A Senate Appropriations subcommittee
chairman says he's sure Congress will give the Lewis and Clark
Regional Water System between $25 million and $30 million for the
next budget year -- even though the president asked for no funding.
North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan says he's confident the end
result will be something close to those numbers.
Democratic Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota says the $537
million project will serve more than 200,000 people in southeastern
South Dakota, northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota.
Dorgan and Republican Senator John Thune say they think Congress
will pass a continuing resolution that will go into next year --
and into a new administration.
Sioux Falls Mayor Dave Munson says South Dakota's largest city
needs Lewis and Clark so it can keep growing. He says it was
"inexcusable" for the president to recommend no funding for the
ongoing project.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The South Dakota Supreme Court says state
law does not require the actual presence of an offended victim to
convict someone of indecent exposure.
The high court made that ruling in upholding a man's conviction
for indecent exposure in a Sioux Falls park.
Richard Aca Moss argued there was insufficient evidence to
convict him because there was no actual victim or witness present.
But the Supreme Court majority says the law does not require the
actual presence of a victim, and in any event police officers could
be victims because they can be offended by indecent exposure.